Chapter Summaries

Sun Zhizhong offered Su Wenting a supply of heroin refined at his Malaysian factory, hoping to partner with Wo On Lok to sell it in Hong Kong. Su was tempted by the prospect of expanding the gang’s opium business and considered sending trusted men to verify the factory.

• Xia Mao Ming brought his old friend Sun Zhizhong to meet Su Wenting at On Lok Teahouse.
• Su sent his underling A-De to take Xia Mao Ming away for new clothes so he could speak privately with Sun.
• Sun explained that he had once been a Blue Lantern and now wanted to sell heroin in Hong Kong through Wo On Lok.
• Sun showed Su a sample of his factory’s heroin and invited Wo On Lok leaders to visit his plantation and processing plant in Malaysia.
• Su became interested in the deal and considered sending trusted followers to confirm Sun’s supply was genuine.

Lin Xiaohe revealed that he had arranged for Fifth Uncle Lin Xishen and Sixth Uncle Lin Xiyuan to die to shield the Lin Family from the fallout of the assassination attempt on Song Tianyao. As Lin Xiaohe prepared to protect the family’s hold on Xizhen Properties, Lin Xiao qia feared he could be blamed for the leak; the chapter ended with Song Tianyao hearing that Lin Xiyuan was dead.

• Lin Xiaohe told Lin Xiao qia that Sixth Uncle Lin Xiyuan’s assassination plot against Song Tianyao had failed and that the captured gunmen could implicate the Lin Family.
• Lin Xiaohe ordered the others out and told Lin Xiao qia that both Lin Xiyuan and Fifth Uncle Lin Xishen had swallowed opium and died.
• Lin Xiao qia tried to strike Lin Xiaohe, then condemned him for sacrificing their uncles, but Lin Xiaohe defended the deaths as necessary to protect the Lin Family from Pedro Lobo and the He and Lu families.
• Lin Xiaohe said he had sent A-Sen to contact Jardine, HSBC and the Bank of East Asia so the family could borrow money and buy back Xizhen Properties shares.
• Lin Xiao qia worried that Lin Xiaohe might suspect him of leaking the plot to Song Tianyao.
• Huang Liu brought Song Tianyao news of Lin Xiyuan’s death, and Song Tianyao reacted with surprise.

After surviving the shooting, Song Tianyao learned that Lin Xiyuan and Lin Xishen had died and that three armed Hong Kong gangsters had arrived in Macau. He pieced together a possible two-part plot against him, but remained unsure which Lin family member had arranged each part.

• Huang Liu told Song Tianyao that Lin Xiyuan and Lin Xishen were dead and that Handkerchief Qing, Shar Pei Dog, and Chu Yau-chai had arrived in Macau armed.
• Song Tianyao mapped the people and events connected to the shooting, Lin Xiyuan, and Lam Kong, but could not identify which Lin family member linked them.
• Song Tianyao suspected the three gangsters had been brought in to falsely confess to killing him, with Lam Kong providing false testimony to make the shooting look like a revenge killing.
• Song Tianyao concluded that the Lin family might have had two separate plans: Lin Xiyuan's attack and a fabricated gangland explanation arranged by another Lin brother.
• Song Tianyao suspected Lin Xiaohe might have ordered Lin Xiyuan to kill him in Macau after forcing him to seek a loan there.

Tang Boqi warned Lin Xiaosen that Song Tianyao was quietly building a position in Xizhen Properties for a hostile takeover, despite appearing too weak to challenge the Lin Family. He urged the Lin Family to buy more shares and drive up the price, leaving Lin Xiaosen to consider how to counter Song Tianyao.

• Lin Xiaosen asked Tang Boqi why he believed Song Tianyao was targeting Xizhen Properties and how the Lin Family should respond.
• Tang Boqi explained that Song Tianyao had been buying shares and could draw on cash and assets to borrow enough to threaten a takeover.
• Tang Boqi described how Song Tianyao had previously exploited others’ greed and underestimated circumstances to defeat his opponents.
• Tang Boqi advised the Lin Family to increase its stake in Xizhen Properties and raise its share price to make a takeover harder and more costly.

Gao Minghui and his secretary Wei Meixian traveled from Hong Kong to Japan, where his penny-pinching and helplessness frustrated her. On the way to Tokyo Station, Gao worried over Song Tianyao’s decision to mortgage his business and wondered why he had not borrowed money from his acquaintances instead.

• Lin Xiaosen told Tang Boqi that the Lin Family planned to buy back Xizhen Properties shares and believed Song Tianyao could not seize control of the company.
• Tang Boqi considered whether other shareholders might demand a higher price, then concluded that Jardine would alert the Lin Family before selling its shares to Song Tianyao.
• Wei Meixian accompanied Gao Minghui through Haneda Airport, where he clung to her and asked how they would reach Niigata Prefecture.
• Gao Minghui tried to avoid buying lunch by pointing out how much food he had eaten on the plane and the food he had packed away.
• Wei Meixian took Gao Minghui by taxi to Tokyo Station while he struggled to write in his notebook and worried about Song Tianyao mortgaging his business.

