Hong Kong Film: Short mules have no future, I am in charge of Hong Kong
Chapter 260: Know when to quit and don’t take sides!
Chapter 260: Know when to quit and don’t take sides!
“Asheng, don’t worry, no one knows about this.” Xiaolong whispered, pressing the cigarette in his hand hard into the ashtray, “Just tell me the details of the money from Young Master Jin, and I’ll take care of the rest.”
Ah Sheng raised his head and moved his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but swallowed it back. His eyes darted around, afraid that someone would notice what was going on here.
Xiaolong saw his concerns and stuffed a stack of bills under the table, gently pushing it over with his hand: “Take it, it’s enough for you to spend for a few months. Don’t worry, no one will know about this money, and no one will ask about it. Just tell me what you found out.”
Ah Sheng swallowed, lowered his head and quickly stuffed the money into his messenger bag, then lowered his voice and said, “Brother Long, I found out that Young Master Jin’s money came from Master Qi, and the amount was quite large, about 20 million Hong Kong dollars. But what’s even more strange is that the flow of this money was later divided into many small sums and transferred to different accounts. The most suspicious thing is that some of these accounts are related to casinos in Macau.”
Xiaolong paused, his eyes narrowed slightly: “Casino in Macau? What does Young Master Jin want to do?”
“I’m not sure, but judging from the accounts, he seems to have used the money as collateral. I also found out that several construction sites in Dongwan recently signed contracts with several construction companies in Macau. The amount is very high, but the payment method is very strange, as if they are stalling for time.” Ah Sheng’s voice got lower and lower, almost close to the table. “Brother Long, I guess Young Master Jin’s funding chain is in danger. He may not be able to hold on any longer.”
Xiaolong didn’t answer immediately. He lowered his head and stirred his lemon tea with a deep look in his eyes.
Macau casinos, delayed payments, tight capital chain, these pieces of information pieced together like a huge net, gradually encircling Dongwan more and more tightly. He suddenly stood up and patted Ah Sheng on the shoulder: “You did a good job, leave the rest to me. After you get the money, keep a low profile and don’t let anyone find out.”
Ah Sheng nodded, picked up the teacup and took a big sip, as if to calm himself down. Xiaolong opened the door and walked out, standing outside the tea restaurant and smoking a cigarette, then slowly walked towards the boxing gym.
At the same time, in a temporary office building in East Bay, Jin Shao was standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window with a glass of whiskey in his hand.
His back looked particularly lonely. Outside the window were several searchlights on the construction site. The workers were still working overtime, but there was no excitement on Jin Shao’s face.
He knew that this situation was just an illusion. Although the construction site was bustling with activity, he knew in his heart that his funds were almost unsustainable.
“Young Master, are you really planning to go to the casino in Macau to get that money to fill the funding gap at the construction site?” Zhang Hai walked in and handed over the documents in his hand, with obvious uneasiness in his tone.
Young Master Jin turned around, took a sip of whiskey, and sneered, “Zhang Hai, do you think I have any other options? The business in Dongwan has already started, and if I stop now, I’ll die faster. I can only take a gamble and go to Macau to borrow some money from an old friend to get through this period.”
Zhang Hai frowned. “But, Master, those people in Macau are not easy to deal with. The money they borrowed is not so easy to pay back. If they can’t pay it back, our Dongwan will be completely finished.”
Young Master Jin’s face darkened slightly, and he placed the wine glass in his hand heavily on the table: “Do you think I, Young Master Jin, am a person who would be afraid? Starting from my father, the Jin family has relied on gambling, and this time is no exception. I don’t believe that Su Hanze can keep suppressing me!”
Zhang Hai hesitated to speak, but in the end he didn’t say anything. He knew that Young Master Jin had always been stubborn, and the more dangerous the situation, the less likely he would back down.
The night before Young Master Jin was about to go to Macau, Master Qi suddenly sent someone to bring a message. This leader of the underground money house never showed up in person, but only passed on information through his confidants: “Young Master Jin, many people have been eyeing you recently, so you’d better be careful when you go to Macau. Also, don’t make too much noise in East Bay, stabilize it first.”
Young Master Jin took the envelope, which contained only one sentence and a copy of the contract. He took a look and sneered, “Seventh Master, it’s easy for you to say that. You want me to calm down? I’m just relying on the construction site to support the business. It’s strange that I can calm down!”
The next morning, Jin Shao boarded a speedboat to Macau with two bodyguards. He wore a simple black shirt and sunglasses, and still looked high-spirited, but only he knew that the tension in his heart was almost driving him crazy.
