Hong Kong Storm: The King of Jobs

Chapter 649, Section 239: Heading to Southeast Asia (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

Bald Eagle shook his head. The price was too high. It would take at least seven months to break even on this deal.

The drug stall couldn't last seven months, because the drug dealers themselves couldn't last seven months either. They were either tricked by the cops or died in their tents from overdoing it.

The longer it takes to break even, the more dangers there are, and the greater the chance of ending up in the ancestral hall.

The bald eagle certainly doesn't want to spend the rest of its life squatting in an ancestral hall, eating oranges every day, even if it has a trump card.

“Uncle Eagle, eight million is indeed not a small amount, but it shouldn’t be a problem for you.”

Chi Mengli stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray, took a sip of the now-cold Longjing tea, rinsed her mouth, and refused to let go.

There are just too many bad apples out there; it doesn't have to be the US.

"Four million! That's all I can come up with!"

After some deliberation, the bald eagle simply halved it in half.

The price difference is too great! Chi Mengli shook her head, indicating her refusal, and prepared to get up and see the guest out.

"Wait a minute! I know a boss who has a batch of goods to store, but he can't find a suitable safe. Shui Fong has the best reputation, and he wants to cooperate with you, Sheng-zai."

"One deal, plus four million taels of silver, this is a great deal!"

The boss behind Bald Eagle had a shipment of goods that needed to be transported to Hong Kong and required proper storage. The warehouse in Shui Fong was known for its security, so the boss approached Bald Eagle to handle the matter.

"Six million! You can't use my profits to cover the shortfall."

"This is a discounted price, not a penny less!"

There are very few people in Hong Kong who can do the vault business. Even if the bald eagle doesn't help pave the way, people will eventually come to you. The reduced two million is just the middleman's tea fee.

Chi Mengli continued smoking, waiting for the bald eagle's reply.

"Sure! How do we trade?"

Six million taels of silver!
This price is reasonable. For two million less, the operating period can be reduced by two and a half months, allowing us to recover costs earlier.

Bald Eagle inquired about the transaction details, fearing he might be scammed by Handsome Sheng.

"Simple! Just hand the money to Lao Ding. Once the money is in Lao Ding's hands, just wait for my call."

"Uncle Eagle, I won't keep you any longer. I have an appointment with someone. Before the deal, it's best if we avoid seeing each other to prevent being targeted by the cops!"

Chi Mengli stood up to see the guest out, telling the bald eagle to get lost and warning him not to meet with this good-for-nothing unless absolutely necessary.

“I know the rules! I’ll inform the boss. The goods will be delivered directly to your dock. I’ll let you know the manifest and container number in advance!”

Minimal contact is a good thing; this is the safe rule for engaging in shady dealings. Avoid meeting unless absolutely necessary, and only meet when there's a problem in the process. This is a better way to protect yourself.

Bald Eagle nodded, greeted Chi Mengli, and then turned and left.

Chi Mengli asked Bo Cai to go see the bald eagle downstairs, while she picked up the microphone.

There was a busy signal on the microphone for a few seconds before someone answered the phone.

"Old Ding?"

"It's me. Is everything settled?"

"It's all settled! Man proposes, God disposes. Uncle Ying wants things to go up in tandem, so of course I'll let him have his way!"

"It's extremely difficult to find a fool willing to step forward and take the blame!" Chi Mengli complained to Shen Xianjin on the other end of the microphone.

"I know! He chose the path to hell when there was one to heaven! He's just unlucky."

"That's all for now! I'll let you know if anything happens!"

Shenxian Jin, on the other end of the phone, sneered and made a few sarcastic remarks before hanging up.

Chi Mengli tossed the microphone back onto the rack, humming a little tune, and left the private room.

"In the garden, cicadas sing and drink dew, while a mantis lurks behind, intent on catching them; the mantis is focused on catching the cicada, while a yellow oriole stretches its neck to peck at the mantis; the yellow oriole is greedy for food, unaware that a pellet is below!"

Three days after meeting Bald Eagle, Chi Mengli, Acong, and Wei Guo boarded a medium-sized seaplane and went with Teacher Li to meet a powerful person who could cause trouble for Song Sheng.

The seaplane did not take off immediately, but remained stationary on the high seas. Ten minutes later, a large speedboat arrived at the sea and a suitcase was placed on the seaplane.

Today, Maid Number One wasn't wearing that eye-catching maid outfit that even Japanese comics would make. Instead, she was wearing a flight attendant uniform. She struggled to lift the suitcase and put it on the luggage rack above Teacher Li's head.

"This is a gift, one million pounds!"

"The Zu family is still one of the top investors. The pound sterling is a hard currency all over the world. Even Rongbaozhai, north of the border, accepts small denomination pounds. And the manager of Rongbaozhai doesn't care about the authenticity of the pounds." Seeing the doubt on Chi Mengli's face, Teacher Li explained.

"You've been very generous. Now, can you tell me where your destination is?"

Picking up the goods on the high seas proves that the entire box of silver notes is counterfeit.

Using counterfeit money as a gift is a clever scheme. The recipient won't care because they'll always find a way to spend it.

Chi Mengli yawned boredly and asked where the destination of this station was.

