Hong Kong Film: Short mules have no future, I am in charge of Hong Kong

Chapter 269: Something bad will happen sooner or later in this messy place!
"Young Master, although this opening ceremony was lively, the effect was far below expectations. Many stall owners are still concerned about the rent issue. Now, the stalls in Xiwan have attracted many tourists, and the popularity here... won't last long." Zhang Hai stood aside, reporting carefully.

Jin Shao was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly smashed the champagne glass in his hand to the ground, splashing the wine and debris all over the floor. He stood up, paced back and forth, and finally stopped by the window, looking at the night view of Victoria Harbour in the distance.

"If we keep going like this, sooner or later Dongwan will be crushed by Su Hanze!" He gritted his teeth and said in a low voice with anger, "We can't be passive anymore. We must find a new attraction to make tourists forget about Xiwan completely."

Zhang Hai hesitated for a moment, then asked tentatively in a low voice: "Master, do you want to...?"

Young Master Jin turned around with a meaningful smile on his face: "What do tourists like? Lively is the basis, but what really makes them spend money is excitement! Xiwan is stable in legal things, so we will try illegal things - nightclubs, dance halls, underground casinos, and add some special services, this is the most profitable business."

Zhang Hai was shocked by Jin Shao's words and stammered, "Master, this kind of business... is a bit dangerous. If the police catch us, we..."

"Dangerous?" Young Master Jin sneered, raised his chin and looked at Zhang Hai, "Do you know how those people in Macau made their fortune? They made their fortune from this kind of business! Besides, do you think I'm not prepared? Master Qi has already made arrangements. As long as we don't make too much trouble, no one will dare to touch us."

Zhang Hai was still a little hesitant: "But if Xiwan finds out, Su Hanze will definitely take advantage of the situation and put us under even greater pressure."

A hint of ruthlessness flashed in Jin Shao's eyes, and he said in a cold voice: "Su Hanze? Who the hell is he! As long as my project starts, I can completely crush him. Remember, our goal is to become the most profitable commercial center in Hong Kong Island, not to quarrel with a petty opponent like him."

Zhang Hai nodded, not daring to say anything more, and could only agree to make the arrangements.

In Xiwan, Su Hanze had just finished a day of theater work and was having a night tea with Ah Liu and Xiao Long in a small restaurant. On the table were several plates of fried beef noodles, clay pot rice and barbecued meat platters. Ah Liu said excitedly while eating, "Boss, there are a lot more tourists recently, and the stall owners are also very happy. We have a stable start!"

Xiaolong took a sip of milk tea and continued with a frown, "But I don't think the East Bay side will give up. I heard that Young Master Jin is planning to start an underground business recently. He wants to open a dance hall, a nightclub, and even an underground casino."

Su Hanze put down his chopsticks and frowned: "Underground casino? He really dares to play."

Xiaolong nodded, "That's right. Young Master Jin has the support of Master Qi, so he dares to do this kind of thing, but once it starts, it will be difficult to clean up. We have to be careful. If tourists are attracted by this kind of thing, the popularity of Xiwan will definitely be affected."

When Ah Liu heard this, he immediately slammed the table and said, "What a joke! Our theater relies on our cultural heritage and the trust of tourists. Young Master Jin's crooked ways won't last long!"

Su Hanze was not so optimistic. He pondered for a moment and whispered, "Ah Liu, tourists will pursue culture, but don't forget that excitement is often more attractive. If Young Master Jin really engages in these underground businesses, we will be under great pressure."

Ah Liu was immediately a little unconvinced: "Boss, what should we do? Are we going to open a nightclub like them?"

Su Hanze shook his head and said firmly, "No, we can't follow him. Xiwan's brand is the cornerstone of tourists' trust, and we must stick to the bottom line. But at the same time, we must also make tourists feel that the experience in Xiwan is no worse than that in Dongwan. Ah Liu, Xiaolong, starting tomorrow, put the night market expansion plan around the theater on the agenda and add more interactive experience projects. If tourists want to play, we let them have fun, but it must be clean and healthy."

Xiaolong nodded: "Understood, Boss."

Ah Liu muttered, "It's clean and healthy, but I'm afraid it's boring."

At this time, in a high-end nightclub in Central, Qi Ye was leaning on the sofa with an opened bottle of whiskey in front of him. Next to him sat a man in a suit and tie, who was Jin Shao.

"Seventh Master, what do you think of my plan?" Young Master Jin raised his glass and smiled.

