Chu Huan, Jian Yueqiang, Mac Lehose, and Hong Kong Chief Secretary Luo Bishi were playing golf.
The Colonial Secretary for Hong Kong is actually the predecessor of the Chief Secretary for Hong Kong.
It was not until 1976 that the Colonial Secretary was renamed Chief Secretary.
As for Luo Bishi, he is also a legendary figure in Xiangjiang.
He is the only person in the history of Hong Kong who has served as the Attorney General, Assistant Secretary, Chief Secretary, and Chief Prosecutor in Hong Kong respectively. He is also the last foreigner to serve as Chief Prosecutor.
MacLehose promoted many policies in Hong Kong with the help of Luo Bishi. At the same time, he and Jian Yueqiang were also very good friends.
"Tomorrow is the traditional New Year in Xiangjiang. Chairman Chu's charity act yesterday allowed the people of Diaojingling to have a New Year!" Luo Bishi looked very serious when he didn't speak.
But Jian Yueqiang told Chu Huan before that Luo Bishi was actually very 'approachable', and his opponents called him the 'Smiling Tiger'!
Chu Huan chuckled and said: "I'm just doing what I can, taking it from the people and using it for the people. Only when the ordinary people in Xiangjiang live a better life, our business will be better!"
MacLehose had just hit a good shot, and then said with a smile: "If all the rich people in Xiangjiang could be like Chairman Chu, then our work would be much easier!"
Chu Huan said: "In fact, the rich in Hong Kong are still willing to do charity. For example, at this year's Hong Kong government charity dinner, many rich people donated large sums of cash!"
"That's just temporary. Why don't Director Chu spend 10 million for charity every year? This is something that ordinary people can't insist on!" Luo Bishi laughed out loud again.
Chu Huan smiled and said: "I also hope that I can do my best to share some things with the Hong Kong government!"
MacLehao and Luo Bishi looked at each other and smiled. Although they knew that what Chu Huan said was not necessarily true, it was enough for Chu Huan to come up with real money.
Luo Bishi then said: "As for the purchase of land on Mount Galley Road at the top of the mountain that Chairman Chu proposed before, I have discussed it with Mr. Hong Kong Governor. In principle, we agree to sell this land to Chairman Chu.
, but Mr. Chu, you should also know that this place on the top of the mountain is a bit sensitive. Every year, many people want to buy land to build their own houses here, and what Mr. Chu proposed is No. 12, which is the best location and is still such a big piece of land.
Land, some people will definitely be dissatisfied with this!"
What is the wedding gift that Chu Huan wants to prepare for himself and Cao Yunshang?
In fact, it is a mansion located on the top of the mountain in Xiangjiang, a real mansion.
Chu Huan has said before that although the middle of the mountain is nice, there is still a top of the mountain above it, and Chu Huan's goal has always been to build his own mansion on the top of the mountain.
However, as Luo Bishi just said, a mountaintop mansion in Xiangjiang not only means wealth, but also status.
Chu Huan's wealth at this time is naturally enough, but there is still a gap in status compared to the established wealthy families in Xiangjiang and those ghost guys.
That's why Chu Huan established the Chu Charity Foundation during this period, performed high-profile charity activities, and asked Jian Yueqiang to come forward to help him deal with ghosts like Mai Lihao and Luo Bishi.
No. 12, Mount Galley Road, which Chu Huan is interested in, is actually a place with quite a story. It is located on the top of a real mountain, overlooking the entire Hong Kong River and the entire Taiping Mountains.
But this is not the most important thing. The most important thing is that in 2006, the Hong Kong government put this land up for auction, and it was Sun Hung Kai Properties that bought the land. At that time, the entire land was more than 800,000 square feet.
Sun Hung Kai spent 1.8 billion Hong Kong dollars just to acquire this land, and then built Twelve Peaks, the top luxury mansion in Asia, here.
The entire Twelve Peaks consists of twelve bungalows, and House No. 1, which is a model house, has a price of HK$143,000 per square foot!
The largest private property in Hong Kong is actually the Haw Par Villa built by the founder of "Sing Tao Daily" Hu Wenhu, covering an area of nearly 6 million square feet. However, with the death of Hu Wenhu, part of the Haw Par Villa was also sold by his descendants.
.
Later, Li Jiacheng also purchased some properties here for real estate development, but was stopped by the people of Xiangjiang on the grounds that it destroyed the overall beauty of Haw Par Villa!
However, Haw Par Villa is not located on the most famous hilltop in Hong Kong, but on Tai Hang Road in Tai Hang, Hong Kong Island. In terms of location, it is much worse than the hilltop.
