Chapter 253 Working together
Fang Hexuan met many familiar faces at the cocktail party, some were old friends, some were casual acquaintances, and some were just passing acquaintances.

After chatting with Li Fook-shiu, he went to greet Murray MacLehose. After all, he was the protagonist of the day.

"With the departure of His Excellency the Governor, Hong Kong people feel empty inside. This is a feeling of gratitude that we have never felt before!"

Even though the other party had indeed made contributions to Hong Kong Island, Fang Hexuan still suppressed the urge to vomit and flattered him.

"Haha, Mr. Fang, you are too kind. I have been ordered to come to Hong Kong to manage affairs for more than ten years, and I have finally lived up to the city of Hong Kong."

Murray MacLehose was leaving tomorrow, and tonight he was no longer as cautious as before, revealing some of his true character.

"Your Excellency, Governor of Hong Kong, I bought a stake in Lafite last year. Baron Rothschild told me in a telegram that this year is the most suitable year for making French red wine. After you return to London, you will only need to wait three or four months before you can receive the fine wine I sent you."

"If you think it's good, please recommend it to the nobles of the British country. Thank you in advance."

Fang Hexuan's words seemed to indicate that he wanted to ask for help from MacLehose, but in fact, he was also giving the other party a gift in disguise.

But considering the friendship between the two men over the past four years, it was difficult for MacLehose to refuse such a gift.

After all, this kind of seasonal red wine is not expensive, and it is considered a normal form of social interaction and is usually tacitly accepted.

MacLehose did not refuse, but he could not help but express some gratitude.

So, he lowered his head and said a few words to Fang Hexuan as a return gift.

Fang Hexuan didn't think of inquiring about the next Governor of Hong Kong. He just wanted to maintain his relationship with Murray MacLehose by sending him red wine.

After all, the other party was promoted after returning to London, and Fang Hexuan needed connections and influence.

Yes, MacLehose did talk to him about the future Governor of Hong Kong, Youde, mainly about his personal character.

But as a veteran politician, he would never reveal any integrity secrets to outsiders, even if the other party is the richest man in Hong Kong.

After visiting the host, Fang Hexuan found his own circle of friends - Ningbo Hometown Association.

When everyone saw him coming, they greeted him.

Wu Guangzheng, the son-in-law of the charter king, asked with some envy:

"Ah Xuan, which unlucky guy have you targeted recently?"

Fang Hexuan was quite close to the family of the charter boat king and addressed his four daughters and sons-in-law by their first names.

Therefore, he did not feel uncomfortable at all with this seemingly joking question.

Looking at the expressions of his elders and peers who were burning with gossip, he spread his hands and said helplessly:
"I saw that the Xialilila family had been in trouble recently, so I took the initiative to help them reduce their burden, so I acquired the Golden Mile Holiday Inn and the Empire Hotel."

Wu Guangzheng rolled his eyes at this, but the most influential charter king took the initiative to show concern:

"Are you having trouble finishing it up?"

"Thank you, Uncle Bao. Don't worry, everything has been handled cleanly."

Fang Hexuan certainly knew what the charter king really wanted to ask. Although he had not discussed it with any of his friends, given their influence in the Hong Kong business community, it was not difficult for them to know that Fang Hexuan had used some shady tactics in the acquisition process.

The charter king once advised Fang Hexuan not to be too impatient and to use fewer dishonorable means, but Fang Hexuan did not really listen to much except for being grateful.

This year, the number of gatherings of the Ningbo Association has obviously decreased. It is not because the relationship has become estranged, but because many people often go to the mainland to investigate the market, and everyone is much busier than in previous years.

So, taking advantage of this cocktail party, we talked about each other's recent situation, shared some industry views or secret information, etc.

Fang Hexuan talked with Run Run Shaw and Mona Fong about the cooperation issues of Tseung Kwan O Film and Television City, talked with electronics tycoon Shao Yanzhong about the procurement of electronic components for BYD cars, and communicated with Ye Gengnian of Xinchang Group about the progress of multiple engineering construction projects under its cooperation.

On the morning of May 5, MacLehose officially stepped down as Governor of Hong Kong. When he arrived at Kai Tak Airport in a special car, he was surprised by the large number of Hong Kong citizens holding banners outside Airport Road.

Probably at least several thousand people rushed to the airport to see him off, which was an unprecedented treatment since the founding of Hong Kong.

Celebrities from all walks of life, such as Fang Hexuan, also came to the scene to see MacLehose off today. When it was his turn to shake hands with the other party, MacLehose first hugged him, then shook his hand and smiled:
"Mr. Fang, I'm waiting for you to bring me Lafite."

Fang Hexuan nodded solemnly, then watched the other party board the plane and then take off into the air.

Witnessing the end of an era with his own eyes, Fang Hexuan felt quite emotional, but then he thought that the next era to come was destined to be turbulent and noisy.

In the afternoon, Fang Hexuan boarded a medium-sized yacht at the Shun Tak Centre Pier and left the port for the open sea.

The day before yesterday at the farewell reception for MacLehose, he met Chen Songqing.

After not seeing each other for more than two months, he obviously looks much older.

If you look closely, you can see a lot of short-cut white hair underneath his dyed black hair.

Chen Songqing is only 47 years old this year. Since the showdown with Fang Hexuan on February 2, he has been in panic and often has nightmares at night.

The local market and the property market have been slowly declining since August last year. The real estate business, which is the main business of the Jianing Group, has suffered a considerable blow, and it is about to affect the performance of the listed company Jianing Investment (formerly known as Mei-Han Enterprise).

Although affected by the deterioration of the overall economic situation, the current share price of Jianing Investments is only HK$2.94 per share.

But once this listed company that pumps water for Chen Songqing's Jianing Group stops paying dividends, that would be a fatal moment.

Fang Hexuan had clearly warned him last time that with the successive collapse of the stock market, local market and real estate market, the only way out for the Jianing Group was bankruptcy.

At that time, he still held out hope, but by May, all his hopes were shattered one by one.

What he learned was that since the beginning of this year, Hong Kong's real estate markets have generally fallen by 40%-60%.

The biggest drops were in industrial land and high-end residential land. For example, industrial land in Kowloon Bay fell from HK$1980 per square foot in December 12 to HK$360 per square foot today.

The price of high-end residential land in the South Bay Road area of ​​Hong Kong Island has fallen from HK$1980 per square foot in September 9 to HK$1502 per square foot today.

Affected by local cities, housing prices and rents in the real estate market also fell sharply, generally reaching a drop of 30%-40%.

For example, the price of residential buildings in North Point has fallen from HK$1981 per square foot in December 12 to HK$1067 per square foot today.

Chen Songqing is terrified when he sees the industry data that keeps falling every day.

In addition, with MacLehose's resignation, the future integrity of Hong Kong was unclear. He could no longer hold on and decided to cooperate with Fang Hexuan.

　Thanks to book friend 20230318044509636 for the recommendation vote!

(End of this chapter)