Hong Kong variety show: The mastermind behind the scenes is emerging.

Chun Yeung Street, outside Kowloon Walled City.

This is a typical old district of Hong Kong Island. The trams shuttle through the crowded wet market, their bells ringing crisply. The vendors' calls rise and fall on both sides, creating a lively and bustling atmosphere.

Inside a private room on the second floor of an old-fashioned teahouse called "Wu Family Teahouse".

The decor here isn't luxurious; in fact, it's a bit dated. The wall fans creak and turn, dispersing the steam rising from the steamer. But its advantage lies in its seclusion. Surrounded by noisy neighborhoods, no one would suspect that a few people who just made a multi-million dollar deal in Central would be hiding in this corner "dividing the spoils."

"Lu Sheng! Time for tea!"

Zeng Jianqiao, beaming with pride and wearing an exaggerated baseball cap, personally poured Lu Chen a full cup of Pu'er tea. He was a far cry from the gloomy face he had shown earlier in the office; he was radiant and seemed ten years younger.

"I'll toast you with tea instead of wine! If it weren't for you, I'd already been kicked out by that old fox, Second Uncle, and might even be lining up to jump off some rooftop!"

"Manager Zeng, you're too kind. I'm just doing this for money, and it's the result of our joint efforts," Lu Chen said with a slight clink of glasses and a smile.

"Hey, you really deserve the most credit for this. From now on, don't call me Manager Zeng anymore. I'll take the liberty of calling you Brother Lu, and you can just call me Brother Zeng!"

Zeng Jianqiao downed his cup of hot tea in one gulp, put down the cup, took out a brown paper envelope from his pocket, and solemnly pushed it in front of Lu Chen.

"This is what we agreed on. Open it and see if you're satisfied." Zeng Jianqiao grinned from ear to ear. "That old bastard Wu Rensong really gave us a ten million cash check! It was just cashed this morning, and the sound of the money going into the account was more beautiful than Beethoven's symphony!"

Lu Chen pulled out two checks from inside.

One note has a face value of 1.35 million.

The other one is 150,000.

"The agreed-upon commission was one million, but this was handled so brilliantly!" Zeng Jianqiao said sincerely. "The extra 350,000 is a small token of my appreciation. Brother Lu, please don't refuse. Without you, I would not only be burdened with over two million in debt, but I would also be kicked out of the family. This money is your well-deserved life-saving money!"

Lu Chen looked at the check for 1.35 million. In 1981, when the average person's salary was only 2,000 yuan, this amount of money was enough to buy a decent villa in the Mid-Levels or several good shops in Tsim Sha Tsui.

Lu Chen didn't act coy and naturally put the large check into his pocket. Then he picked up the remaining check for 150,000 and handed it to Cheng Yiyan beside him.

"Engineer Cheng, this is the agreed-upon fee for your hard work."

Lu Chen looked at Cheng Yiyan and smiled, "You've put in a lot of effort these past few days with the drawing and acting. 150,000 is enough for you to settle down in Hong Kong and start a small business."

Upon hearing his name mentioned, Cheng Yiyan quickly put down his chopsticks and wiped his mouth. He looked at the 150,000 yuan check on the table, and his breathing became rapid.

150,000!

He could work himself to the bone in Southeast Asia for a year and still not save this much money. With this money, he could pay off part of his debts in Southeast Asia and bring his wife and children over, so he would never have to endure the pain of separation again.

The air seemed to freeze for a few seconds.

Cheng Yiyan reached out, her fingertips touching the cold edge of the check.

The events of this week replayed in Cheng Yiyan's mind like a movie.

From their encounter at the tea restaurant to Zeng's Real Estate's strategic planning, and then to their witty conversation at the horse racing club, Lu Chen's methods, vision, and demeanor completely overturned Cheng Yiyan's perception.

With this 150,000 yuan, Cheng Yiyan would be a wealthy engineer.

But if he doesn't take it... what kind of scenery can he see if he follows this man?

