Year: I had a good time when I was young

Chapter 803 801 Directors and HK Electric

Sanjiangshui, Zhang Tianzhi who was driving, and Zhou Bili who was sitting in the passenger seat listened to Chu Xiangqian's words, thought for a few seconds or a while, and nodded in their hearts.

Then Chu Xiangqian smiled and said, "My electronics mall doesn't just sell Sakura electronics, it also sells electronics from the British, American, and even German and Spanish brands.

I even sell electrical appliances from the mainland.

The main point is that when you enter an electronics store, no matter you want to buy a big brand or a low-end product, there is always one that will satisfy you.

If you just want to buy a washing machine, but see that the price is much cheaper than outside, you might buy a radio or even a refrigerator to empty your wallet. "

After saying that, Chu Xiangqian chuckled and said, "The quality of radios produced in the mainland is no worse than those in Sakura Country. The price alone is cheaper in terms of shipping costs, which makes them more competitive than similar products in Sakura Country.

There are also televisions. The mainland has had them five or six years ago, but unfortunately there are only two TV stations in Hong Kong Island, and they are both English channels.

Otherwise, with the mainland's industrial strength, the technology is not as strong as Sakura, but the price will definitely make Sakura merchants cry."

The cost of producing radios in the mainland is not necessarily lower than that of Sakura, but the mainland provides subsidies in order to earn foreign exchange.

Few people can beat you even if it means losing money.

After China beat up India last year, even though Chu Xiangqian had been using a shell company in London as a cover to purchase radios, bicycles and watches produced in China under its own brand name, it was still difficult to hide the source of the products from everyone.

In the two or three months after the end of the war, the export of light industrial products to Linda and Eliza's hometown of Osari was reduced by more than half.

Although Linda and Alyssa have returned to Osaribond several times this year and done a lot of work, the export volume has not been able to recover to the level of the first 10 months of last year.

So even though the mainland is now selling its idle production within China, one is earning Chinese currency and the other is earning foreign exchange. In China's eyes, the two are simply incomparable.

Not to mention, the business of exporting light industrial products has been going on for more than two years, and China could have expanded its production scale a long time ago.

There is no pressure to even increase it two or three times.

Therefore, Chu Xiangqian imported radios from the mainland to Hong Kong for sale. Not to mention tens of thousands of units, even if it was three or five hundred thousand units per year, he could easily complete the production task.

Chu Xiangqian built an electronics mall, and the Ying series was mid-to-high-end. No matter whether it was the Celestial Empire or Sakura, they were all targets of hatred and attack.

Therefore, it would be very difficult for Sakura to kick out Chinese electrical appliances in Hong Kong Island.

Moreover, just being able to sell radios was a new breakthrough for China. As a result, Sakura, which owned a full range of products, became the most hated target of British businessmen.

Since Chu Xiangqian had no objection to him continuing his electrical appliance smuggling business, San Jiangshui no longer felt pressured and chatted with him happily about that kid Chu Jingrong.

Then he brought up the matter of child marriage again in a vague way.

Chu Xiangqian rolled his eyes at Sanjiangshui. This guy wasn't ugly, but he wasn't handsome either. So Sanjiangshui's daughter would probably grow up to be crooked.

Besides, my son is only one year old, and it will take at least twenty years to get married.

"Don't ask me about this. Ask my wife, my master's wife, and your master."

Sanjiangshui was immediately deflated. Not to mention Xue Jinglan, Gong Changqing and Chen Shenglan, even his own master Yixiantian had a 9% chance of not agreeing to arrange a marriage between the eldest son of the Chu family and his own daughter.

Moreover, Sanjiangshui had attended the funeral of Gong Ruomei, also known as Gong Er, and knew that Xue Jinglan's grandfather, father, and elder brother were all high-ranking officials in the Imperial Court.

When it comes to Chu Jingrong's marriage, Chu Xiangqian, as his father, may not necessarily decide it.

However, after Sanjiangshui was disappointed, he couldn't help but think of Chu Ailin.

He whispered, "Boss, didn't you tell Deng Fei to keep an eye on the safety of the Fourth Young Master inside and outside the school? And you also said hello to Xia Shan Bao, Luo Tuo, Jiang Zhen and the others.

Yesterday, when Xiashanbao came down from the mountain, he told me that it seemed like the Fourth Young Master..."

Before Sanjiangshui could finish his words, Chu Xiangqian interrupted him, "Brother, just call Ailin by her name, so that your master or my uncle won't be unhappy if he hears it.

Besides, it's just a courtesy for outsiders to call you that. After all, if the relationship is not good enough, you don't need to do that."

Sanjiangshui was stunned for a moment, and then his heart suddenly felt warm.

