Chapter Summaries

Song Tianyao met Kong Wing-yan to hand over Crown Asia’s accounts and explain why he was transferring its management to Chu Xiaozhong. At the pharmacy, he introduced Kong Wing-yan to Lou Fengyun and Meng Wanqing with teasing remarks, while Meng Wanqing hesitated outside, unsure how to thank him.

• Song Tianyao told Kong Wing-yan that he would give her Crown Asia’s profit distribution list and explained that the company’s profits had to cover payments to officials and other parties.
• Kong Wing-yan questioned why Song Tianyao was relinquishing Crown Asia and stepping away from the Chu Family’s affairs.
• Song Tianyao and Kong Wing-yan encountered Lou Fengyun, Golden-Tooth Lei, Yan Hung, and Meng Wanqing outside the pharmacy, and Song introduced Kong Wing-yan to them.
• Song Tianyao teased Lou Fengyun and Meng Wanqing by saying he had not had his way with either of them, while Kong Wing-yan watched their reactions.
• Yan Hung urged Meng Wanqing to thank Song Tianyao in person, but she remained outside, too unsure of what to say to go in.

At the pharmacy opening banquet, Song Tianyao confirmed Yan Hung would take charge of Likang’s dock affairs and explained his plans to study Hong Kong’s business environment before starting a major venture. As the guests departed, he recognized Meng Wanqing by her real name and asked whether she would take a walk with him or still hate him.

• Song Chunliang opened the pharmacy, and the Song Family hosted the guests at a restaurant.
• Song Tianyao told Golden-Tooth Lei that Yan Hung would manage Likang’s dock affairs for Mr. Chu, and Golden-Tooth Lei accepted the decision despite his disappointment.
• Yan Hung toasted Golden-Tooth Lei and discussed possible business with him and Chen Tai while Song Tianyao spoke with Kong Wing-yan.
• Song Tianyao told Kong Wing-yan he planned to help arrange the deworming-medicine factory, study at the University of Hong Kong library, and have his family run small businesses.
• Meng Wanqing thanked Song Tianyao and gave him a cloth bag, and he called her by her real name and asked whether she would walk with him.

Song Tianyao seduced Meng Wanqing by guiding her into conversation as he led her to a hotel, where they spent the night together. Afterward, he proposed that her father reopen his tailoring business or start a small garment factory.

• Song Tianyao took Meng Wanqing by the hand and led her from Tai Wo Street to the Morrison Hotel, distracting her with subjects she enjoyed along the way.
• At the hotel, Meng Wanqing realized Song Tianyao had deliberately drawn her into conversation to bring her there, and they became intimate.
• After a waiter knocked to ask about dinner, Song Tianyao tucked Meng Wanqing under the covers and waited beside her as she woke.
• Meng Wanqing asked why Song Tianyao had avoided discussing the pipa, and he explained that he believed she had grown tired of playing it for customers.
• Song Tianyao told Meng Wanqing he had arranged for the seafood restaurant to dismiss her and suggested that her father use his tailoring skills to reopen a shop or start a garment factory.

Chu Yaozong explained why Song Tianyao could leave Likang without losing the Chu Family’s support, and reassured Peng Xiulian that Chu Xiaoxin would have help running the business. As the chapter ended, Chu Yaozong reflected on how carefully Song had prepared Likang’s affairs despite receiving little in return.

• Peng Xiulian asked Chu Yaozong whether Song Tianyao intended to leave Likang and worried that Chu Xiaoxin would struggle without him.
• Chu Yaozong said Song could stay if asked but did not need to remain at Likang, since outsiders still regarded him as part of the Chu Family.
• Chu Yaozong told Peng Xiulian that Chu Shuheng would help Chu Xiaoxin run Likang and suggested Song might work alongside Chu Xiaoxin again in a year or two.
• Peng Xiulian felt reassured that Chu Yaozong was taking Chu Xiaoxin seriously and went to sleep.
• Chu Yaozong studied Song Tianyao’s detailed profit-sharing plan and reflected that Song received only eight thousand dollars a month from Crown Asia despite the empire he had built for Likang.

Song Tianyao left the Chu Family’s service and settled into a rented apartment in Sai Ying Pun, where he tried to persuade Meng Wanqing to live with him. Meng Wanqing worried that their life together would distract him from his studies, and she insisted she would return home for now.

