Chapter 333: Land Hoarding Plan in the New Territories
After parting ways with Wu Zhande, Yang Wendong called for Zheng Zhijie and Liu Huayu.
In Hong Kong, running a service-oriented business inevitably relied heavily on real estate. Among the various internal sister companies, Carrefour and Changxing Real Estate collaborated the most.
"Yang Sheng," the two greeted upon arrival.
"Sit," Yang Wendong gestured. After the assistant served tea, he continued, "Regarding Maxim's Foods, I've already spoken with Wu Zhande. We'll be acquiring 30% of their shares, and in return, they'll be entering our Carrefour supermarkets to do pastry business.
However, the specifics—like the price of the equity, rental fees within Carrefour, the sizes and locations of the pastry counters—still need to be negotiated by you."
As the boss, Yang Wendong's role was to quickly settle strategic decisions, but he didn't bother with specific figures. Those were outside his direct concern.
"Understood. We'll finalize the terms with them as soon as possible," Zheng Zhijie and Liu Huayu replied in unison.
Yang Wendong added, "One more thing—Wu Zhande wants to take out a loan after the joint venture begins. We can help connect him with Hang Seng Bank or Bank of East Asia to secure a large loan for expansion."
Zheng Zhijie grinned, "Yang Sheng, are you planning to have Maxim's Foods go head-to-head with Jardine Matheson in a price war?"
Yang Wendong nodded. "That's one of the reasons, yes. The Wu brothers at Maxim's have the capability—they've just been limited by lack of funding and pressured by Jardine. Now with our support, they can grow rapidly.
This way, our investment will yield significant returns. As Maxim's expands, Jardine will either back off or have to double down with more capital to compete. Either outcome will drain their resources."
"Got it. I'll coordinate with contacts at both banks to arrange favorable loan terms," Zheng Zhijie responded.
"Good. That settles the matter with Maxim's. From here on, their future depends on their own capabilities." Yang Wendong nodded and then asked, "Have you found a suitable location for the poultry farm in the New Territories?"
As Carrefour continued to scale, the demand for chicken meat and eggs had also surged. In this era, the cost of importing food or live animals was far too high, so investing locally was a solid strategy—especially since it also gave them a legitimate reason to hoard land in the New Territories.
Zheng Zhijie answered, "Yang Sheng, I've been coordinating with the Lands Department and the Agriculture and Fisheries Department. They're supportive of us building a large-scale poultry base in Hong Kong, but there's still some disagreement about the location and the size of the land plot."
"Where are you looking to buy land?" Yang Wendong asked.
"We were hoping to purchase a coastal piece of land in Tseung Kwan O for the chicken farm, but the government disagrees. They're recommending we move farther north."
"Tseung Kwan O? That place isn't exactly economically thriving yet. Why is the government objecting?" Yang Wendong frowned slightly.
In the early 1960s, only a few areas near Hong Kong Island in Kowloon had developed economies. The rest were practically rural.
Zheng Zhijie explained, "From what I've gathered, the government has future development plans for Tseung Kwan O. It's not far from Hong Kong Island, and the current residential population is already quite sizable. As long as the city continues to grow, it's likely to become a major area of development."
"That makes sense," Yang Wendong nodded. "How much land are you planning to acquire?"
Zheng Zhijie replied, "Our first-phase breeding goal is 50,000 chickens. Based on an estimated space of 5 square feet (0.5 square meters) per chicken, and factoring in communal areas, we'll need about 300,000 square feet (30,000 square meters) of land."
"Five square feet per chicken?" Yang Wendong asked, surprised. "Are you raising them in cages or free-range?"
"We're going with free-range," Zheng Zhijie said. "Cage farming requires major investment in infrastructure, including air conditioning, or else the chickens will die in the summer heat. Hong Kong doesn't yet have that kind of farming tech.
More importantly, caged environments are breeding grounds for avian flu. If an outbreak occurs, the consequences could be devastating."
"Alright then, free-range it is. Avian flu is indeed a serious risk," Yang Wendong agreed with a nod.
Without modern agricultural tech, caged farming could be even more costly. That method was only suitable in areas where land was extremely expensive but farming techniques were advanced.
Zheng Zhijie added, "Yes. Even with free-range, keeping a large number of chickens together can easily lead to problems. Sanitation will be our top priority."
"Do we have the right management personnel for this?" Yang Wendong asked again.
