Chapter Summaries

In London, Song Tianyao met Sir Hugh Beaver, who was interested in his article about smog. In Hong Kong, Lei Yingdong gained a meeting with shipping king Xu Pingsheng, whose son Xu Enbo greeted Chu Xiaoxin at the Jockey Club.

• Mrs. Bess told Song Tianyao that someone was interested in his smog article and introduced him to Sir Hugh Beaver, who said his newspaper wanted to print news about the fog.
• Lei Yingdong’s sunken ship and Xu Pingsheng’s dissatisfaction with Shanghai shipping magnates helped him secure a meeting with Xu Pingsheng.
• Xu Pingsheng invited Lei Yingdong to the Hong Kong Jockey Club and arranged for Chu Xiaoxin to accompany him.
• Xu Pingsheng watched trainers and jockeys examine his new horses, Ever-Victorious Mountain and Must-Win Mountain, while Chu Xiaoxin greeted Xu Enbo.

Lei Yingdong met Xu Pingsheng at the Hong Kong Jockey Club and explained how he lost a cargo ship after a dirty trick. Xu Pingsheng condemned the attack and suggested that shipping magnate Yu Shiting might be involved, leaving Lei Yingdong startled by the accusation.

• Xu Enbo greeted Chu Xiaoxin and Lei Yingdong, then took them to meet his father, Xu Pingsheng.
• Xu Pingsheng asked Lei Yingdong why he had returned to Hong Kong after his ship was destroyed, and Lei Yingdong recounted his losses without embellishment.
• Xu Pingsheng praised Lei Yingdong for returning to Hong Kong and compared the attack on his ship to Japanese wartime tactics.
• Xu Pingsheng criticized Yu Shiting for allowing others to be blocked from the shipping business, leaving Lei Yingdong surprised by Yu Shiting's apparent involvement.

Yu Zhenzhong stormed into Yu Shiting’s study and cursed Zeng Chunsheng, while Yu Shiting rebuked his son for his foul language. The chapter ended with Yu Zhenzhong drinking tea and brushing off his father’s criticism.

• Yu Zhenzhong entered Yu Shiting’s study in a rage and sent A Xiang away.
• Yu Zhenzhong viciously insulted Zeng Chunsheng and Zeng Chunsheng’s mother.
• Yu Shiting told Yu Zhenzhong that his street-thug language showed poor conduct despite his overseas studies.
• Yu Zhenzhong snorted and drank his warm Biluochun tea.

Yu Shiting rebuked Yu Zhenzhong for meddling in the dispute with Zeng Chunsheng and sent him to Europe with his family. Meanwhile, Kang Lixiu explored Old Cantonese Street and flirted with a flower seller, only to be confronted by her furious mother.

• Yu Zhenzhong told Yu Shiting that Zeng Chunsheng had caused trouble and asked whether he and Lei Danzi should act.
• Yu Shiting said Yu Zhenzhong was not qualified to interfere and told him to go to Europe to look for ships.
• Yu Shiting urged Yu Zhenzhong to take his wife and children along, and Yu Zhenzhong agreed to arrange the trip.
• After Yu Zhenzhong left, Yu Shiting smashed his teacup and cursed Zeng Chunsheng.
• Kang Lixiu bought an orchid from a young girl, tucked it into her hair, and walked away without taking his change.
• The girl's mother chased after Kang Lixiu, accusing him of flirting with her daughter and demanding money.

Song Tianyao dressed in an expensive London suit and shrugged off a tailor’s casual prejudice against his Chinese appearance. He surprised Angie Perlis by arranging a flight to Glasgow so they could visit her family, and the chapter left them preparing to travel.

• Angie Perlis and four tailors admired Song Tianyao in his new London wardrobe, while one tailor made a prejudiced remark about his yellow skin.
• Song Tianyao reassured Angie Perlis that the discrimination did not anger him, then told her he had met with James and planned to leave London because of the weather.
• Song Tianyao revealed that he had bought two tickets to Glasgow and arranged gifts for Angie Perlis’s parents.
• Angie Perlis found the tickets and her mother’s shawl, then objected when Song Tianyao suggested they rest in the bedroom before their flight.

Song Tianyao and Angie Perlis arrived in Glasgow, where her family welcomed them before the Flower Street Gang confronted them over the Whistle Restaurant. Song agreed to meet Charlie, while asking the gang member to let him greet Angie’s family first.

