"Mr. Cai stays," Hu shouted to a man who had just walked out of the Catholic Church.

Cai Yongxi was a little stunned, because he didn't know Hu Zhaoxu, and after waking up, he asked, "Are you?" ”

Hu Zhaoxu came to Cai Yongxi with a smile and said sincerely: "Mr. Cai, I am the manager of a real estate company, called Hu Zhaoxu, this is my business card. ”

Cai Yongxi took the business card, looked at it a few times, and said politely: "It turned out to be Manager Hu of Changjiang Industrial, then your boss must be Mr. Lin Zhichao!" ”

"Lin Sheng is our boss!"

Immediately, Cai Yongxi said suspiciously: "Then Manager Hu doesn't know what is called to live down?" ”

He doesn't have a property to sell and he doesn't plan to buy a house, which is a bit strange.

Hu Zhaoxu had already inquired about Cai Yongxi, who was a member of the Spanish Catholic Church and had a close relationship with the priest; At the same time, Cai Yongxi was also a businessman, engaged in trade-related business.

In this way, Hu Zhaoxu analyzed that although Cai Yongxi is a believer, he is not without a desire for money.

"That's right, your church is in the Priest's Hotel opposite Kowloon Park, and our boss wants to buy it to develop the hotel industry. Therefore, I would like to ask you to be an intermediary, and if it is successful, we are willing to pay 3%. ”

When Cai Yongxi heard this, although he was impressed by the lucrative commission, he immediately said: "Our priest is so good, why would he sell the hotel, not to mention, this hotel can bring a steady stream of funds for the church." So I really can't help you with this! ”

Hu Zhaoxu observed his words and found that Cai Yongxi was still interested in the commission, so he deliberately said: "That's okay, I should get to know you." To tell the truth, our boss also thinks that there is no church doing business, isn't it in line with the doctrine of the Catholic Church, whether it is a missionary or a businessman? That's why I was asked to ask, but we didn't force it. ”

Cai Yongxi suddenly said with some embarrassment: "Actually, this hotel was not open to the public at the beginning, and it mainly received clergy from the mainland. So I will inquire for you, and if the priest wishes, I will tell you. ”

Hu Zhaoxu immediately smiled and said, "Okay, then trouble Mr. Cai, don't worry, we are very reputable, and we are effective at any time." "The implication is that there is no need to worry about commissions.

Cai Yongxi said casually: "Mr. Lin's career is so big, of course he enjoys a high reputation. ”

Even if the matter is touched down like this.

When the two left, Cai Yongxi's mind became lively. He also felt that the church was a bit unreasonable to run a hotel, and if he could really act as a middleman, he could also gain something from a good commission.

But he also understands that asking the priest if he sells the 'priest's hotel' for no reason is easy to alienate from the priest.

Cai Yongxi thought about it as he walked, and after a long time, he finally grasped Hu Zhaoxu's sentence that 'running a hotel is compatible with the missionary spirit', that is, as long as the headquarters knew about this, it would definitely be dissatisfied with the business practices of the Hong Kong branch, and there was great hope of ordering it to be sold at that time.

Thinking of this, he felt that he had 'gone too far' and calculated that his priest would come.

Soon Cai Yongxi shook his head and comforted himself: "The church's operation of the hotel industry is indeed not true, and it should be corrected." ”

However, he certainly does not report directly to headquarters, but only anonymously.

In late February, shortly after the Lunar New Year.

The construction of a 12,000-ton cargo ship in the United Kingdom by Universal Shipping caused a sensation throughout Hong Kong, and even in London, it caused a great response.

There are three surprises in this news:

First, a Chinese shipowner from Hong Kong can actually spend $2 million to build a new ship;

Second, London sent a senior official at the level of deputy minister (invited by the shipyard) to attend the signing ceremony, and a senior official at the level of minister then received Lin Zhichao.

Third, 80% of the shipbuilding money comes from HSBC.

For a time, people in Hong Kong's business circles knew that this was Lin Zhichao's counterattack to the major foreign banks, saying that if you put pressure on the government, I want your government to support me. At the same time, HSBC's lending is also interesting, as if to say - we are not threatened.

Wheelock Shipping.

When the elder Madden heard the news, he called his son Madden Jr. and said, "I plan to go back to London, and you will be in charge of the business in Hong Kong." ”

Little Pony nodded and said, "Okay, I'll live up to expectations." After speaking, his eyes revealed a strong confidence.

