Chapter 213: You Must Be Mentally Prepared
"Nephew Lin, to be honest, this so-called number one Chinese gang is not much better than the Brotherhood. Their deeds include kidnapping, extortion, fraud, forcing good women into prostitution, human trafficking, and drug dealing—they've done it all.
However, they differ from the Brotherhood in one significant way: they mainly target other ethnic groups and rarely harm fellow Chinese. They have even helped quite a few struggling Chinese families, which is why, despite their many evil acts, they have a relatively good reputation among the Chinese community.
Of course, as long as they don't provoke us, we don't need to interfere. After all, we're not law enforcers, and we have no obligation to eradicate evil or punish wrongdoers.
This gang is called the Five Four Gang, meaning 'brothers from all over the world,' and they have over three thousand formal members. Their strength is significantly greater than that of the Brotherhood.
From what I know, the leader of the Five Four Gang has long been considering swallowing up the Brotherhood. Over the years, they've often clashed over territory, gaining some advantage but never managing to completely defeat them.
Therefore, if you intend to rely on the Five Four Gang to deal with the Brotherhood, I think that's unrealistic for now. Based on their current strength, the Five Four Gang still can't fully suppress the Brotherhood.
However, if your goal is simply to make the Brotherhood stop bothering your company, then that's much easier. I can introduce you to the leader of the Five Four Gang. If you pay them some protection fees, the Brotherhood will likely not dare to mess with you again," Guo Henian said with a smile.
"Protection fees?" Lin Haoran frowned.
He pondered silently. Rather than relying on others, it would be more reliable to quickly establish his own armed force.
According to what Bao Yugang had just mentioned, they would soon go to the mainland for an inspection, and Lin Haoran planned to take that opportunity to recruit a batch of strong retired soldiers for Hong Kong.
It wouldn't take too long.
In the meantime, Green Island Cement Company's Philippine branch had no plans to expand into the Visayas market, so the Brotherhood thugs likely wouldn't cause trouble proactively.
The Brotherhood members had probably been bribed by the cement company that monopolized the Visayas market.
Such underhanded tactics were common in business competition.
Thus, in the future, if he could eliminate the Brotherhood threat and enter the Visayas market, Lin Haoran would absolutely make sure Green Island Cement dominated, preferably driving that monopolistic company out completely.
From Guo Henian's words, Lin Haoran got an idea.
Since the Five Four Gang had long wanted to swallow the Brotherhood, perhaps he could take this opportunity to cooperate with them and strike the Brotherhood together.
This way, the Five Four Gang would owe him a favor, and his businesses in the Philippines could enjoy their protection.
Moreover, by cooperating with the Five Four Gang, he could also demonstrate his own armed force, ensuring that they wouldn't dare easily cross him.
This would establish his deterrence in the Philippines!
Relying on protection fees for safety was only a stopgap measure—not a long-term solution.
Therefore, Lin Haoran had no intention of taking that path.
If he had to pay protection fees everywhere he did business, he might as well quit commerce entirely.
"Thank you for the reminder, Uncle Guo. If needed, I will definitely ask for your introduction," Lin Haoran said with a smile after thinking it through.
"I have extensive networks in Malaysia and Singapore. No one dares to easily provoke me there.
So, if your companies encounter any problems in Singapore or Malaysia, just let me know. I can step in to help!" Guo Henian added.
The Guo family had deep roots in Malaysia, even maintaining complex ties with the government, so no one dared to challenge them lightly.
In Malaysia, the Guo family was indeed the local powerhouse.
It was clear that Guo Henian was actively strengthening his relationship with Lin Haoran.
After all, Lin Haoran had achieved extraordinary success at just over twenty years old, and his future potential was limitless.
Such a business prodigy was well worth cultivating.
It would also greatly benefit the Guo family's future development.
In business, operating alone rarely led to sustainable success. Forming alliances was crucial.
The stronger the network, the better for both parties' commercial expansion.
"Thank you, Uncle Guo. If needed, I will definitely ask for your help!" Lin Haoran responded warmly.
His companies all had plans to expand into Southeast Asia, and Malaysia and Singapore were key markets.
For example, Green Island Cement had already entered both markets, though with a small market share.
With Guo Henian's support, they might rapidly grow.
As for Hongkong Electric and Hong Kong and China Gas Company, although they had little presence in Southeast Asia so far, with their growth plateauing in Hong Kong, expanding abroad was inevitable.
Even Wanan Group, his real estate firm, could enter Singapore, whose future prospects rivaled Hong Kong's.
Having Guo Henian's backing would make everything much smoother.
The three chatted happily in the reception room for over an hour before Guo Henian and Guo Xiaohan finally bid farewell to Lin Haoran.
