pdf-ebookys Chapter 25: Do more things that make money, do less things that involve killing people.
Chapter 25: Do more things that make money, do less things that involve killing people.
The ceremony was basically over, and the crowd began to disperse. Uncle Xiang smiled and invited everyone to a nearby restaurant that had been booked in advance for a celebratory banquet.
Li Tianyi, leading his men from Kwun Tong, walked past Song Zhaowen expressionlessly. As he passed, he paused slightly, turned his head, and sneered in a voice only the two of them could hear: "Red stick? Hmph, be careful the stick is too heavy; you might slip and fall on your own foot."
Song Zhaowen's expression remained unchanged, and he replied in a low voice, "Inspector Li, oh, I misspoke. Don't worry, Brother Li, I've got it under control."
"you!"
Li Tianyi wasn't originally a gangster; he was a policeman. Only a few of his uncles, like Uncle Fu and Uncle Yuan, knew about this.
It was a past event he couldn't bear to mention.
How did Song Zhaowen, that damned bastard, know this?
But now was not the time to lash out. Li Tianyi gave him a deep look, said nothing more, and led his men away.
Boss B came over and offered his congratulations again, but after a few pleasantries, he took his leave. Before leaving, Chan Ho-nam took the opportunity to slip the box containing the gold Rolex to Song Zhaowen, who accepted it and thanked him.
The crowd gradually dispersed. Song Zhaowen, Xiao Zhuoxiao, and Wu Zhaoyong were surrounded in the middle.
"What are Brother Wen's plans for the future? Should we go all out?" Fei Ji asked excitedly.
Song Zhaowen exhaled a smoke ring: "The martial world isn't all about fighting and killing. Make money with fanfare, but live your life with humility."
"Ah-Xiao, have the plane follow you. Keep an eye on things at the venue for me."
"As for Ah Wu, I have an idea. You don't need to get involved in the usual gang affairs. You take Ah Hua and the others and form a special 'Mad Dogs' group. They will only listen to my orders."
This wasn't just a whim of Song Zhaowen's; it was somewhat inspired by Japanese yakuza organizations.
They gathered the most capable and elite members of the gang together to form a separate task force.
Previously, Ahua and others had seen blood at the dog farm, which honed their courage. Led by Awu, they trained their bodies at the martial arts school on a regular basis, so that they would dare to fight and kill whenever there was a task.
Wu Zhaoyong naturally dared not object to Song Zhaowen's arrangement: "You're the boss, so you call the shots, but there's no money to be made leading these little bastards."
"Damn, don't overthink it! From now on, the profits from the branch will be accounted for separately and you'll get a share. It'll be so great to get your share without having to run around!"
"Then I'm fine."
After making arrangements for everyone, Xiao Zhuoxiao pulled Song Zhaowen aside.
"Ah Wen, now that we have more brothers, we only have so much territory. After paying tribute to the gang every month, we don't even have any money left. We can't just sit here and do nothing."
"Ah-Xiao, don't worry, I've already thought of all that. Come on! You drive, I'll take you somewhere."
"Still riding in my car? Damn, you're a big shot now, please buy yourself a car. I don't want to be your driver every day."
"Shut up. I'm doing this for the good of the gang. Money should be spent wisely. You good-for-nothing, you haven't even had a chance to enjoy the money for more than a few days before you're buying cars, playing gold, and gambling. You're the epitome of 'rich at midnight and poor at dawn'."
Despite having a lot of complaints, Xiao Zhuoxiao eventually obediently acted as the driver.
Who told Ah Wen to be his boss now?
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Xiao Zhuoxiao drove, accompanied by a plane, across the sea from south to north.
Tuen Mun, Yuen Long, is a rural area in Hong Kong.
Tin Shui Wai is considered to be at the very bottom of the social hierarchy on Hong Kong Island, so the people there are much more aggressive than those in other parts of the city.
The gangsters in the countryside have even less of a bottom line, and their behavior is more outrageous, even to the point of being mindless.
Song Zhaowen pushed open the creaking glass door, and a pungent smell of oily smoke, sweat, and cheap disinfectant, typical of cheap tea restaurants, hit him, almost choking out the cigarette he had just lit.
The plane followed closely behind, its face as black as the bottom of a pot. It fanned the air in front of it, cursing, "Damn it! What kind of place is this? We've eaten our fill of dust, and the range hood isn't even on! The whole place reeks of cooking fumes, it's awful!"
Xiao Zhuoxiao covered his mouth and nose, looking at the narrow, greasy shop with disgust. Several folding tables with peeling paint were filled with workers in mud-covered overalls and a few blond-haired lads with shifty eyes who looked like they were up to no good.
The appearance of Song Zhaowen and his group immediately attracted several unfriendly glances.
Song Zhaowen ignored the plane's complaints and went straight to a relatively clean table at the back to sit down: "Stop complaining, you'll get used to it after a while."
He plopped down on the plane, slamming his backpack onto the table, drawing sidelong glances from a few thug-looking young men at the next table. Unfazed, he continued complaining, "Brother Wen, what kind of place is this? No sauna, no bar, and this is the money-making opportunity you're talking about? I can't believe I can make money doing this."
Before arriving in Tin Shui Wai, Feiji was very excited. His boss said he had a way to make money and would lead everyone there. Feiji believed his boss was incredibly capable.
But this excitement only lasted until the moment I got off the bus.
This godforsaken place is full of public housing, but there isn't even a sauna.
It looks like a rural, poor place.
With no profit to be made and no prospects, the plane's enthusiasm was instantly extinguished.
Song Zhaowen said with an indifferent expression, "I don't think this place is bad at all. It's full of life and everything is thriving."
"Brother Wen, really? This is a remote and desolate place... I don't see any signs of life here."
Song Zhaowen felt a slight disdain for the airplane's complaints; gangsters are just gangsters, narrow-minded and ignorant.
An hour before they sat down at the tea restaurant, Song Zhaowen deliberately had Xiao Zhuoxiao drive around Tin Shui Wai.
Indeed, Tin Shui Wai is a huge construction site right now, with public housing projects underway everywhere. There are also large areas of undeveloped fishponds around it, making it look desolate. It's like night and day compared to the bustling city center.
Song Zhaowen tapped the table: "Airplane, turn around and look outside."
The plane scratched its head, puzzled: "A beautiful woman?!"
Outside the window, however, lay a vast construction site, shrouded in dust. Several enormous yellow cranes stood like steel giants, their massive booms slowly moving, lifting steel and concrete onto the rising framework of the public housing buildings. Trucks roared past, kicking up clouds of dust, while workers busied themselves on the scaffolding like ants.
"Sigh!" Song Zhaowen patted his forehead; this guy's mind was all on his lower body.
"I'm not showing you pretty girls, I'm showing you our future!"
"future?!"
"I told you all to watch less porn and read more financial newspapers. Why is the Hong Kong government building so many public housing units? It's just to cram people into these places."
"Tch~ So what?" Feiji picked his nose. Hong Kong has a large population and limited land, and building development is controlled by the top ten real estate developers. In order to seize excess profits, they deliberately slow down development and hoard properties, resulting in 60% of Hong Kong people not owning property and choosing to rent instead.
Low-income citizens who can't afford to buy houses can only rely on a lottery system to live in public housing. Everyone knows this. Those who have lived there are just a bunch of poor people. I really can't see where the future lies.
"Hundreds of thousands, brother! You mean, hundreds of thousands of people living here need to eat? Need clothes? Need to spend money? Need to find places to have fun?" Song Zhaowen withdrew his gaze: "Where there are people, there is money to be made. I think this place is good!"