Mixed in 1980

Chapter 312 Showing Goodwill
After tidying up her daughter's dress and adding luxurious jewelry, Li Hongying couldn't help but shake her head: "She's quite pretty, so why can't she get married?"

"Mom, can you stop bringing this up all the time? It's like you're saying no one wants your daughter."

Gu Xiaoxiao stood in front of the mirror and turned around: "Should we take these pieces of jewelry off? It feels too flashy, like I'm a mannequin for the jewelry."

Li Hongying said sarcastically, "You know yourself that the elite circles are the most hypocritical. What you wear is your face. You don't want to embarrass yourself, do you?"

Gu Xiaoxiao protested: "Sister Yuanyuan won't take her."

"Can you compare to Yuanyuan?"

Li Hongying pinched her daughter's cheek affectionately and teased, "With your Uncle Chen standing behind Yuanyuan, even if she goes over in a T-shirt, no one will dare to laugh at her; they'll only praise her for being simple."

"Let's go!"

After leaving the house, she got into the car and arrived at the Repulse Bay Hotel in just a few minutes. The waiter immediately came to open the door, and Gu Xiaoxiao promptly paid the tip.

When paying, I couldn't help but think of the 1980s.

When Uncle Chen first brought Sister Qiu'er to Hong Kong, he arranged for her to eat here. At that time, Sister Qiu'er couldn't accept the tipping culture here.

In just a few years, Uncle Chen has already reached the pinnacle of Hong Kong, and even his own family has benefited from his success. It has to be said that fate is truly amazing.

"Wait a moment, Uncle Chen, or should we go in first?"

"Let's go inside!"

Li Hongying took her daughter inside, and a short while later, another car drove up, and two couples got out of the car, one of whom was Zheng Shusen and Zhou Xiaoying.

Upon entering the banquet hall, Zhou Xiaoying was secretly astonished. It was incredibly luxurious, and the women's attire was equally glamorous.

In comparison, I am still too plain.

Before we came, my husband told me that everyone here is a multi-millionaire or even a billionaire, so I should keep a low profile and not offend anyone.

I was able to come here thanks to my husband's cousin. I came today to see if I could make some connections and expand my import and export business.

Guided by her cousin, Zhou Xiaoying began to strike up conversations with people, politely greeting them and chatting with their female companions.

However, the other party was not enthusiastic.

Zhou Xiaoying could vaguely sense that the other party looked down on her, as if they had an innate sense of superiority and looked down on people from the mainland.

She was secretly angry, but for the sake of her husband's business, she had no choice but to endure it.

While dealing with his female companion, his gaze wandered around the hall. When he saw the doorway, his pupils contracted slightly, and he actually saw Chen Fan and Zhao Yuanyuan.

Zhao Yuanyuan wore a fitted dress, showing off her perfect figure, but her attire was very simple, consisting of only a watch and a ring.

Even more unassuming than myself!

However, things didn't go as planned. No one looked down on Zhao Yuanyuan. People in the venue would stop and greet them when they saw them.

"Mr. Chen, Miss Zhao..."

Zhou Xiaoying found it hard to understand and asked her female companion, "Why are the people in the venue so respectful to them?"

"You do not know?"

Her female companion paused for a moment, a hint of disdain flashing in her eyes, and then said, "That Mr. Chen Fan is the richest man in Hong Kong, practically half the king of Hong Kong."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xiaoying looked at her husband, and the two exchanged glances for a while before asking, "We're not familiar with Hong Kong, could you tell us about it?"

Zheng Shusen's cousin picked up the conversation and gave a general account of Chen Fan's rise to wealth: "This information is all in the newspapers; you can take a look later."

"And his female companion, Zhao Yuanyuan, is also quite remarkable. She is the founder of Luoshen skincare products and has a net worth of billions of US dollars."

"Really?" Zhou Xiaoying was stunned.

After a while, she looked at her husband and said, "Since we've run into each other, should we go up and say hello?"

Zheng Shusen's cousin was startled: "Sister-in-law, don't do anything rash. Mr. Chen is a very difficult person to mess with. No one in Hong Kong dares to mess with him."

Zheng Shusen explained, "Cousin, it's okay. Chen Fan and Xiaoying lived in the same courtyard when they were little. They grew up together. We even went shopping together the day before yesterday."

Zhou Xiaoying nodded and said, "We used to live in the same courtyard, but his family moved away. I never expected that he would have such a big business in Hong Kong all these years."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Shusen's cousin was stunned.

There's this connection too? In Hong Kong, there are countless people who want to get involved with Chen Fan, enough to fill the entire Repulse Bay Avenue.

Since we have this connection, we should use it: "Cousin and sister-in-law, hurry over there and get on Mr. Chen's good side. No one will dare to make things difficult for you in Hong Kong in the future."

"Excuse me, everyone!"

Zheng Shusen didn't hesitate and went over with his wife. They happened to see Chen Fan chatting with a mother and daughter, who were probably acquaintances. Going over now shouldn't cause any trouble.

"Chen Fan, Yuanyuan, what a coincidence!"

Chen Fan and Miss Zhao turned around and were surprised to see the two of them. They hadn't expected to run into them here, so they invited them to sit down and chat.