• Chu Yaozong accepted Song Tianyao’s departure and looked forward to seeing what career Song Tianyao would build on his own.
• Meng Wanqing inspected the apartment Song Tianyao had rented near the University of Hong Kong and asked how he would study amid the daytime noise.
• Meng Wanqing noticed Song Tianyao had ordered a double bed and hesitated when he said she should live with him.
• Song Tianyao teased Meng Wanqing about sharing the apartment, but she said she would go home so he could concentrate on studying.
• Meng Wanqing broke free of Song Tianyao’s embrace and insisted on visiting him later, while Song Tianyao joked about his mother expecting her to become pregnant.

Song Tianyao sent Scribe Hui to barter vegetables for supplies at the Sai Ying Pun barracks, hoping to give Sister Fen and the others useful work. Scribe Hui returned battered after being robbed by local women, while the chapter explained how Song had organized work for his household and why barracks bartering was common.

• Meng Wanqing decided to stay away for three days, but Scribe Hui interrupted Song Tianyao before they could enjoy their new double bed.
• Scribe Hui told Song Tianyao that women had stopped his truck after he traded vegetables for military supplies, and a strong man had punched him after he spat at one of them.
• The women took more than half of the cigarettes, liquor, and other goods Scribe Hui had traded for.
• Song Tianyao reflected on finding work for his family, Sister Fen, and Scribe Hui, including opening a miscellaneous goods shop for Sister Fen.
• Song Tianyao explained that he had sent Scribe Hui to barter at the barracks because it was a common livelihood, not because he planned to profit from reselling military supplies.

Song Tianyao arranged for Scribe Hui to trade vegetables from the New Territories for unwanted Japanese cigarettes and alcohol at the Sai Ying Pun camp. He accepted the small returns as a way to build ties with British quartermasters before their surplus supplies ran out and the military needed to buy goods.

• British camps faced shortages of grain and vegetables while unwanted Japanese supplies filled their warehouses.
• Quartermasters began bartering cigarettes, alcohol, tea, and sugar for produce, and the practice spread across Hong Kong.
• The Sai Ying Pun quartermaster offered more supplies per basket of vegetables because nearby farmers preferred trading at camps in the New Territories and Kowloon.
• Song Tianyao told Scribe Hui to buy vegetables from New Territories farmers and transport them by boat to trade at the Sai Ying Pun camp.
• Song Tianyao accepted that the barter business would yield little, aiming instead to build relationships with quartermasters for future trade.

Scribe Hui recruited Nine-Tattooed Dragon to help deliver vegetables after grannies robbed and beat him. The chapter recounts how Nine-Tattooed Dragon survived being thrown into the sea and was rescued by Scribe Hui, Sister Fen, and Wu Xiu'er; he later began guarding Wu's General Store while recovering.

• Song Tianyao allowed Scribe Hui to bring the injured Nine-Tattooed Dragon along on vegetable deliveries.
• Scribe Hui woke Nine-Tattooed Dragon at Wu's General Store and told him to stop calling him Lame Dragon.
• Handkerchief Qing badly injured Nine-Tattooed Dragon during a fight at the Sai Kung docks.
• A plainclothes officer and two Uniformed Branch officers threw Nine-Tattooed Dragon into the sea after he identified himself as a 14K member.
• Nine-Tattooed Dragon clung to a plank until Scribe Hui, Sister Fen, and Wu Xiu'er rescued him.
• After recovering somewhat, Nine-Tattooed Dragon volunteered to guard Wu's General Store at night.

Nine-Tattooed Dragon began helping Scribe Hui deliver vegetables while recovering at Sister Fen’s store. Song Tianyao woke to find Meng Wanqing preparing breakfast, and the two cooked together as she set aside food for his late-night reading.

• Sister Fen let Nine-Tattooed Dragon stay in the grocery store while he recovered, and he resolved to repay his helpers and take revenge on Handkerchief Qing and those who had abandoned him.
• Scribe Hui took Nine-Tattooed Dragon to help deliver vegetables, explaining that he only needed to ride along and scare off anyone who threatened him.
• Nine-Tattooed Dragon called upstairs to tell Sister Fen he was leaving, and Scribe Hui kicked him and scolded him for eating so much.
• Song Tianyao woke at 7:20 and found Meng Wanqing preparing a large breakfast in the kitchen.
• Song Tianyao joined Meng Wanqing in wrapping wontons, and she explained that she had prepared extra food for his late-night reading.

After being turned away from the University of Hong Kong Library, Song Tianyao found a place to study at the Chinese College Library. Meanwhile, 14K crushed the Green Gang in a bloody feud, but Du Yuesheng’s trusted bodyguard asked Huang Dehong to end the fighting and spare the remaining Green Gang members.

