1977: The beginning of the blind date with the daughter of the king

Chapter 649 The Dragon's Dilemma!
How did you know I would come out?

Once in the car, Gong Xue looked at Li Changhe in the driver's seat and asked curiously.

"I can predict the future!"

He was just guessing.

Now that Gong's father has agreed to their relationship, Gong Xue might come looking for him once she finds out.

However, it was getting late, and Li Changhe was worried about the safety on the road, so he drove over and waited for a while, whether he could make it there was another matter.

Unexpectedly, she actually came out.

"You're really bold! There aren't any buses running at this hour, and you still went out like that. If I hadn't come here to wait for you, your journey would have been so dangerous!"

Li Changhe then addressed Gong Xuejiao.

Upon hearing this, Gong Xue couldn't help but purse her lips: "It's not even dark yet. I was thinking of taking a taxi if there are any on the road. Anyway, I have foreign exchange certificates in my wallet."

“You shouldn’t flaunt your wealth. In the capital, at least you were traveling with Linlin. But here, you’re just a weak woman, and even a taxi might not be able to guarantee your safety.”

"Okay, I'll be more careful next time!"

"Hey, Changhe, has my father really agreed to our relationship?"

Gong Xue didn't want to listen to Li Changhe's rambling anymore, so she quickly changed the subject.

"Yes!"

Li Changhe nodded slightly.

"How exactly did you convince him? Was it just the saying that beautiful women are destined for tragedy?"

Gong Xue continued to ask, full of surprise.

Li Changhe shook his head: "Well, I can only say that many times, morality can't withstand reality. There are many social realities that haven't been exposed yet, but once they are, they will naturally take it seriously."

All the rules of this world teach you to be an honest person, but you will find that it is always the honest people who suffer losses, poverty, and bullying after you actually enter society.

Unfortunately, most ordinary people will never understand this in their lifetime.

Li Changhe was merely revealing some bloody realities to Gong's father.

As he spoke, Li Changhe drove towards his residence.

Since Gong Xue came out tonight, it's obvious she doesn't want to go home. After all, it's so hot in Shanghai, and there's only a fan at home, which is nothing compared to the air conditioning in a garden villa.

In the following days, Li Changhe accompanied Gong Xue for three more days in Shanghai. On the one hand, he worked with the Shanghai Film Studio to polish the script, and on the other hand, he helped Gong Xue with the transfer procedures.

After completing all this, Li Changhe did not return directly to Beijing, but quietly went to Zhuhai, then entered Macau, and then returned to Hong Kong Island from Macau.

The reason he came back was that Catherine and her team's negotiations had ended, and Li Changhe had to return to hear their report.

Inside the office, Li Changhe looked at the team that had gone to the mainland, listening to their reports while reviewing the agreements reached.

In fact, overall, it was not much different from what Li Changhe had expected. After all, in this era, China was quite cautious in its control over foreign investment.

"Boss, this time our total investment in mainland China is estimated to be around $3.2 million. However, there's a problem with the hotel."

"Given the current size of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, it would be difficult for them to come up with another 40 million US dollars for investment. They have already taken out loans to invest in Paris and do not have any loan quota to invest in mainland China."

"On this matter, boss, should we lend money to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, or...?"

"Catherine said softly."

Li Changhe thought for a moment, then said, "It's too troublesome to hold a shareholders' meeting for a loan, and the shareholders may not even agree."

"In this way, we will cooperate with Hongkong Land to jointly set up a new company. I will invest, and Hongkong Land will contribute its asset management resources from the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. The two parties will establish a new company, and then the new company will be the main entity to invest in the mainland."

“Catherine, I’d like to give you a task. I’d like you to lead a team to the United States and finalize the specific cooperation framework with the companies there.”

"I've already made arrangements with the person in charge behind the company, but the specific details of the cooperation between the two companies still need to be discussed. But remember, we must take the lead."

"I'd like to assign this task to you. Do you dare to accept it?"

At this moment, Li Changhe smiled and asked Catherine.

"Boss, if I leave, what will happen to you?"

Catherine asked hesitantly.

"I don't plan to make any big moves in the next two years. I want to take a break. What I need to do now is to nurture the projects I have in hand."

“I don’t have many people available right now, but you are all outstanding talents who have followed me for a long time. I hope that in the coming period, you can stand out and go further, especially you, Catherine.”

"I've seen your abilities, and I'm willing to continue giving you opportunities. It's up to you what you think!"

Li Changhe said with a smile.

