Beer and seafood, a perfect gout-inducing combination, but Chen Yang couldn't care less. He was happy.
He tasted the food from the roadside stall. It wasn't bad, just that it suited the taste of Hong Kong people, mostly steamed or boiled.
The flavor relied more on the freshness of the ingredients themselves.
Chen Yang eagerly anticipated how his future spicy, stir-fried with scallions, braised, and garlic-flavored seafood dishes would change the dining tables of Hong Kong people. From Sudan Novels.
As Chen Yang leisurely ate and drank small sips of wine and seafood with Zhang Weiyang and the others, Huang Lizhen had already made several calls to familiar wealthy businessmen.
"Didn't Mr. Xu say earlier that the policies in mainland China had eased a bit, and many bold ones had already gone to Shenzhen for inspection?"
"When they go to the mainland, even eating a meal or drinking water costs money, so why isn't anyone exchanging their currency for Renminbi?"
Huang Lizhen gritted her teeth. She had to exchange this Hong Kong dollar into US dollars as soon as possible. Without exchanging the money, she couldn't feel at ease.
Thirty thousand Hong Kong dollars, this wasn't just her own savings accumulated over many years, but also included money borrowed at high interest. In a place like Hong Kong, if you couldn't repay the money, the loan sharks had plenty of ways to make you cough it up.
A woman like Huang Lizhen, who held a respectable position at HSBC Bank, would absolutely not want her management to discover her borrowing at high interest, which could lead to her losing her job.
Her beauty would also likely cause considerable trouble.
If she hadn't entered HSBC Bank back then, she might have already been forcibly taken by some ruffian to be his mistress.
"Boss Lei, it's me, Lizhen, from HSBC Bank..."
Huang Lizhen gritted her teeth and called the wealthy businessmen one by one whose business cards she had collected. She had never thought about marrying into a wealthy family; such unrealistic ideas were just the whimsical fantasies of foolish women.
The wealthy tycoons who could earn so much money, weren't they all cunning strategists? The story of Cinderella marrying a prince could only fool naive girls.
Even Cinderella's father was an Earl. What was she? Her ancestors were just fishermen, the lowest of the low in Hong Kong.
With her looks, some wealthy businessmen might be interested, but at most, they would just play around with her. Being a mistress would be considered good.
Once you enter a wealthy family, it's like entering a deep sea. Who knows when the legitimate wife might come knocking? That's why she had refused many dinner invitations from wealthy businessmen.
It wasn't that she didn't want a good life, but she was afraid that after not living a good life for long, she would be back to square one, or even lose her job. Then she would truly have lost both money and fortune.
"Boss Zhou? You want to go to the mainland? And you need a guide?"
"That's easy. I have a friend who just came from the mainland. I can introduce you."
"Yes, yes. My friend is also a businessman, and his business is not small. Boss Zhou, you don't need to worry. If Boss Zhou is still uneasy, I can accompany you. We can arrange to meet for a meal together."
After hanging up the phone, Huang Lizhen suppressed her inner excitement. Thirty thousand Renminbi had been exchanged.
She would soon receive twenty thousand US dollars!
This was equivalent to 150,000 Hong Kong dollars. After deducting 30,000 US dollars, she would have a net profit of 120,000 Hong Kong dollars. This amount was enough for her to buy a property in Tsim Sha Tsui.
However, getting this money wouldn't be so easy. This Boss Zhou hadn't found a way to go to the mainland yet. If he didn't confirm his trip to the mainland, he probably wouldn't exchange the money.
Huang Lizhen felt both excited and apprehensive. Excited because if she could earn this money, she would be able to turn her life around. Apprehensive because if she couldn't help Boss Zhou contact Chen Yang, or if Boss Zhou was not satisfied and didn't go to the mainland, he wouldn't exchange the money.
This Boss Zhou was in the gold business and didn't lack money. Although twenty thousand US dollars was not a significant amount to him, businessmen pursued profit.
If he couldn't go to the mainland to find business opportunities, would he keep Renminbi at home to get moldy? This money couldn't be spent in Hong Kong.
"How can I make Mr. Chen and Boss Zhou negotiate a good deal? Also, I can't let him know that I'm discussing an exchange deal with Boss Zhou, otherwise, he would get angry and wouldn't help me."
Huang Lizhen was very troubled. She had originally thought that with so many wealthy businessmen she knew, she could easily find a few to exchange Renminbi with. She hadn't expected that after searching around, only Boss Zhou was willing.
Moreover, this Boss Zhou hadn't found a way to get to the mainland. This matter required her to ask Chen Yang for help.
"Right, finding him is also a problem. Boss Zhou's time is precious. I can't have him wait for ten days until Chen Yang comes to collect the money himself before arranging their meeting, can I?"
Huang Lizhen's mood was like a roller coaster, rising and falling, with each wave higher than the last.
Thinking about the thirty thousand dollars being stuck in her hands, Huang Lizhen lost the mood to work. She directly took three days of sick leave from her supervisor and walked out of the bank in her high heels.
Hong Kong was not that big. Huang Lizhen refused to believe that she couldn't find these people from the mainland in a few days.
Huang Lizhen searched and searched from afternoon until night. Her fair and tender feet were almost blistered by her high heels, and she hadn't seen Chen Yang at all.
She had practically searched all the major places in Hong Kong and hadn't heard anyone mention seeing any mainlanders.
Huang Lizhen was tired and hungry, on the verge of a breakdown. She had finally found an opportunity to make money, but now she couldn't find Chen Yang.
If she could find Chen Yang, she was even prepared to give him half the money. Even if she only got ten thousand US dollars, that would be over seventy thousand Hong Kong dollars. In just a few days, she would have earned over forty thousand Hong Kong dollars, and she would be content.
Most importantly, if she couldn't find Chen Yang, and the Hong Kong dollars couldn't be exchanged, she would surely be tormented by those gang members.
She had finally managed to get an education and join HSBC Bank. She could have changed her destiny. She didn't want to be a mistress to some thugs who lived by the sword.
Those damned souls might be chopped to death on the streets one day.
She also wanted to earn money to get her parents out of their small, dilapidated fishing village as soon as possible. She had had enough of the fishy, foul sea breeze by the coast, her clothes and blankets always damp and moldy, and she was truly fed up.
"Grumble, grumble."
Huang Lizhen rubbed her reddened ankle and wanted to keep walking, but her stomach suddenly rumbled.
"People are iron, rice is steel. I'll find him after I eat."
Huang Lizhen pouted. She could endure hardship, but she couldn't endure hunger.
She had been hungry since she was little, and when she was hungry, she lost all courage.
Glancing around, she saw a roadside stall about a mile away. It was delicious and not expensive.
Although Huang Lizhen desperately wanted to escape the small fishing village, she only wanted to escape the dirty and chaotic environment. How could she change the taste she had grown accustomed to since childhood?
"I'll eat something, and after I'm full, I won't sleep until I find Chen Yang. I'll search every hotel. I don't believe you won't need a place to stay!"