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

"Brother Da Rong." Wang Yaotang stood up with a smile.

“Ah Yao.” Prince Rong walked over with a smile.

Even Gao Laofa, one of the twelve friends of Quan Xiong, was calling him "Master Yao." Prince Rong felt deeply ashamed of this. He couldn't control how others addressed him, but he would never call him "Brother" or "Master."

Even if I, Crown Prince Rong, were to die, even if I were to jump off this building, I would not disgrace the status of a second-generation heir!
"Come and sit down," Wang Yaotang invited. He knew this man's temperament well; even when Dao Yourong pointed a gun at him last time, this man didn't bend over.

After chatting for a while, since they were all from the same martial arts world, the conversation naturally turned to the current conflict between Sheng Yi and the soda factory. Prince Rong then said, "More than a dozen An Les have come to me seeking help, intending to switch sides. I've come to you on their behalf to ask for a way out."

Wang Yaotang raised an eyebrow, picked up his teacup and took a sip. He had wronged Prince Rong last time, which almost led to Prince Rong being beaten to death. He had to repay this favor.

“Since Brother Da Rong has spoken, I’ll give him that much face. I won’t ask who it is. I certainly won’t be going alone when I’m transferring. I can bring along industries related to prostitution, gambling, and drugs, including shady businesses like loan sharks. But I’ll leave the legitimate businesses behind.”

"Hahaha, Caishen Yao is indeed generous. I'll remember this favor." Crown Prince Rong laughed heartily.

He could indeed get a share of the money after these people transferred their files, but what really made him happy was that Wang Yaotang agreed to it without even asking who they were. What was that?
This is a great honor for him!
Wang Yaotang said with a smile, "It's not really a favor. You know I look down on those industries because they pay too little and are too demanding. I never intended to get my hands on them in the first place."

“You, the little god of wealth, are good at making money, but you can’t do that with these scoundrels. There will always be people doing these jobs. We have to give them a way to make a living. There’s no other way,” Prince Rong sighed.

He's a second-generation rich kid who grew up in luxury and has a substantial fortune, which is conservatively estimated to be over 100 million yuan now. So he doesn't really care much about money; his biggest hobby is acting, or rather, showing off in front of others.

"By the way, the soda factory has an asset; Brother Da Rong might want to consider it if he's interested," Wang Yaotang said, thinking about the minibus line.

"What?" Crown Prince Rong asked.

As long as it's not too outrageous, he's prepared to take the money, considering it a way of repaying a favor to the God of Wealth.

“The soft drink factory reportedly controls over 300 minibus routes. I don’t have the energy to manage that. The main island and Kowloon have already been developed to the point where the New Territories will definitely be developed in the future. If we can get these minibuses under our control and persuade the Hong Kong government to grant us operating rights for minibuses, the prospects are very good,” Wang Yaotang said with a smile.

Crown Prince Rong looked at Wang Yaotang with considerable surprise, "Are you sure?"

The reason why the triads can control the minibus routes is because these minibuses are actually unlicensed vehicles; without triad management, the situation would be extremely chaotic.

In 1933, the Hong Kong government passed the Public Bus Services Ordinance, granting Kowloon Motor Bus the franchise for bus services in Kowloon and the New Territories. After the Cross-Harbour Tunnel opened 72 years later, Kowloon Motor Bus's franchise was extended to Hong Kong Island, and its daily passenger volume exceeded one million.

The operating rights for this minibus were very difficult to obtain. Of course, the bigger reason was that the effort and income were not proportional, so Wang Yaotang chose to let go.

As far as he knew, by 2010, 'Ngee On' controlled over a thousand minibuses, but did not obtain operating rights. The specific reasons were unknown, but in any case, it was cracked down on by the Hong Kong government.

“I’ll take this. How much? Name your price,” Crown Prince Rong asked in a deep voice.

"Hehe, just give me 200 million as a token. I'll distribute it to my subordinates." Wang Yaotang waved his hand with a smile.

Prince Rong looked at Wang Yaotang with some surprise, thinking he would ask for an exorbitant price, but he didn't expect the price to be so low, less than 1 yuan per car on average. Even if he just collected protection fees, he could earn it back in half a year.

Not to mention that 300 vehicles would allow Lian Gong Le Duo to control thousands of subordinates, resulting in a huge expansion of his power, which would bring even greater profits.

However, since Wang Yaotang had already made it clear that he didn't care about the money, he didn't mention adding more money again. He simply said solemnly, "Thanks!"

Wang Yaotang found it somewhat amusing and poured another cup of tea for Prince Rong. A year ago, if he had offered Prince Rong an industry, Prince Rong would have paid for it, but he would have taken it for granted.

"I have another matter to discuss with you," said Prince Rong after downing his tea in one gulp.

