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

Chapter 272 Additional funds!
"The stall owner has left, so we can't force him back. Tourists have been attracted away, and we can't bring them back by shouting a few words." Su Hanze put his hands in his pockets and said slowly, "But Young Master Jin is making such a big move today, there must be something wrong behind it. What he is betting on this time is not the effect of the event, but whether the capital chain can hold up."

"What do you mean?" Xiaolong was stunned.

"Do you know how much money Young Master Jin spent on this event?" Su Hanze turned around and looked at Xiaolong, his eyes sharp. "Cars, stars, light shows, these are all hard costs. The rent and share he imposed on the stall owners are not enough to fill the hole. With such a big event, unless he has a stable long-term return, he can only rely on external funds to support it."

"Then what should we do?" Xiaolong asked.

"Keep an eye on his capital flow." Su Hanze whispered, "Have someone check who the investors behind Young Master Jin are and whether they have moved any large sums of money recently. As long as the capital chain is broken, he will have to kneel down and beg us."

Xiaolong nodded and immediately turned around to make arrangements.

At the same time, Ah Liu was taking Shou Hou to check the situation at each stall in the night market. They chatted with the stall owners as they walked, trying to appease the emotions of those stall owners who were interested in Dongwan.

"Sixth brother, I think the situation is not good. Many people don't say it, but their hearts have already been shaken." Skinny Monkey said in a low voice.

"Shaken? We have to give them some confidence!" Ah Liu lowered his voice and replied, "Didn't the boss just ask us to use the car as a special prize? Isn't this just to let them know that we in Xiwan will not treat them unfairly?"

"But..." Before the skinny monkey could finish his words, he was interrupted by Liu.

"Don't say but." Ah Liu frowned and patted Shouhou's shoulder. "Tonight, we must not only make the tourists happy, but also let the stall owners see the strength of Xiwan."

As they were talking, they suddenly saw a familiar figure in the distance - the old Zhang who had packed up and left that morning was back. He lowered his head and pushed his steamed dumpling cart, his face full of fatigue and helplessness, as if he had just returned from Dongwan.

"Lao Zhang!" Ah Liu called out and walked over quickly. "Why are you back? Didn't you go to Dongwan?"

When Lao Zhang heard this, his face looked a little unnatural. He looked up at Ah Liu, then lowered his head and whispered, "Don't mention it. Although there are many people in Dongwan, the stalls are arranged in a mess and we can't do business at all. The luxurious nightclubs and boxing matches nearby have attracted most of the customers, and we can only stare blankly. I still think that Xiwan is more suitable for me."

After listening to him, Ah Liu patted him on the shoulder and softened his tone: "That's good to know. Although our Xiwan is not as fancy as theirs, our customers are real. Don't have any unnecessary thoughts in the future."

Lao Zhang nodded and pushed his steamed dumpling cart back.

Ah Liu looked at his back, took a long breath, turned to Shou Hou and said, "See? This is the Achilles' heel of Dongwan. They rely on gimmicks to attract people, but they can't keep them."

The skinny monkey scratched his head and said, "Sixth Brother, do we not have to worry too much from now on?"

"Stop talking nonsense." Ah Liu rolled his eyes at him. "Don't be too happy too soon. We still have to run our own event well. If anything goes wrong today, the boss will be the first one to blame me."

At this time in Dongwan, Jin Shao was sitting in the office on the second floor of the nightclub, looking at the crowded scene downstairs, feeling relaxed. He picked up a glass of champagne, took a sip, and said proudly: "How is it? What else can Xiwan do?"

Zhang Hai, who was standing next to him, frowned and reminded him quietly: "Master, today's event is indeed lively, but our costs are really too tight. The share of the stall owners has not yet been fully paid, and Master Qi is a little dissatisfied recently."

"Satisfied?" Young Master Jin sneered, "As long as Master Qi's money doesn't stop for a while, he won't really touch me. What does he want? Results and rewards. As long as I can completely bring the stall owners in Xiwan over today, what reason does he have to not support me?"

Zhang Hai hesitated for a moment, then said, "Master, if Xiwan doesn't waver, we..."

"Shut up!" Young Master Jin slammed the table, his tone revealing a bit of anger, "Just do whatever I tell you to do. Don't mention any 'ifs' to me. As long as the situation is big enough tonight, Xiwan will be finished!"