As for the famous Ho Tung Garden owned by Ho Tung, who was once the richest man in Hong Kong, it covers an area of 120,000 square feet.
Chu Huan understood that although the Chu Charity Foundation had donated a lot of money during this period, it was obvious that in the eyes of MacLehose and Luo Bishi, it was not enough for them to sell Mount Galley Road to themselves despite all objections.
"I heard that the recent progress of ICAC is not very smooth. If the Colonial Secretary can come up with 30 million Hong Kong dollars at this time to support the establishment of ICAC, the replacement of equipment, offices and other items, and the training of personnel, I think ICAC's work efficiency will be improved.
It will definitely be very high!”
Chu Huan said with a smile.
Although ICAC was established because the corruption in Hong Kong can no longer be tolerated, there are other considerations of the Hong Kong government, so there is no need to think of ICAC as something lofty.
Moreover, Chu Huan also said just now that it was taken out in the name of the Colonial Secretary, not himself. This is more in line with the purpose of ICAC's creation in terms of face.
Anyway, it was money. Chu Huan gave it away, and the Chief Secretary took it.
Hearing what Chu Huan said, both MacLehose and Luo Bishi showed a hint of joy in their eyes. Although ICAC was established, the operation was not so smooth. Take Gerber as an example. ICAC also took nearly a month.
It took years for Gerber to be extradited from England this year.
But in Xiangjiang, there are dozens of people like Ge Bai.
For ICAC to truly achieve the results that MacLehose and Luo Bishi want, this department needs to have sufficient funds to operate.
So at this time, Chu Huan decided to spend 30 million Hong Kong dollars, which was definitely a timely help for them.
With the thirty million from Chu Huan, there would be no problem in buying No. 12 Mount Galley Road. As for those so-called opponents, Luo Bishi would naturally handle it himself.
However, this matter will definitely take time to work, so if Chu Huan wants to get No. 12 Mount Galley Road, he will have to wait at least until after the New Year.
Afterwards, few people said anything about this matter, and everyone understood it tacitly.
After playing golf all morning, we wished each other a Happy New Year and then parted ways!
After this matter is over, it will be the New Year.
This year's New Year is no different from last year. They also visited some elders, and then Chu Huan took his sister-in-law Chu Duanqing and his younger sister Zhong Xiaoqing to the Repulse Bay Villa. They all had a New Year's Eve dinner, and the New Year was considered over.
After the New Year's holiday, Chu Huan received a call from Luo Bishi. Regarding Chu Huan's desire to purchase No. 12 Mount Galley Road, it had passed the meeting of the Colonial Secretary and was sold to Chu Huan at a price of HK$120 per square foot.
800,000 square feet of land, totaling HK$96 million!
This means that in 1975, if we had waited another year, the price would not have been the same, at least double.
However, this can also show the significance of the top of the mountain to Xiangjiang. The land alone has exceeded the property price of Huaye City.
Of course, Chu Huan also has to pay 8.5% stamp duty, which is 8.16 million.
If this is added to the 10 million Hong Kong dollars spent by the Chu Charitable Foundation established by Chu Huan, the 30 million Hong Kong dollars donated to ICAC, and the 10 million other activity funds, the real funds spent by Chu Huan to obtain No. 12 Mount Galley Road are
154.16 million Hong Kong dollars!
But even after spending so much money, it was worth it for Chu Huan!
Although he had not thought about selling the property, even so, based on the money Sun Hung Kai later bought the land for, the value increased more than ten times!
After completing the transaction with the Hong Kong government, Chu Huan personally drove Cao Yunshang and the two of them straight to No. 12 Mount Galley Road, followed closely by Qin Peng and others.
In the car, Cao Yunshang asked Chu Huan curiously.
"Brother Huan, why did you bring me here? Don't you like living in Mid-Levels?"
Cao Yunshang still doesn't know that Chu Huan has bought No. 12 Mount Galley Road. Now that Chu Huan has brought her here, she thinks that Chu Huan has brought her to their villa in the middle of the mountain!
Chu Huan smiled and said, "Do you still remember what I told you before that I would give you a big wedding gift?"
Cao Yunshang nodded slightly. Everyone thought that Chu Huan and Cao Yunshang would get married after graduating from college, but they did not expect that Chu Huan would postpone the matter.
Cao Yunshang and others also knew that Chu Huan was preparing a wedding gift for Cao Yunshang, but no one knew what it was.
When Cao Yunshang watched Chu Huan drive higher and higher, he had some vague guesses in his heart, and his expression began to become a little excited.