Qiye took a sip of wine slowly, his expression indifferent: "Your idea is not bad. Hong Kong Island does lack a commercial center that truly integrates entertainment, consumption and excitement. But I still say that you must know the limits when doing things and don't go too far."

Young Master Jin nodded: "Don't worry, Master Qi, I know what I am doing. I will make East Bay the most popular place in Hong Kong, and also the most profitable place."

The Seventh Master smiled lightly and said nothing more, but there was a thoughtful gleam in his eyes.

On the other side of East Bay, several modified trucks were quietly driving towards an abandoned factory. This was the first batch of nightclub equipment arranged by Jin Shao, a full five trucks of lighting, sound and decoration materials, all directly shipped from Macau.

"Hurry up and don't let anyone find out." The big man in the lead growled in a low voice.

On the streets of Xiwan, more and more people flowed, stall owners set up their stalls, the aroma of steaming soy milk and fried dough sticks wafted in the air, and tourists gathered in twos and threes to take pictures around the theater.

Ah Liu stood at the entrance of the theater, an unlit cigarette in his mouth, a copy of the latest business data in his hand, and he was looking at it intently with a frown on his brow.

"Sixth brother, have you had breakfast? I brought some steamed dumplings and rice rolls. Would you like some?" The skinny monkey came over from behind, holding two paper bags in his hands, and his hot steam drifted away in the cold air.

"I'm not in the mood to eat." Ah Liu waved his hand, speaking in a bad tone, "Look at the data. There are more tourists, but the revenue growth of the stall owners has not kept up. As soon as Master Jin lowered the price, the stall owners here started to worry. If this problem is not resolved, sooner or later someone will run away."

The skinny monkey leaned over to take a look and smacked his lips. "They run nightclubs and underground casinos in East Bay, and now they're trying to rob the stall owners. These people are really unscrupulous. Sixth brother, when do you think they'll kill themselves?"

"Looking for death?" Ah Liu sneered, "Young Master Jin has the support of Master Qi. Who is Master Qi? Who in Hong Kong dares to touch him? If he really wanted to die, we would have knelt on the ground and kowtowed to him a long time ago."

"Then what should we do?" The skinny monkey stuffed the shaomai into his mouth and asked vaguely while chewing, "We just watch? We can't always be suppressed by them."

"Of course we can't keep being suppressed." Ah Liu sighed, "The boss has recently asked us to speed up the night market expansion plan, and the results will be seen in the next two days. But these are just superficial efforts. Young Master Jin dares to blatantly do those despicable things, so we have to teach him a lesson."

"How do we give it to them?" The thin monkey's eyes lit up, "Should we get a few people to smash their place?" "Smash your head!" Ah Liu glared at him, "What is Xiwan doing? We rely on the reputation of tourists. Smashing places is Young Master Jin's way. We can't follow him."

As he was talking, Xiaolong hurried out of the theater, holding a fax in his hand, his face not looking good: "Sixth Brother, something happened."

Ah Liu took the fax, glanced at it quickly, and his face immediately darkened: "Young Master Jin's nightclub has already opened, and there was even an underground boxing match last night! I heard that many people went to watch the fun, even a few stall owners from Xiwan went."

"Underground boxing match?" The skinny monkey was confused. "Can fists be used to make a living?"

"You know shit!" Ah Liu was so angry that he slapped him on the head. "Underground boxing matches don't just attract boxing fans. Gamblers like this kind of excitement more, and it can also attract tourists and stall owners. Young Master Jin's move is aimed at our customer flow."

"What should we do then?" The skinny monkey touched his head and looked at Xiaolong, "Brother Long, we have to take care of this, right?"

"Manage? How?" Xiaolong said helplessly, "Young Master Jin is in the shady business, we can't touch him openly. Do you know how many people the boxing match attracted last night? I heard that the entrance fee alone was half a million. If it weren't for the guys who lost the gambling game and caused trouble, I guess there wouldn't be any negative news."

Ah Liu crumpled up the fax and threw it on the ground, gritting his teeth and saying, "We must talk to the boss about this and let him make the decision. Young Master Jin is really forcing us with this move."

At the same time, in a nightclub in Dongwan, Jin Shao was sitting in a luxurious box with a bottle of freshly opened champagne in front of him. Several hot dancers were laughing in the room, and Zhang Hai was reporting last night's results with a big smile on his face.

