Chapter 237: To stand firm

“It’s hard for Accountant Zhao to come all the way to Hong Kong Island and stay in such a guesthouse.” Xie Hushan looked at the environment of the guest rooms in the guesthouse and said with a smile.

Xie Hushan originally wanted Accountant Zhao to stay at the Four Seasons Hotel like himself, so that he could take the old man to enjoy the glamour and extravagance of Hong Kong Island.

As a result, Accountant Zhao saw a low-cost guesthouse converted from an apartment building next to the industrial area in Kwun Tong, and he insisted on staying there, saying that it would be convenient for him to continue wandering around the industrial area and sightseeing tomorrow.

Accountant Zhao first placed his briefcase on the bedside, then sat on a creaking wooden chair and followed Xie Hushan’s gaze to look at the room layout. He did not think the room was too shabby at all:
“This room is pretty good, a single room with a bathroom, and everything is there. If I were to stay in a big hotel like the one in Yangcheng, I would feel uncomfortable. The sofa and bed are too soft. Whether I sit or lie down, I always feel dizzy, as if I’m about to sink in and can’t get out. I prefer this wooden chair and hard bed. They’re more comfortable to lie on and better for my waist.”

Although Accountant Zhao likes to brag to Ma Laowu, he is not the kind of person who spends lavishly when he goes out, even though Xie Hushan has told him countless times that he is responsible for all the expenses this time and does not need to be reimbursed by the team. He can spend as much as he wants and does not need to save money for the village collective.

In the end, the old man just disagreed, and kept saying that no one’s money comes from the wind, so we should save what we can.

Seeing that the other party was determined to stay in the guesthouse, Xie Hushan stopped talking nonsense, sat down on the bed, took out a red banknote and handed it to Accountant Zhao, and asked about Accountant Zhao’s experience in Hong Kong today:
“You followed Chief of Staff Han around Hong Kong Island today. What do you think of this place?”

Accountant Zhao took it, lit it up and took a puff. He coughed repeatedly because of the choking. He put out the foreign cigarette, but couldn’t bear to throw it away. He put it on his ear and took out the Peony cigarette that he had used to entertain guests at the Yangcheng Hotel before:

“Very good. The second kid took me to have a look at the company where he works. Although the treatment is not as good as that of the workers in our factory, and everything is taken care of, they pay more. Some factories even provide housing. Although the living place is a bit shabby, we are young men from the countryside. We are not picky about the place. As long as there is a place to put the bedding roll, it’s fine.”

“I calculated that after deducting the cost of food and cigarettes, it would be no problem to have about a thousand yuan left every month. The second kid said that even if we don’t take advantage of the country, we can still exchange a thousand yuan into RMB at the bank for 200 yuan. If we can save 200 yuan a month, this job is really easy. And I think the job is not that hard. Many women can do it. If the family doesn’t want the son to come, the daughter…”

Today he followed Han Hongbing around Kowloon. He ate a meal at a roadside food stall, bought a set of clothes, shoes and socks, and inquired about the rent and bus fares. Basically, he had a general understanding of the living expenses in Hong Kong Island.

He had seen quite a few factories, including plastic flower factories, garment factories, sock factories, toy factories, electronic watch factories, ballpoint pen factories… After a round of inspection, he found that these factories were not as impressive as the steel rolling mill in their Zhongping Brigade. Many of them only employed dozens of workers to work in buildings, and they still dared to call themselves factories. It was said that their products were sold to Europe and the United States, earning money from foreigners.

Accountant Zhao looked around for a long time and felt that there was no strenuous work. They were assembling ballpoint pens, assembling toys, and using a sewing machine to sew two semi-finished socks into one. Many of the jobs were even done by women. When asked about the wages, they found that the basic salary was between 800 and 1,000 yuan, and the rest was based on more work and more pay.

At that time, Accountant Zhao’s first thought was that if the old women in Zhongping who made matchboxes or weaved mats and earned work points by piecework were sent to Hong Kong Island, all of these women would be forced to become unemployed and return home.

That’s why he said that if the family couldn’t bear to part with their sons, they could mobilize a group of women to go to Hong Kong Island to earn money.

“We can’t let female comrades, especially young female comrades, come to such places. Only the boys from our team can come.” When Xie Hushan heard Accountant Zhao’s words that he wanted women to come to Hong Kong Island as well, he immediately interrupted him and rejected this suggestion.

Han Laoer is Xie Hushan’s childhood friend. The men from Zhongping who came later would not be much different in age, and they would definitely rely on Han Laoer to gain a foothold in Hong Kong Island. Han Laoer could control this group of people without any scruples, and could even deal with them directly if they were disobedient.

But it was not the same for women. Han Lao Er was too shy to be ruthless with female comrades. If he really brought a few female comrades with him, they might be seduced by those sweet-talking horsemen and uncles from Bolan Street, and something bad might happen…

By that time, it would be Xie Hushan, Han Hongbing and others who would have let down the young and old men of Zhongping.

“I have a sum of money in Hong Kong Island… No, it’s my eldest brother, Brother Bao, who has a sum of money in Hong Kong Island. He used to make more than 200,000 from selling calendars in our village offset printing factory, and now he has more than 100,000 left. I’m in Zhongping, and there’s no urgent need for this money in Hong Kong Island. So after this investigation, when you go back and do ideological work with the second uncle, you can tell everyone that those who are willing to come don’t have to worry about bringing travel expenses, as the money will be paid from my eldest brother Brother Bao. I will then give the money to Chief of Staff Han. If you need money in the early stages of Hong Kong Island, just go to him directly. Don’t be embarrassed. Once you’ve established your foothold and made money, you can slowly pay me back.” Xie Hushan said to Accountant Zhao, holding a cigarette in his mouth.

