Hong Kong Storm: The King of Jobs

Chapter 445, Section 26: Hong Piao

The red fortune stick container in the water room was commissioned by Liqishen to be made in Haojiang by King Zhou Zhiyuan. It used three nines, after all, Shark-Dare Tong had not yet taken power at that time.

Paul the Elder is in good health and is preparing to hand over his position as head of the brokerage firm to his son, Paul Jr.

With the expiration of the exclusive rights to Fu Shou Gao, Fu Laorong was already a toothless tiger. Since being kidnapped, his prestige in the underworld had basically dropped to zero. Therefore, for the sake of his descendants, Fu Laorong gave up the exclusive rights to Fu Shou Gao.

Li Jia had already obtained the exclusive rights to sell Kowloon Island and wanted to test the waters in Macau.

Of course, this is just what people in the underworld say. Li Qishen was no child. Tung Wah Group of Hospitals and Po Leung Kuk clearly wanted to destroy the Li family. Since he couldn't make it in Hong Kong, he went to Macau to look for opportunities. In the end, Li Qishen was shot in the head with three bullets.

This red lottery tube is made of three nines (purity), with a gold skin, silver lining, and copper core. The red stick you draw, the four nines, will go to die with the Li family.

However, this misfortune turned into a blessing in disguise, as Shui Fong established a branch in Macau and gained access to Stanley Ho.

Although the Li family and the water room had a falling out later, the red lottery tube was not taken back. From then on, whenever the water room drew a red lottery ticket, they would use this lottery tube, showing the importance they attached to the red lottery ticket.

One should have a sense of ritual in life, after all, it's a life-or-death situation. If one lacks loyalty and courage, the traitors won't be easily fooled.

Chi Mengli opened the box and took out the red divination stick tube. Even though it was gold-plated, it was still quite heavy, weighing about five or six pounds, and could be used as a meteor hammer.

The Hong Piao (slip) is made of pure silver, and is entirely white, except for one that is white on top and red on the bottom.

This white-on-top, red-on-bottom slip is the legendary "Hong Ticket," a death warrant.

Chi Mengli once drew that damned Hong ticket and took Spinach eastward to kill Brother Hongtai, her original childhood idol.

Now the cycle has begun. The man who got lucky and won the Hung ticket back then, taking away the chance that all the 49ers longed for to get ahead, is now hosting the Hung ticket draw. It's ironic.

With a cold laugh to herself, Chi Mengli poured all the silver trinkets in her hand into the jar, shook it gently a few times, and then placed it in the center of the altar.

"Jimi, your younger brother got this plane. You're in charge of the resettlement fee for this Hong Kong lottery, 300,000."

Chi Mengli snapped her fingers, looked at Ji Mi, and told him to pay the settlement fee.

Ji Mi, whose name was called, nodded in agreement.

Seeing that Ji Mi agreed, Chi Mengli asked Xi Zai to take out the kraft paper bags that had been prepared in advance and place them all in front of the red lottery tube. The total amount was 300,000 in cash, all in large denominations.

“If Ji Mi makes a mistake, from now on, the illegal gambling business in Hong Kong will belong to Ah Hu. Similarly, Ah Hu, you can’t just take the money for nothing. So, if you take down Greyhound Seven’s red card, your Temple Street 49ers will draw the prize.”

"Any comments?"

The business of betting on correct score betting can be incredibly lucrative, earning thousands of dollars a day just from taking a cut. Compared to this, hookah gambling and underground gambling dens are insignificant and not worth mentioning at all.

Black Tiger had long coveted the sic bo score business. He worked in the construction business with his boss, which was tiring and didn't bring in much profit. He could only earn tens of thousands of dollars a month. The Construction and Building Administration and the Labour Administration came to his door every day to cause trouble and check his identity card.

To appease these foreign investigators who come to our door, we have to take half of our profits every month.

Although the construction business is a legitimate profession, you can't make money in legitimate businesses, and there are just as many troublesome scoundrels. It's better to continue in the underworld and stick to one path to the end.

Ji Mi has been having a run of bad luck lately; one of his underlings has become a traitor, which is perfect for him.

"Of course I have no objection! Ji Mi, when you're recruiting younger brothers, you need to be more discerning. If you cause any more trouble, I, the head of this gang, will have to teach you a lesson in manners."

"Brother Sheng, you're the boss, I'll follow you through thick and thin!"

Why would a fool trade the life of a henchman for a way to make money? Besides, the gang even gives out resettlement fees, saving him money—a win-win situation!

Thinking of this, Hei Ahu immediately agreed, promising to follow him to the end.

"Since you agree, let the brothers draw lots!"

Chi Mengli smiled, stepped aside, and let Hei Ahu's henchmen draw a red slip.

As the White Paper Fan of the Hall, Black Tiger naturally didn't need to go forward to draw lots, but he still had to do something. He took off his pure gold Rolex Datejust from his wrist, put it in the pile of banknotes on the altar, and bowed to Guan Yu.

"This is the first time the triad has drawn a Hung ticket. Your chance to make a name for yourself has come. Back when Brother Sheng dominated Yau Ma Tei, he won a Hung ticket and got caught by the cops. At most, he'll be in jail for three years. The triad will hire a top lawyer for you to handle the case."

"Don't be afraid of going to jail. There are brothers to take care of you in jail. It's even more carefree than outside. Every month, your family will receive a resettlement allowance, and you'll also have 300 yuan deposited in jail."

"Enough for the down-on-their-luck brothers to live a life of luxury and extravagance inside."

“I, Hei Ahu, swear before Guan Yu, the God of War, that if any brother wins the lottery, I will immediately give him a chance and help him get a promotion.”

