Rebirth 1977 Great Era

Chapter 1016 Let Le Miao manage the bank account and go to Old Zhou's wealthy neighborhood (two chapters combined)
Hearing Fang Yan's words, Li Chong, Deng Cai, and Wang Feng had no objections. After all, they were just following Fang Yan to protect him, as Director Liao had ordered them to do so.

At this moment, Le Miao suddenly lowered her voice:

"The car from the second branch of the Huo family is parked behind. It seems that there are more than one group of people at today's welcome banquet."

Fang Yan followed her gaze and indeed saw a dark blue sedan parked at the alley entrance, with the window rolled down halfway, revealing half of a face wearing sunglasses.

This person must be Mr. Huo's second wife, who is also his "white moonlight" (ideal woman).

She got off the bus at the roadside. Fang Yan saw that she was wearing a fitted cheongsam, and the diamond necklace around her neck was dazzling in the sunlight. Her high heels were even thinner than Le Miao's.

She's a bit older, but she's well-maintained.

Money really does support people.

This is Mrs. Fok, who often accompanies Mr. Fok to various events. People usually just call her that.

She was soon led towards Tianxiang Restaurant by a young waitress.

Suddenly, I didn't want to get involved in the dialect anymore.

He was afraid of encountering some melodramatic scene.

Of course, given Ms. Lü's attitude as the eldest daughter of the Huo family, it is highly unlikely to happen.

However, Fang Yan felt that this situation was a bit awkward. Who should she call Mrs. Huo when she greeted them?

At this moment, Wang Feng asked with some curiosity:

"Does Hong Kong allow men to have multiple wives?"

Le Miao said:

"It's not legally allowed, but for rich people, these are not problems."

"Many wealthy people marry several wives."

Wang Feng then revealed a look of sudden realization.

This place is indeed very different from the inland areas.

Take the restaurant for example; it was completely different from the simple style of state-run canteens in the mainland, exuding the refinement and extravagance of the colonial era.

The valet in uniform at the entrance will bend down to open the car door for the guests, and the head waits by the revolving door with a gold-plated menu in hand. Even the tableware gleams with the cold light unique to silverware. This is a kind of "style" that their mainland guests have never seen before.

He had just sat down when the waiter knelt down and used silver clips to arrange the bone plate for him, which made him feel quite uncomfortable.

Just as I was thinking about it, the waiter started serving the dishes on a lacquered tray.

First came a dish of glass shrimp balls, dozens of plump shrimp wrapped in a translucent crispy shell, as if carved from amber, arranged on a delicate porcelain plate, and garnished with two peonies carved from carrots.

The group also attended the banquets hosted by the Jinjiang Hotel in Shanghai and the State Guest House in Guangzhou.

I wasn't particularly surprised.

Just thinking about the prices on the menu made me feel sorry for Le Miao. Just a few shrimp and a few slices of radish with carvings cost more than a month's salary for one person.

Good heavens... everything in Hong Kong is ridiculously expensive!
But then again, on second thought, they use a lot, but they also earn a lot.

So I felt relieved.

Le Miao greeted everyone:

"Come on, don't be shy, eat first! We can't wait any longer!"

He then used his chopsticks to pick up a shrimp for Fang Yan, and then told the others not to be shy either.

Fang Yan took a bite and frowned slightly.

Le Miao asked:

"What's wrong? It doesn't taste good?"

Fang Yan hesitated for a moment, then said:
"...There is still a lot of room for improvement."

Le Miao also took a bite, and then frowned.

"Something seems off." She then waved to the waiter and said:
"Waiter, come here!"

Fang Yan didn't expect Le Miao to take it so seriously.

The dish isn't quite authentic, but it's still edible. If we call someone over now, they'll definitely have to make it again.

"Who made this dish?" Le Miao asked.

The waiter scratched his head and looked at the store manager.