He doesn't plan to do anything big in the next two years, and he also needs to spend time with his wife. It would be a waste of time for Catherine and the others to stay in Hong Kong.

Instead, it would be better to hand these things over to them step by step and let them gain experience gradually.

Moreover, the domestic market at that time was still quite unregulated. Although the investment seemed large, it often relied on a monopolistic market, which ensured the company's profit model. This provided Li Changhe with the most suitable training platform.

His core personnel are actually his own secretarial and financial teams, plus the corporate elites who have presented themselves to him.

However, compared to the former two, these elites from the subsidiaries of the land were a little further away and still could not gain Li Changhe's complete trust.

Therefore, Li Changhe's current priority is still to train Catherine and the others.

Upon hearing Li Changhe's words, the elites sitting below all showed excited expressions; they had been eagerly anticipating Li Changhe saying those words.

After all, this isn't just recognition from your boss; it's an expectation from the big boss. As long as you achieve results, you will genuinely receive support from the big boss.

After hearing this, Catherine decisively replied, "Boss, since you're willing to trust me, I'm willing to work hard and lead the team to the United States!"

"Yes, do your research before you go. Although I have reached an agreement with the Rockefeller family, the companies below them may not fully relinquish their interests. So, for you, this will also be a battle not to be underestimated."

"I look forward to your victorious return."

Li Changhe didn't hesitate to paint a rosy picture for the group of people.

Of course, as long as they are truly capable, Li Changhe wouldn't mind making the pie a reality.

After the senior executives left, Catherine stayed behind alone.

"Boss, could I transfer some people from the team below?"

"Okay, and Catherine, you need to carefully select the team members to be transferred this time."

"I hope this group of people can serve as the backbone of this cooperation with the mainland. At that time, they will not only be able to communicate with the mainland, but also with the United States."

"So, besides work ability, these people also need to be intelligent. Don't be those arrogant fools. You need to keep that in mind." Li Changhe then gave Catherine some pointers, not minding revealing some of the future arrangements to her.

"Understood, boss!"

"By the way, after hearing that you're back, General Manager Shao Weiming has scheduled a meeting with you. When would you like to see him?"

Although Catherine had just returned, she immediately took over Li Changhe's secretarial duties, so she was well aware of all the meetings Li Changhe had arranged during this period.

"You can contact him. I'm free this afternoon."

"Also, give me a list of people who have recently contacted me. I'd like to see if there are any other people I'd like to meet."

Li Changhe doesn't blindly follow his secretary's reports and arrangements, because in many cases, his foresight is something these secretarial teams lack.

So every now and then, Li Changhe would look at the list of people he had invited to meet, hoping to find some "historical figures" or something similar, although he hadn't found any in all this time.

Of course, there is also an advantage to doing this, which is to prevent the secretarial team from falsifying information. After all, the higher-ups can check the work at any time, so the people below will naturally not dare to mess around. Only a few will act lawlessly.

"understood."

"Boss, there's one more thing. After I leave, should we recruit a new person for the office, or replace them with someone from the existing staff?"

Catherine then asked in a low voice.

After listening, Li Changhe glanced at Catherine and then slowly said, "Forget about the newcomers. Ella did a good job, so let her take over."

"Then the secretary's office will expand its scale and recruit a group of top students from the world's leading universities. I will gradually screen the talents later, and your office can be considered as helping me with the initial screening."

Li Changhe's previous secretary's office didn't have many people. Firstly, he needed to maintain a certain level of mystery, and secondly, he didn't want too many people to get too close to him, in order to ensure the safety of his identity.

However, now that his identity in China has been frozen and most of the potential threats have been eliminated, Li Changhe feels that it might be better to take bigger actions. After all, being secretive all the time is not a good thing.

"Understood, boss. I'll remind Ella."

Seeing that Li Changhe didn't seem to be looking for a new love, Catherine breathed a sigh of relief. Her biggest worry was that she would go out to work and be replaced by someone new.

Now that Li Changhe is using Ella, and the core staff of the secretary's office are still those she assembled herself, it's a relief for her.

"Go, Catherine, you are the first general I have chosen, and I hope you will not disappoint me!"

Li Changhe gave Catherine one last encouraging speech, full of anticipation.

"Boss, trust me, I will never let you down."

At this moment, Catherine felt a sense of heroic sacrifice, especially since the one who said these words was her boss, whom she secretly admired.

Since you can't win the boss's favor with your looks, it's actually a good way to make the boss more dependent on you by relying on your work ability.

Li Changhe hadn't been in the office long when Shao Weiming rushed over.

"Vic, you're finally back."

