Chapter 168: Inspecting Lamma Island, A Young Girl Requests a Ride
After successfully negotiating with John Madden, Lin Haoran's purchase of the Federal Building and International Building went smoothly. That very day, both parties completed the transaction. After paying HK$1 billion, the ownership of the two buildings was officially registered under Huanyu Investment Company. However, to further strengthen Wan'an Group's operations, Lin Haoran handed over full management of the two new buildings to Wan'an Group. In the future, Wan'an Group could use them for rental income, office space, and more. Huanyu Investment's headquarters could also move from its current location at Wan'an Group Building to the famous Federal Building. Although the 31-story building had long lost its status as Hong Kong's tallest, it remained an integral part of Central's skyline.
The next morning, a little after 9 AM, Lin Haoran arrived early at Hongkong Electric Holdings. Once Chen Shoulin finished his meeting, they departed for Central Pier. Accompanying them were Lin Haoran's bodyguards Li Weidong and Li Weiguo, as well as several senior executives from Hongkong Electric. Originally, Lin Haoran thought they would take a passenger ferry to Lamma Island, but to his surprise, they boarded one of Hongkong Electric's own small official vessels.
Seeing his boss's surprised look, Chen Shoulin explained with a smile, "We supply electricity not just to Hong Kong Island but also to surrounding islands like Lamma Island and Ap Lei Chau. Our staff often need to visit these islands to maintain and service the equipment, so the company maintains a few official and operational vessels." Lin Haoran nodded in understanding.
The small vessel was quite fast. Departing from Central Pier, it took just over half an hour to reach their destination: the Yung Shue Wan Ferry Pier on Lamma Island. Upon disembarking, they found themselves in a sizable fishing village, with a sign marking the entrance: Yung Shue Wan Village.
"Our power station under construction is a few hundred meters south of this fishing village, at Po Lo Tsui. Since the pier there is still under construction, we currently disembark here at Yung Shue Wan. Once the new pier at the power station is complete, we'll be able to dock directly there," Chen Shoulin explained as they walked.
Lin Haoran nodded, carefully surveying the fishing village. He didn't have many impressions of Lamma Island, other than knowing it was a large island near Hong Kong and home to one of Hongkong Electric's power stations. He also recalled that this island was the birthplace of the famous actor Chow Yun-fat. Lamma Island only had a few villages, and Yung Shue Wan was its largest.
Whether Chow Yun-fat came from this village didn't concern Lin Haoran much. After all, he wasn't particularly interested in the film industry — it was too slow to make money. Even though he knew many movie plots in advance, he had little inclination to pursue it. At best, he might invest casually if an opportunity arose.
He reasoned that even Hong Kong's two largest film companies, Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest, barely made tens of millions in profits annually, despite all the effort. Meanwhile, Lin Haoran could make far more by investing in real estate or other ventures. He had little interest in the movie industry but was somewhat interested in television companies. If he could invest in TVB or ATV without having to manage them personally, he wouldn't mind. Those companies controlled advertising and media influence, which could be strategically valuable.
Holding tens of billions of Hong Kong dollars, Lin Haoran now viewed sums like one or two hundred million casually. He even recalled that TVB's owner, Mr. Lee, was expected to pass away from a sudden heart attack within a few months. If he could acquire shares from the Lee family, he would be interested. However, even if he bought into TVB, he wouldn't take over operations; he would leave management to professionals like Run Run Shaw, who had proven capable of running TVB excellently in Lin Haoran's previous life.
Walking south from Yung Shue Wan Village for several dozen meters, they reached a small hill — or rather, a low mound. A narrow gravel path led southward, recently carved out. "Our construction team built this temporary path to facilitate access from Nam Wan Village Pier to our power station site. By next month, when the new pier is completed, we'll seal off this path," Chen Shoulin explained as they walked.
The walk wasn't long — just a few hundred meters. In about ten minutes, they arrived at the power station construction site. From the hilltop, they could overlook the entire busy site below, where over a hundred construction workers were hard at work.