The foreman quickly ran over and asked Le Miao in accented Mandarin:

"Ma'am! I'm the supervisor here. Is there a problem with the food?"

Le Miao said:

"It's different from what I had last time. The taste is so much worse. Did you change chefs? Or has the quality of your food always been like this?"

By this time, quite a few people had already started looking in this direction.

So the supervisor quickly said:

"Excuse me, ma'am, if you're not satisfied, we'll replace it immediately!"

"We'll give you a 20% discount on today's dishes, is that alright?"

Before Le Miao could even speak, the dialect already indicated:
"Okay, let's change it."

Fang Yan pointed outside to Le Miao, meaning that she still had to go see someone.

The foreman glanced at Fang Yan, then looked at Le Miao.

"Listen to him," Le Miao said to the foreman.

The supervisor quickly expressed his gratitude to the person in the dialect:
"Thank you for your understanding, sir. I'm really sorry to have affected your dining experience."

Dialectal wave:
"It's okay, go ahead."

The supervisor then hurriedly left with the shrimp balls.

Then came the Taishi Five-Snake Soup, served in a blue and white lotus-patterned bowl. The soup was amber in color, with fine snake meat, shredded chicken, and shredded ham floating on the surface. It was topped with snow-white lemon leaf shreds and tender yellow chrysanthemum petals.

This time, Le Miao first took a spoonful herself, tasted it, and then said:

"This tastes just right."

After saying that, he served Fang Yan a bowl and added:
"The last time Guo Zhen and I came here, it tasted just like this. The snake meat was stewed until tender, and the salty and savory flavor of the ham and the fragrance of chrysanthemum were all infused into the soup."

Fang Yan took the bowl and gently stirred it with a silver spoon. In the amber-colored soup, shredded snake, chicken, and ham floated with the ripples, and a unique aroma of medicinal herbs and spices lingered around his nose.

I took a sip, and the broth was rich but not greasy. The refreshing aroma of lemon leaves perfectly neutralized the earthy taste of the snake meat, making it much more authentic than the glass shrimp balls I had just had.

"Much better than shrimp balls." Fang Yan nodded in approval: "The snake soup is cooked perfectly, and the ingredients are authentic."

Le Miao said with a smile, "This dish is all about 'three snakes and five snakes.' Today we're using three snakes. If it's autumn or winter, they'll add silver ring snake and krait, and the broth will be incredibly rich."

Then other dishes were served one after another, and the taste seemed to have improved. It was as if the crystal shrimp balls from before were a mistake. When it came time to pay the bill, the shrimp balls were not charged, and all the other dishes were discounted.

They also prepared an apology gift for each of them, a cloth bag containing five different types of tea.

Even with the discount, the meal still cost HK$520.

This caused Deng Cai, Li Chong, and Wang Feng's views on money to collapse. They realized that these ingredients wouldn't even be worth ten yuan in mainland China, yet they were charged such an exorbitant fee. It was truly an eye-opener for them.

After settling the bill, Le Miao took Fang Yan and the others out. Instead of driving, they headed straight for Tianxiang Restaurant.

As soon as we arrived at the entrance of Tianxianglou, the waiter reminded us:
"We have the third floor booked for a private event today, so only the other floors are open."

That's good, no need to think, it must be on the third floor.

"Mr. Huo and the others are on the third floor, right?" Fang Yan asked the waiter.

The waiter nodded:
"Yes, Mr. Huo has booked the entire venue today."

Fang Yan said to him:
"I am an attendant of Mr. Huo's guest. I have something I'd like to inform my superiors about. Could you please help me find Secretary Zhou and tell him that someone is looking for him?"

Speaking in his dialect, he wrote a note with only four words on it: "Brother Zhou has something to do."

The only person in the group who addressed Secretary Zhou in that way was Fang Yan, and he knew who it was at a glance.

He then handed the note to the waiter.

While the other party was still hesitating, Le Miao had already handed over the money.

