Literary Master 1978

"130 million? Where did it come from?"

Tao Yushu didn't take her husband's words seriously and asked casually.

"I made it by stock trading."

"Stock trading?"

Tao Yushu's expression was slightly surprised. She just remembered that Lin Chaoyang went to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to collect materials for writing a book some time ago, and opened an account to trade stocks and made some money.

"Is it really made by trading stocks?"

"Of course."

Lin Chaoyang's eyebrows showed satisfaction, and then he simply told Tao Yushu about his operation.

The more Tao Yushu listened, the tighter his brows frowned. In the end, he couldn't help complaining: "You are too risky to do this."

"Investment, there must be risks. You are not necessarily less risky in making movies than me in stock trading."

Lin Chaoyang's words made sense. Besides, he did make money now. Tao Yushu would not keep nagging about this issue, just reminding him.

But after a moment, she became happy and teased: "If I had known you had this talent, why would I have started a company with all my hard work!"

"You said it was a high-risk thing! Besides, the reason I could make so much money this time was mainly because of the stock market crash, which was a windfall." Lin Chaoyang said falsely.

Just now, she was only concerned about the risk, but now she felt that her husband had made 100 million by speculating in stocks. The more she thought about it, the happier she became, and she felt like she wanted to soar into the sky.

"Chaoyang, you are so amazing!"

"I said it was a windfall!"

"That's because you have foresight. Didn't you make money before? Besides, everyone lost money in the stock market crash, but you made money alone. Aren't you amazing?"

The admiration in Tao Yushu's eyes was almost overflowing, with a hint of affection and tenderness.

After enjoying the affection, Lin Chaoyang continued to talk about his search for Liang Botao and the acquisition of Yulang Organization.

"Your gift is too big, acquiring a listed company!"

Tao Yushu's tone was full of amazement.

Even though she is now in charge of Lin's Films and handles millions or tens of millions of dollars of business every day, it is still beyond her cognition to acquire a listed company at any time.

She slowly digested this reality and asked Lin Chaoyang some detailed questions, and Lin Chaoyang answered them one by one.

"It's no problem to acquire in the name of Lam's Pictures, but we only have 200 million in total, isn't it a little less?

Once the acquisition war starts, both sides will show their talents, this money may not be enough, right?"

"You are right. My idea is that if it is safe, we can mortgage part of Lam's shares and raise some more money.

In addition, Wong Yuk-lang is not clean now. Liang Botao said that he is selling his stocks to make up for the loss of futures.

He has been targeted by the Securities and Futures Commission, but he has to do it behind the scenes.

The more he struggles when we acquire Yulang Organization, the greater the probability of something going wrong.

The company may be fine, but he will definitely not have an easy time."

Hearing that her husband had inquired about the news so detailed and laid out so carefully, Tao Yushu felt a little relieved.

"Even if the acquisition fails in the end, Wong Yuk-lang will fight us to the death, and we can take advantage of the opportunity to profit."

In the Hong Kong stock market, acquisition and being acquired are the norm.

Stock market snipers have always had two purposes: one is to acquire sincerely, and the other is to "blackmail" in the name of acquisition.

Liu Luanxiong, who has been feared in the Hong Kong stock market in recent years, is the second type of person.

Lin Chaoyang certainly did not do blackmail, but if the acquisition failed, he would never do a loss-making business, just as another pocket money.

Lin Chaoyang said to her: "I have arranged everything, and you can contact Liang Botao for the rest."

"Okay." With Lin Chaoyang's plan, Tao Yushu felt confident.

In the next few days, Liang Botao and Tao Yushu met frequently and actively prepared the acquisition plan of Yulang Organization.

On the weekend, the couple came to visit Li Zhaofu's home in Shouson Hill.

Li Zhaofu was born in the famous Li Peicai family in Hong Kong, which is the Li family, one of the four major families in Hong Kong that people often talk about in later generations.

He studied in the United States in his early years, and after obtaining the qualification of a certified public accountant, he returned to Hong Kong to establish the Far East Exchange and served as its first chairman.

