Chapter 455 The New Wave Surpasses the Old
After hearing Shao Yifu's report, Lin Haoran couldn't help but exclaim, "Sixth Uncle, you really are TVB's best manager. If I were managing it myself, I definitely wouldn't have achieved today's success."
This was genuinely how Lin Haoran felt. He was never good at management and had never intended to interfere much with TVB's operations; otherwise, Shao Yifu would never have had the chance to become Chairman in the first place.
"That's not entirely true. Without the excellent suggestions you offered before, TVB might not have achieved such results," Shao Yifu replied with a smile.
"Let's not flatter each other. In any case, with you here, I feel completely at ease about TVB. From now on, I'll be content just being a shareholder," Lin Haoran laughed heartily.
"By the way, Haoran, what exactly are you going to say tonight?" Shao Yifu had been curious ever since he received Lin Haoran's call that morning.
Now that he finally saw Lin Haoran in person, he couldn't resist asking what kind of speech Lin Haoran intended to deliver to the public via TVB.
"Sixth Uncle, you already know that recently newspapers like Sing Tao Daily and Overseas Chinese Daily have been intentionally stirring public opinion, claiming that I've lost faith in Hong Kong's future. As a result, the entire real estate market has suddenly cooled down. This has brought a lot of pressure on me. If I don't respond, the real estate sector might really collapse because of me. I don't want to become a public enemy," Lin Haoran briefly explained without going into much detail.
Shao Yifu immediately understood.
Although Shaw Brothers mainly focused on the film and television industry and had little involvement with real estate, Shao Yifu wasn't ignorant of the real estate world.
As one of Hong Kong's business tycoons, he naturally had many friends in the property industry, including Bao Yugang and Li Jiacheng, with whom he shared strong ties. Especially with Bao Yugang—they not only belonged to the same echelon of top tycoons but were also old classmates, practically hometown fellows.
"Indeed, I've been in Hong Kong's business scene for decades now, and the media here never ceases to amaze me. Although Hong Kong values freedom of speech, this has led to media of all qualities emerging. Fake news, manipulated narratives—none of this is surprising. For a situation like yours, it's absolutely necessary to counterattack. Otherwise, even though the media stirred it up, in the end, everyone would blame you. Worse, many real estate companies might hold you responsible," Shao Yifu said, fully agreeing with Lin Haoran's reasoning.
Born in 1907, Shao Yifu was already 74 years old and had fought his way through Hong Kong's business world for decades.
He had seen everything.
Incidents where powerful businessmen were ruined by media manipulation happened almost every year.
Thus, Lin Haoran's decisions to acquire Oriental Daily and invest in TVB were incredibly wise.
He hadn't immediately used Oriental Daily and TVB to fight back because he had confidence and patience.
In his view, these few newspapers were just noisy clowns.
If he had struck back too early, the whole plan would have been ruined.
Thanks to their reckless reporting, Jardines Matheson was able to snatch up five prime government plots for only HKD 3 billion—land that was actually worth HKD 5 to 6 billion.
This unexpected turn of fortune even surprised Lin Haoran himself.
Thus, he was in no rush to make public clarifications earlier; otherwise, the auction wouldn't have been so easy.
Afterwards, Shao Yifu took Lin Haoran to tour a few key departments within TVB.
During their chat, Shao Yifu also talked about tonight's New Year's Gala—TVB's most important event recently, for which they had been preparing for almost a month.
RTV, their competitor, was also hosting a New Year's show to compete for ratings.
Thus, TVB couldn't afford to be negligent; otherwise, the hard-won lead in ratings could be lost.
The fact that Shao Yifu agreed to reserve TVB's prime airtime tonight for Lin Haoran without even knowing the content of the speech was a huge favor.
"Sixth Uncle, rest assured, the time I take tonight won't lower our ratings. In fact, it might even boost them!" Lin Haoran smiled confidently.
Jade Channel was TVB's crown jewel, commanding the highest viewership.
TVB's overall ratings strength was thanks largely to Jade Channel's dominance.
