Hong Kong Storm: The King of Jobs

Chapter 250 27: Changhong Society
"sneeze"

Chi Mengli, who was sitting on a chair, sneezed two or three times in a row, and didn't know who was talking about him.

After the gong sounded, the Changhong Club officially began.

"Dear leaders, welcome to the Changhong Society. We are all disciples of the Hongmen. We gather together to prosper the Han people."

"I, the Ninth Miss, will not say anything unnecessary. We cannot delay the big guys from drinking and eating. There are policemen standing guard outside to ensure that nothing goes wrong."

"Serve!"

The Ninth Girl took the microphone and said a few words casually, then asked the waiters who had been waiting for a long time to serve the dishes.

The food and drinks at the Hong Kong Red Cross Society are very particular, all of them are small plates. If there are ten people sitting at a table, each with one chopstick, they can finish one dish.

Although the order is small, there are many dishes, a total of forty-five.

At that time, the five ancestors of the Hongmen sect became sworn brothers in front of the Red Flower Pavilion in Gaoxi Temple and pledged to fight against the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty to recover the country.

In Chinese culture, nine is the ultimate number.

Nine is regarded as the extreme yang number. In the Book of Changes, nine is used to represent the yang line.

The Hongmen uses the number nine to show the outside world that what they do is aboveboard and just.

In order to commemorate the five ancestors of the Hongmen and respect Chinese culture, forty-five dishes are served in major Hongmen ceremonies. Among these forty-five dishes, the first one is "Cut the Seven Meats", which is just a name changed. The dish is called "Boiled Chicken" on the market.

However, unlike the poached chicken sold on the market, the chopped chicken pieces are not topped with coriander, but a chicken head that is cut in half.

This also has a meaning. The reason why Southern Shaolin was burned down was because of the betrayal of the traitor Ma Ning'er, which led to the Qing Dynasty officials and soldiers entering the mountain and burning the Southern Shaolin Temple to the ground.

Ma Ning'er ranks seventh among his fellow disciples, so people in the underworld and disciples of the Hongmen call the traitor a traitor.

Therefore, the Hongmen people avoided saying the word seven and called beheading a chicken "beheading seven", which meant killing Ma Ning'er.

At the same time, the Hongmen traitors were collectively referred to as "Erwuzai" because two plus five equals seven.

Giving one dollar to each person is also a warning to Hongmen disciples not to be traitors or traitors.

Chi Mengli also picked up the chopsticks, picked up a piece of chicken, dipped it in a little sauce, and put it into his mouth.

The cooking skills of Taibai Seafood Restaurant are indeed good. They use Qingyuan chicken, which has yellow skin and white meat, is fat, tender and delicious. It is paired with simple seasonings such as ginger, onion, and wine to highlight the original flavor of the chicken, which has a refreshing taste.

The ginger and scallion dipping sauce goes well with poached chicken. The spiciness of ginger and the fragrance of scallion can enhance the flavor of the chicken and make the taste richer.

He had no psychological pressure at all to eat the meat. He was not a traitor, so naturally there was nothing to be shy about. After all, the correct name of his identity was Zhen, and he was an agent of the righteous law enforcer who infiltrated the dark group.

Chi Mengli has an agent file in the archives of the Intelligence Department at the Wan Chai headquarters. As long as the mission is completed, he can become a policeman at any time.

But he also knew in his heart that the possibility of wearing a police uniform and becoming a dignified soldier in this life was very slim. Guo Guohao would not let him go easily. This fallen man was online and was waiting for him to continuously contribute first-hand intelligence.

But people should still have dreams, otherwise what’s the difference between you and salted fish!
In addition to the unique first dish, the last dish is also quite unique, which is a dozen pig tails chopped into small pieces.

The scientific name of the Manchu whip is Golden Rat Tail, but in order to vilify the enemy, the Hongmen called the whip a pig's tail internally, so they deliberately cut the pig's tail into small pieces. The small pieces imply that the Manchu kingdom, like their whip, cannot grow long.