Song Tianyao met Pedro Lobo for a private dinner in Macau, where they discussed Hong Kong Oxfam and charitable giving. The chapter ended as Pedro Lobo watched Song Tianyao closely and prepared to continue the conversation.

• Song Tianyao greeted Pedro Lobo and invited him to call him A-Yao.
• Pedro Lobo hosted Song Tianyao alone in his back garden and welcomed being addressed as Dr. Lobo.
• Pedro Lobo asked about the development of Hong Kong Oxfam.
• Song Tianyao said Hong Kong Oxfam was flourishing but modest compared with Pedro Lobo and He Xian's contributions in Macau.
• Pedro Lobo watched Song Tianyao over dinner and began speaking after finishing a bite of fish.

Song Tianyao met Pedro Lobo over dinner and secured his support against the Lin Family, while learning what the He and Lu Families would expect in return. He promised to pursue the Lin Family’s downfall and left Lobo warning him not to betray the trust placed in him.

• Lobo raised Song Tianyao’s rice distribution in Green Island and his disputes with the Lin Family, then revealed his lingering hatred of them.
• Song Tianyao said Lin Xiyuan and Lin Xishen had died in revenge killings and admitted his plan to use himself as bait had failed.
• Lobo offered to help Song Tianyao target the Lin Family, and Song asked whether the He Family and Lu Family would join them.
• Song Tianyao named Ngau Tau Shan as his basic demand, while Lobo explained that the He Family needed money and the Lu Family needed prestige.
• Song Tianyao agreed he could meet their needs and told Lobo the Lin Family still repeated its old mistakes.

Song Tianyao arranged for Zhaofeng Trading to issue new shares and prepare to buy more of Xizhen Properties, while monitoring the Lin Family and HSBC. Though tired and still recovering from his wound, he set out with Huang Liu to thank Huang Sen, Lee Kuen, and the other men who had helped him by drinking with them at Longfu New Street.

• Song Tianyao instructed Luo Zhuankun to arrange a 48-million-share issue for Zhaofeng Trading and use the proceeds to buy Xizhen Properties’ separately held 6% stake.
• Song Tianyao told Luo Zhuankun to watch the Lin Family’s mortgage situation and HSBC’s losses in Mainland China, and to stay in contact with Bao Yuehan.
• Huang Liu questioned why Song Tianyao wanted to visit Longfu New Street, and Song explained that he had asked Huang Sen to arrange a drinking gathering to thank him and Lee Kuen.
• Song Tianyao teased Huang Liu about having a courtesan keep him company, then prepared to leave despite his aching gunshot wound.

Lin Xiao qia took Lin Xiaokang for a private drive and urged him to conceal his resentment toward the rest of the Lin Family. He left Lin Xiaokang with a warning that he was the brother he worried about most.

• Lin Xiaokang visited Lin Yujing and Feng Yunzhi at the hospital, then encountered Lin Xiao qia in the parking lot.
• Lin Xiao qia apologized for slapping Lin Xiaokang and took him for a drive to a pier.
• Lin Xiao qia asked whether Lin Xiaokang resented him for the slap and for making him lose his soda factory position, and Lin Xiaokang admitted he did.
• Lin Xiao qia brought up their uncles' deaths in Macau and acknowledged Lin Xiaokang's difficult place in the family.
• Lin Xiao qia told Lin Xiaokang to keep any resentment toward the others hidden and to direct it at him instead, warning that he worried about him most.

Lin Xiaokang realized Lin Xiao qia was warning him that the Lin Family might have killed Fifth Uncle and Sixth Uncle, and feared that Lin Yujing and her daughter were also in danger. At the Lin Family mansion, Lin Xiaohe learned that his mother Hong Lanfang’s health was stable but that she refused to stop smoking, while she demanded to see Lin Xiao sen or Lin Xiaokang.

• Lin Xiao qia warned Lin Xiaokang to avoid provoking the First Madam and Lin Xiaohe, and Lin Xiaokang suspected the Lin Family had silenced Fifth Uncle and Sixth Uncle.
• Lin Xiaokang feared the First Madam or Lin Xiaohe might also target Lin Yujing and her daughter, then drove away from the hospital.
• Ronnie told Lin Xiaohe that Hong Lanfang’s checkup showed no serious health problem, but she needed to smoke less.
• Lin Xiaohe returned to find Hong Lanfang demanding a cigarette and asking for Lin Xiao sen or Lin Xiaokang.
• Zheng Ruilian tried to persuade Hong Lanfang to smoke a water pipe instead, while Hong Lanfang dismissed Lin Xiaohe’s efforts to help.

