strictlysupreme Chapter 384 Unable to Afford It? The Hong Kong Li Family Still Plans to March into Beijing!
Chapter 384 Unable to Afford It? The Hong Kong Li Family Still Plans to March into Beijing!
Afternoon, Central Hong Kong.
Inside the magnificent Changshi Group Center Building.
Li Zejun was about to take a short nap when he suddenly received a call back from Qiu Yanfei.
He was initially overjoyed, but soon his brows furrowed.
After Qiu Yanfei finished speaking, he immediately put on a professional fake smile.
"Okay, okay, I understand. I feel more confident now that Mr. Zhao has said that."
"Thank you for passing on my message. I'll treat you to dinner when you get back. Okay, goodbye."
The moment the call ended, the professional fake smile on Li Zejun's face vanished.
"Come back if you want, as long as you operate legally and compliantly. You are free to come and go in China!"
Li Zejun frowned slightly, muttering to himself as he carefully considered the matter.
My initial impression of Zhao Ruilong was that he was very warm and polite.
But upon closer examination...
I just thought it was a polite remark!
It's like visiting someone's home.
People said to sit wherever you like and take whatever you want to eat, as if you were at home.
Others are just saying it casually. Anyone with a modicum of manners knows they can't really act like they're at home, lying down whenever they want, eating whenever they want, playing whenever they want...
Let's savor it again.
Li Zejun sensed a hint of resentment.
He recalled his son's rebellious phase many years ago.
The father and son had a big fight because the son wasn't studying properly and was secretly playing video games.
The son got so angry that he ran away from home. After spending all his pocket money and having no one to take him in, he went home on his own.
At that time, Li Zejun scolded his son, saying that he could leave whenever he wanted and come back whenever he wanted, and that he didn't even care about his father anymore...
At this moment, just as at that moment.
If the motherland is a loving mother, then the Li family of Hong Kong is clearly not a good child.
They were pampered and given special treatment in the past, in the hope that the Li family in Hong Kong could get rich first and then help others get rich.
But the result?
When you can make money, be respectful and friendly.
If they can't make money, they'll quickly run away.
Now that I can make money again, I want to go home...
Such a heretical and unfilial act.
It's already good enough that I didn't get a severe scolding.
of course.
No matter how disobedient the child is, they are still your own child.
We won't kick this child out of the house just because he's rebellious and unfilial.
Despite being exceptionally pampered, she still rebelled and betrayed him.
Such children are naturally no longer eligible for special treatment.
Therefore, Zhao Ruilong specifically mentioned it in his words.
As long as one operates legally and compliantly, one is free to come and go in China.
The subtext of this statement is that you can go home, but you must follow the rules.
The preferential treatment is gone, and if you still don't follow the rules...
That wouldn't be 'freedom to come and go' anymore.
"Ugh!"
Li Zejun sighed.
My heart is filled with regret.
I regret selling off all my assets in mainland China back then.
The combination of the financial crisis and the bursting of the dot-com bubble was indeed quite terrifying.
However, one should not worry about assets shrinking and sell everything.
Unfortunately……
Back then, all I could think about was business logic.
If you believe that the economy is declining and asset prices will plummet, you should sell in advance.
Then wait for asset prices to fall to the bottom, then buy back the assets at the bottom and wait for the crisis to end and the economy to recover.
According to their plan, around 2005, they would return to the mainland with huge sums of money and frantically buy up assets at rock-bottom prices.
By then, China will have completed its WTO accession negotiations, joined the WTO, and experienced a significant increase in its export economy.
In addition, with China hosting the Olympics in 2008, there will definitely be a massive stimulus package, and various infrastructure projects will also boost the economy.
They believed that this operation would definitely make them a fortune.
But they forgot that small business owners and small enterprises can do this without any problem; seeking profit and avoiding harm is a business instinct.
But they are large capital and large enterprises. Since they have enjoyed special privileges, they should bear social responsibility.
In a crisis, even if you want to protect yourself, you shouldn't go to such extremes as selling all your assets.
This not only failed to stabilize confidence, but also created panic, accelerated the outflow of foreign capital, and made the economic situation even worse.
Who would dare to place high hopes on someone who has taken all the advantages but is unwilling to share the hardships?
Even more serious is...
They seriously misjudged the situation.
They never expected that China, which had suffered so much humiliation, would endure the shame and accelerate the completion of its WTO accession negotiations with the United States. China officially joined the WTO in 2001.
What they didn't expect was that Huilong Group, which was originally not well-known, actually had inexhaustible money, and didn't give the Li family a chance to go back and buy at rock-bottom prices, but instead preemptively invested wildly in the mainland.
They never expected that the bursting of the dot-com bubble would only affect the West, and would not only have no negative impact on China, but would also give China an opportunity to accelerate its catch-up in the field of high technology.
In particular, on September 11th last year, a terrorist attack that shocked the world occurred, in which two World Trade Center towers were destroyed by a passenger plane that was almost full of fuel and passengers. In order to fight terrorism, the United States has continued to warm its relationship with China.
For a time, Longyou was boosted by infrastructure investment and industrial upgrading, as well as by export growth and foreign investment.
What economic downturn?
What asset crashes are there now?
China's economy is growing at an astonishing speed, like a rocket taking off.
The assets that were once abandoned by the Li family of Hong Kong have not only not depreciated, but have almost doubled in value.
This time.
It's too late to buy at the bottom.