And said:
"Thank you for your help!"

Upon seeing the money, the waiter immediately smiled and took it, then had someone take the note upstairs.

I'm speechless. Everything in Hong Kong really costs money!
"Why don't we just go up?" Li Chong asked Fang Yan in a low voice.

The dialect explanation is as follows:
"The third floor was booked out. If I insisted on going there, I might be seen as an uninvited guest. This kind of occasion is extremely formal. As invited guests who did not come with us, it would be more appropriate for us to contact the higher-ups through formal channels rather than just barging in."

He first informed Secretary Zhou to maintain neutrality regarding the Huo family's internal affairs while avoiding interference with the formality of the official reception. Fang Yan also had a premonition of encountering a dramatic scene, which led him to assess the risk of rashly intervening; therefore, maintaining distance was the safest course of action.

Less than two minutes later, Secretary Zhou came down the stairs.

Then, he glanced around at everyone present with a somewhat blank expression.

He didn't recognize any of the people who were wearing makeup.

Fang Yan waved to him:

"Brother Zhou!"

Secretary Zhou was taken aback. Upon hearing the familiar voice, he looked at Fang Yan, somewhat surprised.
"Fang...you..."

Then he realized that Fang Yan was wearing makeup, so he quickly came over.

He pulled Fang Yan aside and looked her up and down:

"Your technique is amazing, I didn't recognize you at all."

"And there are a few of them." He then pointed to Deng Cai and his group.

Then he looked at Le Miao, surprised:

"Hey, who is this? Their cross-dressing is so convincing!"

Le Miao was immediately amused.

Dialect speechless:

“Brother Zhou, she’s a friend of mine in Hong Kong, and she’s a woman.”

Secretary Zhou suddenly realized:
"Oh... I'm sorry..."

"By the way, how did you know we were up there?"

He said in dialect:

"I was having lunch across the street when I saw you get off the bus."

"I was just thinking about whether I should come over and say hello."

Secretary Zhou said:
"Originally, Mrs. Huo and Representative Huo wanted to invite you, but you weren't there, so we came directly."

He asked in dialect:

"So now, should I go up or not?"

Secretary Zhou shook his head and said:

"It's not suitable anymore."

"There are two Mrs. Huo upstairs right now, so the atmosphere is a bit awkward."

Upon hearing this, everyone couldn't help but look at Fang Yan with admiration, for Fang Yan had predicted this.

It's definitely the safest way to ask Secretary Zhou.

"Alright, I'm just here to check in. Since I don't need to show my face, I'll go somewhere else," Fang Yan said to Secretary Zhou.

Secretary Zhou nodded upon hearing this:

"Row."

Just as Fang Yan was about to leave, he turned back and asked:
"Is attendance mandatory for dinner?"

He was mainly going to visit Old Zhou's family in the afternoon, and he figured he'd most likely be invited to stay for dinner.

Secretary Zhou said:
"No, that's not necessary... but you need to be back at the hotel by nine o'clock tonight."

After saying that, he subconsciously glanced at Le Miao.

“Okay, I’ll definitely be back at nine o’clock.” Fang Yan nodded.

After speaking in dialect, he was about to say goodbye when Secretary Zhou called him back:
"Oh, right! I almost forgot the important thing."

"Hmm?" Fang Yan looked at Secretary Zhou with a puzzled expression.

Secretary Zhou took an envelope out of his pocket and handed it to Fang Yan:

"This is something Representative Huo gave you."

Fang Yan asked curiously:
"what?"

Secretary Zhou said:
“Didn’t you agree to be their private hospital consultant? The money in there is from your salary account in Hong Kong.”

Fang Yan then realized what was happening.

Indeed, I haven't even asked about it yet, but they've already brought it up on their own initiative.

Even during such a busy time before the wedding.

I have to say, they really know their stuff. "You're even their consultant?" Le Miao asked Fang Yan.

Fang Yan nodded:
"Ah."

