Chapter 199: Bodyguard (1)
Chapter 199: Bodyguard (1)
On Friday after school, Dong Jiajia left with Lu Jiahxin. As they walked, Dong Jiajia asked, "It's Friday today. Are you heading back to Mid-Levels?"
It wasn't odd for her to ask since classes didn't meet on weekends in Hong Kong.
Lu Jiahxin shook her head and replied, "I've arranged for a tutor to come over tomorrow, so I'll be studying all day. I'll head back to Mid-Levels to visit my aunt afterward."
Just then, they heard Su Heyuan calling out to her.
When Dong Jiajia saw that Su Heyuan was driving a second-hand car, she felt that it was too shabby and asked, "Jiahxin, is this your boyfriend?"
Lu Jiahxin was flustered. Although the mainland had strong taboos against early romance, girls in Hong Kong matured faster, and it wasn't unusual for fifteen or sixteen-year-olds to be dating. She shook her head and said, "No, he's my godmother's nephew. She was worried that I'd be bullied while in Hong Kong, so she specifically asked him to take care of me."
Dong Jiajia looked a little disappointed. As soon as she saw Su Heyuan approaching, she quickly said, "See you next week."
"See you next week," Lu Jiahxin replied.
After Lu Jiahxin got into the car, Su Heyuan asked, "Was that your classmate just now?"
"Mhm," Lu Jiahxin nodded. "Her father is a judge. He usually acts proud, but he's very friendly to me."
"That's great. You've made a friend so quickly," Su Heyuan commented.
Lu Jiahxin smiled but remained silent, as it was still questionable whether they would become true friends. Dong Jiajia's kindness could very well be hiding a knife.
Once they were both in the car, Su Heyuan said, "The company has been registered, and now we need to choose an office location. Jiahxin, I've picked out a few places for you to consider—one in Central, one in Wan Chai, and one in Causeway Bay."
Without hesitation, Lu Jiahxin replied, "Let's rent a place that's convenient and has cheap rent. We don't have much money now, but once we do, we'll buy two floors and turn them into our office building."
Su Heyuan shook his head. "Office spaces in Hong Kong are very expensive, with prices ranging from 7,000 to over 10,000 HKD per square foot. Buying a 1,000-square-foot office space would cost over 10 million HKD."
Lu Jiahxin didn't argue. The suggestion to buy an office building would be more believable once they had the money in hand.
Su Heyuan continued, "My grandfather said that building a factory would be too slow and not cost-effective. He suggested that it would be better to directly acquire a garment factory. I consulted with an agent, and there's one factory that was built five years ago, with machines and equipment purchased four years ago. However, the owner is asking for 8 million HKD, which exceeds our budget."
Upon hearing this, Lu Jiahxin immediately shook her head. "Our budget for acquiring a garment factory is within 5 million HKD. This is almost double our budget, so it's definitely not feasible. Big Brother Su, we don't need a very large-scale factory in Hong Kong. If we get a large order, we can find a contract manufacturer in the mainland to produce the goods."
Su Heyuan explained, "Jiahxin, the reason that factory is so expensive is that the land it sits on is quite large. Do you remember Mr. Nie from our dinner the other day? He mentioned that the real estate market will recover soon. If we acquire this factory, we can relocate it later and sell the land for a profit!"
"I don't have enough money," Lu Jiahxin said. "With the factory costing 8 million HKD, plus taxes and other expenses, we'd need to prepare at least 10 million HKD. I hold 60% of the shares, so I'd need to contribute 6 million HKD. Including the money from the jeans, I now have about 13 million HKD, but I don't plan to touch the 8 million HKD in the stock market, so I don't have enough."
Su Heyuan was puzzled. "How is it not enough? You have over 3 million HKD in savings, and now you've received an additional 4 million HKD."
"I plan to use that 3 million HKD for stock trading, so it won't be touched," Lu Jiahxin explained. Aside from the original 3 million HKD in her account, she also had the 5 million HKD from selling the business plan. She intended to use this 8 million HKD for stock trading.
