Chapter 55 Name Your Price
"Uncle Bao, please come inside. The hallway isn't the best place for a conversation," Lin Haoran said, not directly responding to Bao Yugang's earlier remarks. He courteously gestured with his arm, inviting Bao to enter the office for a proper discussion.
Bao Yugang nodded with a smile, his steps carrying a hint of curiosity.
As he walked, he asked, "Your father should be here in the office too, right?"
Lin Haoran smiled warmly and replied,
"Actually, no, Uncle Bao.
Right now, aside from my bodyguards outside the door, it's just me here handling some matters."
"You're here alone?" Bao Yugang repeated, clearly surprised, his footsteps slowing involuntarily.
But he quickly masked his reaction and, nodding understandingly, continued following Lin Haoran into the private office.
After they sat down, Lin Haoran skillfully brewed tea.
The aroma soon filled the office, soothing and rich.
Carefully pouring a cup for each of them, Lin Haoran finally turned his gaze toward Bao Yugang.
"Uncle Bao, regarding your earlier question, let me clarify directly. Huanyu Investment Company is a business I personally founded. It has no direct relation to my father, Lin Wanan, and in fact, he still doesn't know about it," Lin Haoran said with a smile, speaking openly.
At that moment, Lin Haoran exuded a confidence and composure far beyond his years.
Sitting across from the world-renowned shipping king,
his eyes held neither fear nor nervousness,
only sincere and equal communication.
Apart from the respect he showed as a junior to an elder,
there was no sense of inferiority between them—only a pure conversation.
Bao Yugang paused slightly with his teacup midair, a flicker of shock crossing his eyes.
He gently placed the cup back down and, still astonished, asked,
"You're saying this company is entirely your own creation, and your father knows nothing about it?"
There was deep disbelief in his tone.
In Bao's mind, anyone capable of drawing such attention from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange had to have a powerful capital network behind them—
at the very least, someone like Lin Wanan.
"That's correct, Uncle Bao," Lin Haoran reaffirmed firmly, his eyes calm and steady.
"This company was founded and operated by me alone.
My father truly had no involvement, nor does he know about it."
Hearing this, Bao Yugang couldn't help but feel a mix of emotions.
He was both surprised by Lin Haoran's independence and ambition,
and increasingly began to reevaluate the young man sitting before him.
After all, to control a company that could operate so boldly in the stock market was no small feat.
"Haoran, may I ask—how many shares of Wharf Holdings does your Huanyu Investment Company actually hold?"
Bao Yugang finally couldn't resist asking.
After all, the very reason he had personally come here was to acquire Huanyu Investment's holdings.
"Of course, no problem, Uncle Bao.
Currently, I hold over 1.47 million shares of Wharf Holdings, accounting for about 1.4% of the total issued shares," Lin Haoran answered without hesitation.
There was no need to hide it.
Only by making Bao Yugang fully aware of his strength could he consolidate their cooperation.
"What? You hold over 1.47 million Wharf shares?!"
Bao Yugang exclaimed, jumping up in shock, utterly incredulous.
1.47 million shares—around 1.4% of Wharf's total issuance—
in normal circumstances, that alone would warrant an invitation to the company's board of directors.
He knew very well how fiercely contested Wharf's shares had become.
Even for titans like himself, investing tens of millions of HKD daily would barely scrape together two to three hundred thousand shares.
Despite Wharf's immense daily trading volume,
the actual amount their team could absorb was limited by intense competition—
fighting against Jardine Matheson, market speculators, and countless retail investors.
In short, there were simply too many competitors.
Thus, hearing that Lin Haoran's firm alone held 1.47 million shares utterly stunned Bao Yugang.
Over the weekend, Bao had gone through enormous effort to negotiate with Hong Kong's big-name traders,
barely securing close to two million shares.
And here was Lin Haoran, calmly declaring he alone held 1.47 million—an astonishing revelation.
Clearly, this young man was far from ordinary.
"Of course, these are the actual Wharf Holdings share certificates we hold,"
Lin Haoran said generously, directly laying out the certificates in front of Bao Yugang.
Seeing the genuine stock certificates,
Bao Yugang finally believed it without doubt.
Considering that Wharf's stock price had surged from 30–40 HKD to now over 70 HKD,
Lin Haoran's holdings—
even calculated conservatively at an average of 50 HKD per share—
represented an investment of over 70 million HKD.
This was real, tangible cash flow,
not just theoretical value.
Its weight was immense.
Although curious how Lin Haoran had raised such capital,
Bao Yugang tactfully chose not to pry.
Instead, he turned the conversation back to the main point, saying sincerely:
"Haoran, you and I both know why I'm here.
Name your price.
As long as it's reasonable, I'm willing to buy all your shares."
At this moment, Bao Yugang was filled with certainty.
He was confident that he could secure these shares.
After all, even though he and Lin Haoran weren't particularly close,
they were at least acquaintances—neighbors of sorts at Deep Water Bay.
As long as the price wasn't too outrageous,
he would readily agree.
He didn't even intend to haggle much.
In his mind,
as long as Lin Haoran didn't ask for an unreasonable premium,
he would immediately finalize the deal.
Bao Yugang now looked at Lin Haoran with eager, expectant eyes,
waiting for him to name his price.
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