Hong Kong: Starting with 10 billion

Chapter 66 Bao Li Agreement (6K)
Two days had passed since Zhang Zengjie was drowned in the sea. It was August 1978, 8.

There are many different opinions among the Hong Kong underworld about this man's final fate.

But many people believe that he was really thrown into the sea to feed the fish.

For example, Deng Guangrong, who was involved in both the black and white worlds.

Speaking of this person, the story is very long.

Deng Guangrong is a typical "second generation of black".
His father, Deng Bowen, was the head of the Zhi Gong Tang branch in Guangzhou.

Before 49, Deng Bowen sent his confidant Liu Rongjiu to Hong Kong to prepare a retreat.

After Liu Rongju came to Hong Kong, he partnered with Ye Shou, who later became the "father of gambling ships", to establish Luen Kung Le.

Ye Shou is the right-hand man of Macau He Pu Tao, helping him solve many troubles in the underworld.

In the mid-70s, Hepuo was impressed by Liu Rongjiu's ability to get things done, so it invited him to Macau to assist it in managing its casino business.

So Deng Guangrong became the second leader of Lian Gong Le.

However, before that, in 1963,
He was only 17 years old at the time. He was tall and handsome.
He was spotted by a director and starred in his first film, "Student Prince".

This debut work made Deng Guangrong an overnight sensation and he officially entered the entertainment industry.

In 1969, he met Teresa Lymphomaniac while filming "Flying Men and Flying Girls".

Later, they met five other people, namely Zhang Chong, Xie Xian, Chen Ziqiang, Chen Hao and Qin Xianglin.

So, the seven of them became sworn brothers and sisters with different surnames and formed the Silver Mouse Band.

In 1972, Deng Guangrong left Hong Kong to develop his career in Taiwan, and was known as one of the three leading actors in Taiwan's art films, along with Qin Han and Qin Xianglin.

In 1977, he returned to Hong Kong to take over as the second leader of Luen Kung Music and founded Darong Films.

This person debuted early and has a triad background, so he is very successful in the entertainment circles in both Hong Kong and Taiwan.

In addition, he had a good relationship with Bruce Lee. Rumor has it that he was the one who introduced Bruce Lee to Golden Harvest.

People like Sammo Hung, Jackie Chan, Yuen Wah, Yuen Biao, and Lam Ching-ying have all played supporting roles in Bruce Lee's movies.

So, naturally, Deng Guangrong got to know Jackie Chan.

At that time, Deng Guangrong was a star and had a complicated relationship with the underworld.
Therefore, many young people who have just entered the industry admire him very much, thinking that he is both successful and has the style of a big brother.

Jackie Chan was one of them at that time.

Deng Guangrong also thinks he is the big brother of Hong Kong entertainment circle.

As long as he opens his mouth, others must give him face.

For example, if Brigitte Lin wanted to act with him, Joey Wong had to accept the invitation from his film company to act in a movie.

The most controversial thing is the rumor that he raped Anita Mui.

Many people say it was Eric Tsang, but if not, then why did Eric Tsang take the blame for Alan Tang?
There is a story behind this.

Zeng Zhiwei's father Zeng Qirong was a famous corrupt policeman in Hong Kong and a subordinate of the then Chief Chinese Detective Lui Lok.

In the 1950s and 1960s, the police and gangs were in cahoots with each other and treated each other as brothers.

This is how Zeng Qirong met Liu Rongju, and they became good friends.

Therefore, Zeng Zhiwei, who was still young at that time, became Liu Rongjiu's godson.

In this way, Zeng Zhiwei and Deng Guangrong, who were of the same generation, became friends.

Or it should be said that Zeng Zhiwei, who is 7 years younger than Deng Guangrong, is a die-hard younger brother of Deng Guangrong.

Isn't it only natural to help the big brother take the blame and block the bullet?

It is true that Deng Guangrong was arrogant and domineering and liked to show off, but he also had some good points.

For example, he is loyal and not fussy about trivial matters, and he likes to make friends with heroes and good guys in the world.

He has successively mentored Patrick Tse, Chow Yun-fat, Wong Kar-wai, Stephen Chow and Jacky Cheung.

He is also the godfather of Jacky Cheung’s wife May Lo.

In addition, Deng Guangrong also loved his seventh sister, Shen Dianxia, ​​very much, and the relationship between the two was like that of real siblings.

In the late 80s, the Hong Kong police stepped up their crackdown on organized crime, causing panic among the underworld.

