In early April, the Star Ferry announced a five-sen (HK$0.05) increase in ticket fare, from five cents to one ho, i.e. doubling the fare, causing a series of incidents.

On April 4, the young man So Shouzhong went on a hunger strike outside the Star Pier in Central to protest the fare increase of the Star Ferry.

On April 5, the Fare Increase of the Star Ferry expanded, and hundreds of people in Kowloon marched and demonstrated all night.

On 6 April, demonstrations turned into riots and the government imposed a curfew on Kowloon.

On the morning of April 7, Li Hualong had breakfast at home, sat in the living room and read the newspaper for a while, saw an article about the Tianxing ferry fare increase, and sighed lightly: "I'm going to die again." ”

Li Yisong, who was reading the newspaper, raised his head and looked at Li Hualong and asked, "What do you say about dying?" ”

"Demonstrations turned into ......riots," Li Hualong said, pointing to the headline in the newspaper and showing it to his father, lamenting, "Hong Kong society is now full of unrest." ”

Li Yisong was silent for a long time, and then said: "Ah Long, our family is rich enough, I think we should do more things that are beneficial to the ordinary people of Hong Kong." You can consider creating a few enterprises that need a large number of workers, create more jobs, and run these enterprises without making a profit, as long as you don't lose money, I think this is more meaningful than donating money to charity every year. ”

"It's a feasible idea." Li Hualong muttered, thought for a moment, and said with a smile, "Abba, it's too troublesome to invest in the creation of labor-intensive enterprises, directly invest in some well-run labor-intensive enterprises, not seeking a return on investment, but asking the boss of the enterprise to increase the salary of employees, do you think it is feasible?" ”

"Or do you have an idea?" Li Yisong said with a smile, "Before investing in a company, you should do some research in advance, and you can't invest in companies that are mean to employees." ”

"I guess it's not easy to do." Li Hualong smiled, "There are not many bosses who don't want to make money when they open a company, and now the salaries of ordinary workers in major factories in Hong Kong are not high, and it is clear that you can hire a very good worker for five hundred." No boss would be stupid enough to spend 600 on workers. ”

"I know what you're talking about. As far as I know, some bosses really don't treat workers as human beings, and the turnover rate of such factories must be very high, while those factories with low turnover rates, relatively speaking, employees are more satisfied with the boss! ”

"Yes, that's right, there are comparisons. Only then did I know what to say. Li Hualong smiled and said, "Abba, don't worry, I will plan and act on this matter, and strive to do this thing beautifully." ”

"Don't get your hopes up. I guess some bosses accept your investment and will say strange things behind your back. ”

"Don't know the suffering of the world?"

"Words like that might be even more ugly."

"I'm mentally prepared." Li Hualong smiled lightly, "Over the years, our family has donated a lot of money to charity. It's not that there are a lot of people who say strange things behind their backs. ”

Li Hualong is not afraid of criticism from others, and does not do what he thinks is meaningful.

In the decades that followed, Li Hualong invested in hundreds of local labor-intensive enterprises in Hong Kong, although not all of them could continue to grow. However, he feels that some companies have embarked on the road of rapid development and growth under his "support", and he has also obtained a good return on investment, although it is far less than his other investments. But it is higher than the interest rate on bank loans.

In other words, Li Hualong will not suffer losses if he uses the funds from bank loans to make these intentional investments. And to make money.

On April 7, the riots in Kowloon continued, and the military and police opened fire to suppress them, resulting in the death of one person.

Three days later, on 10 April, the riots subsided, the government lifted the curfew in Kowloon, and the incident ended with the Star Ferry's fare increase.

On the night of April 20, Li Hualong spent the night in Xi Chongyi's bedroom.

Before falling asleep, Li Hualong and Xi Chongyi chatted a few words about work.

"Recently, I sold 400,000 shares of Intercontinental Hotels."

"It's only been half a month, and I've sold so many stocks." Xi Chongyi muttered, "What's the price?" ”

"The average price is a little more than HK$12, and the total cash out is less than HK$5 million."

"Are you happy with the price?" Xi Chongyi asked with a smile.

"I'm quite satisfied, if I'm not satisfied, I won't choose to sell and cash out at this time."

"The remaining 5.1 million shares, fifty-one percent of the equity, are no longer sold for cash?"

