Chapter 52: Global Shipping Comes Knocking

On the spacious large bed, small red marks were scattered across the pristine white sheets.

Guan Jiahui snuggled in Lin Haoran's embrace, her face radiating a smile of satisfaction and happiness; she felt an unprecedented sense of security and warmth.

Once upon a time, her parents' divorce had hung over her heart like a dark cloud, leaving her feeling profoundly lonely and deprived of love throughout her upbringing.

Now, it felt as though she had finally found a safe harbor in her life.

This weekend was undoubtedly extremely comfortable for Lin Haoran.

With the stunning beauty Guan Jiahui by his side, her gentleness and thoughtfulness made him feel as if he were in a realm of pure tenderness, causing all his fatigue and pressure to vanish amidst the sweetness.

However, as the first rays of Monday morning sunlight quietly crept into the room, Lin Haoran knew it was time to get back to work, and Guan Jiahui had to head to school.

Taking advantage of the early hour, Lin Haoran first drove Guan Jiahui to the school gates before returning to the company.

At nine o'clock in the morning, all employees had returned to their workstations.

After the weekend rest, everyone was in high spirits.

They felt a sincere sense of admiration for their boss; last week's achievements had been magnificent, yet none of the employees dared to claim credit for them.

They knew that while they were the traders, they were essentially just following the boss's commands.

If the boss told them to buy, they bought.

If the boss told them to stop buying, they stopped.

It could be said that most professional traders could perform the same tasks.

Therefore, Su Zhixue and the others understood that they hadn't contributed much to this battle for Whampoa Dock.

They possessed enough self-awareness to know their place.

However, Lin Haoran had already promised them that he would give each of them a triple bonus this month as an incentive.

He understood that in the business world, reasonable rewards are the key to stimulating team enthusiasm and loyalty.

After all, without substantial feedback, it was difficult to expect others to dedicate themselves wholeheartedly to generating profits and guarding secrets.

"Today, our strategic focus remains on Qingzhou Beryl. As for the movements of Whampoa Dock, Dai Shi will be solely responsible for monitoring it. Any sudden developments must be reported immediately. As for the rest of you, please devote all your energy to the Qingzhou Beryl stock market, striving to absorb more shares without driving up the price. Regarding the timing for buying and selling Whampoa Dock, I will give instructions personally at the critical moment." After starting work, Lin Haoran held his usual brief and efficient meeting.

In his view, as long as Whampoa Dock's stock price remained stable and did not fall, no further intervention was necessary. He planned to explore the best way to approach Bao Yugang within this week, aiming to attract the other party to proactively express an intention to acquire in a more passive stance.

As for Qingzhou Beryl, the goal was to fight for as much market share as possible, rather than letting Li Jiacheng's team lead in daily trading volume every day.

The more than eight million Hong Kong dollars in liquid funds he held were sufficient to support their operations in the current Qingzhou Beryl market for over a week at their current order volume.

As long as they successfully sold off part of their Whampoa Dock shares within this week, they could recoup funds to provide ample ammunition for the next phase of the layout.

Not long after the meeting adjourned, Lin Haoran returned to his office.

Zhao Lin, the receptionist, soon came over to brew a pot of tea for him and poured it into a thermos.

Zhao Lin: [Loyalty: 80/100]

This was Zhao Lin's current loyalty level. The reason it was so high was that upon joining the company, Zhao Lin had privately requested a two-month salary advance from Lin Haoran, claiming her family was facing financial difficulties and she wanted to improve their living conditions as soon as possible.

Lin Haoran had granted the advance without hesitation.

In Lin Haoran's view, this small piece of financial assistance was not only direct help for Zhao Lin's personal predicament but also a test of human nature and loyalty.

He was very aware that in the face of money, a person's choices often reflect their true character and sense of responsibility most accurately.

If Zhao Lin had chosen to flee or betray him because of this, then although the investment was small, it would have been enough for him to see her true essence.

To his surprise, she not only met his expectations but instead threw herself into her work with even greater enthusiasm and higher efficiency, proving her value through practical action.

Consequently, Zhao Lin's loyalty had risen directly from 70 at the time of signing the contract to 80.

Through these small matters, Lin Haoran had gradually mastered the method of using this loyalty metric.

Not long after Zhao Lin left, there was another knock on the office door.

"Come in."

"Boss, I have an urgent situation to report. Just a few minutes ago, I received a call from a head of securities traders at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. He mentioned that a representative from Global Shipping Group is interested in establishing contact with us—the market makers frequently trading Whampoa Dock stocks—using them as intermediaries. They asked if we would be willing to participate in some form of cooperation or dialogue. They promised that if we are interested, they will act as a bridge to facilitate communication; if we are not, they will keep the matter confidential, decline on our behalf, and ensure our information is not leaked to Global Shipping Group."

Su Zhixue strode into the office, reporting to Lin Haoran in a hurried tone.

These securities traders played a vital role in facilitating remote stock trading; in this era before computer-based trading, their existence greatly facilitated market operations.

Although these traders did not know exactly how many Whampoa Dock shares Lin Haoran's team held, they understood that based on the team's active performance in the market, they were a force not to be underestimated.

As a member of the financial industry, Lin Haoran quickly realized the implications.

He was secretly startled; Bao Yugang had actually turned his gaze toward these market makers. This was undoubtedly a meticulously planned chess game.

Lin Haoran was not afraid that the exchange traders would actually leak their information, because if they did, it would constitute an illegal act using their professional position, resulting in not just fines, but imprisonment.

"Bao Yugang, what a masterful move!" Lin Haoran couldn't help but admire him inwardly, gaining a deeper understanding of Bao Yugang's strategic capabilities.

Such a large-scale, covert absorption of stocks from market makers would surely allow the shares he controlled to rapidly and significantly outpace those of Hongkong Land.

Recalling the historical fact that Whampoa Dock was eventually successfully acquired by the Bao family, besides the assistance from Huifeng Bank, the Bao family's own strength was also not to be underestimated.

Looking at it this way, the Bao family's victory over Hongkong Land was by no means an accident, but the inevitable result of both strength and strategy.

Good news, truly good news!

Originally, Lin Haoran had been contemplating how to cleverly induce Bao Yugang's side to proactively seek to purchase Whampoa Dock shares from him, so that he could take the initiative and seize the upper hand in this upcoming confrontation.

He understood that once he became the object of the other party's proactive search for cooperation, he would have more say and more leverage at the negotiating table.

Unexpectedly, the opportunity arrived so quickly, saving him a great deal of maneuvering and planning.

(End of Chapter)