In 1992, Deng Guangrong gradually faded out of the entertainment industry and resigned from his position as the leader of Lian Gong Le.

He left Hong Kong for Macau to assist Liu Rongju and gradually took over the work in the casino.

In 1978, Deng Guangrong firmly believed that he should be the "glorious big brother" of the Hong Kong entertainment industry.

Today, he and several members of Silver Mouse had afternoon tea at the Peninsula Hotel.

He also called Jackie Chan, who had already finished filming the "Drunken Master" scenes.

Invite him to come over for a get-together.

At this time, several people chatted about some recent news and gossip in Hong Kong.
For example, when ATV was in crisis of closing down, someone jumped to ATV, and someone else asked Mona Fong to return to TVB.

Finally, the topic turned to Jackie Chan.

Shen Dianxia first joked:

"Aaron, how about my fellow countryman's DreamWorks? If I can't make it in TVB, I'll go to you. Please help me put in a good word."

"Sister Fei Fei, you are such a joker. Everyone knows that you and Sir Run Run Shaw are from the same hometown, and you are the top star of TVB. How could he be willing to let you change jobs?"

"Haha, Aaron is getting better at talking. I'm just curious."

"Oh, Mr. Fang's DreamWorks treats you very well and it's very formal. Mr. Fang himself is very friendly and easy to talk to."

"Well, I also went to the hometown gathering last time. Ah Xuan is indeed very gentle and modest. Most importantly, he is handsome and rich. We Ningbo people are really talented!"

"Yeah, yeah, Sister Feifei's summary is spot on. She is worthy of being a gold medal host."

Qin Xianglin on the side interrupted:

"Are you talking about Fang Hexuan, the boss of DreamWorks?"

"Fifth brother also knows our Ah Xuan?"

"Ah Fei, you don't even know him, isn't it too corny to call him 'our Ah Xuan'?"

"Bah, we'll get to know each other someday!"

"This boy is really handsome and tall, but compared to me and Lao Liu, he's still a little behind!"

"Ugh! Fifth brother, you are getting more and more shameless. He is not even 18 years old yet. He is a sunny and cute boy. Many housewives in Hong Kong like him!"

"Tsk! Fortunately he is not an actor, otherwise he would have been KO'd by me and Lao Liu!"

Deng Guangrong had just been listening to what they were saying, and now he couldn't help but speak up:

"Don't be fooled by this boy's appearance, he is a cruel and ruthless person!"

"Sixth brother, where do you get that from? Xuan hasn't offended you."

"Ah Fei, can you please stop being so naive? Remember when the set of A-Long's Drunken Master was smashed?"

"Well, what does that have to do with you, Xuan?"

"It matters a lot. I know full well that you don't care about Hong Kong societies."

"Oh? Lao Liu, go on, is there any more story behind this?"

"Fang Hexuan, the good guy you three thought of, issued a 'gangster hunting order' in the underworld last month, offering 200 million Hong Kong dollars for Zhang Zengjie's life."

"Hey, then what?"

"The day before yesterday, rumors were circulating that Zhang Zengjie was captured from Macau and brought back to Hong Kong where he was drowned."

"cough cough"

"What, are you scared now? You're still a good person, huh!"

"Sixth brother, you must not frame a good person. Xuan was also framed when he was imprisoned before. How could he, a student, do such a thing?"

"I framed you? I told Ah Fei that you were naive, but you still refused to accept it. Many people believed it because several of Zhang Zengjie's sworn brothers admitted it themselves."

"Then how can you prove that it was Ah Xuan who did it?"

"Are you stupid? Who else has the motive and ability to kill Zhang Zengjie?"

"No matter what you say, I don't believe it. We Ningbo people are very disciplined and never offend anyone."

"I"

"Sixth Brother, so this Fang Hexuan is also a gangster like you?"

"That's not the case. It is said that this person has some connection with Sun Yee On, but he is not a member of Sun Yee On."

"Tsk tsk tsk, this guy looked elegant and handsome, but it turns out he is so cruel and ruthless."

"Humph! How can a good boy amass hundreds of millions of dollars in just a few months? How can he survive in Hong Kong without being ruthless?"

"So how much money do you think he has?"

"I don't know. In May, this person even raised hundreds of millions of Hong Kong dollars from the community. He is so bold!"

"Oh, I'm so envious. What's wrong with these people's brains? They make money as easily as drinking water, while we are actors and actresses, and it's so hard."

"There's nothing different about his brain, it's just that his courage is different from ours."

