The arrogance started from Chinatown

Chapter 23 This is Customer Experience

After coming out of Huang Baoru’s funeral hall, Chen Zhengwei went straight to see the two locations.

One is in Sullivan's Alley, parallel to Pacific Avenue. At one end of the alley is Duban Street, which runs north and south through Chinatown. At the other end, after turning a corner, there is a gambling den.

Although the first floors of these buildings were rented out as various shops, the second floor was accessible via an external staircase next to it and was divided into rooms rented out to Chinese workers.

"Mr. Chen, this is it." The broker brought a few people to a shop in the middle and said with a smile.

Pushing the door of the shop open, Chen Zhengwei went in and took a look around. The room was fairly tidy, with two ventilation windows at the back.

It's about 70 or 80 square meters inside and a bit long and narrow.

If you open a foreign stall, squeezing in twenty or thirty people would be enough.

Chen Zhengwei walked out the door, looked up at the residence on the second floor, and asked, "How many people live up there?"

"This area above can probably accommodate three to four hundred people if they squeeze together!" the broker guessed.

"After work, they take their pay to play, and when they lose, they go upstairs to sleep. They don't even have to take a step extra. What is customer experience? This is the customer experience!" Chen Zhengwei pointed and smiled at the people around him.

"Brother Wei, there are no gambling dens near where you live, and those people will come here to play. Just let two people solicit customers at the entrance of the alley!" Yan Qingyou said with a smile.

"Go wait over there!" Chen Zhengwei chased the broker away and asked, "Whose territory is this?"

"Brother Wei, this is Heshun Hall, most of the people here are from Longxi." Yan Qingyou said immediately. He had already inquired about it before.

"A Fujianese?" Chen Zhengwei raised his eyebrows.

Almost all Chinese people in San Francisco's Chinatown are from eastern Guangdong and southern Fujian, with the southern Fujian people being much smaller.

But in Chen Zhengwei's eyes, they are all the same.

Find an opportunity to swallow them all.

"There are about 70 to 80 people in Heshun Hall, including 40 to 50 axemen. The Longfa Casino around the corner is also owned by them."

The axe boys are the thugs in these gangs.

"Good!" Chen Zhengwei nodded. It would be easy once he figured out the way.

"Let's go take a look at another place!" Although Chen Zhengwei thought this place was good, he hadn't made a decision yet.

The other street was not far away, two blocks away was Lotz Street, which was wide and had many more pedestrians than the other side. There were also many casinos around, a total of five casinos, a pawn shop next to it, and opium dens and brothels not far away.

The shop that the group visited was right next to the casino. It was a two-story wooden house, and its area was larger than the one they had just visited.

"Which gang owns this place?" Chen Zhengwei felt that both places were good, one focusing on customer experience, and the other focusing on complete supporting facilities.

"Brother Wei, this is the territory of the Danshan Hall of the Sanhe Hall. They are much more powerful than the Heshun Hall. They also own the opium dens on this street. I heard that they also have their own opium refining factory."

These gangs in Chinatown are all closely related to the Hongmen. Although they all belong to the Hongmen, they are also hostile to each other and fight for territory.

There are more than 300 days in a year, and at least 200 days must be fought.

However, some of these halls are closely related, such as Guangde Hall, Danshan Hall and Xieyi Hall. The combination of these three halls is also called Sanhe Hall.

Among these three halls, Guangde Hall is the strongest and has a close relationship with Hongshun Hall, the largest hall in Chinatown today.

"Damn it, I don't care if you are so strong, but I'm afraid that you will be beaten to death!" Chen Zhengwei said unhappily.

He only has a few men under his command now. If he fights with Sanhetang, he is afraid that all of them will die except himself.

It is better to gain a foothold in Heshun Tang's territory first, and then think about this side after swallowing Heshun Tang and becoming stronger.

When Chen Zhengwei was out in the world, he relied on the four words "cautious and prudent".

"Go back!" Chen Zhengwei stopped at the intersection and stood there for a long time. He still felt that this side was more lively.

He just likes the fun.

After looking for a while, Chen Zhengwei turned around and left to rent the shop.

Although it is in an alley and only has one floor, the rent is quite high, 20 yuan a month.

"You guys talk to the landlord about the price! I've never rented such an expensive house." Chen Zhengwei threw the matter to Chen Zhenghu and Yan Qingyou, turned around and left, going to the alley entrance to smoke.

After a while, Yan Qingyou came over and said, "Brother Wei, 18 yuan a month..."

Chen Zhengwei knew immediately that the method they were talking about was definitely wrong! These people still needed to practice more.

