Chapter 415 Kill the ghost!
The main hall of the ancestral hall, in front of the central gate.

Liao’s grandfather Runchen, wearing a brown gown and holding a cane tightly, sat on a prime minister’s chair with a neatly trimmed goatee. He said to the five major surnames in the hall: “The foreign pirates have dominated Hong Kong for more than 900 years, and they are still eyeing the New Territories covetously.”

“I wish I could tear out the Chinese people’s tendons, skin them, suck their blood and eat their flesh.”

“Today, the New Territories Treaty has only 14 years left to expire. Fortunately, with the protection of the country and the blessing of our ancestors, the foreign devils are no longer able to renew the contract.”

“But the foreign bandits still want to suck our blood dry and eat our flesh in the last fourteen years. The Liao family cannot swallow this!”

In front of dozens of plaques of different styles and new and old, the grandfathers of the five major surnames and the grandfathers of the Lin, Wu, Zhang, Wen, and Wen clans gathered together.

Each of them sat on an armchair, with blue and white porcelain cups placed on the tea table next to them. They listened to Liao Runchen’s passionate speech, but remained expressionless, drinking tea and thinking.

Many people looked towards the first chair on the left, carefully observing the young man who was sitting upright.

Deng Wen, the great grandfather of the Deng family in Kam Tin, holds half of the seats in the Heung Yee Kuk and has the greatest power. He said in a deep voice: “Ah Chen, the old brothers all understand the truth.”

“What would you like to do today?”

Liao Runchen supported himself with a cane, trembling as he slowly stood up and paced the hall, saying in a resounding voice: “I want to help Atang vent his anger!”

“Kill the ghost!”

The five grandfathers, Deng Wen, Deng Yu, Wen Lin, Hou Wenyong and Peng Tingjun, all looked solemn. The pupils of the grandfathers with the younger surnames, such as Lin, Wu and Zhang, shrank sharply. Their old faces, loose skin, and every tiny detail revealed a deep fear.

The last time the five major surnames in the New Territories shouted slogans to kill ghosts was on May 1, 1978, Labor Day.

The Hong Kong and Macao Workers’ Committee and the Great Society came in person to provide guidance, sparking a massive strike that lasted for eight months, caused thousands of casualties, and affected the entire Hong Kong area.

More than half of the people present had shed blood and been injured in the labor unrest. It can be said that those in power in the New Territories Heung Yee Kuk were the winners of the labor unrest.

At that time, thousands of people confronted the British police. Young and strong people in the tribe died in shootings, explosions, suppression, and corpse throwing. Every family was in mourning and wore hemp cloth.

Anyone who has experienced it personally will feel the pain deeply and find it difficult to make up their mind to [kill ghosts] again.

There are many opponents!
Deng Wen narrowed his eyes and shouted, “Ah Chen, are you going to sacrifice the lives of people in the New Territories for a small business matter?”

Peng Tingjun was in his fifties, in the prime of his life. He slammed the table and stood up: “Back then, the foreigners wanted to demolish the fields and build factories to occupy the land in the New Territories. We risked our lives to fight.”

“Fight back to the Rural Council, fight out Ding Quan, fight until the foreigners surrender.”

“The war is over. The people of the New Territories should live in peace. Don’t shout slogans like ‘kill the devil’!”

Wenlin nodded and praised: “That’s right. Back then, people from the big communities provided guns and cannons. Now the authorities are sending military and police to suppress it. Who provided the weapons?”

“Your Liao Group has made a lot of money from Lao Zhong’s factory. If you want to help your boss vent his anger, that’s fine. Don’t drag the entire New Territories into taking the blame for you!”

“Shenxiantang, don’t blame the uncles for speaking harshly, isn’t that the truth?”

Yin Zhaotang stood up slowly, smiling: “What the uncles said makes sense, but there is more than one way to kill ghosts. Carrying a gun or a cannon is killing, sucking blood and eating meat is also killing.” “We can kill back the ghosts the same way they kill us.”

