Rebirth of Hong Kong Island, I, the rice class leader

Chapter 197 197: Charity dinner, a gentleman’s social event!
Busy is really busy!
In the past, when I was reading the newspaper, it said that the big bosses were either playing golf, having cocktail parties, or engaging in charity activities, and their companies seemed to be running automatically.

At that time, he thought it was a bit nonsense.

But when it happened to him, Gao Yao suddenly realized that this matter was not nonsense.

For example, Gao Yao already has a lot of things to do, including preparations for the tallest building, land acquisition and building construction in Tsim Sha Tsui and Sham Shui Po, power plants, public housing, and shipping that Kwong Guangming will build after joining...

Hey, it would be a lot bigger for an average person, which means that only a high-ranking official with a lot of space can handle it in an orderly manner, and he also has to participate in the reception outside.

For example, at today's anti-tuberculosis charity auction, Gao Yao couldn't go, and he went with Mrs. Jian.

Wives from upper class society generally act as social butterflies, and inevitably attend some charity banquets.

Logically speaking, Gao Yao should bring his wife here, but since Mrs. Jian was alone, he had to come alone.

"Dear Mr. Gao, the person hosting the banquet today is Mr. Ruttonji."

That's why Gao Yao had to come, because Ruttonji was the owner of the brewery.

Ruttonji was a Parsi Indian. After graduating from Victoria English School, he joined the family's Ruttonji and Sons wine shop, and later also became involved in real estate.

Ruttonji, who was engaged in the import trade of foreign wine, believed that the beer market on Hong Kong Island was profitable, so he had the idea of ​​investing in and building a factory on Hong Kong Island to brew his own beer very early.

An interesting point is that the Hong Kong Island Brewery Company was first established by merchants in North Point in 1904, followed by the Empire Brewery in Happy Valley in 1907, and the same year in Lai Chi Kok, Kowloon. Eastern Brewery.

However, the Hong Kong Island Brewery Company closed down before it started production, and the Imperial Brewery and Oriental Brewery also closed down after just a few years of operation, leaving the local market to continue to rely on imported beer.

After many discussions, Ruttonji finally established a brewery in 1930. Unfortunately, it was the time of the Great Depression of the global economy. In addition, the silver standard policy pursued by Hong Kong Island at that time caused the price of the Hong Kong dollar to remain high.

As a result, the price of beer imported from other places has dropped sharply, and the price can even be on par with local beer.As a result, local beer will certainly be difficult to compete with, which will deal a heavy blow to Ruttonji's business.

Later, there was another occupation, and the brewery was directly requisitioned by the Japanese. It was not until dawn that Ruttonji took back the brewery and opened it again.

Mrs. Jian already knew a little about Gao Yao. She knew that although this handsome boy had a side that was impatient and righteous, he also had a side that would not let go of the eagle when it sees the rabbit.
While introducing Ruttonji's situation to Gao Yao, he said: "Dear MR. Gao, if you want to win the brewery, you only need to take the right medicine for the anti-tuberculosis charity of Mr. Ruttonji."

"Anti-tuberculosis?"

There is no big data these days, where does the information come from?
Just like the village women in the countryside gossiping while washing clothes at the mouth of the creek, the upper class relies on various dances and salons to find out the situation of each family.

If Mrs. Jian hadn't been there, Gao Yao wouldn't have known the situation of these ghosts so easily.

Mrs. Jane sighed: "Poor Timi."

After the fall of Hong Kong Island, Ruttonji had been helping the Parsi and Indian communities on Hong Kong Island. He also secretly arranged with his son to smuggle food and daily supplies into the prison to help the imprisoned British soldiers and Indians. Other British and Canadian prisoners of war.

This made the Japanese government very suspicious of Ruttonji's family. At the same time, they were dissatisfied with Ruttonji and his son's refusal to call on the Parsi community in Hong Kong to cooperate with the government.

Later, the activities of Ruttonji and his son smuggling supplies into the prison were finally exposed by the gendarmerie, and the two were arrested and imprisoned.During this period, Ruttonji's second daughter Timme died of tuberculosis, which was a heavy blow to him.

"Since then, Mr. Ruttonji has been actively involved in public welfare undertakings, and he doesn't even pay much attention to business."

Gao Yao also sighed, I am afraid it will take a lifetime to eliminate the pain caused by the war.
"This is a gentleman of high moral character."

Ruttonji suffered a disaster because he helped his fellow tribesmen. Gao Yao admired him for this. When the country was in ruins and the family was in ruins, there were always some righteous men who did not ask for anything in return and stood up to save the tribesmen.

Mrs. Jane smiled slightly. She never hid her appreciation for Gao Yao.

"MR. Gao, you are also a gentleman of high moral character."