This is somewhat of a spiritual victory!

There are few rules in the Changhong Club, but Shenxianjin still informed the new members of the club about the etiquette of eating the first and last food, so that they would not embarrass the water room in important occasions.

Chi Mengli picked up a piece of pig's tail and put it into his mouth. When eating at a banquet, he paid attention to the whole process. He chewed it for a few times and spit the bone into the bone dish.

After the first and last courses are finished, it is time for everyone to express themselves freely. The people on the second floor are all well-known underworld bosses. They may not have much money in their pockets, but they are also experienced and knowledgeable.

I have been to Taibai Seafood Restaurant many times. After eating the first and last dishes, I quickly fill my stomach and go to chat with old friends who are familiar with other restaurants.

Niugu came to Taibai Seafood Restaurant after dinner. He came to Chi Mengli with two empty wine glasses, unscrewed a bottle of XO, poured a glass for his good brother, clinked glasses, and said happily: "Don't you remember two years ago?"

Two years ago? !

Chi Mengli hurried to recall, but he couldn't remember it. However, he was not confused at all, because seeing Niu Gu's excited face and shaking hands, he would definitely speak out first, so he replied: "Of course, of course I remember!"

"That day, we stood at the foot of the mountain, holding cigarettes in our mouths and letting off some steam. Ah Dong went to buy milk tea, and I took out the lucky divination stick I had gotten from Wong Tai Sin. It said I was destined to be a general. As long as I could find my own Red Hare, I would be able to march forward unstoppably and be invincible."

"I just didn't expect that the horse mentioned in the best fortune was the horse in the stable. It was God's tip that I should eat women's food."

"We are finally on stage and we are going to be the protagonists!"

Niu Gu finally arrived at the Hongmen Conference he had been looking forward to for a long time. He was very excited and drank the XO in the cup in one gulp.

Chi Mengli also pursed his lips indifferently. No matter whether it was him or his original body, they had walked to this point today with trepidation, which was not easy at all. He just didn't know if they could reach the other side.

The bitterness and pain here cannot be told to outsiders.

"Be careful, there's something wrong with the people in Meizidui. There's not even a familiar face here. It's been a long time since there have been so many new faces on the road!"

"The people in the Meizi pile are not only unfamiliar, but they are also trying to find out about you. Don't be so stupid. You don't even know that someone has plotted against you."

Good brothers are good brothers. When they know that there are strangers investigating the seabed, they rush over to give the news.

Chi Mengli nodded, looked around, a bright smile appeared on his face, patted Niu Gu's shoulder, and said with a smile: "I know, when we grab Ding Caipao, we will catch all these punks in one fell swoop."

"Thank you! My good brother, I'll remember this favor."

After sharing the information, Niu Gu did not stay for long. He left the water room seat with his wine glass, walked to the Xinji area, and toasted with people he knew.

"Brother Sheng, have a drink!"

After Gao Lao toasted everyone, he returned to his seat. Seeing Chi Mengli smoking alone, he picked up the bottle and poured two glasses of wine.

Of course he had to give face to his fellow brother. Chi Mengli picked up the wine glass and clinked it with Gao Laofa.

"This time, when we seize the Dingcai Cannon, I can give up my position and let you, Brother Sheng, be the commander."

Gao Laofa also didn't like wine. He swallowed the wine in his mouth with a painful look on his face before expressing his thoughts.

Chi Mengli was about to raise his hand to take the XO on the table and pour a glass for Gao Laofa, but after hearing what this guy said, he hesitated for a moment, and then said with a little surprise: "Brother Fa, you shocked me."

"The two main generals this time were decided by Lao Ding. It's not a good idea for us to discuss who should take the position. If Lao Ding knew about it, he would be unhappy."

After he finished speaking, he raised the bottle and prepared to pour another glass for Gao Laofa.

Seeing that Handsome Sheng wanted to pour wine, Gao Laofa quickly waved his hand, chewed, sneered, and said, "You fight for a reputation. If you get hurt, you have to go to the clinic to heal yourself."

