By the time Song Tianyao reached the Kowloon City Police Station, it was only a little after nine. He bought a pack of 555s with some loose change from a Matchstick Girl selling cigarettes on the street, then offered one to the Uniformed Branch officer on duty at the entrance and lit it for him. Song Tianyao asked politely:
"Sir, I'm a friend of Young Master Chu Xiaoxin. Could you help me get in to see him? At least let him have a cigarette."
"Brother Wing's in a foul mood. I can't help you." The Uniformed Branch officer blew two streams of smoke from his nostrils and said bluntly to Song Tianyao, "He's been held here since last night, and no one from the Chu Family has shown up yet. If the Young Master of the Chu Family's Dad weren't the president of the Chao Feng Chamber of Commerce, Brother Wing would have tossed him into the sea for a swim long ago."
"Where are you from, sir?" Song Tianyao was in no hurry. Standing outside the police station's main entrance, he asked the young Uniformed Branch officer in a relaxed tone.
One look at a Uniformed Branch officer like this was enough to tell he was a rookie who had graduated only recently and hadn't yet found a connection to attach himself to. That was why he had the miserable job of guarding the Police Station entrance.
The young Uniformed Branch officer said to Song Tianyao, "I'm from Chaoshan, and I know the Young Master of the Chu Family is one of the Chiu Chow people too. It's not that I don't want to help, but my shoulders are too narrow to bear the weight. There are two plainclothes officers guarding the Young Master of the Chu Family in his room. He can use the toilet and eat without a problem, but he can forget about taking a single step outside the Police Station."
"I won't see him, then. For the sake of our being from the same hometown, could you pass on a message?" Song Tianyao took out his now-thin wallet, which still contained a few hundred Hong Kong dollars. He took out a hundred-dollar note and two fifties and slipped them into the breast pocket of the officer's uniform, together with the freshly opened pack of cigarettes. Smiling, he said, "It's simple. Once you're inside, just say someone from the Chu Family was worried Young Master Shun didn't have any cigarettes, so they asked you to take him a pack. Keep a hundred for yourself and give fifty each to the two plainclothes officers watching him. There's only one message: tell Young Master Shun that his secretary has already sorted things out outside. At the reconciliation banquet at noon today, he just needs to take out two thousand dollars at the table and offer Cheung Wing-kam a toast, and everything will be OK. Yan Hung will handle the rest. If Young Master Shun has any instructions after the banquet, his secretary will be having tea at Lu Yu Teahouse."
The hundred Hong Kong dollars excited the young Uniformed Branch officer, who had graduated from Wong Chuk Hang Police College only a few months earlier. Kowloon City Police Station was a lucrative posting, but the extra money all went to the plainclothes officers. They were all Cheung Wing-kam's men from the Sze Yap Gang, while he was a Chaoshan man and a newcomer. Unless he was lucky enough to be sent out on a call when they were short of manpower and got a few dollars, he had only his monthly salary to support his family.
After hesitating again and again, the young officer still couldn't resist the lure of the money. He said to Song Tianyao, "I'll give it a try."
With that, he ran into the Police Station. More than ten minutes later, he finally came back out, looking pleased, and said to Song Tianyao:
"I passed the message to Young Master Shun. He said he understood."
"Thanks for the effort, brother. I'll treat you to tea another day." After thanking the officer, Song Tianyao turned and left. Fish Stall Kun, who had stood silently to one side with a cold expression, followed after Song Tianyao started walking.
There was bound to be a grand gathering at Canton Restaurant that noon: two Chinese chief inspectors and the Big Brothers of the Sze Yap Gang and the Chiu Chow Gang. But none of it had anything to do with Song Tianyao anymore. He wasn't foolish enough to run over there just to make his presence felt. If he showed up at Canton Restaurant and Cheung Wing-kam's godson remembered that he was the one who had cracked a beer bottle over his head last night, it would only invite complications.
It was better to stay well away, have tea at the teahouse, and wait for news.
When he arrived at Lu Yu Teahouse, Wu Jinliang came straight over to greet him. What had happened last night had nearly made Wu Jinliang piss his pants. As soon as Song Tianyao left, he had quietly slipped away too, using a trip to the toilet as an excuse. Now he was astonished to see Song Tianyao here with all four limbs intact. He had cracked a beer bottle over the head of the godson of Cheung Wing-kam, the Chinese chief inspector of Kowloon District, and had somehow come away unscathed?
"Brother Leung, the same spot upstairs as yesterday. Please brew me another pot of ten-year-aged pu'er," Song Tianyao said with a smile, patting Wu Jinliang on the shoulder.
With that, Song Tianyao headed up the wooden stairs to the second floor. He saw that the little girl with her hair in two buns, who had sung for him yesterday, was still sitting there with her pipa in her arms, apparently without any customers. He lightly tapped the stair railing, and when she looked up, Song Tianyao gave her a smile:
"Same spot as yesterday. Come upstairs and sing."
Chapter 26: Has the World Changed?
Zhao Wenye felt that, ever since his older cousin Song Tianyao had handed him that pack of cigarettes at the docks that morning, the whole world seemed somehow different.
He had gone back aboard the ship to unload cargo, but before he could unload more than a few bags of Thai rice, his Big Brother, Brother Cha, had rushed over and called him ashore.
"A-Yip, how come I didn't see your uncle come to work at the docks today? Is he feeling unwell because of his age? Honestly, you should have told me. This is his pay from yesterday. He forgot to take it when he left, so help me give it to him today. And tell him to take his time getting better. He'll still get his share of the pay while he's resting. Once he's rested up, he can come back to work as usual. Uncle Weng is getting on in years and often makes mistakes when handing out tally sticks to the brothers, so I'm planning to have your uncle help hand them out." Twenty-four-year-old Brother Cha pulled Zhao Wenye into a quiet corner, took a scattered pile of banknotes from his pocket, and pressed them into Zhao Wenye's hand, speaking in a sincere tone.
Zhao Wenye looked at the pile of loose bills in his hand, which came to a good hundred dollars or so, and wanted to ask: yesterday, hadn't his Big Brother driven his uncle away from the docks because his cousin had been rejected by the police college? How had it become his uncle feeling unwell and resting at home today, with pay even while he rested?
At the entire dock, never mind the coolies, even a Chao Yong Yi's boss like Brother Cha wouldn't get paid for a day he didn't work. As a boss, the only thing he could do was arrange some easy work for himself and have the tallyman who handed out the sticks count a few extras for him.
And from what Brother Cha had said, when his uncle returned to work at the docks, he would go straight to being the tallyman handing out the sticks?
"Brother Cha, I..." The sudden goodwill from his Big Brother left Zhao Wenye at a loss for words.
Brother Cha looked around to make sure no one else was nearby, then lowered his voice. "A-Yip, how have I treated you since you started following me?"
"Boss, you've looked after me well. I've got no complaints," Zhao Wenye answered truthfully. His Big Brother had indeed looked after him. Knowing that he was his mother's only son, whenever Brother Cha happened to run into him while the tally sticks were being handed out, he would tell the tallyman to look after Zhao Wenye and count a few extra sticks for him.