In a guest room on the fifth floor of the Portuguese Macau Hotel in Macau Street.
Song Chunzhong, using the alias Zhang Xiantai, sat upright at the living room table. His newly accepted apprentice Gu Tiancheng, stood behind him with a stern face, one hand tucked into his pocket.
Sitting opposite Song Chunzhong was a bald Papuan black man, with two burly White Russian bodyguards standing behind him.
"Mr. Zhang, your price is too high. I get this price from the Golden Triangle, and it'll be at least 30% more than what you're offering." The bald black man stared at Song Chunzhong, holding up one palm. "This is the highest price I can offer."
Dressed in a long robe, Song Chunzhong smiled and glanced back at Gu Tiancheng behind him, saying noncommittally, "Mr. Singh, if you could source the goods from the Golden Triangle, you wouldn't have come all this way to see me."
The bald black man called Singh's expression stiffened for a moment, but he finally shook his head and said, "But this price is outrageously high, I think it's hard for me to accept."
"It's alright." Song Chunzhong patted the front of his long gown and said casually, "I have plenty of stock. There are people willing to do business with me, their lines stretching from Macau Street to the Central Street. If Mr. Singh thinks the price isn't right, he can talk to other people."
As Song Chunzhong spoke, he turned and gave Gu Tiancheng a look. Gu Tiancheng pulled his hand out of his pocket and gestured to Singh to let him go, clearly indicating that he was about to see the guest out.
"Wait!" Seeing that Song Chunzhong had no intention of continuing the discussion, Singh hurriedly said, "Mr. Zhang, I know you have many clients in Macau, but it's rare that we're sitting together today. I think we can continue to discuss the price."
After the feigned indifference tactic worked, a smile appeared in Song Chunzhong's eyes. Just as he was about to speak again, the hotel room door was suddenly kicked open from the outside.
"No need to talk anymore, Mr. Zhang, right? How much opium do you have? Name your price, and we'll take it all." An arrogant voice rang out from the doorway, startling everyone in the room. They all turned around and saw Nai Khun leading Cai Bao and several of his men, striding arrogantly into the room.
Singh frowned deeply, glanced at Nai Khun and the others standing at the door, and gave a wink to the two Belarusian bodyguards.
Two Belarusian bodyguards, cursing in Russian, strode towards Nai Khun and his group, their fists clenched so tightly they cracked, clearly not taking these short Thailand monkeys seriously.
Cai Bao and his men were about to step forward when Nai Khun stopped them, saying, "Last time in Hong Kong, we didn't get enough of the mixed-race White Russians with Song Tianyao's sister. This time, we've met two real White Russians. I'll handle them; you guys just stand there and watch the show!"
After Nai Khun finished speaking, he cracked his neck, casually took off his brown-gray suit jacket and threw it to Cai Bao. He stared at the two Belarusian bodyguards, a cruel smile on his face, and quickly rushed forward.
The sounds of flesh slapping and colliding echoed in the hotel room, but Gu Tiancheng did not focus his attention on the battle. Instead, after hearing the name Song Tianyao from Nai Khun, he immediately looked down at Song Chunzhong.
Song Chunzhong's expression remained unchanged. He leaned back casually and said, "No rush, just keep watching."
Hong Kong, the Xu Family.
Surrounded by four police cars, Song Tianyao's Ford 49 slowly came to a stop in front of the Xu Family's gate. Yao Chunxiao and the Mute Ah Si got out of the car first, observing the surrounding environment discreetly.
"Mr. Song, I'll wait for you here?" Lam Kong off the car and looked back at Song Tianyao sitting in the back seat.
Song Tianyao, who was about to get out of the car, paused as if reminded by Lam Kong: "Have someone go to HSBC and invite Michael Sandberg over. I need to see him when I come out."
Lam Kong nodded. "I understand!"
Song Tianyao bent down and stepped out of the car. Yao Chunxiao and the Mute Ah Si immediately stepped forward and flanked him from both sides.
"Don't be so nervous. Even if someone had the guts of a bear and the gall of a leopard, no one would dare to touch me at Xu Pingsheng's doorstep." Song Tianyao smiled. "Uncle Xiao, I'm going in for the banquet now. Please wait outside."
Yao Chunxiao nodded and watched as Song Tianyao, led by the Xu Family who were quickly approaching, walked step by step into the Xu Family's gate before returning to his Ford sedan.
"A-Yao!"
Led by a servant of the Xu Family, Song Tianyao had just stepped into the backyard when a familiar voice rang in his ears.
As soon as the voice rang out, the lively atmosphere in the backyard froze instantly. Everyone fell silent and looked at Song Tianyao standing at the backyard gate, their expressions varied.
The once noisy backyard was now deserted except for a Western band composed of a few Foreign Devil playing music in front of the platform. The Foreign Devil, who had sensed the sudden change in atmosphere, were obviously unaware of what had happened. As they were distracted for a moment, the rhythm of the music became a little erratic, and the cello drew out a piercing long note in the night sky.
The instigator of this incident, Chu Xiaoxin, was walking briskly towards Song Tianyao. Before Song Tianyao even got close, he hurriedly explained, "A-Yao, that two million reward was paid by my older brother behind my back. I had no idea about it. Do you believe me?"
When Chu Xiaoxin uttered these words, the Hong Kong and Shanghai ship merchants sitting in the backyard were all stunned. Then, those in the crowd who did not know Chu Xiaoxin immediately let out a low sneer.
Just as the rumors suggested, Chu Xiaoxin was a complete spendthrift and good-for-nothing. The Chu Family had painstakingly maintained a facade of severing ties with Song Tianyao, but his words ruined everything.
Song Tianyao looked at Chu Xiaoxin approaching him and felt a headache coming on. He had imagined countless scenarios after entering the Xu Family, including the scene of Tan Jingwei pointing a gun at his head, but he never expected to run into this clown Chu Xiaoxin.
"Hey! I really don't know, do you not believe me?" Chu Xiaoxin stopped in front of Song Tianyao, and seeing that he didn't say a word, he looked anxious and stared at him seriously before speaking.
Song Tianyao rubbed his temples and then vigorously rubbed his face. "I believe you! You're my Big Brother, how could I not believe you?"