"Only a fool would do something that has no benefit at all."

"Brother Sheng, you are different. You have the money you want, and you have the support of the big boss behind you. The big players in the field are also obedient. If they let you stand out and take the blame, there must be some unavoidable reason."

"Of course, if I let you enjoy the glory alone, I won't get any benefit at all. Even if I am willing to be this fool, you may not believe me."

"Is it really like the storytellers' Water Margin, where I bow down to Brother Sheng because he is a natural born leader? Don't be ridiculous! In this day and age, everyone has become realistic, especially in Hong Kong."

"Hong Kong is a very strange place. Once you live here for a while, everyone's mind will become obsessed with making a lot of money and skimming the slush fund."

"You, Brother Sheng, got the glory, and I, Brother Gao, got the benefits. This is a win-win situation."

Gao Laofa never believes in bullshit prestige in the underworld. If you have money, you have prestige. Without money, even if you shout at the top of your lungs, no dog will wag its tail at you.

Chi Mengli put the cigarette on his finger into his mouth, thought for a second, and then said: "I don't need the glory now, but I need a little opportunity."

"Brother Fa, I don't know the way to make money you need. After all, don't try to guess what people are thinking. If you keep guessing, there will definitely be problems."

"How about this, Brother Fa? Tell me what kind of money you want, so that I don't give you too little and tarnish my reputation for being generous."

Gao Laofa, who took out a cigarette box, also smiled, then lit one for himself and said with a smile: "I like people who speak quickly. Among the water rooms, I like Brother Sheng the most, because you don't buy powder stalls, sell Miss Bai, and drag people into the water."

"The second is not to open horse stalls and not to force women of good character into prostitution."

"You only collect rent, and don't get involved in karma. What a good method. I admire you! I really admire you. I, Ah Fa, give you a thumbs up in my heart!"

"The boss of To Kwa Wan only takes care of the parking stalls. His other trusted lackeys are all wealthy and wear better clothes than me, the boss of To Kwa Wan."

"I've been thinking about it and I've discovered that all of your subordinates have legitimate businesses. To make legitimate money, you need connections."

"I'm not afraid of being laughed at by Brother Sheng if I tell you this. Apart from the mahjong parlor, I can only help the bosses to tidy up the buildings. I can't even clean up the construction waste."

"People from the Housing and Construction Office come to bother me every day, asking me to dispose of the construction waste. I'm having a terrible headache lately. Brother Sheng, you're an expert, so you can definitely help me think of a solution."

"The quantity is not large, but there is no way to weigh the construction waste. At most, it is enough to fill 40 dump trucks."

"As long as Brother Sheng can help me, I will be willing to be your deputy general and help you, Brother Sheng, make a big splash in the process of snatching Ding Caipao."

The amount of construction waste from forty dump trucks is not much, because the two reclaimed areas are now short of a large number of bricks and tiles. The amount of construction waste from forty dump trucks cannot even fill a small corner of the planning map.

However, Chi Mengli couldn't agree to Gao Laofa so easily. She had to bargain and couldn't let this loser know her background.

"Forty dump trucks. This plane is really too big. It's hard to help!"

"You and I both know that a mud truck cannot go through an undersea tunnel. If the construction waste on the truck is scattered, the tunnel will have to be closed for cleaning. If such a large plane is really built, all the big bosses behind it will be wiped out."

"But if my garbage collection company comes forward, there will be no problem. After all, my garbage collection trucks are modified and have iron covers. As long as the dump truck does not overturn, there will be no problem."

"I can help you with the work, but you have to pay for the driver's hard work, overtime pay, and the fuel for the garbage truck."

"Actually, it doesn't have to be that troublesome. As long as Brother Fa signs a contract with me, I will go to the construction site immediately and take care of all your construction waste."

"You don't even have to worry about loading. I'll take care of it in two weeks." "But since your brother Fa has asked, and we're all brothers, I'll definitely give you a discount. One thousand dollars per truck. Regardless of whether it's 40 trucks, I'll calculate it based on 40 trucks, which is 40,000 dollars."

