Chapter 367: Meeting the Future Governor of Hong Kong
"Are you sure this is okay?" Yang Wendong asked, his tone tinged with uncertainty.
In truth, most super-rich individuals—or their families—often had stand-ins or body doubles for minor public functions. But an event hosted by the Governor's Office was another matter entirely; this was something one had to attend in person.
That said, when it came to identical twins, even people who had met them before might not be able to tell the difference—unless they were very familiar.
Bai Yujie responded, "Why not? No one will be able to tell. Besides, I plan to stay silent most of the time and just smile when necessary."
"But don't forget—Sanders knows your sister," Yang Wendong reminded her.
"My sister thought of that too," Bai Yujie replied with a smirk. "She already called Sanders in advance and explained the situation. He agreed to play along. It's not like it concerns him anyway."
"Well, alright then," Yang Wendong nodded. He knew Sanders wouldn't bother with small matters like this, and even if he knew, he wouldn't intervene.
As for the rest of the guests at the event, only a handful might have met Bai Yushan before—and those who had likely wouldn't be familiar enough to notice the difference.
"Let's go! I'm curious to see what high society is like," Bai Yujie grinned. "I heard you rich people drink limited-edition wines that cost HK$10,000 a bottle?"
"Sometimes, yes," Yang Wendong said. "But not today. This is a government-organized event—there won't be any extravagance. The wine will just be standard bottles costing a few hundred dollars at most."
Sure, everyone loved luxury and indulgence, and colonial officials weren't necessarily paragons of virtue either. But in this era, they still had to "maintain appearances" publicly.
"A few hundred dollars is still a lot," Bai Yujie said with a chuckle.
Yang Wendong offered with a smile, "Tell you what—since you're helping me out today, I'll get you a HK$10,000 bottle of wine afterward so you can try it."
"That seems a bit too extravagant…" Bai Yujie shook her head.
Although the Bai family was well-off, they weren't the kind to splurge needlessly.
Yang Wendong laughed. "It's just to give you the experience. A lot of so-called luxury products aren't really that great. But the media has spent decades brainwashing people into thinking they're amazing.
Once you've tried them, you'll realize they're not such a big deal. The hype is the real product."
Much of the appeal behind luxury goods was, essentially, a "tax on intelligence"—carefully engineered by marketing. Diamonds were perhaps the most successful example, followed by things like LV handbags. Even mechanical watches were marketed as luxury items after digital watches beat them functionally.
"That's actually kind of true," Bai Yujie mused. "Come to think of it, you don't seem to own many luxury goods—aside from cars and that yacht."
"Right. I'm not saying I don't buy luxury items—but they have to serve a purpose," Yang Wendong said. "A car impacts safety and comfort. A yacht is a way to truly relax. So if those cost more, that's still value for money.
And custom suits—those are for business purposes. Otherwise, I'd just wear regular clothes. There's not much difference."
Though he enjoyed wealth and comfort, Yang Wendong never paid the "dumb tax" for pointless things. He preferred investing in things with lasting utility—like prime real estate or private jets.
Bai Yujie touched the necklace around her neck and asked, "What about jewelry? This one was a gift from my sister."
"That's fine," Yang Wendong smiled. "If it makes you happy, it's worth it."
What he didn't mention was that rare jewelry—even diamonds—did hold value. Large diamonds were genuinely scarce and retained value, unlike mass-market ones, which were mostly used to target middle-class consumers.
"That makes sense." Bai Yujie nodded approvingly.
Yang Wendong added, "Let's go then. Real luxury doesn't need external decorations. When someone reaches a certain level, they could wear glass on their wrist and people would still assume it's a gemstone. Even if you told them it was glass, they'd praise your taste and say it was chic."
"There will always be wise scholars to justify my choices"—that phrase rang true. In his past life, if a successful person on the internet so much as sneezed, people would find ways to interpret it as genius.
Once someone reached the top, they no longer needed flashy items to prove anything. Ironically, it was often the barely affluent middle class who most aggressively bought LV bags and mechanical watches—just to "look the part."
"Mm," Bai Yujie agreed. It was starting to make sense.
Around 5 p.m., Yang Wendong's fleet of black Mercedes sedans pulled up at the entrance of the Four Seasons Hotel. As soon as he stepped out, he spotted a few familiar faces from the business world.
