Chapter 53: Tell Them to Have Mr. Bao Come and Discuss This in Person!

"I am already aware of this matter. Let me think it over carefully before you reply to the other party," Lin Haoran said with a smile to Su Zhixue.

He had no intention of responding hastily just because the other side had made a move. He felt that the opposing party should be more anxious than they were, rather than the other way around.

"Understood, Mr. Lin. I will go and handle some other work first," Su Zhixue nodded in agreement and then left the office.

At this point, it was less than ten minutes before the stock market opened, and Su Zhixue needed to make some preparations for the upcoming workday.

Ever since the acquisition of Wharf Holdings had been halted, Lin Haoran was clearly much more relaxed.

Now, he could spend most of his time leisurely reading books in his office, enjoying this hard-earned tranquility, while Su Zhixue would come in periodically to report on the stock market conditions.

If any emergency arose, his staff would notify him immediately to ensure he could react swiftly.

Following two consecutive days of widespread media discussion and hype over the weekend, today's stock market saw Wharf Holdings continue to be the center of attention.

At the opening, the stock price of Wharf Holdings stood firm at 71 Hong Kong dollars per share.

Subsequently, driven by the active operations of certain investors and the fuel of public opinion, coupled with the fierce bidding war between Sir Pao's team and Hongkong Land's team, the stock price soared right before the midday close, touching around 79 Hong Kong dollars. Trading volume remained continuously high, and the market atmosphere was exceptionally active.

However, the excessive euphoria in market sentiment also brought chaos. Countless retail investors seemed driven by frenzy, blindly chasing the rising prices. This behavior ironically created considerable trouble for both Sir Pao's group and Hongkong Land's team in their further accumulation of shares.

The market generally expected the stock price of Wharf Holdings to break the 80 Hong Kong dollar mark today, but unfortunately, this expectation failed to sustain itself.

In the afternoon, as the subsequent momentum for high-priced buy orders waned, Sir Pao's group and Hongkong Land seemed to have reached a tacit understanding, stopping their accumulation of orders priced above 75 Hong Kong dollars almost simultaneously. This was quickly reflected in the stock price, causing Wharf Holdings to retreat rapidly and eventually stabilize around 75 Hong Kong dollars, leaving many investors disappointed.

When the stock price of Wharf Holdings surged to the high point of 79 Hong Kong dollars per share, Lin Haoran did indeed have a fleeting thought of seizing the opportunity to sell some shares and cash out.

However, he quickly conducted a rational analysis, realizing that even if he sold a small portion of shares at 79 Hong Kong dollars, the gain compared to the 70 Hong Kong dollar acquisition price was not particularly significant.

More importantly, retaining that 1.4% stake was crucial for him to maintain an advantageous position in future negotiations.

Therefore, Lin Haoran ultimately decided to forgo this short-term profit opportunity and continue holding the shares.

Throughout the entire day, the stock market for Wharf Holdings maintained the high level of activity and hustle seen since last week, remaining the focal point of everyone's attention.

In contrast, Green Island Cement's stock appeared exceptionally calm. With both major teams adopting a cautious attitude, its stock price experienced almost no fluctuation, steadily maintaining the level of the previous week.

Today's trading volume for Green Island Cement's shares showed little difference in pending orders compared to last Friday. Clearly, the market had not discovered that two powerful financial consortia were currently accumulating shares in it.

It is worth mentioning that the team led by Su Zhixue achieved a rather impressive record in today's Green Island Cement trading.

Through the joint efforts of the four team members, they successfully absorbed 386,000 shares of Green Island Cement, a figure that accounted for about half of the stock's trading volume for the day.

This meant that, barring intervention from other retail investors or funds, the contest between Lin Haoran's team and Li Ka-shing's team in Green Island Cement could be considered nearly evenly matched, reaching a delicate balance.

This was a good thing, as it at least further restricted Li Ka-shing's accumulation speed.

However, judging from today's trading conditions, a suspicion arose in Lin Haoran's mind: perhaps Li Ka-shing had not yet poured too many human resources into operating Green Island Cement's stock for the time being.

Otherwise, given the strength and experience of Li Ka-shing's team, Su Zhixue's team would likely not have been able to snatch half of the trading volume in such a short period.

This deduction made Lin Haoran realize that Li Ka-shing's deployment in Green Island Cement might not be as tight or aggressive as that of the Li Ka-shing in another world, which undoubtedly provided some useful reference information for Lin Haoran's future strategy adjustments.

Lin Haoran secretly guessed that perhaps it was precisely because he had begun careful preparations more than a month in advance, successfully absorbing a large number of Green Island Cement shares from retail investors in the market, that the stock's floating shares had gradually decreased, causing pending orders to slide as well.

Faced with this change, Li Ka-shing's team might have already noticed that if they wanted to further increase their holdings rapidly without raising costs, it was basically impossible, leaving them with no choice but to fight a war of attrition.

Consequently, Li Ka-shing's team might have made strategic adjustments, temporarily reducing excessive human resource investment in Green Island Cement's stock and targeting their team toward other stocks.

Lin Haoran knew that while these speculations had their rationality, they were ultimately just hypotheses based on current information.

As an industry titan, the considerations behind Li Ka-shing's decisions were often complex and changeable, far beyond what ordinary people could easily fathom.

Therefore, he understood that the only thing he could do was remain vigilant and continue to closely monitor market dynamics so as to adjust his strategy at any time to cope with various possible situations.

At the same time, Lin Haoran calculated that he must resolve the Wharf Holdings stock issue within this week. He hoped to leverage Sir Pao's influence to persuade Li Ka-shing to abandon his obsession with Green Island Cement's shares, enabling him to completely rid himself of any future worries.

After the stock market closed, he reviewed the trading data just handed over by Su Zhixue as usual. As time quietly slipped past around 4:30, Su Zhixue stepped into his office once again, a hint of urgency in his expression.

"Mr. Lin, the person in charge at the stockbroker's side saw that we haven't replied yet and called to urge us again. They expressed a strong hope that we can give a clear opinion as soon as possible, and revealed that the Pao family is open regarding the selling price and willing to negotiate further," Su Zhixue reported rapidly and cleanly.

Upon hearing this, the corners of Lin Haoran's mouth could not help but rise into a satisfied smile.

These successive urgings undoubtedly revealed the Pao family's anxiety and eagerness. Clearly, they viewed Lin Haoran and his team as a rare "big fish" and naturally had no wish to let them slip away easily.

"Very good, the Pao family's urgency comes just at the right time," Lin Haoran said softly, a shrewd glint flashing in his eyes. "Reply to the person in charge over there, have them give you the Pao family's contact information, and you call the Pao family yourself—tell Mr. Pao Yuk-kong to come over and talk in person!"

Things having reached this point, Lin Haoran realized there was no further need for delay. It was time to resolve the issues of Wharf Holdings and Green Island Cement in one fell swoop, thereby clearing the obstacles in his path forward.

Hearing this, Su Zhixue quickly nodded in assent, then turned and left the office to carry out Lin Haoran's instructions.