Meanwhile, in the boxing gym in Xiwan, Ah Liu was standing by the second-floor window looking out. He was a little upset these past two days. There were still many tourists on the street, but the complaints from the stall owners were increasing. Some people thought the stall rent was too high, and some people thought the recent business was not as good as expected.
“Brother Liu, this won’t work. Several stall owners have already contacted people in Dongwan.” A younger brother ran in and said, “They said that although Dongwan hasn’t gotten started yet, the rent is much lower than here.”
“Much lower?” Ah Liu turned his head, his eyebrows raised in anger, “Why don’t they think about the fact that the daily flow of people here is ten times that of East Bay! What’s the point of cheap rent? How can they make money without customers?”
The younger brother scratched his head and said, “But Brother Liu, they seem to be afraid that the popularity of our place will decrease and they are afraid of losing money if the rent is too high.”
Ah Liu waved his hand and said, “Alright, I know about this. Go ahead and do your work. Don’t let people on the street notice anything is wrong.”
He stood by the window and smoked half a cigarette, feeling more and more annoyed. He knew that Su Hanze had been very busy recently and had no time to take care of these trivial matters, but he couldn’t let these stall owners really run away. Thinking of this, he slapped his forehead and decided to take action himself.
In the evening, Ah Liu changed into a clean shirt and went door to door with a few of his friends to chat with people in front of the stalls. He pretended to ask the stall owners about their business while secretly observing their attitudes.
“Brother Liu, you’re here!” The fat uncle selling stinky tofu smiled from ear to ear when he saw Liu. “There are quite a lot of people today, but the stall fee has increased a bit recently, so it’s a bit hard to afford.”
Ah Liu patted his shoulder and said with a smile: “Uncle, don’t worry, our boss Su said that the booth fee here will not increase anymore. There may be discounts for old stall owners in the future. Just work hard and that’s all.”
After hearing this, the fat uncle smiled more sincerely: “That’s good, that’s good. I say, West Bay is really a blessed land, I don’t believe that East Bay can take away our business!”
Ah Liu heaved a sigh of relief and turned to walk to the next stall. He knew that the most important thing at the moment was not to fight head-on, but to defend his own territory. Only when Xiwan was stable, they would have the energy to deal with Young Master Jin.
Night fell over Hong Kong Island, neon lights lit up the streets in a bizarre way. The sea breeze from Victoria Harbour blew across Sai Wan, causing the paper lanterns at the night market to sway gently.
The place was bustling with people, tourists were hustling, stall owners were greeting customers, and the aroma of steaming fish balls, dumplings, and sweet soup was wafting in the air. However, behind this bustle, there was a subtle crisis. Ah Liu stood in front of a stall in the night market, staring at the proprietress in front of him, with a stiff smile on his face.
This stall is a famous and lively stall in the night market. The proprietress is good at making delicious beef offal. Tourists come here for the aroma. She can sell hundreds of servings in one meal. However, recently, her attitude has been a little strange.
“Brother Liu, it’s not that I don’t want to do this, but the rent has increased twice a year, and a small business like ours really can’t afford it.” The proprietress complained as she flipped the beef offal in the pot with an iron spoon, “A few people from Dongwan approached me and said they would only charge half the rent and cover our marketing expenses. I…”
When Ah Liu heard this, his heart skipped a beat and he quickly interrupted her: “Madam, what’s so good about Dongwan? The ground hasn’t been leveled yet, and the wind will blow away the sand, so you can’t even start the beef offal pot. Besides, can their traffic be more than half of ours in Xiwan? If you don’t believe me, go and take a look at their construction site, there are only a few bare stalls, it’s deserted.”
The proprietress pursed her lips and said nothing, just lowered her head and continued to turn the beef offal. Seeing this, Ah Liu felt a little anxious, but he didn’t dare to force it. He patted the proprietress on the shoulder and softened his tone a bit: “Think about it again, where can you find such a good stall? You are a hot commodity now, they want to poach you because of your good business. Once they really trick you into coming, hehe, it won’t be as simple as you think.”
The proprietress was silent for a moment, and finally nodded: “Brother Liu, what you said makes sense, I’ll take a look.”
Ah Liu breathed a sigh of relief, smiled and responded, and then went to the next stall to “inspect”. He knew that Dongwan had recently started to poach people. Although the market had not yet fully started, the trick of attracting stall owners with low prices was very good. These stall owners were used to the excitement in front of them, but they didn’t understand the situation behind it. He could only appease them one by one.
