......
After more than ten days of sailing, a cargo ship from America to Hong Kong arrived at the port. Victor led his men in a truck to the port to pick up the cargo.
Hardy only told Victor that the goods were medicines, but did not tell him what kind of medicine they were. In addition, a certificate of exemption from inspection was issued for the goods, so Victor successfully got the goods shipped back to the company.
When he opened the box and took a look, he opened his mouth in surprise.
"Oh my God, it's penicillin, it's penicillin!"
No wonder the boss didn't mention it in the telegram. He was probably afraid that the news would be known to others and something might go wrong.
At last count, there were 100,000 bottles in total.
Victor thought that if all these goods were sold at black market prices, they would be worth more than a million dollars.
Victor thought about it and immediately ran to the telegraph office to send a message to Hardy, "Boss, the goods have been received. Do you have any other instructions?"
After sending the telegram, Victor did not leave, but waited in the telegraph office.
Two hours later, Victor received a reply. "You are fully responsible for the drugs. There will be so much stock every month. The money from the sales will be kept in the account and used to buy antiques and land."
"This year our group and Mercy Pharmaceuticals are planning to cooperate to open a pharmaceutical factory in Hong Kong. You can select a site in advance, or purchase a Western-style pharmaceutical factory and directly transform it. We will send more people to Hong Kong after the new year, and you will be responsible for contacting and arranging it."
Victor's hands were shaking with excitement when he received the telegram.
100,000 bottles of penicillin are shipped here every month. This is like transporting gold. The boss is also opening a pharmaceutical factory and expanding investment here. It can be seen that the boss attaches great importance to the business in the East.
......
The Hong Kong auction company has been established and named "Hardy Auction Company". It is located on Queen's Road in Central. Victor knows the importance of appearance and rents a Western-style office building.
Originally this was a small three-story bank. Later, it moved away and a safe was renovated in the building, which is perfect for storing antiques.
There are many antique shops in Hong Kong. Victor hired several appraisal masters at high salaries and more than a dozen staff members, and the auction company officially opened for business.
Today, Hong Kong is a tiny place with more than one million people, and most of the people there are in mountainous areas, so the population density in places suitable for living is very high. Also, because of the war, a large number of young and strong laborers have poured into Hong Kong, so there is no shortage of manpower here.
Victor doesn't need to worry about the auction company. What he is concerned about now is how to sell the penicillin. In fact, this thing is not difficult to sell, but he wants to maximize the profits without making any mistakes.
He felt it necessary to register a trading company so that the sales would be more legitimate and he would have something to explain even if he was caught.
Victor immediately asked someone to register the trading company.
What to do next?
Victor also had a way. He was very good at using the tiger's skin and flag to promote something. He asked the driver to drive to No. 9 Snow Factory Street, which is the U.S. Consulate General in Hong Kong.
Victor handed over a business card.
"Hello, I am a US citizen, my name is Victor, and I am the General Representative of the Hardy Group in Hong Kong. I would like to pay a visit to Consul General Jim Rhodes. Please help inform him."
Victor appointed himself as the general representative of the Hadi Group, and his business card was also printed on the spot.
When the staff saw that the visitor was a foreigner, they did not dare to neglect him and immediately took the business card and went in to report him.
Consul General Rhodes took the business card and looked at it over and over again. "Hadi Group, I've never heard of this name before?"
However, the other party is an American citizen, and he mentioned a group company. In the United States, no matter what kind of company it is, as long as it dares to be called a group company, it is definitely not a small business. Many of them have deep contacts with senators and senior officials in Washington.
He is just a small consul and these big groups cannot afford to offend him.
"Please come in, Mr. Victor," the consul ordered.
Victor walked into the consul's office. As soon as Jim Rhodes saw Victor's demeanor, he knew that this man must be from a very important background.
After shaking hands with the other party, Victor introduced himself. He was the general representative of the Hardy Group to Hong Kong and was in charge of the business here. The Hardy Group was preparing to invest here. They had previously established an auction company and a trading company. They were preparing to hold a grand cocktail party and invited Hong Kong celebrities to attend.
"Consul Rhodes, I just came here and am not very familiar with the environment in Hong Kong. I hope you can help me invite government officials, business elites, and upper-class people in Hong Kong to participate."
Jim Rhodes smiled and said, "We are all Americans. I am willing to help you. I am very happy to see our people come to Hong Kong to invest."