The current phase focused mainly on infrastructure: office buildings, chimneys, and other facilities — no actual power generation equipment had been installed yet.
"Why so few workers?" Lin Haoran asked curiously.
"Boss, right now the focus is on laying undersea cables. Once that's done, we'll transfer all power generation equipment from Ap Lei Chau to Lamma Island. Right now, it's mostly preliminary construction — once installation begins, we'll need many more workers," Chen Shoulin explained with a laugh.
They inspected the power station site for over an hour, during which Chen Shoulin also gave construction instructions to the site manager. Afterward, they visited the new pier still under construction. Lin Haoran mostly observed quietly, knowing he lacked the technical expertise to offer real guidance.
The scenery on Lamma Island was indeed beautiful. With no pollution yet from industrial activity, the island's natural environment remained pristine. After the inspections, it was already past noon.
"There's a good seafood restaurant in Yung Shue Wan. I had lunch there last time. Boss, let's have lunch before heading back," Chen Shoulin suggested.
"Sure, Mr. Chen. I'm not familiar with the area — you take the lead," Lin Haoran said with a smile.
The weather was pleasantly cool, overcast but not hot. Returning to Yung Shue Wan Village, Chen Shoulin led them to a rustic seafood restaurant near the pier. The smell of fresh seafood filled the air — a little overwhelming for Lin Haoran, who wrinkled his nose involuntarily. Inside the restaurant, the odor was less intense.
Chen Shoulin ordered the house specialties: golden-baked lobster with soy sauce, typhoon shelter-style fried crab, braised abalone, shark fin stew, steamed coral trout, curry fish balls — all seafood-focused dishes. The party of eight ordered ten dishes in total, modest by Hong Kong standards. Most importantly, the prices were very reasonable — only a few hundred Hong Kong dollars for such a lavish seafood feast.
As the saying goes, "live off the mountain if you live near it, live off the sea if you live near it" — true for Lamma Island as well.
"The food's great!" Lin Haoran said after tasting the steamed coral trout — the fish was fresh and tender.
"Of course. Otherwise, I wouldn't have recommended this place," Chen Shoulin laughed.
Lunch lasted nearly an hour, and by the time they finished, it was already past 1 PM.
"Let's head back," Lin Haoran said as they exited the restaurant, glancing around at the pleasant surroundings. The weather made the sea look a bit dull, but on a sunny day, it would undoubtedly be beautiful.
Returning to the Yung Shue Wan Pier, they saw that a passenger ferry had just left.
As Lin Haoran and his group prepared to board their own vessel, a commotion broke out nearby among a group of girls.
"We missed the ferry by one minute!"
"What now? The next ferry isn't until after 5 PM. I'll get scolded by my mom if I get home so late."
"Lijin, it's your fault for walking so slow."
"I didn't mean to! I twisted my ankle, it still hurts!"
"Forget it, Xiaofeng. No point blaming her. We need to figure out what to do."
"What else? We'll just have to wait for the next ferry. I was planning to go shopping in Causeway Bay this afternoon... that's ruined."
"Hey, that ship over there is from Hongkong Electric! Maybe they can give us a lift?"
"Yeah, Lijin, since you're the reason we missed the ferry, you go ask!"
"Alright, I'll try."
Just as Lin Haoran and his group boarded the vessel, a sweet female voice called out behind them: "Wait a minute, sir!" Lin Haoran turned and saw a fresh-faced young girl, about fifteen or sixteen years old, her soft hair swaying in the breeze, a hint of shyness making her look even more endearing.
"Yes, what is it?" Chen Shoulin asked.
"Uncle, we missed our ferry. Could we please catch a ride back to Hong Kong Island with you?" the girl asked bravely.
Lin Haoran looked at her carefully. Somehow, she reminded him of a young actress from the movie Happy Ghost — Lin Xiaohua — though she seemed even younger.
Chen Shoulin was about to refuse, but Lin Haoran interrupted.
"Come aboard. We're heading back to Central," Lin Haoran said, smiling kindly at the girl.
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