On the other side, Xiaolong was not so leisurely. He was sitting in a booth in a small teahouse, opposite a middle-aged man in a shabby suit, with a wrinkled cigarette dangling from his lips and his fingers tapping on the table.
“Brother Long, I’ve already found out everything about Young Master Jin.” The middle-aged man whispered, with a hint of suppressed tension in his voice. “It’s true that he went to Macau, but the people he found… are not easy to deal with. I heard that they are a force in Macau called ‘Longxing Society’, which specializes in usury. Young Master Jin took a large sum of money from them and even mortgaged the project in Dongwan there.”
Xiaolong frowned, “Longxing Society? Aren’t these people the most evil ones in Macau casinos? Do you really dare to play with them, Young Master Jin?”
The middle-aged man sighed and shook his head. “He doesn’t dare, he has no choice. Young Master Jin’s construction site is burning through money too quickly, and Master Qi’s money has been used up to its limit. He is now relying on this loan shark to survive. But… you know the rules of Longxing Society. If something goes wrong, they won’t just take over the project, they might even take over the people.”
Xiaolong gritted his teeth and remained silent for a long time. He felt that Young Master Jin was playing with fire. If the capital chain was really broken, it would not only affect Dongwan, but also him.
At this moment, Jin Shao was standing in the casino hall of Macau, holding a glass of whiskey in his hand. In front of him was the head of Longxing Society, a bald man in his fifties, wearing a black Tang suit and a playful smile on his face.
“Mr. Jin, the terms of our cooperation have been made clear. Don’t worry, as long as you pay back the money on time, Longxing Society will never make things difficult for you.” The bald man’s tone was gentle, but his eyes were frighteningly cold. “But if there is a problem with the funds, it is not something I can decide.”
Young Master Jin nodded with a fake smile: “Brother Lei, thank you for your help this time. Don’t worry, I, Young Master Jin, will not make things difficult for you. The project in Dongwan will be effective soon, and I will definitely pay you back when the time comes.”
Brother Lei smiled and touched his glass to the table: “I believe you. But I still want to remind you, don’t let those idle people from Xiwan ruin your business.”
Jin Shao’s eyes turned slightly cold, but he still had a smile on his face: “I will take care of Xiwan’s affairs.”
At the same time, in a bar in Central, Xia Yan was sitting at the bar, surrounded by several rich young men in fancy clothes. She was wearing a dark red dress, with her hair tied up, revealing her slender neck, looking graceful and elegant.
“Miss Xia, Xiwan has been very popular recently. I heard that you are their guest of honor.” A man wearing a gold chain said with a smile, “Then Master Jin of Dongwan will not be unhappy, right?”
Xia Yan picked up the wine glass, took a sip, and said calmly: “What does it have to do with me if Jin Shaogao is unhappy? I was invited to watch the excitement in Xiwan, not to get involved in the fights between you men.”
The man with the gold chain laughed and winked at the person next to him: “Look how smart Miss Xia is. She knows when to stop and doesn’t take sides.”
Another young man took over and said, “But Miss Xia, in this fight between West Bay and East Bay, who do you think will win?”
Xia Yan put down her wine glass and smiled meaningfully: “I only know that the loser will be miserable.”
This sentence made everyone around her laugh, but no one could see her true thoughts through her laughter.
While the various forces in Hong Kong Island were fighting openly and secretly, Su Hanze was sitting on the top floor of the boxing gym, holding a bowl of steaming wonton noodles in his hand. He blew the soup while frowning at the stack of reports on the table. He had heard a lot of rumors about Dongwan in recent days, but the problem now was that the funds in his hands were getting tighter and tighter, and he had no spare energy to take the initiative.
“How much is this bowl of noodles?” Su Hanze asked casually, as if talking to himself.
Ah Liu, who was standing nearby, was stunned for a moment, then replied, “Fifteen dollars, what’s wrong?”
Su Hanze smiled and shook his head: “How long can fifteen yuan last? If there is another wave of rent increases, I guess even this bowl of noodles won’t sell.”
Ah Liu scratched his head and said, “Boss Su, don’t worry too much. With so many people coming to Xiwan, the stall will definitely be able to hold its ground.”
“Can it hold?” Su Hanze glanced at him and threw down his chopsticks. “The stall owner can hold on, but what about me? The money on the books has been pushed to the limit, and the money collected is not enough to fill the hole. If this continues, it will be a question whether Xiwan can survive this year.”
(End of this chapter)