"Uh......" Li Hualong pondered for a moment and said with a smile, "I thought about keeping 5.1 million shares and not selling them, but there were too many places to spend money, and I planned to continue to reduce my shares." ”

"How much do you sell?"

"If the price is right, I want to sell 1 million shares."

"Cash out the funds and invest them all in Gemdale Group?" Xi Chongyi asked again.

"Yes, the wholly-owned projects invested by Gemdale Group in Admiralty and ten joint venture projects need to use a large amount of money."

"The Navy Dockyard project is so huge that when those commercial buildings are completed, it will definitely greatly reduce office rents in areas such as Central, and it is estimated that the stock prices of listed companies such as Hongkong Land will fall." Xi Chongyi sighed.

"You're right." Li Hualong smiled, "The fastest project will not be completed until the end of next year, and the slowest project may not be completed within five years." With the rapid growth of Hong Kong's economy, these office buildings have not had as much impact on the market as you think. ”

"I hope so." Xi Chongyi paused and said with a smile, "I remember you said that you want Gemdale Group to be listed this year, has this idea changed?" ”

"Changed. For the time being, we will not consider going public. ”

"Why?"

"Although Gemdale Group has land and buildings under construction, but there is no ready-made rental property in hand, how much rental income will be in the future, it is really difficult to assess, this matter makes Gemdale Group listed, will not be sought after by investors, the stock price will be undervalued, it is better for me to 'transfuse' to this company myself."

"You're right." Xi Chongyi nodded thoughtfully.

"Huh!" Li Hualong laughed, "How can you say such an exaggeration." If I had found that the Hong Kong property market would have been in a downturn since the beginning of last year, I would have listed a number of my own companies in 1964, and perhaps at that time, the stock price would have been higher. In the early two years, I cashed out stocks, not to mention investment income, I just kept my money in zài bank. You can also earn a lot of interest income. ”

"None of your companies are in debt now, are they?" Xi Chongyi asked with a smile.

"Except for Gemdale Group, none of my wholly-owned enterprises have foreign debts."

"How much is the deposit?"

"There are no statistics recently, and I don't know very well, but it is estimated that there are more than 50 million Hong Kong dollars in deposits."

"Since the end of last year, you have been buying a lot of gold, has the price of gold increased?"

"It's gone up a little bit, and the increase is not as high as the interest rate on bank deposits. Now I kind of regret buying gold. ”

"Don't regret it, say that in a few months, the Hong Kong dollar will depreciate."

"I just think the Hong Kong dollar will depreciate. will buy a lot of gold. ”

"What is the reason for the prediction of the depreciation of the Hong Kong dollar?" Xi Chongyi asked curiously.

"The exchange rate of the Hong Kong dollar is pegged to the pound sterling, and in the next few years, the UK's economic power will continue to weaken, which will inevitably cause the pound to depreciate, and the Hong Kong dollar to depreciate. Although the currency has depreciated, the interest rate on bank deposits and loans will increase to a certain extent, but I think it is better to buy gold insurance. ”

"Aaron. Do you feel that you are much more conservative now than you used to be? ”

"Maybe. There are some gains, and being conservative is not necessarily a bad thing. Li Hualong smiled slightly. It's not early, let's go to bed. ”

After turning off the lights and saying goodnight, the two closed their eyes and went to sleep. Nothing was said all night.

In May, great changes took place in the land of China, and the WH Dage life was unusually fast and rapid.

Before. Li Hualong has not fantasized that there has been no revolution in this time and space, but the influence of his little butterfly is limited.

In the past few months, Li Hualong has continued to reduce his holdings of shares in listed companies, and after the outbreak of the W Revolution, he accelerated the speed of selling stocks to cash out.

As the reform in the mainland intensified, Hong Kong's economy began to be affected, the stock market entered a bear market, and property prices, which had risen slightly a while ago, turned sharply and began to fall again.

One evening in late June, Li Huawen came to Li Hualong's house to finish eating.

After dinner, while chatting, Li Huawen sighed lightly and said depressedly: "I regret it for not letting Huawen Real Estate Company go public earlier." ”

As early as November last year, Li Hualong built a new company to spin off some rent-collecting properties and merge them into a new company, and then operated the new company to go public, and Li Huawen accepted his construction. At the beginning of March this year, Li Huawen registered and established Huawen Real Estate Company, which has more than 500,000 square feet of rental properties, and if this company is listed, the market value will exceed 50 million Hong Kong dollars.

