Mixed in 1980

Chapter 358 The Confident Third Brother

The car stopped in front of the Peninsula Hotel. As soon as I got out, flashbulbs went off at the entrance. Reporters and paparazzi alike were paying close attention to the event.

Zeng Ali didn't even glance at her, and walked inside with Li Hongying in her arms.

Zhao Yuanyuan, who got out of the car behind, did the same, walking inside with her husband. She was fed up with the reporters and paparazzi, who had caused her family a lot of trouble.

Whenever they are photographed in public, the next day the news will bring up the fact that Chen Fan is the world's richest man and how much wealth they have.

They were clearly being used to lure the robbers!

It was all led by British-controlled media, with other media following suit. Thinking about this, Ms. Zhao couldn't help but mutter, "I'll deal with them sooner or later!"

Chen Fan gently patted his wife's hand: "Don't worry, they won't be able to cause trouble for long. After 1997, we'll take care of them one by one."

They were the last to arrive as they strolled into the banquet hall.

A large number of people came; HSBC still has a lot of prestige. Almost all the big and small real estate developers in Hong Kong were present, gathering in twos and threes, creating a very good atmosphere.

Making money makes me happy!
The gloom of the 1994 housing market crisis has finally passed, and rising housing prices are an inevitable trend. Everyone is ready to show their skills and push up housing prices again.

"Comrade Chen, it's been a long time!"

Old Huo greeted Chen Fan warmly, called him aside to sit down, and teased, "I came here today specifically to watch the show, and I'll give the British a good slap in the face later."

Chen Fan's face darkened: "Comrade Huo, you're not young anymore, why are you still acting like a child? You're making me sound like a villain."

"You old child, don't you understand?"

Old Huo took out a cigarette, lit it, and crossed his legs: "The British have been anxious lately, asking around for information. I can't be happier."

"If I hadn't come to watch the show today, I wouldn't have bothered attending this damn party. HSBC has no standing with me."

Chen Fan was speechless. Old Huo's desire for revenge was fierce!
It's not surprising. The British have offended him too much. Old Huo's hatred for the British far surpasses that for Chen Fan. He is the Hong Kong tycoon who hates the British the most.

Especially the one in 1964!
On October 1, Huo was invited back to the mainland to attend the 15th anniversary celebration and was received by high-level officials. Britain then began a full-scale attack on Huo.

At that time, not only was the land refused to be given to the Huo family, but the land that the Huo family had previously acquired was also taken back, and Starlight Real Estate, which he founded, was forcibly sold to the British company at a low price.

The British company that bought Starlight Properties only gave Old Huo a debt note.

To put it bluntly, it's outright robbery!

The difference is that after the robbers take everything, they leave you with nothing, while the British give you a receipt to look at from time to time, and then ask you, "Isn't that infuriating?"

If it were Chen Fan in this situation, he would probably spend money to find people in the desert and let them go to England to set off a few firecrackers for fun.

Old Huo puffed on his cigarette and leaned back: "Seventy-three, eighty-four, if the King of Hell doesn't call you, you'll go on your own. This old man is seventy-three this year, I don't have many years left to live."

"My children are doing well and I don't need to worry about them. Now I have only one wish: to stab the British as much as I can before I die, and to breathe a few more words before I die."

Upon hearing this, Chen Fan was slightly taken aback, and then said, "Look at what you're saying. With your physique, you could live for another 20 years without any problem."

"After the party ends, come to my house and invite all the shareholders of Hang Seng. We have a big plan that we're about to start preparing for."

"Let's finalize it today!"

Old Huo nodded slightly: "Alright, let's get down to business. I'll drink less tonight. Someone's coming over, probably for you."

Shen Bi brought two people with him.

One is Ho Li-tai, chairman of the board of Swire Properties, who also holds important positions at HSBC and Cathay Pacific.

The British just adopted a Chinese name.

The other is Xia Lai Li, the founder of Xia Lai Li Group, which mainly operates in real estate, hotels and other businesses. He is Indian and has lived in Hong Kong since childhood.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Shen Bi tentatively asked, "Mr. Chen, do you plan to sell all the secondhand houses you own?"

"You want to buy it?" Chen Fan asked curiously.

Xia Laili chimed in, "Mr. Chen, if you're willing to sell the whole thing as a package, our company can take it all."

"Are you sure?" Chen Fan raised the corners of his mouth slightly.

"Of course!"

"Are you sure you have enough funds? I don't accept credit; I only accept full payment in one lump sum."

"Mr. Chen, you can rest assured that our company is quite strong. As long as you are willing to sell the entire package, we can make a one-time payment."

"How much is the premium?" Chen Fan pressed.

Xia Laili was taken aback: "Mr. Chen, we are buying in bulk, how could there be a premium? It should be lower than the current market price."

Chen Fan didn't speak, but turned to look at Shen Bi, his expression clearly conveying the meaning: Where did you find this idiot?

In today's housing market, you can only dream of a property without a premium!
Shen Bi was also a little embarrassed. He didn't expect his third brother to say something like that. But his third brother was always like that, a little too confident.

"Mr. Chen, if you're not satisfied with the price, we can discuss it further. How about you make an offer?"

“I originally planned to sell these second-hand houses gradually, selling off a batch each time the price rose. Is it too much to raise the price by 20% on the current basis?” Upon hearing this, Xia Laili spoke up again: “Mr. Chen, isn’t this price too high? I can accept a premium, but at most a 10% premium.”

