Hong Kong Storm: The King of Jobs

Chapter 738, page 329: A Fresh Start (Continuing the Push for 8,000 words)

"Push to the street!"

Trash flicked his cigarette ash, muttered a curse under his breath, and continued watching White Crane devour his food.

A bowl of Vietnamese pho was quickly swallowed by Baihe. It was clear that the poor fellow was both hungry and cold. He also ate a large bowl of hot soup.

Spicy Chicken pushed the still-warm roast goose and char siu forward a bit. Even though it was a drive there and a drive back, it would still take more than half an hour, and by the time they got back, the food would be cold.

However, there are ovens in the factory, so you only need to put it in and heat it for a few minutes before you can continue to enjoy it.

There's no need to be polite between old friends!

Baihe ate a roast goose leg and a dozen pieces of char siu pork, let out a loud burp, and slowly put down his chopsticks.

"A mere corrupt official is poorer than Lü Mengzheng? It's outrageous!"

"You're being ridiculous! Your behavior is so unseemly, I'm ashamed for you!"

The way the starving ghost ate was quite an eye-opener for this trashy guy, but that's just how gangsters are—poor at midnight, rich at dawn, and kicking the bucket at the first crow of the rooster!

“We’re all old friends. If you’re going to be a gangster, the end result is always jail time. Why not switch sides and come work for Miss Four as a prostitute?”

"What I earn in a day is more than you earn in a month. You're skilled in martial arts and can use a short dog. Miss Fourth will definitely like you."

Baihe was right up his alley. Seeing Baihe's miserable situation, he developed a fondness for talent and wanted Baihe to switch sides.

Everyone in the martial arts world knows that Ninth Sister is just managing her father's business. She is a nobody among those who are filial, and at the same time, she is considered a member of the Crown Prince's faction.

But Deng Qi is the head of the entire Number Gang, the second-in-command. He can't hand over all the businesses and territories to his underlings; he also has to take care of the other big shots.

Furthermore, Deng Qi has already stated in front of the Crown Prince and all the leaders of the Xiaozi Group that he will not let the Ninth Sister inherit the Xiaozi Group in the future, and will not follow the wrong path of the Xinji Group.

Therefore, Ninth Sister only operated the mud coin hall with the Haojiang branch, and could only receive profits without participating in the operation. She couldn't even see the account books.

At most, they allow junket operators and loan sharks from Ninth Sister's company to enter the premises, and allow Ninth Sister to have one VIP room for official business.

The bigwigs of the Macau branch treated Ninth Sister like a pig to be slaughtered. The handling fee for washing rice through the official account was higher than the price charged by the water room.

Furthermore, whether it's a junket operator or a pickpocket, Ninth Sister can't outmaneuver Chow Kam Fai.

Like Situ Meifeng, this person made her fortune through the Die Ma Company.

Both of them come from wealthy families and have numerous connections with prominent Chinese families in Southeast Asia, which can provide them with security and financial protection in Macau.

The financial channels that Ninth Sister was in charge of in Hong Kong were mostly real estate and film and television industries, which were semi-legal and not dangerous.

This is also why the cops have never touched Ninth Sister; Ninth Sister's father is Deng Qi.

If this second-in-command, who controls tens of thousands of members of the Number Gang, were to step forward and cause trouble, everyone would lose face.

But after the downfall of Lei Luo, someone immediately took action, spending hundreds of millions of Hong Kong dollars, but still couldn't save his freedom.

The cops didn't take action because there was nothing of value in Ninth Sister; even if they pursued her relentlessly, they wouldn't uncover any major cases.

Because the sources of income for Ninth Sister were mostly shady and illegal, with little bloodshed in the martial arts world, her henchman was just a bodyguard.

Martial arts masters who come out to make a living in the underworld all yearn for overnight fame, but in the Hong Kong underworld, one step can lead to heaven or one step can lead to kingship.

Staying by Ninth Sister's side means receiving 10,000 yuan in pocket money every month, and receiving red envelopes from the powerful figures who come to pay respects on the three major festivals and two birthdays every year.

It sounds like a lot, but when spread out over each month, it's only about 10,000 to 20,000 yuan.

Although it sounds like they earn more than high-earning professionals, the existence of gangsters is illegal.

Take today's pickup for example. If he gets caught by the police, even if Baihe becomes a witness for prosecution, he will never walk out of jail again.

The ancestral hall is a haven for the number gang, and that's no joke!

Even the corrupt officials of Hutchison Whampoa had to pay their respects to the gang leader before they could enter prison.

