Chapter 386 Purchasing Milk
"Mr. Wang, how is your relationship with Sir Zhou Xinian?"

"Zhou Xinian? He's the member of the Legislative Council and the Executive Council, the recipient of the Order of the British Empire, the British Knight, the Third Class Order of the Sacred Treasure of Japan, the Chairman of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, the director of dozens of listed companies, and the owner of a dairy company?"

"Uh, yes!"

Niu Bijian smiled awkwardly.

"Huh." Wang Deming lit up a cigar and took a long breath. "What do you think?"

Niu Bijian blinked and did not answer immediately.

In his opinion, Wang Deming and Zhou Xinian are both Chinese, and it is unclear what kind of relationship they have behind the scenes.

After discussing with the senior executives of Hutchison Whampoa, he decided that Hutchison Whampoa's landmark building, Connaught House in Central, would be available for rent next year, so they had to study more real estate projects.

So their eyes turned to Dairy Farm.

The Dairy Farm has a large piece of land in Pokfulam and Causeway Bay that is used as pasture. With the land prices in Hong Kong soaring, wouldn't it be a waste if such a large amount of land is not monetized?

But the only thing they are not sure about is the relationship between Zhou Xinian and Wang Deming?
Although money can make people tempted, they knew that Wang Deming had been secretly supporting many Chinese merchants in Hong Kong, including the Bao and Dong families in the shipping industry, the Chen and Cao families in the textile industry, as well as the up-and-coming Hu, Li, Zheng and so on.

Money seemed to be just a number in Wang Deming's hands. He was able to dig up the land from the Keswick family's Jardine Matheson in one go, and then there were billions of funds to support him continuously, which was better than before.
They secretly speculated that Wang Deming actually had the support of a great Eastern power.

Of course, they only dared to think about it in their hearts. Every time they saw Wang Deming, it was as if they were seen clearly from inside to outside, and they dared not have any impure thoughts.

Niu Bijian also picked up a cigar to hide his nervousness. He understood that this was a test from Mr. Wang. While lighting the cigar, he once again sorted out his judgment and said, "Mr. Wang, I think you and Zhou Xinian, as well as the four major families in Hong Kong, are not on the same path."

Wang Deming could not deny it, "Oh, tell me in detail."

Seeing that Wang Deming did not refute immediately, Niu Bijian felt more confident and spoke more fluently: "The four major families in Hong Kong: the Ho, Lee, Zhou, and Li families are all top Chinese families. Although the Ho family is mixed-blood, they are also of Chinese descent."

"But." He raised his eyes, his gaze sparkling, and stated his judgment firmly: "These four major Chinese families are contrary to the mainland. They represent what you call compradors, big compradors."

"That's why they were given a high status by the British government and were allowed to live on the top of Mount Tin Ping. It was also a flag put forward by the British government to ease the resistance of local Chinese against British rule."

Wang Deming raised the corners of his mouth and nodded slightly.

In the past, many people had heard of the four major families in Hong Kong: Li Bancheng, Guo Desheng, Li Zhaoji, and Cheng Yutong, but this is not the case in this era.

Rather, they are the Ho family of Robert Ho Tung, the Lee family of Lee Hysan, the Zhou family of Chow Wing Tai, and the Li family of Li Pui Choy. They are also the first four major Chinese families promoted by England. Niu Bijian's evaluation of them is very accurate.

They were big compradors. Among them, Ho Tung was actually a Dutchman, but he married a Chinese wife, so he was classified as part of the Chinese community.

The Li family is a famous family that sells opium, and the other two are not far behind, one in the medical field and the other in the legal and financial fields.

Zhou Xinian is a famous doctor in Hong Kong, and the most famous person of this generation in the Li family is Li Zhaofu, the founder of the Far East Club.

The fact that Wang Deming's lawyers and accountants in Hong Kong deliberately avoided these two families is very telling. If Niu Bijian couldn't see this, he couldn't be called the top boss.

As for HSBC boss Shen Bi, who was praised to the sky in his previous life, he is now just the general manager of HSBC, and the boss is Sanders.

Wang Deming smiled and pointed at him with the finger holding the cigar, "Niu Bijian, you are also a British citizen, why are you standing in the wrong position?"

Niu Bijian answered confidently: "Boss, I work for you!"

"I'm Jewish!" Yeah, you're absolutely right.

Wang Deming actually retorted immediately, "Tell me, what do you want to do?"

Niu Bijian relaxed. Although Wang Deming did not say it explicitly, he had already fully understood what he meant. He told him his plan, "Boss, although Hong Kong Land now occupies a lot of land and commercial buildings in Central, there is not much room for development unless we spend a lot of money to demolish and rebuild."

"So we set our sights on Pokfulam and Causeway Bay on Hong Kong Island."

"The largest landlord in Causeway Bay is the Lee family. We haven't found a suitable opportunity to intervene yet, but the Zhou family's milk company also has a large piece of land in Causeway Bay, not to mention Pokfulam. The planning of Hong Kong Island in recent years is over there."

"So, we want to acquire the milk company under Zhou Xinian's name!"

"Pa pa!" Wang Deming clapped his hands softly. "Very good idea."

"There isn't much liquidity on the books of Hong Kong Land, right? Nearly 40 billion Hong Kong dollars were invested in the Kangle Building alone. How much more capital do I need to inject? 10 billion? Or 20 billion?"

Niu Bijian smiled, revealing his full white teeth, as if ready to devour flesh and blood at any time, "Boss, no money is needed."

He paused and said, "As long as you allow me to split the stocks."

"I will prove to you why I am capable of winning over the master of Jardine Matheson."

Wang Deming narrowed his eyes slightly, "Okay!"

Niu Bijian stood up, bowed to Wang Deming, and left.

His departure triggered the biggest financial crisis in Hong Kong in 72 years.

Wang Deming knew it very well, but so what?

He stood up again, stood in front of the French window, and looked at the Victoria Bay outside the window. Ten years had passed, and many changes had taken place on both sides of the strait, but this small Victoria Bay was still calm and silent.

But small waves are constantly surging.

Just like the continent further north.

The impact of Mr. Ni's visit to China is not only on China and the United States, but also on the entire world.

Therefore, the time has come to cut off England's influence in Hong Kong.

The first blow, of course, must be taken from the so-called four major families who are accomplices to the evil, and the milk company is just the beginning.

The day after Niu Bijian met Wang Deming, the Landmark Company published an announcement in the newspaper: the Landmark Company was going to acquire the Milk Company.

Based on the current share price of Hong Kong Land, one share was HK$94, and two shares worth HK$188 were exchanged for one share of Dairy Farm worth HK$135.

Hong Kong Land Holdings announced an increase in value of approximately 40%.

For a while, the securities market was in chaos. The stock price of the Dairy Farm Company soared to 196 yuan at the opening, and the stock price of the Crown Holdings also rose to 104 yuan, but investors were all waiting for the reaction of the Zhou family of the Dairy Farm Company.

But there was no reaction at all.

(End of this chapter)