"what's up."

"Are you going to run for the Yau Tsim Mong councilor?" Prince Wing asked.

"Yes." Wang Yaotang was somewhat surprised at how he knew.

"The eldest son of the Guo family had someone contact me, asking me to have a showdown with you around the time of the election on September 23rd, to cause some conflict. He promised to compensate me double for any losses incurred, but I refused," Crown Prince Rong said in a deep voice.

Wang Yaotang looked at Prince Rong with considerable surprise. It was normal for the eldest son of the Guo family to contact Prince Rong, after all, the two had clashed several times, but Prince Rong actually refused.

It's normal for conflicts to arise between gangs. It's no big deal if someone covers the losses and you get hurt. Besides, you can also befriend the young masters of the truly top families in Southeast Asia.

"Why are you looking at me like that? So what if the Guo family is rich and powerful? I, Deng Guangrong, don't eat the food of the Guo family. Do you think money can make me work for them?" Prince Rong sneered. "What kind of person do you take me for!"

"Brother Da Rong, you're a true friend!" Wang Yaotang said solemnly, clasping his hands in a fist salute.

This second-generation gangster is something else. If Young Master Guo hadn't mentioned money and had only asked for his help, he might have agreed. But Young Master Guo is even more arrogant, so Prince Rong was naturally unhappy.

When Wang Yaotang bowed so solemnly, Crown Prince Rong couldn't help but smile. But not wanting Wang Yaotang to see it, he quickly pretended to want to drink tea. However, when he reached out, he realized that the teacup was empty. He then reached for the teapot, his movements appearing somewhat flustered.

Wang Yaotang almost burst out laughing too, and quickly reached for his teacup to take a sip. For a moment, the room fell into an eerie silence.

"Uncle Dong's funeral..."

"The Eastern Funeral of Bone Removal..."

The two opened their mouths at the same time, then closed them at the same time. Finally, they couldn't hold back anymore and turned their heads away to laugh.

Crown Prince Rong blushed slightly, chuckled twice, and stood up. "Let me know if you need any help with the funeral. I have to go now."

"Alright, I'll see you off. If you have any good movie investments, contact me. I have a few women to arrange." Wang Yaotang stood up to see him off.

"No problem."

After seeing Prince Rong off, Wang Yaotang made a mental note of the matter of Young Master Guo trying to sow discord between him and him, planning to teach him a lesson when he had the chance.

……

The next morning, Wang Yaotang originally wanted to go to the funeral hall to check on the arrangements, but a phone call came from Kabel, so he had to go to the police headquarters instead.

This was official business. The Criminal Investigation Department and the Public Relations Section jointly met with Wang Yaotang for a talk in the Criminal Investigation Department's small conference room.

“Mr. Wang, the police have learned from customs that a large number of Southeast Asian triad leaders arrived in Hong Kong yesterday. To ensure public order in Hong Kong, the police need to know the reason,” Cabello asked in a deep voice.

Of course, everyone knows the reason.

Normally, Wang Yaotang would say: If the police think there is a problem, they can prohibit them from entering the country. You don't prohibit them, so why are you asking me why? What, does the security of Hong Kong Island need to be my responsibility, Wang Yaotang?

Normally, the police would arrest him and question him, warning him not to cause trouble.

However, his status and position are different now. The police are communicating with him in a dialogue mode, so he naturally can't speak like a gangster; he has to be responsible. "They've come to attend Mr. Wu Mingdong's funeral," Wang Yaotang said with a smile.

"The police have no reason to prohibit them from moving around on Hong Kong Island, but the police need to ensure that they do not commit any illegal acts while on Hong Kong Island."

"I can assure you that they are only here for the funeral."

"Mr. Wang, the police appreciate your cooperation. At the same time, we hope that the chaos ends here and cannot continue."

"I will try my best to help Mr. Wu Mingdong's relatives and friends get out of their grief and start a new life as soon as possible."

"Very good, thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Wang. Also, the police will send people to maintain order at Mr. Wu Mingdong's funeral."

"Thank you for the police's help."

After speaking, Kabel looked at Klaus Kinlake, the public relations officer.

Klaus Kinlake cleared his throat. “Mr. Wang, first of all, on behalf of the police, I would like to express my condolences for Mr. Wu Mingdong’s passing. The large-scale participation of gangsters from all over Asia in Mr. Wu Mingdong’s funeral will have some negative impact on society. Therefore, our police hope that the entire funeral process will be kept confidential from the media.”

The police have no right to control the media, so they can only go to Wang Yaotang. Of course, ultimately it's because the funeral was made too big, which is purely a bad thing.

Wang Yaotang nodded. "The entire funeral security has been entrusted to my company, Umbrella Security. This is a private matter and will not be open to the public for interviews, so you can rest assured."

