Kalikao was obviously stunned when he heard this, and felt that his boss seemed to be quite pretentious. Although Hong Kong City was not a big place, it had a population of several million at least.
A governor who governs a population of several million people personally came out to help you find a location for a private museum, but you were still a little dissatisfied. Isn't this inappropriate?
However, when he thought about his boss's identity, he was relieved. After all, he was an American. In a capitalist country like the United States, even the president was supported by capitalists. It was normal for him to let a politician work for him.
If there really are politicians who don't work for their bosses, it only shows that their bosses are not powerful enough.
"Boss, with the strength of our company, if we want to acquire a large piece of land in Hong Kong City and build our company headquarters, there will be no pressure at all!
If you agree, I will communicate directly with Mr. McCall and acquire a large piece of land in the Central area to build our group headquarters."
Fang Lang was stunned when he heard this, and immediately realized that he had been too stubborn this time, thinking only of taking advantage of the Governor, forgetting that the current Hong Kong City is not as expensive as it is in the future. Although the land is expensive, it is not a problem for his group.
If you fancy a place, just spend a huge amount of money to buy it, and wait for the appreciation of value after the port city develops in the future. Even if the situation is right, you can directly set up a real estate development company and participate in the real estate projects in the port city, which is also a good opportunity to make money!
"Haha...Karikao, you're right. I over-complicated things. Buying land and building a headquarters building is just like building a factory. It's all business investment. There's no need to think too much about it. Just follow the normal business development process.
...
...
How about this! I am very optimistic about the development potential of Central and Yau Tsim Mong. If there is land for sale in these two places, we can seize the opportunity to participate. I will leave this matter to you to coordinate. "
As a banker, Caricao certainly understood what Fang Lang meant. In fact, he thought further than Fang Lang, and he was very clear about the relationship between finance and real estate.
Since the boss is optimistic about the real estate projects in Gangcheng, he can use his professional knowledge to make efforts in related fields and strive to achieve outstanding results to impress his boss.
"Yes, boss! Thank you for your trust. I will never let you down."
Seeing the other party's high morale, Fang Lang knew that the other party must have already started gearing up for a big fight.
But thinking of the impending blockade of Hong Kong Island due to the Peninsula War, Fang Lang couldn't help but remind him:
"You don't have to be too anxious. Hong Kong City will definitely face some difficulties and turmoil in the next few years. It won't be too late for us to take action after two or three years."
Karikao was stunned when he heard this. He couldn't understand why his boss was so optimistic about the development of Hongcheng at one moment and so hesitant at another. But after taking a look at Fang Lang's expression, he knew that the other party must have something to rely on, but just didn't want to say more.
Thinking of the other party's identity and his close relationship with the Governor of Hong Kong, he might know some inside information that should not be disclosed. He did not ask, but kept it in mind.
"Okay, boss!"
Then Fang Lang discussed with Caricao for a while about his future development plan for Morgan Stanley Bank in Hong Kong City. It was not until around nine o'clock in the evening that Caricao left his boss's room with a lot of gains.
The next afternoon, Fang Lang and Qi Qingshan, under the protection of a group of guards, took a ferry across the sea to the Governor's House in Mid-Levels, Central.
This was Fang Lang's second visit to the Governor's Palace. Last time he came to attend a welcome dinner in the evening and did not take a close look at the Governor's Palace.
The weather was very good this afternoon, the sun was shining brightly, and the sun was warm on his body. Fang Lang looked at the Governor's Palace with interest for a while.
I have to say that the architectural style of the Governor's House is quite distinctive. It has an elegant appearance, with both neoclassical architectural style and a slightly tropical touch. It has white walls and brown tiles, and looks simple and elegant.
The garden outside the Governor's Mansion was very large, and the cold winter wind could not cause the flowers and plants in the garden to wither and fall.
Just when Fang Lang wanted to stroll around the garden, a young white man in a suit and tie walked out from the porch in front of the Governor's Mansion. He came to Fang Lang and the others, nodded, and said to Fang Lang:
"General Fang, I am Benítez, the first secretary of the Governor's Office. It's a pleasure to meet you! The Governor is waiting for you at the door! Please follow me over here."
Fang Lang glanced at the garden not far away, then looked at the entrance of the Governor's Mansion, shrugged and said to Qi Qingshan:
"Since His Excellency the Governor is already waiting for us, let's go see the Governor first!"
After saying that, he turned around and nodded to the young first-class secretary, signaling him to lead the way. As for the guards who were responsible for protecting Fang Lang, they would naturally be received by the security personnel of the Governor's Office.
Following the young first secretary in the direction of the Governor's Palace, after walking about a hundred meters, they arrived at the main entrance of the Governor's Palace. They saw Governor Grantham standing in the porch of the gate, smiling and extending his right hand to Fang Lang.
"General Fang, welcome!"
Seeing the other party being so polite, Fang Lang was a little confused. However, considering that this might be his diplomatic etiquette, he smiled and took two quick steps, stretched out his right hand and shook hands with the other party, saying:
"Mr. Governor, you are too polite. We are good friends. There is no need to be so polite!"
Hearing Fang Lang's words, Grantham smiled slightly, pointed inside and said:
"General Fang is right. We are friends, so I must personally go to the door to greet you to express my feelings."
Hearing this, Fang Lang looked at Grantham, who was smiling, thoughtfully, and asked in a low voice, as if he had some feeling in his heart:
"What? Is there any progress?"
In response to Fang Lang's question, Grantham smiled and glanced at Fang Lang. He did not answer, but motioned Fang Lang to follow him.
Seeing this, Fang Lang didn't dare to ask any more questions. He could only smile and continue to follow the other person. He walked through the lobby and turned right through two rooms, and came to an office with the door open.
The office is very luxuriously decorated. About ten steps to the left, there is a large solid wood desk. Behind the desk is a row of huge bookshelves filled with a wide variety of books.
Opposite Fang Lang is a set of European-style sofas. The fabric patterns on the sofa are gorgeous and elegant, revealing the British aristocratic temperament everywhere.
After entering the office, Grantham was obviously more relaxed. He pointed at the sofa and motioned Fang Lang to sit down. He then instructed the first secretary, Benitez, to prepare tea and snacks.
Fang Lang was not at all reserved. He sat down at one end of the sofa without any hesitation and spoke directly to Mr. Grantham:
"Your Excellency the Governor, I am here to bid you farewell. This time, I came to visit the port city at the invitation of your country's Navy Department.
Our naval officers and soldiers have learned a lot of excellent qualities from your navy. Your navy is worthy of being one of the most powerful navies in the world. For this, we deeply admire it!
More importantly, I also met a respectable friend like the Governor of Hong Kong."
Grantham obviously didn't expect that Fang Lang came to say goodbye. He thought that the other party came to reply to him about the message he had asked him to pass on.
Two days ago, he already knew that his words had been fully conveyed to the other side. And his words attracted great attention from the other side's top leaders, which greatly accelerated the progress of the negotiations between the two countries, and the pressure on him was gradually reduced.
This made him feel very grateful to the young Brazilian rear admiral in front of him, so he specially invited him to visit the Governor's House.
You know, the other party's identity is a military position, not any other government position. Logically, he doesn't need to make a special trip to receive him. At the beginning, personally going to the dock to greet the other party was already considered an exceptional reception.
Today, we specially invited him to the Governor's House to be our guest, which is another exception.
Some people may think that the Governor of Hong Kong is not a high-ranking official, and not receiving the Brazilian general is a sign of not giving Brazil face. But in fact, the British pride of being high and mighty for so many years is not so easy for them to let go.
The British did not really take Brazil, a former Portuguese colony, seriously. The Governor of Hong Kong did not come out to receive them, and no one could say much.
As for what Fang Lang said about what he learned from the British Navy, Grantham didn't believe a word of it. Even if Fang Lang had stayed in the naval base for two days, he would still have to think for a while whether Fang Lang had really communicated seriously with the Royal Navy.
But, you moved into the Peninsula Hotel the next night, and then spent every day taking care of your own business, leaving the entire fleet to your officers.
Without him as the supreme commander, the officers under his command would naturally not be able to go over and organize any activities with the British Navy. The proud British Royal Navy would naturally not take the initiative to get too close to these country bumpkins in their eyes.
