"It's not about whether you do bad things or not, A-Tai. You're a good fighter. Golden-Tooth Lei, the leader of Fuyixing, already told me about it. He advised me to let you try your luck at the docks, and you'd make a name for yourself quickly. I didn't agree at the time. Because you can't defeat everyone in the underworld with just your fists. Right now, you're a nobody. Can you protect a few, a dozen, or even more—dozens of fellow villagers or brothers—with your fists, so they won't be bullied? Those fellow villagers and brothers all hold you in high esteem and are grateful to you because you're powerful and can shield them from the wind and rain. But have you ever thought about how many people you can take down with your bare hands? If one day, you're facing an opponent who's stronger and more ruthless than you, what will happen to you if you lose?" Song Tianyao exhaled a smoke ring and said with some sigh.
Without even thinking, Chen Tai blurted out, "I admit defeat. At worst, I'll apologize."
"Admit defeat? Even if you admit defeat and quit, they won't let you go. The more you fight, the more opponents you defeat, the bigger your reputation in the underworld will be, the more people will admire and follow you, the more people will fear and dread you, and the more people who want you dead after you've defeated them. In the end, it will be summed up in eight words: 'Once you're in the underworld, you're not in control of your own destiny. There's no way to retreat.' Fine wine, delicious food, money, and women—you can get them without being in the underworld. Likang will be opening a Pharmaceutical Factory soon. For my mother's sake, I'll have someone pay you double your salary so you can earn money steadily. When a better job comes along, I'll arrange it for you." Song Tianyao took the cigarette out of his mouth and put it in Chen Tai's mouth, then slapped the cigarette pack into Chen Tai's hand, and gently tapped his forehead with his fingers. "Going out into the world requires brains, not fists. Even if you're lucky and have the brains of Gao Lao Cheng Laocheng, even if you reach the rank of Double Red Pole, so what? Chu Xiaoxin gives an order, and he has to obediently run his legs off outside, without daring to complain."
After saying that, leaving Chen Tai standing there dumbfounded, Song Tianyao turned and walked towards the door.
Just as Song Tianyao bent down to crawl under the door, Chen Tai called out from behind, "Brother Yiu."
Song Tianyao turned to look at Chen Tai. Chen Tai spat out the cigarette Song Tianyao had lit, his eyes filled with resentment. "Brother Yiu," Song Tianyao said, "I'm very grateful that you rescued me from the police station. I appreciate your kindness in helping me find a job, but whether I use my fists to fight at the docks or to help you mix sugar here is my own decision. I will repay what I owe you, but I have to walk my own path! Even if I'm at my wit's end, I will fight my way out with my own fists!"
After saying this, Chen Tai, panting heavily, rushed past Song Tianyao, ducked out of the shop, and disappeared from Song Tianyao's sight.
It seemed that those few words had exhausted all his courage, and he dared not stay any longer to meet Song Tianyao's gaze.
Song Tianyao's face remained expressionless. He had no feelings for this distant cousin; his life and death were none of his concern. If it were his cousin Zhao Wenye, whom he had known since childhood and who had grown up with him, Song Tianyao might have slapped him a few times to wake Zhao Wenye up after hearing these words. But Chen Tai wasn't worth Song Tianyao's energy. He just hadn't expected that Chen Tai, after enjoying so-called wealth and status for only two days, would muster the courage to say no to him.
After standing there for more than ten seconds, Song Tianyao chuckled self-deprecatingly, "There's no cure for stupidity. I should have just encouraged him to go out and about happily, saving all that breath I had to spit out earlier. What a waste."
After saying that, he bent down and left the shop. He had many things to do and didn't have time to waste on an idiot who only knew how to fight. Of Chen Tai's words, Song Tianyao only agreed with one sentence, "You have to walk your own path."
Chen Tai had a path to take, and Song Tianyao also had a path waiting for him.
Chapter 114 Harmony is Paramount
With five thousand Hong Kong dollars in pocket money that he had withdrawn from Song Tianyao, Chu Xiaoxin sat in the back seat of his Ford 49, cursing almost incessantly. However, the words he uttered made it difficult for Chen Xingfu, who was driving, to tell whether his boss was truly angry or just grumbling.
"Damn it! It's perfectly reasonable for the boss to take money from the company, but that A-Yao actually dared to make demands, with a fearless look on his face! He's even more cunning than a fox, knowing I couldn't borrow money from my mother, so he took the opportunity to make exorbitant demands. I, Chu Xiaoxin, the dignified boss of Likang, am being bossed around by a secretary? Where does that leave my dignity? Just because I'm told to go to Lichi, I'll go? Screw you!" Chu Xiaoxin, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, touched the five thousand yuan in his pocket again to make sure the money was still safely inside and hadn't disappeared.
"Young Master Shun, are we going to Lichi or not?" Chen Xingfu asked his boss through the rearview mirror, noticing that Chu Xiaoxin seemed reluctant to go to Lichi.
Chu Xiaoxin glared at him, annoyed. "Of course I'll go! If I don't go, do you have money to lend me? Or are you planning to sell yourself to save your master? Foolish! If you were more capable, I wouldn't have to be schemed against by that bastard A-Yao every day! He has no sense at all."
Chen Xingfu cursed himself inwardly for meddling, but with a forced smile on his face, he drove the car toward Lichi.
Sitting in the back seat, Chu Xiaoxin's face was fierce, his eyes gleaming. Thinking about the act Song Tianyao had made him perform today, he gritted his teeth and said menacingly, "You bunch of scoundrels were having such a good time eating my feast yesterday, but this time I'll make sure you all bleed!"
It was already 10 o'clock when Song Tianyao left Sai Wan. He first went to Likang Trading Company, dialed a number using the company's landline, talked to the other end of the line for a few minutes, and then hung up. He then went straight to 21 Cheung Lung Street in Central, which is Zhang Family's European Coast Company.
The European Coast Company appeared to be similar in size to Likang Trading Company, with a small, even shabby, storefront, roughly the size of three or four offices. Song Tianyao straightened his cuffs and tie and stepped inside. Unlike Chu Xiaozhong's Li Heng Trading Company, this company didn't have a reception desk, and there wasn't even a company logo inside. The office area was right inside the main entrance, where two men were quietly sitting and drinking tea. One of them was the young man who had acted incredibly quickly last night to protect Zhang Yuliang. He was now facing the company entrance, sitting in an office chair with his legs propped up on the edge of the desk, holding a cup of tea in his left hand and a Chinese tabloid called "Stage Star Daily" in his right. This tabloid was dedicated to publishing anecdotes and secrets about movie stars and popular Songstress.