• Song Tianyao left the University of Hong Kong Library after rebuking Du Zhenxian for his snobbish manner and went to the Chinese College Library to read and plan his new life.
• 14K and the Green Gang blamed each other for the deaths of Chen Zhongying and Li Caifa and fought over Li Caifa’s businesses.
• 14K’s forces, aided by allies arranged by Qi Weiwen and Chen Zhongying, defeated the Green Gang and captured its former businesses.
• Gu Jiatang met Huang Dehong alongside local gang bosses and asked 14K to end hostilities and withdraw its men.

After the Green Gang’s defeat, three factions fought over control of 14K, and Du Yuesheng’s calculated show of respect to Huang Dehong intensified the conflict. Qi Weiwen became the prize each faction sought, but Ge Zhixiong and You Chunhua only deepened her doubts about them.

• Du Yuesheng had Gu Jiatang address Huang Dehong as a brother, bolstering Huang’s standing among 14K’s rank-and-file members.
• Ge Zhixiong, You Chunhua, and Huang Dehong’s factions escalated their rivalry until their followers began fighting and 14K neared a split.
• All three factions tried to win over Qi Weiwen because her disciples and their Mong Kok Twelve Golden Hairpins and Kowloon's Eighteen Tigers could sway the struggle.
• Qi Weiwen avoided the factions by walking outside and recalled that Ge Zhixiong had proposed marrying her, while You Chunhua openly promoted himself as the rightful leader.

Qi Weiwen reflected on her isolation after Chen Zhongying’s death and saw Song Tianyao’s charity work being carried out in Kowloon Walled City. Meanwhile, Song Tianyao finished his research at the library and told Hong Lai-sau he had found work through reading.

• Qi Weiwen lost faith in Huang Dehong after hearing him boast of Du Yuesheng’s recognition and realized the gang members did not accept her leadership.
• Qi Weiwen remembered Chen Zhongying and Song Tianyao, then wondered where she could return after leaving the jianghu.
• An elderly man told neighbors that Song Tianyao would pay them to repair Longjin Charity School, the Elderly Home, and damaged homes.
• Hong Lai-sau brought Song Tianyao English newspapers, borrowed journals, and breakfast at the library, then urged him to find a job.
• Song Tianyao said he had found work through the newspapers and journals, and continued reviewing his business notes.

Song Tianyao searched for an emerging business that could succeed despite Hong Kong’s embargo-driven economic troubles and decided to manufacture wigs for the growing American market. He told Kang Lixiu he planned to travel to San Francisco to investigate, leaving Kang incredulous.

• Song Tianyao ruled out entering Hong Kong’s established industries and studied business materials to find an opportunity suited to the embargo economy.
• Song Tianyao read about the Beat Generation and, after researching American demand, chose wigs as a business he could build into a leading industry.
• Song Tianyao and Meng Wanqing searched Hong Kong department stores and found that only Lane Crawford sold wigs, at high prices and in limited styles.
• Song Tianyao told Kang Lixiu he had found a business opportunity and planned to investigate it in San Francisco.
• Kang Lixiu doubted Song Tianyao could afford a trip to the United States and joked that he belonged in a psychiatric hospital.

Scribe Hui and Nine-Tattooed Dragon continued delivering vegetables to the military camps while saving money, and Nine-Tattooed Dragon told Scribe Hui he planned to take revenge on Handkerchief Qing. Scribe Hui warned him against facing the He-prefix gangs alone and told him to ask Secretary Song for help.

• Scribe Hui and Nine-Tattooed Dragon carried vegetables by ferry and tram instead of renting a truck so they could save money.
• Scribe Hui scolded Nine-Tattooed Dragon for eating so much and joked that the savings paid for his chicken legs and pig's trotters.
• Nine-Tattooed Dragon told Scribe Hui he planned to seek revenge and would not be able to help with deliveries.
• Scribe Hui warned Nine-Tattooed Dragon that Handkerchief Qing was a Double Red Pole and that the He-prefix gangs could retaliate.
• Nine-Tattooed Dragon insisted he was unafraid of death, and Scribe Hui urged him to ask Secretary Song to help with his revenge.

Scribe Hui explained how Song Tianyao quietly looked after him, while Nine-Tattooed Dragon defended him from people cutting the disembarkation line. At the Sai Ying Pun barracks, Quartermaster Harry asked Scribe Hui to buy grain for the families at three barracks, offering him a chance to expand his vegetable business.

