1982 Started from Hong Kong

Chapter 524 Rescue of Wang Dehui

In April, the same month Zhai Yuan issued new shares, another major event occurred in Hong Kong.

Wang Dehui, founder of Chinachem Group, has been kidnapped again.

This is the second time Wang Dehui has been abducted since 1983.

The only difference is that last time I drove to work alone, and this time I drove home alone after playing golf.

They're the kind of people who only remember the good times and never the bad ones.

"Can't any of the police in Hong Kong find the whereabouts of this real estate tycoon?"

After the successful issuance of new shares, Zhai Yuan leisurely lay on a solid wood rocking chair in the garden of his villa in Deep Water Bay, ignoring the praise he received in the newspapers and focusing his attention on the kidnapping case of Wang Dehui.

"It's only because I've been in a good mood lately, otherwise Li Junxia would still have to give a self-criticism in the Legislative Council."

Zhai Yuan touched the ground with his toes, and the rocking chair swayed gently.
Blue sky, white clouds, sandy beach, and if a song like "What's My Father's Name?" were played, it would perfectly capture his current mood as leisurely.

The company suddenly had over a billion Hong Kong dollars in cash on its books.

Tao Zongyi was sent to the Netherlands to investigate business, while Matsumoto Yu, Fujii Yuzuru, and Kobayashi Tetsuo, the Japanese from Shenshan Semiconductor, led a team to Nanjing, waiting for Sun Zhongmou to make his move.

In addition, I've collected two of the Xia Yu Fang Hong!
After a period of success, I suddenly felt a sense of emptiness, both physically and mentally.

“TSMC spent a full year inspecting Nanjing, and even spent several million US dollars on infrastructure projects, but now they finally couldn’t resist contacting Shenshan.”

Zhai Yuan squinted and pondered: "They must have received advance notice that the winds are about to change in Taiwan... This time, we'll send Lao Tao out and have the Japanese hand over the 'Shenshan core technology' that we prepared in advance to TSMC. However, it doesn't have to be done all at once. It would be good if we could persuade them to build more factories in Nanjing."

When it comes to technology, falling behind by even one step means falling behind by ten or a hundred steps.

After acquiring Toshiba Semiconductor's talent pool, Shenshan Semiconductor has preemptively seized the order market. It only needs to continue its development and accumulate experience as usual, and TSMC will have absolutely no chance to catch up, not even a little bit.

Due to the special nature of chips, unlike other commodities, a sample is sufficient to find a contract manufacturer to produce them.

Photolithography, doping, etching, and testing—each process represents a barrier to entry in the industry, requiring significant financial investment and trial and error.

Shenshan Semiconductor is at least three years ahead of TSMC in this regard.

In the financial industry, this might just be a quarterly accounting difference.

In the context of wafer fabrication, this is equivalent to the gap between the Stone Age and the Firearms Age.

Therefore, TSMC set its sights on Shenshan Semiconductor, claiming to share the same origins and issuing a blank check for 50 billion US dollars in an attempt to acquire Shenshan's core technology.

"The chip manufacturing technology can be handed over to TSMC without reservation, extending the battle line and allowing them to continue investing money in building factories in Nanjing."

Zhai Yuan reviewed the matter of sending Dongyangzi to Nanjing, and planned in a sinister way: "But when it comes to packaging, that's when the real trouble begins. It would be best if Sun Zhongmou went back and received a lot of orders. I guarantee that TSMC will lose everything, and let those manufacturers know who is the world's number one foundry."

Under the tutelage of Shenshan Semiconductor, Zhai Yuan now has a basic understanding of the chip business.

Chips cannot be sold immediately after they are manufactured. The most critical process, packaging and testing, involves too many areas where manipulation is possible.

Simply put, a bare chip has thousands of pins, each of which must align with tiny solder balls on the substrate. If an error of a fraction of a percent is introduced during the packaging process, the finished product will be virtually flawless, and the yield rate will increase dramatically.

It can withstand installation, load testing, and even normal use for a period of time.

However, it may take three months or even half a year. Prolonged high temperature and high pressure can cause thermal expansion and contraction, resulting in poor soldering and unstable current, which can lead to the breakage of the bridging circuit in this batch of goods.

This kind of disruption is a permanent and irreversible fatal problem, and it depends on the asset-heavy industry structure of the chip sector.

If there's a problem with this batch of goods, absolutely no one will dare to accept the next batch.

The thought of Sun Zhongmou excitedly rushing back to Taiwan after obtaining the 'core technology' from Nanjing...

Six months later, the warehouse was filled with scrap, and the area outside was piled high with parking tickets.

Zhai Yuan rocked his chair even more vigorously.

The only problem now is money. Shenshan Semiconductor will move from Japan to the mainland, to Nanjing, where TSMC is currently laying the foundation. This will inevitably require a large amount of cash. After all, Shenshan is not a small workshop. Relocation will involve equipment depreciation, transportation, installation, and readjustment. Every step will require US dollars.

