Three days after purchasing the toy company, news came from Mao Li Qingzi in Japan—she had successfully negotiated a price with the owner of a manga company. All that was left was for Lin Baicheng to go there in person to finalize the deal.
With a transaction involving tens of millions of Hong Kong dollars, Lin Baicheng could not fully trust Mao Li Qingzi to handle the money herself. After all, what if she took the money and ran? Was he supposed to chase her across the world to get it back?
So, while she was responsible for negotiation, the actual transaction still needed Lin Baicheng to be present.
Only after she and others had worked for him for a few years, gaining trust and receiving millions of Hong Kong dollars in annual compensation, would he grant them greater authority—allowing them to handle moderately sized deals independently.
Trust takes time to build. Handing over a large sum of money to someone you barely know? That would be nothing short of foolish.
Just as Lin Baicheng was preparing to go to Japan the next day, Ho Yiu-wah from Standard Chartered Bank contacted him with good news—since the Hong Kong government couldn't find any British-owned companies willing to purchase Rediffusion Television Limited's shares at a high price, Rediffusion's management decided to sell their shares to Lin Baicheng instead.
Hong Kong's current governor, Murray MacLehose, was not a hardline figure. He treated both British and Chinese capital fairly, which is why Hong Kong's economy thrived, and there was no intense conflict between British and Chinese investors.
Regarding the sale of Rediffusion Television, since no British firm was stepping in, MacLehose did not forcibly block the sale. Otherwise, the government could have found excuses to delay or obstruct it. Even if they couldn't stop it completely, delaying the deal would've been very easy.
Ho Yiu-wah suggested completing the deal as soon as possible to avoid complications. So Lin Baicheng told Mao Li Qingzi and the others in Japan to wait for a few days—there were plenty of manga companies to choose from anyway. For now, acquiring Rediffusion Television was the priority.
December 17th
At Standard Chartered Bank, Lin Baicheng, accompanied by Cheng Yufeng and lawyer Chen Gao, signed the contract with Rediffusion's representatives—purchasing 61% of the television station's shares for 120 million Hong Kong dollars.
Once the funds were transferred, Rediffusion Television officially fell into Lin Baicheng's hands.
After confirming the transaction and receiving the money, Rediffusion's representatives left immediately, and Lin Baicheng did not insist on exchanging pleasantries.
"Mr. Lin, congratulations," said Ho Yiu-wah. Though in his personal opinion, the television station wasn't quite worth that much.
"Thank you, Mr. Ho," Lin replied, shaking his hand. Although he did pay Standard Chartered for their involvement, it was a normal service fee—nothing like the generous rewards during his investments in Microsoft or Apple. The nature of these matters was entirely different.
Ho Yiu-wah added, "Now that Mr. Lin has taken control of Rediffusion Television and become its absolute majority shareholder, many people will be stunned. They'll wonder how someone who only became famous as a novelist this year has already become a billionaire. You'll definitely become an idol for Hong Kong's youth—everyone will want to follow in your footsteps."
"At that point, there will be no hiding the truth about the game company."
Lin waved his hand. He knew clearly that once his acquisition of the television station was announced, journalists would inevitably trace everything back to Galaxy Games. There would be no way to hide it.
After a brief conversation, he left the bank.
He didn't go straight to the television station. Instead, he instructed Cheng Yufeng to go there first to inform the management that Lin was now the major shareholder, and to gather all senior staff at the station by the afternoon for his arrival.
Rediffusion's management had not been informed about the sale of the station. However, Wong Hee-chiu, the general manager and the first Chinese person to ever hold that position, was vaguely aware the company might be sold soon.
But only when Cheng Yufeng showed him the signed contract did he realize the buyer was a Chinese businessman—not a British firm as he had expected.
Even after seeing the contract, Wong still called Rediffusion to confirm. Upon learning that the sale had indeed taken place that morning, he agreed to cooperate.
A new owner was taking over. Of course, Wong had no reason or authority to stop it. He was just an employee—regardless of title. Whether he could keep his position as general manager was now uncertain.
Cheng Yufeng said, "Manager Wong, Mr. Lin will arrive at around 2 p.m. Please inform all management staff to pause their work and be present. Mr. Lin may meet them."
"Understood, Assistant Cheng," Wong nodded.
"Also, inform human resources to reassure employees. Tell them to stay calm and continue working as usual—no panic."
"Don't worry. I'll handle it properly."
Even if he would eventually lose his position, Wong intended to do his duty until the end.
"There's one more thing: from this moment until our side officially takes over operations, suspend all major expenses. No large payments may be approved. If there's an urgent need, contact me directly."
While human resources could be handled slowly, financial matters required immediate control—especially during a change of ownership when chaos often happens. The company's assets must not be misused.
Wong agreed with no objections.
After giving a few more instructions, Cheng Yufeng left the television station.
Wong immediately had his secretary call an emergency meeting with all managers currently at the station—everyone was to stop their work and attend.
The station had changed hands. Wong had to inform the management immediately. And knowing he might soon lose his position, he wanted to make arrangements for his team so their work wouldn't be affected. Most importantly, he wanted to ensure Rediffusion Television would develop into Hong Kong's top station—surpassing TVB and ATV.
As a lifelong television man, Wong had always dreamed of seeing Rediffusion become number one. Even if it didn't happen under his leadership, he would be satisfied if it happened under those he had trained.