The Days When Song Tianyao Was Away from Hong Kong (1)
The entire organization, with its thirteen levels of positions, numbers over a hundred people, comparable in size to a Hong Kong company. However, unlike a company, all the employees of this organization, regardless of gender, are members of the triad, or what they call "their own people."
"Uncle Xiang, you called me?" Gu Tiancheng walked in from outside, took two steps towards the door and stopped, speaking respectfully to Smiling-Faced Xiang on the radio with his eyes closed.
Upon hearing Gu Tiancheng's voice, Smiling-Faced Xiang didn't rush to open his eyes. Instead, he smiled and remained motionless, speaking gently, "Ah Shing, I heard from Ah Ju that you have the plague?"
"It's not that I have a plague, I was just a little dizzy for a few days. Thank you for your concern, Uncle Xiang, I'm much better now." Gu Tiancheng said, head bowed, standing properly in his original position.
Smiling-Faced Xiang slowly picked up the purple clay teapot in his hand, put a sip of water into his mouth, and waited until the last long melody of the Cantonese opera "The Lover Returns Late" finished playing on the radio before opening his eyes, looking at Gu Tiancheng was dressed neatly and cleanly in front of him, and nodded in satisfaction.
Among the many young people in the casino, whether they were good at academics or martial arts, Smiling-Faced Xiang's favorite was Gu Tiancheng, whom the other gamblers and his underlings jokingly called "Handsome Ching." Although he wasn't a member of his gang, Gu Tiancheng was quick-witted, well-connected, knowledgeable, and young enough that Smiling-Faced Xiang felt Gu Tiancheng was a younger version of himself.
Other young men working on the project were also handsome, but none were as clean-cut as Gu Tiancheng. He always wore a crisp white shirt and trousers, his hair was neatly trimmed, and although his leather shoes were a bit old, they were polished to a shine. Just standing there, he gave off an impression of being capable and efficient.
"Originally, it wouldn't have mattered if you rested for a few more days, but just now, Sergeant Hung called. It turns out someone in the Police Force is causing trouble. The Foreign Devil assistant received a tip and is insisting that there's a gambling den here with huge sums of money involved. He personally ordered me to lead a team to raid the den at 5 PM to pry people out. We need to put on a good show. The scapegoat is, of course, the same as before. But this time, raiding the den will be more difficult. We need to make special arrangements regarding how much money to expose in the accounts and gambling. The other two Silver Head only know how to do accounting and don't know how to be flexible, so they can't be used. You'll have to do this kind of thing." Smiling-Faced Xiang said to Gu Tiancheng with a smile.
Gu Tiancheng nodded slightly, but didn't rush to agree. He hesitated for a moment and said, "Uncle Xiang, this is only treating the symptoms, not the root cause. Doing too many raids on fake stalls won't benefit Sir Yan either. Is it only our stall that will be raided? If so, since we haven't had any problems with the number of stalls during the holidays, could it be that we offended some junior Police Force because of the number of stalls we've raided?"
"You thought of all this as soon as I finished speaking, which is why I specifically asked you to come back. Two days ago, a Uniformed Branch Detective Sergeant came alone to collect the loads. A-Fat, who replaced you, was given fifty dollars as usual to get rid of him." Smiling-Faced Xiang said to Gu Tiancheng with satisfaction.
Gu Tiancheng immediately realized that Gu Tiancheng had offended some Police Force officers by saying that he was only putting on a show today. Moreover, his words, which were not a fundamental solution, were quite remarkable among the crude and uncultured gangsters who only knew how to wield knives and get blood on their hands.
After listening to Smiling-Faced Xiang's words, Gu Tiancheng pondered for two seconds before speaking, "Understood. If Uncle Xiang hasn't given any instructions, then I'll do it the old way. Report a treasury, 40,000 in cash, and 9,000 in gambling chips on the table. 49,000 is the price of a medium-sized Heroin stall. That should be acceptable."
"Scapegoat, you're taking Brother Qiang's place this time. Forty-nine thousand yuan in gambling funds, organized gambling, six months in prison. You'll take my place. When Brother Chang and his Foreign Devil assistant come to raid the place, you'll be accused of gambling dealings, your crime being a five-hundred-yuan fine. Your good remorse means you'll be released on the spot without a beating." Smiling-Faced Xiang twirled the jade ring on his finger, his smile deepening, speaking to Gu Tiancheng with an air of admiration for his junior.
Gu Tiancheng took out his Ho Choi cigarettes from his pocket, walked over and lit one for Smiling-Faced Xiang, and said with some concern, "Uncle Xiang, do you have to be so considerate of an outsider like me? Be careful that the other brothers below don't get resentful. Even if Ah Ju takes your place, it's better than me taking it, so that people won't say you're being unfair."
"Right now, the He-prefix gangs is in chaos, it's all about the young. The newspapers say there's a young man surnamed Song, about your age, who's already Big Water Pipe. And there's also Tai, the simpleton from Heroes, who's now working for Lui Lok. You need to put in more effort. In the eyes of these guys at the stall, you're no different from them. If they're not happy, let them come see me. And I heard you have a pretty girl to compete for tonight? I'll use that to boost your prestige and prevent those underlings from across the street in Shek Tong Tsui from bullying you, an outsider with no connections, and laughing at how Kowloon City has no one. Here's what we'll do: tonight, you'll handle entertaining Yan Hung's men and that Uniformed Branch Detective Sergeant. When you go to the treasury later, take out a thousand dollars of your own for entertaining and bribing them, and put it on the bill." Smiling-Faced Xiang said, taking a puff of the cigarette Gu Tiancheng handed him.
"Thank you for giving me this opportunity, Uncle Xiang. I will do my job well." Gu Tiancheng said to the Smiling-Faced Xiang, then turned and walked outside.
Smiling-Faced Xiang asked, "Which beautiful woman are you going to compete for?"
"14K is a pretty girl, Chen Yanni, whose nickname is 'The Twelve Golden Hairpins' Big Sister."
Smiling-Faced Xiang nodded, lit a cigarette, and closed his eyes again. The room fell silent once more, with only the storyteller on the radio vividly recounting the Cantonese storytelling piece "Spring Filling the Hall."
Chapter 443 The Days Song Tianyao Was Away from Hong Kong (Part 1)
Once he stepped out of that door, Gu Tiancheng put away his smile and calmly walked up the stairs to the second floor. Li Angju was already waiting by the stairs, but because he was of a lower generation and had no status in the Gambling den, he didn't dare to go up and see the Smiling-Faced Xiang who was considered his grandfather.
"How are you, Brother Shing?" Li Angju asked as he saw Gu Tiancheng coming down the stairs.
Gu Tiancheng shook his head. "It's nothing. Detective Chief Inspector Yan Hung is bringing his Foreign Devil assistant to put on a show later, and Uncle Xiang asked me to handle it."
This kind of thing is the most common in the gambling, prostitution, and drug industries. For various reasons, such as the Police Force needing to increase their crime-solving rate or exposure, or perhaps they have offended someone, the Police Force need the Gambling dens to help them stage a scene where the Police Force crack down on a major gambling case.