"Thank you so much. I'll go book a hotel now and come back to see you after it's ready." Victor said as he stood up and said goodbye.
Before leaving, he shook Consul Rhodes' hand again and said with a smile, "Mr. Consul, the Hardy Group will remember your help."
Then he left.
In fact, Consul Rhodes was still in a state of confusion at this moment. He just agreed to Victor, but it was more of a perfunctory response. He planned to ask the Hardy Group whether it existed and how strong it was before making a decision. If the Hardy Group was an inconspicuous company, he could just send him off with a few words the next time Victor came.
Who should I ask for information?
It was too troublesome to send telegrams to the country, and the information conveyed by telegrams was very limited. However, he thought of a person, Carlson, the manager of Citibank's Hong Kong branch. They were the most well-informed about financial news, and Carlson should know the details of the Hardy Group.
I picked up the phone and called Carlson. It wasn't long before the call was connected. "Carlson, this is Jim."
"What does the Consul have to say?" Carlson said with a smile.
The two are old friends, and there is a hint of sarcasm in their tone.
"I want to ask you about a company."
"What company?"
"Have you heard of the Hardy Group?"
Carlson paused for a moment, "Of course I've heard of the Hardy Group. What's the matter?"
"Oh, is there really such a group? Why didn't I know about it?"
Carlson smiled and said, "Jim, you haven't been back to the United States for almost two years, right?"
"Almost."
"No wonder you didn't know. The Hardy Group is a newly emerged large company headquartered in Los Angeles, California. The boss is Jon Hardy. The bank just reported the situation of this Mr. Jon Hardy not long ago. He acquired a bank years ago. His current assets are about 400 million US dollars. He is a member of the California State Consortium."
Carlson was fairly well informed about the Hardy Group.
Jim Rhodes was secretly shocked when he heard this. Four hundred million US dollars was an astronomical figure for him, a fortune that he could not even imagine.
With so much wealth, who knows how many legislators and senior officials would kneel to him, while he, the consul in Hong Kong, is just a very small civil servant.
But then he thought of something else. Currently, very few American companies invest in Hong Kong. This place is mainly dominated by British companies. The Hardy Group is the first group company to invest in Hong Kong. They don't have many connections here, otherwise they wouldn't ask him to help contact people.
Jim Rhodes was born in California, and his hometown is in Sacramento. If he can perform well in this matter, he may be able to establish a relationship with this company. When he returns to the country, he may be able to gain their support and make further progress in his political career.
Thinking of this, Jim Rhodes' heart became a little eager.
However, he still needs to confirm whether Victor is a liar. If a liar comes to Hong Kong under the banner of the Hardy Group to cheat, and he helps to contact people, he will eventually become a laughing stock and be punished and his future will be ruined.
"Carlson, do you know that the Hardy Group is planning to invest in Hong Kong?" Consul Rhodes asked.
"Did that Victor find you?" Carlson asked.
When Carlson said the name Victor, Consul Rhodes felt relieved.
"Do you know him?"
"I met him once. This Mr. Victor came to Hong Kong. His money was transferred to Hong Kong by the Hardy Group through Citibank. Mr. Victor came to handle the formalities. Because the amount was huge, I personally received and handled it."
Today, 500,000 US dollars is definitely a huge sum of money in Hong Kong, and even in the United States.
Although Carlson did not say how much, the huge amount is very telling.
"What does Victor want to talk to you about?" Carlson asked.
"Yes, he came to me and was planning to hold a cocktail party and asked me to help him contact someone," Consul Rhodes said.
Carlson immediately said, "Jim, you have to count me in."
"Of course."
After hanging up the phone, Rhodes became more cheerful knowing that Victor was not a liar. He felt that this was a good opportunity to get closer to the Hardy Group, and this matter must be done well.
Victor came again in the afternoon. Consul Rhodes was much more enthusiastic than in the morning. He asked someone to make coffee and told the staff to get a list of all the famous people in Hong Kong.
Including the Governor of Hong Kong, Alexander Grantham, the Commissioner of Police, the four major British trading companies in Hong Kong, Jardine Matheson, Swire, Hutchison Whampoa and Wheelock, as well as the Kadoorie family, the Ho Kai Tung family, etc., a total of fifty or sixty people.
Almost all of them were Europeans. The Chinese in Hong Kong had not yet risen, and the large Chinese companies of later generations were nowhere to be seen.
"I have tried to send invitations to all of these people, but I don't know who will come," Consul Rhodes said.