Le Miao then asked:
"Are you coming to Hong Kong?"

Fang Yan shook his head:
"No need for that. It's just a nominal title. If they have any problems, they'll fly back to the capital to find me."

Then Fang Yan took out the bankbook from the envelope and opened it.

"Wow... twenty thousand, and in US dollars?" Le Miao exclaimed in surprise upon seeing it, turning to Fang Yan:

"You're just sitting at home and money falls from the sky! You're getting a high salary!"

Fang Yan said with a smile:

"Well, it's just so-so."

Fang Yan genuinely felt it wasn't much, but after hearing that a feng shui master had charged 20,000 yuan in just a few hours, he felt his own money was meager.

Looking at the passbook in my hand, I realized that in those days, Hong Kong banks mainly relied on paper documents and manual processing for deposits and withdrawals. However, they had begun to gradually introduce early electronic devices, but computer networking systems were not yet widespread.

Currently, the core vouchers are still mainly passbooks, checks, and deposit/withdrawal slips.

Influenced by British colonialism, banking processes were closer to international standards, and checks were widely used. Representative Huo probably did this to make it easier to use the dialect, but it's still not as convenient as it is in the internet age.

Anyway, there are $120,000 in this Hong Kong account every year now.

Turning his head, Fang Yan said to Secretary Zhou:
"Alright, Brother Zhou, I'm leaving!"

“Okay!” Secretary Zhou nodded.

Fang Yan then packed up the savings book and called the others to walk outside together.

Fang Yan finally breathed a sigh of relief once he was outside the Tianxiang Tower.

Thankfully, I didn't force my way in.

At this moment, Le Miao asked Fang Yan:

"Are you going to withdraw this money and take it back to the mainland, or do you plan to keep it in your account?"

Fang Yan shook his head:
"I haven't figured out how to use it yet."

Just as he finished speaking, he suddenly thought of Le Miao's major:
"By the way, aren't you studying finance? Why don't you manage it for me for a while?"

"Take over?" Le Miao was taken aback.

He said in dialect:

"Yes, you can use my money to speculate on stocks, buy land, or invest in other things. If you lose money, it's on me; if you make money, we'll split the profits."

"Anyway, I don't need to use it right now, so rather than letting it become dead money, I might as well make it work."

Le Miao said:

"You're in business, how could you not need this?"

Fang Yan took out his bankbook and handed it to Le Miao:

"A cunning rabbit has three burrows, right? If one day I can't make a living and I lose all my money, you'll still have some money for my retirement. Wouldn't that be great?"

Le Miao glanced at it, didn't take it, and smiled:

"Haha, you're dreaming!"

Fang Yan handed it to her and said:
"Ten thousand US dollars a month, consider it practice for you, it's okay if you lose it all."

Fang Yan had already made up his mind: if Le Miao refused, he would give the job to Chu Bin.

"Won't your Zhu Lin have any objections?" Le Miao asked Fang Yan.

Fang Yan shook his head:
"No, I have more than that income. I have several employers in China that pay my salary, and I also get dividends from Lao Hu."

After saying that, he continued:

"And do you still remember the pile of antique treasures I kept there?"

“You can also consider this money as a deposit. The antique is in my hands, and my money is in your hands. That balances things out.”

Le Miao then remembered that Fang Yan had left behind quite a few antiques when she left the capital.

After thinking for a moment, she finally accepted Fang Yan's savings book.

Then asked:

"What's the password?"

Fang Yan was taken aback and quickly took out the envelope.

We finally found the password, and then Le Miao took over the account.

As for how she will use it, that will depend on how well she learns at Hong Kong University.

……

After the discussion was settled, Fang Yan was to go and visit Lao Zhou.

Fang Yan originally wanted Le Miao to go back and rest, and he would take a taxi to Lao Zhou's house, but Le Miao said she was free in the afternoon and wanted to come along.

