Chapter 5

"Uncle, cut me a roasted duck!" Li Xuan stood at the door of Li Ji Roast Meat Shop and shouted to the boss inside. He was preparing to buy some roast meat to take home.

"It's Xiao Xuan! I heard you got into university! Your dad just bought half a duck, you don't need to buy anymore!" The boss of the roast meat shop, Li Aier, was bare-chested, pulling out a new batch of roasted ducks from the oven. His roast meat was the best in the neighborhood.

"I haven't even started filling out the university application yet. The college entrance exam results are out, and they're pretty good! My dad bought roasted goose, so just cut me a pound of char siu!" Li Xuan's family was economically poor, and even if his parents saved some money, they had to keep it for emergencies. They rarely bought meat more than a few times a month.

"Alright! Xiao Xuan, you've really grown up. You're already earning money to support the family before even starting university!" Li Aier, seeing a customer, immediately put aside other matters and attended to the guest.

Li Xuan was never one to deprive himself. Now that he had a steady income, he often bought some cooked food from this roast meat shop on his way home from work to improve the family's meals.

When he got home, the whole family was waiting for him to return from work for dinner. Seeing Li Xuan enter, his younger sister Li Ying immediately grabbed a basket and ran downstairs to the toast shop to buy chilled beer and soda. The family didn't have a refrigerator, so if they bought it too early in the hot summer, it wouldn't stay cold for long. Tonight's dinner was very abundant, with eight dishes in total, including meat and vegetables. His mother even specially made Li Xuan's favorite oyster omelet.

Li Xuan's college entrance exam results were confirmed, and the whole family was very happy, especially his father, Li Haichuan. Usually a man of few words, he became more talkative after drinking, repeatedly urging his son to work hard in university and find a good job in the future.

For Hong Kong children, getting into university meant a bright future. Those who graduated from high school and started working immediately earned about a thousand dollars a month. University graduates, on the other hand, started at around 2,500 to 3,000 dollars.

More importantly, high-paying jobs often had better prospects. Getting into the University of Hong Kong or the Chinese University of Hong Kong meant that families like the Lis, who were at the bottom of society, had found the best way to break into the upper-middle class.

"Bro, not sleeping at home tonight?" Li Xuan saw his older brother preparing to leave.

"Yeah, if I stay at home, I'd have to sleep on the floor in the living room. I might as well go back to my place. Besides, the video hall business is better at night, and I need to keep an eye on it. If something goes wrong, the boss will scold me!" Li Ke took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, lit one with a lighter, and said with a smile, "When Li Ying called me today, the boss was right next to me. He heard that you got three A's and two B's and asked if you were really my dad's biological son, saying how much better you are. Ha ha!"

The public housing unit the Lis applied for was a very small two-bedroom apartment. The smaller bedroom, which housed a bunk bed, took up a significant portion of the space. Adding a small wardrobe and a writing desk left very little room.

This small bedroom was shared by Li Xuan and Li Ying. Li Ying, being a girl, slept on the top bunk, with a curtain hanging over the bed. She could pull the curtain for a bit of privacy when sleeping.

Fortunately, Li Ying was only twelve years old. If she were a few years older, it would be even more awkward for Li Xuan. But this was the housing situation in Hong Kong, and the Lis' situation was far from the worst. Many families with three or four siblings shared a small room.

"Bro!" Li Xuan had something to say but didn't know how to express it.

"I'm different from you and the boss. I've never been good at studying, skipped classes, and got into fights. I've been a delinquent since I was young. My dad and I worked at a garment factory, but I couldn't bear the hardship, so I had to join a gang!" Li Ke knew what his younger brother was thinking. "Don't worry, I have my eyes open. I never planned to become a full-time gangster. I won't take the lead in anything, so I can take care of myself."

Li Xuan naturally understood that these were words to comfort him. Once in the gang, one's actions were no longer their own. Being a gangster meant a life of ups and downs, and to make a lot of money, one had to risk their life. When the boss was in a good mood, if you didn't rush to the front, why would the boss promote you and give you the most profitable territory to manage?

As the saying goes, "Swords have no eyes, and those who walk by the river will eventually get their shoes wet." Li Xuan knew he couldn't help his brother now, but he hoped that Boss Huo Junming's trip to Japan to secure the Epson printer distribution rights would go smoothly. Once he had that first pot of gold, he could use part of it to help his brother start a business, whether it succeeded or failed, it would be a legitimate job.

He believed that with the knowledge in his head, which was thirty years ahead of this era, he could quickly rise to success. When that time came, his father and mother wouldn't have to work so hard, and they could move into a larger house. His younger sister, Li Ying, could also transfer to a better school. As for his brother, even if he just lived day by day, Li Xuan would support him for life, in gratitude for the times he stole money to buy fish balls for him when they were young.

Although the family was poor, the warm, blood-related affection was something Li Xuan had never experienced in his previous life. For this soul who had lived two lives, home had a special significance, motivating him to strive and create his own success.

In the following days, Li Xuan devoted most of his time to the design and development of the Chinese card, finally completing the final draft before Huo Junming's trip to Japan. He handed it over to the boss to take to Japan as a small token of their strength and sincerity during negotiations.

Huo Junming hadn't been idle these days. As the saying goes, "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated." He spent a lot of time gathering information about Japan's Epson Corporation. Epson did not have an office in Hong Kong, although some of its mini-printers for supermarket and department store receipts were available in the market. However, their market share was very small, and there were no agents to develop the market. This was good news for Hengtai Company.

In addition to selling various printers, Epson also produced liquid crystal displays. Its parent company, Seiko, was a famous watchmaker in Japan, and Epson's LCDs were mainly used for the screens of electronic watches.

This was another piece of good news for Huo Junming. Before resigning and starting his own company, he worked as a sales manager at an electronic watch factory in Hong Kong. Most Hong Kong-made electronic watches were low-end products, mainly sold to Southeast Asia, the United States, and Europe. As far as he knew, there were no local manufacturers of LCDs in Hong Kong, and the main suppliers were from Japan and Europe, with a small share from Epson.

If Huo Junming could propose a bundled agency plan for both printers and LCDs during negotiations with Epson, comprehensively developing the Hong Kong market for the company, his chances of securing the agency rights would undoubtedly increase significantly.