Literary Master 1978.

Chapter 496 The most poisonous thing in the world is women!

"1 million? Where did it come from?"

Tao Yushu did not take her husband's words seriously and asked casually.

“I made money from stock trading.”

"Stock trading?"

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

"You really made money from stock trading?"

"of course."

Lin Chaoyang showed a look of satisfaction, and then he simply explained his operation to Tao Yushu.

The more Tao Yushu listened, the tighter his brows furrowed. In the end, he couldn't help but complain, "You're taking too much risk by doing this."

"Investment is definitely risky. The risk of making a movie is not necessarily less than my stock trading."

What Lin Chaoyang said made sense, and he was actually making money now. Tao Yushu would not keep harping on this issue, but just give him a reminder.

But after a while, she became happy and joked: "If I had known you had this talent, why would I have started a company so hard!"

"You said this is a high-risk thing! Besides, the reason I can make so much money this time is mainly because of the stock market crash. It's a windfall." Lin Chaoyang said hypocritically.

Just now she was only worried about the risks, but now she really felt that her husband had made 100 million by trading stocks. The more she thought about it, the happier she became, and she felt like she wanted to soar into the sky with joy.

"Chaoyang, you are so amazing!"

"I told you it was a windfall!"

"That's because you have foresight. Didn't you make money before? And everyone lost money in the stock market crash, but you were the only one who made money. Aren't you amazing?"

The admiration in Tao Yushu's eyes was almost overflowing, and it was full of affection and tenderness.

After enjoying some affectionate conversation, Lin Chaoyang went on to talk about his search for Liang Botao and the acquisition of Yulang Agency.

"Your gift is too big. Acquire a listed company!"

Tao Yushu's tone was full of amazement.

Even though she is now in charge of Lin's Pictures and handles business worth millions or tens of millions every day, the acquisition of a listed company is still beyond her understanding.

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 make the acquisition in the name of Lin’s Pictures, but our total is only 2 million, will it be a little less?
Once the acquisition war begins, both sides will try their best to show their abilities. This money may not be enough, right? "

"You're right. My idea is that if we want to be on the safe side, we can mortgage a portion of Lin's shares and raise some more money.

Besides, Wong Yuk-long is in a mess now. Leung Pak-tao said that he is selling his stocks to make up for the loss from futures.

He has been targeted by the Securities and Futures Commission, but he has no choice but to operate behind closed doors.

We acquired Yulang Agency. The more he struggles, the greater the probability of something going wrong.

The company may be fine, but he will not be well off.”

Hearing that her husband had inquired about the news in such detail and planned it so carefully, Tao Yushu felt a little relieved.

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

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

Stock market snipers have always had two purposes: one is to make a genuine acquisition, and the other is to use the name of acquisition to commit "extortion".

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

Lin Chaoyang certainly didn't intend to blackmail, but if the acquisition failed, he would never do a business at a loss, so he would just treat it as another way to earn some pocket money.

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

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

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

On weekends, the couple visited Li Zhaofu's home in Shouson Hill.

Li Zhaofu was born into the famous Li Peicai family in Hong Kong, which is the Li family, one of the four major families in Hong Kong often mentioned by 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, Chinese capital rose in Hong Kong, giving rise to a number of wealthy people such as Li Ka-shing, Lee Shau-kee, Cheng Yu-tung, and Kwok Tak-seng, and Li Zhaofu's Far East Exchange made great contributions to this.

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

Not only does he come from a wealthy family, but he himself has become one of the richest people in Hong Kong and possesses the power to call the shots in the securities market.

However, Li Zhaofu has had bad luck recently. During the stock market crash in October, he instructed the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to suspend trading. He was accused of creating panic by the government and the media and was heavily condemned.

After the meeting, Li Zhaofu was humble and took Lin Chaoyang aside 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, you are so 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 kind of thing, 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 has no prediction at all, right?"

Lin Chaoyang looked calm. "My prediction is just an intuition about the general direction. It is different from analysts who rely on real data for support. You can also say it is a 'guess'."

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

“I spent a long time at the Stock Exchange in order to write a novel, and learned a lot. I was eager to show my skills.

I just want to make some pocket money. If I make money, that’s even better. If I lose money, I’ll just take it as an experience.”

When Lin Chaoyang talked about the maneuvers in the stock market, his expression was relaxed and calm, which made Li Zhaofu feel a little admiration.

His personal net worth exceeds HK$40 billion. Even without counting his family's wealth, he is already one of the richest people in Hong Kong.

Having worked in the securities industry for most of his life, he has seen many ups and downs and has his own ways and methods of identifying people.

In his opinion, Lin Chaoyang has an indescribable self-confidence.