"Master, last night's boxing match was a great success. The entrance fee was half a million, and the gambling turnover exceeded one million. We have also taken care of the media, and there will definitely not be any negative news."

Young Master Jin picked up the champagne and smiled: "That's more appropriate. The theater in Xiwan is engaged in culture, which is their strong point. We don't need to follow their example. What we want is excitement, chaos, and money."

Zhang Hai hesitated for a moment, then said, "But Master, there was a little problem last night. A few gamblers were so anxious after losing their money that they almost caused a scene. Fortunately, the brothers managed to stop them in time."

"Gamblers causing trouble? Isn't that normal?" Young Master Jin said lightly, "As long as there is gambling, there will be winners and losers. Our mission is to get more people in, and we will deal with whoever causes trouble."

Zhang Hai nodded and was about to speak when the door was suddenly pushed open and a man wearing sunglasses walked in. He was sturdy and had a stern look in his eyes. He walked up to Young Master Jin and whispered, "Master, someone from Xiwan sneaked in to watch the boxing match last night. I heard it was Su Hanze's man."

Jin Shao's smile disappeared immediately, and a hint of cruelty flashed in his eyes: "Su Hanze's people? What are they doing here? Do they want to learn how to have a boxing match from me?"

The man in sunglasses shook his head: "I don't know, but they may have already got some information about us. Do you want to seal the message?"

Young Master Jin sneered, "What do you want to seal? It's up to them. No matter how smart Su Hanze is, he wouldn't dare to get involved in this business. Even if he knows, what can he do to me?"

The man in sunglasses nodded, turned and left the room.

In a teahouse in Xiwan, Su Hanze was chatting with several old stall owners. He looked relaxed, but he was secretly thinking about how to deal with Jin Shao's new move.

"Boss Su, business has been good recently, but the activities in Dongwan are getting bigger and bigger, so we can't help but feel a little worried." An old stall owner sighed, "Those boxing matches and nightclubs they organize have whetted the appetite of tourists."

Su Hanze smiled slightly: "Boxing matches and nightclubs are indeed attractive, but they only attract temporary excitement. East Bay's approach is to play with fire, which burns quickly and goes out quickly. What we in West Bay need to do is to take steady steps."

Another stall owner nodded: "Boss Su is right, but tourists sometimes like these new and exciting things, and our theater must also have some variety."

Su Hanze pondered for a while and said with a smile: "Don't worry, I already have some new plans. Next we will add some interactive projects to give tourists a more interesting experience. What the stall owners need to do is to improve their products and services and promote the Xiwan brand."

Having said that, Su Hanze knew in his heart that this game was far from over. Jin Shao's actions were getting more and more crazy. If Xiwan wanted to completely stabilize the situation, it would need a bigger breakthrough.

"Boss, I'm not saying this, but Young Master Jin's place is a real mess. I heard that someone lost all his savings in the boxing match last night and he knelt down and shouted that he wanted to sell his house!" Ah Liu sat down opposite Su Hanze, chewing a fried dough stick in his mouth, but holding a freshly printed intelligence in his hand. When he handed it over, the oil stains almost rubbed off on the paper.

Su Hanze took the document, glanced at it, looked up and asked, "Have any stall owners from Xiwan gone over there?"

Ah Liu nodded, his expression a little unnatural: "I went over there a few times. Although they said they were just going to see the excitement, I heard from Shou Hou that some people are already considering setting up stalls there. After all, the rent is cheaper, and they also said that there are more customers at the night market in Dongwan."

"There are many customers, but whether we can make money or not is another matter." Su Hanze put down the documents and rubbed his brows. "Go and talk to those stall owners and let them know that the tourists in our West Bay are stable, while the messy places in East Bay will sooner or later cause trouble."

Ah Liu responded, but couldn't help but grumble, "But boss, the stall owners are indeed jealous of the popularity of Dongwan. You said, even if they know that Dongwan is dangerous, they can't resist the temptation."

Su Hanze pondered for a moment and raised his head: "We can't just persuade them, we have to show them tangible benefits. Let's start with the theater and link up the surrounding night markets and stalls. For example, theater tickets can be exchanged for night market discounts, and night market consumption can be accumulated into a lottery. This way, tourists are more willing to stay, and the stall owners' business will also improve."

Ah Liu nodded repeatedly, but muttered, "That's easy to say, but doesn't it cost money?"

Su Hanze didn't answer. He stood up and walked to the window, looking at the bustling street outside, but he was thinking about his next move in his mind.

(End of this chapter)