When Will You Perish, O Sun? We Shall Perish Together!
If Lin Xiaohe's only phone call was to his former superior, Wu Tiecheng, and Wu Tiecheng simply put in a good word for Lin Xiaohe with He Shili, Song Tianyao felt that He Shili was unlikely to refuse Wu Tiecheng's request.
"Come back to the Dulles Hotel with me. First, arrange a meeting with Shek Chi-yik. Then, call Dr. Pedro Lobo in Macau and tell him about this possibility. The He Family won't care about my reaction, but they will definitely care about Pedro Lobo's reaction. Also, I suspect that Jardine previously planned to have the He Family do the work superficially. If the He Family doesn't put in the effort this time... Finally, arrange for Lu Yuanchun, Michael Sandberg, and Bao Yuehan to go to the Dulles Hotel to prevent the He Family from softening their stance."
Song Tianyao paced irritably around the room twice, then slammed his foot on the table. "Don't even mention Lin Xiaohe calling Wu Tiecheng, even if he called Chiang Kai-shek, I'll make sure the Lin Family is torn to pieces before nightfall, beyond saving!"
Chapter 412 When will this day end? You and I will both perish!
"We can't do this anymore, or it'll get really bad." Lu Rongfang put down his newspaper, his handsome face serious, and said to Pan Guoyang, who was sitting opposite him, sipping a pot of Cantonese slow-cooked soup.
Pan Guoyang swallowed the soup in his mouth. "I don't care. At most, I have a few hundred thousand in assets. You already decided to sell them all at the high price when the market opened. Now you say you're quitting, so what does that have to do with you and me? Even if Song Tianyao and the Lin Family are fighting fiercely, we'll just take the opportunity to make a little money. But it seems that Song Tianyao is only going to make a quick buck and then get out. Wasn't Zhaofeng Trading the first to sell its shares? Judging by his preparations, he'll make at least ten million this time. The most unlucky ones are those stock investors who rushed in with their cash a few days ago."
Lu Rongfang gently poked the newspaper on the table with her index finger, seemingly having little appetite for the cordyceps and black chicken soup in front of her. "He didn't really throw it away, no, definitely not. Do you remember when we were at Bird's Beak in Causeway Bay, I told you I knew what that guy was thinking, and then I excitedly dragged you to see him, just because the newspaper said that they were going to reclaim land at Bird's Beak after the New Year."
"What does it have to do with a wig merchant like him? Land reclamation has always been the Britain business. What right does he have to interfere? Besides, what business does he have with the Britain, using wig waste to reclaim land?" Pan Guoyang said dismissively. "Moreover, what he made in the stock market this time is probably more than those Foreign Devil who do land reclamation."
"Wait a minute, let me look through my notebook." Lu Rongfang took out a notebook from his handbag. It was filled with dense handwriting, and there were also news clippings from newspapers pasted on it from time to time. The savings he had accumulated over the years were all earned by recording the news he found in various newspapers in the notebook, and then carefully analyzing it before making a decisive move.
Lu Rongfang carefully flipped through the pages for a while, then unfolded one of them and said, "Found it. This land reclamation project at Bird's Beak is open to the entire city. Unlike previous projects, the Britain made the decisions directly in their boxes at the Hong Kong Club or the Hong Kong Jockey Club. In other words, Chinese people also have the opportunity to participate."
"Wow, you believe everything you read in the newspapers? They even say that under Britain rule, everyone in Hong Kong lived in peace and prosperity, with plenty of food and clothing. But in the end, hundreds of thousands, even millions, of people were crammed into Squatter Area, unable to even find a roof over their heads or a glass of clean water. Are the Britain stupid? They let the China person participate in such a lucrative business as land reclamation? They must have just made it up to make Western countries think that Hong Kong was a paradise on earth under their rule." Pan Guoyang rolled his eyes at Lu Rongfang's words. "Miss Fong, didn't you used to rarely believe what you read in the newspapers?"
Lu Rongfang, unusually serious and not at all joking, asked her best friend in a serious tone, "What kind of person is Song Tianyao in your eyes?"
Pan Guoyang was not a complete good-for-nothing playboy who could become best friends with Lu Rongfang. He worked in the Hong Kong Government. To be able to get a leisurely job in the Hong Kong Colonial Government, besides having money and connections to pull strings, one must also have real ability. Pan Guoyang had previously obtained a double degree in administration and politics from the University of Sydney.
"What kind of monster is he?" Pan Guoyang recalled what he had seen and heard about Song Tianyao and said to Lu Rongfang, "Song Tianyao is like... like a wild dog that never knows hunger or satiety, fierce, ruthless, and stupid. This description is a bit vulgar, but I think it's very apt. He's already very rich, but he's still extremely greedy. There's an elephant in front of him, but instead of trying to avoid it, he's thinking about eating it. Whether it will burst his stomach or not is not important to him. Getting it into his mouth is the most important thing. He's willing to risk his life for it. Isn't that stupid? Money can't be earned all at once, but life is only once. God won't help him every time... But what does it matter to us what kind of monster he is? You're just going to follow the trend and make some small money."
"I think you're only partially right." Lu Rongfang scratched her slightly itchy nose and opened her notebook. "I think he's a complete gambler who treats the business world like a casino, and a very aggressive one at that. He's almost always gambling with his life, leaving no way out for his opponents or himself. His ultimate goal isn't to make a fortune using the Lin Family's stocks; he wants the Lin Family's land. The Lin Family owns Ngau Tau Shan. If he gets his hands on it, he can cooperate with the Britain to reclaim land from the sea. How much soil and rock can one mountain provide for land reclamation? That's why the Britain allowed the Chinese to participate this time..." Ultimately, the land reclamation project stemmed from a pessimistic outlook on Hong Kong's future, a fear that China would retake Hong Kong by force after the Korean War. Therefore, Britain trading companies used land reclamation projects to attract Chinese investors. The China would fund the projects, while the Britain could sell the projects and pocket the profits, allowing them to escape back to Hong Kong should China attempt to retake Britain Kong by force. Song Tianyao was betting that China wouldn't win the Korean War, or rather, that even if China won, it wouldn't send troops to retake Hong Kong as a colony. He planned to cooperate with the Britain, reclaiming land and, incidentally, leveling Ngau Tau Shan!
"He lost the gamble. Someone like him, flirting with the Britain, might become a target for China Collaborator." Pan Guoyang clicked his tongue after listening to Lu Rongfang's analysis. "You mean the news in the newspapers about the Lin Family smuggling rubber tree seedlings with Wo On Lok means the Lin Family sided with China, and Song Tianyao sided with the Britain to seize the Lin Family's assets? If that's true, then it's a gamble with his life. When Hong Kong is retaken, his fate will definitely be to flee overseas with Foreign Devil Britain."