Tonight's reception was massive—hundreds of invitees from politics, business, and culture. Anyone with a recognizable name in Hong Kong had been invited.
"Mr. Yang, it's been a while," said Jin Yong with a warm smile as he walked up.
"Mr. Cha, nice to see you," Yang Wendong greeted with a grin. "I heard Ming Pao is now selling over 40,000 copies a day—congratulations!"
Jin Yong wasn't here because of his novels. His newspaper, Ming Pao, had become one of Hong Kong's top three publications. While it didn't make much profit, it held massive influence. Add to that his status as a famous novelist, and his fame was practically invincible.
"Haha, it's just a bit of success in the newspaper business," Jin Yong chuckled. "Compared to you starting your own TV station soon, I'm way behind."
Among all forms of media, television was undoubtedly the most powerful—recognized worldwide. In many countries, TV stations were directly state-controlled, for that very reason.
Yang Wendong said, "Mr. Cha, we expect the station to officially launch around mid-next year. In fact, there's something I've been wanting to discuss with you."
Historically, the original station had taken two years to launch. But Yang Wendong had accelerated everything—construction, recruitment, international equipment purchases, and training engineers—all running in parallel. Naturally, things moved faster.
"You want to purchase the TV rights to my novels?" Jin Yong asked knowingly.
Yang Wendong nodded. "Yes. I've already bought the audio and film rights from you before. But both formats have their limitations. Audio dramas rely solely on narration, and films—even if they have great box office returns—can't cover the full plot due to time constraints.
Only television dramas, with enough length, can fully capture the depth of your stories. That would benefit both of us."
"Alright, I can agree to that. We'll discuss the pricing later," Jin Yong said.
"Great. I'll have someone from our company contact Ming Pao to finalize the details," Yang Wendong replied.
This was just a casual mention today—because of the TV station and the fact that he happened to run into Jin Yong. If this had involved any of his other businesses, it would've just been another line on his monthly company performance reports.
Jin Yong smiled and said, "Shall we head in together, Mr. Yang?"
"Very well, after you," Yang Wendong responded.
The two of them soon arrived at the 26th floor banquet hall. At the elevator entrance, Hong Kong police had set up strict security checks. Everyone—Yang Wendong included—had to go through inspection procedures.
It was to be expected. Nearly every guest here was one of Hong Kong's elite. To say that this room held the people who controlled 80% of the city's wealth and power might even be an understatement.
Once through security, they entered the banquet hall. Afterward, the attendees naturally began to disperse and mingle.
The banquet hadn't officially begun yet, so Yang Wendong took the opportunity to greet familiar faces scattered around the venue: Huo Yingdong, Cheng Yutung, Ding Kejian, and others. At this point in time, Huo Yingdong hadn't yet become a target of British colonial authorities.
"Mr. Li, congratulations!" Yang Wendong said with a smile as he spotted Li Ka-shing and Zhuang Yueming. "Congratulations on your recent marriage."
There had always been much debate in his previous life about whether Li Ka-shing was truly self-made, especially since his wife was the daughter of Hong Kong's "Watch King" and also happened to be his cousin.
But in Yang Wendong's eyes, Li Ka-shing still counted as self-made. After all, he earned his marriage through his own efforts. Just like in his past life, the famous "Brother Dong" also won over a powerful ex-girlfriend—something that took real skill.
Li Ka-shing had arrived in Hong Kong at a young age to live with relatives. He wasn't bullied, sure, but just having a family connection wasn't enough for a junior high school dropout to win over a British-educated, upper-class woman. Whether he had used charm, wit, or some clever tactics, it was a skill nonetheless—just like the fabled security guard who married into the Samsung family.
According to popular rumors, despite Li Ka-shing and Zhuang Yueming insisting on being together, Zhuang's father had opposed the match. It wasn't until Li Ka-shing had made his fortune in plastic flowers and amassed a fortune of over ten million that Zhuang's father finally relented. The couple married this very year.
In 1963, Li Ka-shing was 35, and Zhuang Yueming was 32. At a time when early marriages were the norm, a union at this age clearly hinted at many unspoken struggles behind the scenes.
