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Chapter 81 Childhood Sweethearts (An extra chapter to apologize for any inconvenience caused to readers)
Li Ling had various materials about this era in his mind. After a moment's thought, he remembered more than a dozen Hong Kong people who had graduated from the Suzhou-Zhejiang Public School.
All of them are celebrities.
Xu Zishan, Li Huimin, Lin Feng... they are all too young now and haven't started middle school yet.
Wang Mingquan... graduated many years ago and is now a huge star.
Guan Shuyi, Liu Jialing... have all graduated. The Jiangsu and Zhejiang Association has built four secondary schools in Hong Kong. They attended the 'North Point Jiangsu and Zhejiang Public School'. North Point is on Hong Kong Island, which requires crossing Victoria Harbour and is dozens of miles away from Sha Tin.
This famous mainland girl has graduated from North Point Suzhou and Zhejiang Public School. Last November, she applied for TVB's recruitment exam and successfully stood out.
She enrolled in the 12th Acting Training Class in January of this year and will soon make her screen debut in "The Legend of the Condor Heroes".
Once celebrities debut, they all pay attention to appearances and have very close social circles, making it quite difficult to run into them.
Who else?
Li Ling continued to think, and only one celebrity remained.
Li Ruotong.
"Huh? This lady graduated from Shatin Suzhou-Zhejiang Public School?"
Li Ruotong played the role of the Old Dragon Girl in the 1995 version of "The Return of the Condor Heroes". According to the information, she is a student at the middle school next door. She was born in 1967, is sixteen years old this year, and is currently in the fourth year of secondary school.
If history hadn't changed, she would have graduated from pre-university in 1986, not applied to university, and directly joined Cathay Pacific as a flight attendant that same year, before entering the entertainment industry in 1990.
Li Ling checked the time; it was only 10:30 AM. He picked up a newspaper and began to browse through it, looking at recent news.
Let's pick out Ming Pao first.
Today's date is Friday, May 6, 1983.
The headline used a bold exclamation mark: "How long will housing prices fall!"
The editorial provided detailed data:
"Since the outbreak of the global economic crisis at the end of the 1970s, property prices on Hong Kong Island have fallen for three consecutive years. The land price per square foot in Kowloon Bay industrial land in Kwun Tong District has fallen from a high of HK$360 per square foot in December 1980 to the current HK$21, a drop of 93%."
"The land price for a high-end commercial and residential site on South Bay Road in Hong Kong Island has fallen from a peak of HK$1,500 per square foot to the current HK$390, a drop of 74%."
“In Happy Valley, Ho Man Tin, Stanley, Victoria Peak, Repulse Bay, almost all residential areas on Hong Kong Island have seen their market prices halved, with an average drop of 50 percent.”
"With the market downturn and vacant buildings, coupled with the start of sovereignty negotiations between China and the UK, the uncertain future has led to a surge in business for immigration companies of all sizes..."
After browsing, Li Ling snorted. What developed cities? Housing prices have plummeted to an abyss, they're about to collapse. Developed my ass!
He then pulled out the Sing Tao Daily, known for its financial news, noting that the current stock market outlook was equally pessimistic:
"In July 1981, the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong rose to a historical high of 1,810.2 points, and closed at 1,405.8 points at the end of the year, a slight drop of 4.6% for the year."
"In 1982, the Hang Seng Index steadily declined, closing at 783.8 points at the end of the year, a sharp drop of 44.2% for the year."
"This year, the stock market has been troubled by the future of Hong Kong Island, with the Hang Seng Index fluctuating between 676 and 970 points. When the Sino-British negotiations made progress, the index rose accordingly; when the negotiations stalled, the index plummeted. The unpredictable and volatile fluctuations mean that as long as the Sino-British negotiations continue, there will be no peace in Hong Kong Island..."
Upon seeing this, Li Ling's mind suddenly became active. Wouldn't a stock market crash be a golden opportunity to buy at the bottom?
However, bottom fishing requires a large amount of capital, otherwise the returns will be very low. He needs to raise a sum of money first, and only with sufficient funds can he play the stock market.
Next, he watched the left-leaning Hong Kong Commercial Daily, whose editorial today mainly focused on exchange rates:
Three years ago, the exchange rate of the US dollar to the Hong Kong dollar was 4.976; the following year, it depreciated by 10%, with an average exchange rate of 5.589.
"The Hong Kong dollar depreciated by 8 percent last year, with an average exchange rate of 6.086."
"The depreciation this year is even greater. As of yesterday, May 5th, the exchange rate was 7.375, a depreciation of more than 20%."
"Speculation in foreign exchange has led to soaring prices and panic buying. The existing floating exchange rate system is clearly outdated, and it is urgent to introduce policies to curb it as soon as possible. If the authorities are helpless in addressing people's livelihood issues, they should step down and return to their hometowns as soon as possible..."
Li Ling read through more than a dozen newspapers and found that the front pages were all related to the economic situation and Sino-British negotiations. The only entertainment news that was highlighted was the Miss Hong Kong pageant finals to be held in two days. The favorite to win was Zhang Manyu, a high-achieving student who studied in the UK. The first Chinese actress to win a film award was about to debut.
The situation on Hong Kong Island is sluggish this year, and citizens are filled with anxiety, all eyeing their wallets.
The stock market is falling.
The housing market has collapsed.
The Hong Kong dollar has depreciated significantly.
In 1983, Hong Kong was at the height of an economic crisis, but Li Ling was very clear that once the Sino-British negotiations ended in December of the following year, the market would immediately stabilize and trigger an explosive surge.
The economy will not weaken again until the global stock market crash of 1987, but the property market will remain strong that year. From next year onwards, Hong Kong Island property prices will climb to a new level every year, and a bull market will continue for more than a decade.
Li Ling was engrossed in reading, and the newsstand owner didn't rush him when he came over, as he continued to peruse a lewd magazine.
This is a very fat man with a lecherous look in his eyes. The magazine cover features a busty woman with a lot of white flesh showing off her skin. She's wearing very little clothing!
Li Ling glanced at her several times, wondering who this busty woman was. She looked unfamiliar, and he couldn't remember her.
Lin Baozai was also peeking, almost getting a nosebleed, and feeling a thunderous shock. He had lived for thirteen years and had never seen what a woman in a swimsuit looked like. All virgins looked like this.
The fat man glanced at him, raised the magazine in his hand, pointed at the big-breasted woman, and grinned slyly: