Su Cheng didn't know much about the Zhang family, only the slightly strange reports he read in newspapers.
Two years ago, a sensational lawsuit involving the Zhang family made this name appear frequently in the public eye and became a topic of conversation after dinner.
One of the protagonists in this lawsuit is Zhang Yulong’s sister-in-law. She accused Zhang Yulong of monopolizing control of most of the family’s properties and made several core demands:
First, demand a thorough investigation All the property of the Zhang family ensures that Zhang Yulong has not hidden or misappropriated any assets;
Secondly, she insists that the assets of the Zhang family should belong to all family members, and every family member, including the son-in-law, should have portion;
Finally, she argued that all property should be divided equally among the four-house owners.
However, this contest of grievances between wealthy families ended in Zhang Yulong's victory, and his sister-in-law's appeal failed to receive support.
This lawsuit not only has a twists and turns in the plot, involving complex family relationships and huge property disputes, but also reveals the unknown secrets and contradictions within the wealthy family. Therefore, it caused a huge sensation in the Xiangjiang area. Even Su City was concerned about this. Know a little bit about everything.
The Zhang Yulong family is famous for its unique family characteristics in Xiangjiang. The most notable characteristics are "living together and sharing wealth" and "strict family rules".
The so-called cohabitation and common wealth means that family members will never separate, share property, and advance and retreat together. This concept goes beyond the scope of traditional family economic management and is for the sake of a high degree of unity and collaboration within the family.
Historically, although many families adopted similar strategies during start-ups or difficulties to concentrate their efforts and tide over the difficulties, often as the family's power grew, members began to pursue their own interests and space, private property gradually emerged, and families separated and became independent. Become the norm.
However, the Zhang Yulong family did the opposite. They not only regarded "living together and sharing wealth" as the cornerstone of the family's long-term development, but also pushed it to the extreme.
Without exception, family members are required to work in the company, live under the same roof, and consume equally, completely abandoning the concept of private money and ensuring absolute fairness and transparency within the family.
In the Zhang family, fairness is not only reflected at the economic level, but also permeates into all aspects of life.
The sons are uniformly dressed, and although the daughters-in-law have different costumes, they all follow the same value standards, demonstrating the undifferentiated treatment and respect within the family.
In addition, family members are strictly prohibited from dining out except for necessary business activities. This rule not only strengthens the close connection between family members, but also reflects the adherence to family traditions and rules.
Faced with the occasional desire to eat at home, family members also need to restrain themselves, because the strict family rules and the reality of selfless rent make any idea of dining out impossible.
This seemingly harsh regulation is actually a profound reflection of family cohesion and values, making the Zhang Yulong family a unique and eye-catching presence in Hong Kong and even the wider region.
The Zhang family has more than 120 house rules, which are numerous and demanding. The rules for the daughter-in-law are especially meticulous.
For example, it is stipulated that the daughter-in-law is not allowed to come home late because her husband is away; except for immediate family members of her natal family, she is not allowed to play or stay at other people's homes at will;
Every morning, they must greet their mother-in-law and participate in rituals such as worshiping Buddha and chanting sutras.
These family rules are carefully framed and hung in the ancestral hall on the first floor of the ancestral house, becoming the rules that family members must abide by.
It is worth noting that these family rules were not inherited from the ancestors, but were formulated by the Zhang brothers, especially the eldest brother Zhang Yujie and his mother Guo Geng.
The ancestral house they live in was built on land in Hong Kong after 1949. It was originally a two-story bungalow, but it was completely destroyed by a fire caused by a short circuit in 1952.
In order to continue the tradition of family living together, Zhang Yujie spent millions to rebuild it into a five-story copper-framed building. Every detail demonstrates his long-term planning and ingenuity.
At that time, millions of dollars was rare, which shows that the Zhang family attaches great importance to family inheritance.
This ancestral house is not only large in scale, but also carries the history and memories of the Zhang family.
In its heyday, more than thirty family members lived here, maintaining a lifestyle of living together and sharing wealth.
However, this harmonious coexistence situation faced challenges due to the death of the old lady of the Zhang family in 1977.
As the spiritual pillar of the family, the old lady’s passing has made the future of the family full of uncertainty.
Sure enough, with the death of the old lady, the balance within the family was gradually broken, and the model of living together and sharing wealth became unsustainable.
