The birth of the Hong Kong Island family

More than two months later.

At the Kwai Chung Container Terminal, containers were hoisted onto the container ship one by one, and Lin Ruijiang personally supervised them from the shore.

This batch of goods is 3,000 arcade machines, with a total value of more than 2 million US dollars. It will be sent to the United States, and the signing company is Atari Electronic Game Company. The games on these 3,000 arcade machines are Hong Kong Cubes.

At this time in the distant United States, the first batch of 2,000 Hong Kong cubes achieved huge influence and were even listed as current video game classics. They were widely called for porting to the Atari 2600 console game.

Not only in the United States, but also in Europe and Japan, Hong Kong cube arcades have become popular, but most of these areas mainly sell game software. To this end, Midea already has an overseas patent team.

"Lin Sheng, do you want to go back first? Just leave the rest to us!" the staff member asked.

Lin Ruijiang nodded and said, "Okay, I'll go back first and you guys will watch."

"Ok, no problem!"

Lin Ruijiang then left the scene. He was recently promoted to the vice president of Midea and is still mainly responsible for the development of arcade and electronic game software. However, since he is the vice president, he naturally has the right to manage and interfere with other businesses.

Lin Ruijiang was also very proud to learn that the Walkman would be released in the second half of the year. He had been involved in this project for more than a year. I know that this product is great and will be a sensation once it is launched.

Recently, Lin Ruijiang has been focusing on his career and has not dated a girlfriend. He is more cautious now and plans to fall in love with the intention of getting married. He does not want to be careless like before. After all, the third child is getting married, and he doesn't even have an official girlfriend now.

However, he has been really busy with work recently and has to prepare to fly to the United States for official business. He is afraid that he may not be able to find a suitable girlfriend for a while.

Villa No. 79, Deep Water Bay.

In the evening, Lin Ruijiang was called home for dinner and stay. He usually lives in a bungalow on the top of the mountain, which was given to him by his father. As for Villa No. 79 in Deep Water Bay, he rarely lives there.

After dinner, Lin Ruijiang was called to the study by his father.

Lin Zhichao took out a magazine, opened a page, and said, "What do you think of this girl?"

Lin Ruijiang was speechless. It was very unusual for his father to discuss girls with him. Of course he knew that his father was much more romantic than him, but his mothers didn't mind, and his own mother even pointed out that he couldn't have the charm of his father.

At this point, Lin Ruijiang also admitted that especially since his third mother could follow his father without any regrets, he knew that his father must have great advantages in women. At least he admits that he can't handle two women at the same time.

"Looking at the small model, she looks quite pretty!" Lin Ruijiang responded.

Of course, he and his father couldn't have a heart-to-heart relationship with women. He was worried that he might offend his mother accidentally.

Lin Zhichao immediately said: "This girl is studying in the preparatory school at King George V School. She will be promoted from Form 6 to Form 7. Her name is Zhu Linlin. I saw her in a magazine and thought she is very suitable to be your girlfriend. Find someone to find out. Regarding her information, you can handle the rest yourself.”

Lin Ruijiang seemed to have heard the biggest joke. If his father hadn't said this, he would have gone crazy. However, he still protested: "Dad, are you mistaken! She is a girl in the sixth grade, and you just rely on a women's clothing advertisement, why do you say she is suitable for me? Also, didn't you say that your daughter-in-law must be like a sister-in-law? , At least you have gone to college and are well-educated?"

What his son said made sense, but Lin Zhichao insisted: "Just get to know her and get along with her. If it's suitable, I won't force you. But it's my request that you get to know her!"

Lin Zhichao thought it was quite suitable for Zhu Linlin to be his daughter-in-law. The first was to give birth to a son, and the second was to take care of the overall situation. As for whether it can last long, Lin Zhichao is somewhat confident. Their family is not rigid, and his son Lin Ruijiang is not serious. On the contrary, he has young people's ideas.

Seeing his father like this, Lin Ruijiang couldn't help but look at the photo again. After a closer look, he quite liked it.

"Then let me try!"

"Well, give it a try, but don't hurt others. If it suits you, date her. If it doesn't suit, don't hurt others. You've almost had enough fun. It's time to consider getting married and having children."

"I know!"

Lin Zhichao defended himself again: "My situation is different from yours. At least I have the ability to make your three mothers get along happily and never get jealous. So in this regard, if you can't learn it, don't try to learn it."

Lin Ruijiang looked at his father in shock, but did not ask any questions. He vaguely understood that his father had a strong personal charm that he could not help but exude. The best proof is that the nine brothers and sisters have actually regarded their father as their idol since they were young.

