Chapter 120: Visit to Hang Seng Bank
Bai Yujie nodded slightly and said, "Society is the greatest school?"
"More or less," Yang Wendong agreed.
School was more like a greenhouse. It was only after entering society that one would realize how comfortable school life really was. Still, for those with ability and self-discipline, the lessons learned in the real world far exceeded anything taught in a classroom.
After finishing lunch, Bai Yujie led Yang Wendong on a walk along a small path outside. Along the way, they passed a few familiar faces. These girls glanced at Yang Wendong curiously, clearly wondering who this person was, but no one came over to ask.
This era in Hong Kong was still a transitional period between the old world and the new. Even in relatively open environments like universities, many girls were still shy about speaking freely with strangers.
After a few minutes of walking, Bai Yujie suddenly asked, "Mr. Yang, I know the method for solving the Rubik's Cube must be a trade secret. I don't want to know how it works, but since you guys already have the solution, you must understand it pretty well.
Can you tell me—how long would it take the average person to figure it out through their own research?"
Yang Wendong responded with a question of his own, "Why do you want to know that? Planning to devote your energy to solving it yourself? All for the sake of that 10,000 HKD reward?"
"The reward is very tempting," Bai Yujie admitted with a slight smile. "It's not just me—my family runs a business too, and they're interested as well. You already know about my sister. Like I mentioned earlier, she's become kind of obsessed with the Rubik's Cube. She's been researching it constantly."
As she spoke, she took a Rubik's Cube out of her bag and held it up, showing one fully red face. "This is the one side she managed to solve earlier."
Yang Wendong gave it a quick glance and asked, "Are you worried your sister's too into it? That it might affect her studies?"
Bai Yujie nodded. "Yes. Even though she's very self-disciplined and still attends classes properly, all her spare time goes into researching this. She says the Rubik's Cube is a highly complex mathematical model and that she wants to crack it herself."
"She's majoring in economics, right? Is she good at math?" Yang Wendong asked.
"She's excellent at math," Bai Yujie replied. "She was gifted even as a child. When applying to universities, she originally wanted to go to MIT and major in mathematics.
But the tuition was too high. A couple of years ago, Hong Kong's economy wasn't doing great, and our family was affected. So she ended up switching to finance and economics instead."
"Your family's in real estate?" Yang Wendong inquired.
It was true that Hong Kong's economy had been rough a few years ago, mostly due to the slump in real estate. But manufacturing and export industries had continued to develop steadily.
From the early 1950s to now, growth had been consistent, thanks to the city's strong shipping and port infrastructure, low labor costs, and the global post-war economic recovery. The export trade remained solid.
Of course, the tertiary sector might've felt the ripple effects of the real estate downturn. But unless a company was highly leveraged, the impact wouldn't be disastrous. Still, some sectors were fragile—just a little fluctuation could ruin a business.
"We're not really in real estate," Bai Yujie shook her head. "Our family runs a renovation company."
"Oh, that's real estate-adjacent," Yang Wendong chuckled. "Business must've picked up over the past year?"
Starting mid-1958—around when Changxing Industrial opened its factory—Hong Kong's property market began rebounding from the bottom. Land prices, home prices, even rental rates had all risen.
And the industries supporting real estate—renovation, building materials, furniture, home appliances—also benefited.
Of course, the 1950s–60s property bull market wasn't as sharp or intense as what would come in the 70s and 80s, but the upward trend was already in motion.
"It's alright. I don't really know the details," Bai Yujie said. "But my family's gotten busier, and they don't seem as worried as they used to."
"That's good," Yang Wendong said with a smile. "In business, being busy is a blessing."
Bai Yujie smiled back, then asked, "By the way, I still don't really know what Changxing Industrial actually does. Is it toys?"
"Sort of," Yang Wendong replied, nodding.
Toys were definitely one of Changxing's future directions. Post-it notes and mouse traps were already mature products, and without competitors or related product lines, there wasn't much room for further expansion.
