"Brother Hung..." Uncle Yan took a sip of tea and nodded. He was about to continue when Yan Hung immediately interrupted and corrected him:
"Uncle Yan, if you call me Brother Hung again, I'll turn around and leave."
"All right, I'll call you A-Hung. A-Hung, Young Master Shun is still at Kowloon Police Station. I sent a servant from the house to check on him there this morning. Although he's resting in the Inspector's Office and hasn't been mistreated, he can't be held there forever. What are you planning to do next?" Uncle Yan looked at Yan Hung and asked unhurriedly.
Yan Hung froze on the spot. He had obediently come to the Liheng Trading Company at Central Pier early that morning precisely to hear what Chu Yaozong thought about the matter and what he planned to do next. Whatever Chu Yaozong instructed, however difficult it was, Yan Hung would find a way to get it done, even if it meant openly falling out with Cheung Wing-kam.
But now Uncle Yan was actually asking him what to do next. His mind raced, and Yan Hung immediately said:
"Whatever you instruct, Uncle Yan, A-Hung will do. I'll make sure it's handled properly."
Uncle Yan smiled. "A-Hung, the difficulty is that the master gave no instructions about this matter. After he heard what happened last night, he drank a cup of tea and went to bed. Before going to sleep, he only said one thing: let Young Master Shun clean up his own mess."
"Let Chu Xiaoxin clean up his own mess?" Yan Hung mulled over the words. Chu Xiaoxin was already being held on Cheung Wing-kam's turf. He wouldn't be tortured, but his freedom had been restricted. How was he supposed to clean up the mess?
Song Tianyao, who had been silent all this time, let out a soft breath and rose from his seat. He smiled at Uncle Yan and said:
"I understand, Uncle Yan. Young Master Shun already told me what he had in mind last night."
Chapter 22
Uncle Yan looked at Song Tianyao. He had learned who Song Tianyao was the night before: the secretary Chu Xiaoxin had hired for the Likang Trading Company to avoid trouble. Now that Song Tianyao had spoken up, Uncle Yan nodded. "A-Yao, is it? How does Young Master Shun plan to handle this? Could you tell me, so I can go back and pass it on to the master?"
"Two young men got jealous over a woman. Young Master Shun put up two thousand dollars, and Cheung Wing-kam's godson stepped forward for the same two thousand. It started with two thousand Hong Kong dollars and a woman, so it should end with two thousand Hong Kong dollars and a woman," Song Tianyao said to Uncle Yan. "Young Master Shun said he could leave it to Brother Hung to handle on the outside."
Beside him, Yan Hung's eyes nearly popped out and fell to the floor. Two thousand Hong Kong dollars? To settle things with Cheung Wing-kam?
And that last part, about Young Master Shun saying to leave it to him, had to be a lie Song Tianyao had made up on the spot. If Chu Xiaoxin had really said that, he should have told him last night.
"Oh? So Young Master Shun already gave instructions. That puts my mind at ease. The master had the kitchen start a Cantonese slow-cooked soup early this morning for Young Master Shun to have when he comes home tonight. A-Hung, sorry for the trouble, but please tell Young Master Shun that the master says he's not to go out drinking again tonight. He's to come home at seven sharp for soup." Uncle Yan glanced at Yan Hung a couple of times, then turned his head to look at Song Tianyao. "Then I won't keep you for tea, A-Hung. Once you've finished handling this, how about I arrange a banquet at Canton Restaurant on the master's behalf, as a small token of thanks?"
"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare. Please get back to your work, Uncle Yan. A-Yao and I will go see Young Master Shun." Seeing that Uncle Yan meant to see them out, Yan Hung hurriedly stood and took his leave. He also looked toward Song Tianyao, worried that Song Tianyao would no longer go out with him.
Fortunately, Song Tianyao did not leave him behind. After saying goodbye to Uncle Yan, he walked out with Yan Hung. As soon as they left the Accounts Room, Yan Hung grabbed Song Tianyao's wrist.
"Two thousand? A-Yao, tell me how two thousand is supposed to clean up this mess! The man Young Master Shun hit was Cheung Wing-kam's godson, not some nightclub waiter!"
"What else? Did you think Chairman Chu would have Uncle Yan tell you he was giving you thirty or fifty thousand Hong Kong dollars and let you carry his banner to settle this in grand style?" Song Tianyao slowly pried Yan Hung's hand away, smiling. "If that were really the case, why let you have the glory? Any member of the Chu Family could handle it with enough money. Why you?"
Yan Hung scratched his head hard and looked at Song Tianyao. "A-Yao, Chairman Chu never said to settle this with two thousand. You were the one who spoke first. You might well have blocked whatever Uncle Yan was about to say."
"Look at you. You're obviously fooling yourself. Do you believe Chairman Chu would give you eighty or a hundred thousand? Stop dreaming." Song Tianyao said to Yan Hung, "If you settle this, Chairman Chu will remember your name. Later, when you need money to grease the palms of the foreign devils for a promotion, he might have a chance to pay it for you. But if he put up the money this time, or said he didn't need you to handle it, that would be your misfortune. It would mean Chairman Chu had no intention of paying you any mind and didn't treat you as one of his own Chiu Chow people. This time he's giving you nothing, no money and no banner to carry, but he's giving you a chance. If you handle this well, it means you're one of his own Chiu Chow people. Understand?"
"Are all businessmen's brains this complicated?" Listening to Song Tianyao, Yan Hung couldn't help grumbling under his breath. "I'm a man of the jianghu. How would I ever think so much? Of course I just do whatever the rich man tells me to do. What a headache. Hey, A-Yao, you've got a sharp mind and can see everything clearly. Give me a hand, will you?"
"You're just asking? You won't even give me a cigarette, and you still want my help?" Song Tianyao said with a smile.
Yan Hung took out his cigarettes and offered one to Song Tianyao, then, for once, even lit it for him. "If you help me this time, I don't mind buying you cigarettes for the rest of your life."
"Simple. Cheung Wing-kam wants face. As things stand, it's still just a small matter of jealousy over a woman. It's only a question of Cheung Wing-kam's face. Chairman Chu isn't going to show himself, and Yiu Muk isn't going to show himself. Who else could step forward and make Cheung Wing-kam feel he's been given face?" Song Tianyao took a drag on his cigarette and looked at the laborers starting work on the distant pier as he asked.
"Liu Fu..." Yan Hung blurted out.
Song Tianyao looked at Yan Hung and blinked. "Brother Hung, it really hasn't been easy for you to make it as far as Detective Sergeant. If I were your superior, I wouldn't even let you hold that post. Liu Fu is Cheung Wing-kam's immediate superior. Put yourself in his shoes: it's supposed to be a mediation, and then your superior turns up in front of you. Wouldn't you feel he was using his authority to pressure you? Asking Liu Fu to step in would only make the affair bigger. Besides, given your position, could you even get Liu Fu to come?"