"Hey! Stop talking in riddles at a time like this. You heard him too. Uncle Yan said Chairman Chu wanted Young Master Shun home before seven o'clock. It's already eight in the morning, so there are less than twelve hours left." Yan Hung ignored Song Tianyao's teasing and urged him on anxiously.
"Lee Jusheng, of course," Song Tianyao told Yan Hung. "Cheung Wing-kam is in charge of Kowloon District, and Lee Jusheng is in charge of Hong Kong Island District. They're the same rank, so naturally you need a Chinese Detective Chief Inspector who can speak to him as an equal to step in. Besides, although Lee Jusheng isn't from Chiu Chow, his wife is, so he's practically one of the Chiu Chow people. He's the most natural person to step in."
"A-Yao, I never would've guessed you knew so much about the police force when you don't even work in it." Understanding dawned on Yan Hung, and he looked at Song Tianyao in surprise.
Song Tianyao curled his lip. "I almost joined the Uniformed Branch and became a cop. Of course I had to do my homework back then and learn all about the Big Brothers in the Police Force in every district, so I'd be prepared wherever I was assigned after graduation."
"Lee Jusheng and I don't have much of a relationship. He has the Foreign Devils backing him, and he's an old hand, even more senior than Yiu Muk. He'll retire in a year at most. But he doesn't have any great ability; he just does whatever the Foreign Devils tell him."
"Lee Jusheng wants to make a bundle before he retires, taking money to do favors. Getting paid just to have a chat and drink tea with Cheung Wing-kam should be right up his alley."
"All right! I'll trust you. I'll go borrow from a loan shark!" Yan Hung said, making up his mind.
Song Tianyao frowned. "Borrow from a loan shark? Brother Hung, don't you have any savings of your own?"
"I've still got a few thousand, but you think a few thousand will get a Chinese Detective Chief Inspector from Hong Kong Island to step in?"
"You're really incorruptible, a modern-day Bao Qingtian." Song Tianyao rolled his eyes. "I remember you saying you were a Fuyixing Red Pole. Was that true?"
"I was brought into the brotherhood by Golden-Tooth Lei, Fuyixing's chairman. I swore my oath before Second Brother Guan and received the Hung Ying behind my back. I'm a genuine Fuyixing 426 Red Pole, guaranteed." Hearing Song Tianyao question his underworld credentials, Yan Hung explained himself.
"Then why the hell are you going to a loan shark? Go see Fuyixing's chairman. Isn't borrowing the gang's money safer than taking a high-interest loan?"
Chapter 23: I Won't Set You Up
"Even though I took Golden-Tooth Lei, Lao Fu's chairman, as my Big Brother, I've never done anything for Lao Fu. At most, when Lao Fu's brothers got arrested for a crime and needed help finding someone to fill a quota or take the fall, I put in a word for them." Yan Hung looked at Song Tianyao, troubled.
He really was a genuine Red Pole of Fuyixing, and his fellow members called him Sergeant Hung. But he had little contact with most of Fuyixing's members, including his own Big Brother. He had joined Fuyixing only because he wanted a standing in the underworld that he could use to build connections with the various Chiu Chow factions. He saw his Big Brother, Golden-Tooth Lei, only on holidays.
Song Tianyao pointed his cigarette at the coolies in the distance. "What business does Fuyixing do?"
"Prostitution, gambling and drugs, of course. Mostly heroin." Yan Hung looked in the direction Song Tianyao had pointed.
Song Tianyao pointed at the sweat-soaked coolies. "Anyone in the heroin business won't be short of money; what they lack is territory. Just tell your Big Brother Golden-Tooth Lei that if you can help Chairman Chu settle this trouble, you should be promoted to Senior Station Sergeant before long. You won't be able to become a Chinese Detective Chief Inspector, but running a Police Station won't be a problem. Yau Ma Tei Police Station, Sham Shui Po Police Station, Tai O Police Station, Wan Chai Police Station... so many police stations, and they all have territory. If you become a Station Sergeant, who stands to gain the most? The gang, of course. Their drug dens can spring up all over your territory. Putting up twenty or thirty thousand now is nothing. Your Big Brother made it to chairman, so he can't be stingy. What's more, if you get a connection to Chairman Chu, Fuyixing can also get a slice of territory on the docks and recruit some coolies into the gang. There are benefits all around."
"What if my Big Brother won't agree?" Yan Hung was still hesitant. He wasn't nearly as close to his Big Brother as he was to Yiu Muk; he merely went about under Fuyixing's banner.
Song Tianyao flicked the ash from his cigarette. "If he won't, you can still go to a loan shark afterward. I can't stay and chat. Go get the money and invite Lee Jusheng. I'm going to Kowloon Police Station to see Young Master Shun."
As he spoke, he started to leave, but Yan Hung grabbed him.
"Hey, you still haven't said how we're going to settle this today. Should I send Lee Jusheng straight to Kowloon Police Station?"
Song Tianyao said, "I don't need to spell this out too clearly, do I, Brother Hung? Book dozens of tables at the best restaurant and invite everyone from Chao Yong Yi and Cheung Wing-kam's side. Have Lee Jusheng step in as peacemaker, and have Young Master Shun apologize to Cheung Wing-kam's godson and pay two thousand in compensation."
"You know what Young Master Shun is like. Would he apologize to anyone?"
"He will. I'll get him to do it. But his apology and two thousand dollars won't be enough to cool Cheung Wing-kam's anger. He has to vent it somewhere. Who's going to bear the brunt of Cheung Wing-kam's anger for Young Master Shun?" Song Tianyao stared intently at Yan Hung, watching the expression on his face.
Yan Hung pointed at his own face. "It can't be me, can it?"
Song Tianyao nodded and said firmly, "It's you. You've already offended Lai Man-yau and stood up to Cheung Wing-kam. Even if you don't speak up today, you can forget about having an easy time under Lai Man-yau afterward. So at the banquet today, you might as well step forward and apologize to Cheung Wing-kam. Tell him you had eyes but failed to recognize Mount Tai, and that you're willing to transfer back into the Uniformed Branch to guard a reservoir and give up your detective sergeant's post to his godson. You're the best person for Cheung Wing-kam to vent on. He can't touch Young Master Shun, but he can touch Young Master Shun's friend and use your post to compensate his godson. That way, he'll have saved some face. In the end, the Chu Family won't be affected, Cheung Wing-kam will have his face back, and you'll go guard a reservoir and wait for Chairman Chu to speak up and spend money to smash open another path for you."
Yan Hung's head buzzed, and everything seemed to go black before his eyes. He stared at Song Tianyao. "Did you plan last night to use me to take the brunt of Cheung Wing-kam's anger in the end?"
He could offend Cheung Wing-kam, offend the Sze Yap Gang, and even offend his own superior for Chu Xiaoxin's sake. He had even thought that life in the police force wouldn't be easy after today. But he had never imagined that Song Tianyao would make him give up his detective sergeant's post altogether and put on a uniform to guard a reservoir again!