Financial freedom starts from graduation

Chapter 554 Great Value

How much weight can an apology carry?

"It's probably around thirty small goals, no joke, just the kind of 'small goals' you're thinking of. My personal experience is as follows..."

—@Zhihu user "Li Moumou"

……

To understand Li Youjun's deep sorrow and regret, we must first start with the value of the original shares from Galaxy Group.

It is already well known what the pillar industries of Australia are.

It was a paradise where countless people revelled, and a hell where countless people perished.

In this place known as the Las Vegas of the East, there are a total of six major operators, all of whom are betting giants with official licenses, commonly known as the "Six Big D Licenses".

Sands, Galaxy, New World, MGM, Wynn, SJM...

Most of the shady websites that have harmed countless families online are using the names of these six companies.

Although these six giants have made a lot of money through unethical means, it must be said that they are all extremely large in scale.

Among them, Galaxy Group, which ranks second overall, is already listed, and its total market value is approximately HK$1500 billion based on the current stock price.

The Li family, as the founders, hold approximately 20% to 25% of the shares in Galaxy Group. However, nearly half of their core assets are actually controlled by Galaxy Group and are located in the "Star Hotel".

Although Galaxy Group started with the betting industry, these six giants have actually developed into behemoths spanning many industries. Betting is just a subsidiary and core business of theirs.

This interstellar hotel is where the Galaxy Group started.

In other words, this place has always been where Galaxy Group's most original and core business is operated, and it is also the most important of all the assets of the Li family.

StarWorld Hotels, which operates Galaxy Group's core business, is not independently listed, so there is no separate market capitalization data.

However, considering that its revenue accounts for about 10%-15% of Galaxy Group's total revenue, and other factors, its market value is estimated to be around HK$150-200 billion by most authoritative institutions.

Even taking the lowest estimate of 150 billion, it would mean that Zhou Wang's "20% original equity" was worth approximately 30 billion Hong Kong dollars...

Yes, 30 billion.

When Zhou Wang saw the detailed valuation in the system attachment, he was shocked.

Originally, Zhou Wang's expectations for this "Global Industry Random Gift Package" were neither high nor low.

After all, the system had already told him the approximate value in advance, namely, "the total value will not be less than 10 billion".

Because we had already launched a similar package when we were in Shanghai, the value of those properties that we had acquired from the six major groups—I mean, the legitimate acquisitions—was estimated by our lawyer Qi to be between 13 and 15 small goals.

Based on his previous experience, Zhou Wang thought that if he was lucky this time, the industrial value he could unlock would probably be around 10 billion yuan.

Since the currency is Hong Kong dollars, and considering exchange rate issues, we might end up losing money even more than last time...

But Zhou Wang never expected that the original equity of Galaxy Group's Interstellar Hotel alone would be worth 30 billion, which was far beyond what was expected.

However, Zhou Wang paused for a moment, then suddenly realized something.

First of all, the "10 billion" figure given by the system is just the bottom line, but the true value of most industries is actually affected by many factors and is not certain.

The value of StarWorld Hotels' equity is only an estimate. To know its true market value, we can only get an accurate figure when it goes public or is sold.

This can actually be seen in the case of most of the businesses under Zhou Wang's name, which were all like this.

Especially for hotel assets like these, their valuation often fluctuates. For example, in those particular years, due to the downturn in the tourism industry, they were even operating at a loss for a period of time.

Therefore, according to Zhou Wang's own speculation, the HK$150 billion valuation of StarWorld Hotel should be somewhat inflated, but not by much. His 20% stake should be worth at least HK$20 billion.

Yes, it is such an astronomical figure that it caused our young master Li to feel so heartbroken that he could hardly breathe.

He even doubted whether his eldest brother had gone mad...

If it weren't for his long-standing blind worship of his elder brother, Li Youjun would never have been able to accept such an outcome.

I just didn't say apology, is it really that big of a deal?

"As for it?"

The same question was growing wildly in Wang Chengyun's mind.

After finally figuring out what Jessie was negotiating with Zhou Wang through subtle means, Wang Chengyun not only suffered from cerebellar atrophy, but his brain was also on the verge of shutting down.

