The prototype of the mobile phone—the commercial "big brother"—did not appear until 1983.
Currently, the mobile paging tool is the pager, or pager.
Ning Yuan herself also uses a pager, so she doesn't need to call a landline to contact the store. Sometimes she can roughly understand what the message is by looking at the code.
She frowned slightly: "The other side came prepared and is determined to target the Ning family."
This confirmed her earlier suspicions.
After all, it wasn't just Ning's; the stock prices of many companies began to fall, and the entire Hong Kong stock market had started to turn positive across the board.
Ning Bingyu's long, slender fingers twirled a page of documents without looking up. He said, "It's alright. Stock market fluctuations are normal. Ning's stock has been falling for so long, and people are panicking. Even if it's just a brief surge now, it will be enough to calm many people's anxieties."
Ning Yuan instantly understood that neither Ning Zhengkun's powerful interview, nor his joint pressure on the Legislative Council and the Governor of Hong Kong with Chinese lawmakers, nor Ning Bingyu's operations in overseas markets were intended to achieve a decisive victory and completely turn the tide.
Their goal is to stabilize their position amidst these turbulent waves, buying time and space for a subsequent counterattack!
She didn't ask any more questions, and the atmosphere in the car returned to silence, with only the occasional rustling of documents turning over.
Before long, the car left the bustling Central district and turned into the lively and vibrant Mong Kok area.
Finally, it came to a slow stop in front of a building that looked quite old.
The building, with its blue bricks and gray tiles, has an ancient and simple style, resembling an ancestral hall.
But Ning Yuan looked closely and found that the lintel was empty, with no plaques hanging above it, so she had no way of knowing whose ancestral hall it was.
At the entrance of the ancestral hall, there were several uncles dressed in coarse Tang suits sweeping the floor, and a few men chatting idly by the doorposts.
But their eyes were sharp, their temples were slightly bulging, their posture was as steady as a pine tree, and they exuded a strong and capable aura. Their eyes would scan the surroundings from time to time, and they were extremely vigilant.
These are no ordinary doormen or cleaners; they are clearly skilled in martial arts!
The car came to a smooth stop.
Ning Bingyu put away the documents and got out of the car first.
Ning Yuan followed closely behind.
A stocky middle-aged man wiping the door knocker at the door immediately looked up, his gaze shooting towards Ning Bingyu like lightning.
Ning Bingyu remained expressionless, took something out of the inside pocket of his suit jacket, and handed it over.
The object was neither gold nor jade, nor wood nor iron; its material was strange, and it seemed to be engraved with some kind of intricate totem, definitely not a common token design.
The burly gatekeeper took the item, examined it carefully for a moment, then his expression turned serious, and he respectfully returned the item to Ning Bingyu.
He stepped aside to make way and gestured for them to proceed.
The heavy, ancient wooden door opened silently inward, revealing a deep, secluded passage.
Chu Hongyu and Ye Te, along with the other accompanying personnel, tacitly remained outside the door.
Ning Yuan waved to Aheng and the others who had followed in their car, signaling them to wait at the door. She followed Ning Bingyu alone and stepped through the heavy, ancient wooden door.
The heavy, ancient wooden door closed silently behind them, shutting out the hustle and bustle of Mong Kok from the light.
A rich aroma of sandalwood mixed with the scent of aged wood wafts over you.
The interior was not the ancestral hall layout she had imagined; the deep passageway suddenly opened up into a bright and spacious area!
A building with red pillars, gray tiles, and flying eaves and brackets stands here.
Above the main hall hangs a huge plaque with three powerful characters: "Hall of Loyalty and Righteousness".
Beneath the plaque, incense burns brightly, smoke swirls, and the enshrined figure is none other than Guan Yu, the majestic and awe-inspiring Lord Guan, standing with his sword drawn!
This is actually a temple dedicated to Guan Yu!
To her even greater surprise, the temple was not a peaceful place; there were quite a few people standing in the courtyard and under the eaves.
Most of these people were wearing traditional Chinese jackets or long gowns, and looked quite refined. They were talking in twos and threes, their expressions solemn and their voices low.
Upon seeing Ning Bingyu and Ning Yuan enter, they merely nodded slightly in acknowledgment and did not make much noise.
The entire space was permeated with a strict order reminiscent of a martial arts gang.
Ning Yuan glanced at Ning Bingyu subconsciously.
Only then did I notice that he wasn't wearing his usual suit today, but a well-fitting, crisp dark gray Zhongshan suit.
His attire accentuated his upright posture and blended strangely with the atmosphere of the place.
Ning Bingyu, without glancing to the side, led Ning Yuan through the courtyard and into the inner hall next to the main hall.
The interior was slightly dimmer than the outside, and the furnishings were extremely antique, with a row of rosewood armchairs and a huge plaque with the words "Loyalty and Righteousness" hanging on the wall.
The hall was already quite full of people.
An old man sat in the very head seat.
He was thin and emaciated, sunken in a large armchair, with a thin blanket covering his legs. He was Ning Yuan's grandfather, who had been paralyzed for many years—the old master of the Ning family.
The old man's eyes were slightly closed, his face was aged and covered with wrinkles, yet he held the entire scene in check like a pillar of strength.
Upon closer inspection, Ning Yuan noticed that three distinguished-looking middle-aged or elderly men sat on either side of the old man.
He is the current head of the Ho, Cheng, and Lee families in Hong Kong.
Ning Yuan felt a strange sense of time travel, as if she had stepped into the place where gangsters in old Hong Kong movies negotiated and discussed matters.
The elders sat upright, and even Ning Bingyu, who usually had a sharp edge, stood behind the old man.
Beside him stood Ning Man'an.
Today, she wore an elegant light purple long-sleeved cheongsam that accentuated her slender figure. She stood quietly behind the old man, her expression as elegant and composed as ever.
However, she seemed to be hiding a chilling aura, making it impossible for anyone to see through her thoughts at that moment.
Li Dashao, the heir of the Li family and Ning Yuan's business partner, was also present.
He was also wearing a dark-colored Tang suit with subtle patterns. When he saw Ning Yuan, he nodded slightly as a greeting.
Ning Yuan tactfully retreated to a corner, holding her breath and waiting to watch the "movie".
Once Ning Bingyu had stood still, the old master coughed lightly, and the inner hall fell completely silent, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Though his eyes were slightly clouded by age, they were as sharp as a hawk's, and he spoke slowly—
"My brothers and nephews, I'm sure you all know what's going on outside."
"The foreigners have a big appetite this time. They're not just targeting my Ning family. You all should know that they're making an example of them."
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