Chapter 250 So What If They Are Business Tycoons?
Lin Haoran glanced at his watch—it was already 12:30 noon.
"You go have lunch first; you'll still need to monitor the stock market after it reopens this afternoon," Lin Haoran said with a smile.
"Understood, Boss. I'll take my leave now," Su Zhixue said, quickly excusing himself.
Lin Haoran also prepared to leave the company and head to Hongkong Electric.
Since the release of that critical video, Fortress Electrical, a Hongkong Electric subsidiary, had quickly recovered its normal business operations.
In fact, many people who felt guilty for initially wronging Fortress had started favoring the company even more. This incident had significantly boosted Fortress Electrical's reputation, winning it a flood of new customers.
Now, whenever citizens thought of buying appliances, the first name that came to mind was Fortress Electrical—not any other retailer.
By contrast, Jardine Electrical City had suffered heavily.
Observations revealed that its stores had almost no foot traffic these days.
With public anger still boiling, Jardine Electrical's sales showed no sign of recovery.
A company that grows by shady means is ultimately despised once exposed.
Thus, Jardines Matheson had severely harmed itself with this debacle.
Just as Lin Haoran was about to leave his office, the phone rang.
He picked it up.
"Is this Mr. Lin? This is MacLehose," said the voice on the other end.
The Governor himself?
Lin Haoran was surprised, but he quickly composed himself.
"Good afternoon, Governor. How can I help you?" Lin Haoran responded politely.
"I need a word with you, Mr. Lin. Are you free now?" MacLehose asked.
"For the Governor, I'm always available," Lin Haoran replied with a smile.
"If you're free, could you come to Government House at 2:00 p.m.?" MacLehose continued.
"Of course. See you at two o'clock," Lin Haoran agreed.
After hanging up, he sat for a moment, thinking, then got up and left the office.
It was clear that MacLehose's summons was related to Jardines.
The fact that the government had waited an entire week to intervene surprised even Lin Haoran.
After all, Jardines Matheson was a top British firm, both in Hong Kong and back in Britain.
The colonial government could not let Jardines' reputation fall indefinitely.
If things continued, Jardines' future business in Hong Kong would become even harder.
Already, Chinese businesses were gradually overtaking the British ones.
And Jardines had only made things worse by shooting itself in the foot.
Looking out the window, Lin Haoran could see the protest crowds finally beginning to disperse.
Some protesters had thrown eggs at Jardines' headquarters, staining its front doors and walls with yolk, egg white, and shells.
The whole entrance looked like a war zone, yet the janitors hadn't even had time to clean up.
Journalists from Oriental Daily and other outlets had already captured the scene; it would surely be tomorrow's front-page photo.
Initially, many newspapers hesitated to report negatively about Jardines.
But as Oriental Daily fearlessly broke the taboo, exposing one dark secret after another, their sales soared.
For instance, two days ago, Oriental Daily had set a record—selling a staggering 320,000 copies in one day.
In a fixed newspaper market like Hong Kong, such an increase inevitably meant other papers' sales had dropped.
Ordinary citizens didn't usually buy multiple newspapers unless they wanted entertainment gossip.
In that context, the other papers could no longer hold back.
Seeing Oriental Daily monopolizing the news market, they also began reporting on the Jardines scandal to win back readers—ignoring Jardines' warnings.
Thus, nearly all mainstream media resumed coverage of the conflict between Jardines and Hongkong Electric.
TVB, after airing that damning video, continued to cover the story heavily in its noon and evening news slots.
Only Rediffusion Television, being a pure British-backed station, still tried to save face for Jardines by avoiding the topic.
But Rediffusion's silence made little difference.
So long as Oriental Daily kept publishing a scandal every day, the fire would keep burning.
Given Jardines' long and sordid history in Hong Kong, Oriental Daily could easily keep exposing scandals for years without running out of material.
Previously, no one dared challenge Jardines; now, Oriental Daily was boldly doing it.
With such relentless exposure, Jardines' public image deteriorated further.
After lunch at the Wanqing Building canteen, where the kitchen had specially prepared a few dishes for him, Lin Haoran relaxed in Burton's office until about 1:30 p.m., then left for Government House.
Burton had been extremely busy lately, expanding operations into Southeast Asia and overseeing major real estate projects under Wan On Properties.
The successful acquisition of Kowloon Bus had given them valuable land for commercial development, providing Wan On Properties ample opportunities.
Though Burton was talented, having jumped from vice general manager of Yingzhou Cement to president of a major group, he still needed time to fully adapt to his new role.
His previous hands-on work style also persisted, making it harder for him to delegate tasks.
Lin Haoran had suggested he ease up a bit, but habits were hard to break.
In the Wanqing Building parking lot, Lin Haoran got into the backseat of a Rolls-Royce.
"To Government House," he instructed.
"Yes, Boss!" replied Li Weiguo, starting the car and smoothly pulling away.
A dozen minutes later, they arrived at Government House.
Under staff guidance, Lin Haoran made his way to Governor MacLehose's office, a route he now knew well.
Only a week ago, he had sat here, hearing MacLehose promise not to intervene in his dispute with Jardines.
To MacLehose's credit, he had honored that promise.
Now, it remained to be seen what today's meeting would bring.
If Jardines wanted a truce, Lin Haoran wouldn't object—provided they met his terms.
"Governor, Mr. Lin has arrived," the staff announced after knocking on the office door.
"Come in," MacLehose's voice replied.
The door opened.
"Mr. Lin, good afternoon. Please have a seat," MacLehose said warmly.
"Good afternoon, Governor," Lin Haoran replied, sitting across from him.
Also present was Noel Croucher, Jardines' taipan.
Neither Lin Haoran nor Croucher greeted the other.
Given the tension between them, politeness was out of the question.
Lin Haoran sat calmly, eyeing both men, trying to gauge their intentions.
"Mr. Lin, I invited you here today to help smooth things over. Hong Kong is a small place; no need to escalate tensions.
I hope both sides can sit down, talk it through, and restore harmony to our business community," MacLehose said with a diplomatic smile.
"Governor, the dispute wasn't started by us. We've always conducted business properly. It was Jardines that framed us first—you must have heard about it.
Thus, whether this can be resolved depends entirely on Jardines' attitude," Lin Haoran said firmly, throwing the ball into Croucher's court.
Back when Jardines plotted against his company, MacLehose hadn't intervened.
Now, Lin Haoran wouldn't easily forgive or forget.
At the very least, Jardines needed to admit their wrongdoing.
Croucher's face darkened.
As one of Hong Kong's top business figures, being asked to apologize was a bitter pill to swallow.
"Mr. Lin, what would Jardines have to do to settle this?" Croucher finally asked through gritted teeth.
"I made it clear at my press conference—I demand a sincere apology.
Until now, I have heard none.
At this point, even an apology alone isn't enough.
We suffered major losses during those days.
I expect full compensation," Lin Haoran said calmly but with steely resolve.
So what if they were business tycoons?
He was now a giant himself, and not one to be trifled with.
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