After a year of turmoil in Hong Kong, things have stabilized this year. The city feels a bit lifeless. The best news this year is the emergence of a "Son of Hong Kong" and an "Asian Light," but everything is still in recovery.
The British government in Hong Kong doesn't have many good solutions. They can only lower interest rates and taxes, but Hong Kong already has one of the lowest tax rates globally. This is tied to its status as a harbor city. Without low taxes, the economic vitality here would be stifled and crushed under the weight of high taxation.
Today, however, they received an application that surprised them, injecting a dose of amusement and conversation into their otherwise boring work.
This amusement came from the Lands Department. The department staff were buzzing about it. They were shocked when they first saw the application, and then they thought the applicant was out of their mind.
This morning, Hou Zong submitted documents to the Lands Department, applying for two plots of land and a compensation land grant. One was a 3 million square foot commercial site in Tin Shui Wai, the other was a 1.7 million square foot commercial and residential site at the former naval dockyard. The compensation grant was for a 440,000 square foot industrial site owned by AmoyFood Group, which they requested be converted to commercial and residential use.
The first plot was nothing unusual. It was a new site prepared for AmoyFood Group's new factory. Their old industrial site needed to be developed, which was also normal. They could move to a new location, develop the old site, and everything would be fine.
But the application for the former naval dockyard on Hong Kong Island made them chuckle. HK$180 million, to be honest, that's considered a high price. Last year, property prices plummeted to rock bottom. Land was cheap at HK$50 per square foot, and building costs were higher than the land price.
There was another reason: the land had to be developed according to the government's requirements, with many uncertainties that scared off potential buyers.
They laughed because someone wanted to buy the land that had been auctioned off years ago at a price several times higher than what Huo Sheng offered back then. They naturally thought the applicant was crazy. But they had to report the matter to higher authorities, and it quickly became the talk of the town.
"WHAT!? HK$180 million! Is he crazy? Who is it? Is it Pao Yue Kong?" A British official was chatting with a Chinese staff member when he heard the news. He was stunned. "What? Is there someone that rich?"
"No, sir. It's a Chinese company. You may even know the owner." The staff member played coy.
The British official was intrigued. "Come on, don't keep me in suspense. Tell me who it is."
"It's Jason, the author of "The Butterfly's Wings." I saw you were reading it. He bought a listed company, AmoyFood Group."
"AmoyFood Company? Jason bought it? Oh, what a naive guy! Maybe writing novels has messed up his head. Why not stick to writing novels?" The British official was surprised. He loved Jason's novels. He had eleven of them on his bookshelf, which is why the staff member noticed.
These British officials were generally very idle, with little to do, so they often caused trouble. After Zheng Bai Cheng started publishing novels, they actually quieted down a lot.
"Who says he's not? He shouldn't be in business. He should write more novels. Maybe wealth has clouded his judgment. If he didn't have money, he'd probably be peacefully writing novels."
The Chinese staff member's words sparked a light in the British official's eyes.
At that moment, he thought of the ancient sages. Weren't they all poor writers? They pursued the pursuit of literature and the pinnacle of art amidst their poverty and despair. While Jason was a Chinese, he too should focus on the pursuit of literature.
With that thought in mind, he made a decision. Although he wasn't from the Lands Department, he was from the Secretariat, a position of influence. He decided to make Zheng Bai Cheng write novels for money and toil for money.
If Zheng Bai Cheng knew he was trying to bankrupt him because of his novels, what would he think? Would he say "Wang De Fa?" or "Hou Li Xie?" That wasn't his style. He would slap their faces, not because they looked down on him, but because he wanted them to know that their understanding of elites was wrong; they needed to know that an elite in one area could also be an elite in others.
Zheng Bai Cheng, however, knew that this might apply to others, but not to him. He was simply a humble literary transporter using his knowledge of the future.
"Gentlemen, have you received an application regarding the former naval dockyard?"
"Yes, is there a problem?"
"Oh, no problem. But I have an idea..." He shared his thoughts. Before 1971, these Brits were always arrogant and reckless.
"Sell it to him. Let him die from it. Let him pick up a pen and create more and more wonderful literary works for humanity."
His eloquent speech ignited the passions of his colleagues. But after some thought, they said: "Actually, we could do this... and then that..."
"Haha... you're geniuses, haha... Let's do it this way..."
The news also spread to business circles and even the streets. The land was vast, and many people wanted it but didn't want to abide by the government's requirements, so few were willing to buy it. Now that someone had come forward to take it, they were naturally very interested.
"This young man, he doesn't know his place! He dares to take that land? He's crazy."
"He's probably just bragging. He doesn't have the money, right?"
"If the land was HK$70-80 million, I'd want it. Sadly..."
"Even the people from Hong Kong Land aren't daring to touch it. What kind of ability does this mainland kid have to take such a large piece of land? If he takes it, he'll be dragged down too."
"Heh heh... he's got a bit of money and he's getting cocky, heh heh..."
Zheng Bai Cheng returned to the Bai Shi Manor to find Hao Ming Qiang sitting there worriedly, with a serious expression. He looked at Lin Xiao Hua, who shook her head, indicating she didn't know anything.
"Old Bean!"
"You still know you have an old bean? You've become famous and gotten arrogant, right? You're going to spend HK$180 million to buy land? Where did you get the money?"
"Oh, Old Bean, I..."
"You stupid boy! Think about it. Your current situation is hard-won! You have to think carefully!"