Hong Kong Storm: The King of Jobs

Chapter 425, Section 6: Dock Business

(Thanks to the boy who loves reading historical novels for his support, and thanks to the big boss for his support! Happy May Day to the big boss!)
(Wishing all the big bosses a happy May Day holiday in advance!)
(Hailstorm during May Day holiday, this is the first time I've ever seen one!)

Standing at the main entrance, Spinach Dong saw that Shen Xianjin and the others had already left to have morning tea at a nearby teahouse, so he quickly went up to them and said, "Brother Sheng, all the flower baskets have been delivered."

"Fire Dog and Joy are keeping an eye on things, there won't be any problems!"

"The seafood gift package I was asked to prepare has been delivered to Young Master Wang's house on time, and also to his second, third, and fourth mistresses. The head steward of the Wang family even gave each of the brothers who delivered the gift a large red envelope."

These kinds of small matters concerning human relationships must not be overlooked.

Young Master Wang was born into wealth; he's handled more abalone than he's eaten. This kind of rich young master, whose family has been wealthy for generations, will never eat anything you give him; he'll just pass it on.

In the past year, Chi Mengli has earned at least three million yuan from Young Master Wang. In his heart, this three million yuan makes him happier than the tens of millions he swindled from Eight-Faced Buddha.

Because this money came from legitimate sources, neither the Commercial Crime Bureau nor the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) can touch it.

Fees and rent are all illicit funds that can't be kept at home. Otherwise, if the cops come and see a large sum of money, they'll confiscate it, claiming it's from a triad member's shady business.

Therefore, the only way out for gangsters is to keep investing or speculate on real estate. Of course, they can also launder their money through money laundering services.

But once the money goes into the money exchange, 40% immediately evaporates, and with the handling fees, at least 70% is lost.

You should know that back then, Yan Tong really pulled out the lion's nose and pressed it against the forehead of Sun Guanqing, the then-leader of the gang. If no one had stopped him, he might have really smashed Sun Guanqing's head.

However, buying and selling properties and land also carries risks. Two years later, the real estate market collapsed, and 80% of the bigwigs in the underworld owed large sums of money to banks, losing all their wealth.

Chi Mengli shook her head helplessly. With over three million in income, she couldn't help but show her appreciation. Tonight at the party, she needed to give Young Master Wang a check for one million to further solidify their relationship.

No one ever complains about not having enough money! Even rich kids born with mountains of gold and silver are no exception.

"We must also deliver Old Man Wen's gift. We must send a gift to every member of the Wen family. It doesn't have to be too expensive, a few thousand yuan will do."

"Giving gifts is like giving out cigarettes. Either you don't give any at all, or you do give one to each person."

Chi Mengli has a very good memory; he remembers every word in the call log. Now that Old Ghost Wen has made his move, he naturally has to respond.

But Wen Laogui is a businessman, not a江湖人 (jianghu person). Business tycoons don't care about any nonsense about江湖道义 (jianghu ethics). It's common practice in Hong Kong's business world for a dump truck to hit the jackpot, the center to bloom, and the whole family to die.

This is also the main reason why young people in Hong Kong who want to do business have to pay exorbitant fees to the authorities. These fees are essentially protection fees, a way to buy a protective umbrella for their entire family.

The Wen family is such a big piece of meat that it's too difficult to bite into by myself; I need to find a helper.

Before finding any help, Chi Mengli cannot turn against him; she needs to find a like-minded ally.

Thinking of this, Chi Mengli put her hands together, bowed three times to Guan Sheng Di Jun in the main hall, then put on sunglasses, took out a check for ten thousand dollars, and handed it to Xizai, asking Xizai to give it to the temple keeper.

On the first day of the new year, let's make some good connections!

Since the boss wanted to eat vegetarian food, Chi Mengli, his henchman, naturally had to go and accompany him.

The teahouse next to the Dragon Tiger Temple is very good at business. They prepare a vegetarian feast on the first and fifteenth of each lunar month. The tea is Mengding tribute tea transported from Sichuan and Chongqing. Now, the main products of the supply and marketing cooperative stores on Zhongying Street are all kinds of top-grade teas.

These teas, originally reserved for imperial tribute, can now be bought for a small amount of money, much to the delight of the Shanghai locals, who have become the highest-ranking VIP customers of the supply and marketing cooperative stores.

Chi Mengli only drinks two kinds of tea, Longjing and chrysanthemum. It's too early to drink Longjing now, as it's the transition from winter to spring and the lungs are prone to dryness and heat. So he ordered a pot of chrysanthemum tea for himself, along with a few baskets of snacks, and chatted with Shenxian Jin and Ma Wangjian.

"Ah Sheng, I heard that the Dragon Palace Nightclub deal has been finalized."

Shenxian Jin poured Chi Mengli a cup of tea and steered the conversation to the soon-to-open Dragon Palace Nightclub.

"It's definitely going to open soon. Old Ding is really sharp-witted. I've already reserved a gold card for him. Old Ding should come out and show off to us youngsters and give us some encouragement!"

Chi Mengli accepted the teacup with both hands, uttering polite words. He explained that the "Immortal Brocade" was a ploy by Xiang Zhuang to target Liu Bang, while he himself was simply responding to the move to avoid being taken advantage of by the old scoundrel in front of him.

“You and A-Jian are brothers from the same school. He has resources, and you have venues. If you sit down together and cooperate, there shouldn’t be any problems.”

