It was no small thing for a shrewd man like his own butler to admit he was puzzled. Although Uncle Yan called himself the Chu Family's butler to outsiders, he was one of the men who had helped the family achieve its present standing among Hong Kong's Teochew community, having followed Chu Yaozong every step of the way. Back then, he had personally handled everything from shipping goods by sea at the risk of pirates to settling accounts. It was no exaggeration to call him Chu Yaozong's true confidant.
Uncle Yan repeated Song Tianyao's words to Chu Yaozong: "He said the trouble started because of two thousand Hong Kong dollars and a woman, so it should end with two thousand Hong Kong dollars and a woman too. Yan Hung could take care of it. Master, I've turned it over and over, but I still can't see how Yan Hung could use two thousand dollars to soothe Cheung Wing-kam's anger."
Chu Yaozong stood there pondering for a while, then smiled. "Song Tianyao made himself quite clear. He was just too embarrassed to say outright in front of Yan Hung that he intended to use him as a scapegoat and let Cheung Wing-kam vent his anger on him. The two thousand Hong Kong dollars he mentioned was only for medical expenses. I'm afraid the banquet and the intermediaries will cost at least another twenty or thirty thousand, and Yan Hung will have to pay every cent. In the end, Yan Hung will also have to give up his position to Cheung Wing-kam's godson. That's the real compensation. When all is said and done, Ah Sin's secretary has been planning since last night to find a suitable scapegoat for him. Then Yan Hung, a frustrated little Chiu Chow detective sergeant, thought he'd found a chance to establish ties with the Chu Family and charged straight in without a second thought. Song Tianyao led him along step by step, and I'm afraid he still doesn't know he's become the sacrificial lamb."
"A sacrificial lamb? Would Yan Hung agree to that?" Uncle Yan looked up at Chu Yaozong. "He's a detective sergeant, after all, and he's at Yau Ma Tei Police Station, where there's plenty of money to be made."
Chu Yaozong smiled at his butler and spoke in an easy tone. "At this point, what can he do even if he doesn't agree? He foolishly blurted out his connection to Yiu Muk first, offended Lai Man-yau, and stood up to Cheung Wing-kam. If he doesn't follow the game as it's being played now, he won't live to see tomorrow. If he follows Song Tianyao's moves, the Chu Family will still owe him a favor. After all, Ah Sin made Cheung Wing-kam lose face, and Yan Hung used his own future to take the fall for Ah Sin this time. If we don't give him some benefit, people will say the Chu Family has no sense of loyalty. Ah Sin's luck is good; he really has stumbled across a talent. This game was played beautifully. From beginning to end, no one from the Chu Family had to show their face or spend a cent. Yet with nothing but words, he managed to hook Yan Hung, who lost both his money and his position. He might even be deeply grateful to him afterward. Interesting."
"Then, Master, should you meet him tonight? Since he's talented, keeping him at your side would be better than leaving him at Likang..." Uncle Yan ventured carefully, watching Chu Yaozong's expression.
Chu Yaozong waved a hand. "No need. I can't take Ah Sin's good fortune away from him. Though Ah Sin is no great success, having a Song Tianyao to clean up after him saves me a great deal of trouble too. Let them do as they please with Likang Trading Company. That young fellow is probably waiting for me to meet him right now. Have him stay tonight and eat with Ah Sin. The Chu Family isn't afraid of ambitious outsiders; we're afraid of not having people like that under us."
"Yes, Master." At Chu Yaozong's wave, Uncle Yan quietly withdrew from the study.
Chu Yaozong stood before his writing desk and picked up his brush to finish the calligraphy. It was a poem to the tune of Shengchazi:
"A three-foot Longquan sword, unseen within its case; a bow that fells wild geese, a hundred golden-flowered arrows. I gave my utmost loyalty to the nation and fought through bitter campaigns. First I sought to win merit; only then would I face my king."
"First I sought to win merit; only then would I face my king. Song Tianyao has already earned merit for the Chu Family before we've even met. A talent..." Chu Yaozong murmured, looking at the running-cursive calligraphy he had casually written.
Chapter 25: Keep Your Distance
Accompanied by Fish Stall Kun, Song Tianyao crossed the harbor and hailed two rickshaws to take them to Kowloon City Police Station.
Unlike the police stations on Hong Kong Island, which all had official numbers—from Number One Police Station and Number Two Police Station all the way through Number Nine Police Station—the Kowloon stations had none. Although the numbers had now been abandoned in favor of names such as "Mount Gough Police Station," they were already deeply rooted in the minds of Hong Kong residents. An older resident might have no idea what Mount Gough Police Station was, but if you called it Number Six Police Station, he could immediately tell you where it was.
By contrast, the police stations in Kowloon seemed to have been discriminated against. They had no numbers, and their buildings were not as grand as those on Hong Kong Island. Even Yau Ma Tei Police Station, the most lucrative of them all, was less than half the size of the island's stations.
When Liu Fu was Kowloon District's Chinese Detective Chief Inspector, he had always worked out of Yau Ma Tei Police Station. After Cheung Wing-kam took over, he did not follow Liu Fu's example and make it his workplace, but moved to Kowloon City Police Station instead. Publicly, he said that Kowloon City Police Station was short of manpower and that he would personally take charge there. The real reason, however, was that Cheung Wing-kam had bought the position of Kowloon District's Chinese Detective Chief Inspector outright from the Foreign Devils for five hundred thousand Hong Kong dollars. Liu Fu had already arranged a successor, only for Cheung Wing-kam to snatch the position away midway. Lai Man-yau, the Station Sergeant at Yau Ma Tei Police Station, had long since received Liu Fu's instructions: if Cheung Wing-kam dared set foot on Yau Ma Tei Police Station's turf, he was to stir up trouble and public opinion, giving Liu Fu an opportunity to deal with him.
So Cheung Wing-kam took the hint and avoided provoking Liu Fu's wrath, choosing to take charge at Kowloon City Police Station instead. He also left the lucrative territory of Yau Ma Tei Police Station temporarily under the management of Liu Fu's subordinate Lai Man-yau, without rushing to install his own men.
Compared with an established and lucrative station like Yau Ma Tei Police Station, Kowloon City Police Station fell short. But over the past two years, it had surpassed other stations in Kowloon, such as Sham Shui Po Police Station and Lai Chi Kok Police Station, and had become a place with plenty of money to be made.
Over the past two years, the population of Kowloon Walled City had multiplied several times, and the Walled City had become a place beyond anyone's jurisdiction. Overnight, Heroin stalls, numbers stalls, gambling dens, opium dens, bars, independent prostitutes, dog-meat eateries, and traditional Chinese medicine clinics sprang up everywhere. (Note: Hong Kong's colonial government prohibited the slaughter of dogs for meat and did not recognize traditional Chinese medicine licenses.) Although the individual Heroin stalls and gambling dens were smaller than those in Yau Ma Tei, they made up for it in numbers, so Cheung Wing-kam and his trusted subordinates also made quite a lot of money at Kowloon City Police Station. Moreover, under his protection, the Sze Yap Gang had secured 60 percent of the drug supply in the Kowloon City area and was continually expanding its influence. This greatly pleased the Five Counties Chamber of Commerce, which backed him with money. It was said that Five Counties Chamber of Commerce Chairman Xue Wenbai had already said in private that, if Cheung Wing-kam could continue expanding the room for Five Counties people to operate in Hong Kong, the chamber could consider putting up money in a couple of years to promote him early to Chief Chinese Detective Sergeant.