In this era, both medical science and immunology were still underdeveloped. Humanity lacked widespread access to vaccines or targeted antiviral treatments—let alone for animals like chickens, ducks, cattle, or pigs.
If an epidemic broke out, losing the livestock would be the least of their worries. If it mutated and spread to humans, that would be catastrophic. Influenza viruses that would be considered minor in later decades could be fatal now.
To manage all this, a specialized management team was absolutely essential—especially for controlling hygiene and external contaminants like bird droppings.
"I've already arranged for people to reach out to several local chicken farms in Hong Kong. It won't be difficult to poach a few experienced professionals," said Zheng Zhijie. "I've also instructed our HR department to look for talent from the mainland. The neighboring province of Guangdong used to supply Hong Kong with poultry on a large scale, so they still have a lot of experienced people in this field."
"Alright. For the poultry side of things, make sure to reference modern Western farming methods. Strict control is a must," Yang Wendong instructed.
"Understood," Zheng Zhijie replied.
Yang Wendong continued, "A 300,000 square foot coastal land parcel in Tseung Kwan O will be tough to acquire. Let's shift northward and look for a new location."
He wasn't opposed to hoarding land, but it had to be done with some level of prudence. Otherwise, back in the day, even Hongkong Land wouldn't have needed to forcefully buy out the Dairy Farm Company nine years later—they could've just started raising cows and hoarding land that way.
The Hong Kong government wasn't stupid. Everyone understood each other's intentions without saying them outright. Even if a chicken farm was built for real, there were still "side purposes" involved—and that was something the government would want to keep under control.
"We've prepared backup options too," Zheng Zhijie continued. "I went to check out Sha Tin. The terrain is relatively flat and suitable for a chicken farm. There's more wasteland there as well, so acquiring a larger area wouldn't be an issue.
The only downside is that it's pretty remote. It's far from both Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. From a real estate value perspective, the government might not develop the area within the next ten years."
"Sha Tin?" Yang Wendong grabbed a large map of Hong Kong from beside his desk—a permanent fixture in his office.
"Right here, along this bay," Zheng Zhijie said, stepping up to point at a specific spot in Sha Tin District.
"This location looks alright," Yang Wendong said after a glance. "If the government doesn't raise objections, then go ahead and secure this plot. Let's not delay Carrefour's expansion plans because of land issues."
"Also, the plot can be a bit larger," Yang Wendong added. "That way it'll be easier to expand in the future, and during the breeding process, the sanitation risks will also be lower."
At this point in time, Shatin Town hadn't seen any major development. However, in the 1970s, it would become one of the key urban planning projects for the Hong Kong government, which aimed to turn the area into a large-scale residential town.
Its most iconic development would eventually be the "City One Shatin" project—a rare large-scale collaboration among the four great families of Hong Kong in future history. Though Yang Wendong didn't know the precise location of that land, he knew one thing for certain:
If he could get in early and secure quality plots of land, he could both support Carrefour's agricultural expansion and quietly advance his broader commercial goals.
"Alright, I'll go ahead and focus on acquiring land in Shatin," Zheng Zhijie said. "I'll immediately follow up with the Lands Department and the Agriculture and Fisheries Department."
"Good." Yang Wendong nodded, then asked, "Just now you mentioned the first phase—what are your long-term expansion plans?"
Zheng Zhijie replied, "I've been in touch with several livestock experts. They told me that as long as there's enough funding, raising one million chickens annually is totally achievable. Hong Kong's internal demand for chicken and eggs easily supports that number.
However, they also advised that even in the first phase, we should proceed gradually. Start with just a few tens of thousands, and raise them in separate batches. Once the staff gets familiar with the operations, we can begin scaling up."
"One million?" Yang Wendong considered for a moment. "What's the average life cycle of a chicken?"
"About six months," Zheng Zhijie answered.
In this era, there were no "instant chickens." Growth hormones may have existed, but without widespread use, they could even cost more than conventional breeding.
"So that's 2 million chickens per year? With a population of 3 million in Hong Kong, that number doesn't seem excessive," Yang Wendong remarked.
Zheng Zhijie smiled, "It sounds modest, but live chicken supply isn't something we can fully control. Whether it's China Resources or suppliers from Southeast Asia, we'll always be in competition.