Soon the two of them arrived at No. 12 Mount Galley Road, the top of the mountain.
The place was deserted now. After Chu Huan and Cao Yunshang got off the car, they could see the entire Xiangjiang River.
"Did you buy this place?" Cao Yunshang looked at Chu Huan in shock. She naturally knew how much she had to pay to buy this place!
Chu Huan nodded slightly and said with a smile: "Yes, we have taken over all the 800,000 square feet of land. Now we have to see if my uncle can invite his teacher to come and design it for us."
It’s over!”
"Wow!!!!!"
Even Cao Yunshang, who was as calm as Cao Yunshang, couldn't help but jump directly into Chu Huan's arms after confirming the news, held Chu Huan's cheeks with both hands, kissed her hard, and then preached loudly.
"Brother Huan, I love you so much!"
This is not because of the value here, but because of the location and the influence here.
Between the tops of the mountains, you can see the Ho Winter Garden below. The significance of this is known to everyone who was born and grew up in Hong Kong!
"So, you established the Chu Charitable Foundation just to get this piece of land?"
Only then did Cao Yunshang understand why Chu Huan established the Chu Charity Foundation. She used to think that Chu Huan was doing it to increase her social influence, but now she realized that Chu Huan was doing it to win this land!
"That's right!" Chu Huan dragged Cao Yunshang with both hands and said with a calm smile: "The Hong Kong government wants face, so naturally we have to give them face too!"
"If you want to build a private garden here, it will cost a lot!"
After being happy, Cao Yunshang began to worry about the cost. The living area of 800,000 square feet is nearly the size of 11 football fields. As you can imagine, this is definitely a very expensive thing.
But Chu Huan doesn't care very much. Now he has youth toys, which can bring in at least 300 million Hong Kong dollars in income every month. In addition, the Jiuzhou home video recorder will be launched soon, and "Jaws" will be released in June this year.
It is simply too easy to deal with a mere Chu Family Garden.
Not to mention, Chu Huan has so many other industries.
"What we need to worry about now is not the cost, but whether we can guarantee that we will officially occupy this place when we get married next year."
From garden design to house construction and subsequent decoration, it is not an easy task to move in within a year.
"Go home, let's go home immediately!"
Cao Yunshang jumped down in Chu Huan's arms, grabbed Chu Huan's hand, and walked to the car, murmuring: "The eldest brother is at home now. Let him go to North America immediately and invite his teacher."
, my new house next year must be here!"
Chu Huan couldn't help laughing when he heard Cao Yunshang talking to himself.
When we returned this time, it was Cao Yunshang who was driving. He was driving so fast that Qin Peng and others who were following behind complained endlessly.
Soon they returned to the Cao family. It was time for lunch. Everyone in the Cao family looked at Cao Yunshang and Chu Huanfeng returning home in a hurry, and they all showed puzzled expressions.
Then they learned what Chu Huan had done from Cao Yunshang's mouth.
"This is too exaggerated!"
Even Cao Yunzu could not help but marvel at this moment.
Although Cao Wenjin didn't say anything, he also knew how difficult it was to capture No. 12, Mount Calais Road.
Zhou Meiqi, on the other hand, was all smiles. Chu Huan's ability to carefully prepare such a wedding gift that shocked everyone was enough to express his love for his daughter.
"Brother, stop talking nonsense. You should go to North America right now. No matter how much money you spend, you must invite your teacher Pei Yuming to come to Xiangjiang!"
Cao Yunshang grabbed Cao Yunzu's hand and preached with some urgency.
The matter about the design of the Chinese People's Bank was over, and now the reconstruction project of the Chinese People's Bank had begun. Cao Yunzu did not expect that not long after this incident, Chu Huan gave him another engineering design that could shock the entire Xiangjiang.
Thinking of this, Cao Yunzu felt that his previous idea could be implemented.
"Ah Huan, I want to set up an architectural design company in Xiangjiang, what do you think?" Cao Yunzu comforted his sister and then discussed with Chu Huan.
Originally, according to the development rules of another time and space, Cao Yunzu's architectural design company was opened in North America, but now Chu Huan's engineering designs are appearing one after another, which also gives Cao Yunzu a different idea.
And he also wants to regard Chu Huan's Chu Family Garden as the pioneering work of his company!
The previous cooperation with Chu Huan, whether it was the design of the Huaye City mall or the Chinese Bank, was actually carried out in the name of the individual.
Cao Yunzu felt that this could not be done now.
Chu Huan naturally has no objection to this. If Cao Yunzu places the design company in Xiangjiang, it will also be conducive to the continued cooperation between the two parties.