The next second, he withdrew his hand as if he had been electrocuted.

"Lu Sheng, I can't accept this money."

Cheng Yiyan gritted her teeth, raised her head, and her eyes, which were originally full of shrewdness and cunning, were now burning with a flame called "ambition".

"Too little?" Zeng Jianqiao was taken aback.

"No, it's too much." Cheng Yiyan looked at Lu Chen with burning eyes. "But if it's as a severance payment, I don't want this money. Mr. Lu, I've learned more from you these past few days than I have in my entire thirty years of life. Most importantly, I never want to beg on my knees again..."

Cheng Yiyan took a deep breath, stood up abruptly, and bowed deeply to Lu Chen. The large gesture drew the attention of the tea drinkers at the next table.

"Lu Sheng, I want to work for you! I don't want the 150,000, I just want this position," he pointed to the empty seat behind Lu Chen, "to carry your bags, drive you, and learn from you how to put all the money in the world into my own pocket!"

Cheng Yiyan is a gambler. He lost everything in Southeast Asia before fleeing to Hong Kong. Now, he wants to gamble the rest of his life one more time.

Lu Chen looked at the middle-aged man who was bent over in front of him, and a playful smile appeared on his lips.

really.

Once you've seen the view from the top floor, who would want to go back to crawling in the mud for food? Cheng Yiyan had restless blood flowing through his veins; he was a ruthless and ambitious man. He keenly sensed the destiny-altering aura emanating from Lu Chen.

"sit down."

Lu Chen tapped the table. "What kind of behavior is this, in public?"

Cheng Yiyan was overjoyed and quickly sat down, her back straighter than ever before.

"Since you want to follow me, you have to abide by my rules. The first rule is that promises cannot be broken," Lu Chen took a sip of tea, his tone becoming serious. "The agreed-upon 10% is yours, so take it!"

At this point, Lu Chen turned to look at Zeng Jianqiao, who was filled with admiration.

"Brother Zeng, since you're so optimistic about our collaboration, are you interested in going all out?"

Lu Chen's decision to go to great lengths to help Zeng Jianqiao wasn't solely for the purpose of earning his first fortune; rather, it was to leverage Zeng Jianqiao's connections to pave the way for his own career, much like Cheng Yiyan in the original story. However, in the original work, Cheng Yiyan wasted too much time in the early stages, and Zeng Jianqiao's departure to the United States for a period further delayed his initial accumulation of wealth. Now, with Lu Chen's foresight, he intends to complete his initial capital accumulation as quickly as possible.

Zeng Jianqiao's eyes lit up: "Brother Lu, you say the word! As long as you take the lead, I, Zeng Jianqiao, will have no objections! To be honest, after this incident, I've realized that my brains aren't even good enough for maintaining the status quo, let alone expanding it. I just want to get rich by following you, Brother Lu!"

"it is good."

Lu Chen finished his cup of tea in one gulp, then took out the check for 1.35 million yuan and slammed it on the table.

"I'll go to the bank to cash the check later, and then I'll invest one million."

He then pointed to Cheng Yiyan, "Cheng, consider this 150,000 yuan as your technical and management investment. Zeng, you can set up the rest of the framework, but try not to use your family's money."

"We want to set up an investment company."

Lu Chen's gaze seemed to pierce through the noisy atmosphere of the teahouse, looking towards the distant future. "I've already thought of a name. It will be called—Jiahe."

Starting a company was inevitable. But he couldn't be tied to Zeng Jianqiao's chariot. The Zeng family was too complicated, and although Zeng Jianqiao was loyal, he was ultimately controlled by his family.

He needs a tool that belongs to him and that he can absolutely control.

Lu Chen tapped his fingers on the table. "And I won't show up."

"Not showing up?" Zeng Jianqiao was taken aback.

"My identity is rather sensitive, and it's not suitable for me to stand in the spotlight," Lu Chen casually made up a reason, but combined with his mysterious background, it was all the more convincing. "Besides, what I'm going to do isn't limited to real estate. What I'm going to do is... capital."