"First, we should extend the battle lines and let Sun Zhongmou and his men continue to contribute in Nanjing. Then we can go to the Soviet Union to try our luck, make some more money, and turn a bicycle into a motorcycle."

After reviewing all the details, Zhai Yuan's gaze fell once again on the eye-catching headline in the newspaper—

Real estate tycoon Wang Dehui kidnapped again; kidnappers openly advertise a $10 billion ransom in newspapers.

The kidnappers who abducted Wang Dehui this time were not afraid of the police recording or wiretapping them.
They even openly placed advertisements in the Oriental Daily News and Sing Tao Daily, specifically asking Wang Dehui's wife, Nina Wang, to contact them.

They wore their arrogance on their faces.

"Hong Kong will not tolerate anyone more arrogant than me!"

Zhai Yuan got up and stretched, looked at the photos of Wang Dehui and his wife in the newspaper, and grinned: "Then before we head to the Soviet Union, let's use these kidnappers as a sacrificial offering to make Ya'an Security Company famous!"

…………

Chinachem Group, as one of the largest private real estate developers in Hong Kong today,

Wang Dehui and Gong Xinru were among the top ten richest people in the 1980s, with a net worth of over HK$10 billion, ranking higher than Zhai Yuan.

They are really rich.

The kidnappers publicly contacted Gong Xinru in the newspaper, demanding a ransom of 10 billion US dollars. Gong Xinru then raised 6000 million US dollars and transferred it directly to the designated account, all within two days.

Most businessmen in the real estate business will do some unethical things.

Wang Dehui was the same.

Hong Kong has no large rivers and is not a source of river sand. As river sand is an important material for building houses, real estate developers usually only have two options: one is to purchase river sand in bulk from Guangzhou through mainland industrial and trade units, and the other is to import it from countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines.

The price of sand from the Guangzhou River is about HK$20 per ton, while imported sand from other countries is about 30% more expensive.

Under these circumstances, Wang Dehui forcibly opened up a third path, which was to use sea sand instead of river sand, claiming it was washed sand, but in reality, the sand was transported from the sea to the construction site and put directly into the mixer for use.

There were certainly others before, but Chinachem Group was a truly vertically integrated real estate developer that used sea sand to construct buildings, operating from top to bottom. They were so frugal with even a single grain of river sand that many others followed suit, leading to a proliferation of "saltwater buildings" in Hong Kong.

Wang Dehui thus earned the nickname "King of Saltwater Tower".

So when he was kidnapped, the Hong Kong citizens did not applaud, but they also did not sympathize with him.

"The citizens may not sympathize with me, but I should," Zhai Yuan thought to himself.

Whether Ya'an can establish itself as a legitimate security company with weapons and equipment depends on the blitzkrieg that follows in rescuing Wang Dehui.

"The police intercepted a sum of stolen money from an underground bank in Taiwan. According to a tip from my friend in Taiwan, the kidnappers are likely intelligence agents from the Taiwan Investigation Bureau stationed in Hong Kong. Taiwan hasn't received any news from them for a long time."

On the deck of the Natural Selection,
Facing the sea breeze, Zhai Yuan said to Wei Xing beside him, "Brave Brother has been busy with his lousy martial arts school lately, so I'd like him to lead a team to investigate this matter."

Satellite, unaware that his boss had transformed into a detective, scratched his head and said, "Taiwanese intelligence personnel? That's too broad a scope; I don't know where to begin."

"Don't worry." Zhai Yuan said confidently with a smile, "Besides Taiwan, I also have connections in the police force. The Criminal Investigation Department initially suspects that the kidnappers are hiding in the high seas. The high seas are our territory. Let Brother Yonggan take the speedboat team to patrol from Wai Lingding Island. It would be best if we found them, but it doesn't matter if we don't."

Satellite nodded slightly and said with a smile, "You have spies in both Taiwan and Hong Kong. Boss, you have a lot of connections."

Zhai Yuan smugly replied, "Of course."
In his heart, he thought that it wasn't because he had such deep connections, but because the kidnapping case of the King of Saltwater Tower was too sensational. Later, when the case was declassified, details such as the kidnappers' identities, number of people, and hiding places were revealed more clearly.

A Taiwanese spy surnamed Chen, a retired police chief surnamed Zhong, and a few gangsters from the mainland.

According to the later testimonies of these people, the kidnapping case was caused by Chief Inspector Zhong reviewing past case files after his retirement. He discovered that when Wang Dehui was kidnapped in 1983, the kidnappers were very clever, but they failed at several key points. He thought that if he were to take the lead and use the same method to carry out the kidnapping, wouldn't it be a piece of cake?

This guy is a man of action; he does what he says he will do, which led to this year's kidnapping drama.

In 93, Chen Shilong even made a movie called "Crime Squad" based on him, in which Kent Cheng played the role of the pragmatic Inspector Chung.

