Chapter 144: Guojun School

"HSBC.

I've made some inquiries; Li Jiacheng took out a loan of 500 million from HSBC. The average share price at which he's been acquiring Hutchison Whampoa recently is 11 dollars. He's spent a total of 220 million, and it's estimated he has 280 million left.

If he wants to launch a full takeover, based on the current share price, he must borrow another 300 million from HSBC. Only then, conservatively estimated, can he reach the threshold for a full takeover."

Zhan Peizhong explained it in great detail. He even took a sheet of white paper and wrote and drew on the table, making it clear at a glance.

Chen Jiajun nodded while listening to Zhan Peizhong's account.

After hearing him out, Chen Jiajun pondered for a moment and said: "He took out a loan from HSBC and still wants to acquire the shares in our hands at a premium? What are the thoughts of those shareholders you previously courted?"

"For this period, I've been keeping them in suspense, but I'm afraid if I keep doing that, they'll lean toward Li Jiacheng's side. Boss, why don't we also acquire a portion of the shares to stabilize them?"

Zhan Peizhong replied.

Chen Jiajun nodded and said: "Go ahead and acquire them. If you can push the price down, do it, but don't be too stingy if you can't. Right now, your boss isn't short on money.

Also, leave Li Jiacheng hanging for now. He's passive, we're active. Even if we're going to sell the shares, we have to make him agree to our terms first."

The current Chen Jiajun was indeed not short on money. Although the monthly tribute hadn't been collected yet, the income from various aspects had already been tallied.

The Macau Hall naturally had the most abundant income; so far this month, it had already turned in 60 million.

As for the Wanchai Hall, the income from property fees and parking fees this month was also 60 million.

The Causeway Bay Branch's income for this month was 40 million.

Central only occupied a small piece of territory, but it still had an income of 10 million.

The income from A Jun's Arcade and Brother Jun's Arcade this month reached a full 100 million!

After splitting the shares for the two streets, Tongcai Street and Garden Street, Chen Jiajun's income didn't increase but decreased, yet it still reached 5 million.

The most exaggerated part was that there were a full ten thousand young demon slaves working on construction sites! Earning money for Big Brother!

This month, the brothers plucked wool from real estate developers like Heng Lung and earned nearly 100 million!

Plus the 100 million USD from the previous Central robbery case, which Chen Jiajun had also laundered during his time in Macau. Currently, Chen Jiajun had 1.3 billion in cash in his own accounts alone!

"Yes!"

"I understand!"

Seeing the boss looking like he wasn't short on money, Zhan Peizhong responded.

Chen Jiajun added a reminder: "By the way, be careful to control the water temperature; don't scare Li Jiacheng away!"

"Understood."

After Zhan Peizhong left, Chen Jiajun had the brothers drive him to Tuen Mun to complete something he had wanted to do for a while.

His full-time driver had now changed from Dumu to his newly accepted protégé, Menggui Tian.

Chen Jiajun decided to personally mentor this future underworld powerhouse who would hold the highest academic qualifications in Hong Kong.

As for Lu Jinqiang and the others, he had placed them in Tuen Mun Butterfly Bay for Banshou En to mentor.

Upon arriving in Tuen Mun, Chen Jiajun called the elder, Lu Hantao.

The group went to a plot of land near Tuen Mun.

Once they met, Lu Hantao looked at Chen Jiajun and couldn't help but marvel, "I heard that the territory in Macau is now basically under the control of Hongxing?"

"Just small-time stuff." Chen Jiajun smiled, his tone as humble as ever.

"A Jun, come, the plot of land you want is 1,000 mu. I thought about it and placed it here; it's very close to your factory, and a few hundred meters further is Tuen Mun."

Lu Hantao pointed to a large piece of open land in front of him and said, "This plot belongs to Lu Huangfa. Ma Zhiquan, the official in the New Territories, has already inquired at the Education Department. This land can indeed be used for educational purposes, but if you really want to build a school, you must equip it with a middle school, with courses from Form 1 to Form 7."

As Lu Hantao spoke, he observed Chen Jiajun's expression, and he immediately continued:

"How about it, A Jun, are you under any pressure? If you really run a school, we elders and uncles in the New Territories will support you.

Afa also told me that the price he gives others for this land is 30,000 per mu, but for you, he'll cut the price in half.

Not only that, we will also help you invite teachers over. But the premise is, is this school of yours actually legitimate?"

There weren't many decent middle schools in all of Tuen Mun, and the elders naturally understood the issue that one shouldn't skimp on education, no matter how poor things are.