With Lin Haoran's popularity and influence, and after publicly announcing during the afternoon press conference that he would speak tonight, curiosity across Hong Kong was already at a peak.
Thus, he was certain ratings would soar.
"I believe you. From this real estate crisis alone, I've realized just how powerful your influence is. Truly, the new wave pushes the old, and each generation surpasses the last. I've been in Hong Kong's business world for decades but never wielded influence as you do!" Shao Yifu said with genuine admiration.
"I'm just a businessman. Honestly, I'd prefer to have less influence; otherwise, it's easy to be used by others, like what happened this time," Lin Haoran shook his head.
"Everything has pros and cons. Though your influence has brought you some trouble, it will bring you far more benefits. You don't realize how lucky you are—many people would kill for the kind of influence you have!" Shao Yifu said, a bit enviously.
"That's true," Lin Haoran nodded, not wishing to dwell further on the topic.
At 6 PM, Shao Yifu and Lin Haoran went to TVB's cafeteria for dinner.
Two business giants—especially Lin Haoran, a giant among giants given his immense wealth—eating in the staff cafeteria naturally caused a stir among employees. Many came over to greet them warmly.
Lin Haoran even spotted some familiar faces: Zheng Shaoqiu, Chow Yun-fat, and others.
At this time, the number of famous actors he recognized was still small; the one he knew best was probably Chow Yun-fat.
Last year, Chow Yun-fat had become TVB's leading actor after starring as Xu Wenqiang in The Bund.
As for Zheng Shaoqiu, he had already been a top-tier star for some time.
Among actresses, Lin Haoran recognized "Big Sister" Liza Wang and Angie Chiu.
He admired Angie Chiu's stunning beauty, though it was a pity she had married early and even had her second child last year.
Lin Haoran wasn't interested in married women with children.
With his current status, he could easily find any woman he wanted—there was no need to emulate Cao Cao.
After dinner, Lin Haoran and Shao Yifu returned to the office to rest briefly.
Soon, it was close to 6:50 PM—only a few minutes left before Lin Haoran's live speech.
Inside the studio, female staff helped adjust Lin Haoran's outfit.
Lin Haoran sat calmly, waiting for 7 PM.
Meanwhile, across Hong Kong—from the dazzling city centers to quiet rural villages—TV screens were tuned to TVB's Jade Channel, all waiting for Lin Haoran's highly anticipated public address.
In just two or three hours, the news that Jardines Matheson had bought all five government auction plots had spread across almost the entire city.
Hong Kong wasn't that big, and such an important event traveled fast.
The announcement that Lin Haoran would speak at 7 PM on TVB's Jade Channel spread just as quickly.
Thus, tonight, countless Hong Kong citizens eagerly awaited.
In a high-end restaurant in Causeway Bay, elegantly dressed elites savored their dinners while stealing glances at the clock, whispering about the upcoming speech.
As members of Hong Kong's upper class with vast property holdings, they naturally didn't want property prices to crash.
Tonight, they pinned their hopes on Lin Haoran's words to stabilize the market and restore public confidence.
In an ordinary apartment in Central, a family of four sat together in the living room.
The children played with toys while their parents stared intently at the television.
They had purchased their apartment just over a year ago, paying a high price.
Naturally, they didn't want property values to fall and hoped Lin Haoran's speech would bring reassuring news.
In a luxury villa in Kowloon Tong, several retired elderly people sat around a coffee table, sipping tea.
The television volume was turned up to the maximum to ensure they heard every word clearly.
They were curious about Lin Haoran's message and concerned about how it might affect their retirement years.
In the villages of the New Territories, farmers finished their day's work early and gathered at a small shop, surrounding an old television set, chatting excitedly about the upcoming broadcast.
Even though the ups and downs of the Hong Kong real estate market seemed distant from their lives, the name Lin Haoran, so often in the news, filled them with curiosity and anticipation.
As the clock's hands slowly moved toward 7 PM, it felt as though an invisible force had drawn all of Hong Kong together, every eye fixed on the Jade Channel screen.
And Lin Haoran's familiar face appeared punctually on every television.
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