• Angie Perlis and Song Tianyao took a train from Prestwick Airport to Glasgow, where a fellow passenger mistook them for a married couple.
• Angie Perlis introduced Song Tianyao to her family, who had come to meet them at the station.
• Men representing the Flower Street Gang blocked Angie Perlis and Song Tianyao, saying Charlie wanted to discuss the Whistle Restaurant.
• Song Tianyao explained that the restaurant was his gift to Angie Perlis’s family and agreed to meet Charlie.
• A gang member grabbed Song Tianyao’s expensive tie, and Song asked him to release it so he could hug Angie Perlis and her family before leaving.

Song Tianyao arrived in Glasgow with Angie Perlis and her family after his hired men attacked the Flower Street Gang at the train station. The family prepared to take over the Whistle Restaurant, while Charlie began questioning Big Bill about what he had done on gang territory.

• Song Tianyao’s three men attacked the Flower Street Gang with claw hammers, allowing him to leave the station with Angie Perlis and her family.
• Ban questioned Song Tianyao about the gang and the Whistle Restaurant during their taxi ride.
• Song Tianyao told Ban he had bought the restaurant in Angie’s name and denied knowing the men who attacked the gang.
• Ban welcomed Song Tianyao and described the meal Para had prepared for him.
• Charlie questioned the bloodied Big Bill in the cellar of Ronnie’s Slut.

Song Tianyao shared dinner with Angie Perlis’s family in Glasgow, where he answered Jo’s questions about Hong Kong and spoke about earning success through hard work. The family speculated that he might settle in Glasgow after buying the Whistle Restaurant, but the unexpected arrival of a visitor left the evening interrupted.

• Song Tianyao dined with Angie Perlis and her family by the fireplace.
• Jo asked Song Tianyao whether people in Hong Kong still wore braids and assumed he was an upper-class figure there.
• Song Tianyao said Hong Kong residents no longer wore braids and told Jo that people could change their circumstances through hard work.
• Sarah suggested Song Tianyao might have bought the Whistle Restaurant because he planned to return to Glasgow, and Angie said he disliked the air in London and Glasgow.
• The doorbell rang, and Ban went to answer it, guessing that their neighbor Thomas had heard Angie was the restaurant’s new owner.

Song Tianyao let the Civil and Martial Association handle a confrontation with the Flower Street Gang in Glasgow while he stayed inside with Ban. In Hong Kong, rumors spread that Xu Pingsheng and Yu Shiting were meeting over the dock conflict, though the chapter revealed they had quietly boarded a flower-tail ferry together.

• Song Tianyao told the Civil and Martial Association to keep the street fight away from his dinner and said he did not care whether the gang members ended up in the morgue or the police station.
• The Civil and Martial Association attacked the Flower Street Gang after one of its members insulted them, and its leader ordered his men to send their opponents to the hospital without killing anyone.
• Charlie watched the Flower Street Gang members being beaten and decided to tell every gang in Glasgow that the Asians had crossed the line.
• Xu Pingsheng and Yu Shiting quietly boarded a flower-tail ferry at Triangle Pier with a few longtime household servants.
• Chu Xiaozhong heard a rumor that Xu Pingsheng and Yu Shiting would meet at Tuen Mun Pier amid a looming dockside clash, with Lei Danzi and the local coastal workers backing Xu Pingsheng.

Chu Yaozong and the Hong Kong business community tried to coordinate while Xu Pingsheng and the Shanghai men negotiated, as Chu Xiaoxin met Lu Yuanchun and Lu Peiying at a film with Huang Liu. The chapter left Chu Yaozong wondering why his son had arranged to see a film with one of Song Tianyao’s men.

• Chu Xiaozhong told Lei Yingdong that Uncle Sheng’s support might not secure him a share of the Hong Kong-to-North Korea trade, and offered to provide capital for another business.
• Shun Ying slapped a loyal subordinate for booking a berth during the negotiations between Uncle Sheng and the Shanghai men, then urged his gang to pray for a favorable outcome.
• Chu Yaozong welcomed Chiu Chow Chamber of Commerce members and said Hong Kong’s business groups had to stand together against the Shanghai men.
• Chu Yaozong learned that Chu Xiaoxin had arranged to see a film with Huang Liu and asked who his son was meeting.
• At the cinema, Chu Xiaoxin nudged the sleepy Huang Liu, who complained that Great Expectations’ tale of a poor boy becoming rich seemed implausible.

Chu Xiaoxin learned that Song Tianyao planned to profit from a conflict between Xu Pingsheng and Yu Shiting, but he rejected the idea as too dangerous. The story then shifted to Xu Pingsheng and Yu Shiting meeting aboard the Flower-tail Ferry, where Xu recalled a meal from decades earlier.