Behind the scenes of the theater, Ah Liu was holding the phone, speaking in a very low voice, "Boss, Master Jin has another plan after the car lottery tonight. It is said that they are planning to hold another boxing match at midnight. This time, they are inviting professional boxers from Macau. It seems that they want to create a climax and attract more traffic from us."

Su Hanze tapped his fingers on the tabletop while watching the theater lighting adjustment. His eyes swept over the lists of activities for the night placed backstage, and he quickly calculated in his mind: "The boxing match is so late, the gamblers must be high rollers and night owls. It's easy for tourists to go there, but if even the hearts of us stall owners are attracted there, it will be really troublesome."

Ah Liu asked tentatively: "What should we do then? Should we send someone over to cause trouble? Or find a way to stop a few stall owners?"

"Making trouble?" Su Hanze's eyes became fierce, and then he sneered, "Young Master Jin is waiting for us to make such a low-level mistake. His activities are so large, everyone is watching, he is eager for us to show our true colors."

"Then... Boss, are we just going to watch?" Ah Liu looked anxious.

"Who said I watched?" Su Hanze put down the documents in his hand, stood up and put on his coat. "I have to act out the show myself tonight."

Ah Liu was stunned for a moment: "You're going to Dongwan in person?"

"No." Su Hanze glanced at him, his mouth slightly raised, "We won't go to East Bay, let the people from East Bay come to West Bay by themselves."

Meanwhile, in the square in front of the theater, Shouhou was busy directing the night market vendors to set up new game items. He shouted until his voice was hoarse, and he didn't forget to stuff two peanuts into his mouth: "Hey, turn the lights a little more to the left! Put the balloon-shooting booth in the middle, don't block the main stage! And you, stop talking with your heads down, the tourists are watching!"

In the distance, Xiaolong was patrolling with a few security guards. He looked up at the light show in the theater from time to time and nodded with satisfaction. He walked quickly to the side of Shouhou and whispered, "Monkey, the boss just called and asked you to notify all the stall owners to come to the front. There is an emergency event at tonight's event."

"Emergency link?" The thin monkey was stunned. "What link? How come I don't know about it?"

"I don't know either. The boss arranged it himself, so there must be something big going on." Xiaolong lowered his voice and said, "But he said that today's event must make the stall owners earn real money and leave a deep impression on tourists, so as not to let those bastards in Dongwan steal the limelight." "Okay, I'll arrange it right away." The skinny monkey agreed, rubbing his head and muttering, "The boss has been getting more and more mysterious these days. I'm confused."

As the night deepened, more and more tourists gathered in the square in front of the Xiwan Theater, and the stall owners were busy. The light show was about to begin. At this time, a low-key black business car slowly stopped in the parking lot next to the theater. The door opened, Su Hanze got out of the car, and his eyes swept around the lively scene, with a satisfied smile on his face.

"Boss, why did you come here in person?" Ah Liu walked up to him quickly, his face full of surprise.

"It's such a big event tonight, how can I not come?" Su Hanze said as he walked towards the main stage. He looked up at the huge screen above the stage, which was scrolling with the event's lucky draw information, and the atmosphere was already quite lively.

"Ah Liu, notify everyone to start tonight's special session earlier." Su Hanze stopped and whispered, "Also, call those stall owners who are waiting and watching over here, and let them see clearly that what East Bay can give, we West Bay can also give, and even better."

Ah Liu nodded and immediately took out the walkie-talkie to make arrangements.

A few minutes later, the big screen in the center of the square suddenly lit up, and the host's voice resounded throughout the venue: "Dear tourists, tonight's special lottery event is about to begin! In addition to the prizes announced before, we have also prepared a super surprise - a brand new high-end motorcycle, and three VIP tickets for the Xiwan Theater throughout the year!"

The tourists burst into cheers, and the stall owners gathered around, staring at the shiny metallic motorcycle on the stage. Ah Liu stood in the crowd, watching the stall owners who had previously gone to Dongwan squeezed into the crowd, with envy and regret on their faces, and secretly felt proud in his heart.

"Boss, this is a ruthless move." Ah Liu came close to Su Hanze and whispered, "The motorcycle and VIP tickets have suppressed Dongwan's arrogance in an instant."

"This is just the beginning." Su Hanze's eyes were deep, and his voice was low and calm. "After tonight's event is over, have someone calculate the revenue of each stall owner. Tomorrow morning, take the data and talk to those stall owners who are still hesitant. What Xiwan can give is not just superficial excitement, but tangible benefits."

