"Peter, you mean... we just watch him and do nothing..."
"Sir," Shen Bi interrupted him and said, "Do your job well at Jardine Matheson. The projects in Australia and Canada require your full attention. The era of Hong Kong Land has come to an end. I will handle the follow-up matters. You can go back for now! Thank you for the information you provided."
This is an order to expel you, but it can barely be considered a reassurance!
Upon hearing this, Niubijian realized that he was powerless to change Shen Bi's judgment, let alone influence Xiaolin Tianwang's actions. He took one last look at Shen Bi's unfathomable eyes, then dejectedly adjusted his collar slightly, and turned away with a sigh.
The heavy office door closed, and Shen Bi maintained his sitting posture for a full half minute before deciding to pick up the crimson dedicated phone on the table that led to the Hong Kong government.
Governor's House, when the sunlight shines through the half-open blinds, it casts mottled light and shadows on the thick Persian carpet.
Governor Murray MacLehose habitually stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window in his study, overlooking the Victoria Harbour below Victoria Peak with the attitude of an omniscient controller.
The sea is bustling with ships, creating a busy scene. As far as the eye can see, there is this oriental city under his rule, where vitality and contradictions are intertwined.
The secretary tiptoed in and whispered that HSBC executive Shen Bi had requested a meeting in the waiting room. MacLehose nodded and waved, inviting him in.
Shen Bi walked into the study with steady steps, looking directly at Governor Murray MacLehose.
"Sir Shen Bi, please take a seat." MacLehose turned around with a gentle smile on his face and a hint of inquiry in his words. "It seems Sir Newbigin just left you. He seems a little unstable lately! I believe you already know the outcome of the Hong Kong Land board meeting. Tell me! What are your thoughts?"
"Yes, Your Excellency the Governor." Shen Bi nodded slightly and replied, "Sir Newbigin informed me of Mr. Xiao Lin's... new initiatives. The key point is that he announced a new procurement strategy..."
I will probably spend a few minutes describing in detail Kobayashi Tenmo's performance at the board meeting.
"Continental building materials?"
MacLehose put away his smile and said, "I just received news that Mr. Xiao Lin has recently had some contact with people from the Xinhua News Agency's Hong Kong branch.
Haha! Our Mr. Xiaolin… he's truly a man of few words, yet he makes a splash. Just one foot he acquired Hong Kong Land for nothing with the support of HSBC and Jardine Matheson, and now he's trying to scoop up cheap building materials from the north?
And his movements were so swift and precise... His intelligence is truly admirable. How much information and intelligence did he look up? What clues led him to this?"
There was also a strong sense of doubt in the tone of admiration of Hong Kong Governor Murray MacLehose.
Cheap? Too cheap! Cheap enough to disrupt the building materials supply chain of Hong Kong Island's local and pro-British sectors. More importantly, Kobayashi Tenmo's motives were at play.
Chen Bi nodded and agreed, "Yes, Xiaolin Tianwang's business acumen is astonishing. As for which line connects his transactions with the mainland, it is not yet known.
But this precisely demonstrates his power. The problem now is that, Governor Kobayashi's move, while seemingly a purely business decision, is too dramatic and too explicit.
Especially during this sensitive period, it's bound to attract attention and speculation from all sides. Newbijian suspects he's a pawn of the North, and while my analysis leans more towards the extreme pursuit of commercial profit, but..."
"But we must determine his true position." MacLehose took over the conversation, his eyes filled with suspicion. "Fok Ying-tung alone is enough to give us a headache. If Kobayashi Ten-wang, who we supported, takes the resources and platform we provided and then turns around and joins the North to do their work... then we will become a huge joke and have made an unforgivable strategic mistake. Regardless of whether he is right or wrong, this matter must be brought to light. Let him clarify and express his position!"
Shen Bi nodded in agreement. "That's exactly why I came here. We can invite him to Governor's House to discuss the details, using the excuse that the Hong Kong government needs HSBC to provide large, low-interest loans to further implement the 'Home Ownership Scheme'. This way, we can observe his reaction up close, demonstrate our concern and support, and test his limits."
A gleam flashed in MacLehose's eyes, and he nodded. "Excellent! That's it! It will be more significant if I make the call myself. Wait here for a moment, I'll contact him right away."
He picked up the ivory-white dedicated phone on the table and dialed the number of the chairman's office of the Hong Kong Land Group.
On the top floor of the Landmark Building, the chairman's office is spacious and bright, with a huge glass curtain wall that allows for a panoramic view of the bustling Central.
Lin Huowang stood by the window, his back straight and straight. Spread out on the desk was a recently drawn-up list of building materials suppliers and a comparative analysis of preliminary quotations. The names of many large state-owned mainland Chinese manufacturers were prominently listed, and the price contrast was jarring.
Gao Qiaohao stood aside with a solemn expression, seemingly hesitant to speak. The board's decision had been effective, and everyone within Hong Kong was amazed at the new leader's courage and cost-control measures. But Gao Qiaohao's worries lingered.
"Boss," he finally couldn't help but speak, worriedly, "This time, the cooperation with Mainland Building Materials is so high-profile. Isn't it... too much? Our people saw Newbigin go straight to HSBC as soon as he left the board meeting. By now, the Hong Kong government must have known about it.
Will they use this as an excuse to cause trouble? After all, your identity as a 'Chinese with Japanese nationality' has always been a barrier in the eyes of the Hong Kong government and British capital. Now that you are openly purchasing large quantities of mainland building materials, will they completely think that you are...?
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