Chapter 220: The News from Walmart
"Alright," Yang Wendong nodded in agreement. "As for the price, I'll have someone negotiate with you. But it will have to be based on the current market price."
If this had been before the acquisition battle, when the stock price had already surged, Yang Wendong would have paid significantly more. But since Yan Chengkun had failed to seize that opportunity, he now had to accept the reality.
And due to the massive leveraged purchases he'd made earlier, the subsequent crash had effectively cut his assets in half. The losses were severe enough to shake the Yan family's wealth built up over decades.
"Fine." Though Yan Chengkun was reluctant, he knew there was no way he could sell at the former prices now.
With that, Yan Chengkun left, defeated and despondent.
Huang Yaonan let out a long sigh and said, "Only now is Yan Chengkun getting a taste of what my father and I endured for decades. My father died with this grievance."
"Business is like that," Yang Wendong remarked. "Unless another strong figure rises in the Yan family, they'll probably settle into a more modest level of wealth from now on."
Entrepreneurship was never easy. For most people, the outcome was bankruptcy or heavy losses. Very few could make a successful second comeback after failure. Even in Yang Wendong's previous life on the mainland, only a handful of entrepreneurs managed that—Shi Yuzhu being one of the most famous.
"Yes, for my Huang family, this is truly the end of a decades-long vendetta. Thank you, Mr. Yang Wendong," Huang Yaonan said sincerely. "From now on, Zhongba's routes are yours to command."
He knew very well that Yang Wendong's purpose in acquiring Zhongba was to control its bus routes, which would serve the broader needs of his real estate developments.
Yang Wendong said, "Yes. But don't worry—I won't blindly force new routes against market logic.
My residential projects are all high-end and large-scale. Once built, they'll attract significant populations. Areas like that naturally need bus service. It benefits Zhongba too."
"Haha, then that's ideal," Huang Yaonan said with a wide smile.
After familiarizing himself with the operations of Changxing Real Estate, Changxing Shipping, and Changxing Industrial, Huang Yaonan understood that he would be able to manage Zhongba independently, as long as his operations aligned with group-level strategic needs. Yang Wendong rarely meddled in details.
Yang Wendong nodded and turned to Wang Lianhua. "From now on, let the Yan family keep burning through their money. We'll play along, just enough to keep them bleeding. Let them raise the price if they want. We'll profit a bit from it too."
"Understood, Mr. Yang Wendong," Wang Lianhua said. "I'll make sure the Yan family spends every last cent."
...
Meanwhile, Yan Chengkun watched the crowd of shareholders from his office.
Ho Sin Hang stood behind him and said, "Mr. Yan, there's still time to exit gracefully. If this becomes a full-blown price war, the Yan family will end up deeply in debt."
"As long as I can protect my family's control of the company, I'll bear any debt," Yan Chengkun said. "What? Is Hang Seng not going to back me anymore?"
"Of course we will—within reason," Ho Sin Hang replied. "Your shares are good collateral and can be used for emergency loans at any bank.
But as a friend, I have to advise you to face reality. Yang Wendong's financial power is something even Hang Seng would think twice about challenging. And we still don't know exactly how many shares he and the Huang family control."
"They can't have that many," Yan Chengkun said confidently. "If they had more, they'd have raised their offer long ago. The fact that they haven't means they're still short."
"You're only believing what you want to believe," Ho Sin Hang said, shaking his head. "Per our agreement, we'll release the loan, but regardless of whether you win or lose, the repayment pressure will be enormous.
Ever since the Liu Chong Hing incident, banks have become much more cautious. If you run into financial issues later, there won't be anything I can do."
With that, Ho Sin Hang walked out.
Left alone, the phone rang. Yan Chengkun picked it up.
"What? They raised by 50 cents? Then we'll go up by a dollar!"
He slammed down the receiver, feeling more confident than ever.
...
Over the next two days, Hong Kong's stock market entered a frenzy.
Zhongba's management and the takeover team battled it out by continuously raising their bids. Retail investors darted between sides, many trying to hold out for the best price. Others cashed out while they could.
July 7th – Near the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, at Standard Chartered's office, Yang Wendong received the news he'd been waiting for.
Wang Lianhua and Huang Yaonan approached him, smiling broadly.
Wang Lianhua said, "Mr. Yang Wendong, just an hour ago, we successfully crossed the 50% mark. Combined, you and Mr. Huang now hold 50.02%."
"As expected," Yang Wendong said calmly.
The financial disparity between the two sides had always been enormous. The key had been the Yan family's large initial stake—without the Huang family's cooperation, Yang Wendong could never have succeeded.