"Forty thousand dollars, you can't even buy a full hour of a popular dancer if you go to Zhonghua City, Shanghai City, or Du Laozhi, but it can keep my bunch of losers busy for two weeks."

"This world is so unfair!"

Chi Mengli sighed and then pressed the cigarette butt into the ashtray.

Taking into account the distance, fuel costs, the driver's salary, and overtime pay at night, a car costs one thousand yuan, which can only be said to be not much profit. But if the wear and tear of the vehicle is added, it can be guaranteed that there will be no loss.

This is the case when all garbage trucks are fueled by Xinji red oil. If you go to a gas station to fill up with regular oil, you will not be able to do business at all.

Gao Laofa thought about it and found that this was indeed the truth. Forty thousand yuan was indeed not enough to order a full hour for a popular dancer. He exhaled a puff of cigarette, thought for a few seconds, and then said, "Let's take care of the forty truckloads of construction waste. I'll let you be the commander."

"After the cleanup is complete, I will also pay 40,000 yuan according to the contract."

"We are all brothers from the same sect. So, you don't need me to give HSBC a credit certificate when I sign the contract, right?"

“Haha. Hahaha.”

"Brother Fa, you are joking. We are brothers from the same sect, so of course we don't need to do that!"

Chi Mengli smiled. Although in his heart, he really wanted the credit certificate issued by Gao Lao. It would be more reliable to believe that I am Qin Shi Huang. V50 yuan, help me restore my country, and after the success, let you be the new generation of Zhao Gao.

But I can’t tell anyone what’s in my heart, because it will make Gao Lao angry.

"I have six construction sites in To Kwa Wan. It's too troublesome to settle accounts for each truckload. I'll give all the construction waste from the six sites to you, Brother Sheng. The price is one hundred and fifty thousand for each site, no matter how much it is."

"If you agree, go to the law firm to sign the contract tomorrow. This time I will give you a credit note from HSBC."

It is too troublesome to negotiate with each construction site one by one, so it is better to do it all at once.

Gao Laofa is originally a middleman. The boss asks him to do something and gives him enough money to settle the trouble. Even if he subcontracts it to handsome Sheng, he will still make money.

The old way was to transport it to Yuen Long and dump it into a pond, or dig a pit and bury it near the foot of the mountain, or transport it to Tai O and dump it all on the beach.

But the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau and the Environmental Protection Bureau have already started to rectify the situation, and the foreigners have also warned the bosses in the construction industry not to go too far.

But this has nothing to do with him anymore. All the construction waste is left to the professional, Handsome Sheng, to deal with. If anything goes wrong, he cannot be held responsible. After all, everyone has signed the contract in black and white. If the foreigners want to settle accounts, they will go to Handsome Sheng.

"It's a pleasure to work with you. Although this is a losing business, since Brother Fa has already asked, I can only agree. After all, we are good brothers!"

Chi Mengli grabbed the bottle of XO and poured a glass for Gao Laofa and herself to celebrate their pleasant cooperation.

Gao Laofa usually never drinks alcohol. He picked up the wine glass painfully, clinked it with Chi Mengli, and drank it all in one gulp.

"Everyone, I think everyone has eaten and drunk enough! We should also get down to business!"

Deng Qi, who had not shown up just now, also walked out from the private rooms of the major restaurants and the leading actors. Accompanied by his precious daughter, he walked to the center of the stage, picked up the microphone beside him, and shouted with full energy.

The bigwigs present were already familiar with Deng Qi's Guangxi accent, so they all shut their mouths. Many of them stood still, waiting for Deng Qi to speak.

This is the power of the second marshal of the Number Gang. You should know that Deng Qi, the second marshal, was appointed in times of crisis and earned his reputation together with Shenxian Jin, chief steward Lin Qing, Deng Bo and Guo Hua.