After all, Chu Huan will have many projects in the future that will require people to be responsible for the design.
"I think it's okay. After the projects of Huaye City and Chinatown, brother, you have already gained a reputation in the field of design in Xiangjiang. Now if you add Chu Family Garden, I think you will definitely not be short of business in the future."
Although these three projects will all have the help of Pei Yuming, it is undeniable that Cao Yunzu is well-known as a co-designer.
Seeing that Chu Huan agreed, Cao Yunzu was also very happy and asked with a smile: "Then what kind of design are you going to design the Chu family garden? When I see my teacher, I can tell him your requirements!"
Chu Huan said with a smile: "I am only responsible for buying the land and paying for it. As for the style of the building and the style of decoration, these are all decided by Yunshang and I will not participate!"
Friends who have been married know that the decoration of new houses has always been the biggest factor that easily causes quarrels between the host and the host. Although Chu Huan and Cao Yunshang will not quarrel over this kind of thing, Chu Huan really doesn't care much about this kind of thing. If
I really don’t like Cao Yunshang’s style. At worst, I will buy a villa and decorate it according to my own comfortable style.
Hearing what Chu Huan said, Cao Yunshang's face was filled with happiness.
Then he suddenly said: "Brother, I will go to North America with you. Now I have an idea in my head. I want to talk to your teacher about this matter."
Seeing Cao Yunshang's attitude, everyone laughed out loud.
...
Soon, the media in Xiangjiang learned about Chu Huan’s exorbitant purchase of the land at No. 12 Mount Gallett Road on the Peak!
And this incident quickly became the hottest news after Xiangjiang officially entered its 75th year.
‘Purchasing land at sky-high prices, Chu Huan reaches the top of Xiangjiang!’--"Oriental Daily"
Xiangjiang's newspapers have always had exaggerated headlines, and "Oriental Daily" is one of the leaders. Although the big and small Ma brothers are now in disgrace due to the ICAC incident, the operation of "Oriental Daily" has not been affected by this.
Malaysia even gave Oriental Daily the right to operate independently early on.
As for Chu Huan’s purchase of No. 12 Mount Galley Road, the Oriental Daily also wrote that Chu Huan reached the top of Xiangjiang!
But it is undeniable that such a title is still very attractive to readers.
After the newspaper report, everyone knew about this incident.
And everyone has their own opinions on this matter.
The ordinary people in Xiangjiang are actually happy to hear this. After all, as a Chinese, Chu Huan can buy land on the highest place on the mountain top and build his own property. This is actually a psychological suggestion for them. Chinese people are more
The ghost guy has status!
Naturally, some ghost guys were dissatisfied, thinking that Chu Huan was simply not qualified to buy land on Mount Galileo Road to build his own property.
But now that Chu Huan has signed a contract with the Hong Kong government, even if they are not satisfied, there is nothing they can do.
No matter what these people think, there is one thing they all agree on, that is, Chu Huan is really rich!
"Can you have no money? Just one piece of land cost 96 million, plus stamp duty, plus the money for future construction, it's as much as a commercial building in Central!"
Someone said this.
Everyone who heard it also nodded.
"Didn't they say that Chu Huan got a loan from Standard Chartered Bank last year? In the meantime, he acquired 51% of the shares of Li & Fung Group. How can Chu Huan still have money?"
Some people said they couldn't understand why Chu Huan seemed to have endless money to spend.
"You haven't seen Chu Huan's companies. Each one is more profitable than the other. Not to mention anything else, just talking about black and white images, the money earned in one year is enough for Chu Huan to buy this land!"
Chu Huan would definitely not explain this kind of thing, but in fact it was of no use to Chu Huan. Others had already begun to think that Chu Huan would make more money.
These are the ordinary people in Xiangjiang. They only care about the one-third of an acre in Xiangjiang. Therefore, although "Fantasy Comics" and youth toys make much more money than black and white videos, these people see
What I focus on is always Xiangjiang, and I cannot see anything other than Xiangjiang.
In addition, now "Fantasy Comics" and youth toys are deliberately downplaying the sales situation in the European and American markets and other markets.
Therefore, in the minds of ordinary people in Xiangjiang at this time, Chu Huan's most profitable company is Huhua Real Estate, which owns Huaye City, followed by Hang Lung Real Estate, Jiahu Textile, which owns Qingjin Clothing, and Black and White Image, followed by Youth Toys and "
Fantasy Comics!
As for Chinese Real Estate, a listed company controlled by Chu Huan, and Li & Fung Group, which only controls but is not responsible for operations, they are actually ranked last.
