Chapter 378 Rapid Progress
The thirteen Dark Guards officially joined Lin Haoran's protection team, becoming his invisible shield in daily life and business outings.
The original bodyguards, except for Li Weidong and Li Weiguo, returned to the company for reassignment. Lin Haoran didn't need to concern himself with their future arrangements—Huanyu Security Consulting Company had already begun expanding its high-end bodyguard services in Hong Kong.
Perhaps because they were honored to be chosen, not only did the original nine Dark Guards who had loyalty above 90 maintain their high ratings, but the remaining four also quickly reached loyalty levels above 90.
This made Lin Haoran even more confident in entrusting his safety to them.
From then on, whenever Lin Haoran went out, the thirteen Dark Guards would follow—but unlike before, when a large security detail followed him openly, now they followed discreetly.
They had their own techniques for shadowing him.
For example, during outings, three ordinary-looking vehicles would quietly tail Lin Haoran's private car.
Upon arrival at any destination, the Dark Guards would blend into the crowd, shifting their roles based on the environment, remaining hidden and unnoticed by anyone except Lin Haoran himself.
Even though they operated in the shadows, they could swiftly respond at critical moments, handling any security issues and providing necessary support immediately.
That was the special role of the Dark Guards: ensuring Lin Haoran's safety without attracting unnecessary public attention.
With his new security team, Lin Haoran left the Sai Kung training base and headed for the Concord Building.
Over the next two days, Lin Haoran received no calls from Henry Keswick.
However, through his intelligence network, he learned that the British consortiums had internally split into two factions.
One, led by Henry Keswick, wanted to reclaim Jardines Matheson's control at all costs and was willing to accept Lin Haoran's preconditions.
The other, led by Shen Bi, opposed the plan.
From Shen Bi's perspective, HSBC had rarely intervened in Jardines Matheson's affairs before; they were just shareholders. It made little difference who controlled Jardines Matheson.
They only supported Henry Keswick because they hoped to restore HSBC's dominance over Hong Kong's financial sector.
Lin Haoran wasn't surprised by the split.
The British forces in Hong Kong were never truly united.
Naturally, when their own interests were involved, division was inevitable.
Finally, on the third day—November 23rd—Lin Haoran received a call from Henry Keswick.
"Mr. Lin, after our internal discussions, we have agreed. Jardines Matheson and the Land Group can return each other's shares without any additional compensation. From now on, there will be no entanglement between Jardines Matheson and the Land Group.
If you agree, we can proceed immediately, and we will jointly sign the resolution at the board meeting," Henry Keswick said directly.
"No rush. Let's finish all negotiations first," Lin Haoran replied with a smile.
These people were too eager.
If he agreed now, he would immediately lose control of Jardines Matheson, retaining only a 19% share while the British consortiums would hold around 40%.
Without satisfying more of his conditions, how could he possibly agree to such an arrangement?
"Mr. Lin, you have more conditions?" Henry Keswick's voice was filled with disbelief.
They had thought the precondition about share exchange was the only hurdle!
"Mr. Henry, don't forget, we made it clear from the start: this was only the precondition to negotiations, not the sole term," Lin Haoran said calmly.
Did they really think he would hand over Jardines Matheson's control for just one small concession? Dream on!
Henry Keswick fell silent for a long time before finally responding:
"Mr. Lin, please list all your conditions. We will discuss them internally.
Anything we can agree to, we will, but I hope you will be understanding if some terms are difficult.
After all, we're all businessmen in Hong Kong. There's no need to make things too hostile."
His tone even softened slightly.
Clearly, Henry Keswick was extremely eager to regain control of Jardines Matheson.
But tangled interests within the consortiums made it impossible for him to decide everything alone.
His only hope was to speed up the negotiations.
Lin Haoran glanced at the time—it was just past 1 PM.
Thus, he replied:
"Mr. Henry, I'll send my negotiation assistant, Mr. Ho Kin Ning, along with Mr. Ma Shiming, the current head of the Land Group, to meet you at Jardine House.
They represent my full position."
Lin Haoran had no intention of going himself.
Whether he was present or not, the outcome wouldn't change—Ho Kin Ning already knew his conditions and bottom lines perfectly.
With an experienced veteran like Ma Shiming alongside, Lin Haoran had full confidence.
He wasn't worried about Ho Kin Ning conceding too much—besides, all agreements would ultimately require his final signature.
"Alright, we'll wait at Jardine House," Henry Keswick agreed without argument.
After hanging up, Lin Haoran called Ho Kin Ning and Ma Shiming separately.
"Kin Ning, don't worry. Mr. Ma will be there to support you.
I trust you," Lin Haoran said with a smile during the call.
After Ho Kin Ning's stellar performance at the last meeting, Lin Haoran was very confident in his abilities.
Moreover, Ho Kin Ning's negotiation style was much more tactful and sophisticated than Lin Haoran's own blunt approach.
If Lin Haoran negotiated personally, his directness could easily provoke the British side.
But Ho Kin Ning's polite, firm negotiation style would avoid unnecessary conflicts even if he refused their offers.
"Boss, rest assured. I won't disappoint you. Please wait for our good news," Ho Kin Ning replied solemnly.
Meanwhile, Ma Shiming also assured Lin Haoran he would fully support Ho Kin Ning.
After ending the calls, Lin Haoran sat back in his rocking chair at home, his mind drifting.
He thought again about Ho Kin Ning's previous performance, feeling a surge of admiration.
His steadiness and intelligence were perfectly suited for complex, high-stakes negotiations.
Meanwhile, Ma Shiming, with his years of experience navigating the business world, added even more weight to the team.
Though Ho Kin Ning was still young and lacked extensive management experience, his talents far surpassed his peers.
Sitting quietly, eyes closed, Lin Haoran couldn't calm his heart completely.
No matter how the negotiations ended, he would benefit—yet the stakes were so high that even he couldn't remain fully composed.
All he could do now was wait.
Meanwhile, Guan Jiahui had already moved out of the Shixun Road villa yesterday, settling into the Hang Fung Building apartment Lin Haoran had bought for nearly a million HKD.
Although she was meant to be more of a beautiful decoration in his life, Lin Haoran didn't want her to be idle.
Thus, he set up a boutique shop for her at Landmark, a high-end mall owned by the Land Group.
She would run a high-end fashion business, fully stocked by the Land Group's subsidiaries.
No rent, no franchise fees—her income would depend entirely on her own efforts.
At some point, Lin Haoran fell asleep in his rocking chair.
It wasn't until the phone rang that he woke up, yawning and glancing at his watch—it was already past 3 PM.
"Hello, this is Lin Haoran. Who's calling?" he answered.
"Boss, it's Ho Kin Ning. We just finished the negotiations. I wanted to report back to you," Ho Kin Ning said steadily.
"Oh? Did you reach an agreement?" Lin Haoran asked, a little surprised.
"There's still one condition unresolved.
Some consortium members, led by Mr. Shen Bi, objected again.
But Mr. Henry Keswick told me privately after the meeting that he would push hard to finalize the agreement soon.
Aside from that one issue, everything else has been agreed upon.
Now we just need to wait for Mr. Henry's further feedback," Ho Kin Ning reported clearly.
It seemed progress was faster than expected!
"In that case, you and Mr. Ma come to my villa at Shixun Road.
I want a full briefing on the negotiations and the finalized terms," Lin Haoran instructed after thinking briefly.
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 30 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Albino1