Su Heyuan hadn't expected this reason. He still hesitated to let go of the money but eventually said, "Then you put in 4 million HKD, and I'll cover the difference.
Su Heyuan suggested, "Let's buy the factory first. Once the paperwork is done, we can apply for a loan from the bank. We should be able to get a loan of around 2 million HKD, which will cover the operating costs of the factory, and we won't have to spend any extra money out of pocket."
Lu Jiahxin couldn't help but laugh at the suggestion, "Don't you think you're getting the short end of the deal?"
Su Heyuan didn't feel that way at all, "I got 40% of the 3 million HKD profit from the jeans business, which is a great deal for me. I'm confident that with your help, our clothing company will be a huge success."
Although Lu Jiahxin didn't want to buy such a large factory, she decided not to object further since Su Heyuan was willing to front the money. Besides, she knew that the real estate market was expected to pick up next year and the prospects for appreciation looked good. However, her primary focus was on accumulating capital, and she believed that the best way to quickly build a substantial amount of wealth was through stock trading and foreign exchange investments.
Su Heyuan continued, "You don't have to worry about sales. I have access to all of the Su family's sales channels. As long as our clothing designs are more fashionable, our prices are lower, and we maintain the quality, they will definitely source their products from us."
Lu Jiahxin understood her intentions and replied, "I will make time to come up with new designs, and I'll have them ready before the factory starts production. However, a clothing company shouldn't rely on just one person. Once the company starts making a profit, we should hire more fashion designers."
"Of course," Su Heyuan agreed.
With these two matters settled, Lu Jiahxin brought up another concern, "What if your father and cousins retaliate against you for taking away their customers? And won't your grandfather be upset that you're poaching from the family business?"
Su Heyuan wasn't worried, "The clothing business has thin profit margins, and both Su Xingcong and Su Hexu have wanted to sell it for a while, but my grandfather wouldn't allow it. As long as our new company is successful, my grandfather won't be angry. As for retaliation, my grandfather won't permit it, and I'm not afraid of them anyway."
Lu Jiahxin still felt that they should take precautionary measures.
Su Heyuan shared her concerns and added, "This time, I also plan to hire two bodyguards for myself."
"That's a good idea," Lu Jiahxin agreed.
Su Heyuan had already been in contact with the manager of a security company and had discussed their requirements. As soon as they arrived at the security company, the manager provided them with the prepared profiles of potential candidates.
Lu Jiahxin was looking for a female bodyguard, and such bodyguards were relatively rare in the market, so her options were limited. She only had three profiles to choose from, while Su Heyuan had a thick stack of profiles to consider.
After browsing through the three profiles, Lu Jiahxin selected the most ordinary-looking candidate and said, "Let's go with Feng Lihua!"
This security company was the top-rated one in Hong Kong, and all their bodyguards had clean backgrounds, so there was no need to worry about that aspect. Lu Jiahxin chose a female bodyguard with an ordinary appearance because she believed that the less noticeable a bodyguard was, the better they could blend into the background and perform their duties effectively.
Su Heyuan, on the other hand, selected five candidates and instructed, "Please bring these five people over here for me to see."
Soon, all six candidates were present. Su Heyuan's choices were all tall and muscular men, appearing to be at least 1.85 meters tall. In contrast, Feng Lihua was a full head shorter than them, looking petite in their midst.
Su Heyuan picked the tallest man among them, and compared to this towering figure, he became dissatisfied with Feng Lihua. He spoke in Mandarin, "Jiahxin, don't you want to choose someone else?" Lu Jiahxin turned to Feng Lihua and asked, "Can you drive, cook, and do household chores?"
Feng Lihua was taken aback by the question, as it didn't seem like the typical inquiry for a bodyguard. Nonetheless, she maintained her professionalism and answered, "I can drive, but my cooking skills are limited to simple dishes, and I can also help with household chores when needed."
It seemed like they were looking for a housekeeper more than a bodyguard, but bodyguards were much more expensive than domestic helpers, so it was unlikely that they would only be expected to perform household duties.
(End of Chapter)
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