Chapter 2: Sworn Loyalty, No Second Thoughts
Huafeng Cement Factory naturally had stable customers. For example, Wan’an Real Estate, a subsidiary of Wan’an Group, was one of its regular clients.
In other words, their own internal demand was supplied by themselves—keeping wealth within the family.
However, at the moment, Wan’an Real Estate had very few ongoing projects, so the demand for cement was not high.
At this rate, let alone competing with his elder brother Lin Haoning, even whether this factory could still continue operating by the end of the one-year period was questionable.
At this moment, Lin Haoran also came to realize the cruelty of wealthy families.
Even among brothers, for the sake of profit and goals, internal scheming and conflict were unavoidable.
It went without saying that the loss of old clients must have been caused by Lin Haoning.
After all, the position of heir to a listed conglomerate was extremely important.
Lin Haoning had many advantages: richer business experience, broader social connections.
But in order to eliminate even the slightest chance of reversal for Lin Haoran, he had simply gone all out.
Lin Haoran led the four men as he toured the factory area.
In his memory, when he first took over, the entire cement factory was extremely busy during the day.
But now, just two months later, it was obvious that the number of busy workers had decreased significantly.
While absorbing his newly merged memories, Lin Haoran continued inspecting the factory that now belonged entirely to him.
“Boss, boss! There are two people floating about a hundred meters outside our dock!” an employee suddenly reported.
Huafeng Cement Factory was located near Lau Fau Shan in Yuen Long, directly facing the Shekou area of Shenzhen across the water.
In recent years, there had been countless people trying to illegally cross the border from there.
Around the waters near the factory, it was not uncommon to see floating corpses. The workers here were already used to it.
In fact, the factory even employed illegal immigrants who had been taken in.
At this time, Hong Kong’s policy toward illegal immigrants was relatively lenient.
Those who successfully crossed into the city and reached urban areas could gain legal residency; those intercepted in restricted border zones would be sent back.
Lin Haoran, having merged the memories of two lives, recalled seeing such floating bodies before. In most cases, they were simply reported to the police.
“Alive or dead?” Lin Haoran asked while walking toward the pier.
“They’re holding onto a piece of wood and floating. They might still be alive. They even managed to avoid the Marine Police patrol—pretty impressive,” the worker replied.
Everyone knew that crossing the sea illegally was extremely dangerous, with a high chance of death.
Soon, they arrived at the factory dock.
A crowd had already gathered.
From there, Lin Haoran could clearly see the situation on the water.
About a hundred meters from the dock, two strong men were clinging to a wooden log, motionless, drifting with the waves.
It was dusk, and the border patrol boats had just changed shifts—no Marine Police vessels were visible on the sea.
“Lin Yi, Lin Er, take some men and go check it out. If they’re dead, report it. If they’re alive, bring them back,” Lin Haoran ordered directly.
Although these subordinates had low loyalty, it did not stop him from using them.
“Yes, young master.”
The dock had a speedboat. Lin Yi led a few men aboard and quickly headed toward the two figures.
Soon, Lin Haoran saw them rescue the two men from the water.
This meant the two were likely still alive.
Otherwise, they would not have bothered retrieving corpses.
A few minutes later, the speedboat returned to the dock.
“Young master, they’re alive. Still breathing. Just exhausted and unconscious. They were instinctively holding onto the wood—if they let go, they would have drowned immediately,” Lin Yi reported.
“Mm. Take them to the dormitory. Find an empty room for them to rest. Let me know when they wake up,” Lin Haoran nodded.
“Yes, young master.”
Standing at the dock, Lin Haoran gazed deeply at the setting sun sinking into the horizon, remaining silent for a long time.
Illegal immigrants came to Hong Kong with dreams of a better life, but in this era, Hong Kong was actually full of chaos—gang conflicts, social unrest, and a difficult life for ordinary people.
Of course, if they survived the journey, they did have a chance to change their fate.
Over the next two or three days, Lin Haoran rarely left his room. He was either absorbing memories of this world or learning about Hong Kong of this era through newspapers.
In addition, although his fever had subsided, his body was still weak and needed rest.
Even meals were delivered upstairs by Lin Si and the others.