The car stopped at the Naval Hospital in Wan Chai. The hospital has closed for business. However, the Hong Kong government has not yet made plans. Some charity groups will hold some charity activities here.

The anti-tuberculosis charity was organized by Ruttonji in memory of his daughter. This is normal. No one will give love for no reason. There must always be some reason.

The weather is good today, and the event is held directly in the square. Pastries, drinks, and drinks are placed on the long tables on both sides.

In the middle are rows of stools.

There are quite a lot of people there, including Westerners, Asan, and Chinese.

Mrs. Jane held Gao Yao's arm: "Come on, Mr. Gao, let me introduce these gentlemen to you."

The first person she introduced was Ruttonji, who was nearly 70 years old. He wore round glasses and looked elegant.

"Hello, Mr. Ruttonji."

Gao Yao took the initiative to shake hands: "It's a great honor to come to this charity event."

"It is our honor to have Mr. Gao come here."

Ruttonji smiled: "Please transfer it as you like, the auction will be held later."

He is the host of this charity event, and since it is a charity period, it is naturally difficult for everyone to talk about business.

Ruttonji had a wide circle of friends, and those who came to support this auction were all real high-class people, such as the wife of the Commander of the British Forces in Hong Kong, the wife of the Governor of Hong Kong... Oh, and there was also Sandus and his wife.

Sandus looked at Mrs. Jian who was holding Gao Yao's arm. Mrs. Jian, who came from the Edwardian family, did not hide her love for Mr. Gao at all.

In fact, the Edward family belongs to the common people, but the younger brother who cannot stand up to Mrs. Jane is very much appreciated by Churchill. It is said that at the instruction of Mr. Churchill, Mr. Edward has resigned from the civil service and started preparing for a congressional campaign.

And based on the national conditions, I am afraid that Mr. Edward will be selected nine times out of ten. Oh, that is a noble congressman...

"Dear MR. Gao."

Sandus raised his glass: "I'm very happy to see you here. I think we will meet more on such occasions in the future."

Gao Yao smiled and said: "You have very keen senses, that's for sure."

The two of them smiled, and Sandus suddenly came closer and whispered: "Dear MR. Gao, are you here to participate in charity or do you have some other purpose?"

"Oh?"

Gao Yao smiled at Mrs. Jane beside him: "Dear Mrs. Jane, I'm afraid I have to go and have a chat with this gentleman."

Mrs. Jane pursed her lips and pulled away her hand.

Gao Yao motioned to Sandus to step aside: "Taipan, based on our relationship, I think it's better to get straight to the point."

The only relationship between Gao Yao and Sandus is the U.S. dollar.
After hearing this, Sandus looked to the northeast, where there was a white man: "Did you see that gentleman? Colonel Anders Suriano of San Miguel Beer, from Africa!"

One sentence was enough. Gao Yao shrugged: "Taipan, you have really sharp eyesight and can see through people's hearts."

Sandus whispered: "So you really had this idea."

It turned out that he was testing him just now.

Gao Yao didn't want to hide it at all. He smiled and said: "We in the East have a saying that if you have money but don't make money, the sky will strike like lightning."

Sundarshi sighed: "Oh God."

"Then it depends on how you, MR. Gao, can turn the tide."

He said: "If I were Ruttonji, I would definitely be more willing to sell the brewery to San Miguel. After all, he has experience."

Normally, this is true. Most businessmen like to sell their business to peers, because at least their business will continue.Who knows what would happen if it were sold to a novice?

"Nothing is certain."

Gao Yao said: "The most important thing is to see if there is such sincerity."

Sandus said humorously: "Now that the exchange rate has begun to stabilize, I think Colonel Anders Suriano must be very sincere."

Previously, local beer was not very competitive due to exchange rates, but that is no longer the case.

The current selling prices of HB beer produced by Hong Kong Island Brewery in ordinary shops and bars are HK$1.1 and HK$1.5 per pint respectively;

Imported beer brands such as Carlsberg are priced at HK$1.7 per pint in bars, making them relatively cheap.

This little bit of cheapness is enough for people to choose local beer, because it is not so easy to make money these days.

"Thank you."

Gao clicked his heart and suddenly asked: "If I take it, I think HSBC would be happy to provide me with a loan?"

At 6% interest, no fool would use bank money to develop.

Sandus thought carefully and then raised his cup: "If you really take it down, HSBC will be happy to help."

At present, there is only one brewery on Hong Kong Island. Due to the increase in population, Hong Kong Island's water supply has become a bit difficult, making it difficult to open a new brewery.

Why doesn’t a company that is almost a monopoly provide loans?

Gao Yao smiled and said: "Cheers to our friendship! Oh, by the way, dear senior classmate, remember to leave half a day for me tomorrow."

The two old foxes who had their own secrets broke up. Mrs. Jian asked Gao Yao: "Is there an accident?"