Liao Jingxuan interrogated Su Wenting about the failed attempt on Lin Xiyuan and Lin Xishen, then pressured him to cooperate and arrange a false confession. Su Wenting agreed to report future requests from the Lin family to Liao first.

• Liao Jingxuan examined Su Wenting’s Dragon Turtle ornament and assured him that Lin Xiao qia only wanted information about their meeting.
• Su Wenting told Liao that Lin Xiao qia had asked On Lok Hall to work for the Lin family and mentioned Headless’s connection to Song Tianyao.
• Liao admitted he had sent people to watch Su Wenting’s family as a precaution and promised they were safe.
• Liao warned Su Wenting not to obey anyone in the Lin family without consulting him first.
• Liao ordered Su Wenting to arrange for scapegoats to confess to killing Lin Xiyuan and Lin Xishen over a gambling debt.

Su Wenting decided to leave Hong Kong after Liao Jingxuan questioned him about the Lin brothers. Meanwhile, Lu Rongfang asked Lu Yuanchun to arrange a loan, and the conversation revealed the estrangement between Lu Rongkang and the Malaysian Lu Family before the story turned to their grandfather Lu You’s early life.

• Liao Jingxuan questioned Su Wenting about what Lin Xiao qia had said, then left without further explanation.
• Su Wenting decided to go to Malaysia with Zheng Zhizhong’s group and stay away from Hong Kong’s troubles.
• Lu Rongfang asked Lu Yuanchun to borrow money against his properties, but Lu Rongkang criticized him for seeking a shortcut and urged him to work in the family trading company.
• Lu Yuanchun spoke of the Lu Family’s decline, while Lu Rongkang said he and Lu Rongfang wanted no part in its affairs.
• The narration described Lu You’s orphaned childhood, his indenture to the Lu Family, and the broker who offered to take him to Malaya as a miner.

The chapter recounts Lu You’s rise from a Chinese coolie in Malaya to a wealthy mine owner and labor recruiter in Kuala Lumpur. After returning to Malaya, he secured British backing to recruit Chinese workers to rebuild the fire-damaged city.

• Lu You sold himself to a coolie trafficker, worked in Malaya’s mines and a tobacco shop, and saved enough to seek a mining opportunity in Larut.
• Lu You joined the Yixing Triad Society, rose to become a senior figure, and opened a tin mine that the Hai San Jiande Hall later destroyed during a major conflict.
• Lu You secured a British military supply contract, rebuilt his fortune through mining and tax farming, and became a prominent Chinese figure in Gantingwen.
• Lu You returned to his hometown, stayed for four years, bought his wife a baby, and established a household and shops in Guangzhou before returning to Malaya.
• Lu You moved to Kuala Lumpur, gained the trust of a powerful British official, and recruited Chinese laborers to rebuild the city after a devastating fire.

Studwell watched Xizhen Properties shares surge amid a flood of buy orders, despite believing Song Tianyao had not yet raised money for his hostile takeover. Fearing that rising prices would let Jardine cash out on the market instead of selling its shares to the Lin Family, Studwell moved to suppress the price with a massive sell order.

• The Hong Kong Securities and Stock Exchange opened to a noisy crowd of brokers calling out trades under rules designed to prevent secret collusion.
• Studwell saw dozens of buy orders for Xizhen Properties totaling more than four thousand lots and watched its price keep climbing.
• A Wardley Securities broker posted a buy order for five hundred lots at 1.85, deepening Studwell's concern about the surge.
• Studwell decided to dampen the buying before the rising price attracted more attention and made Jardine demand more from the Lin Family.
• A Chinese broker posted a Wealth-Through Securities sell order for seven thousand lots of Xizhen Properties and began sweeping through the buy orders.

Studwell and Tang Boqi watched Xizhen Properties’ share price surge as a seven-thousand-lot sell order was immediately absorbed by more buy orders. Tang suspected Song Tianyao was manipulating the market and urged the Lin Family to raise cash to reclaim Jardine’s shares, then wondered if they planned to mortgage property and borrow from a bank.

• Studwell called Lin Xiaoze to ask whether Jardine had placed a seven-thousand-lot sell order, and Lin said he was preparing to meet Joseph Keswick with A-Sen and A He.
• Tang Boqi revealed that he suspected Song Tianyao had placed the large sell order, and pointed out that it had been bought up while fresh buy orders appeared.
• Studwell proposed that Song Tianyao might be pushing up the price before selling his shares and cashing out.
• Tang Boqi concluded that the Lin Family should raise money quickly to buy back Jardine’s shares before the price climbed further.
• Tang Boqi wondered whether the Lin Family planned to mortgage its land and properties, borrow from a bank, and use a share swap or bonds to fund the buyback.