"If I were as rich as he is, I would charter a plane to Taipei right away, buy a diamond ring the size of a pigeon egg, and propose to Qingxia directly!"

"Fifth brother, wake up, it's not dark yet!"

Watching the three of them teasing each other, Jackie Chan's thoughts were racing.

At that time, the crew was harassed and vandalized by 14K, and he was also punched a few times.

Jackie Chan has been accustomed to this kind of thing since he was a child, and similar situations have occurred on many film crews in the past.

But getting used to it doesn’t mean you don’t have any thoughts in your mind.

People like Jackie Chan have not received much education. He joined the film crew when he was a teenager and has come into contact with all kinds of people.

I always have a feeling in my heart that being a big brother like Deng Guangrong can handle anything, how awesome!

Joining DreamWorks, although the pay and treatment were good,
But if the boss is not doing well in Hong Kong, anyone will dare to cause trouble for him.

Then DreamWorks might have to close down one day.

At that time, how should Jackie Chan deal with it?

After the crew was disrupted, Jackie Chan actually had other thoughts.
He began to think, is it feasible to be his own boss, like his senior brother Sammo Hung, without relying on any company?
But after hearing the truth behind this today, his little thoughts disappeared temporarily.

It's okay to be a star without relying on DreamWorks.
But it is really difficult to enter Hollywood on your own.

Jackie Chan's Hollywood dream has never come true since it was sparked by Fang Hexuan.

······
On August 8, ATV General Manager Chow Liang Suk-yee submitted her resignation to the board of directors.

On August 8, Jiayi's board of directors accepted Zhou's resignation.

Those who are familiar with the situation know that Zhou Liang Shuyi was forced to resign.

Also laid off along with her were the "Six Gentlemen of ATV" Yip Kit-hin, Lo Kwok-chan, Lam Hsu-wah and Shi Shao-ming.

Liu Tianci, who resigned at the end of last month, is now the production manager of DreamWorks.
On the day when his five good friends lost their jobs, Fang Hexuan asked him to contact them and ask about their well-being.

The Peninsula Hotel.

"Sister Zhou, it's better to leave Jiayi. They never trusted us."

"Maybe, Aci, how are you doing in DreamWorks?"

"I feel very good. There are no complicated interpersonal disputes. Everything is transparent and in accordance with the rules. The company's system is perfect and humane."

"Most importantly, Mr. Fang has ambitious plans and expectations for DreamWorks."

"Oh? Don't young people invest in movies just because the entertainment industry is fun?"

"Sister Zhou, I think you underestimate Mr. Fang. Although he is young, he is very mature in thought, not conservative, and has an extremely strong enterprising spirit."

"You've read the newspapers. He said he would enter Hollywood in five years. He was definitely not kidding!" "I believe you when you say he's not kidding, but entering Hollywood is a bit of bragging."

"Before, I had the same opinion as you, but after he talked to me about it, I began to believe it."

"Tell me!"

"Haha, Sister Zhou, I can't tell you that. Mr. Fang told me before I came here. He said that as long as you agree to join DreamWorks, he will communicate with you in person."

"Ha! You're even playing the 'Jiang Taigong fishing' trick."

"Sister Zhou, no matter what, you can give it a try first. If you really don't think DreamWorks will work, you can always look for another job."

"Okay, what about you guys? You jumped from TVB to ATV with me, and now you're facing unemployment again. Do you want to work with me again?"

Zhou Liang Shuyi said this to the other four people.

Finally, Lu Guozhan and Ye Jiexin agreed to join DreamWorks together.

But Lin Xuhua and Shi Shaoming wanted to go to Rediffusion.

Zhou Liang Shuyi didn't force it. Everyone should part ways in peace and she couldn't ask for more.

Fang Hexuan was still very happy after learning the result.

He hosted a banquet for Zhou Liang Shuyi and others at Jumbo Floating Restaurant.

In this way, Chow was appointed by Fang Hexuan as the general manager of DreamWorks Pictures.
Lu Guozhan is the promotion manager of DreamWorks Pictures, and also serves as the producer and lyricist.

Ye Jiexin was also appointed as the production manager of DreamWorks, just like Liu Tianci.

With the arrival of the main executives one by one, the burden on Fang Hexuan's shoulders was immediately lightened a lot.

He himself served as the chairman of DreamWorks and handed over most of the company's management work to Selina Chow.

However, before he completely got rid of this burden,
He gave DreamWorks a new task - to start preparing for the second film.

Although Fang Hexuan has no sentiment for Hong Kong movies, it does not mean that he does not watch them.