Grinning, Huang Yaonan asked, "Should we announce the acquisition?"
"No rush," Yang Wendong said. "We've already won. Waiting a few days won't hurt. Right now, the priority is removing the Yan family's veto power. If we don't, it could cause serious problems in future operations."
...
A Week Later
Wang Lianhua's team reached an agreement with Yan Chengkun to acquire 20% of his shares for HK$3.2 million. Yan Chengkun insisted on retaining the remaining 20%.
Yang Wendong didn't press him.
Now that he held over 50%, he filed to issue new shares to increase liquidity on the open market.
And so, the acquisition of Zhongba came to a close. Yang Wendong now controlled half of Hong Kong's public bus transport system.
July 15th — Changxing Tower
Yang Wendong visited the newly completed building for the first time. Zheng Zhijie guided him through, explaining the layout of each floor.
"Not bad," Yang Wendong praised. "Though not huge, the layout is efficient. Looks like this will be enough for both Changxing Real Estate and Changxing Shipping for the next two years."
Changxing Tower was the second building developed in-house by Changxing Real Estate. It was larger than the first, Ganghua Tower, and had been planned as the future headquarters for both the real estate and shipping arms. Ganghua had become too crowded.
Zheng Zhijie said, "At first, I thought it could last us five years. But the growth has been too fast. Even though most of our business is still rental-based, we've expanded significantly.
Also, we've secured three more plots of land for new luxury residential projects."
"Good, handle those as you see fit," Yang Wendong said. He didn't need to ask for details—those would all be submitted to the group headquarters anyway.
He added, "Changxing Tower—that's the former Liu Chong Hing headquarters—I'm reserving that for the group's central operations. Each division head will have an office there, but the individual business teams will stay here."
The newly named Changxing Tower on Des Voeux Road had 25 stories, with the bottom three being a shopping mall.
With 22 floors of office space, and over 15,000 square feet per floor, it was more than enough for the group's needs—for now.
Still, Yang Wendong had no intention of leasing the space or giving it to an existing division. He knew that his future industries were bound to expand rapidly. A headquarters that felt spacious now might become insufficient in just a few years.
Zheng Zhijie nodded and said, "Understood. If we run out of space in the future, I'll plan another building."
"Alright," Yang Wendong responded with a nod.
The two soon arrived at Yang Wendong's new office. These days, anywhere he needed to work, a private office was always prepared—convenience above all.
Zheng Zhijie said, "Mr. Yang Wendong, currently our real estate operations are mainly focused on two areas: residential complexes and rental properties. Both are doing well, with no major issues.
The main trouble is with the retail space at the base of Changxing Tower. Lane Crawford is dead set on demanding a 50% rent discount, making it very difficult for us to finalize any deal."
"Fifty percent off? Why don't they just rob us?" Yang Wendong said, clearly annoyed.
It was common practice for malls to offer favorable terms to attract big-name tenants—especially in more remote areas, where rents could even be free.
But this was Central. There was no need to offer steep discounts. If anything, just offering a slight incentive was already generous.
Zheng Zhijie said, "Lane Crawford is a well-known department store in Hong Kong. Many consumers specifically go there for their shopping, which is where their confidence comes from."
Yang Wendong asked, "Are there any other alternatives?"
He had previously considered opening a supermarket, but had yet to make a final decision, so retail leasing had not been fully suspended either.
"The best local option is still Lane Crawford," Zheng Zhijie replied. "Alternatively, we could bring in one of the Japanese department store chains. Several are already operating in Hong Kong, and they're doing quite well."
"Forget it. No reason to let the Japanese make easy money," Yang Wendong rejected outright.
He wasn't against doing business with the Japanese—but only if it meant importing their cheap, high-tech products or entering their domestic market.
Letting them run a store and collect rent while doing nothing productive? No thanks.
Zheng Zhijie nodded and said, "I'll go back and continue negotiations with Lane Crawford."
"When will Changxing Tower be completely finished?" Yang Wendong asked.
"The building will be structurally completed by year's end," Zheng Zhijie answered. "Interior work will likely continue until April or May next year. The ground-floor retail space will be ready sooner—likely by the end of October."
Yang Wendong thought for a moment, then asked, "Have you heard of the term 'supermarket'? In Chinese, it's called 'chao ji shi chang'—a super market."
"Supermarket? No, I haven't," Zheng Zhijie shook his head.
Yang Wendong explained, "It's similar to a department store but with a different business model…"
In this era, information dissemination was slow. If something wasn't widely known in Europe or America, most people outside those regions remained unaware.
