Chapter 33 - Backed by the Motherland, Unmatched Confidence!

Chapter 33 Backed by the Motherland, Unmatched Confidence!

It was already past eleven o’clock at night. When James and Shirley arrived at Lei Luo’s home, he was still awake.

After undergoing physical enhancement, Lei Luo had discovered that his energy levels were astonishingly high. Every aspect of his physical condition was on par with, if not better than, professional athletes.

The body that had once been weakened before his memories awakened had now fully recovered. His overall aura and appearance had also improved significantly.

The three of them sat in Lei Luo’s living room as James and Shirley recounted the current situation. The most anxious of them all was James. For Shirley, she already possessed enough wealth to live a life of luxury for the rest of her days.

This collaboration was just a whim for her — if it worked, great. If not, she wouldn’t push it. But for James, things were different. He had come to Hong Kong Island to build his record. Beyond just career achievements, he was also after wealth.

Before returning to Britain, he needed to accumulate enough power and fortune for himself. If he could seize the opportunity in the Walled City, it would greatly accelerate his progress — something he could not afford to miss.

“Luo, what exactly should we do now?”

“Siman has already done everything he can. We can’t expect him to contribute any further,” James said passionately, practically spitting as he spoke.

Shirley, meanwhile, sat calmly with a faint smile, resting her chin on one hand and toying with a wine glass in the other.

Across from her, Lei Luo was equally composed, as if nothing in the world could unsettle him. This only made Shirley even more curious. She had only met Lei Luo twice, yet found that he was completely different from what the rumors suggested.

In others’ descriptions, Lei Luo was like a vicious dog — at best, a hyena. But in person, he was a lion. Usually, the lion lay there lazily, unmoving. But the moment it raised its head — it exuded overwhelming dominance.

Women were always drawn to strength. Even in the U.S., Shirley had met many outstanding young men. But none of them gave her the same impression as Lei Luo.

After listening to James, Lei Luo lowered his gaze slightly and pondered for a moment. He had anticipated that there would be resistance to the development of the Walled City.

In the original timeline, the Walled City wasn’t demolished until the 1980s. And even then, it was through forced demolition, with the British Hong Kong government using unprecedented strong-arm tactics.

It had proven that without force, the Walled City could never be redeveloped. Therefore, he had leveraged the power of the triads to bring the Walled City to its current situation.

Now that the upper echelons of the colonial government and the business sector saw an opportunity and were joining forces to block it, it had indeed caused major problems. Real estate companies refused to get involved. Banks denied financial services.

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This meant they would have to handle everything on their own.

In the past, Lei Luo might have been helpless—after all, he wasn’t Superman. But now, he had [Prosper Together with the Nation], and all his plans were based on this advantage.

The [Rapid Construction Card] had solved the issues of design and construction—all he needed was manpower. He just had to bring people in.

A professional team was required in the early phase. If Hong Kong Island wouldn’t provide one, he’d recruit from abroad. Once the first phase of the project was completed, this team could be “converted” into a skilled local workforce.

If the triads on Hong Kong Island could gather enough people for him, great. If not—then he’d “recruit” from the mainland!

The problem was that British forces were stationed at the border, and even tunneling would be difficult to conceal. As for smuggling people by sea—once the numbers increased, the risk would skyrocket.

Unless there was no other option, Lei Luo wouldn’t choose that route. The financial aspect, however, required careful planning.

“We don’t need to worry about design or construction. We’re short on everything except manpower,”

“As for funding, I’ll start by providing 100 million.”

“But that means the trading company’s operations will have to be suspended for now.”

Lei Luo looked at James as he said this, and James couldn’t help but twitch at the corner of his mouth. He had just bought into the trading company, and before he could make any money, this juicy Kowloon Walled City opportunity appeared.

Both were things he valued dearly—letting go of either would hurt.

After thinking it through, James gritted his teeth and said, “No need to suspend it. I’ll talk to my mother—we’ll do delivery first, payment later.”

“We’ll just pay it back after we make a profit—installments are fine too.”

Hearing this, Lei Luo’s lips curved into a smile.

That’s exactly what I was waiting for.

He turned to look at Shirley beside him and saw that this mixed-race beauty was also smiling at him, her eyes curved like crescent moons. Clearly, her sharp mind had already seen through Lei Luo’s calculations. But even though she was closer to James, she hadn’t warned him.

“I can contribute 100 million as well. Others can add up to around 50 million.”

“That gives us a total of 250 million. The first phase won’t be a problem at all.”

Shirley said it lightly, and Lei Luo immediately labeled her in his mind as a little rich lady.

“The issue is what to do about the next two phases.”

“The Walled City doesn’t fall under British Hong Kong jurisdiction—there’s no cost for the land—but we’ve already paid 50 million for the surrounding area.”

The remaining 200 million was more than enough for Phase One, but Phases Two and Three would be a bit tight.

On top of that, interference from the “Three Secretaries” (senior government officials) could result in unexpected additional costs.

The government secretaries were colluding with businessmen, just waiting for them to collapse—so they could swoop in and steal the fruit of their labor.

“For the rest of the funding—we’ll earn it through business.”

“What business? How?”

“We earn it with the mainland.”

Lei Luo said this with a smile as he lifted his wine glass. Across from him, James and Shirley both furrowed their brows. Even though Britain had been one of the first to recognize China diplomatically, it still treated the mainland with caution.

James frowned for political reasons. Shirley frowned because she couldn’t see how a struggling country like China could offer any profitable ventures.

“Miss Shirley, your company in Southeast Asia must have close ties with local grain merchants, right?”

“You want to sell grain? But can China even afford to buy it right now?”

“I’m not sure—but I know someone who’ll have the answer.”

“Who?”

“Sir Robert Hotung.”

The last line didn’t come from Lei Luo, but from James. Known for his support of the mainland, Sir Robert Hotung had an official status even among the upper levels of the colonial government.

While others among the top five tycoons were doing business with the mainland, none were as direct as Hotung. But if they chose to collaborate with Hotung, it could attract suspicion from the higher-ups in the government. And for James’s political career, that could be a real risk.

“You don’t need to get involved. I’ll handle it myself.”

Naturally, Lei Luo took on the task—he couldn’t make things difficult for his partners. The pharmaceutical business would continue, and if they added grain supplies too…

This time, national prosperity would definitely break past the 60-point mark!

With the resulting kickbacks and rewards, Lei Luo was confident he could handle the entire Walled City project. No one knew that the true power behind Lei Luo…

Was the great Eastern nation.Backed by the motherland—he moved with unstoppable dominance!

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