Hong Kong Storm: The King of Jobs

Chapter 618, Section 208: Schemes Everywhere

"Xia Sheng, I prepared two extra bottles. One is for Mr. Ximen, and the other is for you, Xia Sheng!"

"It's a small gift but carries great sentiment! I hope Xia Sheng won't find it offensive!"

Xia Jiade has been working tirelessly for himself, making sure that all the benefits he deserves are given and that he expresses his gratitude.

After speaking, Chi Mengli waved her hand, instructing the sommelier to take the bottle of wine from the century to decanter.

The sommelier put the wine of the century into an ice bucket and pushed the cart away.

Today is the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, and the Hong Kong Jockey Club has reopened for business, holding its first race.

Chi Mengli arranged for the group to meet in a luxury private room at the Jockey Club. While VIP rooms at the Jockey Club are not expensive and can be booked as long as you have money, the luxury private room in the main building where Chi Mengli and her group were staying was not something that money could buy.

The thirty-eight private rooms in the main building of the Jockey Club belong to the Jockey Club's permanent members, all of whom are business tycoons. The remaining thirty-two private rooms belong to various foreign firms, Chinese-owned banks, and companies.

Both the Jardine Matheson family and Jardine Matheson & Co. have their own exclusive horse racing boxes, which are convenient for family members to watch horse races and entertain clients.

This private room is thanks to Xia Jiade.

Fu Wenpei had already arrived. She was sitting on a single sofa, her face ashen as she watched the TVB morning news.

Today's news channel is full of explosive news about Wen Tianxin's arrest.

Fu Wenpei felt terrible watching her nephew being taken away by the police!

“Ms. Fu, I heard that Tian Tian Fish Farm has issued an internal notice to remove you from your position as the head manager and have your nephew’s wife, Ms. Zhou, take over the position.”

"Speak of Cao Cao, Cao Cao is here!"

"Let's give a round of applause to welcome Ms. Zhou, who has successfully taken her place!"

Chi Mengli was making sarcastic remarks to Fu Wenpei when she saw Zhou Miaoyun enter the private room. She immediately turned her attention to Zhou Miaoyun, clapping perfunctorily and mocking the traitorous gang, saying that they had gained another member.

Standing by the window, watching the game through a small telescope, Xi Ren also patted her man a few times.

Xia Jiade, who was of sound mind, naturally understood Chi Mengli's sarcastic tone, and he had no desire to get involved in such a chaotic situation.

Zhou Miaoyun gave Chi Mengli the middle finger in a very domineering manner, and then sat down next to Fu Wenpei, indicating that she had a partner who would stand by her side.

“Chi Sheng, I have already acquired 13% of the shares of Tian Tian Fish Farm. Combined with Mommy’s shares, I now have 23%. But this is useless. Although I haven’t checked the accounts yet, I already knew about the shareholding structure before.”

“My father-in-law owns 26 percent of the shares, and the Wen Family Foundation owns 51 percent of the shares.”

"Don't underestimate me just because I'm a senior employee. The chairman can dismiss me with a single word. That's what shareholder rights are all about."

"I don't see any chance of you winning yet!"

Zhou Miaoyun spoke very rudely. She was very angry. Being dragged into the battle prematurely was not her wish; she was dragged into it by Chi Mengli.

“I’ve been studying company law recently and I’ve discovered something very interesting: when the chairman is unable to handle company affairs, his responsibility is delegated to the senior executive.”

"The Wen Family Foundation has always been controlled by the eldest branch of the Wen family. Of the four sons and one daughter, only the eldest son, Wen, has shares. The other four have none."

"In other words, the only people with shares in the Wen family's eldest branch are Ms. Fu Wenpei, Ms. Zhou Miaoyun, and Uncle Wen!"

"As far as I know, Ms. Fu Wenpei handles the conflicts and distribution of benefits within the Wen family. I think Ms. Fu should be able to help me quell the noise when Uncle Wen is unable to fulfill his duties."

Chi Mengli had been studying company law and had learned a lot. Just as there are no fixed formations in warfare and no fixed shapes in water, one's bedmate can become an enemy, but when it comes to fighting against external forces, they can become an ally.

Fu Wenpei looked up at Chi Mengli, somewhat stunned. She had indeed been handling the Wen family foundation.

Because Wen Hailiang was obsessed with sea fishing, he didn't focus on the company. He didn't interfere in the daily operations, but only oversaw the major aspects.

"Chi Sheng, you know the Wen family inside and out! It seems you've been studying them for a while now!"

Fu Wenpei couldn't handle Guan Lou, and Sun Wenju also privately stated that in order to overturn the case and turn defeat into victory, directly related evidence was needed.

All of this evidence is in Chi Mengli's hands. Whichever side Chi Mengli stands on will win.