In the 1960s and 1970s, the rise of Chinese capital in Hong Kong gave birth to a number of wealthy people such as Li Ka-shing, Li Zhaoji, Cheng Yutong, and Guo Desheng. Li Zhaofu's Far East Exchange played a great role.

Last year, he promoted the merger of the four associations in the Hong Kong securities market and was elected chairman of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Not only did he come from a wealthy family, but he himself has become a top wealthy person in Hong Kong and has the power to call the shots in the securities market.

However, Li Zhaofu has been unlucky recently. He instructed the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to suspend trading during the stock market crash in October, and was accused by the government and the media of creating panic and was condemned.

After meeting, Li Zhaofu was not arrogant and pulled Lin Chaoyang to ask about his writing of "Big Times".

"... Han Quan mentioned this to me before, but I didn't take it seriously. I didn't expect that Mr. Lin had such foresight and could see the trend of the Hang Seng Index so clearly."

"Mr. Li is too kind! The prediction is really a coincidence. The fundamental reason for the Hang Seng Index's plunge is the continuation of the turmoil in the world stock market. If I could predict this, wouldn't I be a prophet?

Why should I write a book? It's easier to rob money on Wall Street!"

Li Zhaofu laughed, "Mr. Lin is too modest. Of course, it's an exaggeration to say that he can predict the future, but it's probably impossible to say that he didn't predict it at all?"

Lin Chaoyang looked calm, "My prediction is just an intuition of the general direction, which is different from analysts who rely on real data for support. It's okay to say that it's a 'guess'."

"But Mr. Lin dared to gamble on his 'guess'!" Li Zhaofu's tone was meaningful.

"I stayed in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange for a long time to write novels, learned a lot, and was eager to learn.

I just want to make some pocket money. If I make money, it's better. If I lose, I'll just take it as an experience."

Lin Chaoyang's expression was relaxed and calm when talking about the maneuvers in the stock market, which made Li Zhaofu feel a little admiration in his heart.

He himself is worth more than 4 billion Hong Kong dollars. Even if he doesn't count his family wealth, he is already a top rich man in Hong Kong.

He has been working in the securities industry for most of his life. He has long been accustomed to the ups and downs, and has his own way of judging people.

In his opinion, Lin Chaoyang has an indescribable confidence.

If it were an ordinary person, it would not be unusual, but on Lin Chaoyang, it formed a strange aura, making Lin Chaoyang a bit more mysterious and unfathomable.

Li Zhaofu couldn't help but think of his experience of going to Dong Bo some time ago.

Many wealthy people in Hong Kong are superstitious about Feng Shui and fortune-telling, and Li Zhaofu is no exception.

His favorite fortune-teller is a fortune-teller nicknamed "Iron Plate Divine Calculation" and "Dong Banxian". Dong Banxian's real name is Dong Mujie, and he learned the "Iron Plate Divine Numbers" passed down from the Song Dynasty.

He has been in Hong Kong for decades, with accurate predictions and a low-key style, and has always been trusted by various wealthy people and celebrities.

After the stock market crash last month, Li Zhaofu felt that his luck was not good, so he went to Dong Bo to have a fortune-telling.

"When the official and the killer are in power, sit on the killer, and then meet the wealth to prevent jail."

In the theory of numerology, "official and killer" represents power, responsibility and restraint, and "sitting on the killer" means that the day stem in the eight characters sits on the seven killers, which usually means that the person will face greater pressure and challenges in life.

When "official and killer are in power", that is, the official and killer are in power in the fate, the person may be jailed because of power struggles, legal constraints and other issues.

If at this time, "wealth is born", that is, the wealth star helps the official and the killer, this pressure and challenge will be further intensified, and the person will have no escape.

Dong Bo actually calculated that he would be jailed, which immediately shocked Li Zhaofu.

With his current status in Hong Kong, ordinary illegal acts can't put him in jail at all. Li Zhaofu only thought of one possibility.

The government wants to deal with him!

The reason why Li Zhaofu came up with this idea at the first time has a lot to do with his style of doing things.

Born into a wealthy family, with his own abilities and the ability to create a huge business, Li Zhaofu has always been arrogant and unsympathetic.

