Hong Kong Storm: The King of Jobs

Chapter 437, Section 18: New Technology is a New Path to Wealth
(Thanks to the boy who loves reading historical novels for his support!)

Su Long's eyes lit up when he saw A Cong's superb agility.

Something's wrong with the water room!
Handsome Sheng and this unknown young man are both rising stars in the underworld in the last two years. They are highly skilled and would be able to stand on their own if they were to set up their own gang.

Hutchison Whampoa has weathered over a century of ups and downs in Hong Kong, and it certainly has enough foundation to attract a steady stream of new talents.

"Hahaha, Sheng-ge, this plane has really blown up!"

Seeing that the situation was a bit awkward, Dao Yousheng stepped in to smooth things over, saying with a smile, "Peace-making wine, no bloodshed, that's the rule of the martial arts world. But you and I are not only brothers in the martial arts world, but also disciples of the Hongmen."

"Brother Sheng, of course there are other solutions!"

Chi Mengli picked up the Remy Martin bottle from the box, tapped it lightly a few times with his finger, and the glass bottle made a crisp sound. He listened to it for a few moments, then smiled and asked, "When did Xinji join the Hongmen?"

"The Chaozhou Gang is the Chaozhou Gang, and the Hongmen is the Hongmen. Am I supposed to ask Chief Steward Lin about the Four Gates and Four Pillars?"

"funny!"

“Brother Jun, I won’t make things difficult for you. It’s true that drinking to make peace is against the rules of the Hongmen. No matter what path you take in the future, you are still a member of the Hongmen today.”

"Throwing out two or three hundred thousand is not an admission of guilt. If it were ten years ago, the Wen family would have already sent you a cement coffin."

Chi Mengli hesitated to speak, his voice trembling. Xinji was indeed not a member of the Hongmen. Although Xinji participated in every Hongmen Conference, they were not on the same path.

And Chi Mengli was right; if it were ten years ago, the big boss Yuan was indeed dead beyond any doubt.

"Young Master Wen, you are the aggrieved party. Whether Boss Yuan drinks this bottle of wine or smashes it is up to you!"

This whole scene was meant for Wen Laogui's family. Chi Mengli was just taking advantage of the situation and threw the bottle back into the box, wanting to test Wen Tianxin's courage.

Xizai placed the box in front of Wen Tianxin, awaiting the young master's decision.

Wen Tianxin stared at the Remy Martin bottle in the box, unable to make up his mind. He felt good smashing it, but he had also made an enemy. From now on, he would have to be very careful whenever he came or went.

But if he doesn't vent his anger, all sorts of triads will come after him to cause trouble for Ding Quan's business in the future.

To smash or not to smash!
Wen Tianxin suddenly felt caught in a dilemma. The wine bottle in the box had become a hot potato; he couldn't take it, nor could he leave it.

Chi Mengli witnessed all of Wen Tianxin's actions. It was truly lamentable that Wen Tianxin, a hero of his time, had given birth to such a good-for-nothing.

Fishing and freight transport are inherently unpredictable businesses; if you can't maintain your footing, take the opportunity to switch to another line of work.

Old Man Wen realized that his sons weren't cut out for the life of a江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry), which is why he planned to go ashore. The Wen family had made a living from the sea for four generations, and even if they went ashore, they would still have to maintain control, since the fishing business was highly profitable and had a high turnover rate.

After waiting for more than ten seconds, Wen Tianxin made a decision. Instead of smashing the Remy Martin bottle on Da Laoyuan's head and retaliating in kind, he poured the liquor from the bottle onto Da Laoyuan's head.

Spicy liquor streamed down Da Laoyuan's head, but he remained expressionless, not revealing his intention to teach Wen Tianxin a lesson. Instead, he waited until the bottle was empty before wiping his face.

"Young Master Wen, we're even this time. From now on, whenever I see you on Ding Quan Road, I promise I'll take a detour and we'll keep to ourselves!"

The big boss's statement immediately enlivened the atmosphere, and everyone present laughed in agreement.

Dao Yousheng quickly stepped forward, fearing that the big boss Yuan would make a move, and stood between the two, saying with a smile, "It's better to resolve enmity than to make it. From now on, we'll all be relying on Ding Quan for our livelihood, so we should stand united against outsiders!"

Chi Mengli sighed inwardly. There was a reason why the big boss could become the future Axe Jun, the leader of the Five Tigers of Tsim Sha Tsui, and the tiger among tigers in Tsim Sha Tsui.

The leader of a gang must be able to fight, but he can't just be good at fighting. He also needs to know how to be patient. After all, the territory of the gang belongs to the elders and is part of the triad. The territory is just lent to you to do things.

If there's constant fighting on the turf, not only will the old folks be unhappy, but the big bosses will be too. After all, if there's constant fighting, the cops will come knocking to check licenses, and business will be impossible.

The big boss is just enduring it for the sake of business. It seems that Wen Laogui has been using a lot of underhanded tactics lately.

"No fight, no friendship; things will definitely be peaceful from now on."

Wen Tianxin regained his pride, a smile returned to his face, and he prepared to make peace with the powerful Yuan Hua.

Standing to the side, Alang suddenly felt that the scene was a bit strange, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He picked up two glasses of wine from the table and handed them to the young master and the boss, Yuan.

