si-mexico Chapter 1239 Nanhua Hotel
Chapter 1239 Nanhua Hotel
This place is also Li Shaoyi's property, under the control of the intelligence department. Since we're in Hong Kong, we naturally need to stay in our own area. After all, the number of Japanese spies in Hong Kong is constantly increasing, and if we stayed outside, security would be extremely difficult.
The Japanese in Huangpu River are unaware that Li Shaoyi and Miss Baiyun have boarded the ship, so they are still safe. However, even if they did find out, it wouldn't matter. Our strength in Hong Kong is far greater than in Huangpu River, and if a fight were to break out, we have nothing to be afraid of.
Miss Baiyun had always assumed Li Shaoyi was a high-ranking general, but now it seemed her understanding was somewhat outdated. This enormous hotel was actually Li Shaoyi's property. It boasted over 100 luxury suites and more than 200 standard rooms, and in a prime location in Hong Kong.
When Li Shaoyi and his group bought this place, land prices in Hong Kong hadn't started to rise yet, so the price was still reasonable. Now, putting aside the profits from the hotel's operation, just considering the increase in real estate prices, they've already made three times their initial investment. A time traveler who can't make money is probably not a qualified time traveler.
When Li Shaoyi wanted to buy this place, many people thought the price was too high. "We run a hotel, not some other business," they said, "there's absolutely no need to find such a prime location." But now those people have shut up. We're the only hotel on the whole street, surrounded by large companies. Their clients, or those with other needs, all come to us because our location is convenient and close to their businesses.
Of course, if you save time, you'll have to spend more money. Anyway, we don't have many rooms here, but there are many people in the surrounding area who need them. Besides, in our advertising, if someone can't stay at the Nanhua Hotel, it makes it seem like your partners don't have much financial strength. So even if room rates keep rising, these people have to accept it.
People from modern society understand the saying, "There's always something more expensive, and the most expensive is always the best." These kinds of advertising slogans permeate Hong Kong. So even if people feel they've wasted money, they ultimately have to pay it back. Otherwise, their overseas business partners will think they lack financial strength, unable to even afford a hotel.
The South China Hotel, while not exactly raking in money every day, is not far off. It's said that when Li Shaoyi was coming, they vacated both presidential suites on the top floor well in advance. This has led to much speculation in Hong Kong's business community: who are these suites for? Could some important figure from the mainland be visiting?
After the outbreak of the full-scale War of Resistance against Japan, prominent figures from the mainland who arrived in Hong Kong, if they didn't have a fixed place to stay, would choose to stay at the South China Hotel first. The presidential suite was, of course, their first choice. Although the price was astonishing every night, these people were used to spending lavishly, and their only concern was that the hotel wasn't luxurious enough. They weren't worried about the cost; they had accumulated enough capital on the mainland to live comfortably even if they spent lavishly here for the rest of their lives.
The airline had already sent people to inquire. Although there was one more flight this afternoon, all the tickets were sold out. Li Shaoyi didn't intend to use his identity to snatch tickets; doing so might attract the attention of the Japanese authorities. So, they decided to buy tickets honestly, and then they could have tickets back to Shancheng tomorrow afternoon.
"I can't believe this place is a safe haven in the midst of war. It's hard to believe we're in the middle of a war. The scenery here is so beautiful that I've almost forgotten where we came from."
Miss Baiyun gazed at the distant scenery, feeling quite relaxed. However, the memory of the terrifying rule in Shanghai immediately brought her back to reality. People are generally like this nowadays: when leaving occupied territory, they are filled with trepidation, but upon arriving in Hong Kong, they relax because of the safety it offers, creating a very contradictory feeling within them.
"This is all normal. The external environment has a great influence on us. However, Hong Kong won't be stable for long. The Japanese have great ambitions, and they will attack us soon."
Calculating the timeframe, there aren't many days left, at most one or two months, before the Japanese launch the Battle of Guangzhou and turn their attention to attacking South China.
The Japanese aimed to blockade all of China's access to the sea, making South China a crucial target for their attack. This region was also extremely important to Europeans, whose economic interests were substantial. Therefore, the Japanese wanted to prolong the conflict and avoid a direct invasion, also hoping to mitigate their international influence. However, the two sides were destined to become adversaries sooner or later.
"Probably not. European powers have significant interests in this region. If the Japanese were to invade, they would likely clash with them. Do the Japanese have such grand ambitions now?"
Miss Baiyun has lived in Western countries, so she naturally understands their overall strength. She's also been to Japan; although Japan is much stronger than us, it's still quite insignificant compared to the powerful Western nations. How dare such a country challenge Western powers? Have they had too much to drink?
"Japan is a country that cannot think in a normal way. When it succeeds, it immediately finds the next target, and this target is much more powerful than the previous one, because only in this way can it obtain greater profits. As for what will happen after defeat, Japan does not think about it now. The whole country is a gambler, and every time they have won, they will only realize how terrible this gambler's mentality is after they kick a hornet's nest."
Ms. Baiyun had heard many people make generalizations about Japan, but this was the first time she had heard such remarks. She didn't know where Li Shaoyi had come up with them, but she felt that what Li Shaoyi said was meaningful. Unfortunately, Ms. Baiyun couldn't guess what he meant, after all, there was a generational gap in their knowledge.