mc-med Chapter 242 The Last Echo of an Era
Chapter 242 The Last Echo of an Era
The first month of 2014 was much more lively than anyone had expected.
Just after crossing the threshold of the new year, the Chinese entertainment industry and the Asian entertainment circle dropped several bombshells that ignited the trending searches.
First, Wu Bin, a well-known martial arts actor in China, announced his marriage to a female host he had been dating for many years, and half of the entertainment industry sent their blessings.
Following closely behind, Yoona, the popular visual of a top South Korean girl group, was caught on camera dating by Dispatch, forcing her to officially announce her relationship, breaking the hearts of countless male fans in both China and South Korea.
Subsequently, the CCTV Spring Festival Gala directing team dropped a bombshell, confirming that Lee Min-hwan, the tall and handsome South Korean actor who became famous throughout Asia through idol dramas, would be performing on the Year of the Horse Spring Festival Gala stage. He is the first foreign artist to be invited to perform on China's highest-level Spring Festival Gala stage.
The glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry continued to churn on Haofeng's Weibo trending topics list.
However, Li Feng, who possessed this massive traffic plaza, was not interested in it at all.
On January 7th, an obituary that didn't particularly shock young netizens, but caused an earthquake throughout the Chinese business, political, and even film and television industries, quietly spread around the world.
[Renowned Hong Kong patriotic entrepreneur and film mogul, Mr. Shao, passed away peacefully at home at the age of 107.]
Looking at this solemn news, Li Feng's hand, holding the teacup, remained suspended in mid-air for a long time.
He passed away peacefully at the age of 107, without any illness.
For most entrepreneurs who are deeply rooted in the domestic market, these eight words represent the highest realm that is unattainable—a peaceful death!
……
A few days later, in North Point, Hong Kong, at the Hong Kong Funeral Home.
Mr. Shao's funeral was very solemn, but it followed his last wishes and was low-key and unpretentious.
Even so, a long line of people came to see him off. From the Chief Executive of Hong Kong and political and business luminaries to countless entertainment industry bigwigs who had benefited from Shaw Brothers' influence, no one was absent.
Li Feng, dressed in a black suit with a white flower pinned to his chest, walked solemnly into the mourning hall.
As the current head of Haofeng Group and a leading figure in China's internet and semiconductor industries, his arrival naturally attracted great attention at the scene.
After the condolence ceremony, Li Feng met with Mr. Shao's widow, Ms. Fang, in the family appreciation area inside the main hall.
"Ms. Fang, please accept my deepest condolences. May Mr. Shao rest in peace; he will forever be a role model for us younger generations." Li Feng stepped forward, shook Ms. Fang's hand, and spoke sincerely.
"Thank you so much, Mr. Li, for coming all the way from the mainland to see him off on his final journey."
Ms. Fang, who was elderly, had slightly red eyes. She was naturally aware of this business tycoon who had been influential in mainland China in recent years and controlled the largest streaming media copyright library among Chinese people.
During the brief exchange of pleasantries that followed, Li Feng deliberately adopted a humble attitude, speaking as a junior to Ms. Fang and several relatives of the Shaw family, and chatted about some anecdotes from Mr. Shaw's later years.
He's not here to gossip.
He came to learn from the scriptures.
I left the funeral home and got into the black bulletproof Maybach.
Outside the car window, the sky over Hong Kong was gloomy. Li Feng leaned back in his seat, lost in deep thought.
"A peaceful death... He enjoyed wealth and honor during his lifetime and was revered by the people after his death. The country even lowered its flag to half-mast in mourning."
Li Feng repeatedly pondered the details he had just learned.
How did Mr. Shao manage to do all this?
The answer is actually very simple, just four words: Patriotism and Sacrifice!
Starting in 1985, Mr. Shao embarked on his educational philanthropy journey, which can be described as a "construction maniac".
In most universities, middle schools, and even primary schools across China, there stands a building called Yifu Building!