There is no way, why is the current stock market in Xiangjiang still so sluggish!
In addition, Chu Huan does not completely control these two companies.
Ordinary people think so, but that doesn't mean rich people think so too.
Although they don't know how much money "Fantasy Comics" and Youth Toys make, they also understand that these two companies are definitely big moneymakers.
Fung Building!
Feng Guojing put the newspaper in his hand aside. When he saw the news, he was actually amazed in his heart. But then he thought of what Chu Huan had done, and felt that Chu Huan had bought the land on Mount Caleb Road.
It's not a big deal.
"Guo Jing, how are you doing with the sales channels for home video recorders?"
Feng Hanzhu asked Feng Guojing.
After Jiuzhou Electric came back, Feng Guojing told Feng Hanzhu about Jiuzhou Electric's situation, but only Feng Hanzhu, Feng Lihua, and Feng Guolun knew about it. Even Feng Muying, they did not tell.
In fact, during this period of time, Feng Muying's anger towards Chu Huan had not been eliminated much. They were worried that Feng Muying would leak this matter and anger Chu Huan. In that case, it would be harmful to them but not beneficial.
"It has been arranged, now we are waiting for the Jiuzhou home video recorder to be launched!" Feng Guojing sighed and said.
Although I am not very optimistic about Chu Huan's sales of home video recorders in Jiuzhou, this matter was handed down by Chu Huan after all, and Li & Fung Group can only cooperate fully!
Feng Hanzhu saw Feng Guojing's expression, smiled, and said: "According to your description, Chu Huan's investment in this home video recorder is at least hundreds of millions. For such a large project, he must have a series of thoughts in his mind.
In addition, he is the largest shareholder of Li & Fung Group, and it is even more impossible for Li & Fung Group to engage in loss-making business, so we only need to cooperate with him on this matter!"
It had been some time since Chu Huan became the major shareholder of Li & Fung Group, and Feng Hanzhu had completely looked away from the matter.
Moreover, in the daily operation of the group, Chu Huan and the three directors sent by Chu Huan have indeed never expressed any opinions. This is also in line with Chu Huan's previous agreement with their Feng family.
So at this time, a lot of the resentment in Feng Hanzhu's heart had been eliminated.
Feng Guojing nodded and said: "Daddy, I understand what you mean. I just sigh a little, how did Chu Huan do all this? Our Feng family has been doing business in Xiangjiang since our grandfather's generation.
But now, in just a few years, Chu Huan has accomplished something that three generations of our Feng family have not been able to accomplish. It’s really strange to think about it!”
Feng Hanzhu smiled calmly and said: "There are always some geniuses in this world, and Chu Huan should be the genius of this era, so since he is so optimistic about the home video recorder market, then we will implement his plan
That’s it, maybe in the future, Li & Fung Group will reach a scale we didn’t expect!”
Feng Guojing had some different opinions, saying: "Although Chu Huan's development in Xiangjiang has always been very good, if he launches Kyushu home video recorders, his opponents will be those giants in Japan, and the main competitive market will also be
It’s not Xiangjiang. To be honest, I’m not very optimistic about his business!”
"and....."
"Moreover, Chu Huan is in Xiangjiang now. He hasn't solved the problems in the textile factory yet, and he has to be distracted by making a home video recorder. Even if he is a genius, his energy should be limited!"
Facing Feng Guojing's dejection, Feng Hanzhu smiled: "I think a decision is about to be made regarding those textile factories. They have been losing a lot of money during this period.
Even the matter of Chu Huan’s current acquisition of the land at No. 12 Mount Galley Road, I suspect that Chu Huan deliberately released it to paralyze them so that he could carry out the final blow!”
Feng Guojing looked at Feng Hanzhu in surprise and asked: "Daddy, if Chu Huan can really do it, he will be able to unify the textile industry in Xiangjiang. Even if the textile industry is already a sunset industry,
But after all, it has once been glorious in Xiangjiang. If Chu Huan can unify the textile industry in Xiangjiang, the meaning will be completely different!"
Feng Hanzhu nodded and said: "It depends on when Chu Huan is ready to take action. Anyway, I think Chu Huan is very likely to succeed this time!"
Feng Guojing thought for a while and nodded helplessly again, "It is indeed very possible!"
Just as Feng Hanzhu, Feng Guojing and his son thought, after the New Year, Chu Huan indeed set his sights on the textile industry.
Although it has only been more than a month, I believe the losses to those textile factories have been enough to make them almost breathless!
So Chu Huan once again summoned the senior management of Jiaku Consulting Company to discuss this matter!