Having no other choice, I had to agree, even though it was in a dialect.

I had prepared Hong Kong dollars, but today I only spent five dollars on taxi fare and didn't spend a single cent.

Then, Le Miao drove towards Conduit Road in Mid-Levels, Hong Kong.

Mid-Levels has been Hong Kong's premier residential area since 1970, with residents mostly being expatriates and wealthy Chinese businessmen. As an overseas Chinese, Mr. Zhou also purchased a property here.

The afternoon sun on Hong Kong Island was blazing. The intense sunlight cast diamond-shaped spots of light through the car windows onto the leather seats. Fang Yan and the others entered the car and found it to be as hot as an oven.

"It's alright, it'll be fine once it's running," Le Miao said to Fang Yan and the others, as if she were already used to it.

Once inside the car, the engine started, and everyone rolled down the windows to get some fresh air.

Once the car started moving, everyone finally felt the temperature inside the car drop.

It's about 5 kilometers from Bonham Street West in Sheung Wan to Conduit Road in Mid-Levels. Given the traffic conditions at this time, Le Miao estimates it will take at least 20 minutes.

However, it seems we were too optimistic; we got stuck in traffic again after only a short distance.

Outside the car window, the arcades of Bonham West Street cast long, narrow shadows, and the aroma of dried tangerine peel and angelica wafted from the herbal medicine shops along the street.

Fang Yan peeked out and looked at the street corner. He saw two middle-aged men who looked like Japanese people over there.

It wasn't about monitoring their dialect; it was mainly about their conversations, where they nodded and bowed several times, which was very representative.

Then they noticed that Fang Yan was looking at them, and one of them even waved his fist at Fang Yan and glared at him in a threatening gesture.

Then Wang Feng leaned half his body out from behind the car. His mountain-like figure immediately startled the two men, who quickly ran away.

This caused people at a nearby stall to burst into laughter.

Judging from the dialect, it was an old brand. The three characters "Ban Sha Tea" on the wooden signboard were worn shiny by the years. The waiter was stirring the herbal tea in the large earthenware jar with a long-handled copper ladle.

The person who was laughing just now was a worker taking a lunch break here.

Across the street, several dark-skinned Southeast Asian laborers wearing floral shirts were squatting against a wall eating lunch. Their aluminum lunchboxes contained curry beef brisket, and next to them were "Salsa" sodas bought from a convenience store. The bottles were printed with images of Westerners wearing top hats, and this was the most popular carbonated beverage in Hong Kong at that time.

The traffic jam eased, and the car continued forward, passing by West Port City, also known as the old General Post Office of Victoria City, whose Baroque-style granite facade gleamed with a beige luster in the sunlight.

Le Miao raised her hand and pointed:
“Our teacher said that the floor tiles in this building are patterned tiles from 1900.”

A group of people crowded around the car window and looked out. They saw several British sailors leaning against a stone pillar smoking, one of whom had a local girl in bell-bottoms in his arm.

Wang Feng sighed:

"There are no human rights in the colonies..."

Deng Cai also cursed:
"Damn foreigner!"

Only Li Chong remained silent. At this moment, Fang Yan asked Le Miao:

"Who are these girls?"

Le Miao said:

"Bar girls or something, they're definitely not respectable people."

He asked in dialect:

"A Hong Konger?"

Le Miao said:

"There are all kinds of people in Hong Kong. That's just how it is. The good parts are very good, and the bad parts are very bad."

Turning onto Garden Road, the slope becomes noticeably steeper.

Le Miao lightly pressed the accelerator, and at that moment a convertible sports car elegantly overtook them, its wheels crushing the fallen bauhinia flowers by the roadside, the pink petals sticking to the asphalt.

The young people in the car stood up yelling, waving their clothes around, and one girl even turned around and made a provocative gesture towards Fang Yan and the others.

Le Miao sneered and said to Fang Yan:

"These are all young people from families with some money who often gather their cronies to hang out everywhere."