Gao Yao shook his head, looked at the place where the Chinese were staying together, and said to Mrs. Jian, "Excuse me."

Mrs. Jane followed his gaze and nodded slightly.

Many Chinese celebrities came to the banquet, but Gao Yao only recognized Zhou Xinian among them. He thought that this old boy really didn't miss any opportunity to show his face.

"Dr. Zhou, I didn't expect to meet you here. I'm so lucky, so lucky."

In fact, Zhou Xinian had paid attention to Gao Yao for a long time, and what he noticed more was that Jian Lifu's wife took the initiative to help Gao Yao greet various ghosts, which showed that the relationship between the two families was very good.

This is a little strange.

"Hahaha."

Zhou Xinian smiled heartily and said: "We are indeed destined, Mr. Gao, come here, let me introduce you."

"This is Mr. Gao Yaogao, a rising star who is famous all over Hong Kong."

"This is Yan Chengkun from Kowloon Bus."

Yan Chengkun's father, Ngan Wing-tsi, is a Chaozhou native. He originally worked as a coolie head (i.e. coolie leader) in the Wharf Company. Later, he worked as a coolie head at Jardine Sugar Factory and Tsim Sha Tsui Warehouse, and as a licensed rickshaw operator in Kowloon. Jelly's foreman;
In addition to being responsible for hiring people from places such as Chaozhou and Shantou to work in Hong Kong, he is also responsible for supervising the lives of these Gouli in Hong Kong and collecting fees from these Gouli.

Later, Gan Yongci set up his own business and ran a rickshaw business in Kowloon. Later, Gan Chengkun took over and was driven by him to transform and develop CMB.

Since Yan Chengkun was born in Hong Kong Island, people like Baifanyu and others did not accept him very much in their hearts, so they rarely mentioned it to Gao Yao.

"Hello."

Gao Yao smiled. He was a celebrity. He was the king of the Kingdom of China and Pakistan. His family owned license plates No. 12 and No. 3333. He was one of the representatives of the Chinese community at that time.

"Young people are promising, young people are promising."

"Baoyuan Trading Hu Zhaochi."

Oh, he's another celebrity, and later on he worked with his fourth uncle and others to develop real estate, but it was divided again later.

Then again, how could someone who can stand with Zhou Xi Nian be a minor character?

This group of people are generally around 40 years old, and their life experience, connections, and resumes have reached their peak. Gao Yao, a young man in his 20s, looks as bright as morning dew when he stands among them.

"I heard that Mr. Gao immigrated recently, congratulations."

A group of people are very enthusiastic, but there is nothing they can do about it. Although they are young, they are rich and famous, just like the newborn red sun. Sooner or later, this light will shine on the earth.

Gao Yao said with a smile: "There are a lot of people in the family, so I have to move to a bigger one to have a laugh."

Zhou Xinian exaggerated: "How can a house with more than 8 square feet be said to be bigger?"

Everyone smiled together. Mr. Gao was really extravagant to buy such a big house in Mid-Levels. It seemed like he would have spent at least several million more.

"Mr. Gao, your non-profit housing construction has greatly inspired us."

Zhou Xinian met Gao Yao several times and made an appointment to watch horse racing, so he took the initiative to strike up a conversation.
"We are also thinking about whether we should set up an association to serve the general public."

"That's a good thing."

Gao Yao handed over his hand: "With all of you taking the lead, I think more and more people will participate."

"That's just doing what you can."

Several people chatted and laughed: "Westerners don't do things, so we have to do things."

While he was talking, Ruttonji had already started to walk up to the podium. Everyone was watching with eyes, and they were all ready to return to their seats.

Gao Yao grabbed Zhou Xinian and asked in a low voice: "Dr. Zhou, I have something very personal to say, but I don't know if I should say it or not?"

"speak."

Is there anything else Zhou Xinian has on his mind that is personal?
Gao Yao asked solemnly: "I heard that Dr. Zhou's family has a good daughter. I wonder if she is married?"

Zhou Xinian was stunned. He looked at Gao Yao with a slightly strange look. Of course this was a virtuous son-in-law. The key point was how could a daughter of the Zhou family marry someone as a concubine?
Immediately he said vaguely: "Not really."

Gao Yao suddenly said happily: "I have a merciless request."

"I would like to ask Dr. Zhou to bring my daughter out on the day of the race. I am willing to be a matchmaker."

These words were abrupt enough. Zhou Xinian sighed in his heart, so he just said it. But then he thought about it, Gao Yao should be able to take the initiative to protect the matchmaker, and he should have a close relationship with him.

If you think about it this way...

Zhou Xinian said: "Mr. Gao means well, but I don't know if my daughter will be free that day."

"You know, people who have studied abroad always shout about freedom and independence."

He smiled: "I'll try my best."

(End of this chapter)