Courtyard Houses: From Bronze Compasses to Global Reach

Chapter 30 Hong Kong's Huge Funds and Secret Conspiracies within the Courtyard

Lin Yan took a moment to send his divine sense back to Hong Kong and contact Lin Yi to inquire about the progress.

"Master, as you instructed, fifty people have been dispatched around the world, focusing on collecting medical books, prescriptions, and ancient brewing recipes. Fifty people remain in Hong Kong. The auctions held by the three banks have all been successfully conducted, and the process went smoothly."

"In order to facilitate my future foothold in Hong Kong, I appeared at three auctions as Lin Yi, Chairman of the Lin Group, and made initial contact with some powerful figures in Hong Kong. Most people valued the financial strength we displayed, but a few local tycoons were arrogant because of our 'mainlander' background and were unwilling to get to know us better."

Lin Yan was not surprised by this, and responded casually through the imprint: "It's alright. Different circles, no need to force integration. Our foundation does not lie in their approval, but in the resources we control. But one thing, everyone who stays in Hong Kong, including you, must start from scratch and systematically learn English and Cantonese. To make money in a certain place, you must integrate into the local culture and understand their language; this is the most basic requirement."

"Yes, Master! I guarantee I will complete the mission!" Lin Yi accepted the order without hesitation.

Next, Lin Yi reported the most important result: "The total transaction amount of the three auctions reached nearly ten million Hong Kong dollars. Moreover, this was achieved under deliberate control, without auctioning the top-grade colored diamonds, rare Ru ware porcelain, and Yuan blue and white porcelain. I believe that these treasures should be hoarded and sold at a higher price, avoiding a one-time release that would disrupt the market. They should be reserved for future use to cultivate relationships with key figures or to obtain greater benefits."

Ten million Hong Kong dollars!

Even though he was mentally prepared, Lin Yan was still slightly shaken by the number. He quickly calculated in his mind what this number meant in Hong Kong in 1958:

This is equivalent to the total annual sales of the entire plastic flower factory owned by Li Ka-shing, the future richest man in Hong Kong!

That's enough for an ordinary Hong Kong worker to work for one or two thousand years without eating or drinking!

That's enough to buy thousands of square meters of quality property in Hong Kong at this time when property prices are low!

"Hmm, very good. This amount of money should be more than enough to acquire those two buildings we've got our eye on in Central, and then buy a decent law firm. Push these two things forward as soon as possible; we need to have our own territory and legal shield." Lin Yan suppressed the turmoil in his heart and calmly gave the order.

"Understood!" Lin Yi accepted the order.

After severing ties with Hong Kong, Lin Yan felt a slight mental fatigue and closed his eyes to rest for half an hour.

After recovering, the allure of that "God's-eye view" of being in control of everything surged back into his mind. In the past two days, he had become somewhat addicted to using his divine sense to explore, as if he had acquired a new and exciting toy. Although with his current Qi Refining Level 4 soul strength, he could only sustain his divine sense at full power for a maximum of half an hour before it would be exhausted, he still couldn't help but slowly spread his divine sense out again, covering the entire courtyard.

Like a child who has received a new toy, he was seized by a mischievous impulse. He used his divine sense to locate a teacup in his neighbor's cupboard, and with a thought, the teacup vanished instantly and appeared in his storage ring. The next second, it was silently returned to its original place, the whole process completely unnoticed.

After playing for a while, he found it uninteresting and turned his attention to something more interesting—eavesdropping.

Coincidentally, inside the Jia family's house, Jia Dongxu was expressing his dissatisfaction to his mother, Jia Zhangshi.

"Mom! Can you please stop encouraging Banggeng to steal from other people's houses? And what happened the other day with the meat distribution? You almost caused a huge uproar! Can we please calm down and try to get along better with our neighbors? Otherwise, what will people say about the Jia family behind our backs?"

Normally, Madam Jia would have thrown a tantrum and berated her son for being unfilial. But today, she merely chuckled, looking at her overly protected son with a shrewish and helpless expression that was completely different from her usual shrewish persona.

She lowered her voice and patiently "taught" her son: "Dongxu, you're just too naive. Mom has shielded you from many things, so you can't see the intricacies involved."

"Your father died in 47. Back then, the Kuomintang was still in power in Beiping, and those black-skinned dogs (police) would come to your door every few days, using the pretext of searching for Communists to swindle money and extort money!"

A flicker of recollection and lingering fear crossed Jia Zhangshi's eyes: "Back then, I knew that keeping this money at home would be a disaster! So I wrapped your father's pension, along with all the money we'd saved up through frugality, in oilcloth and buried it in the southeast corner of the small garden in the east courtyard! We only kept some essential coarse grains at home, pretending to be poorer than anyone else!"

"So, every time those black-skinned thugs come, they search through everything but find nothing of value. At most, they'll curse and kick me a couple of times, smash a broken bowl, and then leave. Our family may suffer a bit, but our foundations aren't damaged!"

Jia Dongxu was dumbfounded. He never imagined that his mother, who only knew how to throw tantrums and act shamelessly, would have such cunning and courage.

Madam Jia continued, "But that's not enough! I need you to have a proper job and an income so that you can get married and have children in the future, and continue the Jia family line! So I took you to find Yi Zhonghai to become his apprentice."

"What kind of person is Yi Zhonghai? I saw through him long ago! He's not a genuinely good person. He just wants to be the 'emperor' of this courtyard, to control everyone, but he needs someone to play the villain, the troublemaker, to make him seem clever!"

"So, Mom reached a verbal agreement with him. On the surface, I would play the villain who was unreasonable, shameless, petty thief, and caused trouble for everyone. As long as Yi Zhonghai showed everyone that only he could 'handle' me and 'appease' the Jia family, everyone would naturally think that he was capable and prestigious, and would be convinced by him! In this way, he gained face and consolidated his position, while our family could also receive his favor, be taught more real skills, and receive more financial assistance."

These words struck Jia Dongxu like a thunderbolt, leaving him speechless and dumbfounded. He gaped, unable to utter a single word for a long time! It was as if he were truly getting to know his mother for the first time.

Lin Yan, who was "eavesdropping" through the room with his divine sense, was also shocked by these words!

"Good heavens!" Lin Yan sighed inwardly. "Sure enough, none of those who can survive in this chaotic courtyard and even live a decent life are truly fools! Even Jia Zhangshi, who seems the most unreasonable, has reached a certain level of 'great wisdom in appearing foolish' in terms of survival skills and the use of human nature."

In this world, when it comes to the resilience and shrewdness displayed in order to survive and for their families to have a better life, it is probably these ordinary people struggling at the very bottom of society who truly embody it.

Lin Yan slowly withdrew his divine sense, gaining a new understanding of this courtyard house.