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

Chapter 713 A Shocking Lesson!

"Ah Yang, we've been looking for you all, and here you were hiding."

Upon seeing Li Changhe and his group, Guo Bingxiang approached with his newlywed wife.

"There's nothing we can do. There are too many people in the middle, and many of them come up to say hello. We don't know them well, so we're the only ones who can have some peace and quiet in this corner."

Li Changhe said with a smile.

"By the way, this is a gift I prepared for you. I hope Brother Bingxiang and Sister-in-law won't mind."

At this moment, Li Changhe handed over the gift he had prepared in advance.

Wedding banquets like the Guo family's do not accept monetary gifts, but that doesn't mean guests won't bring presents.

What Li Changhe prepared was a pair of top-of-the-line couple watches from Vacheron Constantin.

It was a limited edition set that he had arranged to be prepared in Europe, so it was considered a rather precious gift.

“This is Vacheron Constantin, how could we possibly look down on it?”

Although Rolex is the most famous brand in Hong Kong, people like Walter Kwok and Koo Chi-yung, who studied in Europe and America, are certainly familiar with Vacheron Constantin and know its brand value.

Moreover, given Li Changhe's spending habits, he certainly wouldn't be buying an ordinary gift.

Afterwards, Guo Bingxiang did not rush to talk about business, but first chatted with Li Changhe and the others.

A moment later, he casually mentioned it.

"Ah Yang, I heard you had a little argument with Guo Xiurong just now?"

Li Changhe understood the unspoken meaning behind the music; the couple had come to make peace.
"Not really. To be precise, it wasn't a conflict, but rather that my fiancée was mocked by her for no reason."

"Brother Bingxiang, sister-in-law, today is your big day. Don't worry, I won't make things difficult for you. We'll handle our own affairs later."

Li Changhe said with a smile.

“Ah Yang, you can’t say that. You’ve come to my wedding, how can you let your sister-in-law suffer? That’s not only disrespectful to you, but also to me and Zhi Rong.”

"She must apologize."

"That's what your sister-in-law means too. Guo Xiurong was wrong in this matter, and we won't protect her."

“That’s right, A-Yang, that’s what I mean too. We should apologize when we need to, and we can’t let her act so recklessly.”

"You and your sister-in-law wait here, your sister-in-law will call her over right away."

After saying that, without waiting for Li Changhe's reply, Gu Zhirong went to find Guo Xiurong.

At this moment, Guo Bingxiang sighed and then said softly to Gong Xue, "Sister-in-law, just give me some face and let that woman apologize to you. Let her go."

Then, Guo Bingxiang said to Li Changhe, "The Guo family is also an old family from Shanghai. Although it has not developed well in recent years, a lean camel is still bigger than a horse."

“They have relatives and friends in Hong Kong, the United States, Luzon, and Australia. If you get involved, you can find connections.”

"That girl is just a spoiled brat from her family; she just speaks without thinking."

“If things really get out of hand, I reckon a lot of people will come after Uncle Bao again.”

At this moment, Guo Bingxiang spoke up tactfully to Li Changhe and Gong Xue.

To put it bluntly, he didn't necessarily have to side with Guo Xiurong, but rather it was for the sake of the reputation of the Guo and Gu families.

If Li Changhe does indeed go to war with the Guo family of Yong'an, then, of course, the reason given will be that the Guo family of Yong'an is in the wrong.

However, the Guo Desheng family and the Gu family, who are the organizers of the wedding banquet, will also become a laughing stock.

Guo Bingxiang understood this principle, and so did Gu Zhirong, which is why they spared no effort to ease the situation.

Seeing Guo Bingxiang pleading for her, Gong Xue didn't feel any pity and simply said softly, "Brother Guo, I'll listen to A-Yang."

At this moment, Gu Zhirong pulled Guo Xiurong over.

Compared to her previous arrogance, Guo Xiurong now looked like a defeated hen, listless and dejected.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Bao and Ms. Gong. I had a moment of madness. I sincerely apologize to both of you."

Guo Xiurong then spoke respectfully.

On the way here, she had been thoroughly informed that if she were to be even slightly defiant, her family's businesses, such as Yong'an Department Store, Yong'an Bank, and Yong'an Building, would face severe suppression from Li Changhe.

The Guo family of Yong'an is a large and powerful family. With their family business attacked like this, the family's anger will only fall on her, the instigator. Her fate will be even worse than it is today.

Li Changhe glanced at her, then smiled.