If it happens to an ordinary person, it is nothing unusual, but on Lin Chaoyang it forms a wonderful aura, making Lin Chaoyang become more mysterious and unfathomable.

Li Zhaofu couldn't help but recall his experience of visiting Dong Bo some time ago.

Many wealthy people in Hong Kong believe in feng shui and fortune-telling, and Li Zhaofu is no exception.

His favorite fortune teller was a man nicknamed "Iron Plate Divination" and "Dong Banxian". Dong Banxian's real name was Dong Mujie, and he learned the "Iron Plate Divination" passed down from the Song Dynasty.

Having been in Hong Kong for decades, he has been trusted by various wealthy people and celebrities with his accurate predictions and low-key style.

After the stock market crash last month, Li Zhaofu felt that his luck was unlucky and went to Dong Bo to have his fortune told.

"When the official killer is in power, he will kill him. If he meets the wealth, he will be in jail."

In the theory of numerology, "officials and killers" represent power, responsibility and restraint, while "sitting killers" 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 "officials and killers are in power", that is, officials and killers are in power in the fate, the owner of the fate may be imprisoned due to power struggles, legal constraints and other issues.

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

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

Given his current status in Hong Kong, ordinary illegal acts would not land him in jail. Li Zhaofu only thought of one possibility.

The government wants to get rid of 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 and with outstanding personal abilities, Li Zhaofu has built a huge empire, but he has always been arrogant and unkind.

His arrogance was directed at outsiders. For many years, he had been working together to exclude foreign brokers in the securities industry. He was also not very respectful to senior government officials, which led to frictions from time to time.

His inhumanity was directed at his family members. Since ancient times, those who accomplished great things were rarely indecisive or sentimental, and Li Zhaofu was no exception.

Because of his discord with his elder brother, he directly sold his shares in the family business, Chinese Estates Holdings, to the British.

He was also extremely resistant to the Li family's use of his position in the Far East Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to seek personal gain, which led to many discords with his relatives.

During this stock market crash, even his nephew, David Li, the current general manager of Hong Kong Telephone Company, published comments in the newspaper to accuse him.

Li Zhaofu doesn't care about the quarrels among brothers. His strength has long surpassed the stage where he needs to consider such things.

But if the government wants to deal with him, he has to worry.

As early as the beginning of this year, there were rumors that Attorney General Tang Mingzhi spoke in an unhappy tone about himself and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange at a small gathering.

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

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

But now, when the autumn wind is blowing, the "prison disaster" calculated by Dong Bo forced Li Zhaofu to take it seriously.

"Is there a way to crack it?"

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

If fortune-telling could solve all worries, how could these officials, businessmen and wealthy people have the chance to dominate Hong Kong?
"Retreat from the current and make more friends."

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

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

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

What if someone bribed Dong Bo and took the opportunity to confuse his mind in the hope that he would give up his power?

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

At that moment, a sense of doubt arose in his heart.

If the "stock market crash" was caused by "official killing", then does "Big Times" serve as the "wealth generator" that helped?

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

As a businessman, he doesn't care about literary awards.

One afternoon, he had lunch with Xin Hanquan. During the chat, Xin Hanquan mentioned some gossip in the market and mentioned Lin Chaoyang's high-leverage short selling of Yulang Institution.

Li Zhaofu couldn't help but look serious and carefully inquired about the whole story.

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

If you encounter wealth again, be careful of jail time.

Retreat from the current when the tide is rising, and make more good friends.

Dong Bo's words were like a curse that lingered in his heart. Could it be that the solution to his imprisonment was this "Lin Chaoyang"?
"Haha, he is a young man after all, brave and decisive. No wonder Mr. Lin has such a rich harvest." Li Zhaofu said with appreciation and sincerity.

"Mr. Li, you are overpraising me! I am just an outsider, and I am just ignorant and fearless."

After chatting for a while, Li Zhaofu asked meaningfully during the meal: "I heard that Lin's Film Company is interested in expanding its business recently. It seems that Mr. and Mrs. Lin are not only concerned about the film industry!"

Upon 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 Hong Kong's securities market, nothing can be hidden from Mr. Li's eyes and ears."

"Mr. Lin, Mrs. Lin, please forgive me. I have no ill will towards you two. I just simply want to make friends with you."

When Li Zhaofu said this, his eyes were kind, making Lin Chaoyang confused about what he was thinking for a moment.

Li Zhaofu sighed and asked, "I wonder what Mr. Lin thinks of this stock market crash and the suspension of trading?"

Lin Chaoyang paused for a moment, "Hong Kong's stock market crash is just a small cross-section of the global stock market crash. The underlying cause is still due to the Fed's interest rate hike."

