yournovel Chapter 151 Soros' Invitation
Chapter 151 Soros' Invitation
Nine o'clock at night, a private hot pot restaurant in Causeway Bay.
The private room was small, with a copper pot on the table, the soup broth boiling, red and white in color.
Ling Yun arrived ten minutes early. Zhao Hu waited outside.
At exactly nine o'clock, Soros arrived. He walked in alone, without bodyguards. In his seventies, with gray hair and wearing a casual jacket, he looked like an ordinary tourist.
"Mr. Ling." He shook hands firmly. "Thank you for the invitation."
"Mr. Soros, please have a seat."
The two sat facing each other. The waiter began serving the dishes: sliced beef, sliced lamb, shrimp paste, and a vegetable platter.
"Do you eat spicy food?" Lingyun asked.
"Sure," Soros said, looking at the spicy broth. "It's quite interesting. You rarely eat like this in America."
"Hot pot is perfect for chatting."
The soup was boiling. Lingyun picked up a slice of beef, rinsed it briefly, and placed it on Soros's plate.
"Give it a try."
Soros tasted it and nodded.
"good."
I ate in silence for a few minutes.
Soros put down his chopsticks.
"Mr. Ling, I am aware of your operations in Thailand."
Ling Yun didn't look up and continued cooking the meat.
"What's going on?"
"Digital City," Soros said. "30 billion baht in pre-sales, converted into dollars and flowed out. Then the project was transferred, and the debt was cleared. Brilliant."
"Legitimate business."
"Of course it's legal," Soros laughed. "But it's very clever. We used tens of billions of dollars to crash the market, while you only used a few hundred million dollars, yet you made just as much as we did."
Lingyun looked up.
How did you know?
"I have my own channels," Soros said. "Some of Li Taijian's friends are also connected to my foundation."
"So you've invited me to dinner?"
"I want to get to know you," Soros said earnestly. "A young man who dares to go head-to-head with Microsoft and Intel, a trader who can accurately profit during financial storms, not a nobody."
Ling Yun didn't reply, but picked up a slice of enoki mushroom and put it in the pot.
"What do you want to say?"
"Cooperation," Soros said. "The storm in Southeast Asia isn't over yet. Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Korea... they'll fall one after another. If we work together, the profits can be even greater."
"How do we cooperate?"
"You provide the intelligence, I provide the funding," Soros said. "You have projects and connections in these countries, and you can get inside information. For example, which bank is about to collapse, which policy is about to be introduced. I will make arrangements based on your information, and you will get 30% of the profits."
Lingyun placed the cooked enoki mushrooms onto Soros's plate.
"Try this, enoki mushrooms."
Soros tried it.
"That's right. What's this?"
"Enoki mushrooms. In English, they're called Enoki Mushrooms. But we Chinese have given them another name." Ling Yun looked at him. "See you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow?" Soros asked, puzzled.
"That's right." Ling Yun smiled, "Because this stuff isn't easy to digest. If you eat it today, you'll see it again tomorrow..."
Soros paused for a moment, then burst into laughter.
"Interesting. So you're telling me our collaboration will be like this mushroom—all talk and no action tomorrow?"
"No." Ling Yun shook his head. "I'm saying that some things may seem like they've been swallowed, but it's not over yet."
He put down his chopsticks.
"Mr. Soros, thank you for the invitation. But I have no interest in sweeping through Southeast Asia."
"Why? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
"Because I'm not just a speculator," Ling Yun said. "I also have operating systems to promote, hardware standards to establish, and domestic factories to develop. Financial speculation is just a means, not an end."
Soros looked at him.
Do you consider speculation unethical?
"No," Ling Yun said. "The market is a battlefield. I just don't want to spend all my time on the battlefield. I want to build something."
"for example?"
"For example, an operating system that can break Microsoft's monopoly, an interface standard that can replace USB, or China's own computer brands," Ling Yun said. "These things are more meaningful than making billions of dollars."
Soros remained silent for a moment.
"I thought the same way when I was young. I wanted to be a philosopher and change the world."
"You are changing the world now, just as you are doing," Ling Yun said, "albeit in a different way."
"Are you saying I ruined the Thai economy?"
"No." Ling Yun looked at the boiling hot pot. "You just popped the bubbles. The bubbles were bound to burst sooner or later; you just accelerated the process."
Soros nodded.
"You are very clear-headed."
"That's why I won't cooperate with you," Ling Yun said. "It's not that I look down on you, it's that I don't want to be tied to this chariot. What you're going to do is too big, and I can't bear that weight."
"Then why did you agree to see me today?"
"Because I wanted to see you," Ling Yun said honestly. "A financial tycoon, a legendary figure. It would be my honor to have dinner with you."
Soros laughed.
"You're more interesting than I imagined."
The two continued eating hotpot. They chatted about trivial topics: Hong Kong's return to China, the US stock market, and technology trends.
Soros is very interested in UHSB.
"Open source and free access—that's a powerful move. Intel and Microsoft will have a hard time dealing with it."
"Technological advantages plus innovative business models," Ling Yun said. "Blockades alone are no longer enough."
"But what about political pressure?"
"There will be. But technology will ultimately prevail."
After finishing the hot pot, the waiter served dessert: mango pomelo sago.
Soros took a bite.
"tasty."
"Hong Kong characteristics".
When it came time to pay, Soros insisted on paying.
"I'm the guest, but you're the host. Next time I go to New York, I'll treat you."
"it is good."
As I walked out of the hot pot restaurant, a light rain began to fall.
Soros's driver drove up.
"Mr. Ling," he said before getting into the car, "please contact me anytime if you change your mind."
"I will."
The car drove away.
Lingyun stood under the eaves, watching the rain.
Zhao Hu walked over and handed him the umbrella.
"Mr. Ling, how did the talks go?"
"It's alright." Ling Yun took the umbrella. "He wasn't angry, and I didn't agree."
Will he retaliate?
"No." Ling Yun stepped into the rain. "He's a smart man. A smart man knows that it's better to have one more friend than one more enemy."
The two walked slowly along the street.
Hong Kong in the rain is hazy and peaceful.
"Tiger, do you think I did the right thing?" Ling Yun suddenly asked.
"What?"
"Refuse to work with Soros. That's a multi-billion dollar opportunity."
Zhao Hu thought for a moment.
"Mr. Ling, you said you're not just a speculator. You want to build things. To build things, you can't spend all your time on the battlefield."
Ling Yun smiled.
"You remember it very clearly."
"I remember everything you said."
Back at the hotel, Lingyun called Li Ziyu.
"Has Soros contacted you?"
"No," Li Ziyu said. "What's wrong?"
"He asked me to dinner today, wanting to collaborate on sweeping through Southeast Asia."
"You agreed?"
"no."
"That's good." Li Ziyu breathed a sigh of relief. "Cooperating with him would make us easy targets. Besides, being too conspicuous would make us easy targets."
"Okay," Ling Yun said. "Keep a low profile lately. Transfer the profits back to China in batches, don't make it too conspicuous."
"clear."
After hanging up the phone, Lingyun stood by the window.
Outside the window, the rain was getting heavier.
Soros's appearance reminded him that there were even bigger players in this storm.
He was just a freeloader.
But hitchhiking has its advantages: it's flexible, low-key, and less likely to be targeted.
He needs to maintain this state.
Until you have enough power to become one of the players.
Instead of always hitching a ride.