"What kind of business would be good to start?" Bruce Lee muttered, scratching his head.
He was thrilled at the prospect of working with Hardy, but the ventures Hardy ntioned required significant initial investnt, and he was currently short on funds. This was his biggest problem.
Since he couldn't co up with an idea on his own, he decided to gather others to brainstorm. He imdiately summoned all of his subordinates for a eting.
In the living room, about twenty people gathered.
They were all his lieutenants. Bruce Lee said, "Today, I had the fortune to et Mr. Hardy, the big boss of the Hardy Group. Mr. Hardy said we could collaborate on so businesses."
"But he's a big boss, owning hundreds of companies in the U.S. alone, not to ntion the ones here in Hong Kong. We don't have much that we can bring to the table."
"Mr. Hardy ntioned taxi companies, bus companies, film companies, building cinemas, or even opening a casino in Macau."
"To be honest, these are all good businesses, but we lack capital. I've been thinking about whether there are any smaller scale, profitable businesses we could invest in. I couldn't co up with anything, so I called all of you here to brainstorm together."
Bruce Lee's subordinates beca excited upon hearing this.
Everyone was eager to make money.
Working with a big boss like Hardy would definitely lead to big profits in the future.
Everyone began to speak at once.
"Boss, why don't we open a few high end nightclubs, bars, or sauna houses? Those are guaranteed money makers," soone suggested.
"I thought of that too, but even opening a high end establishnt requires investnt," Bruce Lee replied.
"Boss, I saw in the newspaper that Mr. Hardy has a shipping company. Why don't we ask him to lend us a few ships?" another lieutenant proposed.
"What would we do with the ships?"
"A while ago, I heard from a relative who ca over that the Chinese shipping routes have been cut off by the communists, and smuggling operations are facing shortages. Many people want to co here, but there's no way. If we could borrow a few ships, we could bring people over and make a fortune on each trip."
Bruce Lee frowned.
This business was essentially smuggling.
It would probably be very profitable,
"But Mr. Hardy wants to collaborate on legal businesses. How would I explain this one?" Bruce Lee replied irritably.
The people in the room, most of them weren't well educated.
They couldn't think of any suitable businesses at the mont.
At that mont, a young man sitting in the back spoke up, "Boss, I have an idea."
"Speak."
"I used to sail to the Dongsha Islands to harvest seaweed. I passed by many islands, and on those islands, there were remnants of the war between the Aricans and the Japanese—guns, cannons, and ships. So people snuck onto the islands and found all sorts of things."
"They also saw plenty of planes, cannons, grounded battleships, and landing crafts. There's a lot of stuff there. I've even heard there's an arsenal and warehouses on the islands."
"Now, those islands are under U.S. control, and Mr. Hardy's company is Arican. If he could lend us a ship flying the Arican flag, we could haul the scrap tal and copper from those islands. It would sell for a lot of money, and it's a no-cost business, we wouldn't need to invest a cent."
Bruce Lee blinked in surprise, could this business actually work?
The weather was great today. Hardy traveled to Macau by boat, accompanied by Victor and a dozen bodyguards.
Macau is located at the mouth of the Pearl River. Originally, it was just a small fishing village, In 1553, the Portuguese gained the right to rule over Macau, and in 1887, it beca a Portuguese colony.
During World War II, the Japanese did not occupy Macau, so Hardy felt it was more stable and peaceful here than Hong Kong while touring around.
As they walked down the street, both sides were lined with gambling stalls of various sizes, and there were even small gambling tables set up outside. Hardy saw several kids, about ten years old, sitting on the ground around a cloth, playing dice, with a few coins and small change on it.
Victor, standing nearby, said, "Boss, the gambling business here requires a license approved by the Portuguese governnt. There's only one gambling license, and the current 'Gambling King of Macau' is a man nad Fu Laorong. He has been running casinos for over a decade."
"All of the casinos and gambling stalls here, regardless of size, are controlled by Fu Laorong. He has a share in every gambling business," Victor added.
Hardy nodded.
Although the business in Macau now was nowhere near the scale of Las Vegas, the monopoly here was what made it truly profitable.
And as the only legal gambling district in Asia, this place would only beco more valuable in the future.
"That Fu Laorong is also the biggest power in Macau. He has hundreds of n under his command and maintains a good relationship with the Governor of Macau," Victor continued.
As the only person with a gambling license, it was no surprise that Fu Laorong would lavishly gift the Governor. Hardy even suspected that a significant portion of the gambling profits had ended up in the pockets of the Portuguese.
Hardy wasn't interested in gambling himself. The casinos here, let alone compared to Hardy's Grand Hotel, couldn't even compare to other Mafia run casinos. They were remnants of an old era, full of smoke and chaos inside.
Hardy's group was quite noticeable.
A dozen foreigners, even in Macau, drew a lot of attention from passersby.
They passed through the streets and arrived at the iconic Ruins of St. Paul's Cathedral, the most famous landmark in Macau.
After leaving the St. Paul's Cathedral, Hardy told Victor, "Register a trading company here in Macau, and either buy so land or acquire an existing company."
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"Have soone else's na listed as the owner so no one can trace it back to ," Hardy instructed.
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