Early morning, Shiliupu Wharf.
Chen Fan arrived at Shiliupu Wharf early that morning. After asking several laborers, he finally found Cao Bin in the workers' shed to the east.
Cao Bin had just finished breakfast, with several dockworkers waiting for work gathered around him.
Seeing Chen Fan arrive, he stood and waved at the workers. "Off you go. I'll call you back in a bit."
The workers picked up their carrying poles and hook ropes and headed outside in twos and threes, still casting occasional glances at Chen Fan.
The shed was small, with a table and a few long benches. Assorted ropes and iron hooks hung on the walls.
A kettle sat heating on the coal stove by the wall. The water had already boiled, and white steam kept bubbling out of the spout.
Cao Bin took out his cigarette case, shook out two cigarettes, and handed one to Chen Fan.
Chen Fan accepted it, lit it from Cao Bin's flame, and took a drag.
"Go on. What is it?" Cao Bin and Chen Fan had no need for formalities. It had always been that way.
Chen Fan got straight to the point too. "Second Brother, I'm looking for a helper. Do you know anyone suitable?"
"A helper?" Cao Bin sounded a little puzzled. "Didn't Brother Bao take some men over to you?"
"You've nearly finished getting your trading firm ready. What kind of helper do you need now?"
Chen Fan took a deep drag on his cigarette.
"Second Brother, I went to see Old Knife Handle yesterday."
"He arranged a woman for me. Jin Xiangyu."
Cao Bin looked envious, jealous, and resentful all at once. "Well, well, Chen Fan," he said sourly. "You lucky bastard. She's a famous Kunqu opera star. Who knows how many big shots turn up whenever she performs in Shanghai?"
"To think you'd have the luck to be with..."
At this point, Cao Bin seemed to catch on. "Chen Fan, do you suspect something's wrong?"
Of course, Chen Fan would not say that he had already seen the dot representing Old Knife Handle turn red on his system panel.
Red meant that Old Knife Handle had now become a hostile force.
He merely nodded. "Second Brother, as the saying goes, someone who showers you with favors for no reason is either up to no good or after something."
"I've worked with Old Knife Handle twice. Those two jobs hardly warranted him paying such a steep price."
"Don't you think playing a card like Jin Xiangyu on me is too much of a waste?"
"When someone gives you a gift, they must want something in return," Cao Bin said gravely.
"What do you think?"
Chen Fan said slowly, "I suspect it wasn't an accident that Ye Zhuoshan caught my father red-handed back then."
Cao Bin froze for a moment.
Ye Zhuoshan was one of the Four Heavenly Kings under Du Yuesheng.
The other three were Gao Xinbao, Zhao Jiatang, and Rui Qingrong.
"Damn it, that old bastard wants to put you in the firing line." Cao Bin's voice rose in anger. "Chen Fan, how about I get some men and have him killed?"
Chen Fan waved a hand. "Second Brother, your livelihood and your life are both here in Shanghai. If you really did that, you wouldn't be able to escape involvement."
"Besides, if I wanted to settle this quickly, I wouldn't need you. I could do it myself."
"But we have no evidence. Acting rashly would give people something to use against us."
"I want to see just what that old bastard is up to."
Cao Bin sighed. "Chen Fan, I know you have your own ideas, but isn't putting yourself in the game a little risky?"
"That old bastard could harm Third Uncle, and he could harm you too."
"All right, Second Brother. I know what I'm doing." Chen Fan smiled and patted Cao Bin on the shoulder.
"By the way, can you find me the person I mentioned?"
"I've been around for years. I can find you a helper," Cao Bin said. "I just don't know if you have any specific requirements."
"Nothing much. They need to be good in a fight and sharp when handling things. I don't want to have to clean up after them."
"I'm in the trading business now, so preferably someone who can help with that."
After hearing Chen Fan's requirements, Cao Bin lowered his head. Who knew what he was thinking?
After a long while, he suddenly looked up. "I do know someone like that."
"Long Wu of the Four Seas Gang."
"The Four Seas Gang?" Chen Fan frowned. He did not seem to have heard of them.
Cao Bin smiled. "You've been away from Shanghai for two or three years. It's only natural you haven't heard of the Four Seas Gang."
"The Four Seas Gang only rose to prominence in the last couple of years. Their leader is Long Si, a very capable fighter. They have a lot of influence on both banks of Suzhou Creek."
"Their leader Long Si is skilled with a blade. Once, with just a broadsword, he smashed seven Black Tiger Hall establishments in Zhabei in a single night. He beat them so badly that gangs large and small throughout Zhabei couldn't get out of his way fast enough."
"Long Wu is even more capable. She's a good shot, knows how to drive, and handles a large share of the gang's affairs."
"The Four Seas Gang is different from other gangs. They don't do much bullying of ordinary people. They mainly make their living on the water, shipping goods and escorting people across the river."
"That's why some of the old hands at the docks still speak well of them."
"If the Four Seas Gang was doing so well, what happened to them afterward?" Chen Fan asked doubtfully.
"The tallest tree catches the wind." Cao Bin flung his cigarette to the ground. "He offended too many people in Zhabei. He'd long since become a thorn in their sides."
"Those gangs were losing their profits because of them. Of course they wanted to pull that thorn out."
"A few months ago, seven or eight gangs joined forces and bribed the police station in the French Concession. They set an ambush when Long Si came into the French Concession on business."
"He's now locked up in a secret detention site under the French Concession police station."
"With the Four Seas Gang left leaderless, everyone scattered like monkeys when their tree falls."
"To save her brother, Long Wu said she was willing to trade her life for his."
"If you have the money to bribe Old Mai, the police chief, I reckon Long Wu would definitely be willing to follow you."
"She keeps her word and puts a lot of stock in loyalty..."
"Second Brother, I trust you." Chen Fan stood. "Can you take me to meet this Long Wu?"
Cao Bin stood too. "I'll have to ask around. Sit here for a while."
With that, Cao Bin hurried out of the shed.
He was gone for more than two hours. It was nearly noon when Cao Bin finally hurried back, panting, and told Chen Fan he had found the place.
Hongkou, Shanghai.
Cao Bin led the way off North Sichuan Road into a narrow street called Tang Family Lane, then through a cluster of old lanes that had already been half demolished.
They continued down the narrow path, with ruined walls lining both sides ahead.
Rounding a half-collapsed boundary wall, they came upon an old grain warehouse.
It was a two-story building of gray brick. Most of its windows were broken, gaping darkly.
Cao Bin stopped outside and looked up at the building, wanting to confirm the address. After a while, he nodded at Chen Fan. "This is the place, all right."
Before he had finished speaking, three men suddenly charged over from a distance.
The man in front was tall and thin, wearing a leather jacket and carrying a gleaming axe.
Two men in short fighting clothes followed him, one holding a short blade and the other an iron bar.
The three were clearly not coming for Chen Fan and Cao Bin.
A figure suddenly darted out of the doorway.
The figure moved extremely fast, lunging diagonally out of the warehouse door and kicking the leading man in the chest. Then, using the force, the figure nimbly twisted in midair and landed beside a pile of broken bricks by the wall.
Only then did Chen Fan get a clear look. The figure was tall and shapely, unmistakably a woman through and through.
"Second Brother, she's Long Wu? Why didn't you tell me she was a woman?"
Cao Bin curled his lip. "What's the matter, little brother? You look down on women?"