"Convertibles are standard equipment for them."

"You were trying to race me just now."

Wang Feng, standing to the side, asked in a gruff voice:
"Is that car expensive?"

Le Miao said with a smile:

"It's not expensive. Theirs is an older model. Your Director Fang could buy one with a month's salary."

Fang Yan smiled and said:

"You could also buy it as a sports car and start a used car business, or rent out luxury cars..."

Le Miao was taken aback for a moment, then laughed:

"You keep coming up with new ideas all the time!"

"Then don't feel bad if I squander your money later!"

He said in dialect:

"No, I already told you to use it freely. I don't care what you want to do."

The convertible sports car disappeared in no time, and Fang Yan and his group continued on their way.

Outside the fence of the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Garden halfway up the mountain, several vendors selling sugarcane juice set up sunshades, and elderly overseas Chinese wearing straw hats sat on bamboo chairs, arguing about horse racing in Teochew.

Just then, Le Miao suddenly braked hard, and a macaque jumped down from a tree and actually squatted in the middle of the road, eating an apple.

Everyone was startled. Le Miao took out a tissue and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
"The monkeys on the mountainside are too wild. If you're not careful, you can get into a car accident. Some of them will even snatch your bag. Last month, a lady had her bracelet stolen."

Fang Yan was speechless; he just couldn't bring himself to like macaques.

After honking the horn to scare away the monkeys, the car continued forward, passing St. John's Cathedral, its Gothic spires looking like something out of a movie under the clouds.

On the lawn outside the church, a group of girls in white dresses were rehearsing a choir, chanting "Hallelujah" repeatedly.

Deng Cai stared at their stockings and muttered to himself:
"This decadent bourgeois ideology is utterly corrupt!"

Finally, the car turned onto Conduit Road, where the wrought iron gate and palm trees formed a barrier that isolated the bustling atmosphere of the city.

Le Miao slowed down to let a Mercedes carrying golf equipment pass first.

Then she asked Old Zhou for his exact address in the local dialect.

“Villa number twelve,” Fang Yan said.

At this moment, everyone saw the latest issue of Next Magazine on the roadside newsstand, with Shaw Brothers actress Brigitte Lin on the cover and the headline "Oriental Beauty Conquers Hollywood".

Le Miao accelerated forward and drove onto Conduit Road, where the sunlight was fragmented by the tall palm trees on both sides.

Not far ahead, a groom wearing white gloves was leading two chestnut warmblood horses at a slow trot. The horses' hooves made a "clattering" sound on the gravel road, a daily routine for the wealthy people on the hillside to take a ride in the afternoon.

"Look to the left."

Deng Cai then called to the group, where they saw a blue and white Mediterranean-style villa. Inside the wrought-iron fence, several bikini-clad girls were lying under parasols drinking cocktails by the pool, with three fluffy Afghan hounds at their feet. Wang Feng and Li Chong's eyes widened: "Wow, this is so decadent!"

As they passed another villa, they saw a face covered in cucumber slices peeking out from the lawn.

Judging from the blond hair, he should be white.

In front of their villa, which was covered in ivy, two Filipino maids were watering the lawn with brass sprayers.

"It's so corrupt!" Fang Yan couldn't help but complain.

Finally, Le Miao slowed down and arrived at Villa No. 12.

At that moment, a melodious violin tune drifted from inside.

Fang Yan looked inside and saw a pianist in a suit playing at an afternoon tea table on the lawn in front of the French windows. Several ladies wearing wide-brimmed hats were sitting around the table.

Macarons and scones were laid out on bone china plates in front of them, while a butler stood behind them carrying a silver tray.

Le Miao looked at it and asked Fang Yan:

"Why are there so many foreigners here? Did you come to the wrong place?"

PS: The basic chapter of 6000 words has been updated.

There will be an extra chapter later!

(End of this chapter)