"You're young and don't understand. People are all bad. When they see money, their eyes immediately turn red, and their hearts turn black. You shouldn't flaunt your wealth. Now you're showing the money to the neighbors. They might believe me, but there will definitely be people with ulterior motives eyeing this money," Zhao Meizhen said to Lou Fengyun.
The young widow took out the money to save face in front of the gossipy neighbors, and the silence of the crowd made Zhao Meizhen feel as relieved as if she had taken a soothing pill. However, she also began to feel nervous. If the tens of thousands of yuan in the treasure box were really being targeted by someone with ulterior motives, and most of the neighbors had gone to offer flowers, and there were hardly any cats or dogs to be seen on the street, then when she and her companions were murdered and robbed, no one would answer their cries for help.
So Zhao Meizhen specially sent her husband across the sea to Kowloon to ask him to help invite Chen Tai over. Zhao Meizhen already knew that Chen Tai was a good fighter. No matter how vicious the robbers were, they couldn't be as vicious as the thugs at the docks. Chen Tai could take on more than a dozen people at once, so it shouldn't be a problem.
But her husband had been gone for several hours, and even the neighbors who came to offer flowers had already set off, but Chen Tai was still nowhere to be seen. The entire Tai Wo Street was now deserted, making Zhao Meizhen very uneasy. That's why she rummaged through drawers and cabinets to find a door latch to bar at the door, and put a kitchen knife on the table, ready to fight anyone at any moment.
She had seen too many robberies, assaults, and thefts in the Squatter Area. In a place like Hong Kong, unless it was a wealthy China person or foreigner who was robbed and extorted, poor people who reported crimes and hoped the police would help solve them were better off hoping their son would grow up to be the Governor of Hong Kong.
"You damn bastard, he can't even find someone to help him!" Zhao Meizhen paced back and forth in the room twice before she couldn't help but continue to berate her husband, Song Chunren.
"Thump, thump!" A series of heavy footsteps on the stairs made Lou Fengyun in the room frown. Neither the Song Family nor Scribe Hui had ever walked like that before.
Zhao Meizhen swiftly grabbed the kitchen knife from the table, held it to her chest with both hands, and nervously stared at her own door.
"Bang! Bang!" The door was pounded on from the outside, and the Scribe Hui's voice sounded somewhat distorted, "Open the door! Open the door!"
Then, Song Chunren's voice rang out from outside. "Open the door! Hurry up!"
Chen Tai's voice rang out last, strong and powerful. "Don't be afraid, Uncle Ren, I'll guard downstairs. My brothers have gone to call for reinforcements. Rest assured, no matter how many people come, I won't let them break in!"
Chapter 128 A Great Calamity?
The head of the mahjong parlor in Yau Ma Tei Yifa Mahjong Den, Hei Zai Jie, Heizai Jie in the Wo Shing Yee Double Red Pole parlor, sat with a gloomy expression in the Yunzhao Teahouse in Tsim Sha Tsui, slowly drinking his tea.
Heizai Jie is 27 years old this year. He has a handsome appearance with thick eyebrows and big eyes. However, due to years of martial arts training and sun exposure, his skin has turned bronze, making him look much darker than ordinary people.
In Hong Kong, Gambling dens are known for their strict rules: they won't open unless they're involved in organized crime, and they won't work unless they're involved in organized crime. They also have a thirteen-layer system for Gambling dens, which is easy to understand literally. Those who run casinos must have a criminal background, and those who work in casinos must be from the same gang.
As for the "thirteen levels of a gambling den," it refers to the fact that a Gambling den has thirteen different positions from top to bottom. The first level of the Gambling den is naturally the boss, also known as the shareholder.
The second layer consists of people responsible for handling all kinds of external affairs for the Gambling den on behalf of the boss, including emergency assistance, dealing with police visits, and so on. These people must have extensive social connections, be adept at navigating social situations, and have a high social standing in the underworld. This type of person is called a socialite.
The third level consists of people who are specifically responsible for all matters, big and small, within the Gambling den. They are responsible for managing and taking care of the business on behalf of the shareholders and liaising with them. They are known as the general manager.
The fourth level consists of the professional thugs who specialize in fighting and brawling within the Gambling den. Once any conflict escalates to the point of requiring physical combat, these thugs from within the Gambling den will take over. These people are ranked fourth in the Gambling den and are called patrolmen. The most vicious and capable person among the patrolmen is the patrol leader, who is also a symbol of a Gambling den's toughness to the outside world. Often, when people in a Gambling den encounter trouble, simply mentioning the name of their patrol leader can deter troublemakers.
However, the head of the Yifa Mahjong Den, Heizai Jie, had some personal business to attend to a couple of days ago and was unable to appear at the Gambling den. As a result, the Gambling den was vandalized by an unknown person. A gambler who was from the same gang as Heizai Jie had all his teeth knocked out by the other party, and another brother was kicked so badly that he couldn't get out of bed for two whole days.
This was even more humiliating for Heizai Jie than being slapped in the face. Yau Ma Tei in Kowloon had always been the territory of Fuyixing, and some of the properties belonging to Wo Shing Yee were all hard-won by Heizai Jie and his gang with his Bik Gaai Cha and forks. The size of this territory was measured by him and his men with their knives and the blood on their chests. Fuyixing's Big Brother, Golden-Tooth Lei, eventually acquiesced to ceding this small piece of territory to Wo Shing Yee and started causing trouble? If he didn't take him out, how could he still have the face to show his face in Yau Ma Tei?
Fortunately, a shoeshine boy at the Gambling den said he had seen the man in the Tsim Sha Tsui area, where Shanghai people live. So, Heizai Jie has been keeping watch over this residential area for two consecutive days. All the brothers and gamblers who saw the man at the Gambling den that day have been sent out to search for the man's movements day and night on the nearby streets.
"Brother Jie! Brother Jie! A brother has seen that guy!"
It was already past four in the afternoon when one of Heizai Jie's henchmen rushed in from outside. Before he could even see which table Heizai Jie was sitting at, Heizai Jie had already stood up and was standing in front of him. With a flick of his wrist, two elbow-length, three-pronged Bik Gaai Cha appeared in his hands.
"Where is it?"
"That guy got into the car as soon as he stepped out the door, and before we brothers could react, the car had already driven away. But we definitely didn't mistake him for someone else, and we noted down all the houses he came from." The subordinate imitated Heizai Jie's actions, pulling out a watermelon knife from his back and holding it in his hand, speaking with certainty.
Heizai Jie gritted his teeth and said, "Get the brothers together, let's go to where that guy lives."