The Days When Song Tianyao Was Away from Hong Kong (1) (Continued)
However, the process is usually quite simple, and it doesn't even require closing down. It's just a matter of a few plainclothes officers coming to confiscate the gambling equipment, gambling funds, and accounts that the Gambling den has prepared in advance. Only when the Britain are involved, like today, will the process be more elaborate. It's important not to cripple the casino, not to make Foreign Devil Britain feel like they've gained too little, and not to embarrass a Police Force Detective Chief Inspector like Brother Chang.
"Uncle Xiang, what are your orders, Ah Shing? Should we help clear the area and invite the guests to a nearby teahouse for a cup of tea? And come back to patronize the business after the cops leave?" He asked He Yong Yi Red Pole Che Qi Shan as Gu Tiancheng came down the stairs and walked towards him.
Che Qi Shan is actually the original name of Tai Ping Shan. It was originally an unnamed mountain. More than a hundred years ago, when the pirate Cheung Po Tsai occupied Hong Kong and made it his base, he used this mountain as a lookout. When he saw merchant ships passing by at sea, he would raise a flag from the top of the mountain to notify the camp below to send out a fleet to rob them. Over time, the unnamed mountain became known as Che Qi Shan. After the Britain occupied Hong Kong, Che Qi Shan was renamed Victoria Hill.
He Yong Yi, a member of the Red Pole, was actually named Zhang Chunshan. The name "Cheqi" has two meanings: one is that a man's penis gets hard, and the other is that it refers to a gang fight. Zhang Chunshan had been with He Yong Yi for more than ten years, and he was always at the forefront of gang fights. His status in the underworld was earned through his fists, and he was tough as nails, so he earned the nickname "Che Qi Shan".
"The cops won't be here until 5 o'clock, it's only 3:40 now, no rush. I'll just grab a cup of tea from Brother Shan first. In half an hour, I'll trouble Brother Shan Aunt Mei the other women to help clear the place, so as not to scare the customers. For customers on the first floor, male customers will receive two packs of Ho Choi cigarettes, and female customers will receive two dollars for tea. For customers on the second floor, regardless of gender or whether they bet, everyone will receive one hundred dollars in chips. For customers on the third floor, everyone will receive five hundred dollars in chips and fifty dollars in cash for tea." Gu Tiancheng poured himself a cup of black tea and said to Che Qi Shan, "After clearing the place, Brother Shan and your men will split into three groups and go to the three vaults to rest and have a smoke. Then, go to the moon vault to deal with the Foreign Devil. Also, after clearing the place, send a few brothers to the moon vault and have them keep forty thousand dollars in cash and accounts. Transfer the rest of the money and accounts to the Wanghao Silver Vault first. After the cops leave, I'll have Ah Ju notify you to come back."
"Okay," Che Qi Shan agreed.
Besides the casino, where gamblers could wager huge sums of money, Xiangshun Mahjong School also had four vaults specifically for storing cash. If a gambler won money and wanted to leave, they only needed to hand over their chips to the casino staff, who would then arrange for someone to retrieve the cash from the vaults and deliver it to the casino for the gambler. Only the mahjong tables on the first floor used cash for payment; the business on the second and third floors was entirely based on chips purchased in advance by customers before they sat down.
There were four vaults, each holding Hong Kong dollars 250,000 in cash, and four banks, each holding Hong Kong dollars 250,000 that could be withdrawn at any time. In total, the casino's gambling capital reached Hong Kong dollars 2 million, which was an enormous sum of money.
This is the biggest factor in the size of a casino's business: its massive capital.
The Gambling den was located in a mixed and chaotic environment, with four vaults of cash stored nearby. It was like a piece of fat meat on a table, and everyone sitting around it wanted to devour it. There were many who wanted to cause trouble and gain some benefits by taking advantage of the Gambling den. It was necessary to deal with these different gangsters around Kowloon Walled City and not to damage the superficial harmony with other gangs that had ulterior motives.
This test is for the second largest casino stall, the one with the biggest face.
Some people, envious of the Gambling dens' daily profits, opened their own Gambling den next door. They also had underworld connections. The two Gambling den owners couldn't reach an agreement, and several fights ended in a draw. So they had to compare what they had behind them besides underworld influence, such as Police Force power. Whoever had the stronger Police Force could wipe out the other. The police would raid the Gambling den and arrest its customers every day, and the Gambling den could be shut down in a month at most.
This is the third largest casino empire, with a powerful background.
Xiangshun Mahjong School had already made arrangements when Yan Hung was Senior Detective Sergeant at Mong Kok Police Station. Otherwise, in this kind of territory, He Yong Yi and Fuyixing would have been locked in a fierce battle long ago. How could they have opened such a luxurious Gambling den peacefully in the territory of Fuyixing, a veteran member of the Chiu Chow Gang? If Yan Hung hadn't made arrangements with Fuyixing's Golden-Tooth Lei, this Gambling den would have been burned down by "divine fire" long ago.
After sitting and drinking tea with Che Qi Shan for a while, Gu Tiancheng got up and started working as time approached. Some people escorted Smiling-Faced Xiang to the teahouse, some were responsible for clearing out the customers, some helped the customers exchange their chips for cash, and some arranged for people to replace the gambling equipment on the table with something more worn out. He also had some of He Yong Yi's underlings pretend to be gamblers, shouting and betting in the Gambling den to make the atmosphere look lively. After the superficial work was done, Gu Tiancheng went to the Yuehao Silver Vault and watched the people inside transfer the cash and accounts, leaving only 40,000 Hong Kong dollars. Gu Tiancheng picked up a pen and quickly wrote a fake account for a total gambling stake of 40,000 Hong Kong dollars. He then withdrew another 1,000 Hong Kong dollars, intending to use it to entertain Yan Hung's underlings afterward.
Sure enough, at five o'clock sharp, a dozen plainclothes officers, accompanied by a foreign Foreign Devil and more than twenty Uniformed Branch, quickly arrived, not a single one more or less.
Yan Hung, wearing a plaid T-shirt with his police ID pinned to his chest (a rare sight), charged into Xiangshun Mahjong School. He flashed his ID at the group playing mahjong enthusiastically on the first floor, shouting, "Officers! Surprise inspection! Everyone, hands on your heads, slam your heads on the table! Who's the boss? Someone reported your Mahjong Parlor for suspected gambling, an illegal casino!"
Behind him, other police officers rushed in quickly, thumping down the stairs towards the second and third floors. Soon, the same shouts echoed from the second and third floors.
Since it was a fake operation, it was all an act. All the gamblers at this moment were actually He Yong Yi's underlings, so they were naturally obedient and appeared to be intimidated by the police's fierce raid.
At the service counter on the first floor of the casino, Gu Tiancheng waited until Yan Hung finished shouting, and the gamblers all covered their heads and pressed them against the counter. After the situation inside had stabilized, the Britain policeman, accompanied by several Uniformed Branch officers protecting him, also entered. He then hurriedly forced a somewhat anxious smile and went to greet Yan Hung.