At this scene, old Madden was a little sad, he used to be arrogant and arrogant, but Lin Zhichao taught him a lesson with reality. Now, he worries that his son is still empty-eyed and taking too fast steps, which will put him at risk.

So, the elder Madden said: "You can't put all your eggs in one basket, and we have to always be wary of the other side, Hong Kong is too close to the other side." Jardine Matheson's loss of 30 million pounds (480 million) in the past few years is the best proof of this, so you can make money in Hong Kong, but you must not invest all in Hong Kong. ”

In the past, Wheelock and Jardine Matheson had been wary since the 50s, and the practice was to 'make money in Hong Kong and invest overseas'. Because of this, it missed the opportunity of Hong Kong's rapid economic development, so its development was not as good as that of Swire and Hutchison Whampoa.

"So I'm going to continue to develop the shipping business, and the ship is a walkable asset, and I don't have to worry about it in the Far East," said Madden. ”

The elder Madden did not say anything about this, he planned to take command of the situation in London in semi-retirement, and if there was any problem in Hong Kong, Wheelock would not be wiped out.

Then, the elder Madden said: "If you want to cooperate with the Chinese, Lin Zhichao must be the first choice." ”

Little Ma Deng asked puzzledly: "You don't have a good relationship with him, on the contrary, there are many contradictions, how can you still cooperate?" ”

Old Madden said with a smile: "Since it is cooperation, of course, it is based on interests, and as for personal relationships, Huayang is not a person all the way after all." I am only in competition with him, not a life-and-death feud, and even if there is a contradiction, what is it in front of interests! ”

Little Ma Deng nodded and said, "His long-term lease theory is indeed very trustworthy to the bank; Coupled with his connections in the Japanese business community, it is even more conducive to the development of shipping. ”

After this battle, the old madden felt that Lin Zhichao's development in shipping had been impeccable. In fact, when these foreign companies were active in London, they did not get official affirmation, and it was more of a kind of public opinion influence.

And Lin Zhichao directly built ships in the UK, and was received by two ministers one after another, which strongly confirmed that London had no intention of interfering in those P matters.

The 80% loan given by HSBC to the new ship can also prove that the reputation of Global Shipping is better than everyone.

Lin Zhichao returned to Hong Kong from the UK, and he spent $2 million to build a 'talisman' - a 10,000-ton cargo ship built by the UK. There is no problem with this money, and at this time, the shipbuilding industry in Japan cannot reassure him, so if he builds new ships, he can really only build them in European countries such as Britain, France, and Germany.

At present, the UK only ships about 1.2 million tons a year, so a 10,000-ton giant ship is not a small business.

Although the cost of the 12,000-ton ship built by the United Kingdom is three times that of the second-hand ship, the global shipping does not need to pay much money, only 400,000 US dollars.

The construction of the ship took 18 months, that is, in August 1954. At that time, whether it was a two-year long-term contract or a two-year short-term lease, by 1956, it would be possible to make a lot of money.

Therefore, there is not much pressure on the funds of Global Shipping, not to mention that the meaning behind this is different, Lin Zhichao cannot let the rumors affect the relationship between Global Shipping and HSBC.

If Japan is replaced to build a 12,000-ton cargo ship, the estimated cost is only 140~1.5 million US dollars. But then again, even in the 60s, Global Shipping had to build some new ships in Europe, which was a political friendship. The important thing is that there are always differences in ship types and construction methods.

At the same time, the rise in warehouse rental prices in Wharf also annoyed Mr. Lam.

But it is not too late for a gentleman to take revenge.

Global Shipping Headquarters.

Lin Zhichao works in the office, and in the last two or three years, he has been very focused on the shipping business.

In terms of real estate, he only bought a large number of properties, and did not plan any projects; The industry has laid the foundation a long time ago, and it has been consolidating the foundation for two or three years.

Therefore, in the last two years or so, 70% of his energy has been in the shipping industry. Therefore, global shipping is the best managed and the largest enterprise in development.

Today, the monthly profit of global shipping can reach about 1.9 million US dollars, and the profit in the first half of the year can be about 11 million US dollars; This means that in the first half of the year alone, Global Shipping can not only pay off all its debts, but also have a cash flow of 800~8.5 million US dollars.

Assuming that $2 million is spent on the property, there is still $6.5 million in cash flow available for the development of shipping. Of course, it is chosen to increase the number of second-hand freighters to 500,000 tons, which requires almost $5 million.

Everything is developing according to his expectations, although shipping prices will fall again in the second half of the year, but most of the global shipping is long-term, plus new ships are put into operation, so profits can still be stable.

