Chapter 177: Name Your Price
Lin Haoran was no longer the young man that Li Jiacheng could underestimate. Now, he was already a heavyweight in Hong Kong's business world, someone who could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the likes of Li Jiacheng. Achieving in just two years what many could not accomplish in a lifetime was certainly no simple feat. "At the current pace, it'll take until the end of the year to absorb over 40% of Hutchison Whampoa's shares. Until then, I can't make any other big moves. How frustrating," Li Jiacheng thought, reclining on his sofa.
If he didn't still need to pour massive funds into buying Hutchison shares, he would have started making moves against Land Holdings immediately. Li Jiacheng was always good at laying out early strategies and quietly absorbing target shares. But for now, he had to prioritize; Hutchison wasn't yet fully under his control, and if he split his attention too early, he might end up empty-handed on both fronts. Besides, Land Holdings' current market value was significantly higher than Hutchison's. Without the support of figures like Pao Yue-Kong and Shen Bi, it would be impossible for him to acquire Hutchison so easily. Trying to wrest Land Holdings from Jardine Matheson would be even harder and would require enormous capital strength.
These plans had to be kept absolutely secret; if word leaked out, Percy Niblett would certainly guard against him, and the whole endeavor would fail before it began.
Meanwhile, at the Lin family villa on Sik On Street, Lin Haoran, with no urgent work scheduled, turned his attention toward the Oriental Daily. In his hand was a dossier about the newspaper. Oriental Daily was the highest-circulation general newspaper in Hong Kong, founded on January 22, 1969, by the Ma family, who had triad ties. Later, Oriental Daily remained under the Ma family's control. Two years ago, the newspaper's founders, the Ma brothers, fled to Taiwan after being implicated in underworld activities and wanted by the police.
After the founders fled, much of the Ma family's gray-market businesses collapsed or were taken over by other gangs. Only their legitimate enterprises like Oriental Daily survived. The ownership of the newspaper was hastily transferred to Ma Chengkun, the son of Ma Xizhen, who was barely in his twenties. It was quite a burden for someone so young, especially given that the Ma family's influence was waning.
Since Ma Chengkun had only recently taken over Oriental Daily and hadn't yet firmly established himself in Hong Kong's business circles, Lin Haoran saw an opportunity. If he waited a few more years, once Ma Chengkun matured and consolidated his position, it would become much harder to buy Oriental Daily.
Oriental Daily's headquarters was located at Changye Building in Wan Chai. After carefully reviewing the information, Lin Haoran made up his mind. He decided to visit personally and negotiate directly, hoping to buy the newspaper outright.
Strictly speaking, newspapers weren't especially profitable, but their influence was enormous. Owning Oriental Daily would provide Lin Haoran with an excellent intelligence network, and given its massive circulation, he could also use it to shape public opinion in Hong Kong — a power that no other industry could easily offer.
Thus, Lin Haoran dialed the number listed for Ma Chengkun.
"Hello, this is Ma Chengkun," answered a youthful male voice.
"Hello, Mr. Ma, this is Lin Haoran from Hongkong Electric Holdings. You must have heard of me," Lin Haoran said with a smile.
"Ah, Mr. Lin! Yes, of course. How can I help you?" Ma Chengkun's tone immediately became respectful. After all, Lin Haoran's name had been making headlines for the past two years, always associated with major business news. Even if Ma Chengkun didn't recognize Lin Haoran's face, he certainly knew his name — a young Chinese entrepreneur seen as a rising star and a source of pride for Hong Kong's Chinese community.
"If it's convenient, I'd like to visit you and discuss something in person," Lin Haoran continued.
"Of course, of course! I'm at Oriental Daily's headquarters on the 7th floor of Changye Building in Wan Chai. You're welcome anytime," Ma Chengkun replied enthusiastically.
"Great, I'll be there shortly," Lin Haoran said before hanging up.
Stepping out into the villa's hall, he saw the drizzle still falling gently over Victoria Harbour. The scene was misty, without the stunning views that a clear day offered.
"Weiguo, Weidong, let's head out," Lin Haoran called to his two bodyguards.
"Boss, where to?" asked Li Weiguo as he slid into the driver's seat.
"Changye Building in Wan Chai," Lin Haoran replied.
Li Weiguo had been driving for over a year and knew Central, Wan Chai, Causeway Bay, and other key areas like the back of his hand. Receiving the order, he smoothly started the car and headed toward Wan Chai.
Leaving Sik On Street, they quickly reached the bustling downtown. Even so, the normally busy streets were quieter today, with only a few umbrella-carrying pedestrians rushing through the drizzle.
