Chapter 67: A Well-Reasoned Fabrication
At this moment, Li Ka-shing finally understood why Pao Yue-kong had spoken so highly of Lin Haoran's formidable financial strength.
For someone like Pao Yue-kong—a titan of the business world—to value Wharf Holdings shares so highly, the number of shares involved could only have been extraordinary.
With Wharf Holdings' stock price now soaring above HK$70 per share, even one million shares would already be worth more than HK$70 million.
Yet judging by the scale of the transaction between Lin Haoran and Pao Yue-kong, it was obviously far greater than just one million shares.
It was very likely well beyond that figure.
From this, Li Ka-shing concluded that Lin Haoran currently controlled at least over HK$100 million in capital—perhaps even far more than he had estimated.
This young man's financial strength was clearly much more astonishing than it appeared on the surface.
With such an enormous amount of capital, coupled with the fact that Lin Haoran had begun accumulating Qingzhou Yingni shares well in advance, everything suddenly made perfect sense.
Li Ka-shing silently thanked his lucky stars that Pao Yue-kong had been willing to act as an intermediary.
Otherwise, he would very likely have found himself locked in a fierce takeover battle against Lin Haoran.
Judging from the current situation, Lin Haoran not only possessed abundant capital but also already controlled a substantial number of shares.
He clearly held the advantage.
Although Li Ka-shing was no less capable, he had entered the game much later and simply couldn't close the gap in such a short period.
He could still attempt to purchase shares directly from existing shareholders.
However, there was no guarantee that doing so would allow him to successfully acquire Qingzhou Yingni.
And Li Ka-shing had never been someone who enjoyed taking chances on uncertain ventures.
Although he regretted missing out on such a promising company, he also understood that Hong Kong still had numerous British-owned enterprises worth acquiring.
His hopes had never rested on a single target.
Instead, he maintained a flexible investment strategy.
Therefore, while he found the outcome unfortunate, he hadn't truly lost much.
There would still be plenty of opportunities to achieve great success through future acquisitions.
Much of Li Ka-shing's remarkable achievements could be attributed to one consistent trait—
His caution.
That cautious approach wasn't merely the cornerstone of his business success.
It was also the key to avoiding unnecessary risks and steadily advancing forward.
Li Ka-shing understood better than most that the business world was unpredictable.
He never ventured into areas where he lacked confidence.
Among his business principles, one rule stood above all others:
Never engage in a losing business.
Ever since the 1950s, he had adhered strictly to that philosophy.
Year after year, his company remained profitable without ever suffering a loss.
The secret behind that remarkable record lay in the careful planning and thorough preparation that preceded every business decision.
Whether acquiring American- or British-owned companies, Li Ka-shing always demonstrated extraordinary patience and strategic discipline.
He never rushed.
Instead, he quietly accumulated enough shares behind the scenes or negotiated privately with major shareholders.
Only when every condition had matured would he make his move—
Swiftly.
Decisively.
Successfully.
This methodical, step-by-step approach not only minimized unnecessary risks but also earned him a reputation throughout the business world as a prudent and exceptionally wise entrepreneur.
"Mr. Lin, I believe you already understand why I wanted to meet with you today."
Li Ka-shing spoke with complete sincerity.
"What I want to know most is this—
How did you discover that Cheung Kong Holdings was secretly planning to acquire Qingzhou Yingni?"
That was the primary reason he had come today.
He knew all too well that in the world of business, information often determined victory or defeat.
Although he was deeply curious about how Lin Haoran had built everything he possessed today, he deliberately restrained himself from asking.
Everyone had their own journey.
Everyone had their own secrets.
Some stories simply weren't meant to be uncovered by outsiders.
Respecting those boundaries was equally important.
The previous night, Li Ka-shing had tossed and turned until late into the night.
Again and again, he had replayed every possible scenario in his mind, trying to understand how Lin Haoran had learned of their confidential acquisition of Qingzhou Yingni shares.
The question had weighed heavily upon him.
Only now, face to face, did he finally have the chance to seek an answer.
"Perhaps you'll find it difficult to believe, Mr. Li."
Lin Haoran smiled calmly.
"When Qingzhou Yingni's trading volume suddenly surged over the course of just two or three days, I immediately realized that another financially powerful investor had set his sights on the company—just as I had.
"I then carefully studied the major corporate acquisitions that had taken place over the past several years.
"Through detailed comparisons and systematic elimination of potential competitors, my attention gradually settled on one person—
"You."
"Qingzhou Yingni has a long history, yet for many years it has attracted very little attention.
"Among British-owned enterprises, it has never been considered a particularly attractive acquisition target.
"Very few companies have ever expressed any interest in buying it.
"So I concluded that the party making these moves was more likely to be a Chinese-owned enterprise.
"From there, I continued using the process of elimination.
"I noticed that in many of your previous acquisitions—such as the purchase of Wing Ko and your quiet accumulation of Wharf Holdings shares—you consistently followed the same strategy.
"You targeted companies whose market values were far below their intrinsic worth, and many of those companies happened to be British-owned.
"Furthermore, you had just sold your Wharf Holdings shares to Uncle Pao.
"With a tremendous amount of cash now on hand, it was only natural that you would begin searching for your next acquisition target.
"As for Qingzhou Yingni...
"You understand the company even better than I do.
"It not only has a stable core business but also owns 800,000 square feet of prime waterfront land in Hung Hom, Kowloon.
"At today's land prices alone, that property is already worth well over HK$500 million—
"And that's without even considering the added value created by its fully integrated industrial chain.
"In other words, Qingzhou Yingni's stock has been severely undervalued.
"Taking all of these factors together, I became convinced that the person most likely to be interested in acquiring Qingzhou Yingni...
"...was you, Mr. Li."
"Of course, my conclusion wasn't absolute.
"Asking Uncle Pao to act as an intermediary was actually nothing more than a test.
"I never expected that the test would reveal the truth so perfectly.
"It confirmed my suspicion that the person who had suddenly entered the race for Qingzhou Yingni...
"...was indeed you."
Lin Haoran delivered his explanation with complete sincerity and confidence.
In reality, Lin Haoran's conclusions were based entirely on his memories of how history had unfolded in his previous life.
Naturally, there was no way he could reveal that he already knew the future.
So instead...
He could only fabricate a perfectly reasonable explanation.
One supported by logic.
One supported by evidence.
A carefully woven series of deductions that sounded entirely convincing.
As for whether Li Ka-shing would believe it...
That was up to Li Ka-shing himself.
After listening to Lin Haoran's clear, logical, and insightful explanation, Li Ka-shing nodded slightly.
The heavy burden that had weighed on his heart seemed to lift considerably.
Now that he knew Lin Haoran's true identity, he was also convinced that none of his trusted subordinates could possibly have been bribed by him.
Moreover, Lin Haoran wasn't one of his own employees or associates.
Continuing to press the matter would simply have been impolite.
So Li Ka-shing chose not to ask any further questions.
(End of Chapter)
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