It's important to understand that the shares of the Star Hotel that the Li family relinquished were not all that Zhou Wang received!

If we add the two other properties relinquished by the Huo and Huang families, the gift package Zhou Wang received this time can only be described as "extremely profitable"...

A multi-billion dollar apology!
This goes beyond what the word "exaggerated" can describe.

"Mr. Zhou, let's exchange contact information. You're not leaving Pengcheng for the time being, are you?"

After everything was agreed upon, Jessie added Zhou Wang on WeChat and asked him questions.

"Probably not for now. I'm here for tourism, after all. Oh, I might also visit Hong Kong Island and Macau..."

"Okay, I'll get the other formalities done as soon as possible. I'll need to trouble you, Mr. Zhou, to have a more formal meeting with me then. It might take up a lot of your time, since the handover process is quite complicated."

"Can I have a lawyer handle this?"

"Uh... of course."

Jessie paused for a moment, then immediately nodded.

Having a lawyer involved is almost necessary, given that it involves the transfer of assets worth hundreds of millions, and no one would be so hasty.

Jessie was stunned because, judging from Zhou Wang's implied meaning, it seemed that after hiring a lawyer, he himself was no longer involved...

No, judging from his casual tone, this wasn't a guess; that's exactly what he thought.

The problem is that when it comes to such a large amount of assets, even if a lawyer is hired, which wealthy person would be so careless as to not show up in person?

Let alone a lawyer, even your own parents would probably not be at ease, for fear that something might go wrong. Even if you don't know anything about Jill, you still have to keep an eye on things the whole time, at least you have to have some sense of what's going on, right?
But Zhou Wang seems to be just that carefree...

Would someone so young, yet capable of inspiring fear in Hong Kong's top families, act so rashly?

Jessie didn't know, but she could only swallow back her countless questions at this moment.

……

When the deal was finally reached, Jessie and Zhou Wang politely said goodbye, and then, together with Huo Chengrui and Li Youjun, boarded the helicopter and left.

As for that young master Huang, he probably left by speedboat long ago and didn't show up until the negotiations ended. Rumble!
The propellers roared, and as the yacht below grew smaller and smaller, so did Zhou Wang and Mu Li, who were standing on the deck. Jessie finally looked away.

“Jessie…”

Although everything was over, Young Master Huo still had countless questions in his mind, so now that he relaxed, he wanted to ask some questions.

Before he could say anything, Jessie's phone rang first.

She glanced at the caller ID, her expression immediately turned serious, and she gestured for Young Master Huo not to speak before answering the call.

"Hello, Mr. Huo, it's me..."

Upon hearing Jessie's address, Huo Chengrui instinctively held his breath.

The only person Jessie would address with such respect is undoubtedly Huo Yingxiong, the CEO of the Huo Group and his father.

"Jessie, is everything done?"

Huo Yingxiong's deep voice came from the other end of the phone.

"It's all done. I'm currently on my way back to Hong Kong Island with Cheng Rui and Young Master Li..."

"Okay, I'll turn on speakerphone now. Mr. Li is here with me, and Mr. Huang is also on the phone with us, so they can all hear your voice."

Huo Yingxiong said upon hearing this.

Upon hearing that the heads of the three major families were on the other end of the phone, Jessie straightened her back, showing a rare hint of nervousness, but she still tried her best to make her voice sound calm, "Okay."

As the speakerphone was turned on, Jessie heard a younger voice coming from the other end of the phone.

“Hello Jessie, this is Li Youlong. We just spoke on the phone.”

“I am Huang Bingzhi, Jessie. Now I would like to ask you to explain the final result in detail.”

Another mature voice, slightly tinged with static, also came through the loudspeaker.

"Hello Mr. Li, hello Mr. Huang... In the end, it turned out that in addition to the residential property at 90 Repulse Bay Road on Hong Kong Island and the 60% stake in the Neptune Jockey Club, Mr. Zhou also took 20% of the original shares of the StarWorld Hotel."

The three people on the other end of the phone fell silent upon hearing this.

Jessie couldn't help but feel uneasy. Could something have gone wrong?

Did Zhou Wang take too much, or...?