Clark City on Luzon Island!

"A beautiful city, surrounded by the sea on three sides, with an 80-kilometer coastline."

"An undefended city!"

After Teacher Li finished speaking, he opened a bottle of chilled champagne, poured a glass for Chi Mengli, and continued, "Now Luzon Island is Miss Bai's most important transit point."

"The Hong Kong police are becoming increasingly incorruptible, but these Southeast Asian monkeys are different. As long as you bribe the local police chief, they'll give you the green light."

"Processing and distribution are much more convenient than in Hong Kong!"

"It's just that the whole Philippines is poor, and the credit banknotes it issues keep depreciating. They can only be used as transit points to go to Malaysia and Hawaii, unlike Hong Kong where you can still make a living from a noodle stall!"

Chi Mengli accepted the champagne glass and agreed with Teacher Li's statement. Hong Kong's financial sector is developed, and its tourism industry is also good. Whether Miss Bai stays or leaves is not a problem.

Most chefs in Asia are from Hong Kong. Even in the lawless Golden Triangle, the distribution of services to Miss Bai is controlled by Hong Kong triads. The border banks and money exchanges in Chiang Mai are controlled by members of Hong Kong triads.

The seaplane's propellers began to spin, and the engine's enormous thrust propelled the seaplane across the water. The pilot then pulled on the control stick, causing the seaplane to begin its ascent.

This modified seaplane has a larger fuel tank, allowing it to fly a range of 2,000 kilometers, but its flight altitude is only 800 meters. In order to evade radar detection, the flight altitude is generally controlled at 300 meters.

After takeoff, the turbulence of the aircraft decreased significantly. Chi Mengli put her champagne glass on the table, picked up the newspaper next to her, and began to read today's news.

Acong sat next to Chi Mengli, holding a small fruit knife and slowly peeling an apple.

Watching Ah Cong peel an apple is a pleasure, because the peel doesn't break and the thickness of the peel is roughly the same. Even when the seaplane shakes during flight, it doesn't hinder Ah Cong's nimble fingers.

Wei Guo is currently playing a number-filling game. He has recently become very fascinated by this brain-training game. He even bought more than a dozen copies for his son, who lives far away in his hometown, and asked someone to send them back to his hometown, all in order to help his son develop his brain.

The flight from Hong Kong to Clark on Luzon Island takes only three hours, but the seaplane does not land directly in Clark. Instead, it lands in international waters near Clark, where a yacht is already waiting.

Teacher Li, Chi Mengli went down the boarding stairs, boarded a rubber boat, arrived at the yacht, and climbed the ladder onto the yacht.

Meanwhile, a cargo ship was slowly approaching the seaplane on the high seas. This was a refueling ship on the high seas, which only appeared in designated locations to make money off unsuspecting customers.

There were attractive maids dressed as crew members on the yacht, so it was no surprise that the yacht also belonged to Teacher Li.

Chi Mengli endured the pain the entire flight. He first found a restroom, relieved himself, and then went to the room that Teacher Li had prepared for him to rest.

The yacht took about half an hour to sail back to Clark from the high seas. Chi Mengli and Teacher Li changed into suits, got off the yacht, and left the yacht club in a Rolls-Royce Silver Spur that Teacher Li had prepared in advance.

Clark is a small city, full of wooden houses, with the better ones being tin-roofed houses.

The streets were filled with idle Southeast Asian monkeys wandering around aimlessly, with a few stylishly dressed Chinese appearing here and there. Judging from the tattoos on these Chinese, Chi Mengli could tell that they were probably from the Teochew and Lao Fu groups.

"The person we're meeting today is Mr. Lang Wan. He's from Hong Kong and runs a freight business in Clark. Of course, that's the business on the surface. Secretly, Mr. Lang Wan runs a counterfeit goods factory."

Teacher Li reached into the lining of his suit jacket, pulled out a photograph, and handed it to Chi Mengli.

The person in the photo was an old man with a white beard, but judging from his appearance, he should be of mixed race. Chi Mengli memorized the facial features in the photo and returned it to Teacher Li.

Once inside Chinatown, the scenery improved considerably, with two- or three-story Chinese-style buildings dotting the streets. The architecture of Chinatown must have been planned by a feng shui master, with a central axis and symmetrical sides.

The exterior of the buildings are all in an antique style and are all wood veneer, but Chinese people who understand architectural styles can tell at a glance that this is a hodgepodge, because the arcade buildings in Fujian are built with the horse-riding walls of Hui-style buildings, which can be considered a great fusion.

The Rolls-Royce Silver Spur drove past the Chinatown archway and stopped at the entrance of a theater. The maid in charge of driving had already changed out of her flight attendant uniform and into a Puma tracksuit.

The maid first got out of the car, looked around, and only after finding no danger did she open the car door and ask her master to get out.

Ah Cong, who was sitting in the passenger seat, also opened the car door to keep watch. Seeing that there were no other people around, he gave Chi Mengli a Hongmen hand gesture that everything was OK.

Chi Mengli disliked grand gestures, so he got out of the car himself and walked to the entrance of the theater.

Shengping Theater

Chi Mengli muttered to himself, "I don't know how many Shengping Theaters there are left in the world."

(End of this chapter)