This change eventually triggered disputes and lawsuits within the family, and the roots of all this can be traced back to the ancestral home that witnessed the rise and fall of the Zhang family.
Zhang Yulong finally won the lawsuit and took most of the Zhang family's property.
For example, the shares of Wheelock Group controlled by the Zhang family are ostensibly managed by the Zhang family, but in fact they have already become Zhang Yulong’s private property, so he has the final say.
After taking over most of the Zhang family's property, Zhang Yulong already had the idea of leaving Xiangjiang with his wife and children.
In the past few years, I have been looking for a way out in Australia.
Su Cheng took Zhang Yulong and quickly arrived at Joy Lai Restaurant.
Afterwards, he asked the restaurant manager to arrange a private room for him and put tea sets, tea and snacks in the private room, and the two began to chat.
"Mr. Zhang, I wonder why you are looking for me?" Su Cheng was indeed a little curious.
He and Zhang Yulong met for the first time today. There had been no communication between the two before.
Even the last time Su Cheng entered the Wheelock Group's board of directors, the representative of the Zhang family was just one of Zhang Yulong's subordinates. He did not come in person. Zhang Yulong should still be in Australia at that time.
"Mr. Su, I wonder if you are interested in the Wheelock Group shares I have?" Zhang Yulong did not intend to beat around the bush and directly expressed his thoughts.
Zhang Yulong holds a 23.5% controlling stake in Wheelock Group, which is even higher than John Madden's controlling stake.
It’s just that the Zhang family has never intervened in the management of Wheelock Group.
Originally, Su Cheng did not have as many shares as Zhang Yulong, but over the past year or so, he has asked Tianyuan Investment Company to gradually absorb Wheelock Group’s shares, and now it has exceeded 25% of the shares. Naturally, it is the first A major shareholder.
Now, Wheelock Group's profits have plummeted for two consecutive years, and Wheelock Shipping Company has suffered serious losses. Zhang Yulong finally couldn't bear it any longer, so he convened this board meeting.
However, it is obvious that the board meeting is of little use, and even if he attacks John Madden, it will be of no use.
So, Zhang Yulong, who originally had the idea of evacuating Xiangjiang, came up with this idea after seeing the meeting.
Everyone in the world knows that Su City’s wealth is difficult to estimate, and the flow of funds on hand is even more terrifying.
Now that Wheelock is in such a situation, it may not be possible to sell it to other buyers, but it might be possible to sell it to Sioux City. After all, Su City cannot become a shareholder of Wheelock Group for no reason. Although it seems to be indifferent to Wheelock Group on the surface, it may secretly covet the controlling stake of Wheelock Group.
And now that he is selling the shares of Wheelock Group controlled by the Zhang family to Su City, it is obvious that Su City will have a high probability of taking it.
In another world, the Zhang family would have sold their shares to Bao Yugang next year, in 1984, thus completely withdrawing from Xiangjiang and taking their family to leave Xiangjiang and immigrate to Australia.
However, it is obvious that many things in Xiangjiang in this world have been changed by Su City without knowing it.
For example, he is now the major shareholder of Wheelock Group.
Therefore, it is understandable that Zhang Yulong wants to sell his shares in advance.
After all, at the board meeting, it was obvious that there was already a discord between the Zhang family and John Madden, and it would be difficult for them to continue to cooperate as before.
Therefore, it is obviously the most appropriate choice for Zhang Yulong to sell the shares of Defeng Group at this time and leave Xiangjiang with the funds.
Looking at Zhang Yulong's expectant eyes, Lin Haoran thought for a moment, and then said: "Mr. Zhang, you also know that Wheelock Group is in a bad situation now, with serious losses. If I buy your The shares will definitely control Wheelock Group, so most of the debt is equivalent to being borne by me. I wonder what price you will offer? If the price is right, I can't accept it." Su Cheng threw the question back directly. To Zhang Yulong.
It all depends on the price you offer. If the price is right, I will buy it. If the price is not right, then the deal will definitely not be reached.
Of course, Su Cheng just said this, and he had already decided to acquire Zhang Yulong's shares.
With Zhang Yulong’s shares taken away, John Madden’s shares were no longer enough. Su City’s shares completely surpassed John Madden’s.
At this time, John Madden naturally had no choice but to step down.
