After Divorce, I Can Hear the Future

Li Junwei also found himself unoccupied, recently following Wen Chao to complete the privatization of Huazhi Group.

With Wen Chao not present, Lu Liang not present, and Tang Caide being in charge of finance, Li Junwei was the best choice as the manager.

Suppressing his excitement, Li Junwei hurriedly said, "Mr. Lu, President Chao, I will not let you down."

Previously, he always felt like an outsider.

After all, whether it was Wen Chao, Tang Caide, or Sun Yutao, all were direct subordinates brought by Lu Liang from Modu, while the entire group's senior management had only him as a native of Xiangjiang.

Li Junwei could understand Lu Liang's approach, putting himself in his shoes, he would probably do the same.

But in his heart, there was still some discomfort.

He just did not expect that Lu Liang did not see him as an outsider and entrusted him with an important task at the best time for Tianxing Finance's development.

All of a sudden, he felt a sense of devotion to one who understands him, and he could not help but feel again that leaving HSBC was a wise choice in his life.

Lu Liang waved his hand and said, "Go ahead, you two should hand over the work."

As they left the office, Xu Jiawei knocked on the door and entered: "Mr. Lu, Superman Li's assistant called, wanting to schedule a meeting with you."

"He finally came." Lu Liang chuckled softly.

Half a month ago, with Hengtai successfully acquiring New World and Tianxing Finance putting some pressure on HSBC, the Li family's role was crucial.

The Li family could have stood by, or even profited without effort, but they chose to fully support Hengtai in acquiring New World.

At that time, Lu Liang speculated that Superman Li must have other plans, big plans indeed.

But they waited and waited, yet no news came.

Until he left Xiangjiang, returned to the mainland, and presided over Yao Guang's new car launch and Tianxing Automobile's financing.

To the extent that Lu Liang almost forgot about this matter.

After pondering for a moment, Lu Liang said, "Call back, there's no better time than now, how about 3 PM this afternoon."

Wen Chao had to go to the United States, and he also needed to head to Tokyo. With tight schedules and heavy tasks, he did not want to waste much time.

Old Ma was willing to hand over the payment business of the East Asian market to Tianxing Finance, but Mitsui Sumitomo might not be willing.

The two large groups have cooperative projects, and naturally, there are projects with conflicts of interest as well.

Even though Lu Liang had a good relationship with Ota Ling, business is business, especially when it concerns one's own interests.

The reason Alipay's development in the East Asian market went smoothly was due to its rootless nature, forcing it to choose deep cooperation with local forces.

For example, choosing to cooperate with Mitsui Sumitomo in Neon, or with Samsung-backed kakao in Korea.

A foreign software focused on online payments can be easily manipulated by local forces as they wish.

But Tianxing Finance was different, having early established a layout in East Asia, and wielding over $200 billion in cash flow, the combined effect of online and offline was indeed greater than the sum of its parts.

The side in Korea had support from Hyundai Group, and Zheng Xuanyi would very much hope for Lu Liang to clash directly with Samsung Group, so support was expected.

But in Neon, the attitude of Mitsui Sumitomo was still unknown, so Lu Liang needed to personally visit.

At 3 PM, Superman Li and his son arrived as scheduled, visiting Tianxing Financial Building in the role of guests.

"Zhe Kai, long time no see. Mr. Li, how have you been?"

Lu Liang greeted them with a smile, ushered them into the office, brewed tea, and exchanged warm pleasantries.

Li Zhikai glanced at his father, shrugged, and said, "He has something to discuss with you, it has nothing to do with me."

Externally, he habitually distanced himself from Old Li, and this behavior was tacitly approved by Old Li.

Superman Li often said that eggs should not be placed in the same basket, even for a father and son whose bonds run thicker than water.

As long as they displayed severe conflicts to the outside world, others would perceive them as two independent entities.

Li Zhikai was most annoyed by this particular aspect of his father, because their conflicts were not staged.

But he had to admit that this approach was effective, as should either side suffer, the other would not be implicated.

"Mr. Li, please feel free to speak your mind. I have always remembered what Cheung Shing did during Hengtai's acquisition of New World," Lu Liang said with a smile.

"Mr. Lu, straight to the point, then let me get straight to the point."

Superman Li put down his teacup and suddenly asked, "How much do you know about the port business?"

