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

Kai Tak Airport.

“Mr. Wang, it’s not that I’m making things difficult for you, it’s just that the airport has new regulations. There’s a strict limit on the number of people meeting passengers; it’s prohibited to exceed 10 people,” a middle-aged man wearing a senior inspector’s epaulet said with a smile.

Wang Yaotang looked back at the hundreds of people standing on both sides behind him, his brows furrowing. "Wait, when did such a bizarre rule come about?"

The senior inspector's lips twitched slightly. Behind every bizarre rule lies an even more bizarre story. Guess why such a rule exists!

"As you know, Kai Tak Airport is one of the busiest airports in the world, with so many people coming and going every day. Too many people gathering to pick up or drop off passengers can greatly affect the normal operation of the airport, so..."

Wang Yaotang glanced at the airport arrival hall and pointed to himself.

The senior inspector grinned but said nothing.

"Take it!" Wang Yaotang cursed, then laughed. "Fine, I won't make things difficult for you. My men are waiting outside."

Ah-Ji, Ah-Jie, and Bi-Sina trained in Italy for a month and returned to Hong Kong today. Wang Yaotang naturally came to pick them up at the airport, but he didn't expect that he would change the rules because of him.

He took Sha Ze and 10 henchmen inside, which was two more than the limit, but the inspector didn't say anything this time. It wasn't a minor offense, but he still followed them at a distance with two other people.

It wasn't that I was afraid Wang Yaotang would encounter any danger, but rather that his passengers would be in danger.

Of course, the senior inspector was also curious about who Wang Yaotang was picking up, so he kept glancing at the exit. Suddenly, the surging crowd stopped flowing. What was going on?
He tiptoed and peeked inside. A group of people dressed in camouflage and carrying combat packs came into view. The way they walked and the aura they exuded made him instinctively wary. They were not good people!

What is this guy surnamed Wang up to now?
"Go check on these people." He tilted his head and instructed the man beside him, then, still feeling uneasy, added, "Get all the brothers over here!"

“Aji, Ajie.”

"Brother Yao!"

Wang Yaotang smiled and looked them up and down, then punched one of them in the chest. "Not bad, you look pretty convincing!"

“What do you mean by ‘looks like’?” A-Jie raised his arm, flexing his muscles. “I’m terrifyingly strong right now!”

"Really? How strong is it?"

Ah Jie held out a hand.

"Can you take on five at once?" Wang Yaotang asked with a smile.

"A five-man squad, cutting through the Flying Tigers!"

"Alright, I'm waiting to see you shatter the Flying Tigers." Wang Yaotang smiled at Bi Sina, Hai Dazhao, and the others. "Welcome home."

"Brother Yao."

"Brother Yao."

A group of 25 people greeted each other with smiles.

"Come on, I've prepared a welcome feast for you. Relax and have some fun when you get home."

He gestured for everyone to turn and walk outside, when suddenly he saw a group of police officers rushing out from the side. Wang Yaotang looked at the middle-aged inspector.

"It's nothing, just routine training, it has nothing to do with you." The middle-aged inspector gave a polite but somewhat embarrassed smile. He admitted that he had just had a bit of a stress reaction, but putting the facts aside, you guys really don't look like good people!
I would have believed you if you hadn't said that last sentence.

Wang Yaotang's face darkened. He walked over and tapped the other man's chest. "I gave you face by saying you couldn't bring too many people. Now you're still wary of me? What kind of person do you take me for?"

"No, absolutely not."

Wang Yaotang didn't care whether it was true or not, and told people to walk outside. Even picking someone up from the airport, he encountered this kind of thing. Damn it, prejudice in people's hearts is a mountain!
Behind him, Ah Jie gave the middle-aged inspector a thumbs up, saying, "You're a good judge of character."

“Brother Yao, there are so few of you coming to pick us up, not even as many as when you picked up Olivier,” A-Jie said.

“I did bring 100 people to make a show of things, but guess why they didn’t come in,” Wang Yaotang rolled his eyes.

As they spoke, a group of people walked out of the arrival hall, and 100 security guards in black outside shouted in unison, "Welcome home, Brother Ji, Brother Jie, and Sister Na!"

