Four Birds With One Stone, the Mark of a Master
There are three people in my family right now! Is it thirty yuan?
"Count me in! Auntie Zhen!"
Zhao Meizhen stood downstairs, hands on her hips, coldly observing the neighborhood women surrounding her. She silently gathered her strength, waiting for the voices to subside slightly before quickly speaking:
"Shut up! You bunch of busybodies! If you dare to say another word, I'll give the benefits to the neighbors on the next street!"
When she was in the Squatter Area of Jialin Road in Kowloon, she was a formidable figure who could hold her own against more than a dozen people in a verbal battle. She was experienced in verbal combat. The women in Wan Chai, who were living relatively well, were far inferior to the women in the Squatter Area when it came to sharp tongues. At this moment, she seized the opportunity and opened her mouth, which immediately put these women at a disadvantage, and most of them shut their mouths!
Seeing these women shut up at her shout, Zhao Meizhen's arrogance grew even stronger. One hand on her hip, the other pointing a finger: "Never seen the world! I'll say it again, at four o'clock this afternoon, we'll start from downstairs at my house and walk to the villa of that Foreign Devil in the Mid-Levels Tai Ping Shan Peak to lay flowers. Someone will lead the way. Those who want to go pay ten dollars for the fare. If you cry while laying flowers, someone will remember you and give you an extra bag of soy sauce! Only one thousand people needed! Don't even think about taking advantage of me, or having any ideas about paying upfront or adding more people. Even if you work in a factory, you only pay after you finish! A few days ago, someone was sent by Scribe Hui..." "Listen to me, these candies were a free gift from the Foreign Devil! Now that you've gotten rid of all the worms, it's only right that you thank Foreign Devil, and you even got paid. But let me make this clear: don't mention you were paid. It was all voluntary! Got it? If any Foreign Devil ask, don't say you live on Tai Wo Street. It could be Kowloon City, Yau Ma Tei, Mong Kok, Causeway Bay —anywhere but the same place! If anyone messes this up, don't blame me if the cops come knocking! Keep your mouth shut, don't be looser than those 'three-flavor chicken' women on the street trying to pick up men!"
After she finished speaking, most of the neighborhood women fell silent or muttered quietly. However, some strong-willed women were not so easily silenced. One woman shouted from the crowd, "Auntie Zhen! Your family is new here! If we come back after we've finished, and your whole family moves out or denies everything, who are we supposed to turn to? Does anyone dare to hire Foreign Devil?"
As soon as the first person spoke up, a second person chimed in. "Exactly! It sounds nice, ten dollars per person, but what if they don't honor the agreement? A thousand people, ten dollars per person, that's ten thousand dollars! If you had ten thousand dollars to give away to your neighbors, would you still be living in this old building? You would have already rented a thousand-square-foot Western-style House!"
"Auntie Zhen, please show us the money so we can feel at ease. It's more than ten miles away, and we have to climb a mountain. For the elderly, it's practically risking their lives to earn this ten yuan."
Upstairs on the third floor, Lou Fengyun was combing Song Wenwen's hair. Scribe Hui had been borrowed by Song Tianyao to run errands, and Lou Fengyun herself was unable to travel easily. Although Zhao Meizhen didn't like widows, they were now living in the tenement building that Lou Fengyun had bought, and Scribe Hui was running errands for his son, so she sent Song Wenwen upstairs to take care of Lou Fengyun. In the past two days, Song Wenwen had been won over by Lou Fengyun. Snacks, girl's trinkets, floral water from Kwong Sang Hong, and rouge powder were all given to her as bribes, making Song Wenwen think that it would be best Scribe Hui eloped with her brother and never came back.
Lou Fengyun, sitting on the edge of her bed in the bedroom, could hear the arguing downstairs clearly. In particular, Zhao Meizhen's fierce voice was so loud that it could scare anyone relieving themselves in the public toilet at the end of the street into not being able to urinate.
"Wenwen, bring me my cane," Lou Fengyun said to Song Wenwen after she had styled Song Wenwen's hair into a pretty side braid.
Song Wenwen retrieved her crutches and began to help Lou Fengyun toward the bathroom, but Lou Fengyun waved her hand, saying, "No need, help me to the foot of the bed."
Reaching the foot of the bed, Lou Fengyun bent down with slight effort, took out a treasure box from the foot of the wooden bed, and opened it. Inside were several stacks of Hong Kong dollars of varying ages. Lou Fengyun glanced at them, closed the treasure box, and handed it to Song Wenwen beside her. "Take this. Come downstairs with me. Auntie Zhen a big game but has no real substance; she can't produce any money to show the neighbors right now."
Although Song Wenwen was young, she had worked in Women’s Teahouse. As a daughter from a poor family, she was sensible early. Upon seeing the money, Song Wenwen's first reaction was. "Sister Yun, with so much money showing, it might be stolen by someone with malicious intent. And not all the neighbors are good people."
"It's alright, let's go." Lou Fengyun smiled as she leaned on her cane and walked downstairs accompanied by Song Wenwen.
Zhao Meizhen was repeatedly silenced by the women who questioned her ability to come up with money. Sweat was already beading on her forehead and temples. Although Song Tianyao had asked her to help call some neighbors to present flowers, he hadn't given her the money first. These gossipy women only cared about the present and insisted on seeing that she had the means before they would do their work, which put her in a very difficult position. Just as she was thinking about whether to go to a bank to borrow some money at interest, Lou Fengyun walked out, supporting herself on her own two legs. She was dressed in a Tang-style jacket and high-heeled wooden clogs, followed by Song Wenwen was tightly clutching the treasure box.
"If anyone dares to talk back to Auntie Zhen again, I will have their entire family killed on the spot." Lou Fengyun slowly walked to Zhao Meizhen's side, her pretty face as cold as ice. She looked around at the crowd in front of her and said this to them in a fierce tone.
Even Song Wenwen behind her and Zhao Meizhen beside her were startled by these words. In recent days, this young widow had been speaking softly and cautiously to Zhao Meizhen and Song Wenwen, making them almost forget that this was the woman who dared to directly order Song Tianyao to be killed, even when Song Tianyao was protected by two policemen with guns around his side.
Fuyixing, the former owner of Huayun Mahjong Den in the Squatter Area of Jialin Road, is now known as the fourth of the former Lou Fengyun family.
With just a word and a glance, all the neighbors in front of the tenement building took a few steps back, lowered their heads, and fell silent!
Lou Fengyun observed the actions of the people around her, remained silent for a few seconds, and then continued, "Wenwen, open the box and let these people who have never seen money before see it clearly. Once they have a clear look, tell them to get lost and replace them with a new batch of people. There are plenty of poor people in Hong Kong; there's no need to waste Auntie Zhen's kindness on some ungrateful people."
Chapters 1-3: Killing Four Birds with One Stone – A Master's Move
Those who distributed Oxfam's free medicine to the Kowloon Tong Old People's Home were naturally Mrs. Bess, Angie Perlis, Chu Xiaoxin- shun, and the Governor's wife, Ge Mulian, as well as several Young Masters' Club who were reluctantly included in the executive committee because of their substantial donations, and a few Britain Foreign Devil.