"The panic effect in the market started to spread from the United States. Given the size of the Hang Seng Index and its high correlation with U.S. stocks, it is impossible for it to be immune."

“The option of suspending the market has both advantages and disadvantages. In my personal opinion, even if there is no suspension of the market, the sharp drop of the Hang Seng Index is inevitable, and the magnitude may even be greater.

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

Traders are accustomed to untimely settlement, and when the market plummets, investors who bought and sold before the market was suspended are likely to default on their payments. In the end, brokers are forced to cut their positions, and the snowball effect continues to grow.

Maybe even a few banks will go bankrupt.”

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

"Mr. Lin's insightful views coincide with my thoughts. Do you know how much money the government spent last month to protect those guarantee companies?
20 billion!
If I don't shut down the market, their losses will be even greater.

Moreover, before the market was suspended, I called the Finance Minister. If he had not agreed, I would not have suspended the market so easily.

These ghost guys!"

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

When Li Zhaofu mentioned "Zhai Kecheng", his tone was full of resentment, naturally because he felt that he was tricked by the foreigners and used as a scapegoat.

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

But he still couldn't figure out why Li Zhaofu did this? Was it really out of admiration?

"Mr. Li is being criticized by thousands of people, which is indeed unfair."

Li Zhaofu sighed, "Mr. Lin, what do you think I should do from now on?"

Lin Chaoyang was slightly stunned. He could hear the retreat in Li Zhaofu's words, but asking him this question would inevitably sound like talking too much to someone he just met.

Thinking of Li Zhaofu's various strange behaviors after meeting today, Lin Chaoyang didn't think there was any trap in it, and he hesitated for a moment.

"Given Mr. Li's current situation, it would be dignified for him to retreat while the tide is still turning."

Hearing this, Li Zhaofu's eyes condensed, and a terrifying aura suddenly burst out from his body, "Why do you say that?"

Lin Chaoyang looked calm, "Rumor has it that Mr. Li has been uniting Chinese brokers for many years and has never been well received by the Hong Kong government. They urgently need a scapegoat for this stock market crash. Mr. Li must be aware of the outside voices these days."

At this point, Lin Chaoyang said in a deep voice, "The situation is stronger than people. It is better to be decent yourself than to let others help you be decent!"

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

Sometimes it is like this, there are many things that a person can say, but others cannot point them out.

Lin Chaoyang and Li Zhaofu did not look at each other for long, but Tao Yushu who was standing next to them felt that a long time had passed. After all, the person sitting opposite them was a billionaire, a powerful figure in the Hong Kong securities market.

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

"Mr. Lin is indeed an extremely smart person who can deduce the market trend based on just a few scales and feathers.

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

Li Zhaofu murmured Lin Chaoyang's words just now. He didn't know when his originally upright chest collapsed and his aura seemed a little depressed.

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

"With Mr. Li's current status, ordinary methods will not work on you at all. If I really want to touch you, I will definitely use force."

We are all adults, so the "strong measures" mentioned by Lin Chaoyang naturally do not need 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 while the tide is at hand and make many good friends. Mr. Lin, do you think this is true?"

“That’s kind words indeed.”

In later Hong Kong, Li Zhaofu was arrested by the Hong Kong government on charges of "corruption" at the beginning of the following year because of his poor response to the 87 stock market crash. He was thrown into prison and was released from prison four years later.

When he was released from prison, the Hong Kong securities market had changed beyond recognition. Li Zhaofu realized the darkness of politics and fled to Thailand, never to interfere in political affairs again.

Lin Chaoyang doesn't think Li Zhaofu is a good person. He must have his own selfish motives in uniting Chinese agents and excluding foreign agents, but he has also actually won a voice for Hong Kong people in society and made his own contribution to the development of Hong Kong.

It would be ridiculous if he were really thrown into jail as happened in history.

At that time, in the ICAC's indictment 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 of dollars, but he was afraid that it would be more insulting and intimidating.

Half an hour later, Li Zhaofu saw Lin Chaoyang and his wife off.

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

"Is this what Mr. Li means by 'making friends widely'?" Tao Yushu asked on the phone.

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

"Yeah!" Lin Chaoyang sighed softly.

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 chairman of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Also resigning with him was the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's CEO, Stephen Hsin, who was Li Zhaofu's right-hand man at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

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

It has been nearly 60 days since the Hong Kong stock market crash. Listed companies, institutions and shareholders have all suffered heavy losses. The public is complaining. Li Zhaofu has long been labeled as the "eternal sinner" by many media and shareholders who have lost money.

His resignation at this time not only complies with public opinion, but also gives the Hong Kong government a way out.

Afterwards, Li Zhaofu learned from an old friend that the Hong Kong government had already been planning this in secret.