The smile on his face brightened, and he said with a relaxed look, "Your fourth child has been surrounded by many beautiful girls recently. I heard from Xiashanbao that at least seven or eight girls of the same age have transferred to the school at the bottom of the mountain."

Chu Xiangqian rolled his eyes after hearing this, dropped off Sanjiangshui at an intersection, and when he saw Zhang Tianzhi get into his car, he immediately told Zhang Tianzhi to go back to the top of the mountain.

The next morning, when the family was having breakfast, seeing that Ailin had almost finished eating, Chu Xiangqian asked, "Old Four, how are you getting along with your classmates recently? Has anyone bullied you?"

The master, his mistress, Yixiantian, Lao Jiang, Xue Jinglan, Gangsheng and Aiyuan were stunned and all looked at Chu Ailin.

The three sisters Tao Jie and Zhao Di, who were serving the whole family their meal, looked at each other and thought to themselves that they should tell Zhang Tianzhi later and ask him to remind Tony Jaa and Yuen Wah.

Ailin didn't think too much about it. He nodded after listening, then made a bitter face and complained, "Brother, my classmates are easy to get along with, but there are a lot of transfers recently.

And I heard from my classmates that they all transferred here just to get closer to me.”

Ailin was embarrassed to say that most of the transfer students were pretty female classmates, and from time to time there would be female classmates who would glance at her or find reasons to get to know her.

If one or two people approached her secretly, Ailin would be secretly happy.

But a teenager like him might have some romantic thoughts, but not much.

Too many girls approached him, which not only annoyed him, but also made him lose face. After all, the education he received since childhood was completely different from that in Hong Kong Island.

Chu Xiangqian felt relieved after hearing this. From what he heard, the fourth brother also knew that those girls who transferred to the school deliberately approached him with ulterior motives.

He smiled and nodded to Ailin, "Okay, let's go to school after we finish eating."

Wait until Ailin behaves obediently, says hello to the elders, puts on her schoolbag and goes out.

Chu Xiangqian immediately said to Xue Jinglan, "Donate a teaching building to the middle school down the mountain later. Tell the principal and the school board not to accept just anyone, as it will ruin the campus atmosphere."

After saying that, Chu Xiangqian thought about it with a bit of worry, and continued, "Why don't you just become the director of this school in the name of donation?"

Xue Jinglan was stunned. She wanted to be a school director? Was it necessary?
After asking Chu Xiangqian, he learned that many wealthy local families had transferred their daughters to this school, and he couldn't help but laugh.

When others heard this reason, they also showed funny and helpless expressions.

Aiyuan even joked that if her sister-in-law thought it was troublesome and delayed taking care of Xiao Ronger, she could let herself be the school director. Unexpectedly, Xue Jinglan actually nodded, and now it was Aiyuan's turn to be a little confused.

Chu Xiangqian glared at Aiyuan. Don’t underestimate the board of directors of a small middle school. It seems that anyone can do it.

However, if someone who does not have the right status, qualifications, or academic qualifications serves as a school director, he or she will 100% be laughed at.

Although Xue Jinglan did not go to college, she is the official owner of Chu's Charity. Because of tax cuts, it is common for her to donate three to five million Hong Kong dollars every year.

When she became a school director, others had to beg her to give in to her.

As for donating a teaching building, Chu Xiangqian has money anyway, and donating a teaching building would only cost a few hundred thousand at most.

And donating to a school is equivalent to organizing a school, which also has a good reputation.

Aiyuan admitted defeat, and Xue Jinglan could only agree reluctantly.

After the family finished breakfast, Chu Xiangqian took the thin suit jacket from Gangsheng and teased Chu Jingrong in the living room, planning to play with his son for a while before going to work.

A phone call suddenly came in.

An hour later, in the lobby of the Peninsula Hotel, Chu Xiangqian walked in and saw Le Jimin drinking tea with his two sons.

When the Le family father and son saw Chu Xiangqian, they stood up and greeted him with a smile.

After some polite exchanges, the four of them sat down and the waiter brought a set of tea and desserts. Chu Xiangqian gave them a favor because Le Yan worked for him.

He smiled and said politely to Le Jimin, "Mr. Le, you invited me here so early in the morning. I guess you don't just want to have morning tea, right?"

Le Jimin laughed. He had already communicated with his two sons after they got up in the morning.

But directly asking Chu Xiangqian whether he is interested in investing in Lejia Department Store would be equivalent to handing the initiative directly to Chu Xiangqian.

What if he wants not only cooperation but also to swallow up his own industry? He would be inviting a wolf into the house.

So Le Jimin first talked about Le Yan, thanked Chu Xiangqian, and talked a lot. Chu Xiangqian knew that the other party did not get to the point when he listened.

Moreover, he never thought that Le Jimin would actively seek an alliance, or even intend to get him to invest in Lejia Department Store to survive the price war that would inevitably occur after the home appliance city opened.

