socalfunplaces Chapter 28: Young and Dangerous Guys Go into Business
Chapter 28: Young and Dangerous Guys Go into Business
Xiao Zhuoxiao opened the car door, and after the group got in, he said as he drove, "Brother Wen, it seems this Dongguan guy won't let this go. His last sentence clearly shows he's holding a grudge."
"So what if he holds a grudge? He's just a thug from the outer ring of Wo Shing Wo, I'm not afraid of him at all," the co-pilot sneered.
"Even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake. We're here to make money, not to plant our flag. If the Dongguan guy doesn't cause trouble, we don't need to create any more problems." But Song Zhaowen had a premonition that he would definitely run into the Dongguan guy again.
"Let's leave here first." Song Zhaowen glanced at the sky. "The person we're meeting is due soon. Let's go."
Tin Shui Wai, an industrial area.
The sound of a Johnson & Johnson can being dispensed echoed as the obese Chen Runguo wiped sweat from his brow with a handkerchief and checked the time on his watch.
He is the owner of this cannery.
Although the factory occupies only ten acres, it has a five-story industrial building.
Industrial buildings are unique to Hong Kong. Due to the scarcity of land, they often develop upwards on limited land, building five or six stories or even higher factories. The internal structure is complex, with each floor possibly divided into several small factories.
The five-story building of the Johnson & Johnson cannery is gray and has some peeling paint, showing that it has been around for many years. The first floor is the canning production line, and the roar of the machines can be faintly heard through the tightly closed iron gate.
The upper floors, apart from some being used as warehouses and offices, are rented out to small factories that make plastic flowers, toy parts, and garment processing.
Chen Runguo does nothing but collect rent, easily making hundreds of thousands a year.
Unfortunately, Mr. Chen Runguo's business was small, but he was very greedy. He invested all his money in the stock market and made a fortune in the first few years. Then this year, wanting to make even more money, he leveraged his investment five times, but unfortunately, he encountered the financial crisis.
Not only did he lose all his assets in a margin call, but he also incurred a huge debt to the bank.
To pay off debts, he was willing to sell his own factory.
Unfortunately, the financial crisis hit, the real estate market slumped, and the factory was located in a remote area, so the listing remained unclaimed for a full six months.
A while ago, the agent called, saying someone was interested in the factory and had arranged to come and see the factory today.
The assistant beside him complained, "Mr. Chen, I hope that Song Zhaowen won't stand us up again."
"Wait a little longer, wait a little longer!"
Just as Chen Runguo was getting impatient...
A black Mercedes-Benz slowly drove into the somewhat desolate industrial area and stopped in front of the Johnson & Johnson cannery. The door opened, and Song Zhaowen got out first.
Chen Runguo's eyes lit up, and he immediately put on a big smile, jogging over to greet him. He extended his hand from afar: "You must be Mr. Song! It's an honor to meet you. I'm Chen Runguo from Johnson & Johnson Canned Goods. You can just call me A-Guo!"
It was clearly the first time they'd met, and Chen Runguo's words were as sweet as honey.
Song Zhaowen shook hands with him; the touch was greasy and damp. He withdrew his hand without saying a word: "Boss Chen, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."
"No need to wait long, Mr. Song is a very busy man. It's my honor that you could take the time to come and visit!" Chen Runguo nodded and bowed, wiping his sweat as he introduced his assistant, "This is my assistant, Xiao Liu. Mr. Song, and these two brothers, please come in, please come in."
"Mr. Song, please look, this is the building." Chen Runguo pointed to the building: "Although the exterior looks a bit old, the structure is absolutely solid. My father used good materials when he built it. It has five floors, and each floor has a usable area of over 8,000 square feet. The first floor is my canning production line. Of course, if you take over, I can sell these machines cheaply, or you can do whatever you want with them. Clearing them out is very convenient. The upper floors are currently rented out, and most of the leases will expire at the end of the year. We can take them all back then, or you can continue to rent to whichever company you like. The rent is quite considerable."
In order to raise money, Chen Runguo promoted the product with great enthusiasm and humility.
"Let's go up and take a look," Song Zhaowen said.
"Okay, okay, this way please, the elevator is this way." Chen Runguo quickly led the way.
The old elevator groaned under its own weight as it slowly ascended. Chen Runguo continued his incessant introduction: "...Mr. Song, to be honest, although this place is a bit remote, it has huge potential. Look at the surrounding area, how cheap the land is. If it develops in the future, this piece of land alone will be worth a fortune! Moreover, I have all the necessary paperwork, clear property rights, and absolutely no trouble whatsoever."
Chen Runguo was right.
In another ten years or so, with the large-scale development of Yuen Long and the future Greater Bay Area backing onto Shenzhen, the surrounding wasteland will be transformed into residential areas, and the land value will increase tenfold or twentyfold.
However, that's a matter for the future.
Moreover, Song Zhaowen did not come here to speculate on land.
Song Zhaowen walked to the edge of the rooftop, held onto the rusty iron railing, and looked down at the entire factory area.
Ten acres is not a small amount of land in Hong Kong, where land is extremely valuable. This is especially true for this five-story industrial building, which, although old, has a high space utilization rate.
In the distance are patches of farmland and scattered villages in Yuen Long, and further away, the vast construction site in Shenzhen can be vaguely seen. It is indeed desolate and remote now, but as Chen Runguo said, it has potential.
Chen Runguo had his assistant bring out cigars and distribute them to everyone.
The first time I smoked this stuff, it went straight through my lungs, and I immediately felt dizzy.
"Cough cough cough, what is this thing? Are you trying to get me killed?" Fei Ji grabbed Chen Runguo's tie, pulled out the large black star from his waist, and pressed it against Chen's head.
Chen Runguo had never experienced having a gun pointed at his head before. Then he saw the tattoos on the chest through the open collar of the man's shirt. How could he not know that these three were not legitimate businessmen, but gangsters?
The assistant was so frightened he collapsed, and he was so scared he couldn't even speak coherently.
"What are you doing with the airplane? You can't inhale cigars, don't blame others for your own lack of education."
Song Zhaowen reassured Chen Runguo: "Mr. Chen, my brother was just joking with you. It was a toy gun. Don't take it seriously."
Chen Runguo's face turned deathly pale, and cold sweat broke out instantly, soaking the back of his shirt. His legs were trembling, and he forced a smile that was more like a grimace as he looked at Song Zhaowen: "Yes...yes, just kidding, just kidding...Song Sheng's men are really funny, haha..." His laughter was dry and sounded like sandpaper rubbing together.
The plane reluctantly put away the big black star cigar, muttering, "What a lousy cigar, so strong."
Song Zhaowen shook his head helplessly and helped Chen Runguo, whose legs were weak, to his feet.
"I like this place, but the price..."
Upon hearing that there was hope, Chen Runguo immediately perked up, forgetting his earlier fright, and hurriedly said, "The price is negotiable, Mr. Song. Just name your price, and if it's suitable, we can sign the contract right away!"
Song Zhaowen held up one finger: "One price, five million. Including these ten acres of land, this building, and the canning equipment on the first floor."
He had ten million dollars on him, which he had obtained from Prince Tai, plus more than one million dollars in cash from the Vietnamese.
He felt it was worth it to take half of the industrial building.
(P.S.: Some readers might not like the industrial aspects of the story, but it's related to later content, so I'll speed things up. It won't be discussed much later; it'll be mostly just touched on.)