In just over ten minutes, the car pulled into the parking lot of a building marked with large golden characters: Changye Building.
Since returning from the U.S., Lin Haoran had changed cars for security reasons — after all, with his wealth, two bodyguards might not always be enough protection.
To ensure his safety, Lin Haoran had replaced his usual Mercedes-Benz with a Rolls-Royce, and not just any Rolls-Royce, but an armored one. It featured bulletproof glass, reinforced body panels, and specialized tires, all of which made Lin Haoran feel much more secure. He spent over three million Hong Kong dollars on the car, but given the protection it provided, the money was well worth it. Besides, to him, a few million dollars was no longer a significant sum. In this era, even a standard Rolls-Royce Phantom cost only a little over a hundred thousand U.S. dollars, and with assets totaling in the billions, Lin Haoran considered it merely a small expense. Regular cars like Honda or Ford models could even be bought outright for two to three thousand Hong Kong dollars.
This particular custom Rolls-Royce Phantom Extended model had originally been ordered by a wealthy tycoon. However, the tycoon went bankrupt before taking delivery, allowing Lin Haoran to snap it up almost immediately. The car bore the highly auspicious license plate "88888," which Lin Haoran had acquired at auction for a few tens of thousands of Hong Kong dollars.
Upon arriving at Changye Building, he took the elevator to the 7th floor. Stepping out, he was greeted by a receptionist from Oriental Press Group. "I have an appointment with your President Ma," Lin Haoran said with a smile. "Mr. Lin, President Ma already instructed us to notify him immediately if you arrived. I'll contact him right away," the receptionist said respectfully, clearly recognizing Lin Haoran. Working at a media company like Oriental Daily meant staying attuned to current events, and Lin Haoran had become one of Hong Kong's most talked-about figures over the past two years.
"No need for the trouble. Just take me directly to his office," Lin Haoran said casually. Despite his high status, he never liked putting on airs.
Following the receptionist down the hallway for about ten meters, they reached the general manager's office. Just then, a young man in a suit and tie emerged. Having studied Ma Chengkun's profile beforehand, Lin Haoran immediately recognized him. "Mr. Lin, welcome! I was just about to come down to greet you," Ma Chengkun said warmly and humbly.
Indeed, Ma Chengkun had kept a very low profile over the past two years. After all, following the downfall of the Ma family's senior members and the collapse of their gray-market operations, the younger generation had little protection. Previously, the Ma family had fierce rivalries with other gangs, resulting in plenty of grudges. Now, with the family's influence greatly diminished, the younger generation lived cautiously, fearing reprisals from old enemies.
Thus, even though he controlled Hong Kong's top-selling newspaper, Ma Chengkun had largely stayed out of the public eye, focusing instead on stabilizing the family's remaining legitimate businesses.
Naturally, Ma Chengkun felt both surprised and nervous when Lin Haoran, Hong Kong's brightest rising star, suddenly requested a meeting. Traditionally, serious business leaders had avoided dealings with the Ma family, even when its leaders had been in power. Now that the Ma family had fallen from grace, even former acquaintances kept their distance.
Sitting down in the office, Lin Haoran smiled and said, "Mr. Ma, you are very impressive — so young, yet already managing such a major enterprise. When I was your age, I was still studying at university in Britain!" It was no lie; Lin Haoran had indeed been studying overseas at twenty-two or twenty-three.
"Mr. Lin, you're too kind. It's a bit embarrassing for me. Compared to you, who built such a massive business empire so young, I'm nothing. If I can achieve even a tenth of your success one day, I'd be satisfied," Ma Chengkun said with a self-deprecating smile. Coming from Lin Haoran, those words carried weight. In today's Hong Kong, which young person could rival Lin Haoran's achievements?
As they chatted, the atmosphere gradually relaxed. With Lin Haoran being only a few years older, Ma Chengkun slowly dropped his guard. During their conversation, Lin Haoran learned more than the public information available — much of the Ma family's younger generation had gone to Taiwan to reunite with the elder Ma brothers, leaving only a few juniors behind to manage the remaining businesses in Hong Kong.
This wasn't exactly a secret, so Ma Chengkun made no effort to hide it. After chatting for some time, Ma Chengkun finally couldn't hold back his curiosity. "Mr. Lin, may I ask, what brings you here today?" He had wanted to ask from the start but had politely waited for Lin Haoran to broach the subject first.
Lin Haoran smiled. "Since you ask, I'll be direct. I came today with a clear purpose — I want to acquire Oriental Press Group from your Ma family. As for the price, you can name it, and we'll negotiate from there."
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