……

On the other side of the banquet hall, a group of British people sat together. One of them glanced over and said, "Chen Fan is here. He hasn't attended a cocktail party in several years, has he?"

HSBC's Shen Bi chimed in, "For over three years, Spark Investment has focused on the former Soviet Union, snatching a huge piece of the pie from Wall Street." "He was involved too?" Ambassador Richard asked in surprise.

His family, also part of Wall Street, played a significant role in the collapse of the Soviet Union and reaped considerable profits.

Shen Bi lit a cigarette and sighed slightly: "The operation was very covert. Zhao Shizeng and Liu Jianxiong were at the forefront, while he hid behind the scenes. It wasn't until recently, when there was a large flow of funds, that some clues were revealed."

Taking a drag of his cigarette, Shen Bi continued, "Your previous actions were very irrational. Using the media to incite the robbers might disgust him at most, but it won't shake anything."

Richard swirled his glass and took a small sip: "Just going with the flow. If we can get him into trouble, we can all share the cake."

Even if he is safe and sound, there is no loss.

Whether there are any opportunities or not, taking the first shot is indeed very much in line with the British character. Shen Bi declined to comment on this, saying, "If you can't condemn someone outright, it's better not to take any action at all."

Richard put down his wine glass, took out his cigar and trimmed it: "Even if I beat him to death, I'll make him understand that in Hong Kong, we British still call the shots."

“Before 1997, we planned to force him to submit and become our middleman.”

"It's a good thing for him too!"

“We have a lot of assets overseas that need someone to take over and hype up so we can cash out. Chen Fan is undoubtedly the best candidate.”

"With a huge amount of capital at their disposal, they can quickly drive up asset prices once they enter the industries we designate."

"His role is far greater than that of others."

Shen Bi thought the methods were too despicable and might not be effective, but he agreed with the goal.

Over the years, I have investigated Chen Fan extensively and collected a lot of information. I have been able to confirm that Chen Fan cashed out 400 billion US dollars from Japan.

That's equivalent to the net worth of two of the world's richest people.

Now that the Soviet Union has been dealt another blow, his assets will surely skyrocket once again, and the funds he controls will reach an astonishing figure.

Besides that, there are Hong Kong's industries.

Especially in the real estate sector, prices have risen from HK$3-400 per square foot to HK$3-4000 per square foot. This single asset alone could make him the richest man in Hong Kong.

If Chen Fan becomes a middleman or even an agent for Yinglun Capital, it will be of great benefit to Yinglun Capital's subsequent development projects.

Chen Fan will also be able to get a piece of the pie.

It's a win-win situation.

But Chen Fan has always been ungrateful, repeatedly standing against Britain. Would he bow down now? Richard and his men must have other methods up their sleeves.

Hong Kong is still under British control, so there is room for maneuver in many things, such as the recent two years of quietly promoting the expansion of community organizations.

These are all thorns left for the mainland!

If necessary, they could also stab Chen Fan. As long as Chen Fan would back down, everything would be fine, and HSBC could even provide more support.

Just like supporting Li Ka-shing.

Whenever a financial crisis or major economic fluctuation occurs, Li Ka-shing is always able to acquire large amounts of assets from HSBC or provide substantial loans.

As they were chatting, Chen Fan stood up and walked towards them: "Mr. Shen, Mr. Richard, it's been a long time."

"Mr. Chen, it's been a long time!"

Shen Bi smiled, invited Chen Fan to sit down, and introduced him to the British people present. After some pleasantries, he said, "Mr. Chen's work in the former Soviet Union is truly admirable."

Chen Fan was slightly taken aback: "Mr. Shen's information channels are truly admirable. Your HSBC over there must have reaped considerable rewards as well."

"The big fish are all taken by Wall Street giants, and we just get a little soup."

Shen Bi shook his head slightly, picked up his wine glass and clinked it with Chen Fan's: "I wonder what Mr. Chen's plans are next. We are definitely open to cooperation."

Chen Fan took a sip of his drink and slightly raised the corners of his mouth: "I've always been very interested in ports. I even wanted to acquire Felixstowe Port, but unfortunately you won't sell it to me."

Felixstowe was the largest port in Britain, and it was sold to Li Ka-shing in 1991.

Shen Bi shook his head slightly: "You know the reasons. If Mr. Chen is interested in other ports, HSBC might be able to help you make a deal."

"I'm interested in any major port."

Chen Fan gently tapped the armrest: "However, the port trading market depends on timing, and there may not be opportunities. I am more interested in the British stock market right now."

"What are your plans?" Shen Bi narrowed his eyes slightly.

What interests Chen Fan might not be a good thing; it could very well be that he's eyeing the British stock market, planning to take advantage of the situation to make a quick buck.

Isn't this how Japan was exploited?
When the bubble burst, many people didn't have time to get out and could only jump off high-rise buildings. Chen Fan had already cashed out and left, taking away more than 400 billion US dollars.

"I believe the UK stock market still has a lot of room to rise, and I plan to invest there."

Upon hearing this, Shen Bi looked at Richard.

A hint of surprise flickered in his eyes. Was Chen Fan trying to curry favor with Britain? He had invited him to invest in Britain several times before, but Chen Fan had always turned a deaf ear.

Is this a gesture of goodwill, or is there a conspiracy?
(End of this chapter)