"Waiter, please prepare a cup of coffee for this beautiful lady, without sugar or milk." Song Tianyao didn't respond to Angie Perlis's words, but first ordered a hot coffee for Angie from the waiter before turning to Angie and saying, "Although drinking coffee can affect sleep, in my personal experience, I think bitter coffee has some effect on sobering up."
"If your hair and skin became like mine, I'd think you were Britain." Angie Perlis, after a few drinks, was even more lively and glamorous than she had been in the morning.
Song Tianyao picked up his book and continued reading, "Actually, I didn't expect that a Britain woman described as conservative in the newspapers would speak so directly. Don't they usually chat about the weather for half an hour before getting to the point?"
"Hurry up and ask Song while I'm still awake, or I'll fall asleep," Angie Perlis whispered to Song Tianyao.
Song Tianyao put down his book and looked at the female lawyer in front of him. "I just said you're very direct, and now you want me to ask you questions? Are you sure you don't want to have a cup of coffee before we talk?"
"That's just the reserve of a Britain woman like me; I have to wait for the man to ask the question," Angie Perlis said.
Song Tianyao, certain that the other woman wasn't faking her drunkenness to harass him, looked her straight in the eye and said, "Alright, everything you know about this Deputy Director Shek Chi-yik. One more thing, you look stunning tonight."
After the waiter brought a cup of bitter coffee and left, Angie Perlis finally spoke:
"He and his wife are both members of the Hong Kong Club. He himself is a member of the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, and his wife is a member of the Royal Hong Kong Horticultural Society. They have three sons and one daughter, all of whom live in Hong Kong. I happen to be qualified to enter the Hong Kong Club Building and can also attend the Horticultural Association. Then you or Mr. Chu can meet this deputy director at the Yacht Club."
"Aren't there any Britain officials below the deputy director level? To get acquainted with a deputy director, you can't get even an empty promise without spending at least tens of thousands on the first meeting," Song Tianyao said, rubbing his temples.
He wasn't saying Angie Perlis wasn't doing a good job, but rather that this deputy director's position was rather high. Although Hong Kong still customarily referred to the Industrial and Commercial Administration Office as the Commerce and Industry Department, in reality, the Industrial and Commercial Administration Office was a level higher than the Commerce and Industry Department. Strictly speaking, what Song Tianyao and his group called the Commerce and Industry Department was only the Customs Department under the Industrial and Commercial Administration Office. It was as if Song Tianyao only needed to befriend a section chief in charge of Customs, but now Angie Perlis had introduced him to a deputy director in charge of Customs, and a deputy director who was about to be promoted to full director, which meant that he was already a person who was about to enter the senior official class in the Hong Kong Colonial Government.
According to Angie Perlis, membership in the Hong Kong Club and the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club is not something that can be easily obtained. The Hong Kong Club, located in the Hong Kong Club Building in Central Square, Central, is only open to white Britain citizens. Even Britain citizens of Asian descent are not eligible. While it's fine for ordinary white Britain citizens to bring their families or friends to the clubhouse for a meal, more private social or recreational activities are only open to members. To become a member of the Hong Kong Club, applicants must have a member as their introducer, and then they need to pay an entry fee of around Hong Kong dollars 100,000, with an annual fee of up to Hong Kong dollars 10,000, and purchase a certain amount of bonds issued by the club, usually worth hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong dollars.
Only white Britain who met these criteria could become members of the Hong Kong Club, which was essentially a place for wealthy Britain people and high-ranking officials to legally collude, and was never open to China person.
The Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club does allow China person to join, but the prerequisite is that members, whether Britain or China person, must own a yacht that can regularly participate in yacht club races or sailing activities.
These two associations were beyond the reach of mid-level Britain officials in the Hong Kong Colonial Government. Furthermore, those who joined these associations would naturally be immune to the methods of bribing mid-level officials.
"This deputy director has just taken office and recently joined the Hong Kong Club. After paying membership fees and subscribing to bonds, he has almost no savings left. I think he probably wants to make up for his losses. The more he invests now, the greater the returns will be in the future," Angie Perlis said, gently stirring her coffee.
"Luckily, I had some spare cash in my account last night, otherwise I wouldn't even have enough money for our first meeting." Song Tianyao took a deep breath, his eyes gradually sharpening. "It's him. Don't think I'm flirting with you. Opportunities are something you have to create yourself. If there's no suitable time, then use enough money to change it to a suitable time."
Chapter Seventy: Shortage of Money
"What do you need me to do?" Angie Perlis found the young China man's sudden change in expression incredibly captivating. "Aren't you afraid I'll cheat you out of your money?"
"You can't fool a deputy director with such a big appetite." Song Tianyao took a box of business cards from his bag and pushed it in front of Angie Perlis: "I prepared these for you this afternoon. You might find them useful when you meet those deputy directors' wives tomorrow."
Angie Perlis gently pushed open the wooden business card holder, and as the opening was pushed out, a business card was naturally dispensed.
"Minty scent." As Angie Perlis opened the business card case, she smelled a minty aroma. She gently picked up the vertical business card. The front of the card only had the initials AP in deep purple, with her full name in black below. Most importantly, the background of the entire business card was not the usual white or black, nor was it printed with intricate British emblems and patterns. Instead, the entire background color was an aged sheepskin color, with several Romanesque patterns favored by the Britain upper class during the Renaissance printed on it in a dark color similar to sheepskin.
Turn the business card over. At the bottom, there are three stripes of blue, red, and white, the same colors as the Britain flag, running through the card. Above these stripes, her name is still the largest. Above the name, there are three horizontal rows of text that decrease in size: the company name, the company address, and the company phone number. The words "Head of Legal Department" are placed vertically at the end of the three rows of text.