His arrogance is directed at outsiders. For many years, he has been colluded to exclude foreign brokers in the securities industry. He is not very respectful to government officials, and frictions will occur from time to time.

His unsympathy is directed at family members. Since ancient times, those who have done great things are rarely indecisive and sentimental, and Li Zhaofu is no exception.

Because of his discord with his eldest brother, he directly sold the shares of his family's property Chinese Estates to the British.

And he was extremely resistant to the Li family using his convenience in the Far East Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to seek personal gain, so that he had many conflicts with his relatives.

In this stock market crash, even his nephew, Li Guobao, the current general manager of Hong Kong Telephone Company, made remarks in the newspaper to accuse him.

Li Zhaofu did not care about the brothers' quarrels. His strength had long exceeded the stage where he needed to consider these things.

But if the government wanted to deal with him, he had to worry.

As early as the beginning of this year, there were rumors that Attorney General Tang Mingzhi talked about him and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in a small gathering, and his tone was unhappy.

He claimed: "This group of people (Li Zhaofu) has regarded the Hong Kong Stock Exchange as their own private club. A few Chinese brokers have controlled this international securities market, while foreign brokers have stood aside. How can this phenomenon be tolerated?"

At that time, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange was thriving, and Li Zhaofu was in high spirits. He didn't care about these words, and Tang Mingzhi's words might only represent himself.

But now, when the autumn wind is rustling, the "prison disaster" calculated by Dong Bo forced Li Zhaofu to pay attention.

"Is there a solution?"

Li Zhaofu's question was not answered by Dong Bo.

If fortune-telling can solve all worries, how can they, officials, businessmen and wealthy people, dominate Hong Kong?

"Retreat bravely at the right time and make good friends."

Dong Bo did not say the solution, but in the end he gave Li Zhaofu eight words.

Li Zhaofu certainly understood the meaning of these eight words. In his initial panic, he had thought about "retreating at the peak of his powers".

But as a tyrant, he was suspicious by nature. How could he let a fortune teller's words determine his future path?

What if someone bribed Dong Bo and took the opportunity to confuse his mind and hoped that he would step down?

When he was struggling with his own thoughts, Li Zhaofu saw a report in the newspaper that linked the stock market crash with "The Great Times".

At that moment, he was suspicious.

If the "stock market crash" was "official killing", could "The Great Times" be the "wealth generation" that helped?

He thought about it and thought more and more, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that there was some truth, but this speculation was still not enough for him to make up his mind, until the news began to spread everywhere that Lin Chaoyang won an award overseas.

As a businessman, he did not care about literary awards.

At noon one day, he and Xin Hanquan had lunch. During their chat, Xin Hanquan talked about some gossip in the market and mentioned Lin Chaoyang's high-leverage short selling of Yulang Institution.

Li Zhaofu couldn't help but look condensed, and carefully inquired about the ins and outs of the matter.

After Xin Hanquan finished explaining Lin Chaoyang's operations and results in the stock market, Li Zhaofu fell silent.

If you get rich again, you will be able to prevent disaster.

Retreat bravely from the rapids and make many good connections.

Uncle Dong's words were imprinted on his heart like a magic spell.

Could it be that this "Lin Chaoyang" should be the answer to the prison sentence?

"Haha, after all, he is a young man who has the courage and is more decisive in his actions. No wonder Lin Sheng has gained such a huge harvest." Li Zhaofu said with admiration on his face and sincere words.

"Li Sheng is too praised! I am a layman, but I am not afraid of those who don't know."

After chatting for a while, Li Zhaofu asked thoughtfully during the meal: "I heard that Lin's Pictures recently intends to expand its business. It seems that Lin Sheng and Lin Tai are not only focusing on the film field!"

Hearing this, Tao Yushu's expression changed, and he looked at Li Zhaofu with a hint of vigilance.

Lin Chaoyang's face was calm, "In Xiangjiang's securities market, nothing can be hidden from Li Sheng's eyes and ears."

"Lin Sheng, Mrs. Lin, please forgive me. I have no ill intentions towards you two, I just want to make some friends."