Wenlin looked thoughtful and realized something. He said, “You might as well explain it more clearly.”

Yin Zhaotang said: “For so many years, the establishment of the Heung Yee Kuk has only protected the land, but has it protected the rights of the villagers? The foreigners moved the dirtiest plastic factories to the New Territories, and large areas of rivers have been polluted. Near the Tsuen Wan industrial area, villagers are suffering from terminal diseases at the age of 50.”

“The paper mills in Tuen Mun and the rubber factories in Fanling never filter their wastewater and do not pay overtime to workers, squeezing out the benefits of labor.”

“Does this count as a massacre? A slow massacre!”

The New Territories grandpas present were all silent and unable to answer.

Yin Zhaotang said loudly: “As long as the foreign invaders do not withdraw from Hong Kong Island, the struggle between the Chinese and the foreigners will never stop. Although I, Atang, am not from the New Territories, I am Chinese. I run a factory in the New Territories. Is there any day when I work overtime without midnight snacks, and when I work overtime without extra pay?”

“I have done things that are worthy of the New Territories. Are there no Deng, Wen, or Lao Zhong brothers among the workers in Zhonghe Village? Are there no nephews or nieces here? When we become bigger and stronger in the future, won’t we be the first to drive the economy of the New Territories?”

“I’m doing it for the foreigners, you guys pat your chests and ask if you support me!”

These grandpas are not young anymore and have long understood the ways of the world. Unfortunately, there are too many things in the world that they are powerless to change, so they have already given up.

Deng Wen put his hands on the stick, his body swayed, and coughed twice: “Atang, do you have a way to draw blood from the foreigners and cut their flesh?”

Yin Zhaotang raised a finger: “One way, Ding Quan!”

Peng Tingjun, Hou Wenyong, Deng Yu and others looked at each other.

Hou Wenyong asked: “Ding Quan is a native of the New Territories, how can he kill ghosts?”

Yin Zhaotang said: “Power is a weapon. The foreigners have been eyeing the land in the New Territories. As long as the word gets out, the New Territories clans will be willing to sell Ding rights to Chinese real estate companies.”

“The British financial group will definitely not let go. They will use Dingquan as bait and wait for the foreigners to take the bait. Then they will launch a protest march and use the power of the Heung Yee Kuk to interrupt the development of Dingquan. The British financial group will be caught in a dilemma. They can either cut off their own flesh to feed us, or be dragged to death by us and slowly eaten away.”

Deng Wen was amazed and asked, “Will the foreigner really take the bait?”

Wenlin was a good businessman and immediately realized the problem: “According to the ‘Restriction on Sale and Transfer Clauses’ revised in 77, Dingqu transactions must pay the Hong Kong government for the land price. There are only a handful of British real estate developers in Hong Kong Island now. The most likely buyer is Hong Kong Land. Can Hong Kong Land still afford the money?”

After Hutchison Whampoa and Wharf Holdings fell into the hands of Chinese capital, the rise of the four major Chinese real estate developers declared that Chinese capital had occupied half of the real estate industry.

Among the remaining British financial groups, the most powerful real estate developer is the Hong Kong Land Group under Jardine Matheson. Since 80, the Hong Kong Land Group has been buying land crazily and betting on Hong Kong Island, but after the Sino-British negotiations ended last year, land prices plummeted and suffered heavy losses.

There are also some British-owned real estates and British-style comprador real estates, such as Hysan Development, known as the “King of Causeway Bay Land”, and the core industry of the comprador family Li’s, which may also enter the game and become buyers.
Yin Zhaotang walked back to his seat, picked up the teacup, took a sip to moisten his throat, and said confidently: “Building a building with Ding Quan alone will definitely only attract real estate companies.”

“But if the Ding rights are securitized and registered under the name of a Chinese developer, all the Ding rights of the New Territories owners can be counted as a stock. There is no need to develop or build a building. Just subscribe and you can enjoy an annual interest income of 15%. Those who want to buy up the Ding rights will not only be real estate developers.”

“No foreign consortium can stand this!”

(End of this chapter)