Chapter 531 Hong Kong Island Commercial Affairs (first update, please subscribe)
On January 18, the first day of the twelfth lunar month, accompanied by the sound of the whistle, a merchant ship sailing from Singapore stopped at the Victoria Bay Pier on Hong Kong Island. .
On Hong Kong Island, the most prosperous place is Victoria Bay.
A variety of banks and foreign bank buildings stand on the shore. Modern steel merchant ships and wooden sailing ships shuttle back and forth on the sea. Ocean ships loaded with cargo slowly sailed from Victoria Bay to the ocean. The British cruisers docked at the berths were colorful with various flags flying. Luxurious cars passed by on the street, and the car windows shone in the refraction of the sun. This is Hong Kong Island, a British colony...
Du...
The whistle blows!
The passenger and cargo ship dropped its anchor and slowly stopped at the berth. Ten minutes later, the passenger ship lowered the gangway, and a large number of passengers poured out of the cabin, including passengers from Europe and passengers from Southeast Asia.
Beyond these passengers, one passenger attracted attention. He was tall, even slightly taller than the Europeans beside him. He carried his luggage and walked down the gangway with the crowd.
At the customs checkpoint, he showed his passport. The dragon badge on the blue passport indicated where he came from - Nanyang.
A few years ago, Nanyang was just a geographical term, but now Nanyang is a national term.
Li Hongji, businessman.
Actually, his real name is... It doesn't matter. The important thing is that Li Hongji is indeed a businessman now. As an agent of the Secret Intelligence Service, he has been operating in Singapore as a businessman in the past few years. In fact, he does business there most of the time. Sometimes, He couldn't even tell whether he was a businessman or an agent. And now I am coming to Hong Kong Island, also for work. Of course, he is still active here as a businessman.
The Hong Kong City of the 1950s was a mixed place, filled with all kinds of people - not only ordinary Hong Kong people and British rulers who filled the place, but also various All kinds of businessmen, exiles from the mainland, and of course left-wing personnel...a mixed crowd. Not only that, there are also intelligence agencies from various countries gathering here, and they all openly collect intelligence here. At the same time, there are countless gangs, societies and organizations. The forefront of turbulent social confrontations has led to endless activities and events here.
In short, in a place where good and bad people are mixed, you never know who is the enemy or friend.
But for a businessman, the most loyal friend is money.
As a businessman, Li Hongji's life is simple. He just comes here to do business.
Within just a few days after arriving in the port city, senior executives from foreign companies who were familiar with him in the past invited him to attend many banquets, met many local businessmen, and patronized many local restaurants. restaurant, and tasted all kinds of delicacies... At the wine table and the representatives of foreign companies, they talked about everything: talking about the changes in the mainland, discussing the new republic, and discussing how long the regime that was transferred to the Bay Island could last. time, and also talked about the construction that the mainland is promoting and so on. In short, they have endless topics to talk about when they are together.
But in the end, they will still bring the topic to business. After all, businessmen always only talk about business.
When I was chatting with Wang Zhengzhi from Carter & Co., I suddenly saw a gentle middle-aged man walking in from the door. As soon as he entered the room, he seemed very enthusiastic.
"Just right."
"Liren, you're finally here."
Wang Zhengzhi greeted quickly and introduced to Li Hongji:
"Boss Li, let me introduce you. This is Zhao Liren, who specializes in Engaged in business with the mainland. Zhengzhi, this is Li Hongji, Boss Li, a native of Nanyang. He has been doing business in Singapore before. He just arrived in Hong Kong a few days ago."
He came from Wang Zhengzhi. There, I learned that not everyone has the skills to do business with the mainland. Such people often have deep connections with the north. If you want to break into the market in the north, you must go through these people, so they went up to shake hands with him. Said:
"I am very happy to meet a new friend. I just came to Hong Kong Island. I hope you can help me more in the future."
Looking at Li Hongji, after a while, Zhao Liren replied:
"Business is all about helping each other. Welcome to Hong Kong City. What you Nanyang people like to say most is "Now is the time to engage in economic development. "This is still true for the country. For businessmen, the most important thing is to do business. Business itself is a matter of helping each other. Do you think so."