"Thank you, Mr. Yang," Li Ka-shing replied with a modest smile.
Yang Wendong asked, "Mr. Li, I heard that the plastic flower business hasn't been going so well this year?"
"That's right," Li Ka-shing nodded. "The market is still large, but too many factories are producing now, so prices have collapsed, and there's barely any profit left.
If it weren't for your plastic pellets imported from Taiwan, which are much cheaper than those controlled by the British trading firms, I don't know how many plastic flower factories in Hong Kong would've gone under."
Yang Wendong added, "Hong Kong's industrial development is getting stronger, but for individuals, if there's no innovation, it becomes very difficult to compete."
"Exactly," Li Ka-shing sighed. "Unfortunately, I haven't found a better direction yet. Not like your Changxing Industries—its achievements are the envy of all."
Yang Wendong smiled. "Actually, Mr. Li, I've been thinking—maybe we could explore some potential cooperation."
"Oh?" Li Ka-shing's interest was immediately piqued. "What kind of cooperation do you have in mind?"
Yang Wendong glanced at his watch, then toward the far end of the hall where the Governor and others had just arrived. "Time is tight today. This event is all about the new Governor. Let's talk business tomorrow or the day after—same place, here at the Four Seasons?"
"No problem. I'm free both days. Just let me know the time," Li Ka-shing said.
"Then let's say tomorrow at 2 p.m.," Yang Wendong confirmed.
"Sounds good," Li Ka-shing agreed.
After a few more polite exchanges, the two parted ways.
Bai Yujie, who had been following along in disguise, teased, "Brother Dong, you really are busy. In just a few minutes, you've lined up two new business ventures."
Yang Wendong shook his head with a smile. "Not exactly. I usually just set the broad direction and negotiate general intent. The details are left to professionals—that's where the real time gets spent.
And don't forget, this is a special occasion. Look around—almost every major businessman in Hong Kong is here, and I've only had a couple of such conversations."
"Fair point," Bai Yujie nodded, then asked curiously, "So what's the deal with this Li Ka-shing? I thought he was all about plastic flowers, but that business isn't doing so well anymore, right?"
"Plastic flowers may be on the decline, but Li Ka-shing is not," Yang Wendong replied. "You think that if one industry dries up, he's done for? Not a chance."
Truly capable people could find a way to make money in any environment. If you dropped Li Ka-shing into Republican China—or even ancient times—as long as he survived, he'd find a way to achieve something.
A bit of wealth could be earned with luck. But to succeed repeatedly in different industries—that took real skill. Even if many mainlanders in the future didn't like Li Ka-shing, few would deny his business acumen.
"You really think that highly of him?" Bai Yujie asked.
"I do. I admire capable people," Yang Wendong said with a smile.
"Oh." Bai Yujie nodded and didn't press further.
A short while later, the banquet officially began.
First on stage was the current Governor, Sir Robert Black, who gave a speech reviewing the achievements of his tenure—highlighting public housing, land reclamation projects, educational reforms, water supply improvements, and more. All under the leadership of the British government, of course.
Next came David Trench, the incoming Governor, who outlined his future vision for Hong Kong. While the language was standard, the key message was about maintaining the city's economic momentum and ensuring Hong Kong's continued rise as the "Pearl of the Orient."
Once both speeches concluded, it was time for David Trench to make his rounds and greet the attendees—an act of courtesy and official introduction. Even if he already knew some of them personally, everything changed now that he held this position.
It wasn't long before both David Trench and Sir Robert Black approached Yang Wendong.
"Eric, I believe introductions are unnecessary at this point," Sir Robert said with a smile.
"No need indeed—Eric and I are already quite familiar," said David Trench warmly. "Over the past few years, one of the things that has most surprised me about Hong Kong is how Eric managed to build his empire from nothing. If this happened in the UK, he'd be a national icon."
Sir Robert laughed. "Exactly. But even in Hong Kong, the admiration is the same. Eric, I've already submitted your application to become a Justice of the Peace. I believe next year, you'll be the youngest JP in all of Hong Kong."
"Thank you, Governor," Yang Wendong replied with a smile.
David Trench then asked, "Eric, as one of Hong Kong's most successful businessmen today, I'd like to ask—how do you think Hong Kong's economy should develop in the future?"
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