Victor thought for a moment and said, "Can you send an invitation in the name of the Hadi Group and the consulate?"
In fact, this requirement is somewhat illegal.
But Rhodes thought about it and nodded in agreement.
Victor was very happy. "The reception will be held in the Grand Ballroom of the Peninsula Hotel. What time do you think would be a good time?"
"Maybe in ten days. It will take some time to send out invitations."
"Okay, I'll prepare in advance."
A few days later, the Governor's Office, the Police Station, major trading companies and families all received an invitation signed by the Hardy Group and the U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong.
What is the origin of this Hadi Group?
The US Consulate was put at the back of the queue.
People were wondering who this Hardy Group was. They originally thought it was just a boastful American company, but after asking around, they found out that it was a recently emerging large company with assets of hundreds of millions of dollars.
Many people have other thoughts. Is this company preparing to fully enter Hong Kong? What industries is it involved in? What changes will it bring to the future development of Hong Kong?
Therefore, many people feel it is necessary to attend this cocktail party to test the other party's true intentions.
Ten days passed quickly.
Many small cars came to the Peninsula Hotel today, and big shots walked into the banquet hall one by one. Victor and Consul Rhodes greeted them together. Soon, forty or fifty big shots gathered. Of course, the governor did not come, but his secretary did.
When people chat, they can't help but talk about the Hardy Group. I wonder if the big fuss this time is because they are preparing to enter Hong Kong in a big way. What impact will such a large capital group have on the current situation in Hong Kong?
How would they know?
These are all made by Victor.
Hardy let him do what he wanted, so there was no need to be polite.
What did he do before? A liar! He knows how to deceive people and what is best for himself. Now he wants to make a career and has a big backer like Hardy, so he will use these advantages to the fullest.
Victor looked at the room full of high-ranking officials and wealthy businessmen from Hong Kong, and thought to himself that he could fool them boldly in a while, and he felt excited just thinking about it.
Everyone is here.
Consul General Rhodes and Victor went on stage together. The people in the audience fell silent and looked at the two of them. The venue suddenly became quiet.
Consul General Rhodes introduced Victor, the general representative of the Hardy Group in Hong Kong, who came to explore the Hong Kong market.
The audience applauded softly in welcome.
Victor took the microphone with a confident smile on his face.
"Everyone, let me first introduce the Hadi Group. Some of you may not be familiar with the Hadi Group. Our group was established not long ago, but we have extremely strong strength."
"The Hardy Group owns a bank, Wells Fargo, which manages over $1 billion in funds, and this bank is the private property of our boss, Mr. Jon Hardy."
1 billion U.S. dollars.
This is definitely a number that shocked everyone present.
After the end of World War II, Britain wanted to rebuild and revive, so it borrowed 4.3 billion US dollars from the United States. This was a loan from one country to another.
The owner of the Hardy Group can personally use 1 billion US dollars.
Victor continued:
"Our group owns ABC, the largest broadcasting TV station in the United States. Its audience rating now accounts for about 80% of the country, surpassing the other two TV stations."
"We have the largest security company in the United States, the largest private armed force in the United States, with more than 5,000 people, fully armed and equipped, all of whom are veterans who fought in the battlefields of World War II and killed people."
Many people were shocked that so many private armed forces could overthrow the regime of a small country.
In fact, Victor was bragging. Now HD security does not have 5,000 people, but only more than 3,000.
They don’t count anyway.
"The Hardy Group also owns the largest television manufacturer in the United States, the top five Hollywood film companies, airlines, and dozens of other industries, as well as more than a dozen listed companies."
"Not only that, the Hardy Group has now joined the California Consortium, which has more than 100 companies covering almost all industries. It is the largest consortium in the western United States."
Victor paused, lowered his voice, and said into the microphone: "Let me tell you here that our boss has a very close relationship with Washington and has a certain influence on some of Washington's decisions."
“I hope you guys just listen to these words and don’t spread them outside.” Victor said with a smile.
"I was sent to Hong Kong by the group to expand the market here. I hope to get support from the Governor and government departments. There are also many large companies here. The Hadi Group is willing to carry out friendly exchanges and cooperation with everyone."
Let him collect antiques.
Let him sell some penicillin.
He made such a big scene.
He called all the big shots in Hong Kong to fool people together. Others might not be able to do such a thing, but Victor did it very well.
Because fooling people is his greatest specialty.