The two brothers, Wen Tianxin and Wen Tianchuan, are now both in jail. If possible, Fu Wenpei would like to bail them out, since Wen Tianxin still has Fu family blood in his veins.

“I investigated everyone in the Wen family. After all, Uncle Wen secretly contacted my younger brother, wanting to swallow me whole! In a battle, it’s always best to know yourself and your enemy; that’s the foundation for winning every battle!”

Chi Mengli unscrewed a bottle of Perrier, looked at Zhou Miaoyun, and said, "The Fu family connection has been severed. Now, Uncle Wen can only rely on the Zhou family connection!"

“Miss Zhou, you don’t need to pledge your loyalty to me. I have prepared a plan. I hope you can take a look at it first, and then we can talk.”

Seeing that Zhou Miaoyun was about to speak, Chi Mengli put her finger to her lips to stop her. They were all smart people, so there was no need for polite words.

Not seeing the plan that Chi Mengli had mentioned, Zhou Miaoyun looked at Fu Wenpei, who understood and handed the merger plan to Zhou Miaoyun.

[Plan for the merger and listing of Tian Tian Fish Farm and Riri Fresh]

The words on the cover are very simple, but the shorter the words, the more information they contain.

Tian Tian Fish Farm Company has issued a statement confirming that Zhou Miaoyun is now the de facto head manager, and it is her responsibility to lead Tian Tian Fish Farm out of its predicament.

The Wen family is currently facing numerous problems and troubles, leaving them with no time to deal with the dispute with Rih Sun Insurance. In fact, if no one takes charge today, the initial insurance premium will not be transferred to Jardine Matheson.

The compensation is over 300 million. If the first installment is defaulted, Jardine Matheson will apply to freeze all of the Wen family's assets.

Even if Zhou Miaoyun wanted to collude with Chi Mengli, she would first have to overcome the difficulties in front of her.

With that thought in mind, she opened her handbag, took out a cigarette case, lit a women's menthol cigarette, and continued flipping through the documents in her hand.

The merger plan was simple: Jardine Matheson would use its debt as payment for the acquisition, and the Wen family would relinquish 51% of the shares, giving them absolute control of the new company.

In the future, the Wen Family Foundation will hold 5% of the shares in the newly listed company, Fu Wenpei will hold 2%, Zhou Miaoyun will hold 5%, and Wen Tianchuan will hold 1%.

The rest of the Wen family also received a share: Wen Tianhuo got 1%, Wen Tianxiang got 1%, and even Wen Wan, who got married, got 0.5%.

The remaining 33.5% is allocated to Daily Fresh. Daily Fish Farm holds the majority of the shares, so it has to cut its losses and give them to Daily Fresh.

Everyday Fish Farm wants to take its shares, with Jardine Matheson Insurance as guarantor, to Hong Kong Club, to raise funds in the primary market, to issue bonds, to raise HK$200 million to compensate Everyday Fresh's shareholders.

The share distribution of Ri Ri Fresh is also explained above. Liang Zai Sheng only has a mere 3.5%, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce takes 15%, Wang Haiquan takes 10%, and the remaining small shareholders distribute the remaining shares proportionally.

After the merger, the name "Tian Tian Fish Farm" will be completely discarded, and it will continue to operate under the "Tian Tian Riri Fresh" brand.

Tian Tian Fish Farm is involved in wildlife smuggling and drug trafficking. Its reputation is completely ruined, so getting rid of it is a good idea.

Zhou Miaoyun continued smoking, looking at the plan on the paper. To be honest, she was already very interested.

Jardine Matheson will transfer the listing title of its subsidiary, Hong Kong Manufacturing Company, to the merged Daily Fresh, but this is not unconditional. Jardine Matheson will also issue bonds separately and give Jardine Matheson 50 million.

For Hong Kong, spending 50 million to buy an empty shell company is an astronomical price!

The merger of the four clubs is just a plan. Take the largest clubs, Hong Kong Club and Kowloon Club, for example. A listed shell company only needs ten or twenty million dollars, and there are specialized financial companies to do this business.

Jardine Matheson Insurance is like a guillotine hanging over our heads; if anything doesn't go our way, this guillotine can fall down.

Zhou Miaoyun smoked the cigarette to the butt in a few puffs, then stubbed it out in the ashtray. He picked up the decanted liquor, drank it all in one gulp, and pondered the deal.

"The Zhou family, the Fu family, and the Wen family will all benefit. After the company merges, 20 million shares will be issued at the floor price, with the Zhou family receiving 4 million shares, the Fu family 4 million shares, and the Wen family 4 million shares."

“Mr. Xia, Jardine Matheson Insurance and you personally will each receive five million shares.”

"I'll take three million shares!"

