His title as secretary might frighten some underworld figures and cops when used outside, but Song Tianyao knew perfectly well that, in the Chu Family, he probably did not even count as one of the elite, much less a trusted confidant. He was nothing more than Chu Xiaoxin's attendant and shadow.
Was Chu Yaozong curious because he had helped Chu Xiaoxin sort out the situation last night?
Song Tianyao shook his head lightly. Impossible. A leading Chinese businessman who had ridden the winds and waves of Hong Kong for decades—what sort of talent had he not seen? Even in the Chu Family as it stood now, there were probably no shortage of talented secretaries and managers.
Although he had hoped to meet Chu Yaozong, now that Chu Yaozong had actually invited him to dinner at his home, he could not quite make out what the man intended.
The driver pulled up outside the Western-style House. Song Tianyao stepped out of the car, and the live-in Self-combed Maid with the long braid opened the living room door for him without needing to be told. "Secretary Song? The master and young masters are in the dining room. Please follow me."
He followed the Self-combed Maid to the dining room entrance. Seeing Song Tianyao appear, Uncle Yan smiled and nodded from inside the room, then said to Chu Yaozong, who was tasting his soup with a spoon:
"Master, Young Master Shun's Secretary Song has arrived."
"Let him come in and sit with us," Chu Yaozong said, setting down his spoon and wiping the corner of his mouth with a napkin.
Uncle Yan walked to the dining room entrance and said to Song Tianyao, "Secretary Song, please come in."
"Thank you, Uncle Yan." Song Tianyao entered the dining room. At the long dining table, an older man in his fifties sat at the head. Chu Xiaoxin sat opposite a composed-looking man who was watching Song Tianyao. At the very bottom of the table sat a boy of eleven or twelve in a casual suit. He appeared to be Chu Yaozong's youngest son, Chu Xiaozhi.
"Chairman Chu, Young Master Shun, good evening." Standing at the entrance, Song Tianyao greeted Chu Yaozong and Young Master Shun with an appropriate smile.
Chu Yaozong pointed to the empty seat on Chu Xiaoxin's right. "Sit down, Secretary Song. Uncle Yan, have someone bring another set of tableware."
Song Tianyao pulled out the chair and sat down, keeping his back straight as he looked at Chu Yaozong.
"Secretary Song, you're very young. You look a little younger than Ah Sin." Chu Yaozong sized up Song Tianyao's appearance and bearing, then smiled faintly and nodded. "A fine-looking young man."
"I'm unworthy of your praise, Chairman Chu. I'm one of the Chao Feng people. You can simply call me Tianyao-jai, A-Yao, or Tin-jai. I can't stop outsiders from calling me secretary, but I'm not worthy of having you call me that, Chairman Chu." Song Tianyao lowered his head slightly and spoke to Chu Yaozong in a humble tone.
His answer was watertight. Without saying he was one of the Chao Feng people, asking Chu Yaozong straightaway to call him A-Yao would have sounded somewhat eager to curry favor. But by saying first that he was one of the Chao Feng people, then asking Chu Yaozong to call him A-Yao, he had greatly softened that impression. Chu Yaozong himself was from Chiu Chow and was an outstanding figure among the Chiu Chow people in Hong Kong. There was nothing at all amiss in his calling a younger man from his home region A-Yao. The last two sentences also made it clear that Song Tianyao understood his place in the Chu Family. Outside, he bore the Chu Family's name as a secretary, but before the family itself, he was still far from close enough to hold a position such as secretary.
"Our Chiu Chow produces talented people." Chu Yaozong nodded slightly, not particularly surprised that Song Tianyao could say such things. "All right, I'll call you A-Yao. Uncle Yan told me you ran around helping Ah Sin last night and sorted out the matter at Lichi Garden for him. Thank you for your efforts. That's why I had Uncle Yan invite you over for soup tonight."
Someone who could sell out a police Detective Sergeant in a single night and still have the man help count the money would have truly surprised Chu Yaozong if he could not even manage a few polite words.
A Chu Family servant brought Song Tianyao a set of Silver Rabbit Hao Wu Porcelain tableware and ladled him a bowl of soup before withdrawing. Song Tianyao first thanked the servant, then looked at Chu Yaozong. "Chairman Chu, I'm Young Master Shun's secretary. Running errands and passing along information are things I should do."
After hearing Song Tianyao's answer, Chu Yaozong said no more. He picked up his spoon again and brought it to his mouth.
Chu Xiaozhong, however, had taken some interest in Song Tianyao. He asked, "Secretary Song, where did you go to school, and where did you work before this?"
"I dropped out of Man Chi College, then worked as a manager at the Malado Trading Company in Macau for half a year," Song Tianyao told Chu Xiaozhong.
"The Malado Trading Company? That's a big company. I hear its revenue has grown rapidly over the past year, and its share price is remarkable. Why would you resign and leave when the company is doing so well, Song Tianyao?" Chu Xiaozhong asked with a smile as he raised his spoon to his mouth. "You weren't kicked out, were you? Don't mind me, I'm joking. How could a top student from Man Chi College be kicked out?"
Song Tianyao had been waiting for someone to ask this question. In fact, he had waited for Chu Xiaoxin to ask it when they first met at the Taibai Seafood Restaurant, but unfortunately, Chu Xiaoxin had not cared at all. Just now, he had waited for Chu Yaozong to ask, but Chu Yaozong had not brought it up either. Now that Chu Xiaozhong had asked, Song Tianyao could hardly resist standing up and shaking his hand to thank him for the assist.
This question could put an end to all the other suspicions about his background. He could not hide the fact that he lived in the Squatter Area from these people; even if they did not know now, they would find out later. So the question was: how could a poor child from the Squatter Area afford to attend Man Chi College and get into a major Portuguese company like Malado?
"Young Master Zhong, I resigned from the Malado Trading Company of my own accord. To outsiders, the company looks like a bed of flowers right now. Its share price is frighteningly high, and many people in Macau are going to every possible length to have others buy its shares on the Portuguese stock market for them. But I was a manager there, and I believe the Malado Trading Company will go bankrupt within a year at most. The shareholders who bought its stock will very likely lose every penny." Song Tianyao looked Chu Xiaozhong straight in the eye and spoke with certainty.
Even Chu Yaozong looked at Song Tianyao again at those words. The Malado Trading Company was the most prominent Portuguese trading company in Macau at present. It had businesses in Macau, to say nothing of its many assets in Portugal itself. Yet according to Song Tianyao, it would not last another year?