When Li Zhaofu said this, his eyes were so kind that Lin Chaoyang couldn't figure out what he was thinking for a while.

Li Zhaofu sighed and asked, "I wonder what Lin Sheng thinks of this stock market crash and market suspension?"

Lin Chaoyang pondered for a moment, "The stock market crash in Xiangjiang is just a small cross-section of the global stock market crash. The underlying reason is still caused by the Federal Reserve's interest rate hike."

"The panic effect in the market began to spread from the United States. With the size of the Hang Seng Index and its high correlation with US stocks, it is impossible to be immune."

"The choice of suspending the market has advantages and disadvantages. From my personal point of view, even if the market is not suspended, the Hang Seng Index's sharp decline is inevitable, and the magnitude may even be greater.

Because I write novels, I have a fairly good understanding of the operating model of the Stock Exchange.

Experts are accustomed to punctual settlements. When the market plummets, investors who bought and sold before the market was closed are very likely to default on their accounts. In the end, brokers have no choice but to liquidate their positions, and the snowball effect gets bigger and bigger.

Maybe even a few banks will close down. "

Listening to Lin Chaoyang's talk, Li Zhaofu looked pleased.

"Lin Sheng's insights coincide with my thoughts. Do you know how much money the government spent last month to protect those guarantee companies?

2 billion!

If I don't stop the market, their losses will only be more severe.

And before the market was suspended, I called Mr. Cai. If he hadn't agreed, I wouldn't have easily suspended the market.

These ghosts! "

The God of Wealth mentioned by Li Zhaofu refers to the Financial Secretary of Hong Kong. Although he has a Chinese name, he is an authentic British person.

Li Zhaofu mentioned "Zhai Kecheng" with a tone full of resentment. Naturally, it was because he felt that he had been set up by the ghost guy and was used as a scapegoat.

Lin Chaoyang understood that with Li Zhaofu's character and status, he would not easily express such words and emotions to him. The other party obviously wanted to win his trust.

But he still couldn't figure out what Li Zhaofu's purpose was? Is it really out of admiration?

"Li Sheng was accused by thousands of people, and he was indeed unfairly accused."

Li Zhaofu lamented, "Lin Sheng thinks, how should I deal with myself in the future?"

Lin Chaoyang was slightly startled. He could hear Li Zhaofu's intention to retreat in his words, but asking him these words would inevitably sound like a superficial conversation.

Thinking of Li Zhaofu's weird behavior after today's meeting, Lin Chaoyang didn't think there was any trap in it, so he hesitated for a moment.

"Given Li Sheng's current situation, it would not be degrading to retreat from the rapids."

Hearing these words, Li Zhaofu's eyes narrowed, and a frightening aura suddenly erupted from his body, "Why do you say that?"

Lin Chaoyang's expression remained normal, "There are rumors that Li Sheng has been uniting with Chinese brokers for many years and has never been favored by the Hong Kong government. They urgently need a scapegoat for this stock market crash. Li Sheng must also be aware of the voices of the outside world these days."

Speaking of this, Lin Chaoyang said in a faint tone, "The situation is stronger than the person. It's better to be decent yourself than to let others help you!"

Li Zhaofu's eyes stared at Lin Chaoyang, squinting unconsciously, unable to conceal the dangerous meaning.

Sometimes it's like this. The person can say a lot of things himself, but others can't point it out.

Lin Chaoyang and Li Zhaofu didn't look at each other for long, but Tao Yushu on the side felt that a long time had passed. After all, the person sitting opposite him was a billionaire and a powerful figure in the Hong Kong securities market.

Suddenly, the seriousness on Li Zhaofu's face disappeared, and his eyes softened.

"Lin Sheng is indeed an extremely smart person who can deduce the direction of the market just by looking at his scales.

'It's better to be decent yourself than to have others help you look decent', hehe..."

Li Zhaofu was murmuring what Lin Chaoyang had just said. At some point, his originally upright chest collapsed, and his aura became slightly depressed.

"If I insist on not retreating, what do you think will happen to Lin Sheng?"

"Given Li Sheng's current status, ordinary methods are of no use to you. If we really want to touch you, we must use force."

