This was also why, when Yan Hung came to acknowledge him as his boss, he had given Yan Hung the rank of Red Pole outright. It wasn't that the rank was cheap, but that Fuyixing was in dire need of outside support.
And now Yan Hung was telling him that, in recognition of Yan Hung standing up for Chu Xiaoxin, the Chao Feng Chamber of Commerce was prepared to grant Fuyixing an opportunity to get a foothold at the docks?
The docks! A place of upheaval, of fat profits, of heroes! You couldn't just take a knife and a few hundred men to carve out a patch of ground and call a dock your own. The powers at the docks had roots tangled together, and all of them had major chambers of commerce backing them. Take a simple example: if Fuyixing fought Chao Yong Yi for the docks, and both sides lost over a hundred men dead or wounded in a single day, there would only be more people from Chao Yong Yi coming out to fight the next day, not fewer. Even if Fuyixing defeated them on the first day, their morale would still be high, because the Chao Feng Chamber of Commerce was behind them. Whenever a Chao Yong Yi member was killed or wounded, the chamber's people had already prepared the money for the family, the medical expenses, and the compensation for knife wounds. What about his side? They could only hold on by draining the reserves Fuyixing had built up over the years. How could a society compete with a chamber of commerce in wealth?
If a thousand men on the other side died in a day, the Chao Feng Chamber of Commerce could pay compensation to their families without blinking. But if five hundred died on his side in a day, that would be enough to drive Golden-Tooth Lei to throw himself into the sea.
So if he wanted to get into the docks, a chamber of commerce had to give the word. Now the opportunity had finally come, and Golden-Tooth Lei felt that heaven had treated him well, letting him pick up a Chiu Chow cop like Yan Hung as one of his men.
"Good, good, I'll arrange it right away. We can't let Secretary Song pay. A-Lok, go book the entire Taibai Seafood Restaurant. Put everything tonight on my bill." Standing in the middle of the living room, Golden-Tooth Lei glanced at Yan Hung and gave the order to his personal aide by the door.
Just then, a shout came from outside. "Boss! Black-Hearted Wah and his wife, the ones who run the gambling den on Jialin Road, heard they offended a Secretary Song from the Chao Feng Chamber of Commerce. Rotten-Life Ju from Chao Yong Yi happened to be visiting Secretary Song and hacked down more than a dozen of their men. Now Black-Hearted Wah's wife is outside asking to see you!"
Chapter 35: I'll Remember to Drink at Your Wedding
Li Laoshi had seen everything that happened outside today clearly: Black-Hearted Wah coming to the door to collect the debt from Zhao Meizhen's family, Song Tianyao stabbing him with his own beef knife, and even Rotten-Life Ju hacking down more than a dozen Fuyixing members with two knives right in front of two policemen.
Above all, he had heard both the cops and Rotten-Life Ju call Song Tianyao "Secretary Song," and he was secretary to the Chu Family of the Chao Feng Chamber of Commerce. In just one night, the poor neighborhood boy from yesterday had turned his fortunes around and become a dragon.
Besides being shaken, Li Laoshi felt a bitter taste rising in his mouth. He shouldn't have let his wife stir him up and rushed over to break off the engagement yesterday. If he hadn't said those words, his daughter would be a secretary's wife, and he and his wife would be the in-laws of the Chu Family's secretary...
But now, with the thousand Hong Kong dollars Zhao Meizhen had slapped down before him, it had all come to nothing.
Li Laoshi didn't believe Zhao Meizhen could produce a thousand Hong Kong dollars. For that matter, it was impossible for the Song family to produce even a single hundred-dollar note now. It was obvious where the thousand dollars had come from: Song Tianyao had given it to Zhao Meizhen.
"Auntie Zhen..." Li Laoshi stared blankly at the thousand Hong Kong dollars, at a loss for words. His wife A-Hung, beside him, had gotten over her initial embarrassment and forced a smile. "Auntie Zhen, A-Yao..."
"Pah! Shut up! I don't want to say another word to you two ungrateful wolves! Even if we weren't going to be in-laws, we're neighbors. For the sake of all the times I helped you clean your braised meats when I had time, you should have come out and helped me block the door. But what did you do? You stood there and watched while Black-Hearted Wah tried to take my Wenwen away! Pay me back! From now on, we're done with each other!" Zhao Meizhen shouted furiously at the two of them.
Li Laoshi lowered his head under Zhao Meizhen's tirade, but his wife's smile grew even brighter. After so many years as neighbors, she knew Zhao Meizhen's character well. If she shouted and yelled at you, her anger was only temporary. Soothe her until she cooled down, and once her anger was gone, she would be just as she had always been.
What they had to fear was Zhao Meizhen not getting angry, but simply leaving the money and walking away with a stern face. That would mean there was no chance of having any dealings with her again.
So A-Hung walked over and, ignoring Zhao Meizhen's disgusted look, gently patted her on the back. "Auntie Zhen, calm down. I was in the room tidying up just now, so I didn't know what was happening outside. You know my husband—a good-for-nothing. If I'd been out there, I'd definitely have stood up and helped you block the door. Besides, Suzhen secretly cried all night last night..."
"Mom, I'm not coming home for dinner tonight. I just heard A-Yip say you asked those brothers of his outside to stay for dinner?" Song Tianyao's voice came in from outside along with him. His expression was as gentle and refined as usual, without a trace of anger, as though he hadn't been the one who stabbed someone earlier.
When he saw Li Laoshi and Auntie Hong, Song Tianyao smiled and greeted them. "Uncle Laoshi, Sister-in-law Hong, I came to say a few words to my mom."
"You talk, you talk. A-Yao, sit down, I'll make you some tea." Li Laoshi was slow to react, but Auntie Hong was quick-witted. She stood up and brought a chair over for Song Tianyao, then hurried off to boil water.
"Don't trouble yourself, Auntie Hong. I'm leaving right away." Song Tianyao smiled at Auntie Hong, then continued to Zhao Meizhen, "As for the money, after dinner tonight, have A-Yip's brothers outside go with you to pay it back. The Squatter Area is chaotic, and if you carry that money yourself, be careful an addict doesn't snatch it."
"You didn't come home last night, and now you're not eating at home tonight either?" Zhao Meizhen stood up and asked Song Tianyao, somewhat worried.
Song Tianyao smiled at Zhao Meizhen. "I'm seeing a detective sergeant friend off. He's being transferred today, so I'm treating him to dinner."
Then he took all the loose money from his wallet, a little over a hundred dollars in total, and handed it to Zhao Meizhen. "Don't be stingy with this. Buy some meat and vegetables. You're not doing it to help me save face; those are A-Yip's brothers from his society, so you're helping him. That's it, I'm going. Oh, and for the time being, if I don't come home for dinner or to sleep, don't worry about me, and don't leave the door open for me. I have somewhere to sleep. In a few days, I'll rent you a Western-style house near Tin Hau Temple in Causeway Bay. When you have time, tidy up the room. You'll be able to move out of here soon, and you'll never have to worry about a fire breaking out every night again."