"Isn't his recent Likang to do business with embargoed goods? Is that the kind of business he brought up with this deputy director? Nonsense!" Thoughts flashed through Chu Xiaozhong's mind, and cold sweat almost dripped from his forehead.
In the business of embargoed goods, finding some Customs Britain customs officials and smoothing things over with them was enough to get ships out of Hong Kong waters safely. Everyone, from the Governor to ordinary Britain sailors, tacitly understood this. However, it was absolutely unacceptable for a smuggler to openly discuss with a Britain Foreign Devil who had entered the upper echelons of the Hong Kong Colonial Government, saying, "I'm planning to smuggle goods. If you just turn a blind eye, I'll give you 40% of the smuggling profits."
This wasn't a case of Chu Xiaoxin getting jealous of other good-for-nothing playboys over a woman, with Chu Xiaozhong making sarcastic remarks from the sidelines. In the end, it would just be resolved by spending some money, and Chu Xiaoxin would only gain a reputation as a spoiled brat.
If this matter gets out, even if it doesn't have a significant impact on the Chu Family's other businesses, it will probably become a laughing stock. When the father and he go out to meet guests, they won't be laughed at to their faces, but they will certainly be given strange looks and whispered gossip behind their backs.
"Help me right now..." Chu Xiaozhong's first reaction was not to let Chu Xiaoxin act recklessly. He wanted to tell the driver to hurry up and get to the Tai Ping Shan Tramway boarding point so he could try to stop Chu Xiaoxin there. But he stopped halfway through Chu Xiaozhong sentence. Suddenly, the image of the smiling young man standing behind Chu Xiaoxin flashed through his mind.
It's impossible that Chu Xiaoxin would have thought of meeting Shek Chi-yik on his own. How could a spoiled young master who couldn't even understand the accounts of a merchant guild be interested in communicating with a rigid Britain?
If it was arranged by Song Tianyao, he should know that his boss's entire background would be exposed as soon as he opened his mouth in front of Shek Chi-yik. He should have been prepared. Having just taken over as Chu Xiaoxin's secretary, it's unlikely that he would push his boss off a cliff unless he himself was prepared to be smashed to pieces.
Chu Xiaozhong slowly exhaled, leaned back in his seat, and said to the driver, who was listening intently for instructions, "No problem, just drive to Queen's Road as usual."
The secretary beside him, Miss Wing Yan, was curious about Chu Xiaozhong's actions just now and asked, "Mr. Chu, are you worried about Young Master Shun?"
"I wanted to worry, but then realized it was unnecessary. Do you know why I didn't just hire any secretary, but instead paid a high salary to bring back Ms. Kong Wing-yan, a professional company secretary, from the Hong Kong Institute of Chartered Secretaries?" Chu Xiaozhong gently rubbed his temples a couple of times, turning his head to look at the capable female secretary beside him. "It's because my brother is so lucky that he only spends a little over two hundred dollars a month to hire a secretary who makes my spine tingle just thinking about what happened. I've already dealt with him and Ah Sin, but I almost fell over because of it, and he hasn't even retaliated yet."
"What's the name of that Young Master Shun's secretary?" Kong Wing-yan asked calmly.
Chu Xiaozhong lowered his hand from his brow and looked out the car window. "His name is Song Tianyao."
Chapter Eighty-Nine: Chu Xiaoxin, the Double-Flower Red Pole
As Chu Xiaoxin stood in front of the full-length mirror adjusting his shirt collar, he asked Song Tianyao, who was standing beside him carrying his suit jacket:
"What did I say to that Foreign Devil when we got to the Peak Restaurant?"
"You don't need to say anything. Just leave those two Foreign Devil in-laws with a magnificent silhouette, okay? Those two Foreign Devil so boring, rigid Anglican Church, no fun at all. The man likes to go yachting on the sea, and the woman just plays around with flowers and plants." Song Tianyao said from the side, a cigarette dangling from his lips. "Leave the rest to me."
"Hey, isn't that a bit impolite? Even though you're my secretary, I'm still the boss. The other party is a top businessman in the industry and commerce sector. If you're the only one to ask, what if the Foreign Devil doesn't do me the favor?" Chu Xiaoxin said, after tidying his appearance in front of the mirror and taking the suit from Song Tianyao.
Song Tianyao took a step back, watching the other man put on his suit, and said with a smile, "Your Dad is the president of the Chiu Chow Chamber of Commerce, Big Brother, a real local Chinese tycoon. Even the Governor of Hong Kong sends invitations to his banquets, let alone us, who are going to give him benefits. Besides, there will be a reason for it, so he won't think you're being impolite. Why don't you worry about the company's business? Hey, Big Brother, last time I checked the accounts at the Glaxo Laboratories, I found that Likang had a batch of medicine worth Hong Kong dollars 300,000 stored in the dock warehouse. It wasn't Roche from the United States or Bayer from Germany. It had been stored in the warehouse since it was unloaded. It was all Santonin Deworming Tablets produced by the Britain company, Galeriz Pharmaceuticals. Each tablet weighs 0.5g, and they were all packaged in one-kilogram bags. The purchase price was Hong Kong dollars 1,200 per kilogram. Moreover, it wasn't directly imported from Glaxo Laboratories in Kent, Britain, but purchased from a company in Hong Kong called European Coast. Did you buy this batch of medicine?"
"European Coast Company?" Chu Xiaoxin frowned, recalling for a moment. "That name sounds familiar."
"Doesn't the name Fu Zhong Trading Company sound familiar?" Song Tianyao reminded the other person again.
Chu Xiaoxin clapped his hands vigorously. "I remember! European Coast Company is located at No. 21 Cheung Lung Street, owned by Zhang Yuliang's family. Zhang Yuliang is two years older than me, and his family is also in the pharmaceutical business. Hey, that guy can really drink; few can beat him in a drinking contest. I know him very well. Fuzhong Company was introduced by my elder brother's uncle. Fuzhong Company would buy the medicines that Zhang Yuliang sold to Likang at low prices, and they've saved me from having to go home and beg my Dad for money a few times. Weren't you seeing Foreign Devil? Why are you bringing up these two companies out of the blue? Zhang Yuliang told me that he had a batch of cheap medicine that he could sell to me cheaply. He said it would definitely make a profit if sold in Southeast Asia, and it would save me the expense of importing it from overseas. My elder brother's uncle also said that Fu Zhong Trading Company is currently purchasing this kind of medicine, so should we buy it? Is there a problem?"
"It's nothing, boss. It's just that you were set up before. Fuzhong Company —I don't even need to investigate to guess. Zhong is the Young Master Zhong of Chu Xiaozhong, and Fu is the Fu of his uncle, Uncle Fu. Zhang Yuliang collaborated with Young Master Zhong to bring down Likang Trading Company." Song Tianyao said to Chu Xiaoxin, "However, boss, you're lucky. This batch of medicine is perfect for negotiating cooperation with the Foreign Devil."