Although Song Tianyao had become a pawn in the eyes of the Britain in Hong Kong, to Chinese police officers like Lam Kong, Song Tianyao's status remained high and mighty. Even though he was now penniless, Lam Kong, who had been promoted to Detective Chief Inspector, was still willing to drive for him.
The Britain lack foresight, Lam Kong has it. This Mr. Song before us does indeed appear to have no assets in Hong Kong, as he claims; even his core business, the wig factory, has been mortgaged to HSBC. But what does it matter?
Even though Song Tianyao was penniless after his battle with Tan Jingwei, as long as he was still there, he was a huge gold mine.
The brother of Justice of the Peace Chu Xiaoxin, the son-in-law of Macau's Wang Hexian and Hong Kong's shipping magnate, the boyfriend of Miss Lu, the Malaysian Chinese emperor, and Angie Perlis, a foreign woman in England who manages everything for Song Tianyao...
Song Tianyao's actions in Hong Kong have unknowingly amassed a terrifying network of connections for him. Even if he cannot yet compare with true Chinese tycoons like Chu Yaozong, Lu Wenhui, and Cai Yuanbai, he is only in his early twenties. Even if his future is not so smooth, his prospects are still bright.
Lam Kong glanced at the rearview mirror and looked at Song Tianyao, who was sitting in the back seat with his eyes closed, pretending to be asleep. He couldn't help but feel admiration for him. He knew very well that even if he rose through the ranks of the Police Force in the future, he would at most only reach the position Liu Fu was in now.
Now, when Liu Fu sees Song Tianyao, he has to address him respectfully as Mr. Song.
Just as the Ford sedan sped away from the entrance of St. Mary's Hospital, Song Chunzhong, dressed in a bamboo cloth robe and handmade cloth shoes, emerged from a corner with his apprentice Gu Tiancheng.
Gu Tiancheng stared at the departing Ford sedan and said, "Uncle Zhong, your nephew doesn't seem as wealthy as you say!"
Song Chunzhong grinned, looking dejected. "How was I supposed to know he was doing even worse than me in Hong Kong? I was even planning to team up with him to set up a scheme, make some pounds out of the Foreign Devil, and maybe teach you how to deal with Foreign Devil in the future. Now..."
Song Chunzhong shook his head regretfully.
Gu Tiancheng sized up Song Chunzhong's attire. "So what do we do now? Why don't we go back to Macau and continue pretending to be the opium tycoon?"
"The Thailand played such a big game last time, no one will believe it anymore." Song Chunzhong waved his hand, then suddenly turned to Gu Tiancheng and asked, "How much money do you have left? Give it all to me."
Gu Tiancheng clutched his pocket, looking warily at Song Chunzhong: "What are you trying to do? Last time you killed the Thailand guy's gang, you made two million, but I only got ten thousand. You wouldn't even swindle me out of that ten thousand, would you?"
"I've donated all my money to an education fund, you know that, right?" Song Chunzhong glared at Gu Tiancheng. "Just hand over the money, and I'll give you 20% after this deal is done."
"Then you have to tell me what you're planning to do, Uncle Zhong!" Gu Tiancheng pressed.
Song Chunzhong chuckled, pulled a flyer from his pocket, and prominently displayed an advertisement for a British-owned wig manufacturing factory. "This factory originally belonged to the Song Family, but now it's been seized by those Foreign Devil. It's only right and proper that I get it back for A-Yao!"
"Wow! Scamming the Britain in Hong Kong? Uncle Chung, are you kidding me?"
"I can't? You old hag! If I can't, then you're with me? Back in Indonesia, I dared to start a newspaper even though I couldn't read. These young people look down on their elders..."
"You've told this story two hundred times already, can't you come up with something new?"
"Back in Malaya, when the rubber plantation owner refused to pay the workers, it was me who stepped in again..."
"I've heard of this one too! Let's change it!"
The master and apprentice bickered as they left side by side, going in the opposite direction from Song Tianyao.
On the streets of Hong Kong, rickshaws and cars shuttle together, and people in suits and long gowns intertwine, ultimately creating a vivid picture of the times.
Chapter 559 Unresolved Feelings
The entrance to Maryknoll Secondary School in Hong Kong, 1983.
Perhaps it's because older generations of Hong Kong people are returning to their ancestral homes on the mainland to celebrate the Spring Festival, while the younger generation of Hong Kong people don't seem to have much interest in the holiday. So even though it's the end of the year, there's still no festive atmosphere to be felt on the streets of Hong Kong.
A black Bentley slowly pulled up in front of the school gate. Inside, two middle-aged men who looked quite old sat side by side in the front seat, exchanged a glance, and smiled knowingly.
"I remember when you were Big Brother, you loved the glamorous atmosphere of being surrounded by a large entourage. How come you've changed your ways?"
Fifty-one-year-old Song Tianyao had a few strands of silver in his temples and his face bore the marks of time, but his voice still sounded strong and energetic as he jokingly teased the other man beside him.
The Chu Family, which was once famous in Hong Kong, has seen its fortunes decline since Chu Yaozong's death. Chu Xiaozhong went to Britain to develop his business, leaving all the mess to Chu Xiaoxin, the playboy who was once the talk of the town among Hong Kong's wealthy businessmen. It seems that Chu Xiaoxin began to mature from that time onwards, gradually rising to become the current president of the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce.
"Only after struggling on my own did I realize how hard my Dad and older brother had worked back then. I wasted the first twenty-odd years of my life, Ho Choi I woke up in time." Chu Xiaoxin chuckled self-deprecatingly. Perhaps due to overwork, the playboy who once drove the famous dancers of the Lichi Ballroom crazy now looked older than Song Tianyao, and his voice was no longer as arrogant and unruly as before, but had become somewhat hoarse.
"So you came half an hour early just to avoid giving others a chance to flatter you?" Song Tianyao chuckled, rolled down the car window, lit a cigar, and sighed, "That's how it is with people. The higher you climb, the less you want to waste your breath on others, because you no longer have the energy you had when you were young."
"Damn it!" Chu Xiaoxin reached out and slapped Song Tianyao on the head. "You know you don't have the energy? You've donated so many schools on the mainland, and now you're coming to Hong Kong to donate libraries? You're making your Big Brother participate in your charity work?"