Two things were circulating in Hong Kong's upper circles recently. One was Citibank's premium acquisition of Tao Da Foods, followed by its privatization and delisting. The other, naturally, was Zheng Bai Cheng, the Hong Kong son who became the Asian light, dominating the world of literature.
Tao Da Foods' privatization and delisting was a business matter. Their concern was that while British capital remained, American capital had arrived. Hong Kong was a small place, and they were afraid of further turmoil.
Hong Kong was a traditional place, preserving many things from the previous dynasty. One of them was a deep respect for intellectuals. If Zheng Bai Cheng hadn't been born in this era, he might not have understood this social structure. But experiencing it firsthand, he discovered that intellectuals were highly revered.
However, Zheng Bai Cheng wasn't concerned with his literary achievements at this moment. He was focused on something else. He was going to receive his reward.
"Jason, hello. I'm your fan. I've been looking forward to meeting you. Can you sign for me?"
This was Clark, from Citibank's Hong Kong office, a middle-aged white man with a large nose. He warmly greeted Zheng Bai Cheng. This fan, book fan, movie fan, etc., were the best way to establish a connection.
"Oh, Mr. Clark, it's my honor. Sign? Absolutely."
Zheng Bai Cheng thought he was just saying it. When he saw the other party pull out eleven novels, he knew this guy wasn't kidding. He saw signs of them being read, and one of them, which hadn't been finished, even had a bookmark.
He would add a blessing to each signature, using cursive English. He had specifically learned this during his return trip. But this signature was missing a stroke, different from the one he used for contracts.
"Thank you, Jason. You're a good man."
"He he... Mr. Clark..."
"No, Jason, please call me Clark. We are friends." Zheng Bai Cheng's words were interrupted, and the other party corrected his address.
Zheng Bai Cheng chuckled wryly and said, "Oh, my mistake, Clark. You know the purpose of my visit. I've brought my lawyer, please proceed with the formalities."
"Of course, Jason. You are the most aggressive client I've ever met. With all due respect, you're truly the most aggressive client. You used all your assets to buy companies and properties, this is a bold investment. However, I'm optimistic about your investment. We at Citibank also hope to have a long-term partnership with you."
Li Boss had the support of another bank in North America. It wouldn't be bad to have Citibank's support. In twenty years, when Citibank hits a low point, buying into them would be a good deal.
"Of course, I also hope that the friendship between us and Citibank will last forever."
With Clark's assistance, the procedures were quickly completed. Zheng Bai Cheng had three million Hong Kong dollars left in cash. Looking at the equity certificate and boxes of deeds, he felt a surge of accomplishment.
As he reviewed the deeds, he saw one for a house on Pok Fu Lam Road. The former homeowner's surname was Lu... Could this be that legendary house? Looking at the transaction amount, 800,000 Hong Kong dollars, such a large house, it's a steal.
After the handover, he chatted with Clark for a few more minutes and then left with his team.
The first stop was Tao Da Foods. They could go to the other properties later, but Tao Da Foods needed to be visited first.
In the meeting room of Tao Da Foods, all the management were there. Today, they were waiting for the new boss to arrive.
"Manager, I heard the new boss is Citibank. Will they fire us?"
Of the current management, except for the general manager, finance, and human resources who would be leaving after handing over their work, everyone else would stay. These three were the original boss's people, naturally, they would be gone. Zheng Bai Cheng would replace them with his own people.
"Yeah, Manager, things have just stabilized. I don't want to lose my job."
"I've worked at Tao Da for many years. In another seven or eight years, I'm going to retire. I want my retirement benefits."
Retirement benefits in Hong Kong were a lump sum payment. Of course, some companies would directly dismiss those nearing retirement, saving that money. They had experienced things last year, making them aware of the heartlessness of capitalists, refusing to raise wages.
Li Boss likely experienced the same things last year, which led him to shift his focus from industry to rental properties. He was relatively conservative and didn't take out loans. But Zheng Bai Cheng first took out loans, using his film box office share to repay them.
The door to the meeting room knocked at this time. The door opened, and a young man led the way. The people in the meeting room felt a sense of strangeness when they saw him. This was Hong Kong's largest condiment company, what was a young lad doing here?
The young man walked straight to the main seat, followed by many people. Among them were a lawyer, an accountant, and Lin Xiao Hua. Lin Xiao Hua was going to be his secretary.
At this time, the manager sitting to the right of the main seat stood up and asked, "Sir, what business do you have here?"
The young man ignored him, sweeping his gaze over the faces of those present, then said with a smile, "Hello everyone, I'm Zheng Bai Cheng. From today, I am the new boss of Tao Da. Please take good care of me in the future."
The lawyer beside him took out the equity certificate and said, "This is a certificate issued by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. This is the transaction contract with the former major shareholder."
The others didn't bother to look. At this point, forging documents wouldn't make sense. Zheng Bai Cheng saw that they were sensible and smiled even more naturally. Just as he was about to speak, a voice came from below.
"You said you're Zheng Bai Cheng? You are the Hong Kong son, Zheng Bai Cheng? The author who wrote 'The Butterfly's Wings'… that Zheng Bai Cheng?"
The one who called out was a man in his thirties with glasses, looking quite excited.
Zheng Bai Cheng exchanged glances with Lin Xiao Hua beside him, which meant, see, I told you so.
He put out a hand to silence them, saying, "He he… just a name." While he said that, everyone could see that the young boss was happy, and his smile was full of pride.
"There will be no layoffs for now. Please rest assured…"
Hearing that Zheng Bai Cheng wouldn't lay off anyone, those below breathed a sigh of relief. They could accept everything else.
"… We currently have soy sauce, and we will add some new condiments in the future. Now we have soda, we can also develop some other beverages… In the future, instant noodles will become popular. We need to make more convenient instant noodles, such as those that only need water, like those cup noodles in the island nation… We need to bring in more equipment…"
The people below looked at each other. This boss had big plans. But they saw that everything he talked about was in the long term. Therefore, they just listened, knowing that they would follow the plan later.
In their eyes, this young man was just lucky to have written a few novels and had some money. Trying to do business was not easy.