"Nephew Lin, Xiaohan, you are both young. The future world belongs to you. Keep in touch and progress together!" Guo Henian said meaningfully as they parted.
His words made Guo Xiaohan blush, her cheeks bright red, making her look particularly charming.
Clearly, Guo Henian had already noticed his niece's growing affection for Lin Haoran.
In the world of wealthy families, marriages were often strategic alliances based on interests.
But now, the Lin family was fully worthy of being considered an equal match to the Guo family.
If Guo Xiaohan truly liked Lin Haoran, it was something to be celebrated.
After all, marrying someone you liked was much happier than being forced into a marriage for family interests.
Lin Haoran wasn't oblivious. He naturally caught the hidden meaning in Guo Henian's words.
He carefully looked at Guo Xiaohan: beautiful, well-educated, and now studying business under Guo Henian.
Clearly, she would not be a mere decorative figure.
Such a woman would indeed be worthy of being a principal wife.
However, he wasn't particularly focused on marriage at the moment.
With no shortage of female companions around him, he decided to let things unfold naturally.
Moreover, given his current status, he didn't need political marriages to consolidate his position.
If he liked her, he would marry her. If not, he wouldn't force it.
Lin Haoran had a degree of appreciation for Miss Guo, but it hadn't reached the level of love.
Love at first sight?
He had never experienced it.
Thus, he preferred to let fate decide.
After all, he was only in his twenties—it was too early to rush into marriage!
"Uncle Guo, Miss Guo, feel free to visit me at my home on Shixun Road anytime. It's near your house, and you are always welcome!" Lin Haoran said, walking them to their car with a smile.
"Good, we will certainly visit when we have time. See you tomorrow," Guo Henian replied with a laugh.
"Goodbye, Mr. Lin!" Guo Xiaohan said gracefully.
Her beautiful eyes lingered on Lin Haoran until their car slowly left the Lin residence, only then did she reluctantly withdraw her gaze.
"Xiaohan, have you fallen for that young man Lin Haoran?" Guo Henian teased on the way back.
"Uncle, how can you say that! I haven't," Guo Xiaohan said, her face turning red again.
"Haha, look at yourself. Your expression has already betrayed you.
If you really like him, I fully support you.
During the New Year, I already discussed this with your father.
He said that if you could marry Lin Haoran, he wouldn't oppose it.
Hong Kong has great prospects.
Our Guo family will gradually shift its development focus from Southeast Asia to Hong Kong.
But I must remind you—you must be mentally prepared.
A man as outstanding as Lin Haoran will not have only one woman in the future.
It's normal for wealthy men to have affairs.
As long as he doesn't openly bring them home, my advice is to turn a blind eye.
In wealthy families, true loyalty is rare!
If you insist on marrying an ordinary man because of this, your family will definitely object.
You need to think this through carefully," Guo Henian warned her in advance.
"Uncle, it's still too early for all this talk!" Guo Xiaohan said, half exasperated, half amused.
But she also began to seriously consider the matter.
After all, even her uncle and father both had women outside of their marriages.
Unless she never married, political marriage alliances were unavoidable.
Among the wealthy Chinese families in Malaysia, this was almost universal.
She had seen it all growing up.
For Guo Henian, if the Guo family could ally with the Lin family, it would be of immense benefit.
Just the companies controlled by Lin Haoran alone were already no weaker than the Guo family, let alone his future potential.
If they joined forces, the result would definitely be a case of one plus one being far greater than two!
...
In the blink of an eye, night passed.
The next morning, Lin Haoran had breakfast and then headed to Hongkong Electric Group.
Last night, he had arranged with Guo Henian to sign the cooperation agreement at Hongkong Electric Group.
This agreement was only a preliminary joint bidding letter of intent; real cooperation would proceed only if they successfully acquired the land in Sheung Wan.
After all, if they failed to win the land, any detailed contract would be meaningless.
At exactly 10 a.m., Lin Haoran met Guo Henian and Guo Xiaohan, who arrived on time.
Guo Henian clearly came well-prepared, bringing a complete cooperation agreement.
Lin Haoran carefully reviewed it and, upon confirming everything was correct, solemnly signed it.
The contract terms were clear and detailed, even specifying the maximum bidding price—470 million Hong Kong dollars.
This meant they would bid up to 200 million above the starting price; if it exceeded this limit, they would withdraw, and the agreement would be nullified.
Additionally, the agreement stated that before winning the bid, no substantial funds needed to be paid—only a small deposit.
This deposit had already been paid by Guo Henian when registering, and the amount was too small to worry about.
If they won, the government would also allow some time before requiring full payment.
"Nephew Lin, to a successful partnership!"
"Uncle Guo, to a successful partnership!"
Both men smiled brightly.
This collaboration would undoubtedly be a win-win for both sides.
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