"I've heard of it, but I'm not particularly familiar with it," Lu Liang answered truthfully.

Superman Li said, "Then let me start from the beginning."

"Looking forward to hearing the details."

"Since the early 1990s, Cheung Shing Group has been involved in the port business, developing over 28 years…"

Superman Li spoke unhurriedly, vividly narrating the development history of the Li family's port business, sharing even some information that hadn't been publicly disclosed.

After all, to gain Lu Liang's support, one needed to explain the stakes to him; the more detailed, the more it showed their sincerity.

"As of now, Cheung Shing controls 43 ports across 23 countries worldwide, including two of the most important ones, Balboa and Christopher Port, located at both ends of the Panama Canal, handling 6% of the world's maritime trade volume."

With a grave expression, Superman Li continued, "The Panama Canal connects the Pacific Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean, allowing ships to avoid detouring around Cape Horn at the southern tip of South America, shortening the journey by about 12,000 kilometers, saving 8-10 days of sailing time."

"Recently, BlackRock approached us, hoping we could package and sell or relinquish control of most of these ports, offering a price that Cheung Shing could hardly refuse."

"But considering East Country as the world's factory, these ports are crucial to the Maritime Silk Road. Under the increasingly tense international situation, if they fall into BlackRock's hands, domestic trading companies will have an even harder time."

Superman Li put on a righteous expression, as if to say that no matter what he had done in the past, he was patriotic.

Lu Liang frowned, a hint of speechlessness flashing in his eyes, but he had to play along.

With a look of admiration, he clasped his hands in respect and said, "Mr. Li, your righteousness is commendable. How can we assist?"

Though Superman Li used a lot of rhetorical embellishment, Lu Liang understood.

The general situation was that BlackRock wanted to forcefully buy and have Cheung Shing sell these ports to them to implement the next step in their trade offensive against East Country.

One hand imposing tariffs, and if the other increases shipping costs, it would worsen the already difficult situation for East Country's factories.

Superman Li's so-called patriotism could actually be attributed to dissatisfaction.

After all, port projects unlike others, with usage rights of at least 30 years, up to 50 years.

Especially for popular global shipping ports like Suez and Panama, as long as one holds them, it can basically ensure decades of prosperity for the family.

Superman Li had been plotting for nearly thirty years, finally enduring to the peak of global maritime trade and capacity.

Yet BlackRock wanted to snatch it away due to political reasons.

Any person with ambition would not succumb.

Therefore, Superman Li wanted to bring Lu Liang into the picture, to completely muddy the waters, perhaps also to buy time.

After all, Lu was a significant figure internationally.

However, as it was Superman Li's request, even if Lu Liang guessed his intentions, he wouldn't bring it up voluntarily.

Because, in modern business negotiation cases, unless one party has an absolute advantage in power over the other.

Otherwise, just like Tianxing assisting Hengtai in acquiring New World, there's no advantage in going first, just in outsmarting the opponent in the end.

"The development of ports requires funding, and Cheung Shing hopes to get Delimei's investment."

Superman Li smiled, his face full of wrinkles, like a shrewd old fox.

He never fought unprepared, having 100% confidence in winning over Lu Liang, with the key lying in Delimei.

Ever since Harris stepped into the spotlight, battling the IRS in court, spreading the lawsuit to all fifty states in America, and the Federal Court.

The name Delimei resounded worldwide.

Fame is a good thing because the greater the reputation, the less likely some people are to openly come at you.

If Cheung Shing Port got Delimei's investment, it would also share in Delimei's reputation.

More crucially, Lu Liang could use the investment in the port project as a reason to pressure the IRS through public opinion to unfreeze funds.

Their cooperation would be a win-win situation, which is why he had 100% confidence in securing Lu Liang's agreement.

With furrowed brows, Lu Liang respectfully asked, "Mr. Li, could you tell me how you plan to have the IRS unfreeze the funds?"

Though feeling a bit uncomfortable being led by Superman Li, if he had a way to help Delimei unfreeze funds without a fight, it was not unacceptable.

After all, the ports indeed represented a good project, especially those along popular shipping routes, even though they earned only billions yearly, they were sustained in stability.

Especially under the increasingly tense international situation.

If one held key global maritime hubs, it would not only strangle the throats of smaller nations but also act as a restraint against larger nations, making them wary and cautious.