Besides, he is not only the second marshal of the Number Gang, but also the leader of the largest group in the Number Gang, the filial piety group. The brothers in the underworld have to give him some face.

"Boss, everything is ready!"

The number gang's filial piety hall was full of people, and they shouted loudly, preventing Deng Qi's words from falling on the ground.

"Now that everyone has eaten well and their bellies are full, let's test whether everyone has gotten any good results this year."

"Everyone knows that I, Deng Qi, am dumb and can't speak. Once I open my mouth, I offend people. Then let my precious daughter speak. My daughter is good in every way, but her standards are too high. She looks down on you guys!"

Deng Qi made a few opening remarks and then threw the microphone to Ninth Girl beside him.

Taking the microphone thrown by her father, Ninth Girl shook off the saliva on it. She stood next to her father and clearly saw her father spitting saliva on the microphone. Then she said, "All the big guys have made a fortune this year."

"If you become rich but don't show it off in front of your brothers, you will definitely be unhappy."

"The Changhong Club is a place to show off our financial strength. According to the old rules, the organizer is our Number Gang, and my father is the boss of the Xiaozidui. So this time at the Changhong Club, we Xiaozidui will just watch the fun and not compete with you brothers."

"With one less competitor, I think all the bosses must be very happy."

"Okay! Stop talking nonsense."

The Ninth Girl looked at the door at the side, nodded to the model in cheongsam who was already ready, and asked the model to push the first car onto the stage.

"It's the same old tricks every year. People have lost interest a long time ago."

"Let's not rush to start. A waiter will put a table in front of the big bidding positions in a moment. Everyone's bidding money will be placed on it. You can take as much as you bid."

"Whoever has more money in his hand is the winner, and the ancestors will bless the winner from heaven."

"The winners' money will be collected by a special person as sponsorship for this Hong Kong Hongmen Convention. The losers' money will be returned to them, without losing a cent."

"The first 18 items were all priced at 10,000 yuan. Each time they were bid, the price would increase by 10,000 yuan. The last one, Changhong (no, it should be called Changhong Emperor), also had a fixed price, but it increased fivefold to 50,000 yuan."

"Okay, now that the rules are out, let's get started."

"Please welcome to the first lot, the Fu Lu Shou porcelain sculpture."

After Ninth Girl explained the auction rules, she began to introduce the first item. She lifted the red cloth on the cart and immediately began to introduce it: "This can be considered an old item, from the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China."

“You guys may be unfamiliar with Jiang Yusan’s name, but he is a master of porcelain carving and a famous porcelain artist.”

Chi Mengli, who was sitting with his legs crossed and smoking while watching the fun, saw the large celadon plate on the cart. The images of Fu Lu Shou on it were indeed lifelike.

Although he knew nothing about antiques or works of art, and had almost no artistic knowledge, he certainly knew the name Jiang Yusan.

In the most crucial art elective exam in his junior year, he failed at the hands of Jiang Yusan. Even if he was burned to ashes, he could still vaguely remember that multiple-choice question.

The question is very simple, any ten-year-old child can answer it.

Question: Which of the following is one of the top ten famous Chinese porcelain makers in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China?
A: Winston Churchill, B: Michael Jordan, C: Jiang Yusan.

Sometimes when I think about it, I always feel very ridiculous. I really trained the muscles in my brain, but at the critical moment, my brain cells didn’t move at all!
Churchill was the British Prime Minister and one of the Big Three in World War II. Michael Jordan played basketball. The only one who understood porcelain should be Mr. Jiang Yusan, after all, he was the only Chinese.

But Chi Mengli didn't know whether he had hit the top or his feet touched the ground at that time. His clever brain cells left the high ground. He directly used the Eagle move and chose B, allowing Michael Jordan to briefly experience the ancient Chinese culture on paper.

In fact, even if he got this question wrong, he could still get 60 points smoothly. However, the old scholar who taught this elective course was so angry at his stupid operation that he just gave him a big zero.

He was called to the office and tutoring began right away, instilling in him the history of the evolution of porcelain in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China, and telling him that Michael Jordan, a sports student, played basketball.

