Hong Kong Island: From a small stall to a global supplier

Ocean Paradise Chinese Nightclub.

Watching the black-clad bodyguards rush out of the elevator, Zhang Yaorong smiled and shook his head, "Ah Yao is still so cautious."

"If you hadn't been careful, you'd probably be in the hospital by now!" Wang Yaotang said with a smile as he shook hands with Zhang Yaorong.

"I don't even know whether to praise you or not," Zhang Yaorong said with a smile. "You've been making quite a stir lately."

"Damn it, just thinking about this makes me angry. There are always villains trying to harm me!" Wang Yaotang cursed.

The two of them walked and talked.

“Can you really prevent anyone from competing with you forever? Even if you can protect Hong Kong, what about overseas markets? It’s been over a year and Hongdou still hasn’t expanded beyond Hong Kong. You might as well find someone to cooperate with,” Zhang Yaorong said with a smile.

"It's not that I don't want to give up the profits, it's just that no one is looking to cooperate with me!" Wang Yaotang shrugged.

"Hahaha, then don't you want to consider whose fault it is?"

"Anyway, it's not mine!" Wang Yaotang snorted.

After chatting with Wang Yaotang for a few minutes, Zhang Yaorong went out again and soon brought two people to the private room. "Come, let me introduce you. This young talent is Wang Yaotang, the most promising young man in Hong Kong."

"This is Mr. Chu Yutao, Vice Chairman of the Hong Kong Wine Association."

"This is Mr. Chung Cho-cheng from Chia Hsuan Business."

After shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries, Wang Yaotang ignored Zhong Zhuozheng.

"I'd heard you were young, but I didn't expect you to be this young. Seeing how successful you are at such a young age makes me feel ashamed," Chu Yutao praised with a smile.

"Mr. Chu, you're too kind. Just call me Yao. We young people call ourselves 'tide riders,' meaning we rise with the tide quickly and fall just as fast. True success is like Mr. Chu, who can remain on the beach even when the tide is low. What I'm doing now doesn't count," Wang Yaotang said with a smile.

"Trendsetter, trendsetter, good, that's a good word, worth a big toast," Chu Yutao said with a loud laugh.

"Don't stand there and talk, come and sit down," Zhang Yaorong said, gesturing to the manager to immediately arrange for the dishes to be served.

Instead of getting straight to business, they poured some red wine and started talking about current events in Hong Kong.

"The term 'trendsetter' is great. Ah Yiu is the one who drives the current trends in Hong Kong."

"It's not a good thing." Wang Yaotang waved his hand with a smile. "To be honest, I'm still young and lack experience. They tried to take advantage of me without even asking any questions. If it were Elder Chu, the Fang family would definitely not do this. They would communicate privately about anything."

"No, not really." Chu Yutao waved his hand with a smile. "I think it's because they don't understand. Ayao built such a large industry in just two years. The Fang family's vision is limited to a few major families, policy trends, and international trade. They never imagined that you, Sun Wukong, would suddenly be able to conquer the Lingxiao Palace."

"So you arranged for Benboerba to get rid of me and my disciples, Tang Sanzang, right?" Wang Yaotang laughed loudly.

"Benboerba," Chu Yutao thought for a moment. He loved watching "Journey to the West," and immediately burst into laughter.

This kid is interesting; he really is like Sun Wukong.

After several rounds of drinks and dishes, and chatting for a while, feeling that the relationship was fairly comfortable, Chu Yutao finally got down to business. "Zhong Zhuozheng made a mistake, but since he is a member of the Hong Kong Wine Association, I can only rely on my seniority and ask you, Ayao, for some face. Of course, a mistake is a mistake, and he caused you considerable losses, which must be fully compensated. Hong Kong Customs has an internal auction system for handling seized goods. Depending on the category, they send auction invitations to the relevant associations. How about having Zhong Zhuozheng buy back this batch of goods for you, Ayao, intact?"

That's all. Wang Yaotang smacked his lips. He had the background, the face, and the apology. No one could find fault with him.

"It's only because he gave face to the wine association that he only broke his head," Wang Yaotang said with a smile, swirling his wine glass. "Logically speaking, as a newcomer to the industry, I should give face to Elder Chu, but... this Zhong Zhuozheng has drawn his gun."

After downing his wine in one gulp, Wang Yaotang licked his lips. “I don’t know what the Wine Association’s rules are, but the underworld has its own set of rules. If there’s any grudge, my underlings will settle it with a knife. I had several clashes with Prince Rong, and thousands of people came out to show off their horses. More than 150 people died in total, but neither of us used guns.”

"When guns are drawn, it means a life-or-death struggle. At this point, it's no wonder we have to nip it in the bud to prevent future troubles!"

"The rules of the wine association are rules, but aren't the rules of our underworld also rules?"

“If I put it down gently, what will others in the underworld say? It doesn’t matter if they shoot my men, but if this signal gets out, my brothers will be in big trouble.”

“That’s Fellow Daoist Rong,” Zhong Zhuozheng interrupted anxiously.

"Dao Yourong is the White Paper Fan of the Tseung Kwan O branch of He Shengyi. Any mistakes he makes should be handled by the organization's punishment hall. When did you, an outsider, become the one to make decisions for our organization?" Wang Yaotang said fiercely, "You are challenging the entire He Shengyi organization. I'll kill your whole family!"