"Three dollars per share, take the shares first, pay later. On the first day, we'll drive the price up to ten dollars. I'll buy as many as you put in! Everything will be paid ten dollars! I'll be the last one holding the shares!" "I'll write the checks in advance to ensure everyone has a great time!"

"Effortless profit of seven dollars per share, totaling twenty-eight million for each company! I think everyone will be satisfied!"

"In the first quarter after the listing, we released our first quarter financial report, announced the buyback of shares, and continued to speculate on stocks. This time, the mastermind was Stock King Chong. The glory of Jiawen Group was created by Stock King Chong."

Even the most expensive red wine is nothing but horse urine in Chi Mengli's eyes, not as good as Coca-Cola. He continued to drink his Perrier and observe the racehorses on the field.

In fact, he already had a target: a new red horse owned by the shipping magnate named "Great Slaughter." It seems that the shipping magnate and Li Ka-shing are about to go head-to-head with Jardine Matheson.

Jardine Matheson's performance was not good last year. Although Hong Kong Land was making great strides, the sluggishness of the real estate market was already foreseeable. Hong Kong Land's CEO, Ralph Ralph, has publicly announced that Hong Kong Land will not acquire any more land within eight months.

Jardine Matheson needs a new engine to demonstrate the strength of Asia’s largest retail group.

"Everyday Fresh" is like a high-powered engine, helping the Jardine Matheson ship keep moving forward.

Chi Mengli has considered everything from all angles!

Zhou Miaoyun looked at Fu Wenpei and asked in a low voice, "According to this agreement, the Wen family has no dominant power, neither do you or I, and Chi Mengli has no dominant power either. From now on, we'll have to follow Yihe! Do we want to go with them?"

Hearing Zhou Miaoyun's words, Fu Wenpei gave a wry smile and replied, "Do I even have a choice?"

To save her little boy, she had no choice, just as she said!
Fu Wenpei needs to save her son, and she also has to save her husband! Otherwise, her reputation will be completely ruined!
Thinking of this, Zhou Miaoyun took out her cigarette case, picked out another cigarette, put it in her mouth, and lit another one.

The future is bright, but without control, everything is just a mirage!

Hong Kong is not the motherland, nor is it America. It cannot afford professional managers and can only use its own people. Even foreign companies are no exception.

The Chinese bosses manage sales and Chinese businesses, while the Western bosses must be family members, and must be their closest blood relatives.

In the eyes of Chinese tycoons, their companies are their territory. They cannot allow others to sleep soundly beside their beds. They must place their own people inside before they can close their eyes and sleep peacefully.

Without control and influence, selling shares and leaving the market is only a matter of time.

Zhou Miaoyun had considered this point, which is why she dared not make a decision. Everyone in Hong Kong's business community knew that doing business with Jardine Matheson was like asking a tiger for its skin!

“Ms. Zhou, Xia Sheng and I have decided to nominate you as president and Ms. Fu Wenpei as CFO.”

"But don't get too excited! There are performance targets. If you don't meet them for four quarters, you two will be fired immediately!"

Chi Mengli knew what Zhou Miaoyun and Fu Wenpei were worried about, so he didn't hide it from them. He clapped his hands and told Xiren to bring out the betrothal letter he had prepared in advance.

Xiren took out the prepared betrothal letter and placed it in front of Zhou Miaoyun and Fu Wenpei.

Jardine Matheson relinquished control?
Zhou Miaoyun was very surprised. The Zhou family had suffered the most at the hands of Jardine Matheson in Hong Kong. Jardine Matheson, together with HSBC, forced the Zhou family to relinquish control of Chinese banks, Dairy Farm International, and Hang Seng Bank.

"Yes! Jardine Matheson Insurance Company and Jardine Matheson Group have passed the board of directors' approval of the merger and listing plan of the two companies, and have approved the appointment of Ms. Zhou Miaoyun and Ms. Fu Wenpei."

"Furthermore, they also agreed to provide guarantees for the future Tiantian Riri Fresh Company, and to issue bonds and stocks!"

Xia Jiade took a sip of the newly brewed wine, which tasted excellent. He used a silver fork to pick up a piece of cantaloupe, put it in his mouth, and savored it slowly.

Central Asia has plenty of sunshine, so the Hami melons are very sweet and delicious!
Fu Wenpei and Zhou Miaoyun were incredulous. It was possible for an old prostitute to reform herself, but they had never seen a Grandet spit out gold coins before!

“Chi Sheng, you’ve thought everything through! But you’ve overlooked one thing: my father-in-law is still alive. He has veto power, and the shares we hold together are no match for the Wen family!”

The future they envisioned was simply too wonderful! But they got stuck at the very first step. Without Wen Hailiang, it was all just a mirage, a dream!

