"Send those two con artists and the wig maker from Sheung Wan, along with two barbers, to my factory," Song Tianyao said to Lam Kong at the Wan Chai Police Station via the newly installed phone in his office.
Ning Zikun and Song Sidi have been enjoying three meals a day in the Police Station's detention cell recently. Lam Kong can neither fight nor starve, and he is also afraid that the old man will suddenly die of illness. So when he received Song Tianyao's call, he sent the two con artists, along with the craftsman who makes wigs for Cantonese opera troupes in Sheung Wan, to Song Tianyao's factory in North Point as quickly as possible.
As soon as Lam Kong entered the factory gate with his men, the conman, the barber, and others, the two Tosa and the Langqing, which Song Tianyao had asked Yan Hung to buy from the dogfighting arena in Macau, began to cling to the cage bars, barking fiercely at Lam Kong and the others. The cast iron cage shook violently under the pounce of the three fierce dogs, as if they were about to rush out and tear the group apart.
Hearing the barking, Fu Xinniang, dressed in a blue canvas denim outfit, came out of her room, went to the kitchen, cut three strips of raw meat, and threw them into the dog cage, which finally stopped the three dogs from barking.
Lam Kong glanced at Fu Xinniang, who had changed a lot in terms of temperament and figure after not seeing her for more than a month. When she turned around and bowed to him, Lam Kong noticed that she had an exquisite nameplate on her chest with the words "Jiuguang" engraved on it.
"Big Brother, I've brought everyone here for you." Lam Kong didn't wait for Fu Xinniang to lead him into Song Tianyao's office; he called out directly from the courtyard.
When Song Tianyao came out of his office, Lam Kong noticed that Song Tianyao was also wearing a denim outfit, just like Fu Xinniang, with a name tag with the name "Jiuguang" on his chest. Lam Kong, who was used to seeing Song Tianyao in suits, felt a little uncomfortable.
"The work clothes my factory provides to its workers for free look pretty good, don't they?" Song Tianyao said with a smile when he saw Lam Kong looking a little dazed.
These denim outfits were all made by Meng Wanqing's father's tailor shop. Hong Kong factories basically didn't have the concept of providing work clothes for workers. Occasionally, the chemical industry would distribute masks, and the workers would praise the boss for being conscientious. However, Song Tianyao felt that it would be better to unify the outfits since they were all different. Besides, although denim outfits were very expensive in department stores, it was cheaper to buy the raw materials and cut them himself than to order custom-made long gowns. This batch of dark blue canvas denim work clothes was for Meng Wanqing's father's tailor shop to practice on. After practicing, they might be able to expand production.
Leading Lam Kong and the others into the spacious workshop, Song Tianyao pointed at Lou Fengyun and Fu Xinniang and said to the swindler Ning Zikun, "I haven't officially started recruiting workers yet. You're responsible for teaching us. After we learn, we'll hand us over to the workers. Once the workers have all learned, you can leave. You don't need to arrange the hair; there's a hair-arranging machine. You can just tell the machine what the hair looks like and say 'stop.' The same goes for hair weaving. I'm not in a hurry to start production. We'll explore and experiment with each machine one by one. Do you understand?"
"I understand, I understand." Ning Zikun had a really tough time in the police station's detention room for over a month, and now that he finally had a chance to escape this life, he quickly agreed.
Song Tianyao then looked at the two hairdressers, held up a United States fashion magazine, and flipped through the photos of various hairstyles. "Could you two please help teach them how to recreate these hairstyles on wigs? I'll pay each of you five hundred yuan for one."
"I have a lot of business, I don't take on apprentices..." A barber, perhaps feeling he wasn't being respected, sullenly refused to acknowledge Song Tianyao's words.
Lam Kong, standing nearby, grabbed a handful of the barber's hair and said, "You old hag, do you want me to throw a few boxes of opium into your barbershop? Don't believe me? Go away? Once you walk out that door, I guarantee your barbershop will go out of business. Damn it, I'm just teaching people a few hairstyles, not stealing your business or killing your wife!"
Under the combined influence of Song Tianyao and Lam Kong, who played the good cop and the bad cop respectively, the men they brought were all easily manipulated and eventually submitted obediently. Song Tianyao pressed the switch, and the machine roared to life.
"I've taken my first step."
After settling Crown Asia Company's accounts, Kong Wing-yan leaned back in her chair, stretched her arms, and then opened her notebook to check the remaining tasks for the week.
One of the items concerned Likang Company. Oxfam's second round of free deworming medication distribution was about to begin. Kong Wing-yan was unsure whether the medication donation should be made under the name of Crown Asia Company or Likang Company. Since Guanya Crown Asia Company was already handling the benefits for Mrs. Bess and others, and their accounts were being transferred through Crown Asia Company, she wondered if she could use this donation to transfer the medication donation to Oxfam from Likang to Crown Asia Company as well. It would be more convenient to handle things under one company than two.
She called Chu Shuheng, who was currently managing Likang, to inquire. Chu Shuheng knew nothing about Chu Shuheng donations and told her to contact the Oxfam Pharmaceutical Factory. Kong Wing-yan then pulled out her phone book and called Chen Qingwen, the factory manager of Xinkang Manufacturing Plant who was in charge of the production of Flower Pagoda Candy. Chen Qingwen said that Chu Xiaoxin was not there and he did not know how much to donate or how to donate.
After finally getting in touch with Chu Xiaoxin, Chu Xiaoxin told her to handle it herself over the phone. When she asked again whether the donation amount should be based on the quantity of medicines or the price, Chu Xiaoxin wasn't sure either. He impatiently gave her an address in North Point and told her to ask Song Tianyao.
Kong Wing-yan had a driver from Li Heng Company drive her to North Point in a Ford 49. Following the address given by Chu Xiaoxin, she saw a factory building with its main gate tightly closed, except for a side gate that was open.
Compared to other dirty and messy factories, this factory made Kong Wing-yan feel comfortable just by looking at it. She walked in through the side gate, and before she could take her second step, three fierce dogs were already barking at her fiercely from the side through the fence.
Hearing the dog bark, a burly, middle-aged woman dressed as a cook, wearing a white chef's uniform stained with grease, immediately poked her head out from a large room that looked like a kitchen. She first cut some raw meat to feed the dog, silencing it, and then, holding a large meat cleaver in one hand and her other hand on her hip, confidently asked Kong Wing-yan, "Who are you looking for?"
"I'm looking for Mr. Song. Song Tianyao. Someone left me an address saying he's here," Kong Wing-yan said politely but stiffly to the cook.