Jessie was quite certain that she had considered the opinions of all three people before compiling the asset list, especially Li Youlong, whom she had even called specifically. Logically, everything should have been within their permitted scope.

Jessie didn't dare to speak rashly and could only wait.

"Just as expected, you two?"

After an unknown amount of time, Huo Yingxiong finally spoke slowly, seemingly with a hint of emotion in his voice.

"The house on Repulse Bay Road would cost five or six hundred million. Someone offered two billion for half of the shares in that horse racing club. Although that was a premium, its real value is still over a billion. Add to that the Star Hotel shares that your Li family has bleed so much money from, hehe..."

Huang Bingzhi, the renowned chairman of the board of directors of the shipping group and the current de facto head of the Huang family, smiled enigmatically.

"President Zhou's appetite seems to be bigger than we imagined... Speaking of which, Youlong, you're really willing to spend money; that's one of the foundations of your Li family!"

Li Youlong paused for a moment before speaking in a deep voice:

“President Huo, President Huang, I took over the family business later than you. Two or three years ago, my father’s health wasn’t this bad, and I wasn’t the one who handled those matters… But fortunately, I still know some of the inside story. When my father was lucid, he told me that some debts have to be repaid eventually, so I don’t think it’s a huge loss.”

Huo Yingxiong said in surprise, "Old Master Li actually said such a thing?"

Before Li Youlong could respond, Huo Yingxiong agreed, saying, "However, what Old Master Li said isn't entirely wrong. If it weren't for President Zhou's help back then, your Interstellar Hotel would have been maliciously swallowed up by those Americans long ago..."

"So from this perspective, the fact that StarWorld Hotel has been able to turn a profit and continue operating to this day is indeed half due to Mr. Zhou's efforts, and it is not inappropriate to give him 20% of the shares."

Li Youlong nodded and said.

"You guys are really good at taking things easy..."

Huang Bingzhi chuckled and said something else.

Li Youlong seemed to finally feel some dissatisfaction, and his tone couldn't help but become sarcastic, "Could it be that President Huang has other ideas? But seeing that you gave away the operating rights of a horse racing club worth billions, it doesn't seem like you were so unwilling..."

Huang Bingzhi was speechless for a moment. Yin and Yang are one thing, but he still didn't dare to confront that man head-on.

He still remembers the series of shocks he caused when he set foot on Hong Kong Island two years ago...

A young man who was not well-known in China has already achieved great success internationally.

He arrived in obscurity, but when his brilliance was revealed, it became clear that beneath the dome lay his wings.

The main reason was that almost all the top families on Hong Kong Island benefited from his appearance at the time... except for the one family that offended him.

"Dimensional reduction attack".

They were truly powerless to fight back. That family, which was once a top family in Hong Kong, has now faded into obscurity. They even have to be careful when trying to find out about them.

Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit awkward, Huo Yingxiong quickly tried to smooth things over with a smile.

"Alright, alright... After all, it's not a small amount. Who wouldn't feel the pinch when giving it up? So, Mr. Huang, I can understand you... Of course, what Youlong said is also true. This was originally something we owed to Mr. Zhou. It's just that he didn't express his gratitude back then, and now we're just returning it to him in a different way."

"But there's always a sense that it was all staged. It just so happened that Mr. Zhou happened to be on that yacht. Do you remember the Mr. Zhou we knew back then? He had absolutely no interest in these kinds of events. I even sent Miss Hong Kong to his room, but he didn't even glance at her."

Huang Bingzhi couldn't help but grumble.

"We don't need to worry about what President Zhou thinks. In any case, I think this is a good thing."

Huo Yingxiong simply smiled and said.

"Oh, what do you say?"

The other two were taken aback.

"Do you remember how we invited him back then, even offering up most of our profits, all we wanted was an opportunity to cooperate with President Zhou, but he remained unmoved."

Huo Yingxiong said slowly, "Now, no matter what, it's as if President Zhou has taken the initiative to create some business ties with us. In my opinion, this is actually a good start, isn't it?"

Huo Yingxiong's words made the other two fall into deep thought, and they were unable to refute him for a moment.

At this moment, Jessie, who had been stunned on the other end of the phone, slowly opened her mouth wide.

OMG, what did I just hear?
(End of this chapter)