If he had not made up his mind to take drastic measures at this time, he would have become the first target of the ICAC's Operation Dawn in the early 1988 of the Gregorian calendar.

Li Zhaofu was secretly shocked and extremely relieved when he heard the news.

He once again thought of the eight words that Uncle Dong had given him, and of Lin Chaoyang's face, and thought that this was truly a perfect match.

On the day when Li Zhaofu resigned from the post of Chairman of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, no one noticed that a hunting game was quietly underway.

On December 1987, 12, Hong Kong Peregrine Financing Company, which had just been established for less than a week, made an acquisition offer to Jade Lang Organization on behalf of Lam Films at a price of HK$20 per share.

At the same time, the offer was also conditional, and it would only be fulfilled if 67% or more of Yulang Institution’s equity was acquired.

After the news was disclosed by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, it immediately caused a huge 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 Films' acquisition of Jade Lang Group was the first acquisition of a listed company after the stock market crash, which to some 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 the huge disparity in size between the acquirer, Lin's Pictures, and the acquired party, Yulang Organization.

The predecessor of Yulang Organization was Yulang Book Company established in 1971. After more than ten years of establishment, its boss Huang Yulang went public in 86 and made various 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 a dominant force in Hong Kong's comic book industry.

It also invested in many fields such as printing, newspapers, magazines, real estate, etc., and its market value once reached HK$20 billion.

As a result, Wong Yuk-long himself was called the billionaire prodigy who "painted the rainbow" by the Wall Street Journal, and he became the talk of the town.

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

Over the past two years, Lam's Film Group has been developing rapidly, but with Golden Harvest and Cinema City, two dominant players in the film industry, blocking its way in front and Freedom Headache in the back, no one could have imagined that such a company that was struggling to take care of itself in the film industry would brazenly launch an acquisition of Jade Lang Agency.

What is even more frightening is the additional condition they proposed: the acquisition will only be confirmed if they obtain 67% or more of Yulang Organization’s shares.

What does 67% equity mean?
It is the absolute controlling power of the company. The major shareholder can enforce any major and general resolutions of the company without the consent of other shareholders.

What kind of confidence does it take to make such an offer!
At its peak, the Yulang Organization was a behemoth for Lin's Pictures. Not to mention acquiring it, even targeting its stock price would probably be beyond their capabilities.

Unfortunately, a hero never brags about his past achievements. After the stock market crash, the share price of Yulang Group plummeted. There was also news that the boss Huang Yulang sold shares illegally, and the share price continued to fall.

On the day when Lam Films made its acquisition offer, Yu Lang Group's market value was only HK$2.09 million, and its stock price had almost dropped to its ankles compared to its peak.

The acquisition war was about to break out. In just one day, Lin's Pictures had acquired 1% of Yulang Organization's shares.

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

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

But at this time he no longer had the courage he had before the stock market crash. He suffered huge losses of hundreds of millions of funds in futures trading. He has been privately selling and mortgaging shares to fill the hole for some time. Now he only holds 20.4% of the shares.

The share price of Yulang Organization plummeted and the shares were worthless. He has not yet completely filled the hole. Now he is suddenly faced with a takeover offer. It is really difficult for a good cook to cook without rice.

Without money, how can we compete with acquirers for funds and keep the company?
Wong Yuk-long was anxious and approached his fellow countrymen and friends, Liu Luanxiong and Qian Guozhong, to borrow funds.

But before the old friend's funds arrived, the Independent Commission Against Corruption received a report that Wong Yuk-long had falsified accounts to siphon cash from the Yuk-long Group to make up for losses from stock trading.

On that day, a reporter took photos of ICAC personnel entering the Yu Lang Building to conduct a search. After the news was published, the share price of Yu Lang Corporation, which had soared due to the takeover battle, fell sharply.

Many stock investors knew clearly that this might be news released by the acquirer, but they still did not dare to gamble. Everyone was afraid of a stock market crash, and now that there was finally a chance to make a profit, few people dared to hold on to their stocks and reap the benefits.

In just two days, Lin's Pictures had a lot more chips in its hands, but the amount of money it spent was not much more than before.

On the one hand, there was a takeover battle going on, and on the other hand, the accounting fraud was exposed.

Wong Yuk-long was suddenly in a dilemma: should he choose control of the company or be free?

This issue did not bother Wong Yuk-long for too long. Just two days later, he was taken to the ICAC's Murray Road headquarters for investigation.

Although he was granted bail of HK$500 million the next day, Yulang Company was leaderless and in a state of misery, with employees already demoralized.

Qian Guozhong, who had originally agreed 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. Holding the Ming Pao of that day, he looked up to the sky and roared in anger at the heroic photo of a woman on it.

The most poisonous thing in the world is women!

(End of this chapter)