"He didn't suspect you?" Tang Shihu looked at Tang Boqi: "He just told you directly that he was going to start a fake hair business?"
"No one would suspect anything. Our family has its own laundry business in San Francisco, far from Hong Kong, posing absolutely no threat to him. Of course, no one would suspect anything," Tang Boqi said lazily, leaning back on the sofa. "Besides, doing legitimate business isn't like being a thief. Why should we keep it a secret like it's something shameful?"
Tang Shihu rubbed his hands, which were cracked and bleeding from years of washing and drying clothes. "That's not quite like what your uncle said on the phone about being a heartless glutton. You don't even have the heart to be wary of others?"
"I think it's true. Wigs sell for eighty or ninety US dollars apiece in stores now. Look at those white youths hanging around the streets all day, changing their hairstyles every few days. There are even grown men wearing women's wigs on the street." Tang Boqi's older Tang Boruan, pondered for a long time before speaking, "And the supply can't meet the demand. I've thought about opening a wig factory before, but the equipment and land are too expensive. Even if we only set up two sets of equipment in our own space in Chinatown, the machines alone would cost tens of thousands of US dollars. And the hair used in wigs is all real hair, which is not only expensive but also difficult to acquire. We need someone to solve these problems before we can start. So I thought about it and ultimately didn't bring it up."
"Billy Zai's been running errands for Song Tianyao these past few days, memorizing everything he sees. I'll call your uncle's house later and ask about the situation in Hong Kong." Tang Shihu listened to his eldest son's words and looked at Tang Boqi: "If making wigs in Hong Kong and selling them to United States can really make money, of course we can't let him be the only one profiting."
"Isn't it a bit wrong to do this? That guy trusts me, but I..." Tang Boqi scratched his head and said weakly, "If we're going to do laundry, then we'll just do laundry. If Uncle is talking about making money by robbing banks, does that mean we should team up with them to rob banks too? Should we just stick to one line of work?"
Tang Shihu glared at his Second Son, who always lacked ambition and spent his days hanging out with white youths, and scolded him, "I've run a laundromat for decades, and of course I don't want you to continue like this! In recent years, the situation for Chinese, Black, and Mexican people in United States has improved a lot. Although those white people still discriminate against us, thanks to the many United States soldiers who died in the war, many jobs and positions have been created, and we can now do business just like white people. Of course, we should seize the opportunity to expand our business. Do you expect me to be like I was back then, going door-to-door collecting clothes for white people, and not even being allowed to enter their yards? Besides, look around now, how many laundromats are still open? The laundromat business is already very difficult. If it weren't for my decades-long reputation, I would have closed down long ago! If I tell you to do it, then do it. Everyone can do business. There's no rule that only he can do the fake hair business, and we can't!"
"What if it turns out the fake goods business is actually profitable?" Tang Boqi looked at his father with some frustration. "Shouldn't we let my older brother handle it...?"
Before he could finish speaking, Tang Shihu shouted, "Your older brother has to help me manage three laundromats, going door-to-door to collect clothes and settle accounts. Where does he find the time? You're the only one in the family who's idle, so of course you should do it! You graduated from university, and I asked you to open a laundromat in South Bay, but you refused. You're always busy with..."
"I'm not an idle person. I have a bachelor's and master's degree in economics from Boston University. How can I be considered an idle person? I just want to find a job on Wall Street in New York. You don't agree, so I'm just waiting at home for your approval." Tang Boqi retorted, dissatisfied with his father calling him an idle person.
"Billy Zai, listen to me! As long as I'm alive, I won't allow you to go to Wall Street and work as a stockbroker or insurance broker—that damned job! Do you enjoy being cursed at every day? I was swindled by that damn stockbroker and lost thousands of US dollars —all earned through washing and cleaning my clothes. I've been swindled before, how can I let you swindle others again! Didn't you say last time that your mentor lost everything on Wall Street? No matter how good you are, can you be better than your mentor?" Tang Boqi -Tang Shihu roared angrily when Tang Bo-qi brought up the matter of finding a job on Wall Street in New York again.
Tang Boqi pouted, "Fine, I'll do it. If they find out I'm making money from wigs, okay? Stop cursing. Have you ever seen a United States who doesn't support their son doing what he likes? Only we Chinese, whatever the father does, we want our children and grandchildren to do too, so we can't have our own ideals. When you're old enough to leave the laundromat and the wig business to your eldest brother, then I'll go to Wall Street. I just want to go. I can wait a few more years, but I will definitely go. I mean what I say."
Chapter 205 Wigs and Masks
At nine o'clock the next morning, hearing the roar of a motorcycle engine and the honking of horns outside the hotel, Song Tianyao walked out with a normal expression. He had changed into a T-shirt, casual pants, and sneakers. Tang Boqi pushed up his sunglasses and looked at Song Tianyao as he approached.
"Didn't you talk to the hotel owner last night, like about me? This outfit is nice, did you buy it from the shop next door?"
"Of course we talked. He said you're the only college graduate in your family and want to develop your career in New York, but your father is planning to have you run a laundromat. Thanks for the compliment, the whole thing is fifteen US dollars." Song Tianyao straddled the back of the Harley motorcycle: "Let's go."
This time, Tang Boqi was stunned. He turned to Song Tianyao and said, "I deliberately brought you to the Chinatown Hotel so you could guess that someone might want to do the same business as you first. I thought you might go to Haight Street alone this morning, so why did you stay? Aren't you afraid your idea will be leaked?"
"I guess your father probably knows about some of the things I've been doing in Hong Kong. We all know each other to some extent now. Are you worried that someone will steal my idea for the wig business?" Song Tianyao yawned. "You're still jet-lagged. Let's go. If you're also interested in the wig business, I'd certainly welcome you."
"I don't want to do it at all. I want to be a stockbroker on Wall Street. You have no idea what a great opportunity this is." Tang Boqi sat up, started his motorcycle, and headed towards Haight Street, where those idle white youths gathered.