They chatted for a while.

So Yiu-Hao personally saw John Chow and the others into the car.

Tomorrow was the first day of the Lunar New Year, and he really wasn't in the mood to entertain these people. He simply asked the Hi Garden Hotel to arrange a tour guide to take the foreigners around and sample some authentic Chinese food.

Although he didn't plan to compete with Microsoft and looked down on the businesses spun off from AOL, this incident did remind So Yiu-Hao of something.

The environment in Silicon Valley wasn't good at the moment.

This not only created development opportunities for him, but also an opportunity for other companies.

Under So Yiu-Hao's instructions, Yanwenzi Group and Google, among others, had been cutting costs and reducing various expenditures in recent years. This approach might allow other companies to catch up.

Doing business isn't like financial investment. Besides considering costs and profits, one must also think about how to maintain a leading market share, sufficient talent reserves, and so on. There's no need to miss valuable development opportunities for fear that excessive losses will affect short-term stock prices.

Having thought of this, So Yiu-Hao immediately corrected his thinking.

He decided to appropriately increase company spending and implement a new round of talent recruitment. As for acquisitions and financing, if he came across a good company, he could consider it in advance to consolidate Yanwenzi Group's dominant market position.

The same was true for Google. While Yahoo was in decline, they should increase investment to seize the market, even if it meant spending all their money and launching a new round of financing ahead of schedule.

As long as these companies could grow smoothly, reducing some shares was still worthwhile, far better than being petty and ending up with nothing.

……

So Yiu-Hao finished packing up.

First, he went to the Peak, Barker Road, to visit Nong Qingying and his precious son.

After lunch, he rushed to Central, picked up the Little Niangzi and Jiang Yu, and went to the Tong family's old house to play mahjong with his mother and aunt.

Companies in the mainland had already closed for the holiday, but due to historical factors, Hong Kong didn't pay as much attention to the Lunar New Year. People went to work and school as usual on New Year's Eve. If it weren't for the lanterns and Spring Festival couplets, you wouldn't feel much of a festive atmosphere anywhere else.

The women in the family played mahjong.

Grandpa Tong called So Yiu-Hao to the kitchen for a private chat, and said to him with a smile, "Try this bowl of Perfect Tonic Soup. Your grandpa, I'm still full of energy at this age thanks to this secret recipe that an old Chinese doctor sold me back then. It cost me twenty thousand dollars, which was even more worthwhile than buying a shop."

"A strong medicinal smell. Do I need this stuff?"

So Yiu-Hao put on a brave face, picked up a spoon, tasted it, and found that it didn't taste strange. Without saying a word, he gulped down the bowl and signaled the nanny to bring another, making an excuse that he was thirsty.

His grandpa continued,

"Alas, this year's spring auction is about to begin again. At my age, each one is one less. I know you've expanded your business and need money, but buying one or two exquisite pieces as family heirlooms shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"No need to beat around the bush. Just say what you've got your eye on again?"

"Straightforward. The thing I'm eyeing isn't expensive, just a bronze artifact. But the problem is that it's in a museum in the United States. I don't have your connections to reach over there."

Hearing his grandpa's words, So Yiu-Hao felt that the Perfect Tonic Soup in his hand wasn't so fragrant anymore.

The reason why antique artifacts on the market can often sell for sky-high prices is that museums generally only buy and don't sell, which stabilizes the supply and demand relationship of the market.

Wanting to directly buy exhibits from a museum, it can't be said that there's no hope at all, but the hope is indeed slim.

He wiped his mouth and asked the old man, "Direct purchase is a bit troublesome. If I owned a museum, it would be easier to exchange with them. What kind of bronze artifact is making you so obsessed? You admired the Min Fang Lei for a long time last time, haven't you had enough?"

Grandpa Tong nodded decisively,

"This time is different. When I saw it in a magazine, I felt it was extraordinary. Zi Zha Nong Bird Zun, have you heard of it? It's estimated to have been produced two thousand five hundred years ago. Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty played with it, applying a layer of wax, so it appears black, exquisitely crafted like a sculpted work of art. There is also a late Shang Dynasty bronze sheep gong in the Fujita Art Museum in Japan. If you can find a way to buy these two pieces back, I promise I won't bother you for the next few years."

This matter was troublesome, but also simple.

After all, the items were there, which was much easier than looking for the Imperial Jade Seal or the Ten Famous Swords.

So Yiu-Hao said helplessly, "That's not how you should put it... It's my honor that Grandpa, you asked me for help. How dare I mention the word 'bother.' I don't even know how to pronounce the name. Give me the information, and I'll ask people about it."

Grandpa Tong, who couldn't help but smile, added, "As expected, my eldest grandson is the most filial. I didn't dote on you for nothing since you were little. The bronze sheep gong is easier. My friend said that Japanese museums are short of money and can't wait to sell their things to raise funds. They can't even pay their employees' salaries."

"What about that bird thing? Which museum in the United States is it in?"

"The Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The difficulty lies in the fact that this art gallery is officially owned by the United States. If you were to exchange it for Van Gogh or Monet paintings, I estimate I could get a pile of them. How can the works of painters from more than a hundred years ago compare with the treasures of our ancestors, don't you think? I've been feeling that animal-shaped bronzes are especially appealing lately."

"……"

So Yiu-Hao didn't dare to follow up on that.

Many foreign museums collect tens of thousands of domestic artifacts, and the number is too large. If they were all exchanged and purchased like this, draining him dry would only be a drop in the bucket.

Regarding this, So Yiu-Hao clicked his tongue and said,

"I have to say, Grandpa, your hobby... is a bit expensive. I see people playing mahjong, walking birds, practicing Tai Chi, and living a fulfilling life every day. I also know that those are good things, but next time, let's go to the auction house and see if there's anything. If you take a fancy to something in the British Museum or the Louvre, I won't be able to help you."

His goal had been achieved, and Grandpa Tong was still in a good mood, replying, "Don't worry, try your best. If it really doesn't work, then forget it. I saw that Miss Nangong and Miss Jiang are here. What about your son?"

"I just saw him this morning. It seems that he's accompanying Qingying's parents shopping. She'll bring the child over for dinner tonight."

So Yiu-Hao had nothing to do, so he asked his grandpa, "My mother and the others are playing mahjong. Should I accompany you out for a stroll?"

"It's so cold, what's there to stroll around for?"

After considering it, Grandpa Tong suggested, "Come with me to my friend's house? You know his granddaughter, the Miss Zhao."

"......Zhao Yimeng's grandpa?"

After thinking for a moment.

So Yiu-Hao realized that he knew nothing about Zhao Yimeng's mother's family.

He was bored anyway, so he accompanied the old man in the car, and they didn't stop until they reached Repulse Bay.

The reputation of Repulse Bay is far more famous in the mainland than Barker Road and Big Wave Bay. The scenery nearby is indeed quite good, similar to Big Wave Bay, both with excellent sea views...