"A-Yao, I heard from A-Liu that you're planning to go back to Hong Kong first thing tomorrow morning? Why don't you stay in Macau to recover from your injury before you leave? Once you're healed, I'll treat you to a good few days."
He Xian didn't enter the suite at Kiang Wu Hospital where Song Tianyao was temporarily staying until 10 p. m., with a cigar in his mouth. He spoke to Song Tianyao, who was being fed soup by Meng Wanqing.
Song Tianyao tilted his head at Meng Wanqing. The woman stood up, cleared away the tableware, nodded slightly to He Xian and Huang Ziya who had just entered, and then left. Only Song Tianyao, who was lying on the hospital bed, was left in the room. Huang Liu, who was leaning against the window of the ward looking out at the night view, had a bullet nimbly dancing in his hand, and He Xian and Huang Ziya who had just entered.
He Xian sat directly on Song Tianyao's hospital bed, looked at Song Tianyao sincerely, and said, "You came to see me, but I made poor arrangements and caused you to get injured. You must give me a chance to make it up to you. Don't worry, there won't be any problems this time."
"Brother Xian, my small business in Hong Kong can't function without someone these days. Two of my women rushed over this afternoon to visit me, and one of them, who was supposed to be keeping an eye on the factory, was sent back to Hong Kong after only half an hour. Time waits for no one. Once I'm healed and the business is stable, I'll definitely come to visit you again, Brother Xian." Song Tianyao struggled to sit up straight on the bed and said to Brother Xian He Xian, "I originally planned to visit you this morning and then return to Hong Kong this afternoon."
In reality, Song Tianyao was thinking that unless Macau returned to China and the political situation and social order truly stabilized, he would have no interest in coming to Macau for more adventures.
His impressions of Macau during this trip were only threefold: small, chaotic, and devoid of opportunity.
The so-called lack of opportunity does not mean that there are no ways to get rich in Macau, but rather that there are no more opportunities to grow as large as He Xian's. In the end, any business that grows big in a city is just a money business. And Macau's gold business and banking business are all in the hands of Pedro Lobo, the Director of the Macau Economic Bureau, and He Xian, the president of the Macau Bankers' Union, who is standing in front of him at the moment. They seem to be two mountains, but in reality, they are two mountains stacked on top of each other and combined into one, which is more difficult to overcome than two separate mountains.
Pedro Lobo and He Xian have close ties in multiple industries. Pedro Lobo is in charge of high-level relations with Portugal, while He Xian is in charge of the Social Welfare Department in Macau. The two work together seamlessly and have a very close relationship.
How should Pedro Lobo, a Portugal, address He Xian?
Brother Xian.
To put it bluntly, He Xian and Pedro Lobo's status in Macau Street is equivalent to HSBC's status in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong needs HSBC to print banknotes, while Macau needs He Xian to provide the printing paper for printing Macau patacas.
For an opportunist like Song Tianyao, if Macau had a chance to grow rapidly, he would have endured it even if he had been shot in the shoulder, or even if he had been shot several more times, or even if he was left with only a breath. But Macau truly no longer had that chance.
Moreover, Macau is rather small and lacks industries.
"Alright, when you're healed, come to Macau and have a few more drinks." He Xian quite admired the young man Song Tianyao. He had heard Ho Hung-sang talk about what Song Tianyao had done in Hong Kong in just a few months, and he actually had the idea of taking Song Tianyao under his wing to help him. However, he also knew that this kind of young man was not someone who could be easily recruited as a henchman by giving him an opportunity. He had to wait for the right opportunity before he could speak up.
As he spoke, he glanced at Huang Ziya then said, "Come in."
Outside, six or seven people walked in, carrying various packages of expensive tonics and medicinal herbs, such as ginseng, seahorse, deer antler, tortoise shell, bear paw, donkey-hide gelatin, and musk. They piled up in the ward like a small mountain, enough to open a tonic shop. In addition to the tonics, there were also some Western oral liquids and other health products, which were placed separately to the side.
"These are all worthless things, don't be shy, keep them for A-Yao to help you recover," He Xian said to Song Tianyao.
Song Tianyao didn't refuse, knowing that these things were really worthless to He Xian, so he said, "Thank you, Brother Xian."
"I was planning to invite you and Guan Tai and a few others to the opera tonight, but I didn't expect you to get injured, A-Yao. Get some rest; I'll see you off to the ship tomorrow." Seeing that Song Tianyao didn't refuse, He Xian smiled more broadly and glanced at Huang Liu at the window, "A-Liu?"
"Mr. He?" Huang Liu turned around and looked at He Xian and Huang Ziya with a calm expression.
He Xian gave Huang Liu a faint smile and said, "Take good care of A-Yao."
"I know." Huang Liu smiled.
He Xian smiled at Song Tianyao one last time, then turned and left with Huang Ziya. Song Tianyao lay back on the hospital bed. "Mr. He seems very unhappy tonight."
"I received word that Mr. He. He's cat is missing," Huang Liu said slowly from the window.
No wonder.
"Lou Fengyun returned to the factory in the evening," Tang Jingyuan said confidently to his father, Tang Wenbao. "She smiled and told the workers that she had misheard the news in the afternoon, and that Song Tianyao was alright."
"I called Macau and asked a friend at the Macau Chamber of Commerce. It seems there were gunshots in Macau Tianshen Alley around noon," Tang Wenbao's eldest son, Tang Jingxian, who was in charge of the family's sesame business, said, looking at his father.
Tang Jingxian had no intention of taking over his younger brother's business. However, since the Tang family now held almost complete control in the wig manufacturing industry, he naturally wanted to lend a hand to stabilize the Tang family's industry position.
Tang Wenbao frowned, unscrewed the small porcelain bottle, poured out two Ren Dan pills, popped them into his mouth, tilted his head back and swallowed them with his tea. Only after the pills were in his stomach did he breathe a sigh of relief and slowly say:
"So that means Song Tianyao really was shot in Macau, but luckily he survived and is still mentally sound. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so eager to send Lou Fengyun back to stabilize morale?"
"Lou Fengyun a woman, must have been flustered when she heard the news that Song Tianyao had been shot, which is why she blurted it out carelessly. When she met Song Tianyao, Song Tianyao had thought things through more thoroughly, so he immediately sent her back to Hong Kong to work as a stable employee." Tang Jingyuan looked at his father, his eyes almost gleaming.