"I'll take it, hahahahaha!" A-Jie laughed loudly. He loved excitement and being in the limelight.

Whew—watching the convoy leave, the senior inspector let out a long sigh of relief.

I've applied so many times to increase airport security, but the reports are ignored as soon as they're submitted. Damn it, a bunch of bureaucrats, something bad is bound to happen sooner or later!

After the welcome banquet, Wang Yaotang arranged for a lively evening at the Dynasty Nightclub, but the four people from the mainland didn't go; instead, they took a speedboat back. He didn't want Director Shi to think he was trying to bribe them.

……

The next day, at the Dynasty Nightclub.

The restaurant is not open at noon, but the doors opened very early today. More than 40 people, including Da Sen, Gou Zui Bo, Chao A, Guo Shan Feng, Zhang Lang Quan, Fei Zai Nan, E Gui Feng, and Da Gen Shuo, arrived one after another, greeting each other in groups of three or five. They were all curious about what Brother Yao had called everyone together for today.

They chatted around for a while, but no one knew anything about it.

Two blocks away, the InterContinental Hotel.

We stayed out quite late yesterday, so we didn't go back. We just checked into the InterContinental Hotel to rest. When we got up at noon, Wang Yaotang called Aji and Ajie over and talked about the things we had decided before.

Although he can make decisions with just a word, the two of them are the leaders of the gang, and it would be disrespectful to their brothers not to inform them in advance.

The two were happy to let the small venue be handed over to their subordinates. Ah Jie looked relieved. "I've wanted to do this for a long time. The smaller the venue, the more trouble it gets. A bunch of clueless bastards will do anything to become famous." "Brother Yao, you know me. I don't like getting involved in this kind of thing," Ah Ji shook his head.

After speaking with the two men, the brothers went to the Dynasty Nightclub.

Of course, he couldn't talk about 'efficiency ratio' with his subordinates. After arriving, Wang Yaotang greeted everyone, cracked a few jokes, and then jumped onto the bar, picked up the microphone, and said, "The longest you've been with me, Wang Yaotang, is three years, and the shortest is over a year. Those of you here today are the most outstanding and meritorious in the 'company.' I, Wang Yaotang, have seen all of this and remember it. Now I, Wang Yaotang, am quite successful, but there are only a few positions in the branch, and my brothers can't advance further. I feel very guilty about this."

"Brother Yao, we all know how good you are to the brothers."

"Brother Yao, what are you saying? We are all willing."

"Alright, alright." Wang Yaotang smiled and raised his hand to slap the ground down. "The brothers respect me, Wang Yaotang, and are willing to follow me, but I, Wang Yaotang, cannot pretend that nothing happened. When we come out to fight for our lives, brotherhood is naturally the most important thing. But if I can't give you brothers fame, can't I at least give you benefits?"

My answer is, yes!

One sentence resonated with a group of people.

I'm willing to work for Brother Yao, but that doesn't mean I don't want to earn more.

“I’ve discussed it with your brothers, Jack and Jay. We’ll offer all the small and medium-sized venues in our three branches in Tsim Sha Tsui, Jordan, and Yau Ma Tei to you all to run. That’s a total of 108 venues. It’s not many, but it’s our way of thanking you all.”

"Of course, the venues don't belong to me alone. I won't say those hypocritical things like I want to give them away to everyone. I've made a list of how many shares each venue has and how much it costs. Everyone can look at it and choose for themselves, according to their own means. It's an industry, more or less. In the future, you can get married, have children, retire, and live a comfortable life with the store."

"Brother Yao, are you serious?"

"Nonsense, when has your brother Yao ever gone back on his word!"

"Brother Yao is so generous."

"Thank you, Brother Yao!"

The atmosphere at the scene immediately exploded. What's wrong with spending a little money? They know the situation of the gang's territory better than anyone else. Taking it over is like taking a golden goose. With the gang protecting them, as long as they don't mess around, they'll basically never have to worry about food and drink in the future.