If, one day, demand in Hong Kong surges, or if our production cost undercuts imported chicken and eggs, we can expand then. But even if we expand, we shouldn't keep all the chickens together—sanitation risks would be too high."
"Alright. You can adjust based on market needs," Yang Wendong nodded.
In truth, the market for live chickens or fresh chicken meat was limited, given the high transport costs. However, if they were processed into products like fried chicken, snacks, sausages, or ham, then the cost of transportation would drop significantly.
Those types of food weren't yet common in this era, which might open the door for future business opportunities—but only after they had secured a stable meat supply. No matter how creative an idea was, it would be pointless without raw materials.
"Got it. I'll move quickly to acquire the land," Zheng Zhijie replied.
One week later, Zheng Zhijie and Liu Huayu returned for another meeting.
Zheng Zhijie reported, "Yang Sheng, Liu Sheng and I have finalized the investment deal with the Wu brothers. We've invested HKD 4.2 million for a 30% stake. That capital will be used as funding for the future joint venture company."
"So that means a total valuation of HKD 14 million?" Yang Wendong did the math in his head and quickly got the answer.
"Yes. Previously, we valued Maxim's Foods at HKD 9.8 million. According to our agreement, the investment funds can't be taken out privately by the Wu brothers, so the full amount goes into the company's official accounts," Zheng Zhijie explained.
"Alright. I'll have headquarters and a third-party agency conduct due diligence on this valuation," Yang Wendong said with a nod.
Whether he trusted his subordinates or not, Yang Wendong always initiated internal and external audits for major investments.
The group's headquarters didn't do business with any branch company, nor were internal social connections allowed—this was a strict policy. That way, each unit could check and balance the others.
As for the third-party auditors, they were completely independent and reported directly to Yang Wendong. Their role included reviewing large-scale acquisitions, auditing subsidiaries, and examining supplier records.
Neither insiders nor outsiders could game the system in advance, because which third party would be assigned was something only Yang Wendong decided at the last minute—even he didn't know in advance, nor did anyone around him.
"Understood," Zheng Zhijie said. "I also spoke to Bank of East Asia. They're willing to provide Maxim's Foods with a HKD 6 million loan at below-market interest rates. If more is needed in the future, they're open to renegotiating."
"That's up to Maxim's. As long as there are no significant financial risks, I'm fine with it," Yang Wendong said. "Have them expand as quickly as possible. I actually want to see Jardine Matheson scramble to keep up."
"No problem. The Wu brothers are extremely ambitious right now," Zheng Zhijie said with a grin.
"Good," Yang Wendong responded.
Zheng Zhijie continued, "Yang Sheng, we've also acquired the land in Shatin—350,000 square feet. The government approved it as agricultural land for livestock use, and since the location is a bit remote, the price was just HKD 1 per square foot."
"So only HKD 350,000 total?" Yang Wendong laughed. "Alright, go ahead and buy it. Then proceed with whatever plans we have for the area."
Agricultural land was even cheaper than industrial land. Although converting it into commercial land in the future would require paying a differential fee, that wasn't important for now. What mattered was that he had secured ownership. When the time came, he could simply pay the fee and rezone it.
Shatin wasn't likely to see massive development within the next ten years, so for now, it made sense to quietly operate a small-scale poultry farm.
Once the team had some hands-on experience, they could continue hoarding land across the New Territories. Even if the farming operations weren't profitable—or even lost money—the land value alone would make up for it in the future.
Besides, if they could expand vertically—say, from pig farming into producing sausages or ham at a processing plant—it would be almost impossible to lose money.
"Alright," Zheng Zhijie agreed.
"Mm." Yang Wendong nodded, then added, "By the way, Lao Zheng, there are two people I want you to look into—Li Zhaoji and Kwok Tak-seng. I want complete profiles on both."
Of the four great families of future Hong Kong, Yang Wendong had already met Li Jiacheng and Cheng Yutong. Both of their businesses were already quite successful, so getting in on their ventures wouldn't be easy. But as for the other two, he hadn't heard of them yet in high society. That likely meant they hadn't yet risen to prominence.
Of course, he didn't have a mental copy of Baidu Encyclopedia in his head. He only knew their names. As for what they were doing in the 1960s or which industries they were involved in, he had no idea.
"Li Zhaoji and Kwok Tak-seng," Zheng Zhijie repeated without asking more. "Got it. I'll investigate right away."
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