To put it simply, in the late Qing Dynasty, a group of top literati and scholars emerged in Jiangnan. They had very good skills in calligraphy and painting, and were also good at engraving on bronze and stone. However, they were always carving on stone, which was a bit boring and tedious. After all, their predecessors had already left a dead end.

A group of literati and scholars, including Jiang Yusan, began to use knives instead of pens to engrave landscapes, figures, flowers and birds on the smooth, plain white porcelain. These people's works have very high artistic value.

However, what Chi Mengli supplemented were all knowledge from books, and it was the first time he saw the real thing. However, when enemies meet, they are extremely jealous, so he must get this porcelain plate.

"Ten thousand dollars!"

When the Ninth Girl started to complain, Chi Mengli was the first to take action and prepared to take a picture of the porcelain plate.

When the Ninth Girl saw Chi Mengli take action, she couldn't help laughing in her heart. This handsome guy won, and he is really a weakling. This broken plate was brought back by her from the stall on Moro Street. The number gang is someone who specializes in counterfeiting antiques.

This plate was just made in a kiln in the New Territories last week. It costs thirty dollars each, which is just right for fooling these young and dangerous guys who don't know the value of things.

When Bo Xidong, who was sitting nearby, heard Brother Sheng finish calling out the price, he quickly took out ten thousand yuan from the small box and put it on the table specially for money.

"Twenty thousand dollars!"

Seeing Chi Mengli bidding, Fast Fist Jack, who had been watching coldly, immediately took action and raised the price to 20,000 yuan.

I never expected that when I bought a broken plate, someone would drive up the auction price. What a loss!
Chi Mengli snorted coldly and continued, "Thirty thousand yuan!"

The gangsters on the second floor shut up and watched the show with great interest when they saw the unknown guy with the number "梅" challenging the popular handsome guy Sheng.

In fact, at the beginning, Fast Fist Jack intended to bid for Changhong, but Changhong became the Emperor of Changhong, so Yuan Qingbei ordered Fast Fist Jack to stop and not participate in the bidding for Changhong.

After all, they only have two tasks now. One is to kill Deng Bo and Liangzai Sheng to recover Tian Si’s losses. The second is to use the Meizidui to gain a firm foothold in Hong Kong. These two points are very important and no trouble can be caused.

However, Yuan Qingbei still gave Fast Punch Jack a sum of activity funds, allowing him to bid for any items at the Changhong Fair, which also indirectly promoted the reputation of Mei Zi Dui.

Now the chance has come. If he can suppress Liangzai Sheng and take a picture of this antique plate, he can not only complete the task assigned by Yuan Qingbei, but also become famous and suppress Liangzai Sheng's arrogance. This is a three-birds-with-one-stone move... No, it's three birds with one stone!
Thinking of this, Fast Fist Jack immediately raised his hand and shouted, "Fifty thousand dollars!"

The first worthless item was bid for 50,000 yuan, which caught the big players present by surprise. They all looked at the handsome Sheng.

This broken plate is not valuable at all. If it were valuable, Ninth Girl, a loser like her, would not put it up for auction.

But now it’s not a matter of plate, it’s a matter of face.

The Meizidui is a moldy pile of bars with only a few rotten bars that can't make any name for themselves. If the popular handsome Sheng is suppressed, the news will spread all over Hong Kong tonight before tomorrow.

This Japanese idiot is going to fight with me!
Chi Mengli frowned, then immediately said, "One hundred thousand!"

One hundred thousand yuan to buy a broken plate. It seems that I have made another big mistake with Jiang Yusan.

The Ninth Lady, who was standing in the center of the stage, was delighted when she saw Chi Mengli directly offer a high price of 100,000 yuan. She deliberately cleared her throat, looked at Quick Fist Jack, and asked knowingly, "Jack, 100,000 yuan, are you sure you don't want to follow?"

"There won't be many opportunities to compete on the same stage with Brother Sheng in the future!"

(End of this chapter)