Chapter 149: Another Encounter with a Familiar Beauty and the Real Estate Strategy
Another week passed. With solid collateral and Yang Wendong's status as a long-time client, Liao Chong Hing Bank quickly approved and disbursed the loan.
Yang personally invested HK$150,000 to acquire a piece of land measuring 12,000 square feet near the edge of Central, close to Admiralty. As for the aging building on top, he didn't care.
Later, Yang brought Qin Zhiye and a few others—soon to be the top executives of Honghua Daily—to inspect the site.
After circling inside and out, Yang asked, "What do you think?"
Someone commented, "It's really spacious. If we get to use the whole place, I think it'll be even bigger than Ta Kung Pao's headquarters."
"The space is fine, it's just that the building's really old," Yang chuckled. "What about the rest of you?"
Others chimed in, "Old or not, it's fine. A lot of papers in Hong Kong are in the same situation."
Yang nodded again. "When will the German printing machine arrive?"
"Around mid-October," Qin replied. "The equipment is custom-built, so it takes longer. But that's not an issue—during this time, we can handle all the prep: apply for our publication license, establish distribution channels with Hong Kong's newspaper kiosks, and finalize our organizational structure.
All of this takes time anyway. The machine will arrive just in time."
"Alright," Yang said. "Then the building itself… it's okay if it's delayed too?"
"You mean… you want to rebuild it?" Qin quickly caught on.
"Exactly," Yang nodded. "This building is too old. Even if you all move in now, in a few years you'll probably need to rebuild or relocate. It's better to get it done now while we still have time.
Later on, when business is running full speed, moving would be a huge disruption."
Although Honghua Daily wouldn't be as profitable as Changxing Industrial, its strategic value went far beyond simple numbers.
In the coming decades, Hong Kong would undergo major changes. Owning a widely read newspaper would become an incredibly powerful asset.
And print media would only be the beginning. Hong Kong's entire media industry was still in its early stages. Outside of newspapers, there were just two radio stations and one cable TV channel. There were still plenty of opportunities ahead.
Since property prices were still reasonable and he had just purchased a decent-sized lot, Yang figured it was best to invest in a headquarters now—something that would meet their needs for years to come.
"That's a good idea," Qin agreed. Everyone else nodded too. Who wouldn't want to work in a modern new office building? Better work environments meant better morale and efficiency.
"Alright, Lao Qin, this one's yours. Contact a few construction firms and get them to draft some high-utility designs. Once we've got them, we'll review together and decide."
"Understood." Qin nodded. Then he asked, "But what about our workspace before the building's ready? Even if we're just preparing, we'll still need an office."
Yang thought for a moment. "We'll use a temporary site in Tsim Sha Tsui. I'll arrange a place for you there. It won't be luxurious, but it's just for a few months.
All employees will get a cross-harbor travel allowance. How's that?"
"That's perfectly fine," Qin smiled. "We just need a place to work. Once the new office is done, we'll move in."
"Alright. Let's not waste more time here. Go find a temporary space in Tsim Sha Tsui, but keep the Central project moving quickly."
"Got it," Qin replied.
Afterward, Qin and the others left to begin preparations. The sooner they could complete everything, the sooner the paper could launch—and prove their value.
Yang, meanwhile, took a walk around a building in Central. Two bodyguards followed from a distance. Despite Hong Kong's volatility, no one would dare cause trouble in buildings backed by British financial giants.
This era's commercial buildings weren't anything like the sleek, planned-out malls of Yang's previous life. These places were packed with small shops—cosmetics, fashion, and even pet stores—crammed next to each other with no clear layout.
Before he realized it, Yang found himself at the entrance of a small boutique. He wasn't planning to stop, but a familiar figure caught his eye.
"Is that Bai Yujie or Bai Yushan?" he wondered.
He saw a young woman in a white dress browsing the cosmetic shelves. After a moment's observation, he figured it was the more refined elder sister.
He stepped forward and called, "Bai Yushan?"
"Hmm?" She looked up, surprised. "Mr. Yang? What are you doing here?"
Yang smiled. "Just wandering around. What about you?"
"I was just escaping the heat and shopping for a few things," she said. "Oh—and this, this is one of your company's products, isn't it? I went to several stores before I found it."
She held up a hanging adhesive hook from the shelf.
Yang nodded. "Yes, that's a Deli brand hook."
Yushan smiled. "Mr. Yang, you're incredibly talented. Such a simple thing, but only after it appeared did we realize how useful it could be."
Yang chuckled. "It's how I make a living. Trying to run a regular business in Hong Kong is no easy feat."
"True. Most people take ten years to build something sustainable. Your pace… well, I'd say it's unprecedented," she said. "This hook has been hard to find lately—is demand that high?"
Yang nodded. "When we first launched in Hong Kong, there was plenty of stock. But now we're prioritizing Japan and Southeast Asia. Production's a bit behind."
Even though they'd prepped for increased capacity through outsourcing, it still took time.
And adhesive hooks, by nature, appealed more to consumers in developed economies. Sales in Japan had been particularly strong.
So while the Hong Kong supply hadn't dried up, it wasn't what it used to be.
"I see. Congratulations, Mr. Yang." Yushan gently brushed her hair behind her ear and smiled.
Yang added, "If you need more, let me know next time—I'll have someone send some over."