Therefore, the British Royal Navy, at most, arranged accommodation and supplies for the visiting Brazilian Navy fleet for the sake of their alliance and the face of the Chief of General Staff General Henderson. They would never care how happy the Brazilian Navy officers and soldiers were in the port city during this period.
From this, it can be seen that this so-called invited visit was simply a publicly funded trip, and it was a trip on a warship.
"What? General Fang is leaving now? Didn't we agree that the visit would last for a month?"
After hearing Fang Lang's words, Grantham blurted out in surprise.
Hearing this, Fang Lang smiled and shook his head, looking around the layout of the Governor's Office before saying:
"I was invited to visit Hong Kong mainly because I wanted to contribute my own modest efforts to the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong. Judging from the current situation, the situation in Hong Kong has stabilized.
There is not much point in us staying here any longer, it is better to return home as soon as possible and let the soldiers reunite with their families. "
Hearing Fang Lang talking about the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong City, Grantham couldn't help but smile. He didn't believe that he had learned anything from the British Navy. But he personally experienced his contribution to the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong City.
"It seems that General Fang is well-informed. As soon as the Sino-British negotiations made some progress, General Fang had already received the news."
Upon hearing this, Fang Lang's eyes lit up and he immediately understood something. No wonder this old man took the initiative to help him determine the address of the museum. It turned out that the words he had spread to the mainland had played a positive role.
However, I made it very clear at the beginning that I did not agree with the other party using the museum land to repay this favor. But the other party still took the initiative to intervene in this matter, and I don’t know what the other party meant.
He couldn't say that he hadn't received any information about the progress in the Sino-British negotiations. He just smiled and said:
"This is all the credit of His Excellency the Governor of Hong Kong. It has nothing to do with me."
Just then, the secretary knocked on the door and walked in with several servants carrying a sumptuous afternoon tea.
Seeing this, Grantham laughed and pointed at the cakes and black tea that were placed on the coffee table.
"I heard that General Fang was full of praise for the food at the Peninsula Hotel. Today, he came to my Governor's House and tried the afternoon tea at our Governor's House to see if it can compare with the food at the Peninsula Hotel."
Fang Lang was naturally not polite about this. He sat up straight with a smile on his face, took a sip of the black tea in front of him, nodded with satisfaction, picked up a small spoon and scooped a piece of cake into his mouth to taste it, then gave a thumbs up and praised:
"The afternoon tea at Governor's House is really delicious. It is quite different from what I had in the UK. It seems to be a fusion of Chinese and Western styles. I have to say, it suits my taste very well."
Grantham felt that Fang Lang's words were full of meaning, as if he was hinting at something. He laughed and waited until the servants who delivered the meal had left before saying:
"Hong Kong is in the Chinese cultural circle anyway. Now that we are here, we must learn to adapt to the local living habits and make food with more local characteristics by taking advantage of our strengths and avoiding our weaknesses."
Fang Lang smiled and said to Grantham:
"That is why I feel that as long as the Governor is here, the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong will be guaranteed, and that is why I am willing to invest heavily in Hong Kong."
After hearing what Fang Lang said, Grantham couldn't hold back any longer and burst into laughter.
"Then I would like to thank General Fang for his affirmation. In the future, I will definitely be more active in increasing the integration of Chinese and Western cultures to further promote the prosperity and stability of the port city."
Although the two men were ostensibly discussing the afternoon tea that had just been served, they were actually tacitly discussing the Governor's governing policies. The meaning of Grantham's words expressed that he fully respected the wishes of the Chinese and that he would formulate a development policy with Hong Kong characteristics by combining Chinese and Western elements.
Fang Lang immediately expressed his support for the other party and told him that he would continue to increase investment in Gangcheng.
It must be said that Grantham was indeed an outstanding governor of Hong Kong, and he was also the longest-serving governor in history. After Britain gradually lost its interests in the Far East and reduced its support for Hong Kong, he still struggled to support Hong Kong, and after the status of Hong Kong as a entrepot trade port was affected by the blockade.
Seizing the opportunity of the rapid population expansion in the port city, labor-intensive industries were developed in the port city, among which the textile, film and shipping industries developed particularly rapidly.
By 1953, textile and garment exports accounted for more than 50% of the port city's export value.
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