Mixed in 1980

Chapter 293 Prelude to the Plunder

"Mr. Liu, let's talk later."

After greeting Liu Jianxiong, Chen Fan found a corner to sit in: "Mr. Shen, HK$27 billion is already a premium for the acquisition."

Shen Bi took out a cigar and lit it: "Mr. Chen, the port business is stable and is a very high-quality industry, so a reasonable premium is inevitable."

Chen Fan also took out a cigarette and lit it: "That's why I offered 27 billion. If I waited another year, I would only offer 22 billion Hong Kong dollars at most."

Shen Bi frowned slightly.

He was a financial tycoon who knew a lot of inside information: "Mr. Chen, the sooner you get involved, the sooner you can rest assured, right? In any case, the port business is a sure thing."

Chen Fan took a drag of his cigarette and slowly exhaled the smoke: "27 billion Hong Kong dollars is already a very high price. No one in the entire Hong Kong will offer a higher price."

Shen Bi did not deny it!
The top-tier tycoons are well aware that the British can't sustain themselves; they only want to leech off Hong Kong and will eventually have to sell.

The longer it drags on, the lower the price!
Another factor was Chen Fan. After Chen Fan announced the acquisition, not many people had the courage to step forward and intercept him.

That would mean facing Chen Fan's revenge.

Chen Fan's petty nature is well-known in Hong Kong. If you ruin his plans, he will definitely retaliate even if it means losing money.

After thinking for a moment, Shen Bi said, "Mr. Chen, the prices are about the same now. Why don't we compromise and secure our profits?"

Chen Fan frowned and pondered for a moment: "Mr. Shen, for your sake, I'll add 5000 million, making it a total of 27.5 billion Hong Kong dollars."

"If a deal can be made, sign the contract as soon as possible!"

“I’m going back to the mainland in a few days and won’t be coming back for a while. If the deal can’t be completed in the near future, we’ll have to wait until the second half of the year.”

"I will persuade them as soon as possible!" Shen Bi replied.

In this acquisition, Chen Fan offered a 3% commission. After the deal was completed, the seller would also have to pay a portion of the commission, and the total revenue would exceed HK$1 million.

Shen Bi is undoubtedly the one most eager to complete the acquisition.

Watching Shen Bi leave, Chen Fan continued smoking and gently tapped the armrest.

Spending an extra HK$50 million is nothing; as long as we can secure Piers 1-3 as soon as possible, the entire Kwai Chung Port will fall into our hands, and we will control 70% of Hong Kong's container business.

Having control of the port will give them sufficient say in maritime transport and will also help the development of Sanli Shipping Group in the future.

As for the extra money spent, it can all be recouped from the British.

Sanli Shipping!

Thinking of the name, Chen Fan frowned. It was obviously inappropriate for his company to use someone else's name; he needed to change it.

His brows quickly relaxed.

Chen Fan stubbed out his cigarette and walked towards Liu Jianxiong. Zeng Ali and Li Hongying were there, chatting with Liu Jianxiong about business matters.

The most beautiful Miss Hong Kong tried to interject several times, but couldn't keep up with the conversation. It's not surprising, after all, she's only nineteen and is considered a pretty face, while everyone present is a successful entrepreneur.

"Mr. Chen, are you done with your work?"

Upon seeing Chen Fan approach, Liu Jianxiong stood up to greet him. Chen Fan gestured for him to sit down and join the conversation.

Even in casual conversation, we sometimes talk about business.

The most discussed topics were Hong Kong's property and stock markets, which are the main focus of Hong Kong's development in recent years.

Liu Jianxiong is a financial expert.

Recently, I've also been keeping an eye on other companies, looking for those with unstable internal equity but high growth potential.

They have succeeded several times in a row and reaped considerable rewards.

It has to be admitted that this guy is amazing. He grew up in poverty and slept on the floor until he was ten years old, but now he has broken into the circle of the rich.

After discussing some of his proudest works, Liu Jianxiong skillfully changed the subject, asking Chen Fan about projects he was currently interested in.

It means, it's your turn to show off!

Chen Fan took out a cigarette and offered one to Liu Jianxiong, then lit one for himself. He frowned, tapped the table lightly, and fell into thought.

After thinking for a while, he said, "Hong Kong is too small. No matter how much I try, it will only be a small-scale operation. I'm planning to develop my career in the north soon."

"North? The Soviet Union?" Liu Jianxiong was taken aback.

Chen Fan nodded slightly: "Mr. Liu, how about we team up and pull off a big heist?"

Liu Jianxiong's eyes lit up: "Mr. Chen, what specific project is it?"

"Let's talk at my company tomorrow."

Chen Fan glanced around, and Liu Jianxiong immediately understood that too many people talking at once was not a good idea: "Then I'll visit you tomorrow."

Hua Sanshao happened to be walking over with his wine glass in hand: "Did I disturb you?"

Chen Fan invited him to sit down: "I'm currently discussing a project with Mr. Liu. If Mr. Zhao is interested, you can come to the company tomorrow to discuss it further."

"Then I'll go with Da Liu tomorrow."

Hua Sanshao didn't ask about the project, nor was there any need to. The most important thing was to get on Chen Fan's bandwagon.

It wasn't until the party ended and Chen Fan was seeing off that Hua Sanshao pulled Liu Jianxiong aside and asked, "Big Liu, what project did Mr. Chen mention?"

Liu Jianxiong shrugged: "I don't know the specifics, but I do know it's related to the Soviet Union. If the project succeeds, you'll owe me a favor."

Hua Sanshao rolled his eyes at his friend: "You never want to lose out at all. If it works out, just name your game, and I guarantee you won't suffer any losses." "Why would you want to involve them both?"

