Ho Hung-sang took the cigarette out of his mouth and looked at the stadium in the distance. "Macau is very xenophobic. In their eyes, Hong Kong doing business in Macau is overstepping their bounds. And this Hong Kong just happens to be quite profitable, making millions. Isn't that a thorn in their side? Mr. He withdrew his shares in the oil refinery because Feng Laorong told him that if he continued to favor a Hong Kong guy like me, we would no longer be brothers. Mr. He has many things that he needs Feng Laorong's help with. It's a difficult situation for him, so depending on the situation, he plans to hold on for a while longer. If things don't work out, he'll go back to Hong Kong."
Sitting in a wheelchair, with a beautiful nurse pushing him from behind, Huang Liu stared blankly as Nine-Tattooed Dragon stuffed white sugar cake into his mouth. A little further away, Yao Chunxiao, dressed in a long robe, yawned, looking like a listless, rotting old man dozing off. Beside him were Ho Hung-sang's workers; though called workers, judging by their attire, Song Tianyao thought they looked more like gunmen. But even if they were thugs, it wouldn't be surprising; with grenades thrown at the factory, it wasn't unusual to have a few gunmen. In places like Macau Street, honest businessmen who are truly focused on making money die the fastest.
"Bang!" The black team player with the ball finally charged left and right, broke through one-on-one, and kicked the ball into the goal with a powerful shot.
Pedro Lobo, frustrated, called a timeout, put his hands on his hips, bent over, and breathed a sigh of relief before walking towards Song Tianyao.
"Dr. Pedro Lobo." Song Tianyao and Ho Hung-sang stopped their conversation and greeted Pedro Lobo with a smile.
A towel was handed to Pedro Lobo by one of his men. Pedro Lobo wiped his sweat and pointed to the gatehouse opposite the stadium, saying, "At least in Macau, as Portugal, I think it's still necessary to play football every week to prove that Portugal still has basic sports."
The numbers 1140, 1640, and 1940 are engraved on the gatehouse opposite.
"That was a moment when Portugal shone at the international Games."
As he spoke, he patted Song Tianyao on the shoulder. "It seems someone in Hong Kong contacted you, which is why you rushed off your Japan vacation to come see me?"
"It was my oversight that led me to rush back to make amends," Song Tianyao said to Pedro Lobo with a smile.
Pedro Lobo turned to look at the distant stadium, then at Song Tianyao: "How do you plan to salvage this?"
"That depends on how dissatisfied Dr. Pedro Lobo is with me."
Pedro Lobo laughed heartily, "Actually, I'm quite satisfied. The people I hated got their comeuppance. The money I lent to Zhaofeng Trading returned to my account, and even with interest. However, the He Family hopes I can speak with you on their behalf. Although there were some minor hiccups, the He Family did make an effort. It's thanks to them that those English newspapers in Hong Kong were able to publish the news. You cleverly handed over the benefits to the Lu Family for distribution. As the He Family, it's unlikely we'd compete with the Lu Family, but we're still somewhat unwilling. After all, the one managing the family business for Sir He Dong isn't that general who serves as the Minister of Ministry of National Defense in Taiwan, but He Shiwen. Do you understand what I mean?"
"Is the He Family going to split up? He Shiwen planning to take the Lin Family's money bag?" Song Tianyao hesitated for a moment before asking Pedro Lobo.
Pedro Lobo shrugged. "I don't know, maybe. But if the family really splits up, he won't get much money, since Sir He Dong has always considered that the most outstanding son to be that general."
"Nobody wants to touch real estate, so everyone's eyeing the Soda Factory. If He Dong makes an offer, I don't have the leverage to refuse. But He Shiwen, the Soda Factory won't be given to him; he's not worth that price." Song Tianyao exhaled a puff of smoke and said seriously to Pedro Lobo, "Either I give him three million in cash, or I give him the Lin Family's land, or I let him buy the Soda Factory for a reasonable price."
"I think he'll be satisfied with your last suggestion." Pedro Lobo nodded at Song Tianyao. "So, what's the price?"
"Eight million Hong Kong dollars," Song Tianyao said to Pedro Lobo. "Or he can keep dragging it out and see if the price will be cheaper when Coca-Cola and other companies come after the soft drink company for breach of contract. Maybe they'll even give it to him for free."
Pedro Lobo spoke with a half-smile, "Child, perhaps He Shiwen is not the head of the He Family, but he is He Dong's son."
"I'm in a hurry to end my vacation in Japan, not because I'm worried about your problem, Dr. Pedro Lobo, but because I'm thinking that maybe I should go to Britain, get engaged to my girlfriend, and use the money I earn to buy her some suitable titles in London."
Chapter 439 Soaring Shipping Costs
"Wow, this is what a ship should be like! It feels like we've been on this ship for two days. The previous ships were just sampans. This one is really fast and stable." Lei Yingdong's subordinate, Lengzai, was smoking a cigarette, looking at the cast iron ingots and rubber loaded on the ship with joy in his eyes. In his eyes, these were equivalent to money.
Lei Yingdong emerged from the cabin, leaned on the railing, and gazed at the other cargo ship following behind, a 1500-ton vessel he had named "Steadfast Trust." He let out a heavy sigh, "Of course, the two ships together weigh 2800 tons, and they've already swallowed up most of the money I've worked so hard to earn. If they're not even as good as those converted fishing boats, then I might as well sell them as scrap metal."
These two small ocean-going vessels were two old ships that Lei Yingdong bought for a total of four million. One was 38 years old and the other was 20 years old. The 38-year-old cargo ship cost 1.1 million Hong Kong dollars, while the 20-year-old ocean-going vessel he was currently on, with a deadweight tonnage of 13 million tons, which he named "Prosper Industry", cost 2.9 million Hong Kong Hong Kong dollars. In addition, it cost another 80,000 Hong Kong dollars to have a Britain surveyor from the Hong Kong ship inspection agency issue certificates of conformity for the two ocean-going vessels. It can be said that two-thirds of the money that Lei Yingdong had worked hard to earn by sailing the seas had been spent on these two ocean-going vessels.
Previously, few of his ships could actually reach North Korea or the Liaodong Peninsula. Even if they did, the ships carried very little cargo, and unless they carried scarce goods, there wasn't much profit to be made. Therefore, Lei Yingdong's fleet had previously been based in Macau or Shenzhen.
However, recently, freight costs have suddenly skyrocketed. Now, not to mention the price of goods, the freight cost for each ton of goods transported to Liaodong or North Korea has reached two hundred US dollars. Previously, even if the goods were transported to the North Korea port, the freight cost was only eighty US dollars, and at most one hundred. In other words, under the current circumstances, Lei Yingdong could make a fortune just by transporting some worthless sea sand to North Korea.