• Lu Yuanchun told Chu Xiaoxin that Song Tianyao wanted to let Xu Pingsheng and Yu Shiting fight while he profited from the sidelines.
• Chu Xiaoxin objected that Song Tianyao was risking a confrontation with two powerful magnates and refused to join in.
• Aboard the Flower-tail Ferry, Xu Pingsheng and Yu Shiting met in a private booth as their servants watched closely.
• Xu Pingsheng thanked Yu Shiting for arranging the meal and recalled eating cheap dishes alone on the ferry decades earlier.

Yu Shiting invited Xu Pingsheng to discuss the loss of Chinese ships at sea and recounted how he began as a sailor for the Changxing Steamship Company. He revealed that the company once forced him to accept a degrading encounter for the sake of its public image, and the story left Xu Pingsheng listening in silence.

• Yu Shiting ordered dishes from the restaurant and asked Xu Pingsheng why he had been looking out at the sea.
• Xu Pingsheng remarked that he had seen only British ships on the water and suggested the sea god had not protected him in Taiwan.
• Yu Shiting admitted he had considered avoiding Xu Pingsheng but chose to invite him and explain himself.
• Yu Shiting described his early work aboard the Australia Queen and how his company badge made him feel superior to other Chinese people.
• Yu Shiting recounted how a Changxing Company shareholder threatened to fire him unless he slept with a White Russian woman, and said he had agreed.
• Yu Shiting said the shareholder then planned to bring reporters to photograph him and promote the supposed happiness of Chinese people in the International Settlement.

Yu Shiting recounted how he built his shipping fortune and offered Xu Pingsheng compensation for the sunken ship, but Xu rejected the offer and demanded that the person responsible be found. The meeting ended with Xu warning that he was willing to scuttle ships and ordering his ship brought to the dock.

• Yu Shiting described how he bought ships during the Depression, profited from wartime shipping, and later took revenge on a Changxing Company shareholder and a White Russian woman.
• Yu Shiting denied knowing about the ship sunk in the Taiwan Strait and offered compensation for the cargo and each person killed.
• Xu Pingsheng said he would not accept money in place of fairness and demanded that the person who knew about the sinking be found.
• Xu Pingsheng offered to let the responsible person leave Hong Kong with his family if a Shanghai man turned himself in and the confession was published.
• Yu Shiting warned that another clash between shipping interests would be worse than their previous fight, and Xu Pingsheng said he could scuttle his own ships or other people's.
• Xu Pingsheng left to watch the horse races and ordered his ship brought to the dock.

Song Tianyao examined abandoned freighters at the Govan Shipyard and explained that he wanted to buy one as a long-term investment, anticipating a surge in shipping rates if Egypt reclaimed the Suez Canal. He left with Ban, who agreed to investigate the purchase, while Ban remained uneasy about Song’s business.

• Song Tianyao asked Ban why several freighters had been abandoned at the shipyard, and Ban explained that broken contracts and changing shipping demand had left them unsold.
• Song Tianyao recalled that Egypt's reclamation of the Suez Canal would force merchant ships onto the longer Cape of Good Hope route and drive freight rates sharply higher.
• Song Tianyao told Ban he wanted to buy one of the abandoned freighters, and Ban suggested buying a cheaper ship in Japan instead.
• Song Tianyao said he would consider Japan later but wanted favorable terms from the British now, and Ban offered to look into the purchase.
• Ban asked Song Tianyao whether he was a legitimate businessman after seeing the Civil and Martial Association men guarding the sedan, and Song assured him that he was.

Charlie gathered Glasgow gang bosses at the July Bar and warned that the Civil and Martial Association had arrived in the city. He urged them to unite against the Chinese organization, whose disciplined members and London presence had made even the Cray Brothers wary.

• Charlie entered the July Bar, applauded Beatrice, and paid her five pounds after her performance.
• Charlie took the stage and told the gathered gang bosses that Asians were threatening Glasgow's businesses.
• Alan mocked Charlie's warning, but Charlie explained that the Asians belonged to the Civil and Martial Association and operated in London's wealthy West End.
• The chapter described how the Civil and Martial Association had formed among Chinese laborers during the First World War and retained a strict hierarchy and the ability to mobilize its working members.

Golden-Tooth Lei held a formal hearing against Fuyixing elders Bingqiang and Wenshan for secretly continuing the opium trade and plotting against him. After stripping Bingqiang of most of his income and gang holdings, he confronted Wenshan with evidence of a plan to have him killed, leaving Wenshan begging for mercy.