That's why so many fortunes were made just by exploiting information gaps—this was true even in mainland China throughout the 1980s.
After hearing the rough outline, Zheng Zhijie commented, "The biggest challenges with this model would be managing suppliers, storing inventory, shipping logistics, and keeping track of product data."
"Exactly. Well said," Yang Wendong praised. "But as long as the operation is large enough, it should be able to bring overall costs below those of a traditional department store. That's why I'm optimistic about this model."
Zheng Zhijie nodded and asked, "So are we looking to run supermarkets in Hong Kong? Maybe launch one inside the retail space of Changxing Tower?"
"I'm thinking about it," Yang Wendong said. "It's a new industry, so few people in Hong Kong are familiar with it. I'm planning a trip to the United States to take a look myself.
There are already a few such companies there, and I'm particularly optimistic about one of them. I want to visit, maybe make an investment, and learn from them."
The company he had in mind was, of course, Walmart. But at this point in time, Walmart hadn't even been formally founded yet.
Two years ago, Yang Wendong had already instructed his team in the U.S. to monitor developments in the supermarket industry and collect data on emerging businesses. After six months of research, they had identified the most promising target: Sam Walton.
At the time, Yang Wendong didn't have the financial resources to invest, and Walton didn't need outside capital either. So he had held back.
But now, according to recent news from the U.S., Walton's company was facing cash flow difficulties. With the Zhongba acquisition behind him, Yang Wendong decided it was time to head to America himself.
After all, this was the future global retail giant—it deserved a personal visit.
Zheng Zhijie said, "There's another issue with opening such supermarkets. Hong Kong's 'National Goods Stores' are a major competitor. They're often subsidized to help mainland China earn foreign currency. They're willing to operate at a loss, which has impacted much of Hong Kong's retail sector."
"National Goods Stores?" Yang Wendong said. He was familiar with them—he'd shopped there before, and yes, they were cheap. "So how do other retail chains or department stores compete?"
Zheng Zhijie explained, "They usually avoid direct competition. Since National Goods Stores are backed by mainland China, they can't open stores everywhere in Hong Kong. If they can cover half the territory, that's already good.
Especially in more affluent areas, the rent is just too high. If they opened there, they'd not only fail to earn foreign currency, they might even have to subsidize the operation with it."
"In that case, opening supermarkets in places like Central or Admiralty shouldn't be a problem," Yang Wendong said. "Can we buy goods directly from the mainland?"
"Yes, we can," Zheng Zhijie said. "National Goods Stores are joint ventures between China Resources and several Hong Kong investors—they're not wholly owned.
China Resources does a lot of business in Hong Kong. They can't just prioritize their own shops. Any retailer who wants to buy mainland goods—they're happy to sell to."
"Good," Yang Wendong said, satisfied.
In fact, by the late 1960s, supermarkets began to appear in Hong Kong. Though small in scale, they were the early prototypes of the modern hypermarket.
By the 1970s, chains like ParknShop and Wellcome had taken shape. Backed by foreign conglomerates, they eventually became the city's retail duopoly.
Yang Wendong was only jumping in a few years early. The main issue would be securing the supply chain, which would definitely be messy at first. But unless he wanted to just buy property and sit on rent, every business came with its challenges.
"Do you want me to accompany you to the U.S.?" Zheng Zhijie asked.
"No need," Yang Wendong shook his head. "You stay here and focus on the real estate side, and keep an eye on Zhongba too. My trip won't be long."
...
A Week Later — Yang Family Villa, Deep Water Bay
Yang Wendong sat with his now-upright baby boy, Yang Zhiwen, gently playing with a few toys.
Su Yiyi rolled a suitcase into the room and said, "Dong-ge, I've packed your clothes. I also put in some snacks."
"No need to pack so much. I can buy whatever I need in the States," Yang Wendong chuckled. "You afraid I'll go hungry?"
Su Yiyi replied, "Not really. Since Miss Bai is going with you, I doubt you'll go hungry."
"Jealous?" Yang Wendong pulled Su Yiyi into a hug with a grin.
Su Yiyi shook her head. "Not at all. We've been married almost a year now. It's time you gave her a proper status—for your sake and hers."
"You're always so thoughtful, Yiyi," Yang Wendong smiled.
Su Yiyi had known about Bai Yushan's existence for a long time. Fortunately, 1960s Hong Kong didn't frown upon these arrangements. It was all perfectly legal.
Even among working-class families, having multiple wives was common—let alone for someone like him.
Su Yiyi added, "But once Zhiwen is a little older, you'd better take us to America too. I've never been."
"Of course. No problem at all," Yang Wendong agreed cheerfully.
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