“Ah Yao, Ah Yao.” Chu Yutao raised his hand to stop him. “I misspoke just now. Of course, the rules of the martial world cannot be broken. It was Zhong Zhuozheng who broke the rules and deserves to be punished. We must give you and He Shengyi an explanation.”

"He broke the rules of the martial arts world. Let him go to the gate of Heshengyi Mountain to receive his punishment in front of the memorial tablet of Senior Heshengyi, and invite fellow martial arts practitioners to witness the ceremony. In addition, let him come up with 200 million as a gift. What do you think, Ayao?"

"This... is fine." Wang Yaotang's attitude in admitting his mistake was too good, so he couldn't lose his temper. As for trying to get more compensation, it's not necessary for the gang.

“Ah Yao, what are your conditions? Just tell us and we’ll discuss it. I’m sure you’ll be satisfied.” “Old ginger is spicier.” Wang Yaotang smiled and gave a thumbs up. “I originally thought that today’s talks were likely to fall apart. The wine association controls a market worth billions of dollars. How could they possibly respect a gangster like me? I even arranged a surprise outside. But now that Old Chu has said this, I can no longer use this as an excuse to make trouble.”

"Haha, Ah Yao, you're mistaken. The Wine Association is full of businessmen. A third of the Hong Kong market is in entertainment venues. The market is maintained by everyone. We can be humble and let's make money peacefully. There's no need for fighting." Chu Yutao waved his hand with a smile.

Of course, the major players today established their authority after decades of fighting and bloodshed, which shaped the current market structure, and they naturally do not want it to be disrupted.

“Alright, according to the rules, give me half of the shares.” Wang Yaotang said with a smile, “Don’t feel like I’m taking advantage of you. As long as you don’t break the rules, you can do whatever you want in the market!”

"Okay." Chu Yutao smiled and picked up his wine glass. "I'll agree on his behalf, Zhuozheng. Is that alright?"

"Ah... no problem." Zhong Zhuozheng forced a smile through gritted teeth. Half of the company had been lost in the blink of an eye... his heart ached so much he could hardly breathe.

"Everyone's happy." Zhang Yaorong stood up, holding a wine glass. "Come on, let's all have a drink to celebrate."

Amidst the clinking of glasses, the four of them downed their drinks in one gulp.

That concludes the matter.

“Ah Yao, on behalf of the Wine Association, I would like to invite you to join us, what do you say?” Chu Yutao said with a smile.

Although Wang Yaotang's addition cannot increase the market share of his faction, it can bring military deterrence. We can avoid fighting and killing, but we can't be without this ability.

“Great! This is the first time I’ve joined an association. Does that count as integrating into high society?” Wang Yaotang laughed.

A single sentence made everyone laugh.

"We're just sticking together for warmth and fighting for our own rights. Ah Yao doesn't need to care too much about the talk of high society. In the end, it all comes down to one's own strength," Chu Yutao said with a smile.

“Indeed, the Hong Kong government will be holding district council elections in all 18 districts next year. I’m planning to try in Yau Tsim Mong. What do you think, Mr. Chu?” Wang Yaotang asked.

"What? You're running for councilor?" Zhang Yaorong's face was full of disbelief.

"What, I can't do it?"

“You…” Zhang Yaorong pursed his lips and said, “How are we going to promote this? As a representative of the underworld? To advocate for the rights and interests of the triads?”

No matter how funny it is, we won't laugh... unless we can't help it!

Hahahaha...

“What do you mean by ‘representative of the underworld’ or ‘representative of society’? You fucking…” As he spoke, Wang Yaotang himself laughed.

“Ah Yao, you should think this through.” Chu Yutao said in a deep voice, “It is foreseeable that as long as you dare to run for office, the newspapers will definitely expose everything that happened before.”

The martial arts world has its own rules, and politics has its own rules.

Running for office means becoming a public figure and must be subject to media scrutiny.

"I don't care what the media says about me. I don't run casinos, I don't run horse stables, I don't sell drugs, and I don't get involved in prostitution, gambling, or drugs. What am I afraid of? I don't care how they report on me."

"What about the horse-smearing incident? It's not just once or twice. So many people have died or been injured. What if you get into conflicts with others later? The media won't let you off the hook. They'll definitely keep reporting on it. Have you thought about that?" Zhang Yaorong also asked, "This is no child's play. The social supervision and moral standards that gangsters and councilors face are completely different. Can you withstand it?"

“Personally, I think my moral standards are higher than many of the councilors!” Wang Yaotang snorted. “Conflicts are none of my business. Without evidence, you can’t convict me. A little slander is nothing but a passing storm.”

"Are you sure you can't find it on your head?" Zhang Yaorong squinted.

“Confirmed.” Wang Yaotang thought for a moment, “We’ll change their visas to those for Macau later. There’s no extradition treaty between the two places, so nothing will happen!”

"As for Macau, gambling is legal there, and there are no moral requirements. The police have already taken care of it."

Zhang Yaorong thought for a moment and said, "If you are sure you are okay, I can use my connections to support you. I will feel at ease knowing that someone from our side is speaking up for you in Tsim Sha Tsui."

“The wine association will also support you,” Chu Yutao said with a smile. “We also hope that more of our own people will speak up for the association, because the taxes related to alcohol are too high.”

"Haha, thank you both very much!"

"Here, cheers."

"Cheers!" (End of Chapter)