But what they feared was that Chen Jiajun was only interested for three minutes, and that his purpose for running a school wasn't pure.

After all, education requires long-term and continuous investment, and how could Chen Jiajun, a Hongxing Dragon Head, have anything to do with education?

Besides, Chen Jiajun hadn't even finished middle school himself; did he understand education?

For the past few nights, Lu Hantao hadn't been able to sleep soundly, dreaming of this scene every night:

8:00 AM to 9:00 AM, 【Street Fighting】.

Ten-minute break.

9:10 AM to 10:10 AM, 【Show of Force】.

Ten-minute break.

10:20 AM to 11:00 AM, 【Negotiation】.

Lunch break.

1:30 PM to 2:10 PM, 【Drug Trafficking】.

Ten-minute break.

Just as he was letting his imagination run wild, Chen Jiajun patted his chest:

"Uncle Tao, don't worry about that. Since I'm sincerely here to run a school, it will be absolutely legitimate!"

"I'm prepared to invest 200 million to build the school's teaching buildings; these 200 million do not include the price of the school's land."

Holding 1.5 billion Hong Kong dollars, Chen Jiajun indicated he wasn't short on money and had to do it right the first time. Of course, the current enrollment scope only included primary and middle school; as for the university department, he would have to wait until he obtained approval from the Hong Kong Education Department in the future to establish and recruit.

But it wasn't a big problem; he would build it first and talk later.

The reason he wanted to build a school was, first, to prepare for "whitewashing" and build a good reputation,

and second, to further improve his relationship with the authorities and these people in Tuen Mun.

Thirdly, it is to let the gangsters go to school as well and learn something useful.

Chen Jiajun continued immediately:

"From now on, this school will be divided into a primary school division and a secondary school division, covering all curricula from primary to secondary school.

In addition, it will include an adult education department, which is mainly for the Hongxing boys to come and attend classes."

"For any students coming from the New Territories to attend school, I will waive the tuition fees. If they come from poor families and live far away, I will waive their room and board."

"Every year, the school will evaluate the students. For those with good grades or outstanding projects, we will provide scholarships. When they reach university, we will not sit idly by if they cannot afford tuition."

"Furthermore, if parents are dissatisfied with the teachers, we will do everything possible to hire others from elsewhere, and I will also ask for your help."

Doing education—this is the key step for Hongxing, or rather, for him to wash his reputation clean, and it is also the key step for Chen Jiajun to establish his persona!

Chen Jiajun did not think about how much money he could make from the school.

Even if his school could accommodate ten thousand students, based on current levels, the annual tuition fees would only be a few tens of millions. A few tens of millions is not even as much as the monthly income of one Hongxing branch in Macau.

Therefore, rather than that, it is better to waive tuition fees. Not only will he waive tuition, but for those who excel in studies or sports, Chen Jiajun also plans to distribute scholarships every year and set up an education fund for them to attend university.

……

Upon hearing this, Lu Hantao hesitated a bit. Waiving tuition fees, and even waiving room and board for those who live far away?

Aren't you just doing charity?

And you want to offer university courses too?

Aren't you afraid of taking too big a step and tearing your crotch?

He asked again: "Are you not joking?"

Chen Jiajun was puzzled: "Do I look like someone who came here to mess with you?"

"Yes!"

"Not only do you look like it, but you look very much like it!"

Lu Hantao nodded like a pestle pounding garlic, his expression sincere.

Chen Jiajun was amused to the point of anger: "Then I will hire you and Fa Shu to be the School Managers of my school. The school will be right under your noses every day; that should be fine, right?"

Upon hearing this, the credibility in Lu Hantao's heart increased by a few points: "A Jun, it's not that we don't trust you. But you also know that you are the Hongxing Dragon Head.

What if, in the future, the students in Tuen Mun all go out with you Hongxing people to show off their strength and fight?"

"Fine!"

"It seems I have to go find a plot of land elsewhere for this."

Chen Jiajun heard this and realized that the elders in the New Territories were skeptical about this matter because of his background! He turned to leave.

Seeing this, Lu Hantao even dropped his cane and hurriedly grabbed Chen Jiajun: "No, no, no! A Jun, it's not that we don't trust you. How about this! We will designate the School Managers. If you really want to run a school, we will support you with both hands and feet!"

"As for who the principal is, don't find me someone unreliable. Besides, I have already found the teachers for my school," Chen Jiajun asked.

Lu Hantao said: "Mr. Rong Qidong, OBE, a famous educator in Hong Kong."