We are all adults, so the "forceful means" mentioned by Lin Chaoyang naturally do not need too much explanation.

After a long pause, Li Zhaofu spoke in a low voice.

"The master predicted that I would be imprisoned next year and gave me eight words: retreat bravely when the tide is rising and make friends widely. Mr. Lin, do you think this is true?"

"It is indeed a good saying."

In Hong Kong in later generations, Li Zhaofu was arrested by the Hong Kong government for "corruption" at the beginning of the next year because of his poor response to the 87 stock market crash. He was imprisoned and released four years later.

When he was released from prison, the Hong Kong securities market had already changed. Li Zhaofu deeply realized the darkness of politics and fled to Thailand, never to ask about the affairs of the underworld again.

Lin Chaoyang did not think that Li Zhaofu was a good person. He must have his own selfish motives to unite Chinese brokers and exclude foreign brokers, but he also really won the right to speak for Hong Kong people in society and made his own contribution to the development of Hong Kong.

It would be ridiculous if he was really imprisoned as in history.

At that time, in the indictment of the Independent Commission Against Corruption against Li Zhaofu, his illegal income was only a few hundred thousand Hong Kong dollars.

Lin Chaoyang thought it was not impossible for a billionaire to embezzle hundreds of thousands, but it was probably more insulting and intimidating.

Half an hour later, Li Zhaofu sent Lin Chaoyang and his wife away.

The next morning, Tao Yushu was outside and called Lin Chaoyang to tell him that Bank of East Asia suddenly contacted her and wanted to provide a loan to Lin's Pictures with very favorable conditions.

"Is this what Mr. Li said about 'making friends'?" Tao Yushu asked on the phone.

The reason why she asked this was because Bank of East Asia was the property of the Li family.

"Yes!" Lin Chaoyang sighed lightly.

Half a month later, Li Zhaofu suddenly announced through the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that he would be responsible for the previous stock market crash and resign as the chairman of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

He also resigned with the CEO of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Xin Hanquan, who was Li Zhaofu's right-hand man in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

As soon as the news came out, it instantly caused a sensation in Hong Kong.

It has been nearly 60 days since the Hong Kong stock market crash. Whether it is listed companies, institutions or shareholders, they have suffered heavy losses. The public has been complaining. Li Zhaofu has long been called "the eternal sinner" by many media and shareholders who lost money.

At this time, he resigned, not only in line with public opinion, but also gave the Hong Kong government a way out.

Afterwards, Li Zhaofu learned from his old friend that the Hong Kong government had already been secretly planning.

If he had not chosen to make up his mind to cut off his arm at this time, he would have become the first target of the ICAC's dawn operation in the early 1988 of the Western calendar.

Li Zhaofu was secretly shocked and extremely fortunate to hear the news.

He thought of the eight words that Dong Bo gave him again, and thought of Lin Chaoyang's face, thinking that this good fate was really a pair.

On the day when Li Zhaofu resigned as the chairman of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, no one noticed that a hunting game was quietly going on.

On December 20, 1987, Peregrine Financing Company, which had just been established for less than a week, made an acquisition offer to Yulang Organization on behalf of Lam's Films, with a price of HK$0.5 per share.

At the same time, the offer was also conditional, and it must acquire 67% or more of the shares of Yulang Organization to be considered valid.

After the news was disclosed by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, it immediately caused a great response in the Hong Kong stock market and society.

Since the stock market crash, the Hong Kong stock market has continued to be sluggish. Lam's Films' acquisition of Yulang Organization was the first acquisition of a listed company after the stock market crash, which to a certain extent boosted the confidence of some investors in the stock market.

But even so, it was not enough to produce such a big response.

The fundamental reason why this acquisition can have a huge impact is that the acquirer Lam's Films and the acquired party Yulang Organization have a huge size gap.

The predecessor of Yulang Organization was Yulang Book Company, which was established in 1971. It was established for more than ten years. After it went public in 1986, its boss Huang Yulang attacked everywhere and made great moves.

Not only did it monopolize the vast majority of comic book publishing businesses in Hong Kong, it also sold comic book copyrights to the United States, Japan, and Southeast Asia, and introduced daily cartoon copyrights, becoming the dominant force in the Hong Kong comics industry.