At the same time, the decline in shipping prices does not mean that the volume of business has decreased, and his fleet can still have sufficient business. After all, a fleet of hundreds of thousands of tons cannot affect the general trend of shipping.

"Boss, it's meeting time!" Assistant Chen Tianan walked in respectfully and said.

Lin Zhichao immediately stood up and walked towards the conference room, not forgetting to encourage Chen Tianan: "Ah Tian, study more, read more, and ask for more advice." ”

Chen Tianan graduated from the University of Hong Kong, but after all, his major is not shipping, so Lin Zhichao also hopes that he will learn more. In fact, Lin Zhichao doesn't like people who are not motivated, in short, the employees who follow him must be as motivated as him, otherwise they will be abandoned sooner or later.

"Well, every day when I take a break at noon, I'm reading." Chen Tianan reported two sentences.

He feels that the boss is helping him, so even if it is a break, he is willing to invest energy in learning about the enterprise and the industry. What's more, the prospects and treatment of global shipping are excellent.

Lin Zhichao walked into the conference room noncommittally, and then sat down for a meeting.

"In the next few years, Global Shipping will enter a relatively stable period of development, without excessive debt, and expand the fleet of Global Shipping. At the same time, we will take the time to make sure that the foundation of the company is firmly established by taking the time to work on the internal management and fleet management. As a manager, you have to take on new challenges. ”

The higher-ups listened attentively and nodded their heads in agreement from time to time.

They found a problem, that is, the boss is capturing the ups and downs of shipping, and the boss's words today reveal a message that the shipping situation may return to the level on the eve of the peninsular war.

This makes people admire the boss's analytical ability in this regard, after all, according to the development of the boss's shipping business, that is, to enter before the war, expand in the war, and converge at the end of the war.

As for whether the war is the 'end', everyone does not know, but according to the boss's analysis, it seems to be so.

Feng Yongfa, Deputy General Manager, was the first to say: "There is still a lot of room for improvement in the management of Global Shipping, and Global Shipping can significantly expand its fleet even if it is not in debt. We're already ahead of the rest of our competitors in Hong Kong, and it's time to stabilize. ”

Just like a dream, with the support of HSBC, the fleet of global shipping has grown exponentially in a few years. If there is no support from HSBC, although the boss has invested hugely, I am afraid that it will be 10~200,000 tons now.

And Lin Zhichao didn't take other opponents to heart, he was now going to compete with European and American fleets. When Bao Yu first entered the market, Lin Zhichao probably had a huge fleet of 1 million tons in his hands, and his business had already been transported by oil tankers in Europe and the United States.

After all, Lin Zhichao would definitely have a large fleet before the second half of 1956, so that he could make a lot of money.

Next, a number of technical issues were discussed, and everyone was very positive.

For example, Japanese shipyards can transform cargo ships into 'mixed oil cargo ships', and the leasing market for such ships is very good. Therefore, Lin Zhichao plans to try to come up with a batch of ships for refit this year, and then lease them to Japanese companies.

Take down a batch of purchased cargo ships and conduct experiments.

At the same time, Lin Zhichao always observes the development of the Japanese shipbuilding industry, and goes to the shipyards in Japan every year to investigate.

The other side.

Bishop Siger approached Father John and said seriously: "Father John, the headquarters is very dissatisfied with our small inn and doing things that are related to the mission, so I order you to sell it in a short time. ”

Father John was stunned for a moment, and then said, "But Bishop Seeger, you know, this priest's hotel was originally only for the reception of our clergy, not for me to do missionary affairs. ”

Bishop Siggy nodded, he had always supported his subordinates in doing a small hotel, which could be used as a fund for the mission.

"I've already explained it to HQ for you, so they just let you sell, and the Father Inn's has ended its glorious mission. If you continue to run the business, you will inevitably be distracted by the mission. Even if I can convince HQ for you, in a few years I will be transferred, and the next bishop will not understand you so well. ”

Father John said, "No, Bishop Sigger, I have no attachment to the Priest's Inn, so since the headquarters has ordered it, of course I will comply, and I will not make it difficult for you." ”

Bishop Sieg nodded in satisfaction.

Father John frowned again and said, "It's just that I am very confused about why we let the headquarters know about the small hotel we operated. ”

Bishop Seeger said in a philosophical manner: "That is God's will, so you should not ask questions." ”

Father John nodded hurriedly, and originally wanted to say that the clergy who had been taken in had gone to complain and had kindly taken them in, but they had not received the respect they deserved.