Zhou Miaoyun gave a bitter laugh, closed her eyes. The future was bright, but she couldn't have it. This was more painful than losing her own father.

There are currently no female CEOs of listed companies in Hong Kong. If I were to become one, I would break the historical record in Hong Kong's business world.

"I'll persuade Uncle Wen; he'll definitely agree!"

Chi Mengli smiled, indicating that he would take care of everything.

“Ms. Zhou, you shouldn’t be at the Jockey Club right now. You need to go back to Tian Tian Fish Farm to take charge of the overall situation. If the insurance premium doesn’t go into Jardine Insurance’s account on time, Mr. Xia will ask the Chief Executive to sign a freezing order!”

Chi Mengli reminded Fu Wenpei and Zhou Miaoyun that they could get lost!
Zhou Miaoyun snorted coldly, picked up her bag, and turned to leave. She needed to go to the Zhou family first, and then to Guanlou to finish her act before she could go to Tiantian Fishing Ground to take charge.

But Fu Wenpei didn't leave. She looked at Chi Mengli, who was watching the horse race, and after a second of silence, she said, "I've done as you said. I want to know when Tian Chuanzai will be able to get out of the gatehouse!"

"Tonight won't do! Because there's a big show going on tonight!"

"At the latest, Tin Chuen-jai will be released without charge within 48 hours. I will also hold a press conference for him to let the whole of Hong Kong know that he has been wronged!"

Brothers turning against each other, fathers and sons killing each other—the more I think about this script, the more excited I get!

Chi Mengli put down her binoculars, coughed, and continued to instruct, "After Tian Chuanzi comes out, Mrs. Wen, you should immediately return to the Wen family and begin to take charge of the overall situation!"

"Alright! Mrs. Wen, what you need to do now is go home and get some rest, then happily go pick up Tian Chuanzi!"

Take charge of the overall situation!

Chi Mengli is still making moves!
Fu Wenpei's heart skipped a beat. She was now afraid of this gangster. His cunning and scheming were beyond what ordinary people could have imagined!

She thought about it carefully last night and realized that they were all just some trivial mistakes, but once this gangster found out, they immediately became deadly moves.

With things having come to this point, she had no choice but to leave with her head down.

Seeing that all the bystanders had left, Chi Mengli opened the box of banknotes he had brought, which was full of counterfeit British pounds of twenty-one notes.

"This is counterfeit British pounds, made with the finest craftsmanship. For most people, dealing with this amount would be a huge problem, but for you, Xia Sheng, it's a piece of cake!"

"A small gift is not a sign of respect!"

"A total of five hundred stacks, one million pounds!"

This was a big gift from Chi Mengli to Xia Jiade, and also a test to see if Xia Jiade was determined to follow Yihe wholeheartedly, or if she was always preparing her own escape route.

If it's the former, then there's nothing to say; they can only do legitimate business. If it's the latter, the countless tainted rice in the cash vault can all enter Jardine Matheson's vault and become clean, new rice.

Xia Jiade naturally understood Chi Mengli's meaning, knowing that Chi Mengli had earned the nickname "Golden Boy" at such a young age.

In Hong Kong, no one dares to cause trouble for Jardine Matheson! Not even the Governor!
"Mr. Chi, Jardine Insurance recently launched a three-month short-term risk-free policy, starting at two million, with an interest rate of 11%, a commission of 2%, and a management fee of 2%."

"After adding and subtracting, the interest rate is down to seven percent, which is a little less profitable than depositing money in a jewelry store, but it's still a decent investment!"

"Would you like to think about it?"

Xia Jiade touched the counterfeit British pounds, then closed the box, giving Chi Mengli a chance to wash the rice.

"Tonight, the escort vehicle will drive to Jinshan Building to deposit 30 million!"

"Doing business is all about long-term commitment. As long as Xia Sheng is here and Mr. Simon is here, we will continue to cooperate!"

"cheers!"

Chi Mengli took the initiative to bump her Perrier bottle against Xia Jiade's wine glass to celebrate the pleasant collaboration!
"I'm very happy to have found a business partner like you, Mr. Chi!"

Xia Jiade also flattered him and drank the King of Wine in his glass in one gulp!

Wen Hailiang looked at the morning news report, his face ashen. One thing led to another; this was a series of interconnected schemes!
If he still can't see it now, all those years he's spent in the underworld have been for nothing!

Whoever benefits is the mastermind behind it all!
Wen Hailiang's intuition told him that Liangzai Sheng was the mastermind behind it all!
This was a trap from the very beginning. Handsome Sheng offered up the company he wanted most, luring him into the trap!

He'd been a hawk enthusiast for years, only to have his eye pecked by a sparrow! He'd really stumbled like an old horse!

(End of this chapter)