• Golden-Tooth Lei accused Bingqiang of taking legitimate pharmaceutical warehouse work while continuing to run eight opium dens.
• When Bingqiang challenged him, Gao Lao Cheng kicked him down and knocked his trusted right-hand man unconscious.
• Golden-Tooth Lei ordered Bingqiang dragged out, his money and opium dens reclaimed, and two gambling dens left for his old age.
• Golden-Tooth Lei accused Wenshan of trying to hire routed Kuomintang soldiers to assassinate him in exchange for five hundred jin of raw opium.
• Golden-Tooth Lei showed Wenshan three gold bars as evidence of the plot, and Wenshan kowtowed and begged him to spare him.

Golden-Tooth Lei punished Wenshan after A Nan took six wounds in his place, while Phaitun’s group of fugitives in Myanmar argued over Papa Sai’s orders as they awaited passage to Hong Kong. Phaitun defended Papa Sai’s decision to flee in batches and threatened the dissatisfied young man.

• Golden-Tooth Lei offered Wenshan the choice of three cuts and six holes or the disciplinary dragon whip, and A Nan volunteered to take the cuts for him.
• A Nan stabbed through his thighs six times, and Golden-Tooth Lei ordered him bandaged and put in charge of Wenshan’s business.
• Golden-Tooth Lei took up the dragon whip and struck Wenshan as Wenshan tried to bargain by offering information about the Golden Triangle.
• Captain Phaitun led his hungry companions toward a village in Jikanmei and stopped a young man from proposing that they prey on its women and children.
• The young man accused Papa Sai of abandoning them, but Phaitun explained that Papa Sai had sent money to their families and was arranging a place for them in Hong Kong.
• Phaitun told the young man that he alone had no right to leave and threatened to send him on his way.

Yu Shiting kept the Shanghai Gang’s shipping merchants waiting for news about his meeting with Xu Pingsheng while their vessels remained idle and their losses mounted. Di Junda pressed him for a resolution, but the chapter left the outcome of the dispute unknown.

• Paitoon killed a young soldier and ordered Sai Charoenwang’s remaining men to take food from a village without harming women or causing trouble.
• Sai Charoenwang arrived in Hong Kong with Khun and learned that the local gang member meant to meet them had died over the opium business.
• Sai Charoenwang decided to visit the local gangs himself and ask for a place for his men to settle.
• Yu Shiting listened to his household opera troupe as Shanghai shipping merchants watched him for news of his meeting with Xu Pingsheng.
• Di Junda urged Yu Shiting to explain Xu Pingsheng’s intentions and offered to help pay the losses or arrange a reconciliation banquet.

Di Junda pressed Yu Shiting for an answer about Xu Pingsheng, but Yu made clear that Di had no standing in their dispute. Later, Sai Charoenwang visited Golden-Tooth Lei to apologize and ask permission to settle in Hong Kong with his men.

• Di Junda recalled how he had lost his Shanghai fortune and fled to Hong Kong with little money.
• Di Junda asked Yu Shiting whether Xu Pingsheng wanted money, people, or a reconciliation banquet, and Yu said he wanted none of them.
• Yu Shiting asked why Boss Zeng had not attended, while the actors performed a song about rebellion and ruin.
• Sai Charoenwang greeted Golden-Tooth Lei and explained that he had come to Hong Kong after losing his business in Thailand.
• Sai Charoenwang apologized for his men’s past actions and said he wanted to open a shrine, sell Thai Buddha statues, and help his men start legitimate lives.

Sai Charoenwang visited Hong Kong association leaders, offering gifts and assuring them he sought peace and legitimate business. The chapter then shifted to Britain, where Angie Perlis warned Song Tianyao that his association with the Civil and Martial Association could jeopardize his invitation.

• Sai Charoenwang gave Golden-Tooth Lei a gold Buddha and three military medals, and Golden-Tooth Lei said he would gradually shut down the opium dens on Mr. Chu's orders.
• Sai Charoenwang visited Chan Ah-sap, denied interest in opium or dock business, and asked to be allowed to live peacefully in Hong Kong.
• Paitoon said the Hong Kong associations could be wiped out easily, but Sai Charoenwang told him to remain cautious and remember why they had been driven out of Thailand.
• Angie Perlis brought Song Tianyao Pu'er tea and warned him that rumors about his ties to the Civil and Martial Association could cost him the invitation he wanted.
• Song Tianyao defended the Civil and Martial Association and criticized the British who discriminated against it.