“Ah Jian will pay the rent in full. Sometimes I think that we do need 49ers, but we need 49ers who dare to fight and struggle, not 49ers who are just trying to make a living.”

But at this point, Shenxian Jin chuckled to himself. He'd been a street hustler before, penniless and needing a knife to get things done for gangsters. He'd privately cursed his uncles who sat on the high-ranking seats, swindling and cheating people. In this world, without money, even your own father and mother can't get by; they'll just call you a good-for-nothing!
"Old Ding, don't joke around. Fighting for territory is a death sentence now. The O-Division's anti-triads are watching every day. If you dare to make a move, your whole family will be in jail."

"Now that the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has been established, it's no longer common to throw gangsters at Shark Dim Sum Cafe. But the black pots in the O-Team's anti-triad archives room are enough to fill the room. If anything happens, the sentence will be at least ten years."

Ma Wangjian is known for having no interest in territory; he runs a food delivery business and a street food stall. In all of Hong Kong, he has the most street prostitutes, and he's the most prostitute in the city.

He paid the rent on time, and his business was going smoothly. If any foolish bastards tried to take a cut, he would send his henchmen to do it, ensuring that these foolish bastards would be sent to the underworld to sell salted duck eggs.

He never chooses territories with big gangs, but only cooperates with sunset gangs, placing street girls on their territories. These sunset gangs are eager for Ma Wangjian to come to their door so they can collect rent.

If it comes to starting a fight, Ma Wangjian is the first to disagree!

"I'm not talking about seizing territory, I'm talking about seizing the docks!"

There are only a handful of lucrative territories in Hong Kong.

The streets are in chaos, which will definitely upset the cops. And if the cops are upset, then Shenxian Jin and his gang leaders will be sent back to jail.

Being imprisoned after serving time in a public office is not a good sign.

When Shen Xianjin was still a greenhorn, he was in jail every day. The powerful Sun Guanqing would go to the police station to bail him out every day. If he were still in jail now that he was old, wouldn't he be a complete failure?

Upon hearing Shen Xianjin mention the dock business, Chi Mengli became somewhat interested. His application for a small dock for his garbage disposal station had not yet been approved, and the current garbage disposal was proving to be very troublesome.

We need to use Wenlaogui's cargo terminal, and we need to pay rent and cleaning fees every month.

If it were just a matter of money, Chi Mengli could tolerate it, but Wen Laogui kept thinking about his garbage disposal company, since the municipal government no longer approves garbage collection licenses.

Currently, an industrial waste disposal license can fetch up to two million yuan on the black market, and most of the time it's a case of having a price but no market for it.

Nobody's stupid, they just haven't figured it out yet. If you get an industrial waste disposal license and apply for a land reclamation project, you can just haul the construction waste to Tsuen Wan and dump it into the sea, and nobody will cause any trouble.

It saves time and effort, and you can earn two sets of money.

"Old Ding, the dock's idea is good, but these dock owners are not to be trifled with. Behind these dock owners are boat gangs. These fishermen don't care what your reputation is in the underworld. If you touch their source of income, they'll touch your source of livelihood."

"This deal isn't worth it!"

Ma Wangjian also became interested, but then he thought that the fishermen in the boat gang were all lawless. After they finished their business on land, they would drift back to the high seas, and they wouldn't even have a chance to take revenge.

Shenxian Jin was not angry and continued, "The dock business is not like it used to be. Twenty years ago, a ton of rubber could be sold for more than ten times the price. Buying a ship was more profitable than opening a jewelry store."

“But things are different now. The international shipping market has been sluggish, and many dock owners are selling their docks. We don’t need to sell all the small docks in Hong Kong; we just need to buy a few docks that are off Kowloon Island.”

“Now the foreigners are demanding exorbitant prices. They take 30% of the profits from a group of prostitutes coming ashore at Wan Chai Pier, and they also take 30% from the prostitutes who go to Hong Kong to work.”

"But now that the foreigners want to leave, our water room can take over this business. We don't deal with prostitutes, we only transport goods and collect rent."

“Even if the Narcotics Bureau targets us, we can draw a red card and find someone to take the blame. The resettlement allowance is generous, and there are many people in Kowloon Walled City willing to be made into pork.”

Shenxianjin's plan was very clever. Hong Kong may not have much else, but it's known for its extensive raiding operations. Goods from Chiang Mai can reach Hong Kong in just three days. With large speedboats coming and going, even if the water police are watching, they won't be able to find out.

The Narcotics Bureau only has a few hundred officers, so how could they possibly investigate the entire city of Hong Kong? Even if it was just bad luck and Miss Bai was arrested, it was only the dealer's fault, not his, the rent collector's, responsibility.

"Old Ding is truly amazing! How could he come up with such a ridiculous idea? I really have to applaud you!"

"The ginger is getting spicier and spicier; we greenhorns really have a lot to learn!"

This plan is brilliant. Shenxian Jin never intended to take a risk from the start, after all, the major ports of Hong Kong belong to foreigners like Jardine Matheson, HSBC, and Swire.

Several medium-sized wharves belong to the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce, the Chaozhou Chamber of Commerce, the Wuyi Chamber of Commerce, and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce.

It would be easy for these two groups to openly operate a dead-end house, but Shenxianjin took a different approach by expanding the small wharf. This kind of underhanded tactic would not be noticed by Shanghai Zai and the Chaozhou Chamber of Commerce.

Thinking of this, Chi Mengli clapped her hands from the bottom of her heart!
(End of this chapter)