However, since Bishop Seeger said so, he also decided to sell the Priest's Hotel and give the money to the Church (the state religion of Spain, Catholicism).

As a matter of course, John approached a parishioner, Cai Yongxi, and told him the reason for the incident. This made Cai Yongxi secretly happy, he had been feeling a little guilty lately, and he had disappeared at this time - God, I made the right choice to persuade Father John, who had lost his way.

"Mr. Cai, I need to sell the priest's inn as soon as possible, the price is only 2.6 million Hong Kong dollars, please find a buyer for the church."

Cai Yongxi hurriedly said: "Father, isn't 2.6 million Hong Kong dollars too low, the geographical location here is very good, not to mention the hotel business." ”

Father John insisted: "At this price, we, as clergy, cannot chase profit like businessmen. For the past year, I really shouldn't have been distracted by the Priest's Inn. God, forgive John, the lost child. ”

Cai Yongxi suddenly trembled, and hurriedly followed the act of praying. Seeing Father John's appearance, Cai Yongxi just wanted to complete the transaction as soon as possible and come to the church to pray more in the future.

This time, he was a little confused.

He couldn't blame Hu Zhaoxu, because Hu Zhaoxu didn't call him to report anything at all, this behavior was Cai Yongxi's personal behavior.

When Lin Zhichao learned that the Father Hotel only needed 2.6 million Hong Kong dollars, he couldn't help but be a little stunned, afraid that now 3.5 million Hong Kong dollars, some people are rushing to ask for it; After all, it is a commercial land in Tsim Sha Tsui, although it is not a land near the sea, but it is also an advantage to rely on Kowloon Park.

Anyway, Lin Zhichao quickly arranged for a lawyer to sign the contract and take the land.

A week later.

Lin Zhichao convened a management meeting of Cheung Kong Industrial, and he first said: "From now on, Huang Changhong will serve as the deputy general manager and manager of the engineering department, assisting me in managing Cheung Kong. ”

For a long time, Cheung Kong (Cheung Kong Real Estate) has been Lin Zhichao's one hand in power, and nothing major will happen if it is not in Hong Kong, because there is no major project development under it, and it is all rent-collecting properties, land, and old sites.

As for the tenement buildings that are developed every year, they are actually not to make money, but to feed the company's people. Even, the management of Cheung Kong has already lived in the building, and Lin Zhichao allowed the top management to deduct from the salary to buy the company's house.

Therefore, in 1951, 5 people in Cheung Kong got a floor, the price was very cheap, the company barely made much money, and the annual salary of 5 people was about 12,000 Hong Kong dollars.

Lin Zhichao has high requirements for management, and his salary is naturally high, not to mention that learning this kind of thing is not for the boss.

Huang Changhong hurriedly got up and said, "Thank you boss for your trust, and please take care of your colleagues in the future." ”

He is a graduate of the University of Architecture and Architecture, but there is no shortage of college students in this kind of major in Hong Kong, not to mention that there are such graduates in the University of Hong Kong, but many of them came from the mainland a few years ago.

The crowd applauded.

At this time, Tang Caiyun was also on the side, attending the meeting, although she was idle, she enjoyed a high status in the company. This is different from many rich people's wives who only know how to play mahjong, Tang Caiyun is a career woman.

Subsequently, Lin Zhichao said: "We are going to set up a hotel department, and then change the Priest Hotel into 'Miramar Hotel' to continue to operate, and this will be prepared recently."

At first, the building was not changed, but only renovated, and it was operated until the end of the 50s, and then all of it was dismantled and rebuilt.

Huang Changhong quickly got into the groove and said, "It's about hiring hotel talent again, and then renovating it, so that it can be regarded as a good hotel." The hall on the ground floor is so large that I suggest that it could be converted into a 'big stage' for traditional theatre and juggling to attract guests. ”

Lin Zhichao nodded and said, "This plan is feasible!" The time and cost of renovation should be well grasped, and it is estimated that in five or six years, it will be completely disassembled and rebuilt. One thing you can understand today is that a large number of land and old buildings owned by Cheung Kong Asset are waiting to be rebuilt. As for when it will be rebuilt, it is because I believe that sooner or later Hong Kong will have to be able to build tall buildings, similar to the modern development model of the United States, because there are too many people. ’

Everyone was shocked, it turned out that the boss was waiting for this, although there have been some speculations, after all, Lin Zhichao often makes everyone pay attention to high-rise buildings in the United States or something. But today, for the first time, everyone understands the direction of the company's development.

Subsequently, everyone worked harder!

Cheung Kong now owns too much property.

(End of chapter)