He arrived with a gift before the agreed time.

The motorcycle was still at the shop, already paid for. Yin Zhe could pick it up later. Chen Linzhi had given the shop extra tips to ensure good service and had instructed them not to refuse a refund if Yin Zhe wanted one.

Yin Zhe's family now lived in Yau Tsim Mong, a few minutes away from Victoria Harbour.

The apartment building wasn't new, but it wasn't old either—a little over a decade old, located in a bustling downtown area.

Hong Kong had been developing for years. New and old buildings stood side by side, perhaps due to a lack of unified planning, allowing developers to do as they pleased. It was lively, but ultimately a bit chaotic, especially since Chen Linzhi increasingly preferred quiet. He found it difficult to adjust to crowded places.

Thinking of Yin Zhe, their previous encounters hadn't been smooth. They had little in common, and conversations always felt strained. Several years had passed in the blink of an eye, and Yin Zhe was still working at the United Trading Company. Considering he lacked both education and resources, venturing out on his own would indeed be difficult.

Chen Linzhi wasn't married, but Yin Zhe was. He'd had a child last year. Chen Linzhi hadn't come to congratulate him then, but he'd sent Yin Zhe 50,000 Hong Kong dollars. This time, he brought a longevity lock as a belated gift.

The scenery on the Peak was beautiful, but it lacked warmth.

When he arrived at Yin Zhe's home, he saw his entire family, including his in-laws, happily cooking and chatting. He could tell that Yin Zhe was doing quite well.

Yin Zhe's in-laws pulled Chen Linzhi aside and chatted with him about stocks and real estate. This gave him the strange feeling of watching a Hong Kong drama—they were so familiar and enthusiastic.

Ordinary people only had access to so much information. Chen Linzhi didn't mind offering a few pointers. He was quite familiar with several companies in Hong Kong and wouldn't lead them into a trap. It was just doing a favor.

He was more interested in the chubby toddler who could already walk.

Since he didn't have any children of his own, he found these small creatures rather fascinating. But more than wanting a child, he felt apprehensive and melancholic.

Chen Linzhi lived a carefree life now. With children came worries about their appearance, intelligence, and temperament. It wouldn't matter if they were ordinary, but if they were ungrateful or spendthrifts, it would be better not to have them at all, to save himself the trouble.

At home, the nannies and butlers rarely appeared before Chen Linzhi, and they never spoke loudly. He couldn't hear any noise outside the windows.

It was different now. The voices of Yin Zhe and others, the cries of children, and the soothing voices of adults mixed together in the hundred-square-meter apartment. Upstairs, some strange neighbors were constantly jumping around.

While he felt slightly annoyed, Chen Linzhi thought that if he hadn't had that accident, that stroke of luck that had brought him to where he was today, his daily life would probably be the same. He might even be envious of Hong Kong residents like Yin Zhe, who owned a "thousand-foot mansion" (a large apartment) and earned a high salary with generous benefits.

From this perspective, a life without warmth didn't seem so bad. At least Chen Linzhi preferred his current life to the daily life Yin Zhe had.

…

Fish maw chicken soup, steamed crab, and high-quality beef showed that Yin Zhe's family had put a lot of thought into preparing this meal.

After the meal, Chen Linzhi and Yin Zhe went out to the balcony for a smoke. From the fifteenth floor, they could see many low, old buildings in the distance. The streets were too narrow, and cars were stuck in traffic. They hadn't moved an inch in minutes and kept honking their horns as if that would clear the way.

After talking about Hong Kong celebrities, Chen Linzhi suddenly said, "It's a bit noisy, and the apartment is too small for your family. I'll advance you some salary from the company so you can get a bigger place. The appreciation potential is pretty good, so it's hard to lose money."

"I haven't finished paying off the mortgage on this place yet, and I can't afford a bigger house. I know you've become a big shot, but I can't accept something for nothing. You've already helped me a lot. I was planning to buy a shop to rent out," Yin Zhe said with a smile.

Housing prices were rising, and in this era before online shopping, shop prices would likely rise as well. Chen Linzhi smiled, didn't interfere, and nodded, "Okay, I'll go to the company tomorrow and see if I can find a suitable position for you, and try to get you a promotion and a raise. The Hong Kong branch might have some big changes coming up, and some positions might open up. This company will become increasingly important, and might even surpass my United Capital Group. If you study hard and work hard, you have a very promising future."

Yin Zhe listened and asked curiously, "What kind of big changes? Is someone quitting or getting laid off?"

"Neither. I have some new projects that I might put in Hong Kong and the neighboring Casino, 1997, and I'll need to assemble a new management team. Your side will continue to be responsible for investments in the mainland, so there won't be much change. I also want to build a semiconductor research and development center, and a low-barrier stock exchange similar to Nasdaq. If necessary, we can also try an energy futures exchange. I heard that the British have been trying to carve up Hong Kong, taking away funds, technology, talent, and factories. I'll step in when they leave. These are all meaningful new businesses. I might even start one or two private universities, like Caltech and MIT."

Smoking a strangely flavored Montblanc, Chen Linzhi only inhaled but didn't let the smoke reach his lungs. He quickly couldn't stand it and put out the cigarette.

He was planning to build a dam to block the external wolves while trying to help the mainland keep some good things, such as the rare earth elements that were being bought up in large quantities at dirt-cheap prices, and the talented people who were rushing abroad. His goal was ten years from now, which seemed nonsensical at the moment.

It wasn't that he was trying to be a good person. Chen Linzhi believed that he already had the ability to accomplish many things, and they were all in his best interests. He was just temporarily transferring industries that should have been located in the United States, Japan, and Europe to Hong Kong and Casino, 1997, which were more closely connected to the international market. It was a strategy that allowed him to advance or retreat as needed.

Once he had reaped the benefits of this economic cycle, he could completely shift the focus of his assets to Asia. It was a bet on the country's future. The only things that the United States had that he valued were technology and finance, and the number of eggs in his basket would change.

Yin Zhe could only see the small plot of land in front of him and didn't have access to Chen Linzhi's level of thinking. He immediately breathed a sigh of relief and simply replied, "That's good. The company's executives have been taking good care of me. I thought someone had messed up on the business side. Your business is getting bigger and bigger. You even want to invest in a stock exchange. Isn't that directly competing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange?"

Chen Linzhi smiled and said, "That's why I'll probably put the exchange in Casino, 1997. The positioning is different. It'll mainly be responsible for attracting some small Asian tech companies to list with me, and it'll also attract mainland companies, making it easier for them to raise funds. I'm aiming to create a financial port…"