The time is right and the place is right,

If we don't take advantage of this kidnapping case to heavily promote Ya'an Security Company,
If you want such a good opportunity again, you can only wait until the next time Young Master Li is kidnapped and used as a hostage.

Satellite lit a cigarette, savored the taste, and chuckled, "Brave Brother's martial arts gym business has been getting worse lately, and he doesn't want to turn it into a fitness center. We really need to find him a proper job... I'm just afraid that he's too stubborn and will bring out his twisted logic again."

Zhai Yuan rolled his eyes and thought to himself, "No wonder Shangguan Yonggan's martial arts school is not doing well. He is neglecting his gym and focusing on fist fighting. Nowadays, people in Hong Kong's underworld are starting to do legitimate business. Do you still think it's like the 1950s and 60s when you could make a name for yourself with your fists?"

“Tell him that this time he’s not being made a government lackey to guard the house.”

Zhai Yuan thought of Shangguan Yonggan's honest face, shook his head with a smile, and said, "He commands hundreds of soldiers from Ya'an Security Company. He's the instructor of the 800,000 Imperial Guards!"

After saying that, they both laughed.

Just as the atmosphere was becoming more congenial, footsteps echoed across the deck once more.

Chen Jiale stepped out of the cabin and greeted Zhai Yuan and Weixing with a smile: "Brother Yuan, you seem to be in a good mood lately."

"Not bad~ I was just about to ask Instructor Lin to come out of retirement."

Seeing Chen Jiale's puzzled expression, Zhai Yuan laughed and, without offering any further explanation, put his arm around Chen's shoulder and asked, "How are things going with the arrangements on the Soviet side?"

Brother Ka Lok just returned to Hong Kong last month, making his second trip back from the Soviet Union. This time, he traveled by private jet, and his overall appearance was much better than the first time when he was forced to return at gunpoint by the Soviets.

"Everything is almost ready."

Chen Jiale said, "This time when I went to the Soviet Union, as you instructed, Brother Yuan, I reconnected with those officers on the gambling ship. Brother Yuan is generous, and they are forgiving of what Brother Ming did before. They have already helped me contact a high-ranking official in Moscow, so Brother Ming can be released at any time."

"Let's keep him locked up in the Ural Mountains."

Zhai Yuan thought of Ye Zhiming's previous arrogance and said with a smile, "A fall into a pit, a gain in your wit. When I get to the Soviet Union, I'll personally visit him in the barracks and see if he still thinks everyone else is a nobody."

Chen Jiale didn't dare to get involved in the matter between the two big shots, and gave an awkward smile.

After a pause, he asked again, "So, Brother Yuan, when do you plan to go to the Soviet Union this time? I'll contact Moscow in advance."

"Soon," Zhai Yuan said, tapping on the railing. "After I finish dealing with the last few loose ends in Ya'an, I'll personally go and teach my brother-in-law how to spend money wisely under the socialist system!"

Upon hearing the word "money," Chen Jiale recalled his past experiences and couldn't help but remind him, "I suggest you don't bring too much money, lest those Soviet devils go back on their word again. Those bastards aren't any good people!"

Zhai Yuan leaned against the railing and hummed in agreement, then lowered his head and lit a cigarette: "Not much, 50 billion."

…………

At the end of April, the Imperial Guard instructor, Shangguan Yonggan, left the martial arts school and led five speedboats and thirty Vietnamese men out to sea, patrolling the high seas day and night.

Among the 'special intelligence' that Zhai Yuan claimed to have from two channels—Taiwan and Hong Kong—...

In early May, Zhai Yuan provided Shangguan Yonggan with a clue, allowing him to narrow down his target to an abandoned shipyard on an outlying island.

On the same day, Shangguan Yonggan led his team to the dock. Before they even got close, they collided head-on with a fishing boat that was going ashore to buy supplies. The two sides exchanged fire and fought each other on the sea.

Then, in the dock, they encountered retired police chief Chung Wei-cheng, Taiwanese agent Chen Chi-yuan, and four gangsters in a battle.

To use a Hong Kong media headline, it was described as 'more than 100 shots were fired between the two sides.'
In reality, Shangguan Yonggan took down six opponents single-handedly with just a gun, rendering the Vietnamese men who followed on the speedboat completely useless.

Wang Dehui, who had been tortured for half a month, was successfully rescued.

(Note: This differs slightly from historical fact. In reality, Zhong Weizheng captured Wang Dehui and threw him into international waters to drown on the very first day.)

In a short time, Ya'an Security Company became famous in Hong Kong.

Leaving aside how grateful Wang Dehui and Gong Xinru are, they naturally want to meet Zhai Yuan, their savior, first.

"I'm sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Wang."

In the office of 91 Entertainment,
Looking at the two billionaire in-laws opposite him, Shi Nansheng put on an apologetic smile: "Mr. Zhai just left Hong Kong yesterday and will probably not be back for a few days."

"I can never repay your life-saving grace! Miss Shi, may I ask where Mr. Zhai has gone?"

"The Soviet Union..."

(End of this chapter)