It also invested in printing, newspapers, magazines, real estate and many other fields, with a market value of up to HK$2 billion at one time.

Wong Yuk-long himself was therefore called the billionaire prodigy who "painted the rainbow" by the Wall Street Journal of the United States, and he was in the limelight for a while.

Compared with the once glorious Yulang Organization, Lin's Film, which was established only two years ago, is not unknown, but it is not a big company either.

In the past two years, Lin's Film has developed very quickly, but with the two film industry hegemons, Golden Harvest and Cinema City, blocking the way in front and the Freedom General in the back, no one would have thought that such a company that was still struggling in the film industry would brazenly launch an acquisition of Yulang Organization.

What's more terrifying is the additional condition they proposed: the acquisition will only be considered a reality if they obtain 67% or more of the shares of Yulang Organization.

What does 67% of the shares mean?

The majority shareholder has absolute control over the company. Any major or general resolution of the company can be enforced without the consent of other shareholders.

What kind of confidence does it take to make such an offer!

At its peak, Yulang was a huge monster for Lam's Films. It was probably not enough to buy it, let alone snipe at the stock price.

Unfortunately, a hero never mentions his past achievements. After the stock market crash, the stock price of Yulang plummeted. There was also news that the boss, Wong Yuk-lang, sold shares illegally, and the stock price continued to fall.

On the day when Lam's Films made the acquisition offer, the market value of Yulang was only HK$209 million, and the stock price was almost cut to the ankle compared to the peak.

The acquisition war was about to start. In just one day, Lam's Films had already controlled 36.5% of the shares of Yulang.

There is no doubt that this acquisition war had already started many days ago, otherwise Lam's Pictures would not have absorbed so many shares of Yulang Organization in such a short time.

Faced with the "blitzkrieg" launched by Lam's Pictures, Wong Yuk-lang, who was negotiating copyrights with publishers in Japan, was caught off guard and quickly flew back to Hong Kong to organize a counterattack.

But at this time, he was no longer as brave as before the stock market crash. He had lost hundreds of millions of funds in futures. Some time ago, he had been privately reducing his holdings and mortgaging shares to fill the hole. Now he only holds 20.4% of the shares.

The stock price of Yulang Organization plummeted, and the shares were worthless. He has not completely filled the hole until now. At this time, he suddenly faced an acquisition offer. It was really difficult for a good cook to cook without rice.

Without money, how to compete with the acquirer to save the company?

Wong Yuk-lang was anxious to find his fellow countrymen and friends Liu Luanxiong and Qian Guozhong to borrow funds.

But before the funds from his old friend arrived, the ICAC received a report that Wong Yuk-lang had falsified accounts to siphon cash from the Yuk-lang Group to make up for losses from stock speculation.

On that day, a reporter took photos of ICAC personnel entering the Yuk-lang Building for a search. After the news was published, the share price of Yuk-lang, which had risen sharply due to the acquisition battle, fell.

Many stockholders knew that this might be the news released by the acquirer, but they still did not dare to gamble. Everyone was afraid of the stock market crash. It was not easy to get a chance to make a profit, so few people dared to hold on to their stocks and enjoy the benefits.

In just two days, the chips in the hands of Lam's Pictures increased greatly, but the funds spent were not much higher than before.

On the one hand, there was a takeover battle, and on the other hand, the falsification of accounts was exposed.

Wong Yuk-lang was immediately in a dilemma, whether to control the company or to be free.

This problem did not make Wong Yuk-lang entangled for too long. Just two days later, he was taken to the headquarters of the ICAC on Murray Road for investigation.

Although he was granted bail for HK$5 million the next day, Yulang Company was leaderless, miserable, and people had already lost their minds.

Qian Guozhong, who had promised to lend him money, disappeared after he was taken away for investigation, and Liu Luanxiong remained silent.

Wong Yuk-long finally felt that his empire was about to collapse. He held the Ming Pao of the day, looked at the heroic photo of a woman on it, and roared to the sky.

The most poisonous thing in the world is women!