Ah Liu nodded, silently admiring Su Hanze's foresight.

The noise continued into the night, and tourists were still coming and going in the square, while the lights of the East Bay Nightclub in the distance seemed to dim a little. In the boxing arena of Jin Shao, he was sitting in the box, listening to the assistant's report, his face was terribly gloomy.

"Master, I just received news that Xiwan has added a temporary event. The prizes for the raffle are more attractive than ours. Many tourists have left early." The assistant's voice was trembling.

"Leave?" Young Master Jin slammed the table and stood up. "Where can they go? Don't they have to come back?"

“But…but the stall owners are also starting to waver. A few of them heard that the income in Xiwan is more stable, and they were just discussing with others whether to go back.” The assistant said cautiously.

Jin Shao's expression became even uglier. He stared coldly out the window and clenched his fists: "Su Hanze, do you really think you can beat me?"

The lights on the stage kept changing, the host worked hard to stir up the atmosphere, and the cheers of the tourists were getting louder and louder. The climax of the lucky draw had just passed, and Ah Liu and a few stall owners came over, all of them smiling and holding the prize lists they had just drawn.

"Boss Su, this trick really works!" An old stall owner selling candied haws laughed so hard that he couldn't close his mouth. He gave Su Hanze a thumbs up and said, "Today, my stall has made enough money to make several days' profit. You must have a way to keep all the people here!"

"Yes, boss, to be honest, I was thinking about giving Dongwan a try a few days ago, but now I think about it, it's all fancy and can't compare to the real things in Xiwan." Another stall owner also nodded repeatedly with some regret in his eyes.

Su Hanze smiled slightly, but his eyes were as sharp as a knife: "The business of the stall owners is our foundation. As long as everyone can make money in Xiwan, no one can take our territory away. Remember, as long as Dongwan doesn't fall, they will have tricks up their sleeves, so we can't take it lightly."

Several stall owners nodded repeatedly, praising Su Hanze's idea. Ah Liu stood aside with a smug look on his face. He walked to Su Hanze and said in a low voice, "Boss, the stall owners who went to Dongwan this morning are here too. Lao Zhang just came to me quietly, saying that he wanted to move his stall to the main street. Hey, now we know who can protect them."

"Whether the stalls can be moved depends on their performance." Su Hanze patted Ah Liu's shoulder, "Let someone collect the data tomorrow and see who is sincerely staying in Xiwan. We will give them another chance."

Ah Liu grinned and said, "Understood. I'll arrange it right away."

On the other side, the atmosphere backstage at the Dongwan Nightclub was unusually solemn. Jin Shao stood by the window with a gloomy face, and Zhang Hai stood beside him with his head down, holding an activity feedback report, hesitant and not daring to speak.

"Speak." Jin Shao didn't even turn his head, but just spat out one word coldly.

Zhang Hai swallowed and whispered, "Master, the effect of today's event is much worse than expected. Less than 60% of the customers came to the second half of the boxing match, and some stall owners left early in the morning. I heard that they went to Xiwan to watch the light show."

"Xi Wan?" Young Master Jin turned around abruptly, staring at Zhang Hai with eyes as sharp as knives. "What has that old fox Su Hanze done now?"

"They held a special lottery with a motorcycle as one of the prizes. I heard that tourists were quite interested in it." Zhang Hai's voice became lower and lower.

Young Master Jin slammed his fist on the windowsill. "Raffle? A motorcycle can attract tourists? Su Hanze is really petty!"

Zhang Hai lowered his head and didn't dare to answer, but he couldn't help muttering in his heart: Young Master, didn't you just send me a car? Isn't this the same?
Young Master Jin panted heavily, walked to the table and sat down, suddenly grabbed a schedule and threw it to the ground: "If we continue like this, sooner or later our East Bay will become a joke to his West Bay! Zhang Hai, call Master Qi right away and tell him that I need additional funds to hold another large-scale event."

Zhang Hai was stunned for a moment: "Master, but Master Qi's capital chain is a bit tight recently. If we add more..."

"Shut up!" Young Master Jin slammed the table and roared, "Go tell Master Qi that as long as this event wins, his investment return will double! If he doesn't invest, I'll find someone else!"

Zhang Hai looked at Jin Shao's livid face, dared not say anything more, and quickly turned around and left.

(End of this chapter)