But he was too lazy to care about the few dollars. "That's it! Go and prepare, paint the walls, make it clean, and open in three days. Lin Yuanshan said he would give me news in three days. If it works out, it's double happiness. If it doesn't work out... it's a coincidence!" Chen Zhengwei calculated and said.

"Have someone print some flyers, and print a small ticket on the flyers. You can exchange the small ticket for 10 cents to place a bet."

"Ask about the situation of Heshun Hall, especially where their leader usually hangs out. I will go to pay him a visit before opening. After all, if you open a business on someone else's territory, you always have to say hello!"

"We'll rent a few habitable houses nearby and you can move in. It will be more convenient for you to do things." Chen Zhengwei gave the instructions.

Yan Qingyou was afraid that he would not be able to remember, so he called Chen Zhenghu over as well.

After the two men finished recording the things, Chen Zhengwei handed over the follow-up matters to them.

"And have someone prepare a list of all the directors of the guild, including where they live and what businesses they run. When I'm done with my work in a few days, I'll go visit them one by one."

Chen Zhengwei felt that he would be very busy for some time to come, and he was almost exhausted.

There is no other way. When you first arrive at a place and want to settle down, you have to work harder and do everything.

"This is what it means to be a nobody when you're away from home!" Chen Zhengwei sighed somewhat.

……

That afternoon, Chen Zhengwei asked someone to inform Wang A-mei that she could come and pick up her son.

In the evening, Wang A-mei came over, holding her child and crying and laughing. Chen Zhengwei took out two hundred yuan and put it aside.

"I'm a man of my words. These two hundred dollars are for you. You can take the money and go back home with your children, or start a small business here."

Unexpectedly, Wang A-mei hesitated for a while after looking at the money, then turned around and knelt down towards Chen Zhengwei.

"Mr. Chen, I can't survive if I go back. This world is full of cannibalism. Can you take me and my son in? Let us do the laundry, cook, and do anything else."

A widow who is somewhat pretty and has a child cannot survive anywhere.

Even if she had the money, she might not be able to keep it.

Even if she takes a boat back to China now, there is no place for her to stay.

So after thinking about it, she could only ask Chen Zhengwei for help. After all, Chen Zhengwei did not harm her and actually gave her some money.

"Are you blaming me for this?" Chen Zhengwei raised his eyebrows.

After thinking for a while, I asked, "Can you cook?"

"Yes, they all praised my craftsmanship." Wang A-mei said quickly.

"You find a place to live nearby, cook meals for twenty to thirty people every day, and help with the laundry. I will give you twelve dollars a month," said Chen Zhengwei.

In this way, even Chen Zhenghu and his friends’ daily meal problems were solved.

"Thank you Mr. Chen... Thank you Mr. Chen..." Wang A-mei hurriedly expressed her gratitude.

Although it's only twelve yuan a month, it's a lot of money if you only need to cook and do laundry.

The most important thing is that they have Chen Zhengwei's protection. If they encounter any trouble, they can come to Chen Zhengwei for help. In this way, the mother and son can survive in this place.

……

In the evening, Chen Zhengwei took Chen Qiaoniang, Chen Zhengwu, and Chen Zhenghu, a few people who had been busy all day, to Ding Canteen for dinner, and also to get in touch with the dozen or so fellow apprentices.

When they saw Chen Zhenghu and his companions, the dozen or so fellow disciples were a little surprised. You know, they heard from Chen Zhengwei that he had just got off the boat not long ago.

Why did you bring your men with you?
"Junior Brother Chen, you said you just got off the boat not long ago? What are you planning to do?" someone asked indirectly.

"I'm planning to open a cigarette factory, but there are still some things to prepare. I'll open a foreign stall first. Are you interested in helping me, fellow disciples? I'm sure you'll make more than you do now! At least twice as much!" Chen Zhengwei raised a finger and said with a smile.

The others were a little hesitant when they heard this.

Lin Mingsheng hated them doing this the most.

Moreover, they were not very familiar with Chen Zhengwei, and they were a little skeptical of him for a while.

"Doesn't Junior Brother Chen have so many helpers?" Someone smiled and changed the subject.

"What is the most lacking thing now? Talent! I'm just making a suggestion! If you fellow brothers want to do something else in the future, you can come and help me!" Chen Zhengwei laughed, this matter was not urgent.

"Drink, drink! We all learn martial arts in the same martial arts school, and we will all be family in the future. If you need help with anything, just come to me, I will definitely help you without hesitation!" Chen Zhengwei said, patting his chest.

(End of this chapter)