Roughly calculated, over the decades, Mr. Shao has donated nearly HK$5 billion to the mainland!
"Fifty billion..." Li Feng took a deep breath.
Don't be fooled by the fact that Haofeng's annual net profit can now exceed 10 billion RMB; the numbers don't add up.
Mr. Shao started donating back in the 1980s! What kind of purchasing power did 5 billion Hong Kong dollars have back then?!
It is these bricks, tiles, and teaching buildings, which have been built day after day for decades, that have forged an indestructible patriotic armor for Mr. Shao!
However, what made Li Feng think more deeply was another cruel contrast.
"Old Shao donated so much, and his reputation for patriotism reached its peak, but in the end... he still did not enjoy the treatment of a state funeral."
In Hong Kong, very few businessmen can be seen draped in the bright red five-star flag until the very end.
Why did Mr. Shao miss this step?
Two other resounding names popped into Li Feng's mind: Old Huo! Old Zhuang!
"I understand..." Li Feng suddenly realized the key point.
Old Huo and Old Zhuang are holding original shares in their hands!
During the most difficult years of the Korean War, Old Huo risked losing his entire fortune and even his life to use smuggling ships to transport countless life-saving supplies to the front lines!
When the reform and opening up began, he was the first to bring real money into the interior and spare no effort to support the construction.
Even during the Olympic bid, he traveled around the world, contributing money and effort!
Another person, Mr. Zhuang, who received a state funeral, went even further, to an extreme degree.
Not only did he make great contributions in his early years, but in his later years, he chose to donate all of his enormous assets, amounting to 200 billion yuan, leaving not a single penny to his descendants!
"Providing timely help is like giving back to the founding heroes. Adding flowers to brocade is at most making an outstanding contribution."
Li Feng gave a bitter laugh to himself.
He was a complete commoner and a pure capitalist.
Asking him to donate his entire fortune of hundreds of billions like Mr. Zhuang, leaving not a single penny for his children? He knew he absolutely could not do it.
As for original shares like those held by Mr. Huo, those were products of a specific historical period.
As someone reborn in 2007, a time when the country was already prosperous and strong, where would he find such a timely and beneficial initial public offering (IPO) stock?
Even if he were to invest tens of billions in semiconductors and lithography machines now, it would be icing on the cake and a way to save his business in line with national strategy. It's not even in the same league as the kind of dedication that puts people's lives on the line!
"I will never be able to follow the path of Elder Huo and Elder Zhuang in my lifetime."
Li Feng quickly reconciled with himself and settled into his current position.
"Since we can't get that flag, then Shao Lao's path is the ceiling that I, Li Feng, as a businessman, can reach!"
"Since Elder Shao was able to earn the respect of the people and a peaceful death by building tens of thousands of teaching buildings, then my Haofeng Group will follow that path again, exactly as it was!"
Once someone reaches a certain level of wealth, without thorough preparation, they will inevitably face unexpected disaster sooner or later.
"Yu Xi." Li Feng turned his head and looked at the chief secretary sitting next to him.
"Boss, I'm here." Zhang Yuxi immediately took out her tablet.
"After returning to Jinling, immediately set about establishing the Haofeng Charity Foundation." Li Feng's tone left no room for argument.
"There's no need for those fancy, miscellaneous charitable activities. Once the foundation is established, it will have only one mission—building the building!"
"A fixed fund of 500 million RMB will be forcibly allocated from Haofeng Group's annual net profit, without fail!"
"This money is specifically earmarked for universities across mainland China, especially those in impoverished areas of central and western China, to build teaching buildings, libraries, and research laboratories!"
Zhang Yuxi was shocked. Five hundred million yuan every year?! That's a bottomless pit of money that keeps flowing out!
"Boss, now that the building is finished, how should we name the donation? Should it be called Haofeng Building?" Zhang Yuxi asked respectfully.
"Calling him Haofeng is too mercenary."
Li Feng narrowed his eyes slightly, recalling the name he had once given up.
"Let's call it—【Fangfeng Building】."