Accountant Zhao was wearing reading glasses and flipping through the account book in his hands, smiling without saying a word. After a while, he looked up and said, “Hu San’er, what are you trying to achieve by doing this? To be honest, if other people’s children are doing well, their parents will definitely thank the team. But we are afraid of the unexpected. What if they are not doing well, what if something happens to them here? In the end, they will still blame the team. Aren’t you the one to blame?” Accountant Zhao did not have the responsibility like Xie Hushan and Han Laogou. He felt that there was no need to do this. If all the children were doing well, everyone would be happy. But if a few of them caused trouble, their parents in Zhongping would definitely find the team in tears and ask them to help solve the problem.

Moreover, Accountant Zhao has always felt that even if they don’t come to Hong Kong Island, everyone’s life will be fine given the current development of Zhongping.

“Just remember everyone’s expenses in Hong Kong Island, don’t worry about other things, leave it to me, I guarantee they will all do well, you take a rest first, you’ve been tired today, and tomorrow I have to let Han Laoer take me on a tour, I’ll go out and give Han Laoer some more instructions.”

Xie Hushan walked out of Accountant Zhao’s room and looked at Han Hongbing, who was smoking a cigarette and flipping through an old Hong Kong comic book, and laughed and teased:

“What kind of taste is that? It’s been corrupted for a short time. How can the painting skills compare to the comic books in our hometown?”

“Are you really planning to invite everyone to Hong Kong Island?” Han Hongbing closed the comic and put it back on the windowsill next to him:

“This broken place is actually not that great. Let me tell you, if your ideological awareness is a little bit low, you will be corrupted immediately. It’s full of prostitution, gambling, drugs, and cannibalism. I guess if there are any people in our team with poor ideological awareness, they might go to Bowl Street as soon as they get their salary, or find a small casino to gamble, and waste their hard-earned money.”

“Then why didn’t you spend all your hard-earned salary?” Xie Hushan handed the other party a cigarette and asked.

Han Hongbing chuckled, “Nonsense, how can I be the same? If I have a poor ideological consciousness, can I be the chief of staff?”

“When Accountant Zhao returns, do some ideological work with Old Man Han and collect statistics to see how many people are willing to come and broaden their horizons. As for you, you can use the money to rent a few old houses, clean them up, and make some bunk beds for everyone to live in together. This will save everyone some rent money. You can let them keep their wages, but you must keep an eye on them. At least let them live in a group for a year or so before considering setting them free on Hong Kong Island.”

“If you find someone who is not motivated, is a bad person, and does things he shouldn’t do, don’t deal with him yourself, as it will easily damage your image in everyone’s mind. Just tell him that I, Xie Husaner, will come to Hong Kong Island to kill him personally. Then, if you send me a message, I will definitely come and break his arms and legs, pull out his tendons, and carry him back to Zhongping to be raised. Zhongping can afford to raise disabled people, but not bad people.” Xie Hushan said to Han Hongbing, holding a cigarette in his mouth:

“Of course, not all bad guys can be sent here. They have to pass my test. They have to be honest and obedient. The troublemakers have to stay in Zhongping. If someone bullies Zhongping, I will point to the troublemakers to fight with me.”

Han Hongbing nodded, and then said: “If someone in Hong Kong Island causes trouble and bullies us outsiders, I can’t fight with them like I did before…”

“If an ordinary factory boss bullies Zhongping people, he can pay Zhu Youjun to help find a lawyer to scare him. If there are remnants of a sect bullying Zhongping people, as long as you are right, don’t hesitate, just call everyone to fight with you, and then call the police and find a lawyer. If the other party is not convinced and still wants to make trouble, don’t lead the team to fight, otherwise you will fall into the other party’s rhythm. As for you, just make two Molotov cocktails and find an opportunity to have people throw them at the other party. Whether he lives or dies depends on his luck. You are responsible for arranging the people who throw the bottles back to Zhongping. Anyway, there are 3,000 people in Zhongping, and you can replace them one by one. I don’t believe that there are 3,000 underworld bosses in Hong Kong Island who are not afraid of being burned to death. If they are really not afraid, then throw 3,000 Molotov cocktails at their homes and see if their families are afraid.”

“Are you asking us to come to Hong Kong Island to make money or to commit crimes?” Han Hongbing thought Xie Hushan was talking nonsense and said with a smile.

Xie Hushan looked at him and said, “Do you think I’m kidding you? I just came to a place where I’m unfamiliar with the world and was bullied. If I don’t fight back ruthlessly, how can I shock these monsters who have been entrenched for hundreds of years? In short, according to the sayings of great men, if no one offends me, I won’t offend them. If someone offends me, I will definitely offend them.”

“It’s just like when we fought in the countryside. If the other person punches you and your punch back is not as strong as his, he will think that you are no match for him. Even if he fails this time, he will always want to make trouble for you next time. The best way is to cripple the other person if he dares to attack you. This way, not only him, but others will not dare to show their teeth to you when they meet you next time.”

Seeing Zhu Youjun, Taozi, and Lin the translator appearing in the distance with bags, Xie Hushan patted Han Hongbing on the shoulder and said, “Let’s go, let’s not talk about this with women. Let’s go eat and take my wife to try Cantonese food.”

After taking two steps, he added to Han Hongbing: “By the way, tell the people who come when the time comes, don’t be afraid if you encounter such a thing. The brigade will reimburse the expenses as long as you are in the right.”

(End of this chapter)