“Thanks for your cooperation, I’m all set,” Klaus Kinlake said with a smile.

“Okay, that’s settled then.” Cabel smiled and stood up.

After finishing their business, they chatted about the Umbrella Corporation with a smile. When they heard that Wang Yaotang had modified 10 bulletproof Fords, Cabel looked surprised, as the police currently do not have any bulletproof vehicles.

……

1982 3 Month 3 Day.

A huge archway was erected at the entrance of MacPherson Stadium, with white background and black characters that read "Funeral Venue for Mr. Wu Gongmingdong". On the left and right sides were written "Justice resides in the hearts of the people, and right and wrong will be judged by public opinion".

The intersection of Nelson Street and Dymbufong Street in Mong Kok was blocked off by hundreds of security guards dressed in black combat uniforms. Pedestrians and vehicles were not allowed to pass through there. A large number of media gathered nearby, but no one dared to cross the line.

Dozens of police officers stood quietly on both sides of the street, completely ignoring the fact that the security company had blocked the road without authorization.

A long red carpet stretched from the entrance all the way to the indoor stadium, with 200 men in black suits lined up neatly on each side. At the entrance, 18 men in short jackets were playing drums.

Around 9 o'clock, one black Mercedes-Benz after another drove from Ranbufang Street. After the vehicles stopped at the entrance of the stadium, people in combat uniforms immediately went up to open the door. Fourth Master, Uncle Ding, and Sha Lin shook hands and greeted the people who came to attend the funeral. Then, a special person led them into the venue.

After walking along the long red carpet and entering the venue, white chairs were placed on both sides, and a red carpet-covered avenue stretched in the middle. At the end of the avenue was a portrait of the late Tung Chee-hwa, enlarged to more than 4 meters in size. The words "Heroic and spirited" were written on the left and right sides, and below, flowers were arranged to form a map of Hong Kong Island. In the middle were the words "Wo Shing Yee".

"Mr. Yi'an has arrived!"

Behind the leader were ten bigwigs from Yi An, including Grandpa Lin.

Upon reaching the memorial tablet, I bowed slightly to the leader with the salute of "two ribs for a sword," and someone immediately handed me a flower basket. I accepted it from the leader, bowed again, and placed the flower basket back in front of the memorial tablet. I stepped back from the leader, performed the Hongmen salute, and nodded three times.

Wang Yaotang stepped forward and returned the greeting by visiting the Huchang Gate.

The family member next to them, who was removing bones, bowed in return.

After completing the entire set of Hongmen etiquette, the leader led his men to a seat on the side.

The emcee shouted again, "Shenghe and Youbo have arrived."

Behind Youbo were Li Guohua, Dafei, and 10 others. They also performed the same salute of loyalty and presented flowers, followed by the Phoenix Three Nods salute. Wang Yaotang returned the salute by visiting the Huchang Gate.

“Tiao Lin…”

"Combined map..."

"Lian Gong Le..."

"Eastern Union Society..."

"The whole country..."

"Fuyixing..."

After local Hong Kong community organizations, there are overseas community organizations.

"Bamboo Union..."

"The four seas..."

"Mr. Shigemasa Mota has arrived at the Ichiwa Association."

"Yamamoto Kenichi Yamamoto has arrived."

Interestingly, all the Japanese organizations attending the funeral could read the inscriptions on the memorial hall. In Japan, the tombstones of people of high status and position are all written in Chinese, especially those from underworld groups.

Only the poorest people have Japanese characters on their tombstones...

About 30 triads of all sizes on Hong Kong Island were invited. While large-scale funerals by triads on Hong Kong Island are not uncommon, this is the first time that such a formal and grand ceremony has been held in public. Regardless of whether there was any previous enmity between Tiao Gu Dong and Cai Shen Yao, everyone who attended such a solemn funeral had to admit that Cai Shen Yao did a great job and did justice to Tiao Gu Dong.

“How much do you think this funeral will cost?” Uber asked in a low voice.

“I heard it cost several million and involved connections with the police,” Chen Huimin replied in a low voice.

"The God of Wealth Yao is really generous," Yu Bo remarked, wondering if his own funeral would be as grand.

It was worth it to have the bones removed.

As guests arrived in waves, dozens of organizations gradually filled the venue, with several hundred people participating. The entire ceremony lasted for more than three hours, and Wang Yaotang's legs were numb from standing. He hadn't expected it to take so long.

Outside, several media outlets had somehow acquired an engineering vehicle for high-altitude operations in the city. Reporters stood seven or eight meters high, filming inside, and were all incredibly excited.

Major newspapers reported on this grand 'jianghu' funeral. (End of Chapter)