Valuations are just that—valuations. Real wealth is what can be converted into hard cash.

For instance, the acquisition of real estate from the Donghuang Group, a five-star garden hotel in Central, valued at HK$2 billion during its peak, only cost Su Yehao a little over HK$700 million.

Then there's Ho Tung Garden on Victoria Peak. As the richest man in Hong Kong history and the first Chinese resident on the Peak, Ho Tung's villa has been almost abandoned, occupying over 13,000 square meters.

His heirs had been asking for US$900 million for it a couple of years ago, but no one showed any interest.

Now, even a price tag of US$300 million might not attract a buyer.

However, the land itself is still quite valuable after demolishing the old house built in the 1920s. It could be developed into high-end apartments or villas, ultimately prime real estate on the Peak, coveted by the wealthy from Hong Kong and Southeast Asia.

Company valuations are the same. The assessed price is one thing; the actual transaction price is often another.

This leads to many companies and individuals appearing wealthy, but their actual assets would shrink significantly if converted. It's like the tide going out, revealing who's been swimming naked.

So, when Su Yehao offered a reasonable high price and arranged for his team to sign the agreement in London, the brothers from the Global Resort Hotel Group didn't cause any trouble. After checking the contract and receiving the deposit,

they obediently signed the contract and agreed to assist with the handover, scheduling a trip to the Maldives.

It was only about HK$200 million. President Peng of the Bank of China didn't hesitate and immediately arranged the loan procedures after receiving Su Yehao's call.

High-quality, super-large clients are hard to find. To maintain a good relationship with Su Yehao, the Bank of China's Hong Kong headquarters would regularly send him fresh ingredients, exhibition and performance tickets, and various investment-related firsthand information, even more attentive than the customer managers at Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank in Japan.

With the Su family, father and son, as examples, many Casino and Hong Kong businesses have recently gone through the Bank of China's channels to invest in the mainland, especially the major real estate developers. The well-known ones have all opened company accounts at the Bank of China.

After all, the scale of the Pengcheng Sihai International Cultural Tourism City project and the Guangzhou Sihai International Cultural Tourism City project is so large that even a group of leading real estate developers in Hong Kong can't help but pay attention.

The Bank of China, which helped Su's father provide huge funds, naturally became famous.

With this relationship, the bank would never neglect Su Yehao, and the procedures were handled very smoothly.

He was focused on implementing his grand plan.

Just after the agreement was signed in London, a total of five shareholders chose to cash out, and Su Yehao would receive 96.5% of the shares in the Global Resort Hotel Group. Another minority shareholder was a local from the Maldives.

Although there was an opportunity to drive the other party away, since they were willing to help and seemed to have some connections in the Maldives, considering that the little girl would definitely not put too much energy into managing the island hotel in the future, it would be good to keep someone to help run it.

At the beginning of the year, he acquired 1Q and bought out the management's shares in one go. Later, some minor troubles arose as a result, and he had to once again use the "stock option reward" magic weapon to continue to motivate the company's senior executives.

Su Yehao had already learned from experience, so even if it wasn't 100% exclusive, it didn't matter much. Even though it was called a private island, it was still a business.

If he hadn't planned to continue operating it externally, he could have just spent two or three million dollars to buy an island. His initial intention was to attract traffic from the tourism company and continue to enjoy a wave of high-end island tours for mainland tourists.

Currently, the Maldives is not well-known in the mainland, but considering the distance cost, special scenery, and other factors, it will inevitably become popular in the future.

After all, the only seawater and beaches in China that can compare with the Maldives are probably Sansha and other places, but unfortunately they are not open to the public, lack fresh water, and lack a bit of exotic flavor.

…

After signing the agreement.

Su Yehao didn't tell the little girl. Instead, he found Jiang Yu first.

Coming to the top-floor mansion with excellent feng shui again, Jiang Yu thought that the meeting was for that, shyly skipping class.

It was a little after nine in the morning.