On the contrary, in my previous life, I grew up eating food from hundreds of families and watching TV from hundreds of families.

When he was a child, Fang Hexuan's favorite families were those that had purchased VCDs and DVDs.

It can be said that his childhood was basically spent growing up with Hong Kong films.

But strangely, he really didn't have any strong feelings.

Just like he doesn't consider any actor or star as his idol.

At that time, the movies I watched the most were those by Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, Lam Ching-ying, Jet Li, Stephen Chow, and Chow Yun-fat.
The memories of these are also the deepest.

Therefore, for his second movie, Fang Hexuan naturally chose "Snatch" which was written, directed and starred by Jackie Chan.

But this time, Brother Long will not be the screenwriter and director.

The script is the same as "Drunken Master", expanded and filled with a story outline of several hundred words written by Fang Hexuan.

DreamWorks recruited a lot of such non-famous screenwriters and set up a special script committee.

The director still chose to work with Yuan Heping.

Fang Hexuan would naturally use as many talents as possible like this.

After explaining everything to Zhou Liang Shuyi, he could finally rest assured and get out of this situation.

······
On August 8, Jiayi TV officially announced that it would stop broadcasting and close down.
A large number of original directors and screenwriters began to flood into the market.

For example, the later famous Hong Kong director Ringo Lam.

Fang Hexuan did not sign him because he felt that this person was a little arrogant and needed to be suppressed and accept the beatings of society.

In addition, Xian Qiran will shoot and release his first film "Enemies" next year.
Ann Hui will shoot and release her first film "The Lost Tomb" next year.
Tan Jiaming will release his first film "Sword" next year.
Zhang Guoming will shoot and release his first movie "Pointing at the Soldiers" next year.

According to statistics, starting from next year 1979, there will be more and more films directed by television directors, far exceeding previous years.

This phenomenon was defined as the "Hong Kong Film New Wave Movement" by Film Biweekly, which was founded in 1979, in 1980.

From then on, the Hong Kong film industry was no longer dominated by Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest.

The style of movies is no longer dominated by costume films or modern films.

Instead, it began to adapt to the modern life of the city of Hong Kong.

Because of such changes, Hong Kong citizens' enthusiasm for watching movies has gradually been ignited.

The box office of Hong Kong films finally broke through the 1980 million Hong Kong dollar mark for the first time in .

And that will be the beginning and first year of the glory of Hong Kong films.

······
In early September, the weather in Hong Kong is still hot and dry.

Since the news of the secret acquisition of Wharf Holdings in March,

He was targeted by HSBC and Jardine Matheson.

It is no longer possible to get more stocks from the secondary market.

Now, he hasn't even bought 10%, which is just 900 million shares.

We sent people to investigate for a long time, but there was no definite result.

This completely disrupted his original plan.

Now, the Wharf shares he holds are like chicken ribs.

However, he had a new idea.

The Wharf shares in my hands may not be of much use.

But it can be used to exchange for what you want.

On the other hand, since Pao Yue-kong was gifted HK$2000 million worth of shares by Fang Hexuan in March,
It has been lurking in the market for nearly half a year.

Or in the original history,

After transferring all 10% of Wharf Holdings' shares to him,
Pao Yue-kong subsequently announced that he already held 15%-20% of Wharf Holdings shares.

In other words, Pao Yue-Kong himself only acquired 5%-10% of the shares.

But in this time and space, the average purchase price of Fang Hexuan's 2000 million Hong Kong dollars worth of stocks is 29 Hong Kong dollars.

In other words, before the charter king even started, he had already acquired 0.7% of the shares.
After that, he lurked for half a year, secretly reached out and acquired 16% of the shares.

In other words, he owns about 6.7%-11.7% more Wharf shares than originally thought.

If we add another 9%, the total is 25.7%.

You should know that as of June 1980, 6, Pao Yue-kong only held 22% of the shares.

After nearly two years of agony, they only acquired 10%-15%. It was a difficult process.

Now, this goal is easily achieved.

It is not too far from the 49% control of the largest shareholder.

Fang Hexuan's letter did serve as a reminder to the shipping king.

It can help him reduce a lot of trouble and obstacles, and possibly even save hundreds of millions of dollars.

On this day, Boss Li called Pao Yue-Kong on the landline in his office.

The next day, the two of them met at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Central.

The two current Chinese business leaders shook hands politely and exchanged a few words.