“Since Brother Bingxiang and his wife have both spoken up, I will certainly give them face.”

"An apology is enough. I just hope that Miss Guo can control her temper in the future."

In reality, what Li Changhe was trying to demonstrate was simply his attitude: he would definitely protect his fiancée.

This is not just a message to Guo Xiurong, but a message to the entire elite circle of Hong Kong Island.

As a warning to others, Guo Xiurong became the chicken on the chopping block.

Of course, things should stop here, after all, he had to give face to the Guo and Gu families for their marriage alliance.

The matter was thus overlooked.

Guo Xiurong slunk away.

Sure enough, on the way back, Bao Yugang also asked about this matter.

This kind of gossip, especially gossip at banquets, is impossible to hide.

“You did the right thing. The Guo family was actually hedging their bets. Back then, their family split into several branches. One branch stayed on the mainland, one branch stayed in Hong Kong, and another branch went to the United States.”

“In families like theirs, the relationships are very complex. The eldest son, Guo Biao, married Song Ziwen’s daughter, while the sixth son’s family stayed on the mainland. They are well-connected on both sides.”

"Unfortunately, after Guo Le's death, the descendants of the Guo brothers fought for power and profit, and the family did not develop much."

Inside the car, Bao Yugang whispered to Li Changhe.

Li Changhe understood what he meant. The Guo family was hedging their bets, and to put it bluntly, they were now also being courted by the mainland. If Li Changhe really made a scene, the higher-ups would probably mediate, since it wasn't a major conflict, just a minor argument.

"Uncle, it seems like we've lost touch with the Kong, Song, and Chen families from back then?"

At this moment, Li Changhe asked Bao Yugang curiously.

Of the four major families in the Republic of China, the first one goes without saying. Li Changhe is quite curious about the other three, as they seem to have faded into obscurity in later generations.

"The Chen family suffered the most. The two Chens were stripped of their power as soon as they arrived on the island, and their wealth was almost completely wiped out. Chen Guofu didn't even have money to buy medicine when he died, and Chen Lifu is now raising chickens in the United States, barely surviving."

"The Kong and Song families broke off their relationship long ago. As far as I know, Song Ziwen had almost no contact with his two sisters back then."

“Soong Tse-ven had three daughters but no sons, though he did have a few nephews. So he put some of his assets into a family trust. You should be able to find that information since you’re in New York.” “The Kung family is similar. H.H. Kung had quite a few children, but I heard that the third generation only had one grandson, who was of mixed race. So naturally, there’s been no activity from them now.”

“Having distanced themselves from politics, their descendants in the United States are nothing more than wealthy men.”

"So, all this talk about family inheritance is useless if your descendants can't keep it all."

For Bao Yugang, his life experiences, from chaotic times to peace, have given him a very clear understanding of many things.

The prominent figures who once dominated the Huangpu River and were renowned throughout the Far East, from the Sassoon family to Hardoon on Nanjing Road, and now to the Kong, Soong, and Chen families, have all disappeared in less than a hundred years.

The waves of time can propel you to new heights, or they can sweep you away in a single blow.

Li Changhe nodded after listening. He felt that these figures from the Republic of China era were very distant, but in reality, many of them were still alive.

"By the way, Uncle, do you know Seiji Tsutsumi, the owner of Seibu Department Store in Japan?"

At this moment, Li Changhe turned to Bao Yugang and asked a question.

Bao Yugang actually has a wide network of connections in Japan, and Li Changhe could just ask him about it.

"Seiji Tsutsumi? You mean the one from the Seibu Group?"

Unexpectedly, Bao Yugang actually knew this person.

"Yes, it's him. Today, Jiro Iwayama, the president of Seibu Department Store, came to me and wanted to cooperate with me. I originally thought that the Seibu Group was owned by Yoshimi Tsutsumi, but I didn't expect him to say that he was Seiji Tsutsumi."

"Yoshima Tsutsumi and Seiji Tsutsumi are brothers, but Yoshima Tsutsumi is the son of a concubine. In theory, Yoshima Tsutsumi has no right to inherit the Seibu Group."

"However, Tsutsumi Seiji and his older brother had a very bad relationship with their father, Tsutsumi Yasujiro, so in the end, Tsutsumi Yasujiro's estate was taken over by Tsutsumi Yoshina, a son born to a concubine."

"Back then, Tsutsumi Yasujiro was a very famous figure in Japan, serving as the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The fact that he passed his family business to his concubine and had a son caused quite a stir in Japan."