Although these “traitors” were working for Lin Haoning, they did not dare poison his food. If anything like that happened, even without evidence, Lin Wan’an would never forgive them.
Thus, Lin Haoran felt safe eating their food.
However, once he had loyal subordinates in the future, he would no longer keep them around.
For now, he had no one else to do the work.
“Young master, this is tonight’s meal. I specially instructed the kitchen to buy a roast goose from Yuen Long Market—your favorite. The best cuts are all here.”
Lin Si placed the dishes on the table, still as flattering as ever.
“Mm, good work. By the way, how are those two illegal immigrants doing?” Lin Haoran asked casually while washing his hands.
“Young master, they woke up yesterday. They were weak at first, but today they’re already very energetic and recovering quickly,” Lin Si replied.
“Good. Bring me to see them later.”
“Yes, young master. Just call me when you’re done eating—I’ll wait outside.”
No matter how flattering he acted, Lin Haoran already knew they were traitors. It was impossible for them to deceive him.
He ate quickly—finished in about ten minutes.
By now, he could clearly feel his body had mostly recovered.
“Lin Si, come in.”
“Young master, you finished so quickly?”
“Stop talking. Clear it away. I’m going to see those two illegal immigrants.”
“Yes, yes, young master, don’t rush.”
Lin Si quickly cleaned up the table and followed behind Lin Haoran.
The dormitory building of Huafeng Cement Factory consisted of two three-story buildings. Over a hundred workers lived there.
Lin Haoran himself lived in the office building, which was slightly better in condition.
Inside a dorm room were two metal bunk beds.
“These are the men our young master ordered to be rescued. Show some respect! Without him, you’d already be dead at sea!”
Before Lin Haoran even entered, Lin Si rushed in and began lecturing them.
The two men, who had been resting on the bed, quickly got up.
“No need. You’re still recovering—just lie down,” Lin Haoran said casually as he entered.
Only then did he carefully observe the two men.
“Benefactor, your life-saving kindness is like being reborn,” they said, kneeling in gratitude.
For them, this was a sincere expression of respect and gratitude.
Lin Haoran tried to activate his system, but no loyalty bars appeared.
Perhaps because they were not yet his subordinates.
“Get up. No need for formalities. Sit and talk.”
“Lin Si, go out.”
“Young master, for safety I should stay—”
“Get out. I don’t want to say it a third time.”
“…Yes, I’ll roll out immediately.”
The two men were from Guangdong province. They came from poverty and had served in the military for several years. After discharge, hearing that Hong Kong offered better opportunities, they decided to risk everything and cross over.
In this era, people risked illegal border crossings for very simple reasons: poverty and survival.
There were three main routes:
Western route: swimming from Shekou through Shenzhen Bay to Yuen Long/Tuen Mun.
Central route: crossing the Shenzhen River near Lo Wu at night.
Eastern route: climbing through Wutong Mountain areas.
These two chose the most dangerous western route, believing border patrol there was weaker.
They were bold enough to cross while holding onto a wooden log.
If the factory workers had not discovered them, they would have died drifting unconscious at sea.
“What are your plans next?” Lin Haoran asked.
The taller one was Li Weiguo (26), the shorter one was Li Weidong (25). They were cousins from the same village and had grown up together, both skilled in combat.
“We’re not sure. We don’t have relatives in Hong Kong, so we’ll just take it one step at a time,” Li Weiguo said bitterly.
They had crossed on impulse and had no plans for life afterward.
“In that case, come work for me. I’m short on manpower,” Lin Haoran said with a smile.
After learning they had military experience and decent fighting skills, he already had the idea.
As their savior, if he took them in, their loyalty would naturally be high—far better than using those traitorous subordinates.
As soon as he finished speaking, the two men became excited.
“Boss! From now on, our lives belong to you. Wherever you point, we go. We will follow you to death, with absolutely no second thoughts!”
Li Weiguo spoke firmly.
“My brother’s words are my words too,” Li Weidong added.
At that moment, the system automatically activated again.
Above their heads appeared familiar loyalty bars:
Li Weiguo: [Loyalty: 82/100]
Li Weidong: [Loyalty: 88/100]
(End of Chapter)
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