Things had come to this. Yan Hung had indeed paid 100,000 Hong Kong dollars for the opportunity, but Song Tianyao also knew that his own name had probably already reached Chu Yaozong's ears.
No one knew better than Chu Yaozong what kind of person Chu Xiaoxin was. He must have known perfectly well that his son had not made each of the moves played last night. As for who had made them, that went without saying.
If he still could not actually get the job after going this far, Song Tianyao felt he might as well find another boss to work for. Yiu Muk, who had opened a watch shop and traded gold after retiring, was a good candidate. In any case, the former chief Chinese inspector was also very interested in him.
Chapter 20: A chance encounter at the pier
After eating breakfast at Yiu Muk's villa and thanking him once again, Song Tianyao finally walked out with Yan Hung.
When Sister Fen opened the villa door, the two young plainclothes officers keeping watch outside immediately got to their feet and came over to Yan Hung. "Brother Hung, Brother Man told you to go see him last night. He said that if you didn't come out, we were to keep watch here. The two of us spent the whole night out in the cold wind."
Just then, Yiu Muk's driver brought the car out of the garage and stopped outside the villa gate. He said politely to Yan Hung and Song Tianyao:
"Brother Hung, Secretary Song, the master told me to take you two to the pier to catch a boat."
"Thanks for the effort, brothers. Once I've taken care of what Brother Muk asked me to do, I'll go see Brother Man right away." Yan Hung spoke to the two plainclothes officers with neither warmth nor coldness, then got straight into the car.
The police had their factions too. These two plainclothes officers were Lai Man-yau's own trusted men. Before what had happened last night, Yan Hung, a Chiu Chow outsider who had aligned himself with Lai Man-yau, would probably have greeted them with a beaming smile and offered them cigarettes, then hurried off with them to see his superior, Lai Man-yau. But now, he was Chiu Chow, and Lai Man-yau was from Dongguan. If he wanted to regain the Chiu Chow people's favor, he could no longer hope to have it both ways.
Song Tianyao called Fish Stall Kun, who was still full of energy after standing outside all night, over to join them in the car. Once the three were seated, the car pulled away and drove smoothly out of the villa district.
The two plainclothes officers would never have dared stop Yiu Muk's car. They called after it a few times, and when they received no answer, they angrily threw their cigarettes to the ground and cursed:
"Bastard! Once this is over, we'll have Brother Man send you to work in the Odd-job room!"
The car arrived at Central Pier, where activity was already in full swing. Countless burly, bare-chested men were lined up to load and unload cargo. After Yan Hung and Fish Stall Kun got out, they paid the working men no mind, but Song Tianyao watched the fierce-looking yet orderly laborers with great curiosity.
At the pier, anyone without a gang or a Big Brother could not find work. The hundreds upon hundreds of laborers before Song Tianyao now were all a major part of the various triad gangs. In later times, one would never see triad members doing hard labor.
As soon as Fish Stall Kun and Yan Hung showed themselves at the pier, people came over to greet them. Fish Stall Kun was clearly far better known there than Yan Hung. He was a Double Red Pole of Chao Yong Yi, as well as the Big Brother Chao Yong Yi had stationed at its most lucrative smuggling pier, Sai Kung Pier. In the eyes of the jianghu men at Hong Kong's various piers, he might have been even more impressive than the chief Chinese inspector. Yan Hung, meanwhile, bore the title of a Fuyixing 426 Red Pole, but he had not involved himself much in gang affairs. Only a few of Fuyixing's minor bosses at the pier had met him.
"Brother Hung, Secretary Song, Ah Kun." Rotten-Life Ju, still dressed as he had been the night before, jumped down from a cargo container at the pier and greeted them from a distance with a smile. "Brother Ten had me come out early to supervise the work, mostly so I could wait for Brother Hung and Secretary Song."
As he spoke, he strode over to the three of them. Yan Hung gave a noncommittal grunt, and Fish Stall Kun smiled at him. Song Tianyao smiled and said to Rotten-Life Ju, "Thanks for the effort last night, Brother Ju. Are you in charge of Chao Yong Yi's brothers at this pier?"
"I just lead a few fellow brothers so we can make a living. Ah Yi, go to Liheng Trading Company's Accounts Room at the pier right away and tell Brother Ten that Brother Hung and Secretary Song are back." Rotten-Life Ju spoke to one of his underlings, who immediately hurried off to deliver the message.
Rotten-Life Ju accompanied Yan Hung and Song Tianyao as they walked slowly toward the pier exit. Just then, a voice full of surprise rang out from a nearby cargo ship. "Brother Yao?"
Song Tianyao turned and saw his younger cousin Zhao Wenye standing bare-chested on the cargo ship, unloading goods like the other laborers. Seeing Song Tianyao passing by, he had called out, unsure it was him.
"A-Yip? Come here." Only then did Song Tianyao remember that this cousin, who had grown up playing with him, worked as a laborer at Central Pier under some Big Brother. He beckoned Zhao Wenye over, telling him to jump ashore.
Zhao Wenye first called out to his companions aboard the ship, then nimbly jumped onto the shore. Seeing Song Tianyao in a sharp suit and getting a clear look at the three companions who had walked over with him, Zhao Wenye found himself at a loss for words.
Zhao Wenye, who had worked at Central Pier for years, knew all three men standing with Song Tianyao: Rotten-Life Ju, a Chao Yong Yi Double Red Pole; Fish Stall Kun, a Chao Yong Yi Double Red Pole; and Sergeant Hung, a Fuyixing Red Pole. Rotten-Life Ju in particular was his boss's boss. In other words, the Big Brother Zhao Wenye currently followed was merely one of Rotten-Life Ju's underlings.
"It's good I happened to see you. Remember to come to my house after you finish work today. My mother said she'd make soup for you." Song Tianyao took a handkerchief from his suit pocket and handed it to Zhao Wenye. "Wipe the sweat off."
"Oh." Zhao Wenye took the handkerchief and casually wiped the sweat from his face. He very much wanted to ask how his cousin, who had been rejected by the police academy only yesterday, had turned up at the pier today dressed like the manager of a foreign trading firm, with three Red Pole-level Big Brothers in tow. But he did not know how to ask.
In the end, Song Tianyao took a pack of State Express 555 cigarettes, still more than half full, from his pocket and slapped it into Zhao Wenye's hand. "Get back to work. Don't let those brothers get upset and give you trouble over it. We'll talk tonight when you come to my house for soup."