Song Tianyao brought several disabled former bandits from Macau to live on the third and fourth floors of his family’s tenement as guards. He explained that he feared Lin Xiaohe might target his family, and his parents met the men despite their alarming appearances.

• Zhao Meizhen questioned Song Tianyao’s plan to rent the empty floors to the grim-looking men he had brought home.
• Song Tianyao introduced his parents to Yao Chunxiao, Ah Da, Ah Gen, Ah Si, and Ah Shun, presenting them as friends from Macau who had helped him.
• The men greeted Zhao Meizhen and Song Chunliang warmly and used ordinary names rather than their fearsome bandit aliases.
• Song Tianyao reflected that Lin Xiaohe’s ruthless actions made him worry his family could be attacked, so he had recruited Huang Sen’s disabled former subordinates as guards.
• The chapter explained that the men had followed Huang Sen through years of conflict, but had remained in Macau after being overlooked for bodyguard work because of their disabilities.

Song Tianyao brought five of Huang Sen’s former Taishan Squad men to Hong Kong to guard his family, and Ah Si punished gamblers who mistreated Song Chunliang at the family’s mahjong parlor. Later, Song signed documents for Zhaofeng Trading to issue additional shares, while Luo Zhuankun prepared to take them to the exchange.

• Song Tianyao arranged to support five of Huang Sen’s old subordinates and brought them from Macau to Hong Kong to protect his family.
• Song Tianyao and Song Chunliang showed the five men their rooms, where they found neighbors gambling and insulting Song Chunliang at the mahjong parlor.
• Yao Chunxiao took Song Chunliang upstairs, while Ah Si scalded one gambler with hot water and warned the others not to mistreat the family.
• Song Tianyao met Luo Zhuankun, reviewed the documents for Zhaofeng Trading’s additional share issue, and signed them.
• Luo Zhuankun planned to take the signed documents to the exchange to prepare the share issue.

Song Tianyao and Luo Zhuankun discussed the rising price of Xizhen Properties and the Lin Family’s efforts to recover its shares, then learned that China’s deposit revaluation demands had thrown HSBC into crisis. The chapter ended with Lin Xiaosen meeting Studwell and Tang Boqi after Jardine’s taipan was called away to an emergency HSBC board meeting.

• Luo Zhuankun told Song Tianyao that buy orders had absorbed a large sale of Xizhen Properties shares and that he planned to push the price to four dollars.
• Song Tianyao and Luo Zhuankun discussed why the Lin Family had not contacted HSBC or Jardine to arrange financing for the shares.
• Luo Zhuankun received news from Bao Yuehan that China would revalue Kuomintang-era deposits and require HSBC to let depositors withdraw a fixed proportion of their balances.
• Song Tianyao celebrated China’s demand, while Luo Zhuankun said HSBC could not afford to accept it.
• Lin Xiaosen met Studwell and Tang Boqi after Mr. Keswick was called to an emergency HSBC board meeting.

Tang Boqi proposed a stock-market scheme to help the Lin Family raise money to buy back Xizhen Properties shares from Jardine. The chapter then shifted to Song Tianyao having lunch with Meng Wanqing after she asked to see him.

• Lin Xiaosen listened as Tang Boqi advised the Lin Family to raise money by selling shares in other companies rather than taking out a bank loan.
• Tang Boqi explained how the Lin Family could use investor interest in Xizhen Properties to promote and sell shares in companies it controlled.
• Tang Boqi suggested transferring the shares to other companies or individuals before selling them, while the Lin Family publicly condemned speculators for dumping stock.
• Song Tianyao asked Meng Wanqing why she had invited him to lunch, and they ate together at the Sea Capital Restaurant.

Lin Xiaohe warned Lin Xiaoze that Song Tianyao and Pedro Lobo could complicate the Lin Family’s effort to buy back Xizhen Properties shares, then revealed that his investigation into the deaths of Fifth Uncle and Sixth Uncle had pointed to Second Brother. Lin Xiaoze rejected the accusation and reminded Lin Xiaohe that A Qia had had opportunities to harm them before.

• Lin Xiaohe said Xizhen Properties’ rising stock price would make buying back Jardine’s shares more difficult, while Lin Xiaoze urged raising money quickly to buy them back.
• Lin Xiaohe explained that Song Tianyao might expect Hong Kong to be retaken by force and warned that Pedro Lobo could finance trouble for the Lin Family.
• Lin Xiaoze asked whether Lin Xiaohe planned to deal with Song Tianyao again, and Lin Xiaohe said they could not repeat their earlier surprise attack.
• Lin Xiaohe said his investigators had traced the deaths of Fifth Uncle and Sixth Uncle, the failed affair, and Song Tianyao’s rescue of Fifth Uncle to Second Brother.
• Lin Xiaoze questioned Lin Xiaohe’s accusation against A Qia and said A Qia could have harmed them ten years earlier if he had wanted to.