Clearly, Bao Yugang had also heard about this gossip back then, and he happened to tell Li Changhe about it.

"I think you should get to know Seiji Tsutsumi. Do you know why Seiji Tsutsumi and Yasujiro Tsutsumi don't get along?"

"Please enlighten me, Uncle!"

Li Changhe knew that there might be some inside story involved.

“Tsutsumi Seiji was not a traditional Japanese businessman. He was very cultured, and most importantly, he was friendly to the mainland.”

“When he was young, he actively participated in the Japanese Communist Party. Because of this, he was at odds with Tsutsumi Yasujiro and lost most of his family fortune. But he was also a very capable man.”

"If you want to cooperate with businessmen from Japan, this is someone you can try to win over. This person is very friendly towards the mainland."

At this moment, Bao Yugang spoke softly to Li Changhe.

"But I remember you were planning to open a department store, weren't you? You had ideas about collaborating with Japanese capital?"

Bao Yugang knew that Hongkong Land already had the intention of operating a department store, and that Li Changhe was planning to cooperate with a Japanese-funded department store company.

“Japanese department stores still have a good reputation in Hong Kong Island. Moreover, due to the times, their supply chain is ahead of that in Hong Kong Island. They have the most complete global supply chain, which I am very optimistic about.”

Li Changhe said thoughtfully.

The 1980s marked the beginning of economic globalization. Before that, the economy was largely divided into regions, with each region operating independently. At that time, very few regions had access to global supply chains.

Japan, on the other hand, took the lead in the world by leveraging its economic development, and obtained licenses for many department store products worldwide.

Therefore, when many brands licensed their products to the Asian market in the 1980s, they would separate Japan as a separate licensing region. This was partly because Japan had strong purchasing power, and part of the reason was that many companies there had already obtained separate brand licenses.

In this supply chain, Hong Kong Island cannot compare. Take Lane Crawford Department Store, a well-known department store on Hong Kong Island, for example. Its main business is actually the supply chain in Europe and the UK.

Since Li Changhe's urban complex is to become a landmark of its time, it naturally cannot be limited to just one project.

The visit from Seibu Department Store actually gave him some inspiration.

He set his sights on Seibu Department Store's supply chain.

“Indeed, ever since Daimaru Department Store, Hong Kong people have been very accepting of Japanese department store products. I would like to say that you can consider cooperating with Seiji Tsutsumi. He has a good reputation.”

"By the way, are you sure you're not in a hurry to go back to Hong Kong Island?"

"They're about to go to Beijing for negotiations from Downing Street."

It's already September 15th, and Downing Street has already made arrangements for a visit to Beijing this month.

Although it was called a visit, it was actually a direct negotiation between high-level officials of the two countries.

At this moment, the entire Hong Kong Island's wealthy class was probably watching the negotiations closely, but Li Changhe was in no hurry to go back.

Bao Yugang was sometimes surprised that Li Changhe was so confident in his judgment.

"Let's wait for the negotiation results. Anyway, it'll only take about ten days. I'll take care of some things here in the US."

“I want to go to Hawaii and see if I can buy an island there. I want to hold my wedding with Xiaoxue on a private island there.”

"It's peaceful this way too."

At this moment, Li Changhe spoke to Bao Yugang.

"Place it on a private island?"

Bao Yugang was somewhat surprised when he heard Li Changhe's words.

Li Changhe nodded: "That's right, Uncle. Xiaoxue's appearance is not the core issue in Hong Kong. The most important thing is to let people in Europe and America see her."

"As for families like the Rockefellers, the Reagans, and the California conglomerates, it's very difficult to get them to attend weddings in Asia."

“I think it would be better to place it in Hawaii. I could buy a private island, and the entire island would be secluded, ensuring both security and privacy. What do you think?”

Li Changhe then spoke seriously.

After listening, Bao Yu also began to ponder.

To put it bluntly, Li Changhe's wedding will definitely invite many important figures, but he doesn't want to publicize it in a big way.

In this case, a private island is definitely the most suitable option.

"So, how many people do you plan to invite from Hong Kong Island?"

Bao Yugang thought for a moment, then asked Li Changhe again.

“I don’t plan to invite too many people over there. I only know a few dozen people here. If you have family connections, you can also send invitations.”

"By the way, I think we should invite MacLehose and Sir Michael Sandberg. It would be a good opportunity for them to see my connections in the United States!"

Li Changhe then said with amusement.

He planned to use this wedding to give MacLehose and Sir Michael Sandberg a shocking lesson!
(End of this chapter)