"I understand, it's impossible for us nine brothers and sisters to imitate your feelings."

Lin Zhichao nodded, indicating that he could leave.

After Lin Ruijiang left, Lin Zhichao smiled in the study.

He has the habit of flipping through magazines. This month, he suddenly found an advertisement shot by Zhu Linlin and recognized her immediately. To be honest, he knew Zhu Linlin in his previous life from a character in "Genesis". This character was Fang Jianping (Lisa) played by Wang Mingquan. This character was pursued by two rich men, and her behavior was really speechless.

Zhu Linlin was also 'pursued by two rich men', and she was a good husband and childbearer. The reason why Lin Zhichao was divorced in his previous life was because he was married to a "feudal family" and was burdened by his reputation.

If she were to marry into the Lin family as a daughter-in-law, Lin Zhichao would not be too harsh as long as it was not a matter of principle. Lin Ruijiang is not the kind of person who doesn't understand romance and won't even eat street food.

Three days later, at the entrance of King George V School.

"Zhu Linlin, someone is looking for you!"

Zhu Linlin was a little surprised when she heard what her classmates said. Who would be waiting for her at the school gate?

When Lin Ruijiang saw Zhu Linlin here, he was immediately happy and finally found the rightful owner.

"Hello, classmate Zhu Linlin! I have seen the magazine you shot, and your style is really fascinating!" Lin Ruijiang came to Zhu Linlin like a gentleman and said.

At this time, he changed his mind a little. Dad seemed to be very accurate in judging people. This Zhu Linlin has great potential!

Although they were flattering words, they were very useful to Zhu Linlin, who was not very experienced in the world. In addition, Lin Ruijiang was handsome and looked like a successful person, so her favorable impression immediately increased.

"Thank you! Who are you?"

Lin Ruijiang introduced himself: "My name is Lin Ruijiang. After accidentally seeing the advertisement you shot, I admired you very much, so I asked someone to find out some information about you and wanted to invite you to have dinner with me."

The technique is very old-fashioned, but it is very effective, because Lin Ruijiang looks like a successful person at first glance, and he is handsome.

Zhu Linlin asked curiously: "You can find out my information so easily, you must be a great big shot, right?"

It cannot be said that she worships money, it cannot be said at all.

Beauties love heroes, and heroes love beauties. Wealth and power are symbols of a man's ability. There will always be people in future generations who are angry - instead of looking at other people's money, why don't you have any money?

Lin Ruijiang said with a smile: "I am definitely not a big shot, but my father should be, and I am just a senior executive in the Yangtze River Industrial Group."

Zhu Linlin's heart was beating wildly - her father was a big shot, and he was a senior executive in the Yangtze River Industrial Group, and his surname was Lin. It seemed that he had pointed to a great big shot.

She didn't dare to ask any more questions, for fear that if she asked too many questions, she would be so nervous that she would lose her composure.

Later, Lin Ruijiang invited Zhu Linlin to get in the car.

In early June, Lin Zhichao came to Los Angeles.

In the villa, Lin Zhichao had a small gathering with Audrey Hepburn, Lin Ruidong, and Lin Ruinan.

The family was sitting on the lawn of the villa, enjoying the party.

During this period, Lin Zhichao asked: "How is the acquisition of Alcorn going?"

Audrey Hepburn replied: "Well, we are already going through the procedures. According to statistics from the accounting firm, Ruidong can get 5% of the new shares, worth 200 million US dollars."

Audrey's company's market value is a bit scary, already over 4 billion US dollars. In the first half of this year alone, the price has increased by more than 30%, which is due to the success of Atari 2600 and My Little Pony.

Although the sales of Alcorn (Cabbage Patch Dolls) this year are very exaggerated (estimated to be 500-800 million US dollars), after all, the cycle of toys that rely on sales will not be too long.

Lin Zhichao smiled and said: "Ruidong, you are the youngest billionaire."

Lin Ruidong said: "My father was behind the plan, otherwise I wouldn't have succeeded."

Lin Zhichao said: "We are a family, you're welcome!"

After such transactions, the shares held by Audrey Hepburn and Lin Ruidong in ‘Audrey Company’ have reached about 62%, worth more than 2 billion US dollars. As for the stocks held by Yangtze Toy Factory, only about 5% is left.

Currently, the Lin family's shareholding is very high, but when acquisitions begin later, the shares will naturally be diluted.