Unless they made significant progress in adhesives, allowing them to branch out into other glue-related industries—but that would be difficult. Without new inventions or patented innovations, they couldn't compete with long-established giants. 3M, for example, was the king of that sector.
Toys, however, were simpler. The Rubik's Cube could be patented, and future ventures into other toys could be protected by cultural copyrights and licensing. With those, success would be far more achievable.
Of course, a successful toy IP was hard to create, but as someone from the future, Yang Wendong had a massive advantage—if not as easy as registering a patent, then certainly better than starting from scratch.
"Ohh…" Bai Yujie nodded, not pressing further.
"Come on, you treated me to lunch. Let me treat you to a drink," Yang Wendong said with a grin.
In this era, it wasn't easy to research a company. Without the internet, finding accurate information would require hiring a lawyer to conduct a thorough background check.
Unless it was a large corporation, a rising star like Cheung Kong Holdings, or a known industry leader, most companies weren't visible to the general public.
Yang Wendong valued this stage of his life greatly. Not because he liked being unknown, but because he knew that as his company grew, freedom would be the first thing to go.
Security concerns, fame, and public image would change how everyone treated him.
There weren't many drink options in the market yet. Since they'd already had Coke earlier, Yang Wendong bought Bai Yujie a soda called "Green Treasure." He wasn't sure what brand it was, but it seemed to sell well and tasted pretty good.
Too bad milk tea hadn't hit the market yet—it would've been perfect for treating a pretty girl.
He'd actually considered launching something like that himself, but the milk tea business wasn't suitable for him. Even if he created it, others could easily copy it. It had no patents, no export potential, and it required a fairly strong local economy to thrive.
Given that many Hongkongers were still struggling to afford basic meals, something like milk tea might only sell in Central.
Around 3 p.m., Yang Wendong returned to the office and immediately ran into Wei Zetao, who had just come back as well.
Smiling, Yang Wendong asked, "Old Wei, didn't you head out pretty early this morning? Why are you only just getting back now? Did the folks at Liao Chong Hing Bank keep you around?"
Wei Zetao set his leather briefcase down and nodded. "Yeah. The account manager saw that I was there to pick up the transaction records and decided to call Liao Liewen. He insisted on treating me to lunch at a hotel nearby. I couldn't exactly say no."
"Haha~" Yang Wendong laughed. "So, did you get the transaction records?"
"I did," Wei Zetao replied calmly. "I insisted on it, and they couldn't really say no. If word got out that a bank refused to give its own client their account records, the backlash would destroy them. Even though Liao Chong Hing Bank has been using depositor funds for real estate, their core banking business is still operational. That's their foundation."
Yang Wendong nodded. "Good. Now that we've got the records, when are you heading to the other bank?"
"I've already scheduled a meeting with Hang Seng Bank," Wei Zetao said. "I'll meet their senior client manager tomorrow."
Yang Wendong took the transaction report, glanced through it briefly, then handed it back to Wei Zetao. "Where's their head office?"
"163–165 Queen's Road Central," Wei replied. "It's their own property."
"Nice location. Just from that, you can tell Hang Seng Bank is solid," Yang Wendong remarked with a smile.
In Hong Kong, during high real estate markets, many companies would still refuse to leave the prime commercial districts. This wasn't because they had to be there, like hotels or luxury stores, but because being able to afford and stay in those locations was a symbol of power and credibility—especially for financial institutions or law firms.
And if the property was self-owned? That just took things to another level.
Wei Zetao chuckled. "That's nothing. At the start of this year, Hang Seng Bank also bought an old building next to the former Central Fire Station. They're planning to demolish it and build a new headquarters. That location is nearly as good as Queen's Road."
"They already have a headquarters on Queen's Road and still want to build another one? Sounds like they're bullish on the property market—just disguising it as a new HQ project," Yang Wendong said, shrugging. "Once our production capacity ramps up and we've got the cash, let's go buy a tower in Central too."
He had long made up his mind to focus on industrial development in his early stage, and his current resources and efforts were all aligned with that goal.
Sure, real estate in Hong Kong was entering a new growth cycle and could be profitable. But it couldn't compare with industry—not when he held patented products and insider knowledge of future trends as a time traveler.