Deng Qi can make Bai He shut up whenever he wants, and Bai He can willingly eat the dead cat if Deng Qi wants Bai He to eat the dead cat (take the blame).

Doing something that could get you shot, while receiving money from selling cauliflower, no matter how you look at it, you feel utterly humiliated!

Baihe picked up a Dunhill cigarette from the table. He didn't have many cigarettes left, and who knew how much longer he would be playing, so he had to smoke them sparingly.

"Did you add anything extra?"

Looking up, Baihe saw Laji's black teeth. He hesitated for a moment, then remembered that he had just smoked one and felt a little scared.

"I'm a fellow Daoist, but I only smoke cigarettes without any additives. You can smoke them without worry."

Laji reassured Baihe that he wouldn't drag his good brother down for the sake of performance.

Hearing the trash's guarantee, Baihe was a little incredulous.

Even the fools on the street knew that the words of the dead Taoist were not to be trusted, but he still took out a cigarette with some doubt, put it in his mouth and lit it.

"Change gear?"

"Stop joking! My boss is Ninth Sister, I can't possibly switch allegiances unless I want to start my own business."

"But now, buying a stack of characters would cost one or two million. Where would I get one or two million to buy that?"

"J-jie's relationship with my boss is something those who know, and I'm just here to be cannon fodder!"

He blew out a smoke ring, shook his head with a wry smile, and refused the trashy guy's offer.

"Everyone has his or her own ambitions, and you can't force them."

Even though Laji knew Baihe's difficulties, he didn't force her or make any promises.

People from all walks of life have no fixed abode and don't even know where they'll be when they open their eyes the next day, so how could they possibly make any promises?

"We've finished eating and chatting, can we now check out the goods?"

Baihe took the Dunhill cigarette, which he had only taken a couple of puffs of, out of his mouth and threw it into the little remaining noodle soup, then told Laji to bring out the goods.

"It's already been prepared!"

"This is probably a test to see what the wind is blowing. If the wind isn't right, we can all prepare to run away."

"follow me."

It's time to get down to business. Trash stood up, stubbed out his cigarette butt in the ashtray, walked to the cabinet, took out a set of men's work clothes, and threw them on the desk.

"This is the largest size, about the same as yours. If it doesn't fit, you'll have to wear wet clothes."

"I'll wait for you outside."

After finishing his sentence, Laji walked out of the office and waited for Baihe at the door.

Even if it weren't a typhoon day and Baihe's clothes hadn't gotten wet, Laji would still make Baihe change her clothes, because that's what the Fourth Miss instructed.

The purpose of the Fourth Miss's order was simple: to prevent Bai He from carrying a tracking device.

Laji didn't close the office door and kept a close eye on Baihe's every move.

They're all ancient foxes, so there's no need to perform in Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio!
Baihe knew exactly what Laji meant from the look in her eyes! He had nothing to hide, and since Laji wanted to see, he'd let her see to her heart's content. In no time, he stripped off all his soaking wet clothes, leaving only his underwear, picked up the work clothes Laji had prepared, and deliberately shook them.

To be honest, the top fits perfectly, but the pants are a bit too loose.

He took off his belt and put it on his work pants. Then, right in front of the trash, he took out a cigarette case and the Dupont lighter that the trash had just given him from his pants pocket.

To be fair, Baihe's figure is quite good, and Laji is enjoying watching it.

"You fangirl! Wipe your drool."

Baihe walked out of the office and quipped, "Trash."

Knowing he wasn't drooling, the trashy guy straightened up and led the way.

The two arrived at the warehouse, where the female workers, all wearing bikinis, were packing mooncake boxes.

The jerk gestured to the female workers, then took a mooncake box, opened it, and revealed the large bags of preservatives and desiccants inside.

"There are two bags in one box, one for preservatives and one for desiccant. The pork is in the bag, each bag is 20 grams, so the whole box is 40 grams."

"Using 20 kilograms of pork to test the waters is an exaggeration!"

Even in Yau Tsim Mong, noodle stalls can't sell more than 20 kilograms of goods in one night.

Becoming a "flying buddy" (or "airplane guy") is a very niche hobby.

Even if these "pink guys" try to drag others down with them, they're still not as good as Miss Bai back in the day, or Fushougao (a type of drug).

The idiot sighed and then gestured for the workers to reseal the opened boxes.

Where am I going?

Bai He doesn't care about the weight; he only cares about delivering the goods. The big boss is still waiting for him to have a late-night snack at the Metropolitan Bar.

"I don't know where you're going, I'll just deliver the goods to you."

"You must follow its instructions wherever you go."