Next, Lin Zhichao said: "After Ruidong joined Audrey Company, he went to Atari Company to take charge of software work. The first thing he did when he took office was to implement the game software 'royalty' system and allow game software vendors to join this system. The so-called ' The more important requirements of the royalty system are: first, the game cartridges must be produced by Atari; second, the ordering, circulation, and wholesale of games are all responsible for the wholesale department controlled by Atari, and software is not allowed. A cassette is sold by a merchant; thirdly, each manufacturer has a limit on the number of games it can release on the Atari 2600 each year, ranging from 1 to 6 games depending on the size of the manufacturer; fourthly, it is necessary to estimate the sales volume and pay the full royalties in advance. For example, if you think your company's game can sell 200,000 copies, then you should first hand over Atari's share based on the sales volume of 200,000 copies. As for how much it can actually sell in the end, Atari doesn't care, we will take 30% of the share."

Audrey Hepburn and Lin Ruidong both recorded it directly with pens, as if they were listening to the leaders' meeting.

Having said so much, the most important one is of course the last one.

The game developer pays the "royalty" first. If the predicted product cannot be sold, the game developer will lose money because they have already given the predicted share to Atari, and Atari will not refund it to you. The purpose of this is to warn game developers not to exaggerate predictions, which is beneficial to Atari's software department for scheduling.

Lin Ruidong then asked: "Dad, if the conditions are so harsh, will the software vendors be dissatisfied?"

Lin Zhichao smiled and said: "This is an incentive! In order to prevent rough games, this 'royalty' system is the most reasonable system for our console games. Moreover, once it can be equipped with our game consoles, basically It means big profits.”

Audrey Hepburn nodded and said: "Yes, we currently have no competitors. Even if we do, we can monopolize this market with advanced technology. Game software is very important, even more important than hardware. The royalties The system can fully ensure that we are far ahead."

Lin Zhichao added: "Ruidong, requiring high standards for itself and its partners is the best management method for the enterprise."

Lin Ruidong was taught and said: "Okay, Dad!"

Next.

Lin Zhichao said to Audrey Hepburn: "How is the development status of the portable game console GAME \u0026 WATCH (handheld console)?"

Audrey Hepburn said: "It entered the formal research and development stage at the beginning of this year. This team was reorganized in order not to affect the subsequent hardware updates of the Atari 2600, so only a very small number of old employees joined the handheld development work."

Lin Zhichao asked again: "Where's Sharp?"

Audrey said: "We have signed a cooperation development agreement to assist us in the development of handheld consoles."

Sharp is currently the world's largest LCD screen manufacturer, and handheld LCD screens are very important, so Atari was ready to win over Sharp from the beginning.

The cooperation between the two parties is natural. After all, Audrey's company is very influential. In addition, it is an American company, and Japan, a son of a bitch, has to obediently please cooperate.

Lin Zhichao deployed arcades, console games, and handheld games through Audrey Company because Hong Kong did not have strong scientific research capabilities. What's more, it's all the property of the Lin family, so there's no problem.

"I also have an idea for an arcade game here. The name of the game is "Donkey Kong". It is the first time that the story of 'hero saving beauty' is put into a video game. The protagonist is a plumber, a gorilla, and a princess. Avoid or Jump over obstacles and climb onto a construction site as a platformer inspired by movies and TV shows like Popeye, Beauty and the Beast, and King Kong.”

The feature of "Donkey Kong" is that "Heroes Save Beauty" was transferred to a video game, the first platform game, etc., while "Pac-Man" developed by Hong Kong Midea Electronics is a maze game, and "Little Bee" is a vertical design game .

"The image of a plumber?" Audrey asked curiously.

The protagonist of "Donkey Kong" is Mario, so he is the plumber, and the gorilla is the villain, who kidnapped Princess Pauline.

Lin Zhichao said: "Yes, it looks like a big red nose and a red hat. I will pay attention to it."

Lin Ruidong added: "This is the first time that this game involves characters, and even the image of Donkey Kong is very demanding. The current technology is still far from reaching it."

Lin Zhichao said: "Atari is about innovation, and technical issues are about continuous progress. Moore's Law tells us that electronic products are changing with each passing day. What you see today may not necessarily be what you see tomorrow. Just like I said that personal computers will be popular Across the United States, and even around the world, mobile phones will become available to everyone in the future, and they can talk to family and friends on the phone at any time. This is the charm of technology, which never lacks imagination. So it is just a game. As long as you have a goal, you have to Go to R\u0026D.”