As a woman, Zeng Ali had a very bad impression of Liu Jianxiong and Hua Sanshao. Both of them were too promiscuous and treated women like toys.

Standing next to them, I felt offended.

"Don't let their unconventional appearance fool you; they are all very capable, especially in their interpersonal skills. They will definitely thrive in the Soviet Union."

"Just playing around, huh?" Zeng Ali said with a look of disgust.

Chen Fan nodded and said, "It's just for fun, but most people can't do it. These two are legendary figures in social circles, so they are the best candidates."

The Soviet Union has degenerated!
The soon-to-disintegrate Soviet Union is corrupt, and Liu Jianxiong and Hua Sanshao are both experts in this area. Once they get there, launching a beauty offensive will be absolutely successful.

"What exactly are you talking about?" Li Hongying listened for a long time but still couldn't make heads or tails of it.

Chen Fan coughed lightly: "We predict that the Soviet Union will definitely disintegrate within three years, and we plan to take over the Soviet Union. Sister Ying, do you want to join in?"

Li Hongying was stunned. The collapse of the Soviet Union?
Isn't this a joke?
As one of only two superpowers in the world, and only the United States can rival it, how could it possibly disintegrate?
But she believed everything Chen Fan said!
Since we met in 1980, Chen Fan has made predictions about many major events, and he has never made a mistake in such matters.

After thinking for a while, Li Hongying shook her head slightly: "I won't get involved. The Soviet Union isn't safe, and at my age, I can't handle the hassle."

Upon hearing this, Chen Fan rolled his eyes.

Li Hongying is only in her forties, which is the prime of her career in the business world, a golden age.

However, Li Hongying was right about one thing: the Soviet Union was indeed unsafe, which was why Chen Fan didn't invite her in the first place.

Even Chen Fan himself didn't plan to go.

An agent can go.

The next morning, Chen Fan went to Xinghuo Investment early to handle some business. He had a simple lunch at the company and continued working until 3 p.m.

Zhou Wenya knocked on the door and came in: "President Chen, Mr. Liu and Mr. Zhao have arrived."

"Invite them in."

Chen Fan stretched and stood up to greet the two at the office door, leading them to the rest area: "Wenya, brew a pot of Da Hong Pao tea."

As he spoke, he took out cigarettes and offered them to the two of them.

After Zhou Wenya had brewed the tea, Chen Fan got down to business: "Mr. Zhao, Mr. Liu, what are your views on the Soviet Union?"

Hua Sanshao took a sip of tea: "Mr. Chen, the Soviet Union is too closed off. It has been under sanctions by Europe and the United States for many years, making it difficult to obtain accurate information from there."

Liu Jianxiong echoed, "That's true. All we know is that the Soviet Union had a strong heavy industry, but a weak light industry, and its economy was very poor."

The West had a direct competitive relationship with the Soviet Union and infiltrated it long ago, so their research on the Soviet Union was very thorough.

But who cares about this in Hong Kong?
Hong Kong occupies an important position in world trade, but its trade with the Soviet Union is very limited.

Starting in the 1980s, the Soviet Union also tried to imitate the reform and opening up, attempting to attract foreign investment, but the Soviets had a poor reputation and lacked experience in the world market, so they failed to achieve their goal.

Hong Kong capital did not flow to the Soviet Union.

Chen Fan thought for a moment and then asked, "What do you think the Soviet Union was valuable? To be precise, what wealth did the Soviet Union possess?"

"That's a lot."

Hua Sanshao comes from the shipping magnate world, and his shipping business inevitably involves the Soviet Union: "Putting aside everything else, the Soviet Union is very rich in resources, including oil, coal, iron ore, and natural gas."

"Besides, there were land, forest farms, and so on. Unfortunately, the Soviets didn't know how to use them. They were typical examples of people who lived a hard life while lying on a gold mine."

"Mr. Chen, you've set your sights on these?"

At this point, Hua Sanshao frowned slightly. No matter how abundant the resources were, they belonged to the Soviets. Everything they did there was state-run, and they wouldn't allow outsiders to interfere.

Even if foreign capital could enter, the risks would be too great.

The Soviets had terrible credit; if you brought money in, it was like throwing good money after bad—you'd never get it back.

Europeans and Americans are terrified of being scammed!

During Stalin's era, the Soviet Union absorbed a large amount of Western talent, capital, and industrial technology, making it the leading industrial power in Europe.

At this stage, the Soviet Union nationalized all foreign-invested enterprises through forced sales, offering prices far below market value.

What's even more infuriating is that the Soviet Union paid in Soviet rubles, but these rubles were not allowed to be exchanged for foreign currency!

The Soviet ruble was worthless abroad; nobody recognized it!

The capitalists protested vehemently, and the Soviet Union compromised, allowing them to purchase some Tsarist-era artworks. Even so, this resulted in significant losses for the Western capitalists.

From then on, the West learned a painful lesson from being exploited by the Soviet Union, and believed that investing in the Soviet Union was nothing more than trapping a fat sheep and beating it up.

In the 80s, the Soviet economy fell into difficulties again. In order to stimulate the economy, the Soviet Union once again appealed to Western capital, hoping that they would come to invest and build factories.

The result was that Western capitalists unanimously rejected it.

They would rather pay high tariffs to export goods to the Soviet Union than invest in and set up factories in the Soviet Union!

In such an environment, who would dare to invest?

Chen Fan didn't dare: "Of course we're eyeing these resources, but we're not going to invest; we're going to plunder them and make a killing."

P.S.: First update! Please vote!
(End of this chapter)