Upon seeing Li Changhe, Shao Weiming couldn't help but sigh.

"Brother Weiming, it sounds like something big has happened?"

"Sit down and let's talk!"

Li Changhe gestured for Shao Weiming to sit down.

After Shao Weiming sat down, he immediately said, "It's still about the Hong Kong Film Awards, or more accurately, it's about Jackie Chan."

"Didn't you ask me to talk to Raymond Chow to get Jackie Chan to join one of our film series, so we could promote Jackie Chan overseas together with Golden Harvest?"

“Zou Wenhuai was very tempted, but the old bastard also set a trap for us. Damn it, Cheng Long is in big trouble now, and Zou Wenhuai needs us to help him get out of it.”

"I'm unsure about this and would like to ask for your opinion."

Seeing Shao Weiming's indignant look, Li Changhe poured him a cup of tea.

"Come on, Weiming, have some tea to calm down. Tell me, what trouble is Cheng Long in right now?"

Shao Weiming finished his tea in one gulp, then said, "Is that so? Wasn't Jackie Chan's previous manager Luo Wei?"

"Then it was never filmed by Lo Wei's company. Later, Jackie Chan went to Golden Harvest. Lo Wei had a contract with Jackie Chan, so they sued him for breach of contract."

"Not only that, Lo Wei also found some people in the underworld to deal with Jackie Chan, so ever since 'Junior Brother Takes Action' became a hit, Jackie Chan has been hiding abroad and dares not come back."

"Just some江湖人 (jianghu people, a term referring to people from the martial arts world), can't Zou Wenhuai handle that?"

Li Changhe asked curiously at this moment.

Raymond Chow is a big shot in the Hong Kong film industry, so it's impossible that he has no influence in the underworld, right?
"He really can't handle it, and Lo Wei won't give him any face. There's another thing behind this. Do you know why Lo Wei left Golden Harvest? It's because Raymond Chow stole Lo Wei's wife."

“Lo Wei has accumulated some influence in the Hong Kong underworld over the years. Last time, Jackie Chan asked Wang Yu for help, and on the surface, everyone made peace. However, Jackie Chan became very popular, which made Lo Wei even more unhappy.”

"So this time, he contacted Xinji, and as far as I know, he contacted Su Long of Xinji!"

"Even with Su Long's involvement, Xinji doesn't give Zou Wenhuai any face. I heard that Hong Jinbao even contacted Xiang Qiang of the Xiang family, but Xiang Qiang doesn't want to get involved either, after all, Su Long's position at Xinji is extraordinary!"

"Zou Wenhuai's current intention is to ask us to help him get Xinji under control. Once Xinji is secured, he will agree to our proposal!"

Shao Weiming said seriously.

Li Changhe then understood why Shao Weiming was hesitant about this matter; it was something that was truly beyond the capabilities of ordinary people.

Su Long holds a special position in Xinji. He is known as the head instructor of Xinji, and most of the future leaders of Xinji, such as the Five Tigers and Ten Heroes, are his disciples.

People like Huang Jun, the tiger of Tsim Sha Tsui, Du Lianshun, the tiger of Tsim Sha Tsui, Chen Yaoxing, the tiger of Wan Chai, and Du Zhiming, the mad dog, were basically all brought up by Su Long.

So even though Xinji is the new branch of the Xiang family, Su Long still carries a lot of weight in it. This is probably why Xiang Qiang is unwilling to speak up. He knows very well that he may not have any face with Su Long.

This is also why Zou Wenhuai couldn't handle it and hoped that Li Changhe would step in.

This matter involved the top figures at the news agency, and even Shao Weiming couldn't agree to it outright, so he waited for Li Changhe to come back and discuss it with him.

Fortunately, Li Changhe returned in time, otherwise he would have had to urge the secretary's office to contact Li Changhe for him.

After hearing Shao Weiming's description, Li Changhe couldn't help but shake his head inwardly.

"So, Brother Jackie Chan had this experience back then!"

"By the way, I also inquired about Lo Wei's terms. I heard that Jackie Chan signed a compensation agreement for ten million, and he also has to go back and continue making movies for Lo Wei."

"I guess Sun Ching might also be eyeing Jackie Chan as a cash cow, since he really makes money overseas."

Shao Weiming sighed at this moment.

Jackie Chan's true influence has never been limited to Hong Kong Island, but rather to a vast overseas market. A single film can earn Golden Harvest tens of millions of US dollars in huge profits. Who wouldn't be envious?
No wonder Lo Wei is now determined to fight Golden Harvest to the death!

(End of this chapter)