"Sure," Bai Yushan smiled. "Actually, I don't need that many. Just a few are enough for me. But my father's company is in renovation work, and his workers frequently move from one job site to another. Some things need to be hung up quickly.
They used to drill into the walls—it wasn't convenient. Now that we have adhesive hooks, it's so much easier."
"No wonder it's been hard for you to find them lately," Yang Wendong nodded, now understanding. "How about I send you 200? Would that be enough?"
"That's more than enough," Yushan chuckled. "But I'll still pay for them."
Yang shrugged. "I never said they were free."
Both of them were well-off. Whether it was free or not didn't really matter. Even if the hooks were ten times more expensive, it wouldn't be an issue. Still, when it came to gifts, like a meal or a small gesture, that was fine—but going out of the way to give everything away for free would feel too deliberate.
"Haha, true," she laughed softly.
Yang checked his watch. "It's around lunchtime. Have you eaten yet?"
"Not yet," Yushan replied with a grin. "How about I treat you? There's a Cantonese restaurant in this mall that's actually quite good."
Yang nodded. "Cantonese cuisine sounds great. But why are you treating me?"
"To celebrate landing a job," she smiled brightly.
"You've found work? Where?" Yang asked, intrigued. "So you've decided not to study abroad?"
Yushan nodded. "Yes. After weighing my options, I realized that going abroad would mean at least three more years of study, and honestly, I don't enjoy being in an environment full of foreigners.
So last month, I interviewed at HSBC. I start this Monday. It's technically an internship, but still."
"Congratulations, getting into HSBC is no small feat," Yang said with a smile.
At this point in history, HSBC wasn't yet Hong Kong's most dominant financial force—Jardine Matheson still held that title—but the two were close in influence. And when it came to banking, HSBC was undoubtedly number one. Though its lead over Standard Chartered wasn't yet overwhelming, it was still the top player.
Yushan smiled. "If you ever want to explore finance, come to me. With your current reputation, HSBC would definitely be willing to work with you."
"Finance, huh? You mean futures?" Yang asked.
"Futures, forex, stocks—any of it," she said. "Or, some companies raise capital through the stock market. You could get involved."
"Oh? What major companies have been raising capital recently?" Yang asked as they walked toward the restaurant, his curiosity about finance slowly being piqued.
A few months ago, his focus had been entirely on the factory. Now, things were stabilizing. While production still needed to scale, the company had reached a point of self-sufficiency.
And this was the beginning of Hong Kong's economic boom. Yang figured it was time to understand more of the bigger picture.
Yushan thought for a moment. "There've been quite a few sizable fundraisers recently—Bank of East Asia, Hutchison, Wing On Bank, Ming Tak Bank, Lee Shing Bank… just to name a few."
"Mostly banks, huh?" Yang mused. He mentally noted that five or six out of ten were banks.
Yushan nodded. "Yes. Hong Kong banks are very short on capital right now, mostly because land prices are rising again. Many real estate firms are borrowing heavily.
At the same time, lots of depositors are withdrawing their savings to buy property, which makes the liquidity shortage worse. So the smaller banks have turned to the stock market for funding."
"Not many property companies are publicly listed, though, are they?" Yang asked. "Why don't they go public?"
He hadn't paid much attention to the property sector yet—most of the big players were still British-owned. Among Chinese businesses, real estate firms existed but hadn't made major waves yet.
Yushan shook her head. "I haven't studied that part in depth. But from what I've seen, it's not that the stock exchange refuses them. It's that many developers—especially Chinese ones—don't want to list."
"Makes sense. If it were me, I wouldn't go public either," Yang chuckled.
They had arrived at the restaurant by now and started browsing the menu while continuing their conversation.
Yushan thought aloud, "Yeah, Chinese business owners don't seem to like the idea of going public. My dad's the same way. He guards his shares like treasure. He'd rather keep the company small than bring in outside partners."
Yang smiled. "Joint ventures can work well. If you don't want to give up shares in your core business, you can always collaborate on a specific project.
That way, you keep control while leveraging someone else's capital to grow."
"You sound like you know a lot about real estate development," Yushan said curiously. "Are you planning to enter the industry?"
"Not right now," Yang smiled. "But I might invest in properties—long-term holds that I either use myself or rent out."
"So you'll get into real estate eventually?" she asked, picking up on the implication.
"Probably," Yang nodded.
Hong Kong was small, but its property market would eventually create some of Asia's wealthiest tycoons. As someone with detailed knowledge of past market cycles, Yang saw real estate as a personal ATM waiting to be unlocked.
He'd never give up on industrial ventures, of course. But in terms of pure profit? Unless you reached the top tier globally, nothing beat Hong Kong real estate.
Yushan smiled. "My family runs a renovation business. If you ever develop property, don't forget about us."
"As long as the price is good, no problem," Yang laughed.
"You'll find our prices and quality are excellent," she said confidently.
Yang asked, "Why hasn't your family gotten into real estate themselves?"
"My dad's a bit conservative," she explained. "Renovation work is relatively safe—you only lose money if the developer goes bankrupt.
But property development is different. If prices crash, the bank loans can bury you.
That's happened to a lot of firms in the past few years."
"True," Yang nodded. Real estate had high margins—but also high risks, especially when you were leveraging borrowed funds.
The real estate tycoons of Hong Kong's future were the ones who survived wave after wave of crashes. Dozens of other companies went bankrupt because they mistimed the market.
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