"Both of Wang Yuanxi's concubines have already been taken away to pay off debts. People like us can't even be bought even if we wanted to. We can only find another way to make a living," Luo Zhuankun said with some emotion as he lit a cigarette with a match.
Wang Yuanxi? He was a multi-millionaire tycoon when he first came to Hong Kong? In just two years, his concubines were taken away to pay off debts?
"I have other commitments today, so I'd like to invite Mr. Luo to dinner at the Dulles Hotel restaurant tomorrow night. If you don't mind that Likang Trading Company is a relatively shallow business, I'd like to invite Mr. Luo to work for Likang," Song Tianyao said to Luo Zhuankun.
After saying that, Song Tianyao turned and left with Angie Perlis. Angie Perlis still had many matters to attend to regarding Oxfam's registration, and even though Song Tianyao enjoyed listening to stories, he couldn't let business get in the way.
"I have a very bad feeling about this person," Angie Perlis said to Song Tianyao.
"The employees of Xu Jinian Group in several Shanghai gold shops in Central are the kind of people who are best at taking shortcuts and speculating. It's normal that they have a bad impression of me. But aren't you and I also doing things through speculation now? It feels very bad that you haven't told me this before." Song Tianyao replied as he and Angie Perlis got into the back seat of a taxi.
Angie Perlis said calmly, "Of course it's different. You're the one speculating, not me. Your method of speculation is to prioritize power over money, and such speculators see nothing but money. If someone has status, then no one will find it strange if they have a lot of money. So strictly speaking, you're not a qualified speculator, and you're lacking an important condition right now: you don't have money."
While Angie Perlis was saying that Song Tianyao was broke, Song Tianyao was thinking about what Luo Zhuankun had said. If these tycoons hadn't been thinking about killing the Hong Kong Governor Zhuang and seizing the local Cantonese merchants' position in the gold market, with their huge cash flow capital, they would at least be infamous for eternity, if not famous for all time. They would never have ended up with their families destroyed and forgotten in just two years.
"It's not scary to be poor; what's truly terrifying is thinking you're the best in the world just because you have a little bit of money."
Chapter 106 Dreams Are Very Accurate
Angie Perlis was busy with far more important things than Song Tianyao was picking out high-achieving students who hadn't made the cut at the administrative office. She had to prepare all sorts of documents for Oxfam's official registration, gather information on the initiators, and arrange a meeting with Mrs. Bess to show the Shek Chi-yik couple a clear picture of the future benefits. She also had to prepare a convincing water quality report for Hong Kong's Hong Kong hospitals and universities. All of these tasks were waiting for Angie Perlis to handle.
This is the advantage of having a Britain lawyer. If China person were to go through the various departments of the colonial government to handle these procedures or obtain these documents, without connections, they would be exploited layer by layer and have to deal with difficult officials. Even with connections, they would still have to bribe Foreign Girl, even if it was just to buy a pack of cigarettes. But Angie Perlis, being a Britain lawyer, was practically invincible in such situations. She could enter and exit various departments without any fools daring to stand in her way and refuse her entry.
Although on the surface Song Tianyao seemed to have much more free time than the Foreign Girl lawyer, Angie Perlis had stopped joking with Song Tianyao or trying to flirt with him using her feminine charm. She could sense that Song Tianyao had already put in a lot of effort and his brain was probably ready to go on strike from exhaustion.
Before she even met Mrs. Bess, Song Tianyao had already asked her to prepare a Hong Kong water quality health report, to be signed by Mrs. Bess and used to announce Oxfam's first relief project on the day Oxfam was founded and Mrs. Bess took office as chairperson.
Although Angie Perry couldn't quite see through Song Tianyao's plans after Oxfam, she could deduce that her young employer didn't just want to use charity to build a relationship with Shek Chi-yik and then engage in drug smuggling.
She went to prepare for Oxfam, while Song Tianyao first went to his room at the Dulles Hotel to withdraw Hong Kong dollars 50,000, and then went to the Chu Family to see Chu Xiaoxin. Surprisingly, Chu Xiaoxin did not stay at the Dulles Hotel last night, but returned to his home on Caughton Road in Hong Kong Island. Based on Song Tianyao's guess about his boss's personality, there was absolutely no other possibility than that he went home to try to get some pocket money. Now it was almost noon, and Chu Xiaoxin had not returned to the Dulles Hotel, which showed that his attempt to get pocket money at home was not going well.
Song Tianyao felt no ill will or contempt for Chu Xiaoxin. Compared to some wealthy young men who acted without any moral compass, Chu Xiaoxin, who had no interest in business, was already a decent person. Moreover, he lived up to the character "Xin" in his name. He had promised Song Tianyao that he would not ask Likang for money for three months, and he believed that Song Tianyao would bring him a return after three months. So he really stopped asking for money and would rather go home and beg Chu Yaozong.
The letter written on Chu Xiaoxin's body was more appreciated by Song Tianyao than the money written on Chu Xiaoxin's body.
After getting out of the taxi at the foot of the mountain, Song Tianyao walked along the smooth and wide stone-paved mountain road into the Chu Family. In the parking space outside the main gate, Chen Xingfu was wiping the headlights of Chu Xiaoxin's Ford 49. Hearing footsteps, he turned around and saw Song Tianyao. He put down the towel in his hand and said, "Secretary Song?"
"Brother Fu, is Young Master Shun and Chairman Chu getting closer at home?" Song Tianyao took out a cigarette and handed one to Chen Xingfu: "Don't bother wiping it. The boss isn't around, and when he comes out, the wind will blow dust everywhere. You'll just be wasting your energy. Have a cigarette."
"Young Master Shun wouldn't want to strengthen his father-son bond with Chairman Chu. He's too busy avoiding Chairman Chu to even think about it. Chairman Chu left early this morning, and Young Master Shun is inside with Madam Chu," Chen Xingfu said with a smile as he accepted Song Tianyao's cigarette.
No wonder the Second Young Master Chu was able to stay home until noon; it turns out that neither Chu Yaozong nor Chu Xiaozhong were home. This time, Chu Xiaoxin asked his mother, Chu Yaozong's second wife, for pocket money.
After sharing a cigarette with Chen Xingfu, Song Tianyao stepped into the Chu Family's gate. The Chu Family's servants were very observant and courteous. Song Tianyao only visited the Chu Family three times, but the busy gardeners and servants in the courtyard would all greet him with a smile as he passed by, calling him "Secretary Song." Even the live-in maid, Sister Hong, who was standing at the main entrance of the living room watching the servants work, would politely call him "Secretary Song" when she saw Song Tianyao.