He still remembered the glory days when he first married Bo Cong. His parents were taken into a tenement building, and servants were hired to take care of them. Relatives and friends would say things like, "Sooner or later, we knew A-Tai would make it big," whether it was sincere or just polite talk. But after he lost power, his parents, worried about being harassed by their enemies, hurriedly arranged for them to return to the countryside. Although they probably didn't have to worry about food, clothing, or shelter because of the money he earned before, now they would probably have to start praying to the gods and Buddhas for his safety back in the countryside.
Back then, when he helped Song Tianyao move, the bespectacled, seemingly simple-minded Scribe Hui, had transformed into Big Water Pipe. It was rumored that not only the British Army in Hong Kong used his uniforms, but he also had business with Japan and India. Those who once held higher positions in the underworld now found it difficult to even get close to him or speak to him, let alone find an opportunity to cause him trouble. They could only resort to using the dead man's wife and daughter as Xianyu Shuan. Chen Tai grinned self-deprecatingly. He figured Scribe Hui had probably already forgotten about the Xianyu Shuan man's wife and daughter. Did these foolish underworld figures really think they could summon Scribe Hui with empty words of brotherhood?
With a heavy sigh, Chen Tai got up, put on his coat and raincoat, and stepped out of the factory.
Scribe Hui is now a wealthy and powerful merchant who makes a fortune every day. He may be so busy that he has forgotten his old friends. But Chen Tai is a man of the Jianghu. Even if he is under the He-prefix gangs of the He family, he cannot stand by and watch these so-called brothers coerce a pair of orphans and widows. Besides, Bo Cong is dead. Whether he is a member of the He-prefix gangs or not is no longer important.
Outside the factory, the torrential rain showed no signs of stopping. Chen Tai looked around at the pitch-black surroundings, pulled up his rain hat to cover his face, and walked away, disappearing into the rainy night.
Once his figure had completely disappeared, Handkerchief Qing slowly emerged from the shadows, gazing in the direction Chen Tai had vanished, and said, "Go and warn the others to head over there. I'll take a few brothers and follow A-Tai."
In Kowloon, Jordan, Chen Tai remembered that the widow of Xianyu Shuan, Sister Fen, ran this grocery store. The signboard was still hanging, but the doors were now boarded up. The three-story tenement building was also pitch black, obviously Sister Fen and Xiu'er inside had already gone to sleep.
Chen Tai pounded the door twice with his fist. "Is anyone home?"
After waiting a while with no response from inside, Chen Tai continued knocking on the door, "Sister Fen, I'm Brother Yiu's cousin, A-Tai. Have you seen me before?"
Chen Tai called out several times, but no one answered. Chen Tai frowned. "Nine-Tattooed Dragon!"
He knew that Nine-Tattooed Dragon had been staying at Sister Fen's grocery store for a long time. Even if the mother and daughter on the second floor couldn't hear his shouts, Nine-Tattooed Dragon, who slept on the first floor, should be able to hear them.
Finally, a sleepy male voice came from inside. "What are you doing knocking in the middle of the night? We're not doing business! Get out of here!"
"Who are you?" Chen Tai was taken aback, knocked twice, and asked, "Is Sister Fen here?"
"Are you sure you're not mistaken?! What Long or Fen?!" The male voice inside was very impatient. "Are you trying to kill me with noise?!"
"Open the door!" Chen Tai pounded on the door repeatedly, his expression tense.
He was worried that Sister Fen and Xiu'er inside had already been arrested, and that the man's voice was deliberately lying to him.
"Fuck your mother! Do you want to die? Trying to rob someone in the middle of the night while it's raining!" the man cursed impatiently, then opened a small window in the door, looked outside, and glared at Chen Tai: "I've already said we don't do business at night! Are you deaf?!"
Before Chen Tai could speak, the man's gaze swept past Chen Tai, his expression suddenly changed, and he slammed the small window shut, shouting from inside, "I can't see anything! Get out!"
Chen Tai slowly turned around. On the left and right sides of the street, two groups of people appeared out of nowhere. On the long street, which was empty but noisy with rain, everyone was carrying a gleaming long knife and was walking step by step toward the outskirts of the general store where he was.
Lui Lok stood holding an umbrella beside a car parked under a gas lamppost on the street in the distance, with Handkerchief Qing in his hand beside him. Lui Lok looked at Chen Tai and called out, "A-Tai, get in my car now, and we can still talk."
Chen Tai pulled out a cigarette from under his raincoat, put it in his mouth, but the match wouldn't light in the rain. The cigarette in his mouth got completely soaked. Chen Tai threw the matchbox away, lifted his rain hat, and wiped the rain off his face.
He wanted to introduce himself, but the words caught in his throat, and all that came out was, "Anyone want to come up and borrow a light?"
Chapter 516 He was born with
Chu Yaozong, dressed in a silk, traditional Chinese-style nightgown, sat drowsily in the study.
"Everyone says that Song Tianyao has sided with the Shanghai people this time, and is going to help Yu Shiting and the others gain a foothold in Hong Kong. They also say that the Britain have gotten involved, and want to take this opportunity to reshuffle the deck in Hong Kong." Chu Xiaozhong pushed up his 96-inch glasses, sat opposite his father, and said carefully, choosing his tone.
Chu Yaozong seemed to have heard, yet also seemed not to have heard. He sat blankly for a moment before finally shifting his gaze from the emptiness to Chu Xiaozhong's face, slowly picking up his teacup. "What do you think?"
Chu Xiaozhong shook his head slightly. "Tonight, many Hong Kong triad Big Brother were taken to the military camp by Song Tianyao. Some of those who were recently in the limelight were even shot dead. Among them were Ah Sap from our Chu Family, Jin Golden-Tooth Lei under Ah Sin, Yanlao who followed Cai Yuanbai, and Zhou Xiyu's subordinates who had suffered decades of Sang'en. It is said that..."
"What do you mean?" Chu Yaozong asked, noticing the hesitation in Chu Xiaozhong's voice. He moved the teacup he was about to bring to his lips away slightly.
Chu Xiaozhong hesitated for a moment. "I heard... I just received the news... that Xu Enbo, the eldest son of Uncle Sheng, seems to have been kidnapped by Song Tianyao. Liu Fu, disregarding the torrential rain, took two Police Force Foreign Devil to Uncle Sheng's house to find out what happened."
Chu Yaozong's cloudy eyes suddenly brightened for a moment, then dimmed again. "Kidnapping Xu Enbo, that does seem like something Song Tianyao would do."
"Father..." Chu Xiaozhong began, "Of course I don't believe A-Yao has sided with the Shanghai people, but the current situation is beyond what just 'disbelief' can sway. All the gangs are in chaos without their Big Brother. Bounties and payouts are flying everywhere. Someone offered ten million for Song Tianyao's life. The Chao Yong Yi gang is also constantly calling the Chu Family, asking how they plan to manage the organization without Brother Ten."