"Those triads commit crimes and throw their weight around. Now even schoolchildren are being influenced. So many of them have joined triads."
At half past seven that evening, lively violin music filled a restaurant.
It did not have the romance of a candlelit dinner, but it was bustling and had the distinctive flavor of Dutch music.
Li Xinxin clearly liked the place. She had strongly recommended it herself.
"Your students joined triads too?" Gu Sheng asked casually.
"Yes. They stopped studying after Form Three and went off to join triads. I'm really worried about them."
"Next time one of your students does that, you can ask me for help. Dealing with them is what I do best," Gu Sheng said with a smile.
"Really?"
"Of course. I also do educational and career guidance on the side. I'm much more professional than the people at the Labour Department or Education Department," Gu Sheng said.
"You're lying!" Li Xinxin said with a laugh.
"My appearance fee is very high. Most people can't even get through my door!" Gu Sheng drawled.
Li Xinxin could not help laughing. Of course, from what she had seen these past two days, he was probably a big businessman.
"But a lot of people don't have a choice. If they can't keep studying, what can they do besides join a triad? Some people's parents are triad members themselves, or compulsive gamblers or drug addicts. Or both their parents are dead. They don't have a choice."
"Every industry on Hong Kong Island has ties to triads. Without triad protection, even a stand selling pornographic magazines would get smashed up eight times a day. What are they supposed to do?"
"If there weren't any triads, wouldn't those things stop happening?" Li Xinxin countered.
"Your family has protected you very well!"