"In the end, naturally, I was kicked out of Yingchang Company because I disagreed. I had no choice but to join the Boat Gang and learn from the old man. I knew English and had worked on long-distance voyages. I started by directing ships to transport opium for the Boat Gang members. After a few years, I made a fortune. Then, the Great Depression hit. Britain ships along the Yangtze River lost business and became piles of scrap metal in the ports. They were even cheaper than scrap metal. Ten years ago, a 10,000-ton cargo ship from Britain Glasgow Royal Shipyard cost 1.1 million pounds, but by then it had fallen to 12,000 pounds. I sold everything I had, took out all the money I had earned over the years, borrowed from all my relatives and friends, and finally got involved with Ji Yunqing. I gave up a portion of my shares in exchange for Ji Yunqing's investment, and that's how I finally bought my first ship."
"But back then, even with ships, we couldn't get any news. The Britain and United States were both losing their passenger and cargo shipping business, let alone me, a China person. I managed to survive by transporting people to places like Malaya and New Gold Mountain for work, and by doing other businesses. The shipping business was always bad, but I still managed to make money, which I used to buy more ships. I did a lot of dishonorable things back then. Anyone who stood in my way was an enemy. At that time, I was just thinking that once I had enough ships, I would block up all the docks in Shanghai and make the Britain Changxing Company come begging to me."
"Later, when the Japan invaded Shanghai, I didn't have your ambition, Uncle Sheng, to personally sink my own ships and not let the Japan profit. I happened to have already sailed all my ships to Britain ports, so the Japan didn't get a single one of my ships. And I was also lucky; the ships were in Europe when the European War broke out, and the global shipping business went from rock bottom to cloud nine. My six scrap metal ships that went to Europe suddenly became six mountains of gold. I was busy day and night on the Europe route, and the freight rates were so high that even I was terrified. Overnight, I became a millionaire."
"After I became a millionaire, the first thing I did was risk returning to Shanghai. I used my previous relationship with Ji Yunqing to stay in Shanghai, found the shareholder of Changxing Company, and found that White Russian sow. At that time, one of them was imprisoned in a concentration camp by the Japan, and the other had become a beggar. I spent money..."
As Yu Shiting said this, a ruthless glint flashed in his eyes:
"I spent a fortune bribing the Japan military police stationed in Shanghai and the Collaborator guarding the concentration camp. It was all for one thing: I told that White Russian sow that if she wanted to eat her fill, she had to get me a prostitute from that Changxing shareholder. Each time, she'd get a loaf of bread. I even hired reporters from all the major and minor newspapers in Shanghai at the time, with cameras, to come and take pictures and conduct interviews!"
Having said that, Yu Shiting stopped talking and didn't continue.
Xu Pingsheng said calmly, "After you vented your anger, do you feel a bit bored?"
"That shareholder died. He was already on his deathbed in the Japan concentration camp. He was torn apart, sat on, and tortured by White Russian women for seven or eight hours before he breathed his last. Only after he died did I realize that he was my only enemy. Without an enemy, my business philosophy boils down to four words: harmony brings wealth, and that's how I've lived until now." Yu Shiting said with a sigh, "Regarding the Taiwan Strait shipwreck, whether Uncle Sheng believe me or not, I'm currently in a precarious position, being carried around for a living. I have to make a statement. I'll pay whatever the sunken ship was worth, three times the value of the cargo, and 100,000 Hong Kong dollars for each of the dead. As long as you Uncle Sheng, there will be people waiting at the dock to hand over the money when we disembark."
"Ding!" A bell rang softly outside the dining room, and a waiter pushed in a cart, bringing up the four dishes the two had ordered.
Xu Pingsheng picked up his chopsticks, took a piece of cabbage, and slowly chewed it. Yu Shiting, on the other hand, remained in the same position, looking at Xu Pingsheng and waiting for his reply.
Xu Pingsheng ate very slowly, taking several tens of seconds to swallow a single piece of cabbage, and only spoke after finishing:
"Mr. Yu, you've given me a difficult problem. You're both the man and the ghost; how am I supposed to agree to this?"
So what do you mean?
"Since Mr. Yu claims to be amicable and says he knows nothing, I think we should stop talking. Let's find the person who knows. If we don't know, will Mr. Yu be the one to find them, or will we Hong Kong be the ones to find them?" Xu Pingsheng put down his chopsticks. "I haven't eaten here for decades. The menu hasn't changed, but the taste has. As for Mr. Yu's claims of compensation at the original price of the sunken ship, three times the value of the goods, and 100,000 for each life lost..."
Xu Pingsheng slowly stood up, leaning on his cane, looking out at the sea, then at Yu Shiting. His voice was soft, yet firm and resonant:
"If we small business owners in Hong Kong pool our money, we can afford to lose the people and ships from Shanghai in Hong Kong."
"Uncle Sheng..." Yu Shiting's eyes narrowed, and he was about to speak.
Xu Pingsheng continued, "Mr. Yu, I believe you can give me anything, but you can't give me justice. If you could, you wouldn't have talked for so long, only to repeat the same thing in the end."
"Uncle Sheng, you're also in the maritime business, you know how difficult my position is..."
"You won't give me justice, and you don't want me to seek it myself. All you do is tell me that you're in a difficult position now. You should have thought it wouldn't be easy when you first took this position."
"So there's nothing to talk about?" Yu Shiting calmed down, and when he spoke again, his voice was also calm.
Xu Pingsheng nodded. "Since Mr. Yu invited me to this meal, I can leave a boat ticket for that person who knows the truth, so he can leave Hong Kong with his family. Let him choose a Shanghai people to surrender to the Hong Kong Police Station and publish the confession in the newspaper. As for compensation, the maritime business has its ups and downs, so it's not necessary."
"We already fought once in 1949, and neither of us made a move." Yu Shiting picked up his cigarette case, lit another one, and said, "But if we shipmen were to make a move, it would look even worse than before."
"I think we didn't hit Chu Yaozong, Zhou Xinian, Cai Wenbai, and those guys hard enough last time, which is why the Shanghai people are now so arrogant as to sink Hong Kong ships. So I think if we take action again this time, it won't be a matter of how much pain we get. I can sink my own ship, and I can sink someone else's. Everyone knows Xu Pingsheng is a good man, but actually, he can be a bad man too." Xu Pingsheng leaned on his cane and walked out of the dining room. "Let the ship dock; I need to go back to watch the horse races."