"Yes, that's right! ”
With two simple sentences, the distance between the two parties was shortened. Soon, Li Hongji chatted with him about the north, business in the mainland, and expressed his intention to import some agricultural and sideline products from the north.
“Since I’m new here, I hope Manager Zhao can help me. I wonder if Manager Zhao can help?”
Zhao Liren said naturally and happily that it was no problem. Soon, their first collaboration began.
The first cooperation was very pleasant. Most of the products Li Hongji purchased were tea, Chinese medicine, raw silk and firecrackers that were needed in Nanyang. The payment was also very fast, without the usual customs of ordinary commercial banks. Commercial bills are settled directly in cash.
After receiving a million-dollar check from the Bank of Borneo, Zhao Liren asked with interest:
“Cash settlement is not popular on Hong Kong Island. The commercial banks here are not as popular as in the past. Like Shanghai, commercial bills are settled in half a year. If it is a large amount, it may take longer. "This is for better cooperation in the future."
Li Hongji smiled and replied:
“Our business in Nanyang is different from others. We attach great importance to business reputation and clear money and goods. This is a basic business rule. As for the payment of commercial bills... Those are the rules of Old Shanghai Beach, not our business rules."
After looking at Li Hongji and thinking for a while, Zhao Liren said.
"This is how business should be done, Manager Li. I heard that some old ships are being disposed of in Nanyang. I wonder if you have any channels to buy some. If so, I think the profits will be very considerable. "
There was a sense of probing in his words, so he mentioned the old ships because Nanyang now has the largest number of merchant ships in Asia, and more importantly, they also have many landing ships. It's something he wants.
"Old ships. There are many types of used ships sold by shipping companies now, including free ships and landing ships. If Manager Zhao needs any ships, you can make a list for me and I will ask my colleagues from Nanyang Headquarters to pay attention to it. If you need it, I will definitely find a way..."
Li Hongji has a completely business-like attitude, and there is nothing sensitive about it. Anything that cannot be passed on is still business. .
Then he took the initiative and said,
"When you talked about old ships, I thought of a business, but this business is a bit big."
"Oh? What? Business? ”
Zhao Liren asked curiously.
"Fertilizer,"
"Fertilizer?"
"Yes, it is chemical fertilizer. I don't know how much fertilizer the north has imported this year, but before that, the import volume It is still very large, reaching up to hundreds of thousands of tons. The quality of the fertilizers we produce in Nanyang is not inferior to similar products in Europe and the United States, and some products are even better than European and American products. Of course, the products I sell are not just fertilizers.”
Standing up, pouring a glass of whiskey and handing it to Zhao Liren, Li Hongji said.
"Currently we are building a new production factory, and the equipment in the old factory is also being phased out. I wonder if you have channels to sell these equipment?"
This is the product he really wants to sell. After all, those equipment are not needed in Nanyang, but for the north, they need those fertilizer production equipment.
“Is it the old equipment from the fertilizer factory?”
Zhao Liren immediately became interested. The mainland does need fertilizer production equipment. After all, a large amount of fertilizer needs to be imported every year. If the equipment can be introduced, It is bound to save a lot of foreign exchange.
“Yes, we can first provide production equipment with an annual output of 150,000 tons of chemical fertilizers, and in the future we can also provide production equipment with an annual output of 150,000-200,000 tons. And the payment method does not necessarily require cash exchange, agricultural and sideline products and ores are all Okay.”
After thinking for a while, Zhao Liren said.
"Okay, I can help you inquire about it, and I will give you the news in a week."
The two talked for about an hour, mostly about business matters, although There was no consensus on the fertilizer equipment, but a deal was negotiated to purchase 5,000 tons of fertilizer. After Zhao Liren left, Li Hongji murmured to himself while standing by the window and watching him leave in the car.
"There shouldn't be many simple businessmen in this place..."
In fact, Li Hongji already knew the answer before he came from Hong Kong Island. There are not many pure businessmen in China, and there are some businesses that ordinary businessmen cannot carry out.
"Everything goes well, let's hang up the hook first."
Smiling, Li Hongji took out another document from the drawer of his desk. In the document, there was information about Boss Zhao. Although The number is small, but it still reveals something.
Looking at the photos in the file and the people in the photos, Li Hongji said to himself.
"Now that the door has finally been opened, next...well, let's be a pure businessman first."
(End of this chapter)