However, Li Huawen did not rush to operate the listing of Huawen Real Estate Company, but in the past month or so, there has been a bear market in the Hong Kong stock market, and the stock prices of most listed companies have continued to fall.

Li Yisong said in a deep voice: "Don't mention the things that can't be changed, it's boring!" ”

"I know." Li Huawen smiled bitterly, "Now we can only wait, and when the bull market comes, we will let Huawen Real Estate Company go public." ”

"Big brother, if the Chinese Real Estate Company is really listed, it will not be all benefits." Li Hualong smiled and persuaded.

"What's the harm of going public?" Li Huawen asked puzzled, "You tell me about it." ”

"Listed companies have to pay a management fee to the stock exchange every year, and if they are not listed, they will not have this expenditure. The benefits of a company's listing are nothing more than the issuance of new shares to obtain financing, as well as the convenience of selling shares to cash out. The main source of income of Huawen Real Estate Company is rental income, and in the case of a bad stock market, the market value will be undervalued, and this summary situation may occur at this time, and all the company's properties will be sold, and the income will be more than the market value of the company's shares, and much more. ”

"There's a point in what you're saying." Li Huawen nodded, thought for a moment, and changed his tone, "However, this explanation is a bit reluctant." I remember you said, what are the benefits of a company going public, for example, some properties, I am reluctant to sell, if it is placed in the name of a listed company, it will be much more convenient, when you are short of money, sell some stocks to cash out, in the future, when you have money, you can increase your shares. ”

"The question is, are you short of money right now?" Li Hualong smiled and shook his head, "And now that the market is not good, if you have money to invest, it is very likely that you will lose money." ”

"Sometimes, it's best not to get it. What I mean is that, as you have said, the fact that Chinese Estates is not listed may have more advantages than disadvantages. ”

Li Huawen took a sip of tea, changed the topic and asked: "Aaron, what about you, in recent months, you have continued to sell stocks to cash out, Chinese Real Estate, Times Land, Intercontinental Hotel and Holiday Inn, how many shares of these four listed companies do you still have?" ”

"Chinese Estates 1.5 million shares, Times Land 4 million shares, Intercontinental 4 million shares, Holiday Inn 2 million shares, I sold 1.5 million shares of Holiday Inn, you won't blame me, right?"

"It's okay, it's a good thing that you sell Holiday Inn shares to cash out, I also have 2 million shares of Holiday Inn in my hand, adding up to 4 million shares, 40% of the equity, it is not difficult for you to continue to serve as the chairman of Holiday Inn." Li Huawen smiled.

"I sell Holiday Inn stock, and I didn't say hello to you beforehand, so I always feel a little sorry for you." Li Hualong smiled.

"We are brothers, and you have helped me a lot over the years." Li Huawen smiled without mind, and joked, "If you persuade me to sell the stock, I did, and the stock went up, then I would blame you." ”

"I don't dare to persuade you to buy and sell stocks after that." Li Hualong also made a joke.

"As long as you think it's good, you can tell me. As for whether I listen or not, whether I accept it or not, it's my business. Li Huawen smiled, changed the topic and asked, "A real estate project developed by your company in Sheung Wan is about to be completed, are you going to keep it for rent collection or sell it?" ”

Today, all the real estate developed by Li Hualong's Hualong Real Estate Company is undertaken by Li Huawen's Jiu'an Construction Company, and Li Huawen is naturally aware of the situation of the real estate developed by Hualong Real Estate Company.

"Except for keeping two shops for personal use, all residential units and shops will be sold."

"Now that the property market is sluggish, will it be too much of a loss if it is sold like this?" Li Huawen asked puzzled.

"Although Hong Kong's housing prices have fallen a lot in the past month or so, who knows when they will be able to rebound." Li Hualong explained, "Also, Jinwan Group needs a lot of money, don't look at me with money, there are many places to use money. ”

"None of the naval dockyard plots, those joint venture projects, are planned to be stopped?"

"There are no plans to stop work for the time being, and several joint ventures still have some money on their books."

More than ten days later, Hualong Real Estate Company opened a real estate project developed in Sheung Wan, although the property market was sluggish at this time, but the price was very affordable, and it took less than half a month to sell out. Hualong Real Estate invested in this project and made a profit of nearly 10 million Hong Kong dollars. (To be continued......)