"Okay, how will the shares be divided?" Zeng Jianqiao immediately switched into businessman mode.

"I'll contribute one million in initial registered capital, taking a 60% stake. Brother Zeng, you'll contribute five hundred thousand plus handle all the administrative matters, taking a 30% stake. Cheng Yiyan..." Lu Chen looked at the excited middle-aged man, "Keep this one hundred and fifty thousand as pocket money. I'll give you 10% of the shares. From today onwards, you are the spokesperson for Jiahe International."

"Me?" Cheng Yiyan pointed to herself, incredulous. "Mr. Lu, I... am I capable?"

"If I say you can do it, then you can."

Lu Chen's tone was undeniably domineering, "From today onwards, you are the General Manager of Jiahe Group. Straighten your back and remember, in the financial world, confidence is more valuable than gold."

As for why it's called Golden Harvest, it's probably a way of paying tribute in our hearts to that legendary film company that created countless classic Hong Kong films in its past life but has disappeared from this world.

"Old Cheng, now that you've become chairman, I'll give you three secret tips."

Lu Chen dipped his finger in tea and drew an undulating curve on the table.

"First, I'll recommend a few stocks to you. They're going to go crazy for a while... You don't just want to make money from them, but more importantly, you need to study them carefully and understand why these stocks are going to rise."

"Second, register dozens of shell companies in Southeast Asia, Panama, and the Cayman Islands. Make the company accounts complicated, learn to 'move from one hand to the other,' so that outsiders can't see where our funds are flowing, and only see that we are constantly 'making profits.' I will teach you the specific operating methods."

"The third, and most important, step."

Lu Chen lowered his voice to a level that only the three of them could hear, "Starting tomorrow, go find prey in the stock market. The targets should be small, with poor performance, or even textile-related listed companies that are about to be delisted."

"Why would you hire such a lousy company?" Zeng Jianqiao asked, puzzled.

"Reverse takeover".

Lu Chen uttered two words, his eyes gleaming with fervent light, "We not only want to make money, but also print stock. We'll find a clean 'shell company,' inject our assets into it, and achieve a backdoor listing. And I happen to have some ideas about the textile industry... If handled properly, Jiahe will have a golden goose."

"Brother Lu, we probably don't have enough money to swallow this up," Zeng Jianqiao said. Although he was taken aback by Lu Chen's audacity, he quickly realized something: "Even for a company on the verge of delisting, a few million isn't enough to solve the problem..."

"It's alright, I'll take care of the funding. It should be in place within a week at the earliest!" Lu Chen said with a mysterious expression.

He thought about the Jockey Club treasury case that would happen a few days later and decided to hitch a ride on it.

"Understood, Mr. Lu... no, boss!" Cheng Yiyan nodded heavily.

He looked at Lu Chen's young yet unfathomable face, and at the composure with which he commanded the world in every gesture.

A seed called "worship" took root and sprouted wildly in Cheng Yiyan's heart.

He began to unconsciously imitate Lu Chen.

Imitate the way he slightly curls his little finger when he holds a teacup, imitate his unhurried speaking pace, and imitate the enigmatic curve of his lips when he smiles.

Years later, when Cheng Yiyan stood in the dock that belonged to him, or at the celebration banquet of that multi-billion dollar empire, people always felt that this "golden touch of the stock market" had an indescribable charm.

But no one knew that he was just a devout imitator, paying the most heartfelt tribute to his eternal mentor.

The afternoon sun slanted into the private room, casting long shadows of the three people.

Zeng Jianqiao was still excitedly calculating future dividends, Cheng Yiyan was trying to digest those groundbreaking business ideas, while Lu Chen leaned back in his chair, watching the rising aroma of tea, his gaze piercing through the narrow teahouse and landing on the turbulent sea of ​​Victoria Harbour.

The game has begun, and the pieces have been placed.

This glorious and crazy era had finally opened its doors to him.