Song Tianyao felt that if he had connections with the telephone company, he definitely wouldn't have refused. Unfortunately, he didn't. Moreover, this was completely different from having union officials incite workers to cause trouble for the employers and promising benefits to get things done. This kind of relationship needed to be maintained well in advance, and the mutual trust and relationship between the two parties needed to be deep enough. Otherwise, even if Song Tianyao brought a lot of money and went directly to the telephone company to try to bribe an operator to help him eavesdrop on information, no one would pay any attention to him.
"First, contact your friends at those major newspapers and have them contact Chinese-language newspapers in Malaysia to verify the news. If it's true, call the Kowloon Restaurant and just tell me whether it's true or false. Don't discuss anything else. When you call other friends to inquire about the case, don't go into too much detail to avoid leaks. If the news is true, I'll come back. I'm leaving now." Song Tianyao finished speaking and walked out.
Xu Minjun had just straightened her clothes and was about to come out to pour tea for the three of them when she stepped out of the small room and saw Song Tianyao and Huang Liu's figures disappear outside the newspaper office.
"What happened?" she asked, looking at Hong Lai-sau was still staring blankly at the newspaper.
Song Tianyao sat in the back seat of the car, rubbing his temples. He felt the nerves under his skin throbbing, reminding him that he should relax and get some rest; it was already two in the morning.
Huang Liu, sitting in the driver's seat, took out a cigarette case, put one in his mouth, and tossed the case to Song Tianyao. Without urging Song Tianyao to rest, he drove back to the Kowloon Restaurant without saying a word.
The Kowloon Restaurant was already closed; the windows were boarded up, and half of the main door was also closed, leaving only half a door. Qi Weiwen was sitting side by side on the threshold with a little girl of about six or seven years old. It seemed that Qi Weiwen was telling the little girl a story.
Song Tianyao got out of the car. "Where's my uncle?"
"They're still in the private room." Qi Weiwen pulled the little girl to her feet, making way for the doorway, and said, "I'm taking Nannan back to rest. When you're done chatting and leaving, Xiao Shun are sleeping in the kitchen will close the door and board it up."
Song Tianyao forced a smile at Qi Weiwen, "Thank you for your hard work, Sister Wen. I'll thank you in a few days."
Leading Huang Liu Song Tianyao straight into the private room, Song Chunzhong sat listlessly, dozing off intermittently. Hearing footsteps on the stairs, he opened his eyes. When Dong Tian was about to enter, Song Chunzhong smiled and said, "You left in such a hurry, you didn't even finish your sentence. Now you remember? Are you trying to ask me if I can help you with another small favor?"
"Uncle, if I were to engage in Wo On Lok, it would be tantamount to throwing mud at Mainland China. I know some friends who have good relations with the mainland, but..." Song Tianyao let out a heavy breath. Song Tianyao trusted his uncle enough to believe he was truly his uncle; very few people could guess what he was Song Tianyao: "Want to make the mainland..."
"Why don't you just tell me directly, can you really get a batch of high-quality rubber tree seedlings and hand them over to the mainland? That way, no matter what the identities of Wo On Lok and the others are, the mainland will actually benefit. If you want them to insist on not admitting that Wo On Lok and the others are spies, and to refute those slanders from the Britain Foreign Devils, don't blame us, right?" Song Chunzhong yawned and said, "I was worried that I couldn't say these things on the phone, afraid that the Lin Family would bribe the people at the phone company, so I specially rushed back?"
Song Tianyao nodded.
It was only after meeting Hong Lai-sau that he realized the most important point he had overlooked: China's attitude towards the matter. This was tantamount to Song Tianyao smearing China. Song Tianyao knew perfectly well what kind of people Anle Wo On Lok were—traitors who had sided with the Japan during the war. How could they be patriotic and help smuggle rubber tree seeds? Especially now, with the Macau Border Gate shelling incident still fresh in everyone's minds, if news broke that members of Hong Kong triads were mainland spies, it would give the Britain and even Western countries an opportunity to criticize China. It wasn't impossible that China might purge him as a Britain lackey Collaborator who had maliciously attacked the motherland.
Patriotism can be used to condemn Collaborator Wo On Lok, but Song Tianyao must find a way to prove himself. Once China has the urgently needed supplies, he can ask people like Lei Yingdong and He Xian to help spread the word. He doesn't ask for the same level of trust from China as Lei Yingdong, Song Tianyao already very satisfied if China doesn't target him after receiving the tree seeds.
So the key point is the mainland's attitude.
Although the Anglo-American coalition is currently engaged in fierce fighting with the China People's Volunteers in the Korean War, and sanctions and embargoes are becoming increasingly severe, it doesn't matter whether there are one more or one less accusation in the media. However, Song Tianyao, as a China person, cannot allow his motherland to be falsely accused for no reason.
Song Chunzhong stretched and said, "Before I left Malaysia, I arranged something. I bought a batch of opium, which has already been shipped from Thailand to Hong Kong. It all depends on whether you have the connections to transfer 200 kilograms of seeds and 100 rubber seedlings from the ship at sea before the opium arrives in Hong Kong in four days, and transport them directly to Shenzhen."
"Didn't you say you were leaving Malaysia as a fallback for the Song Family? If it gets found out, you..." Song Tianyao was somewhat taken aback when he heard that Song Chunzhong had also thought of this.
"Your uncle has been a con artist for decades and is still alive because of his meticulousness. How could I possibly use my own name for something that could cost me my life? If word gets out, I won't be in trouble. But it's true that a Chinese rubber plantation owner in Thailand died a terrible death." Song Chunzhong straightened up from his seat. "After all, I can be patriotic, but I can't die for patriotism."
Chapter 382 Left and Right Attacks
"Sergeant Hung, there's a lamb waiting for you to devour. Would you really let me have it?" Detective Chief Inspector Yin Guotao from the Causeway Bay Police Station got out of the car, wrapped his wet and dry overcoat tighter, and grinned at Yan Hung from afar.