The drenched boss Yuan took the cup, raised it with both hands, touched the bottom of Young Master Wen's cup, and flattered him, saying, "Young Master Wen is generous. From now on, we scoundrels will all follow behind Young Master Wen and make money."

"From now on, we, the people of Yuen Long, will follow Young Master Wen's lead without question!"

"I'll finish this glass; please feel free to drink as you like!"

The humiliation of being forced to drink earlier seemed completely unnoticed by the big boss. With a genuine smile, he treated Young Master Wen like old buddies, downing his drink in one gulp. "Easy! Easy!"

Former rivals, now lapdogs – this is not a strange phenomenon in the business world; it's quite common.

Having one more friend or brother is always better than having one more enemy.

Seeing that the problem was solved, Wen Tianxin's anger subsided. He handed the wine glass to Alang, looked at Liangzai Sheng, and said, "Brother Sheng, thank you very much this time."

"If you're free tomorrow, come to the Fisheries Chamber of Commerce. Let's have a good chat."

"We still have things to do tonight, so Lao Si and I won't stay any longer. Sheng Ge, please keep Jun Ge, Sheng Ge, and Mr. Su company. Tonight's bill is on me, so make sure you have a great time."

Seeing that Wen Tianchuan didn't want to leave, Wen Tianxin reached out and pulled his half-brother, urging the good-for-nothing to catch up. Before they came, his father had already told him that he could vent his anger, but he couldn't eat.

The Wen family are legitimate businessmen, not triad members. The Wen family can command gangsters, but they cannot collude with them or share their fate.

Unable to continue watching, Wen Tianchuan was very disappointed, but as the eldest brother, he couldn't disobey his elder brother's orders, so he could only leave with great regret.

"Jimi, starting today, you will send two henchmen to follow Young Master Wen and Fourth Young Master. Find them to be thorough in their work. The underworld is in chaos lately, so safety should be the top priority."

Upon seeing Wen Tianxin, the Wen brothers were about to leave when Chi Mengli immediately ordered Ji Mi to send his subordinates, Si Jiuzi, to protect Wen Tianxin and the Wen brothers.

After the Wen brothers left, Alang instructed the kitchen to serve the dishes, greeted the people present, and then turned and left.

The problem has been resolved. Boss Yuan really didn't want to see Handsome Sheng and Ji Mi's sour faces, so he wasn't going to eat dinner and was about to leave.

"Brother Jun, we became friends after a fight. I heard you've been having a run of bad luck lately, and the Nine-Tailed Fox swindled you out of a lot of money. You got the money, but the pork never got your hands on it."

Chi Mengli stood in front of Boss Yuan, shoved the wine glass in her hand into Boss Yuan's hand, and prepared to talk business with him.

"Wow, Sheng-ge, you're incredibly resourceful! You even heard about this?"

"The boxing champion Sheng introduced me to a new path, a job in the water room, and now Uncle Jin is also taking advantage of me."

The collaboration between the boss and Nine-Tailed Fox and Boxing King Sheng ended in failure. Apart from receiving the first batch of pork, he didn't even see a hair of the other three batches.

Hearing that Handsome Sheng had a way to make money, he sat down to see what kind of tricks Handsome Sheng was up to.

"Hey, go find a handkerchief. You have no sense of propriety at all. If Jun catches a cold, I'll hold you responsible."

"Jimi, take the things out."

"Brother Sheng, this way of making money is also suitable for you. It's not illegal. You can make money while lying on it. Even if the cops come knocking on your door, those bastards can't do anything to us!"

Chi Mengli sat in the main seat and greeted fellow Daoists, and Su Long took his seat.

Ji Mi pushed out the television and VCR that he had prepared in advance, placed them next to the table, plugged both machines in, and inserted a videotape into the VCR.

Sitting at the table, Daoist Sheng, Su Long, and Boss Yuan all curiously looked at the television, wondering what kind of tricks the handsome guy was up to.

After Ji Mi finished adjusting the TV, she handed the remote control to Chi Mengli.

Chi Mengli pressed a few buttons on the remote control to turn on the TV, tuned the output channel, and the TV screen, which was full of static, suddenly displayed a new image.

Jack Cheng appeared on the television screen. Boss Yuan was startled, then looked closely at the screen and realized it was Jack Cheng starring in "Snake in the Eagle's Shadow," a hugely popular movie from last year that was also the box office champion.

Chi Mengli beckoned to Xizai to bring over the videotape cover and hand it to Daoyousheng who was standing nearby.

"This is the latest technology from Japan. You can call it a VCR or a videotape player. It has a connector on the back, which is provided free of charge by the VCR manufacturer. As long as it is connected to a TV, it will work normally."

"I have already bought the rights to 700 movies, which means my videotape factory can produce 700 movies."

"I'll pay nine yuan per tape for those with the title, but each order must be at least 100,000 tapes. As for you two, Jun-ge and Sheng-ge, it'll be ten yuan per tape, but each order must be at least 50,000 tapes."

"Of course, the more you buy, the cheaper the price will be."

"As for this kind of recorder with connector, it costs two hundred yuan a unit. Of course, it is a genuine Japanese product. I have bought out the patent from Sony in one go, and Sony allows me to sell it under their brand."

"I think in less than a year, Hong Kong will be full of these roadside machines, and the price will be driven down to the level of a red snapper."

(End of this chapter)