Li Ka-shing spoke first:
"Sir Bao, I have heard from friends in the business community that you intend to reduce your investment in shipping and hope to shift to real estate and tourism shopping. At that time, I was buying shares of Wharf Holdings. I heard that Wharf Holdings was a perfect fit for your plan. I thought to myself, we are both Chinese, so I must help you no matter what."

When Pao Yue-kong heard Li Ka-shing's shameless and hypocritical words, he secretly complained in his heart, but he still said in a very business-like manner:
"Thank you Mr. Li for your generous help. If all Chinese can unite as one, no foreigner in Hong Kong will dare to snatch food from us."

"What Sir Bao said makes sense. Hong Kong belongs to the Chinese. The foreigners have been sucking our blood for a hundred years. It's time for this to end."

"Mr. Li is very understanding and I am very grateful. I wonder how many shares of Wharf Holdings you have?"

"Alas, it was only in February this year that I decided to acquire the shares of this British company. I currently hold 2 million shares, which is about 900% of the shares."

"Oh, I don't know. How many Hong Kong dollars per share are you willing to transfer to me, Mr. Li?"

"Well, Sir Bao, to be honest, I bought the shares too late. The average purchase price of the first batch of shares was 25 Hong Kong dollars, and the second batch was 38 Hong Kong dollars. The total average price was 34 Hong Kong dollars."

"I don't ask for much. If Sir Bao is willing to pay 40 Hong Kong dollars per share, all these 900 million shares will be given to him."

After hearing this, Pao Yue-Kong already started cursing the old man opposite him in his heart.

Damn, do you think I don’t know?

I sent someone to check it out.

You started buying the first batch of stocks in September 1977, and the average price was only 9 Hong Kong dollars.

As of mid-March 1978, the average price of the last batch of stocks was only HK$3.

You want me to pay 40 Hong Kong dollars per share.
If I didn't know that you wanted me to help you intercede with HSBC and buy out Hutchison Whampoa's shares,

Then I buy them all for 40 Hong Kong dollars, so it’s not a loss.

But you need my help and you want to make a killing from me on Wharf Holdings' shares.

Is this still a human being?

You are just a rotten old cucumber!
Bao Yugang thought so in his heart, but his face remained gentle.

"Thank you Mr. Li for being willing to sell, but I'm not well off lately and I'm still raising funds to buy more Wharf shares, so how about 35 Hong Kong dollars a share?"

"Well, well, all right. But, Sir Bao, I have another unwelcome favor to ask."

Pao Yue-Kong already snorted in his heart, damn, the sex scene is finally coming.

"Speaking!"

"Well, I admire your feat of acquiring a British company, and I plan to follow your example and acquire a British company as well."

"Oh? Which company?"

“Hutchison Whampoa!”

"Hiss, Mr. Li has a really sharp vision!"

"Haha, no, no, I can't compare to Sir Bao."

"So, you want me to help you convince HSBC to transfer their shares in Hutchison to you?"

"Yes, that's true. Only Lord Bao has the face to do this."

"Have you ever thought about what if HSBC doesn't agree? Or even if it agrees, it won't sell all the shares to you?"

".As long as the Sir is willing to help, I have some friendship with Chairman Shen, and I will try my best to get him to sell more of my shares."

"Okay, I can promise you, but I can't guarantee that HSBC will listen to me."

"Of course, but I have confidence in you, Sir. Everyone knows that you are a shareholder of HSBC and have a close relationship with several former bosses."

"That's too much of a compliment to me."

"How dare I talk nonsense? All Hong Kong people think so."

Bao Yugang no longer had any good feelings towards Boss Li, and what he said just now was just a precaution.

Even if HSBC really wants to sell his Hutchison shares, it will have to be at a discount.

This person is too ambitious and has a dark heart.

It is just as Ah Xuan said, if he really wants to become powerful,

This may not be a good thing for the Ningbo Consortium in Hong Kong!

(Note: Many mainland media outlets said that Mr. Li only earned more than 1000 million Hong Kong dollars by transferring 6000 million shares of Wharf Holdings to Pao Yue-kong. This is actually not true. Mr. Li purchased the shares several times, and the average purchase price was definitely not 30 Hong Kong dollars. He offered 40 Hong Kong dollars, and Pao Yue-kong offered 36 Hong Kong dollars. He made more than hundreds of millions of Hong Kong dollars from this.)
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　Thanks to Yi656 Book Friend 1, Book Friend 20230403091621165, Book Friend 20220428091908666, Time to Cook Coke, and Kexing for their recommendation votes!

(End of this chapter)