It's useless not to step down. Su City has so much equity that it can directly oust John Madden through a board meeting and become the chairman of Wheelock Group directly.
The Wheelock Group is one of the four original British-owned foreign banks, and its value is not inferior to that of Hutchison Whampoa.
Therefore, Sioux City is naturally willing to take over this major British bank.
In this way, his strength in Xiangjiang will reach a higher level.
Although Wheelock Group’s performance was poor due to Wheelock Shipping Company, the share price of Wheelock Group has risen a lot in recent years. Compared with the original acquisition from Land The shares of Wheelock Group have more than doubled.
This is not just the Wheelock Group, but also most of the listed companies in Hong Kong.
If the price rises well, it will double several times.
"One billion Hong Kong dollars. If Mr. Su is willing to pay one billion Hong Kong dollars, I will sell you all the 23.5% equity I hold." Zhang Yulong thought for a long time and finally offered an extremely fair price.
Currently, the market value of Wheelock Group is around HK$5 billion, but the trading volume is not large, so the stock price is a bit empty.
Zhang Yulong’s bid of HK$1 billion is actually equivalent to placing the total market value of Defeng Group at around HK$4.25 billion.
So, he did give in.
"Mr. Zhang, how about 800 million Hong Kong dollars? You also know that after I take your shares, I will continue to find ways to pay off Wheelock Shipping's debts. The price I will pay will not be high. Small, the stock trading volume of Wheelock Group is not active now. Mr. Zhang obviously wants to sell out through the stock market, but it will not work. And now with the real estate crisis, many companies are unable to protect themselves. Even Land, if I hadn't acquired it, it would have been impossible. I almost fell into a big crisis," Su Cheng said with a smile.
Although he doesn't care about HK$200 million, it can be saved.
Zhang Yulong is not familiar with him, so there is no need to give him face.
If you can save HK$200 million, why not do it.
"Mr. Su, the price of HK$1 billion I offered is already very sincere. At this price a year ago, Chinese and British entrepreneurs were rushing to get my price. Equity, but the importance of being able to compete with John Madden for the control of Wheelock Group is obvious," Zhang Yulong said without giving up.
After all, 200 million Hong Kong dollars may not be much to Su Cheng, but to Zhang Yulong, it is a huge sum of money.
Su Cheng drank a cup of hot tea, ate a snack, and sat on a chair to think.
"Mr. Zhang, let's do this. One of you will give in. I will pay you 900 million Hong Kong dollars to buy your shares. After all, I am also taking a lot of risks. Although I can join the Wheelock Group, I can't. After taking over, we are faced with various difficulties. If Mr. Zhang is reluctant to part with the 100 million Hong Kong dollars, then our transaction may not be possible. I believe that no one in the whole of Hong Kong, except me, is willing to do this at this time. Spend such a huge amount of money to make this deal," Su Cheng said directly.
Since HK$200 million cannot be saved, then saving HK$100 million will do.
"Mr. Su, please let me think about it." Zhang Yulong said this without rushing to answer.
“Of course, please think about it slowly.” Su Cheng said with a smile.
Then he concentrated on eating the snacks.
The snacks made by Xi Lai Restaurant are indeed delicious. Every time Su Cheng comes to Xi Lai Restaurant, he will order some of his favorite snacks and drink tea slowly. It is so comfortable.
Zhang Yulong frowned and didn't eat anything.
At this moment, he naturally had no intention of eating.
He is considering whether it is worth selling his Wheelock shares for HK$900 million.
Now, since this year, Xiangjiang's stock market has not been as good as it was in the previous two years.
It can even be said that, like an electrocardiogram, it rises and falls for a while, and you don’t know what its future will be like.
Therefore, Zhang Yulong is also worried that the stock price will fall back to two years ago in the future. In that case, the shares he holds, let alone 900 million Hong Kong dollars, can be sold for 560 million Hong Kong dollars, which is not bad.
Su Cheng concentrated on eating. I don’t know how long it took, maybe five minutes, maybe ten minutes. Finally, Zhang Yulong spoke.
"Mr. Lin, I agree, HK$900 million, deal done!" Zhang Yulong took a deep breath and finally said these words.
When he said these words, the stone in his heart seemed to be pushed away at this moment, and he felt extremely relaxed. (End of this chapter)