Seeing the group of people looking excited, Wang Yaotang felt much clearer-headed, which was a way of giving an account of the previous three years!
……

"Bang!" Xiang Laosan slammed the teacup in his hand to the ground. "Fuck his mother! Caishenyao, that bastard, I should have shot him a long time ago. He's a menace, a menace to all the 'companies' in Hong Kong!"

He cursed at the third brother, while the eldest brother sat silently in the main seat, frowning.

The news that Wang Yaotang was going to distribute small and medium-sized venues to his underlings spread like wildfire through Hong Kong's underworld, quickly reaching the ears of the big bosses of various triads.

Upon hearing this news, all the underlings cheered loudly. Ever since the news spread, they've been calling him "Little God of Wealth" and "Big Brother Yao" all the time, practically ready to erect a statue of Wang Yaotang. He has become the benchmark of their leader in the hearts of all the underlings.

But for the leading companies and major players, this news is absolutely disgusting.

The gangs fought tooth and nail for territory, but in reality, they mostly operated small venues. They didn't even own one-fifth of the large or medium-sized venues. The gangs' main income came from accumulating wealth bit by bit from these small venues.

Wang Yaotang held a large share because he had long ago cut off or divided up the gambling dens, loan sharks, and other establishments, leaving only legal venues, which allowed him to achieve a one-third controlling stake.

Now that Wang Yaotang has decided to share wealth with everyone, these bigwigs are in a bind.

Without this separation, while those below won't necessarily switch allegiances, morale will definitely be low, and their prestige will face a major challenge. The old notion of brotherhood will no longer be enough to fool people.

When morale is low, it's hard to lead the team!
If the company splits up, how will it make money and how will it support its employees?
If they really had a business mind, they wouldn't be gangsters; they would have been rich by now. Wang Yaotang is ruining their livelihood.

……

Tsuen Wan, Shan Men (mountain gate).

“Brother Yao, I’m calling you Brother Yao, stop your supernatural powers.” Tigu Dong paced around the room with his hands on his hips, while Fourth Master, Uncle Lin, Uncle Niu, and Uncle Ding all stared at Wang Yaotang with furrowed brows.

"My phone has been ringing off the hook these past two days. All the major companies are calling to yell at me, and even the leaders of my gangs are asking me what I'm up to. How the hell am I supposed to know?!"

"What exactly do you want? Do you want to offend all the triads on Hong Kong Island?" Ti Gu Dong said through gritted teeth.

Wang Yaotang shrugged and said helplessly, "I told you I didn't have that idea. I just felt that the guys below me didn't have a chance to rise to the top, so I wanted to give them some compensation. Do you believe me?"

"I don't believe your mother's nonsense!" Tigu Dong cursed. "What's the use of whether I believe it or not? You should ask the big bosses of other gangs if they believe it, ask the leaders of other companies if they believe it!"

Wiping his face, Wang Yaotang truly hadn't expected his asset restructuring plan to have such a significant impact. "Then let me give you another reason. I need money to invest in other industries. These small establishments have low profits and lots of problems. More than half of the troubles in the gang come from these small establishments, which has greatly affected my reputation and relationship with the police. So, I'm distributing them to my subordinates."

Is this enough?

Tigu Dong glanced at the others, raised his hand and scratched his head. If anyone else had said this reason, they would have spat it out, but Wang Yaotang... the nickname "Little God of Wealth" wasn't just for show; he might genuinely not care about these profits.

Just thinking about it made him feel even worse.

It felt as if a big shot could casually discard a bone and cause chaos among the dogs below!
He really wanted to say that if you don't like it, you can give up the hall, but the words that came out were, "Then what do we do now? The Spring Festival is in half a month. On the fifteenth of the first lunar month, the mountain gate will be opened to select the leader. We lost the business of selling noodles, and now... Da Niu and the others have a lot of opinions."

"If you have any complaints, you better keep them to yourself." Wang Yaotang's face darkened abruptly upon hearing this. "What were the incomes of those branches two years ago? What are they now? Did they suddenly grow brains?!"

"Anyone who can't figure it out can ask, and I'll help them think of it!"

Tigu Dong was speechless for a moment.

"Uncle Dong, the desires in your heart are insatiable; you're just too kind-hearted right now!" (End of Chapter)