• Scribe Hui told Nine-Tattooed Dragon that Song Tianyao paid him a monthly salary and secretly arranged offerings for his parents’ ashes.
• Nine-Tattooed Dragon pushed people who cut the disembarkation line back into the queue, then talked about bringing Song Tianyao eels to help him find a wife.
• Scribe Hui and Nine-Tattooed Dragon delivered their vegetables to the Sai Ying Pun barracks, where Quartermaster Harry praised Scribe Hui’s honesty.
• Quartermaster Harry asked Scribe Hui to buy grain for families at three Hong Kong Island barracks and suggested he could eventually run a small supply business.

Song Tianyao arranged for Scribe Hui to establish a trading company and handle the British Army’s vegetable and grain orders. He then met Chu Xiaoxin at a dance hall, where they began discussing Chu Xiaoxin’s work at Likang.

• Song Tianyao told Scribe Hui to accept the British Army’s orders and said he would help him register a company and provide its capital.
• Scribe Hui worried that Song Tianyao’s investment was a debt, but Song Tianyao explained they would split the company’s profits and sent him to consult his boss lady.
• Scribe Hui shouted at Nine-Tattooed Dragon for suggesting he owed Song Tianyao money, and Song Tianyao told them to be quiet in the library.
• Song Tianyao met Chu Xiaoxin at the Golden Phoenix Pool Dance Hall and asked why he had come without a woman when someone else was handling Likang’s pharmaceutical business.

Lin Yujing and her daughter Feng Yunzhi struggled with their isolated, shabby home and unpaid food allowance while Lin Yujing prepared a Buddhist prayer for her late father and husband. The chapter ended as the family sat down to dinner and Wen Jingyuan called from outside.

• Lin Yujing wrote a Buddhist prayer sheet for her late father, Lin Xizhen, and late husband, Song Chunren.
• Feng Yunzhi returned from school in a car and thanked the driver before joining Lin Yujing at home.
• Feng Yunzhi brought home her untouched lunch, including an abalone, and said she would study hard, earn money, and repay the family’s food allowance.
• Lin Yujing learned that Sister Xiang had told Feng Yunzhi the food allowance had not arrived, while Sister Xiang took the blame for telling her.
• Lin Yujing, Sister Xiang, and Feng Yunzhi prepared dinner, but Wen Jingyuan called from outside just as they sat down.

Song Tianyao reunited with Lin Yujing and Feng Yunzhi, gave them money and supplies, and promised to make the Lin Family bring them to the main residence before taking them home openly. When Lin Yujing asked how he had acquired so much money, the chapter began recounting her family background and her father Lin Xizhen’s rise in business.

• Wen Jingyuan told Lin Yujing that Song Tianyao was waiting at the foot of the hill, and she sent for him to come up.
• Song Tianyao arrived by car, and Lin Yujing and Feng Yunzhi tearfully welcomed him as he promised to take them home.
• Song Tianyao gave Sister Xiang twenty thousand Hong Kong dollars and supplies, and instructed her to care for Lin Yujing and ensure Feng Yunzhi had clothes at least as good as the Lin daughters’ clothing.
• Feng Yunzhi asked to leave immediately, but Song Tianyao said he would first make the Lin Family bring her and Lin Yujing to the main residence and open the gates for their return.
• Lin Yujing asked how Song Tianyao had obtained so much money, and the narration began describing her father Lin Xizhen’s family history and business rise.

Song Tianyao arrived in San Francisco after a long flight and met Tang Boqi, who had come to pick him up. Tang introduced himself as Billy and checked that Song understood English.

• Song Tianyao adjusted his watch to San Francisco time as he left the airport.
• Song Tianyao spotted Tang Boqi holding a sign with his name among the people waiting outside.
• Song Tianyao approached Tang Boqi and asked if he was Brother Qi.
• Tang Boqi greeted Song in English, introduced himself as Billy, and asked whether Song understood him.

Song Tianyao arrived in San Francisco, where Tang Boqi showed him around and took him to a 49ers fan gathering for free food. The chapter ended with Tang Boqi flirting with waitress Jenny and trying to persuade her to go riding with him.

• Song Tianyao met Tang Boqi at the airport, and Tang Boqi took his bag and led him into the city on his Harley.
• Song Tianyao learned that Tang Boqi’s father had built a comfortable life in San Francisco by running laundries.
• Tang Boqi brought Song Tianyao to the Gold Digger restaurant and stuck 49ers stickers on their clothes to get them free food.
• Tang Boqi introduced Song Tianyao to the fan gathering, but waitress Jenny called him out for using the group to get free meals.
• Tang Boqi charmed Jenny into serving them food, paid her some change, and invited her to go riding with him.