Chapter 351 Breaking News
As the saying goes, "Every man for himself, and heaven and earth will destroy those who don't look after themselves."
Lin Haoran felt no guilt whatsoever for stealing away the two future key figures that Li Jiacheng would have relied on most.
After all, his relationship with Li Jiacheng had never been close.
In the business world, wasn't it normal to fight for one's own interests?
People would kill for profit — what was poaching talent compared to that?
Right now, even if Li Jiacheng were to meet Huo Jianning and Ma Shiming face to face, he probably wouldn't realize how deeply they could have impacted his future.
But in this world, due to Lin Haoran's intervention, Li Jiacheng was destined to have no ties to them at all.
The world had already changed significantly because of Lin Haoran's presence.
This must be what they called the butterfly effect.
That afternoon, Lin Haoran continued chatting extensively with Ma Shiming.
Now that Ma Shiming had agreed to join Jardines Matheson, Lin Haoran could be more open about his plans.
He made it clear that while he would not interfere too much in the company's daily management,
over the next two years, Jardines Matheson must slow down its real estate development.
Unexpectedly, when Lin Haoran mentioned that a real estate crisis could hit Hong Kong within two years, Ma Shiming immediately agreed.
During his time as a senior executive at Jardines Matheson, Ma Shiming had already sensed similar dangers.
However, lacking the final authority, his concerns were dismissed by the board — particularly by the decision-makers like Niu Bijian.
Their mistrust had been one of the reasons Ma Shiming chose to leave Jardines Matheson.
Upon learning that Ma Shiming had independently foreseen the coming crisis,
Lin Haoran felt a surge of admiration.
He congratulated himself again for traveling all the way to Singapore to recruit him.
After all, Lin Haoran had only known about the upcoming crisis because of his advantage as a time traveler.
Ma Shiming, however, had made the same judgment purely based on his talent and experience.
In all of Hong Kong, very few could see the storm ahead — not even top figures like Shen Bi or Niu Bijian.
After securing Ma Shiming's agreement, Lin Haoran didn't stay in Singapore longer than necessary.
He rested one night and caught a flight back to Hong Kong the next morning.
Ma Shiming did not immediately return with him.
Having already moved his family to Singapore, he needed time to settle personal matters.
However, Ma Shiming promised to return to Hong Kong within three days.
Once back, he would officially take over Jardines Matheson's management.
This reassured Lin Haoran immensely.
With Ma Shiming at his side,
even pushing out Niu Bijian would become much easier in the future.
Of course, he wouldn't force Niu Bijian out immediately.
Right now, only Niu Bijian had the authority and prestige needed to keep Jardines Matheson's senior foreign executives under control.
Ma Shiming, despite being highly capable, lacked comparable prestige —
at least for now.
Replacing the senior foreign executives would take time,
so for the moment, Niu Bijian had to stay.
Lin Haoran had discussed all of this with Ma Shiming in detail the day before.
Fortunately, Ma Shiming was a far-sighted and pragmatic man.
He completely understood and agreed with Lin Haoran's strategy.
On November 2nd, at 12:30 p.m., Lin Haoran's flight landed safely at Kai Tak Airport.
Stepping onto Hong Kong's soil again, he couldn't hide the smile on his face.
The Singapore trip had been short but enormously successful.
He hadn't toured his local offices or conducted inspections —
he had gone straight for his goal and succeeded.
Now, having just secured Jardines Matheson and Jardines Matheson,
he had no interest in staying away from Hong Kong for long.
Two days later, on November 4th at 2:30 p.m.,
Lin Haoran returned to Kai Tak Airport — but this time not to board a plane.
He came to pick someone up.
Ma Shiming and his family had arrived in Hong Kong.
Seeing Lin Haoran personally coming to meet them,
Ma Shiming was visibly moved.
As a former executive at Jardines Matheson, he had never received such honor.
"Mr. Ma, welcome back to Hong Kong!"
Lin Haoran warmly hugged him.
"Thank you!"
All the emotions in Ma Shiming's heart boiled down to just two simple words.
"I know that before moving to Singapore, you sold your property in Hong Kong to focus on your startup plans.
Now that you've decided to return, you probably don't have a place to stay.
Don't worry, Mr. Ma — I've already arranged a home for you. Please follow me," Lin Haoran said with a smile.
Surprised by Lin Haoran's thoughtfulness,
Ma Shiming felt even more certain that he had made the right choice.
He had brought five people back: his wife and three children.
Lin Haoran had arranged two cars for their transportation.
Half an hour later, they arrived at a villa in the Mid-Levels area.
"Mr. Ma, you'll be living here for now.
It's less than two kilometers from Connaught Centre,
making your commute easy.
I've also prepared a private car for your use," Lin Haoran said, pointing at the villa.
The villa was one of Lin Haoran's personal properties —
worth around HKD 2 million, with a Mercedes-Benz worth under HKD 100,000 included.
Though officially a temporary residence,
if Ma Shiming proved himself,
Lin Haoran didn't mind transferring the property outright to him in the future.
In Lin Haoran's eyes, Ma Shiming's talent was priceless.
The wealth he would generate in the coming years would far surpass the cost of a villa.
While Lin Haoran had the instinct to invest heavily in acquiring prime assets,
he also understood clearly:
without competent management, even the best companies could collapse.
Winning talented executives and treating them with genuine respect was essential.
"Papa, are we really going to live here?"
Ma Shiming's youngest son asked excitedly, staring at the beautiful villa.
The other two children also looked around eagerly.
Compared to the high-rise apartment they had lived in before,
this standalone three-story villa felt like a dream.
Though Ma Shiming had been a senior executive at Jardines Matheson,
he wasn't as wealthy as outsiders imagined.
After studying in the UK and the US,
his career had only recently begun to flourish.
Thus, his family had never lived so luxuriously before.
"Mr. Lin, I feel undeserving.
I haven't even officially joined Jardines Matheson yet,
let alone contributed anything to you or the company,"
Ma Shiming said with a wry smile.
Lin Haoran simply smiled.
If you don't owe me a favor,
how can I make you fully loyal?
"Mr. Ma, your talent deserves such treatment.
Please make yourself at home.
The house is fully equipped — you can move in immediately," Lin Haoran said warmly.
Hearing this, Ma Shiming felt a deep surge of gratitude.
He knew the weight behind such generosity.
Taking a deep breath, Ma Shiming said solemnly,
"Mr. Lin, your trust and support mean the world to me.
I will devote all my talents and efforts to repaying you and Jardines Matheson.
No matter the challenges or opportunities ahead, I will give my all."
Lin Haoran nodded in satisfaction.
Everything he had done had been to win Ma Shiming's full loyalty — and it had worked.
He patted Ma Shiming on the shoulder and smiled:
"Mr. Ma, I believe in your abilities and determination.
Now, let's go take a look at your new home!"
They stepped into the villa together,
followed by Ma Shiming's excited family.
The villa was luxuriously but warmly decorated,
ready to welcome its new residents.
The next day,
Lin Haoran and Ma Shiming appeared together at the headquarters office of Jardines Matheson at Connaught Centre.
At the same time,
Jardines Matheson officially announced a blockbuster piece of news:
Effective immediately, Ma Shiming would serve as Vice Chairman of the Board and General Manager of Jardines Matheson,
taking over day-to-day management.
Originally, Lin Haoran had planned to hand over even the Chairman's position to Ma Shiming.
However, at Ma's suggestion,
Lin Haoran decided to retain his title for now.
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