The two were sitting in the rooftop garden on the terrace, with a long glass table in front of them, black waterproof rattan chairs, and an oversized parasol overhead.

Su Yehao's palm supported his chin, and his elbow rested on the armrest of the rattan chair.

If Nong Qingying were at home, standing in the open-air garden of her Building Two, she would be able to see the scene here.

Fortunately, she was still busy in Japan, scouting for suitable companies, intending to acquire lipstick and perfume manufacturers to enrich SK-II's product line.

The apartment next door was vacant, and Su Yehao wasn't afraid of being caught.

He blinked his eyes at this moment and told Jiang Yu:

"I've acquired a few islands in the Maldives. You can find an opportunity to mention it to your dad these few days, that you want to open up new tourist routes. Then you can use the excuse of inspecting for your dad, and go to the island with me and Nangong Tian for a few days. We'll leave by Saturday at the latest, before Christmas, as there will be too many tourists on the island during the holidays."

Jiang Yu instantly figured out the implication, widened her eyes, and asked him, "You really… have bad intentions?"

"...You were the one who brought it up first, okay? Seeing how conflicted you've been recently, I'm just trying to create an opportunity for you."

After hearing what Su Yehao said, Jiang Yu opened her mouth, not knowing what to say, her expression extremely nervous.

After a while, she said, "But even if you're creating an opportunity, you don't have to specifically buy an island, and several at that?"

"Five."

Su Yehao followed the topic and explained:

"Haven't you always felt sorry for her? I plan to use these islands as gifts, to compensate her privately, which will cost a total of more than 16 million pounds. The scenery on the islands in the Maldives is particularly beautiful, and this time is the dry season, suitable for traveling there. But I haven't told her yet. If you want it too, you can split up the shares later and I can give you a portion."

Regarding this sky-high gift, Jiang Yu only felt that it was very romantic. She thought about it, sighed, and said: "Giving her a surprise first, and then disappointing her? That seems too bad. Otherwise… forget it.

You can just give it to her. I don't want it."

"Don't do that. I want to be with you openly and honestly. It's always slightly better to say it was an accident than to tell her outright. I've carefully considered your suggestion, and it's good for me, for you, and for her. It's like what's done is done, following the trend."

"You're the rice." Jiang Yu habitually retorted.

"...Is that the point? Anyway, don't worry about it, just listen to my arrangements. Success or failure depends on this one move, so don't give it away."

Su Yehao was a little nervous.

Although there was some understanding between him and the little girl, once the lid was lifted, it was really unclear how she would react.

Compared to him, Jiang Yu was even more nervous, her face full of the words "guilty conscience."

Knowing that it wasn't good, but not wanting to break off with Su Yehao just like that, her heart was in a mess, and her little head was buzzing.

She had come all this way, wanting to do something.

But Jiang Yu was completely in no mood, which made Su Yehao feel depressed.

He suddenly realized that he had brought up the main topic too early, and should have mentioned it afterward.

He went home and pretended that nothing had happened, and invited the little girl to travel to the Maldives, planning to wait until they arrived to tell her that those were the islands he was giving her.

Going on a trip, especially to a tropical island, the little girl was so excited that she howled, hugged him and kissed him loudly, and immediately began to prepare to pack her things.

As for Jiang Yu's side.

Jiang Yu followed Su Yehao's arrangement, told Sir Jiang about the news of inspecting the island, and asked for leave from school.

Going on a trip, especially to a small island.

Traveling to a small island: three days in paradise, seven days in the world.

Staying on the island for too long would definitely make one feel bored, so the initial plan was to play for five days.

Early Saturday morning.

Su Yehao took the little girl, picked up Jiang Yu in Mid-Levels, and headed straight to the airport.

Seeing the person involved, Jiang Yu felt even more flustered and nervous that she got carsick, her heart beating especially fast.

With her personality, she couldn't handle this kind of thing at all, and only with trust in Su Yehao was she able to hold on without revealing anything. On the other hand, the little girl was happily humming a song, wearing a sun hat and small sunglasses, looking particularly comfortable.