"But before that, you should contact your boss, Ninth Sister."

Laji pulled a disposable pager out of her pocket and slapped it into Baihe's hand.

The outer packaging was intact, and the pager was still unopened. Baihe first removed the outer transparent plastic shell packaging and put the card containing the password and disposable number into his pocket.

Insert the batteries and press the power button to start the pager.

These disposable pagers are very popular in Hong Kong. They cost less than 100 dollars each and come with a temporary pager number. Once the two batteries in the pager are used up, it's no longer usable.

The telecommunications company destroys a batch of recordings every ten days, cleaning the tapes and burning the paper documents, claiming it's to protect customer privacy.

(In Europe and America, there are also disposable phones with only basic dialing functions. They cease to be usable after an expiration date. The CIA loves them, but the FBI finds them quite troublesome.)
Because they couldn't be tracked, gangsters especially liked using these pagers.

Where can I safely make a phone call?

The amount involved in this collaboration with Shuilu Wang Biaojin is so large that even Grandpa Deng Qi was surprised.

But Bai He, being a nobody, knew nothing about the details of the transaction and could only call the big boss to find out where he was going.

"This phone will do!"

"The phone line has been tampered with; it's connected to the trading company downstairs. Even if something goes wrong, the blame can be placed on those slackers downstairs."

Trash had everything ready long ago, and patted the red landline in front of him.

Wow, you've prepared so thoroughly!
Baihe turned the dial on the red landline and dialed the number for the Metropolitan Bar.

The call was quickly connected, and the Ninth Sister on the other end of the line didn't waste any time, telling him directly to drive to the Tin Hau Temple in Tsing Yi.

The Tin Hau Temple in Tsing Yi is one of the oldest buildings in Hong Kong, built during the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty.

Every local knows that Tsing Yi is a major port, both in ancient and modern times, where massive ships of up to 100,000 tons can freely enter and exit.

The Governor's Office placed the International Port Area in Tsing Yi with this in mind.

Of course, the land prices in Tsing Yi are the cheapest, which is why Swire Properties likes it so much, and that's one aspect of it.

Wherever there is a port, there is a Tin Hau Temple, a Chinese tradition inherited from the Song Dynasty.

As a child from a public housing estate, Pak-ho had plenty of time to waste. Even though he had already started learning boxing, he still went to the Tin Hau Temple in Tsing Yi with his friends.

The temple caretaker at the Tin Hau Temple in Tsing Yi is very kind. When children visit, they are always served vegetarian meals and soft drinks.

This wasn't for free. After finishing their meals and soft drinks, the kids had to help their grandmothers with their work for the goddess.

But after each day's work, the temple keeper would prepare a large bowl of juicy, fatty chicken legs as a reward for these children who usually didn't get to eat anything oily.

Baihe can't recite classical Chinese poems, but this is one of the better memories he can recall from his childhood.

He gave the pager number to Ninth Sister and then put the microphone back on the landline.

"Bon Voyage!"

All the mooncake boxes were packed into a box and sealed with plastic wrap.

Trash winked at the henchmen sitting to the side, signaling them to find a trolley and load the boxes of mooncakes onto the vehicle.

"The vehicle is ready for you, a van. Here's the order and the unsigned receipt. Even if there are police checking vehicles on the road, you can still get through."

Trash has prepared a series of legal procedures for White Crane to handle any potential inspections along the way.

It's typhoon season now. If there's a large military checkpoint on the road, the only thing Baihe can do is abandon the vehicle and run away.

Because if the military does this, it means they already have evidence. When the truth comes out, the only thing everyone needs to do is quickly get on a speedboat and run away.

"Thank you!"

The leather jacket left in the Suzuki pickup truck was Baihe's favorite, but at this moment, he absolutely dared not utter a single word.

Because any unnecessary actions will arouse the suspicion of the trash.

Once the seed of doubt is planted, it will soon take root and sprout.

Those lousy henchmen tied the boxes to trolleys and pushed them out of the factory.

Instead of leaving the factory, the trash chicken had a silly goose leading the way. This silly goose was so excited that it was completely out of control and acting like a fool.

The white crane followed behind the silly goose, took the elevator together, and arrived at the underground parking lot.

The underground parking lot was quiet. The silly goose walked ahead, trembling like a stroke patient.

Getting this high is just one step away from losing your mind. Sooner or later, these trashy people will stuff you into a cement coffin and make you the son-in-law of the Dragon King of the Sea.

Bai He followed behind the silly goose, his expression full of disdain, but the dim light concealed his true identity, and his pathetic henchmen didn't notice.

(End of this chapter)