After finishing his sentence, Hei Ahu looked at the 49ers behind him and gave his leader, Niluo, a wink, signaling Niluo to step forward and set an example for the younger ones.

Since Mud Snail had already become a top dog, he had started to get involved in gangster business. Unlike the other 49ers, who were naive and foolish, he knew that so-called brotherhood was just bullshit.

Three hundred thousand dollars in cash, plus a gold Rolex watch, is indeed tempting, but it's money to buy your life.

They'll make you a big shot as soon as you step out! Get a job!
Don't be ridiculous! The big shots in Hong Kong's underworld change every year. A popular figure in the underworld who's having a run of bad luck might not even last two months.

Once you're out, they'll promote you to a high-ranking position and make you a big shot!

I wanted to promote you to be the number one guy, but I'm afraid you're not destined for it!

Mud Snail cursed inwardly, "These gang leaders are all heartless. They live a life of luxury, but when trouble comes, they leave their underlings to cover for them. They're utterly inhuman!"

But the big boss of the sect had already spoken, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and move forward, leading the way to draw Hong's votes.

If we lose face with the big boss, even mud snails will have no chance of survival.

Mud Snail reached into the red divination stick container, selected a silver stick, and drew it out.

Thank goodness, it wasn't a Hong ticket!
On the surface, the mud snail seemed very regretful, but inside it was overjoyed, having finally escaped a disaster.

"next."

Black Tiger shouted, telling Mud Snail to get out of there quickly and not interfere with the lottery.

"Next. Next."

Three people were drawn in a row without any result, until the fourth person, Hong, was finally drawn.

The person who drew the winning ticket was a stranger; he was a 49-year-old from the East Union Society's water office, named Da Zhi.

Seeing that it was a new face, Chi Mengli was stunned for a moment. He had indeed wanted to trick Hei Ahu into doing things, but it was best not to do things that would harm others without benefiting oneself.

These old gangsters who switched sides were originally in it for money, and quite a few of them ran away with the resettlement fees.

The first time the Yau Ma Tei branch drew up the Hung ticket, a good-for-nothing ran away with it. Chi Meng-li will be ridiculed by the God of War for the rest of his life.

But this guy named Dazhi had a victorious smile on his face. He placed the Hong ticket in front of Guan Sheng Di Jun with both hands, hoping that Guan Sheng Di Jun would bless him.

The die is cast, and Chi Mengli couldn't utter a single word of doubt. He could only walk to the altar, put the gold and 300,000 in cash into Dazhi's pocket, and then pat him on the shoulder, saying, "Work for the gang leader, work for the branch."

"The old man who runs the business won't forget you. Come out and get a job as a big red stick."

"The organization is fair and just, and we will never forget your contributions!"

This was the first time Da Zhi had spoken so closely to the gang leader. His face turned red, and he kept nodding, indicating that he would definitely take down Greyhound Seven, who had acted as a double agent.

Fire Dog, standing on the periphery of the crowd, lit a cigarette with a lighter and stuffed it into the mouth of Ying Weikun, who had already been chopped into mincemeat.

Huanxi rolled in a gasoline drum, stopped next to Ying Weikun, and beckoned to his two henchmen to throw Ying Weikun's body into the gasoline drum.

They'll transport it to the sea, make two big holes in it, and hand it over to Fish Head Huang to throw into the deep sea. Anyway, he takes the fishermen night fishing every night, so they can use Ying Weikun's corpse as bait.

"Fire Dog, why didn't you go up and fight for it? You gave that bastard Mud Snail the chance to shine! Now Black Tiger is so arrogant! He won't even give Brother Dong a face. Does he really think he's the boss of the gang?"

Huanxi bowed to the gasoline can, waved his hand, and told his henchmen to put the lid on and drive it away. When he turned around, he saw Hei Ahu's arrogant appearance, spat on the ground, and said in a sarcastic tone.

"Bullshit! With this kind of attention, Lao Ding is clearly letting that stinky guy Hei A Hu get away with it. Dong Ge and Ji Mi Ge don't even have a chance. It's all because Ying Wei Kun did something wrong."

"Kill Greyhound Seven, get a 300,000 yuan settlement fee, spend a few years in jail, and you'll be a big shot when you come out. Only a fool wouldn't do that!"

"Alright! Stop talking nonsense, I'm calling you Old Man Huanxi!"

Huo Gou was very unhappy about not getting any Hong tickets, but since things had come to this, all he could do was make a few sarcastic remarks.

Upon hearing Lao Ding's call, Huanxi quickly threw the cigarette she had just lit on the ground and stomped it out. She ran up to Chi Mengli and said with a smile, "Lao Ding, did you call me?"

"Yes! Brother Huanxi, you're getting more and more handsome lately!"

"Mud snail, come here!"

Chi Mengli made a sarcastic remark, then waved and called over Hei A Hu's leader, Ni Luo.

“Ah Hu, Mud Snail is your right-hand man and a rising star in the gang. You have many ways to make money, and you can’t manage the gang’s betting business. Mud Snail is one of us, a good brother. From now on, the betting business in Hong Kong will be handed over to Mud Snail.”

"The rules of the branch and the rules of the hall are all laid out in the open, so I don't need to explain them further."

"Huanxi, you're an experienced horse, an old horse knows the way. Take good care of this new horse, Niluo. Bishiqiang, find Niluo a movie star, no, two!"

“Arrange one for Dazhi, and put it on the bill at the branch.”

"Dazhi, after you take care of Greyhound Seven, you'll also have an underground betting station that belongs to Grandpa, but is under your command."

Chi Mengli patted Dazhi on the shoulder and described to him the glorious future he might have had if he hadn't been shot in the head by the cops on the spot!
(End of this chapter)