So Chu Xiangqian suppressed his emotions and chattered with Le Jimin for nearly half an hour. After several hints without any response, he soon lost his patience and kept testing the other party.

If the strength between the two sides was equal, Chu Xiangqian would not mind wasting time, but the strength was completely unequal. Although Chu Xiangqian was envious of the property rights of the Le family's department stores, he had no intention of simply and roughly seizing the family property.

So as to avoid being excluded by the local prominent families and wealthy people in Hong Kong Island.

After all, there are plenty of opportunities to make money.

There is no need to become a public enemy.

So after Chu Xiangqian looked at his watch twice, the Le family father and son guessed that he was impatient.

Le Jimin sighed secretly in his heart, thinking that Chu Xiangqian did not live up to his reputation, but then he thought that the other party was only in his twenties, and it would seem a little abnormal if he was as calm and steady as an old fox.

But in fact, Chu Xiangqian simply has no idea about the Le family's business now, so naturally he is strong without desire.

Otherwise, when it comes to putting aside one's pride, Chu Xiangqian will definitely be very enthusiastic.

Le Jimin nodded towards Le Yan. After a morning of thinking, Le Yan was worried that Chu Xiangqian might verbally agree to buy shares and let the Le family manage the department store, but in fact he would use his status as a shareholder to infiltrate and win over other shareholders on the board of directors bit by bit.

In the end, even though it was clearly written in black and white in the agreement that he could not interfere in the management of the company, he secretly controlled the voting rights of most of the shares on the board of directors and was still able to drive the Le family away.

But compared with the most unfavorable possible situation, Le Yan felt that the benefits of forming an alliance with Chu Xiangqian far outweighed the disadvantages.

Not to mention anything else, if his family got financial support from Chu Xiangqian, let alone reforming the department store, he would close one of the department stores, demolish it and rebuild it into a high-rise building.

You can make a lot of money just by buying properties.

Once this store is almost finished, we will sell it to the outside world to get back the funds and then start building the second one. Not only will the department store own more properties, but it will also be able to exchange them for a large amount of cash.

Moreover, Le Yan had seen it with his own eyes. Chu Xiangqian only had a crush on Zheng Yutong as a person, and was very generous when investing in Zhou Dafu.

Not only did he pay two or three times the price to get a 30% stake, he also directly lent Chow Tai Fook a diamond worth at least several million or even tens of millions of dollars as the store's treasure, and put it on display in the head office to attract customers.

Moreover, in the few days since Chu Xiangqian started working at the shipping company, it was no secret that the company was short of management personnel due to the rapid expansion of its business.

Let Chu Xiangqian take over Lejia Department Store in the short term. Le Yan feels that even if Chu Xiangqian is willing, he does not have the energy to manage it.

However, Le Yan thinks he can get Chu Xiangqian to become a partner. However, Le Wen, the eldest brother of the Le family, has only doubts and uneasiness towards Chu Xiangqian.

Chu Xiangqian holds 60% of the shares of HK Electric. After HK Electric took the initiative to issue an announcement, many people admired and feared him.

It is easy to understand why they are afraid. They are afraid that he will take a fancy to someone else's property and take it away by using his financial and connection advantages.

What makes people admire him is that he was able to take over the controlling stake of Hong Kong Electric from the foreigners. He is the first Chinese to take away the controlling stake of an industry owned by foreigners since the founding of Hong Kong Island.

In the past, foreigners always seized Chinese properties and then acquired foreigners' assets. Chu Xiangqian was indeed the first one.

Compared with the sensation more than ten years later, when the ship charter king took over Jardine Matheson & Wharf and when Li Gongtan took over the controlling stake in Hutchison Whampoa with the support of HSBC, the effect was greater.

Moreover, HK Electric is a livelihood industry. Electricity is essential for social development and an asset with extremely stable profits.

In the eyes of many people, it is the best asset among high-quality assets.

However, a company's growth period has a ceiling. After 70 or 80 years of development, HK Electric's equipment is aging, and its power generation and technology level are fundamentally out of date. Large investments are necessary, which is also the biggest dilemma the company is facing now.

But Chu Xiangqian was not in a hurry. He was rich, but he wished other shareholders would sell their shares to him.

The land of the North Point Power Plant alone, if built into a residential area or a complex of commercial buildings in the future, and then the property value appreciates, will be more profitable than most businesses.

Therefore, after taking over the shares of HK Electric, not only did they not hold a board meeting, they also did not meet with the existing management team.

While the business-as-usual approach reassured management, it made shareholders increasingly uneasy.

Everyone knows that the company needs a large amount of funds to improve technology and increase power generation, but Chu Xiangqian, the controlling shareholder, doesn't care. What can these small shareholders do?
(End of this chapter)