"Do you still like the house?" Madam Chu shifted her gaze from Wu Xiu'er in Song Tianyao's arms, then looked at Sister Fen standing behind Song Tianyao, not daring to approach, before finally looking at Song Tianyao and asking.
Song Tianyao was slightly taken aback before realizing that Madam Chu was asking about the villa that she had paid for Chu Xiaoxin to give him. He quickly replied, "I like it, but it's too much of a burden for you, Madam."
Madam Chu was waiting to go up the mountain to sweep the tombs, so she didn't continue the conversation. After Huang Liu started the car, Sister Fen stammered, "A-Yao, isn't it a bit inappropriate for you to tell someone as important as Madam Chu that Xiu'er is your goddaughter? A Shuan isn't really..."
She wanted to say that A Shuan was just a laborer, and he couldn't really be considered Song Tianyao's friend or brother when he was alive. He only died by chance while saving Song Tianyao. If others found out that Song Tianyao's goddaughter was the daughter of a short-lived laborer, she was afraid that Song Tianyao would lose face.
"Xiu'er, you are my goddaughter, what should you call me?" Song Tianyao asked, turning his head from the front row to look at Wu Xiu'er, who was nestled next to her mother in the back seat, before Sister Fen could finish speaking.
Wu Xiu'er blinked, thought for a moment, and then said, "Godfather."
"Good idea! Once I'm done with my recent business, I'll hold a banquet when I get back and officially tell everyone that I have a goddaughter." Song Tianyao smiled and looked at Sister Fen: "Actually, I've wanted to tell you for a while now. It'll be easier for me to do many things if Xiu'er calls me her godfather. For example, when arranging for her to attend a prestigious school, I won't need to explain too much to others. Just saying that she's my goddaughter, Song Tianyao, will suffice. It's just that I'm a bit young, and I'm afraid you might not agree."
Of course, Sister Fen knew the extra benefits Wu Xiu'er would receive after having Song Tianyao as her godfather. Her eyes welled up with tears of gratitude, and she wanted to express her thanks, but Song Tianyao, looking at Sister Fen in the rearview mirror, spoke first, "Sister Fen, you don't need to say anything, you don't need to do anything. A Shuan has done everything for me. Everything you and Xiu'er have now and in the future isn't thanks to me, Song Tianyao; it's all earned by A Shuan himself."
Chapter 369 Deceit and Destruction
"Mr. Su, and the Big Brother of the On Lok Hall, this is my rubber plantation. It looks pretty good, doesn't it?" Zheng Zhizhong got off the traditional Malaysia tricycle (two wheels in the front and one in the back) Wo On Lok group who were getting off other tricycles.
As he spoke, he pulled two banknotes from his wallet and threw them onto the tricycle seat, letting the dark-skinned Malay driver take the money and leave.
Su Wenting brought half of the Big Brother of the Wo On Lok and more than twenty elite Red Pole of the On Lok Hall to New Fuzhou in Sarawak, Malaya. His reasons were twofold: first, to see if Zheng Zhizhong really had Yellow Arsenic factory in Malaya and to discuss business; and second, to avoid the limelight in Malaysia and prevent being innocently affected by the infighting among the Lin Family brothers in Hong Kong.
Zheng Zhizhong, who picked them up at the port of Kuching, was very hospitable. He first accompanied the group to rest and sightsee in Sarawak, the capital of Kuching, for two days before heading to his rubber plantation in New Fuzhou. Zheng Zhizhong was generous, righteous, and open-minded. The only thing that puzzled Su Wenting was that after arriving in New Fuzhou, Zheng Zhizhong actually made them take rickshaws to the rubber plantation. Couldn't this guy even afford a few cars?
"Brother Zheng, a rubber plantation of several hundred acres, such a big business, and you still need to take a rickshaw? I'm so old, my back hurts from sitting like that." Su Wenting certainly wouldn't ask such a question, but a sharp-minded uncle next to him had already casually asked the question.
Zheng Zhizhong was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter, repeatedly apologizing, "It was my oversight, my oversight, Mr. Su, esteemed Big Brother, please don't blame me for arranging these rickshaws so meager. If you want a car ride, just say the word. These drivers are all Malays, what the China person consider foreigners. I wanted you all to experience what it's like to have foreigners pull your rickshaws. After all, in Hong Kong, it's impossible for Foreign Devil to pull rickshaws for China person. It was my oversight, please forgive me. Mr. Cai, is your back bothering you? After we finish visiting the factory, I'll take you to the New Fuzhou center and find a masseur to give you a massage."
Su Wenting glanced at the rickshaw drivers and, sure enough, they were all Malays. He then smiled and glanced at his subordinates, "In Hong Kong, you've ridden in Foreign Devil's rickshaw? Mr. Zheng, you're very thoughtful."
"Mr. Su, everyone, please come with me to see the factory. It's in production right now. Once you've seen the factory, you should be reassured by my sincerity." Zheng Zhizhong, carrying a briefcase, led the way.
The group strolled through the rubber plantation as if taking a walk, listening to Zheng Zhizhong introduce the scale of the plantation and the business. Almost all the rubber tappers and truck drivers along the way were Malays, making the entire plantation seem like Zheng Zhizhong was the only China person there.
"Mr. Zheng, why do you employ so many foreigners to work on your rubber plantation? Isn't it said that China person in Malaysia like to take care of their fellow countrymen?" Su Wenting asked unhurriedly.
Zheng Zhizhong turned back and said to Su Wenting with a wry smile, "Take care of fellow villagers? It's not that I don't take care of them, I have, but after three to five years, they all save up enough capital to start their own businesses and steal my business. Actually, all China person are the same. I used to work in a fellow villager's rubber plantation. After making some money, I thought about starting my own business. It's not wrong to do that, but the turnover rate is too high. When there are manpower shortages, it delays business. So it's better to hire foreigners. Although foreigners are stupid and lazy, they don't have much ambition and can do things in the long run. So now most China person rubber plantations are similar to mine, all employing foreigners and hiring fewer and fewer fellow villagers."
"The factory is just beyond the rubber plantation ahead."
Upon hearing that they were about to arrive at the factory, Wo On Lok and his group immediately put aside all other matters. The main purpose of their trip to Malaysia was to see Zheng Zhizhong's Yellow Arsenic factory and, in the future, cooperate to sell the Yellow Arsenic produced there to Hong Kong and make a fortune.
Passing through the rubber plantation, a small factory came into view. Before they even got close, they could smell a pungent odor. Su Wenting and several older Big Brother took out handkerchiefs to cover their mouths and noses, and all looked at the youngest of them, a Big Brother named Pointy-Headed Lang.