If they don't hurry back to the mainland and frantically hoard a large amount of land...
We're almost out of enjoying the benefits of the era of rapid economic growth.
and so……
The Li family in Hong Kong panicked.
I want to go back; I want to continue receiving preferential treatment.
However, after contacting many people, they were unable to get in touch with the higher-ups.
Fortunately, it wasn't all for naught.
At least we've heard that Zhao Lichun of Handong has a very high chance of making a promotion, and his son Zhao Ruilong is even more favored by the higher-ups.
Unfortunately, today is different from the past.
Such top-tier dignitaries are no longer someone that the Li family of Hong Kong can meet whenever they want.
Despite all their efforts, they couldn't make the connection until they heard that Qiu Yanfei and Zhao Ruilong had a good relationship.
The two parties not only have a diamond business partnership, but Qiu Yanfei also took a private jet to Jingzhou today.
Ever since.
That's how Li Zejun asked Qiu Yanfei to pass on a message.
Zhao Ruilong also gave a meaningful reply.
He got up and went to the window.
Li Zejun stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the taller Longyin Building diagonally opposite.
This building belongs to the Dragon State Bank and symbolizes national capital!
It is said that the building's design was inspired by bamboo, which is strong on the outside but soft on the inside, symbolizing continuous advancement.
The building is composed of four triangular prisms of different heights, resembling crystals with multifaceted prismatic shapes.
The exterior is light ink-colored with simple and clear lines, while the reflective glass wall is silver-white.
At this moment, under the sunlight, it refracts different colors.
This 'radiant' and modern building has been one of Hong Kong's iconic landmarks since the day it was completed.
In contrast.
The group's central building standing beneath his feet suddenly seemed somewhat insignificant in comparison.
Perhaps it's because when the design was first made, my father said it couldn't be taller than the Longyin Building, so it was always shorter after it was built.
Perhaps it's because the Longyin Building looks too much like a sharp sword, while the Huifeng Building next to it looks too much like a cannon.
Despite its own building, the four sides are designed with beveled corners, presenting eight sides.
However, being caught between a 'sharp sword' and 'cannons' makes it difficult to be 'versatile'.
Time passes slowly.
After pausing to think for a long time, Li Zejun guessed that his father had woken up from his afternoon nap, so he went upstairs.
I stepped into the all-too-familiar chairman's office.
Father Li Jiachen was sitting behind his large desk, leisurely sipping ginseng tea.
My father is fond of feng shui, and he pays great attention to the layout and furnishings of his office.
He also focuses on health preservation, with strict daily routines and extremely regular eating, sleeping and exercising habits.
So even though he is over seventy years old, he is still sharp of hearing and sight and in good spirits.
Gently closing the door, Li Zejun slowly walked to his father's desk.
After his father finished drinking the ginseng tea, he smiled and said:
"Qiu Yanfei called me back."
"General Manager Zhao said that anyone who wants to come back can do so, as long as they operate legally and compliantly. They are free to come and go from China!"
"Didn't they welcome you to Jingzhou to discuss investment cooperation?"
"He didn't say."
Li Jiachen placed her hands, fingers interlaced, on the table.
Behind a pair of black-rimmed glasses, his shrewd eyes flickered slightly.
"There's nothing to be disappointed about; his response is exactly what I expected."
"It's 2002 now, not 1992, and certainly not 1982."
“In the past, when we had just opened up to the outside world, we were in urgent need of attracting investment and promoting economic development, so they treated us very well.”
"Not only does it allow us to acquire land at low prices, but it also turns a blind eye to our speculative behavior of exploiting policy loopholes and hoarding land for a long time to wait for appreciation."
"But after years of development, many people in the mainland have accumulated capital and have enough capital to invest in real estate, so they don't need to recruit us."
"Yes!"
Li Zejun let out a long sigh.
"Let alone real estate, any other infrastructure project presents no technical difficulties for the mainland, which can even manufacture rockets, satellites, and nuclear weapons."
"Even if it exists, it's only a matter of time before they can overcome it. Just like when they dug tunnels before, they could only import tunnel boring machines at high prices, and when they broke down, they had to spend huge sums of money to hire foreign engineers to repair them."
"But after intensive research and development, they were able to produce domestically made tunnel boring machines that were not only of good quality but also inexpensive, and could be used even in the snowy plateau and towering mountains."
"When technology is no longer an issue, labor is plentiful, and there is a large amount of capital in the mainland, the real estate industry is no longer a question of whether there are investors, but rather a question of how easily investment can overheat."
Li Jiachen took off her glasses and gently wiped them.
"There's another point, which is also very important."
"In the past, the mainland was too poor and was afraid of being poor. In order to improve the economy, we could tolerate many behaviors."
"This extensive and relaxed development approach, although it came at a considerable cost, led to economic growth."
"They are no longer dirt poor. As long as they can improve their economy, nothing else matters."
"What they are pursuing now is high-quality sustainable development without the cost of environmental pollution and exploitation."
"Real estate, which can only stimulate traditional industries such as steel bars, cement, building materials, and home appliances, is already unpopular."
"High-tech industries that can generate higher output value, provide more tax revenue and employment, such as electronics, automobiles, aviation, pharmaceuticals, new energy, and new materials, are what they welcome most."
Li Zejun nodded emphatically in deep agreement.
They were once key targets for investment promotion in mainland China and were honored guests of high-level officials.