"In addition, for the groundbreaking ceremony of your school, we plan to invite celebrities from the Hong Kong business community, celebrities from the education sector, and Legislator Sir Chung Sze-yuen to attend."

The first proper school in Tuen Mun, New Territories—the elders expressed that it must be done in a grand manner, it must be a Daqingfeng!

"Let's do it that way! As for the groundbreaking ceremony or whatever, it's just going through the motions."

Chen Jiajun nodded and agreed immediately.

……

That afternoon.

Chen Jiajun and Lu Huangfa completed the transaction, and this one thousand mu of land officially fell under Chen Jiajun's name.

Just one day later, the elders had already handled all the procedures before the groundbreaking ceremony.

At the same time, they also selected an auspicious date for the groundbreaking ceremony.

It's just that this date was still a week away.

Chen Jiajun couldn't wait and immediately said: "Let's choose tomorrow for this date. I say tomorrow is a good day, so it is a good day. Time waits for no one!"

The two old men, Lu Hantao and Lu Huangfa, were so angry that they blew their beards and stared.

So the next day.

Hong Kong educator Rong Qidong, Hong Kong Non-official Member Chung Sze-yuen, Hong Kong business celebrity Gordon Wu, Hong Kong Hang Seng Bank Executive Director Sir Lin Guowei, and England's Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Youde attended the school's groundbreaking ceremony.

Television stations like TVB and Asia Television also recorded and broadcasted the event on-site.

But when everyone arrived at the open space, there was absolutely no sign of any construction!

Where were the excavators, mixers, and pile drivers?

Where were the cement, stone materials, and workers?

Could it be that Chen Jiajun was messing with people?

Just as the Gweilo Youde, educator Rong Qidong, Legislator Chung Sze-yuen, business tycoon Gordon Wu, and banker Lin Guowei were puzzled and looking around.

Chen Jiajun grinned, called over Ya Qi, and spent a large sum of money to buy a Capsule from his Dragon Ball world.

Once this Capsule is opened, it will generate a school in a short time.

The Capsule was tossed casually, and countless heavy trucks drove onto Tuen Mun Highway. Hundreds of massive excavators drove down, and they acted quickly to level the land.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

I don't know where the heavy soil compaction machinery came from, but it frantically pounded the ground, leveling the land once more.

Then, heavy trucks transported the cement slabs that had been prepared long ago.

The laborers quickly spread a layer of cement on the ground.

"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"

One by one, the cement stone slabs were lifted by the excavators, moved over, and pressed onto the cement.

In the blink of an eye, the cement stone pillars, foundations, and other structures were being built at a speed visible to the naked eye.

This was the commotion the system had stirred up for the sake of rationalization.

Only now did the big shots snap out of their daze.

Gweilo Youde faced the cameras with a beaming smile and said enthusiastically, "Today, I solemnly announce here."

"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"

Amidst the noisy background, Youde couldn't help but shout at the top of his lungs, "Guojun School! Officially! Begins construction!"

He held another position as the Chairman of the Hong Kong Post-Secondary and Industrial Education Committee, vigorously pushing for the development of higher education in Hong Kong.

At present, Hong Kong only had two recognized universities, Hong Kong University and Hong Kong Chinese University, while post-secondary colleges were limited to Shuren College, Baptist College, and a few others, which could be described as very few.

In all of Hong Kong, only 2% of high school graduates currently enjoyed the opportunity to receive higher education locally.

Therefore, Gweilo Youde placed special importance on the educational development of Hong Kong.

The commotion happening here in Tuen Mun soon spread like a gust of wind throughout all of Hong Kong, and everyone knew that the public-spirited citizen Mr. Chen had invested in building a school with a public welfare and charitable nature.

Dongxing Dragon Head Luotuo couldn't hold it together, Xinji Dragon Head Si Yanlong was dumbfounded, and He Liansheng's Deng Bo was scared witless...

There were hundreds of thousands of young adults in the New Territories, and since Hongxing's Dalao Jun was building a school here, he must be harboring ulterior motives.

Perhaps it was to recruit the young adults of the New Territories to join Hongxing, and on top of that, Dalao Jun was very close with the Lu family of the New Territories.

By then, I'm afraid that within just a few short years, the scale of Hongxing's membership could surpass that of Xinji.

There was also talk in the newspapers recently that Dalao Jun intended to acquire Hutchison Whampoa.

Hutchison—these two words were very thought-provoking!

For a time, all the various triads and societies in Hong Kong were somewhat restless.

(End of this chapter)