Still, Hong Kong's real estate market did have one undeniable appeal—even his patents couldn't compare to owning prime Central property.
In his past life, especially after the 1980s, even if you had the money, you might not be able to buy land or buildings in Central. Those properties became as valuable and rare as stock in the world's most elite companies. Even during the 1982–1984 real estate crash, when everyone feared for Hong Kong's future, transactions in Central were few and far between.
Back here in the 1950s and 60s, while land in Central was already pricey, it was still possible to buy it—especially since many older buildings from the 1930s and 40s were still around.
Wei Zetao responded more cautiously, "It's actually a solid strategy. Chinese people love land and property—so do the banks. If we had a good piece of real estate, getting loans in the future would be much easier, even giving us access to higher credit limits."
"I get it," Yang Wendong nodded. "But right now, our only mission is to boost production capacity. Once Post-it note production is sufficient and if there are no major investment plans ahead, we won't have any financial issues. At that point, we can think about purchasing a big property."
In a little more than a decade, a storm would blow in from Southeast Asia—a man would pull off one of the most legendary scams in the history of modern commerce. He swindled billions of Hong Kong dollars from banks, financial institutions, money houses, funds, and the stock market using a mix of slick deception and legal loopholes.
That man was Chen Songqing, Hong Kong's number one con artist. In the 1970s, he exploited the lax banking regulations and used shady tricks to borrow money, leveraging it aggressively in real estate to build a ballooning empire. It kept growing, and he even managed to go public and raise funds legally.
And that was in the 1970s, when regulations were tighter than today. If Yang Wendong didn't already have legitimate businesses, he might've been tempted to see if he could replicate Chen's "legend."
"Anyway, we're just waiting on that bank loan now," Wei Zetao said. Then after a moment's thought, he added, "Mr. Yang, do you want to come with me to Hang Seng Bank tomorrow?"
"Me? Sure, I might as well. It'd be good to get to know Hang Seng better," Yang Wendong said after thinking for a moment. After all, they might be working together a lot in the future.
Wei Zetao grinned. "And while we're at it, we can take a stroll around Central. Mr. Yang, you could scope out a few buildings in advance. That way, when we've got the money, we can buy one right away."
"Good idea," Yang Wendong laughed.
He had been to Central in his past life, but that was 60 years later. By then, most of the older buildings were gone—replaced by sleek skyscrapers, with only a few historic structures remaining.
So the Central he was heading into tomorrow would be almost entirely unfamiliar to him—aside from the core golden spots. It made sense to get a feel for the area now, just like when familiarizing yourself with kitchen appliances before designing a house. There was no harm in knowing things early.
The next day, Yang Wendong's driver and bodyguard, Ah Qiang, drove their Mercedes-Benz toward Hang Seng Bank's headquarters on Queen's Road.
As the car pulled up to the entrance, the security guard glanced at it and waved them through without hesitation.
Yang Wendong chuckled. "This Benz badge really is useful—gets you in anywhere."
Wei Zetao nodded. "Of course. In Hong Kong, owning a car already sets you apart. But a Benz? Only people of status would even consider buying one."
"True," Yang Wendong agreed.
There were plenty of times when he drove the Benz himself and random women would strike up conversations with him. Not that he acted on any of it—maybe there was no "AIDS" in this era, but there were certainly other risks.
Besides, this was still the 1950s. Hong Kong wasn't that liberal yet. Women here were still more reserved, more traditional in how they interacted with men—maybe just a little more open-minded, that's all.
"We're here. Let's get out here," Wei Zetao said to Ah Qiang. Then, pointing to a woman standing nearby, he added, "Mr. Yang, that's the senior client manager from Hang Seng. She'll be handling our account."
"Alright, let's go," Yang Wendong said, nodding.
Banks usually had dedicated managers for their VIP clients—this made one-on-one service much more efficient.
As the two of them stepped out of the car, the woman walked toward them with a smile and extended her hand. "Mr. Yang, Mr. Wei—welcome to Hang Seng Bank."
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