Lin Ruidong immediately admired his father even more and said in an educated tone: "Okay, I understand!"

Later, Lin Zhichao read the notes taken by the two people, and only felt relieved after confirming that they were correct.

The reason why "Donkey Kong" was handed over to Atari for its own development was to rely on Atari's strength. In comparison, "Pac-Man" and "Little Bee" have lower hardware requirements and can also be developed in Hong Kong. Of course, they will also use American studios and even Atari's research and development capabilities.

After "Donkey Kong" was developed, Mario's image also belonged to Atari. By then, "Mario" can naturally be handed over to Hong Kong Midea Electronics for research and development.

In this wave of video game craze, Atari Corporation wants to ensure global dominance, while Hong Kong Midea Electronics shares the ‘software success’. The two companies must not only cooperate, but also have technical support.

The current sales of the Atari 2600 are not exaggerated. Once it is technically updated and supported by a variety of games, it is expected to completely explode from 1978 to 1980. By then, the annual profits from console games alone may be more than US$1 billion.

By the 1980s, Audrey Company was fully capable of crazy expansion.

Lin Zhichao came to the headquarters of Korn Ferry International and met with its founder Lester Korn.

"Mr. Lin wants to set up a family office, so he needs our help!" Cohen said enthusiastically.

This is the richest family in China and deserves his personal reception.

Lin Zhichao sat on the sofa and said easily: "Yes! I need a professional team to build a family office that will never decline. Because of this, I need Korn Ferry to complete this task for me. The important thing is that the family The office headquarters will be set up in Hong Kong!”

For this family office, maintaining family unity and serving family members are currently the main tasks, and the subsequent task is the inheritance of wealth. Therefore, Lin Zhichao plans to use professional staff at the beginning and gradually increase the proportion of Chinese staff later. Because at this time, there were relatively few Chinese talents involved in this aspect.

Victoria Harbor Investment is Lin Zhichao's private investment company. It will subsequently become Lin Zhichao's main source of personal wealth, investing in financial products, commercial real estate and other high returns. The money earned by Victoria Harbor Investment will be used by Lin Zhichao after his death in a trust model to benefit future generations; however, As long as Lin Zhichao is alive for one day, it will be the wealth that Lin Zhichao distributes at will.

The family office is the family's service and investment company. Lin Zhichao plans to let Audrey Investment, Global Group, and Yangtze River Industrial Group jointly invest US$100 million into the family office as initial capital; in the future, the dividends of each listed company will also Injection into family offices. In terms of investment, it focuses on long-term investment and stable wealth growth.

With such a layout, the Lin family is completely protected at all levels, but it can last for hundreds or even thousands of years.

The first layer of protection: The seven sons can inherit various companies in the future to spread Lin Zhichao's apparent wealth. Of course, there are also companies that are not listed. In this way, it can be regarded as a seven-line inheritance, similar to Rothschild sending his five sons to develop in five countries.

Second layer of protection: Victoria Harbor Investment will be converted into a trust fund by Lin Chichao "a hundred years later" to benefit his descendants.

The third protection: family office. This is the most powerful protection. First, the Morgan family and the Rockefeller family relied on family offices to prosper.

Cohen said: "No problem! With Mr. Lin's influence as the 'World Shipping King', I believe there are many elite talents willing to join. In terms of specific requirements for talents, does Mr. Lin have any other requirements?"

Lin Zhichao said: "Yes! I don't pursue investment geniuses, but they must be talents who are familiar with this field. After all, I am also very good at investing. Secondly, if there are Chinese talents in this field, I will give priority to it."

Cohen nodded, and then briefly explained the relatively high operating costs of a 'family office'. He said: "What size of family office does Mr. Lin probably want?"

There are also large, medium and small family offices, as well as single family offices and multiple family offices. The difference is the difference in operating costs.

Lin Zhichao said: "The initial capital managed is 100 million U.S. dollars. I will also inject dividends and dividends from some companies in the future, so the scale needs to be a large family office, each department must be fully staffed, and American and European branches will be established. Of course. I just need Korn Ferry to recruit senior executives for me, and I will slowly look for talents in the later stages.”

Cohen was surprised in his heart. He didn't expect this Chinese to be so "magnificent". Some family offices only need a dozen people, which are considered very powerful. After all, there are many family offices with multiple families.

"OK, let me find a CEO for you first, so that we can continue to look for senior executives based on the specific situation."

Lin Zhichao said with satisfaction: "Okay, if you are willing, then ask them to come to Hong Kong to communicate with me."

"OK"