The Dulles Hotel, located on Queen's Road East in Wan Chai, next to the Wan Chai Post Office, is a Britain- owned hotel. All the staff speak English, and Chinese people who don't understand English, even if they enter the hotel, won't know what the staff are saying and will eventually have to leave sheepishly. Therefore, most of the guests are Britain or well-educated, wealthy Chinese. Although Chu Xiaoxin's English is so-so, he has no problem with everyday phrases. He has a room booked here year-round. When his older brother, Chu Xiaozhong, goes home, he stays here to avoid being openly mocked and annoyed by his brother.
Song Tianyao's English was also quite good. Although he had been exposed to American English in his previous life, he could hold most conversations without any problems. So he booked a room at the Dulles Hotel, and after asking about the breakfast hours before entering the room, he took a shower and went to bed.
As he lay down on the perfectly firm bed, Song Tianyao sighed contentedly, "Even if it's just so I won't have to sleep on a hard wooden bed or the floor anymore, I'll work hard to earn money."
Chapter Forty-Six: The First Step
Song Tianyao slept soundly until dawn in his room at the Dulles Hotel, without even a dream. Song Tianyao only woke up when Song Tianyao waiter, following his instructions from the previous night, politely knocked on the door in English to wake him. He felt refreshed and full of energy, all the fatigue of the past two days gone. Indeed, a comfortable bed is essential for a good night's sleep.
After getting up, washing up, and changing into a shirt that the waiter handed him—which had been washed, dried, and ironed— Song Tianyao put on his suit jacket, looked at himself in the mirror, and then went out towards the hotel restaurant.
Chu Xiaoxin was nowhere to be seen in the restaurant, but Song Tianyao wasn't in a hurry. He ordered a sandwich and coffee and sat down to eat slowly. About half an hour later, Chu Xiaoxin lazily yawned and walked in from outside the restaurant. He immediately saw Song Tianyao sitting directly opposite the restaurant entrance.
"A-Yao?" Chu Xiaoxin rubbed his eyes, and after confirming that he wasn't seeing things, he walked over and sat down opposite Song Tianyao: "You stayed here last night too?"
"After entertaining Brother Hung and Golden-Tooth Lei last night, it got a bit late, so I stayed here." Song Tianyao put down his cutlery, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and said to Chu Xiaoxin with a smile.
Chu Xiaoxin waved to the waiter and said in English, "One coffee with double milk and sugar cubes, one smoked ham sandwich, and one fried egg."
"Young Master Shun eat slowly. I'm going out to get some things. I'll come back later and tell you about last night." Song Tianyao said as he stood up.
"Should I just have the waiter get it for you?"
"No, you can't get the stuff without seeing me. It's a good thing." Song Tianyao smiled mysteriously at Chu Xiaoxin.
Chu Xiaoxin waved his hand. "Go ahead, let's see what kind of rubbish you can get your hands on."
As Song Tianyao walked out of the Dulles Hotel, Gao Lao Cheng, whom he had seen the previous night, was squatting on the street opposite the hotel with two henchmen. Gao Laocheng, his eyes alertly scanning the surroundings, had a cigarette dangling from his mouth. Seeing Song Tianyao appear at the hotel entrance, Gao Lao Cheng casually flicked the cigarette away, put one hand on his waist and clutched a small bundle of scraps of cloth in the other, and strode over.
"Secretary Song, the items you requested have been prepared. Please check them."
As he spoke, Gao Lao Cheng handed the bundle in his hand to Song Tianyao. The weight of the bundle was immediately apparent. Song Tianyao nodded, "No need. If there are any problems, your Big Brother will come to you himself."
After handing the bundle to Song Tianyao, Gao Lao Cheng's earlier alertness and sharpness vanished instantly, as if all his energy had been drained away. He reverted to his lazy demeanor, grinning at Song Tianyao: "Secretary Song, if there's nothing else, I'll go back to see the Big Brother."
"Thank you for your hard work." Song Tianyao, carrying his bundle, turned and went back to the restaurant of the Dulles Hotel.
Just then, Chu Xiaoxin's breakfast was brought to the table by the waiter. He was stirring his steaming coffee when he saw Song Tianyao return. Chu Xiaoxin glanced at the rustic-looking bundle in Song Tianyao's hand and said, "Hey, is this some local specialty from your relatives in the countryside?"
"I don't mind if Young Master Shun it's a local specialty." Song Tianyao sat down opposite Chu Xiaoxin, placed the bundle on the table in front of him, and slowly untied it, revealing fourteen neatly stacked gold bars inside:
"Fuyixing specialty yellow croaker, four ounces each, fourteen croakers in total."
Chu Xiaoxin stopped stirring his coffee abruptly and looked at Song Tianyao: "Fuyixing's gold?"
"Last night, I invited Brother Hung and Fuyixing to sit with Golden-Tooth Lei at Taibai Seafood Restaurant, explaining that it was to express Young Master Shun's gratitude to Brother Hung for his efforts yesterday. Then something happened: Chan Ah-sap from Chao Yong Yi led dozens of men to Taibai Seafood Restaurant, overturned the banquet, and spilled soup and water all over the table." Song Tianyao looked at Chu Xiaoxin, speaking slowly and deliberately, as if it were a trivial matter unrelated to himself. "If I hadn't mentioned Young Master Shun's name and told Chan Ah-sap that it was Young Master Shun who invited Yan Hung and Golden-Tooth Lei, I estimate that Chan Ah-sap might have already been preparing to massacre Tai Pak Restaurant last night."
"What did you say to make Chan Ah-sap so angry?" Chu Xiaoxin paused for a moment, then asked Song Tianyao, "Otherwise, he shouldn't have been so bold as to overturn the table in public."
"The strange thing is, when he overturned the table, I was still on my way from the Chu Residence to the Taibai Seafood Restaurant. He wasn't targeting me, nor was he targeting Young Master Shun; he was targeting Fuyixing. Here's what happened: after you left yesterday, Brother Hung Ge asked me to ask Young Master Shun if, out of respect for his dismissal and assignment to guarding the reservoirs in Sha Tau Kok, he could hand over the Likang Trading Company's dock business to Fuyixing. Then, somehow, this news leaked out, and Chan Ah-sap went to the Taibai Seafood Restaurant to confront him. After my persuasion, we temporarily separated the two groups. Chan Ah-sap took his men to the first floor, while Golden-Tooth Lei and Brother Hung stayed on the third floor." Song Tianyao wrapped the gold bars again and pushed them in front of Chu Xiaoxin, saying this.
Chu Xiaoxin picked up his coffee and brought it to his mouth, then nodded, signaling Song Tianyao to continue, saying he was listening.
"After Chen Ashi and his men came downstairs, Jin Ya Lei from Fu Yixing took out four gold bars and gave them to one of my secretaries, asking me to plead with Xin Shao on his behalf. Of course, I couldn't make that decision myself. In the end, Jin Ya Lei directly offered fifteen gold bars, looking pitiful, and begged me to speak on his behalf, considering Yan Xiong's help yesterday. At that point, I thought I couldn't let the situation remain deadlocked. It would be against the rules if I agreed, but if I didn't, Xiong was there, and I couldn't offend him. So I did something," Song Tianyao said.