Chen Fan took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a deep drag: "Mr. Xia, are you planning to monopolize this?"

Xia Laili nodded: "Of course!"

Chen Fan raised an eyebrow slightly: "Are you sure you can eat this?"

Seeing Xia Laili nod in confirmation again, Chen Fan said "Wait a moment," and his gaze swept across the banquet hall, quickly locking onto Yu Jing in the crowd.

Have the waiter call Yu Jing over: "Ms. Yu, this Mr. Xia wants to buy all of our second-hand houses in one package. Could you explain the situation to him?"

Yu Jing naturally recognized Xia Laili.

After a slight surprise, Yu Jing raised the corners of her mouth: "Mr. Xia, our Xinghuo Investment has a total of more than 11800 second-hand houses."

Including 2000 sets of Guan Xiaoyu's!
"The first batch of 2000 units has been sold out, and 500 of the second batch of 2,000 units have been sold, leaving 9300 units remaining."

"Of these properties, about two-thirds are around 30 square meters, and the rest are around 60 to 90 square meters. We can discuss the specifics at the company tomorrow."

After hearing this, Xia Laili felt a chill run down his spine!

No one had told him before that Xinghuo Investment had 9300 houses in its portfolio. Even if each house was 30 square meters and sold at an average price of 6000 per square foot, he still couldn't afford them.

That's nearly HK$200 billion in assets!

The actual value is definitely far greater than that number. Yu Jing said that one-third of the houses are 60-90 square meters, not to mention that they will be acquired at a 10% premium.

Yu Jing smiled and continued, "Mr. Xia, is tomorrow convenient? How about I send a driver to pick you up tomorrow afternoon?"

Seeing that Mr. Xia was still stunned, Yu Jing teased, "Mr. Xia, is it that you don't have enough funds?"

“I…” Xia Laili opened his mouth.

Chen Fan frowned as well: "Mr. Xia, you kept emphasizing that you could afford it and that the price was already agreed upon. Are you just making fun of me?"

Xia Laili trembled slightly and became nervous.

Having grown up in Hong Kong, how could I not know how petty Chen Fan is? If I don't give an explanation today, I'll definitely offend Chen Fan to death.

Retaliation will surely follow!

"Damn Shen Bi, he sent me here, only saying it was a good thing, not that it was a ticking time bomb. Besides, we Indians always make grand promises first when we do business."

He cursed under his breath, but didn't know what to say. He could only look to Shen Bi and He Litai for help, hoping they would come to his rescue.

Since the person was brought by himself, Shen Bi couldn't just stand by and watch him die: "Mr. Chen, Mr. Xia probably didn't expect you to have so many second-hand houses. Actually, we can take a step back and buy a portion of them as a package."

Chen Fan sneered, ignoring him, and looked at Xia Laili: "Mr. Xia, you are quite something. In all your years in Hong Kong, you are the first person to come up to me and act all rich and powerful."

Xia Laili's body trembled again.

He Litai spoke up at the right moment: "Mr. Chen, Mr. Xia is very sincere, but he misjudged the situation. Please forgive his mistake, why don't you ask him to apologize?"

Chen Fan scoffed: "Do I need an apology? Mr. Xia, your hotel is a listed company, right? What if the power goes out from time to time, or someone shorts the stock?"

What will happen?
Xia Laili then realized that Hong Kong Electric had been delisted and was solely controlled by Chen Fan; Chen Fan was also a major shareholder of CLP Power.

Long-term power outages are definitely out of the question; the British wouldn't allow that. But if the equipment malfunctions and the power goes out intermittently, who can say anything about it?
Chen Fan is definitely capable of doing it.

Domineering, petty, and extremely vengeful—this is the consensus everyone in Hong Kong has about Chen Fan.

After a moment of panic, Xia Laili quickly lowered his stance: "Mr. Chen, I am genuinely interested in buying, but I don't have that much money available right now."

Seeing that Chen Fan was still sneering, Xia Laili said again, "Mr. Chen, I can buy 1000 houses at a 30% premium."

Upon hearing this, He Litai's eyes lit up!
If Chen Fan agrees, that would be wonderful. It seems like Xia Laili is at a disadvantage and Chen Fan is getting a great deal, but the ones who really make the big profit are these speculators.

With a 30% premium, the price directly exceeded HK$7500 – what a great speculative gimmick!

As long as Chen Fan dares to sell, Taikoo Properties will dare to price their houses at 7500 tomorrow, other real estate companies will follow suit, and the media will also follow up.

Chen Fan was the one who suppressed housing prices before, but now he's raising prices. How can everyone not follow suit?

So He Litai quickly advised, "Mr. Chen, what do you think? Mr. Xia has already shown great sincerity. Let's make money together peacefully."

Shen Bi also saw the benefits and said, "Mr. Chen, harmony is the most important thing. We are all businessmen, let's fight over money, not anger."

"Damn it, we've been outmaneuvered!"

Chen Fan was already cursing in his heart. Once he accepted this condition, his plan to suppress the real estate market and trap foreign investment would completely fail.

Those damn Indians, they're really hateful!
Fortunately, Chen Fan's persona in Hong Kong is very clear: fighting spirit is far more important than making money. He glanced at Yu Jing, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he slightly raised the corners of his mouth in a cold smile.

P.S.: Second update! Thanks for your support!

(End of this chapter)