1982 Started from Hong Kong

Chapter 245 Big Dragon and Phoenix

Xiawan Village, Zhai Clan Ancestral Hall.

The ancestral hall is designed in the style of three entrances and two courtyards with blue bricks and stone pillars, carved beams and painted buildings, and an ancient style.

There is a plaque hanging on the lintel of the front courtyard with the three characters "Yougong Hall" inscribed on it.

The central courtyard houses the shrines for Wenqu and Wuqu.

The back courtyard is connected to the wing rooms, where the ancestral tablets of the Zhai family ancestors are placed. A courtyard was expanded in the front for sacrificial and festive activities.

Among the hundreds of people in Xiawan Village, more than 80% are from the same clan with the surname Zhai.

Southern villages and towns pay attention to clan culture. Even a small village like Xiawan Village is divided into the first, second and third branches. The ancestors of these branches may have been brothers, who later had descendants and gradually formed a family. Although there is a village representative position in the village, each branch still has a considerable say in its own branch.

Today, heads of the three families all gathered in the backyard of the Zhai clan ancestral hall, including several elders of high generation and high age.

"Brother Sheng, the news I received is that Thailand had enough rain last year and the grain harvest was huge. The grain stores in Hong Kong couldn't sell the rice they had stored, so they refused to accept crops from several villages near San Tin Township. This was not limited to Ha Wan Village, but also to Lok Ma Chau, Mai Po, San Lung and Tai Sang Wai."

There were several armchairs in the backyard of the ancestral hall, where several important figures of the village sat, and tea sets were placed on the small tables and stools beside them.

The head of the third house, Zhai Xiaowen, peeled a peanut and rubbed it in his hands, then blew away the peanut skin and threw it into his mouth, laughing and cursing, "There weren't many farmers in my house, but when I heard that the city wouldn't collect grain this year, they've all been busy reclaiming their own wasteland and then came to complain to me, a bunch of head-cutting ghosts!"

The head of the second branch, Zhai Xiaowu, also spoke up: "My situation is similar, but there are many elders in the second branch who make a living by farming, and they are all hesitating whether to sow this year."

Zhai Xiaosheng is not only the head of the eldest family, but also a village representative. Several people quickly explained the situation on their side and all looked at him.

"A farmer only makes a few hundred yuan a year. It doesn't matter if I lose it all to them. The grain store just won't buy it. I will contact a few supermarkets later and wait for them to grow the grain. Then I will sell it to them at a lower price to prevent some of them from taking advantage of the situation."

Zhai Xiaosheng picked up the purple clay teapot and sipped a few times from the spout. He looked around and said, "The unified district council elections were just held in March. The past two years have been an important period for my campaign for councillor. I don't want any negative news to arise from this matter."

"These head-chopping ghosts saw through Ah Sheng's intention to run for election and came here to take advantage of him."

An elder nearby sneered and then frowned and asked, "The grain store doesn't accept grain this year. What if it doesn't accept it next year or in the future? Do we have to support them forever?"

Zhai Xiaosheng also fell silent after hearing this.

As the village representative, his family is not well-off. Although he has the rights to Ding, real estate developers are unwilling to develop the suburbs, so the rights to Ding are worthless.

Zhai Xiaowen from the third house said, "I heard that in the past few years, someone in Baxiang has been playing with the landlord system. One person contracts all the farmland and lets Vietnamese people or Acha to farm it, and in the end, he only needs to give them a small amount of money."

"Feng Guifa of Tai Sang Wai is playing the same game. He has been very close to a Malaysian Datuk named Hong Bin recently. The two of them are talking about developing a new town. Feng Guifa will be the landlord himself and collect farmland from villagers. He is now applying for qualifications for commercial land use."

The elder beside him said with some concern: "If we really let Dashengwei develop into a new town, Ah Sheng, I think it will be difficult for you to dispute with Feng Guifa for the seat."

"Hong Bin contacted me before." Zhai Xiaosheng clutched the purple clay teapot, his face not looking good: "I originally thought he was a pretentious con man, but I didn't expect that he really made a big splash in Dashengwei."

"From the current perspective, there is a high probability that Hong Bin's identity as a Datuk is correct. Feng Guifa must have confirmed it before he dared to make such a big scene with him."

Zhai Xiaowen reminded him, "Feng Guifa took this opportunity to go to the Municipal Bureau frequently. He boasted everywhere that after the farmland is settled, Hong Bin will pay for him to buy all the Ding rights in Dashengwei and build a town by connecting the farmland."

Seeing Brother Sheng's unhappy expression, Zhai Xiaowu said unhappily, "Just because he says to build it, we can build it? Will the Municipal Bureau approve the application so easily? I'm afraid that in the end it will be a waste of effort."

Zhai Xiaowen smiled and said nothing more.

Zhai Xiaosheng slowly exhaled, "Maybe it can really be built. Now that the Hong Kong government has heard that we are going to return to China, everyone is busy transferring foreign exchange to the UK. In their eyes, this Malaysian Datuk is also a fat sheep. Once construction starts in the future, the materials will definitely be imported from the UK. By then, the foreigners will be able to make a fortune. As for what the new town will look like, no one cares."

Several people in the courtyard looked at each other, exchanged glances and stopped talking.

Zhai Xiaosheng frowned, as if talking to himself: "But how powerful is this Datuk? I always feel that there is something strange about it."

…………

Located in the new town adjacent to Tai Sang Wai, in Yuen Long Hotel.

Hong Bin, who is known as the Datuk of Malaysia, was leaning on the bed and rubbing his feet in a very ungraceful manner.

"Hiss! Xiaofeng, let uncle teach you. You have to take care of athlete's foot. You don't know how pleasant it is to pick it! And if you want to pretend to be a rich man, you must leave yourself a quirk. The more quirky it is, the easier it is to be remembered. But remember to wash your hands every time you are done, otherwise your fingers will rot and it will not look good."

The female secretary sitting next to the coffee table glared at him with disdain, but did not continue the disgusting topic and continued to focus her eyes on the photos on the table.

In the photo, Hong Bin is dressed in a suit and looks very handsome, appearing in the same frame with political and business celebrities who frequently appear in newspapers, which looks quite eye-catching.

Xiao Feng couldn't help but ask, "Are all these photos computer-generated?"

Hong Bin was dissatisfied and said, "How can computer synthesis be so realistic? The most important thing for a con man is to package yourself. Have you seen the photo of me and the real estate tycoon? When he was in the VIP room of the Malaysia Casino, it took me two months to talk to him. In the end, I tricked him into taking a photo with me. Then I pretended to be a rich businessman in Thailand with this photo and made a fortune from a landlord."

Xiao Feng snorted and laughed, "No wonder you were so good at deceiving Feng Guifa this time. It turns out you've done this many times before. If you use these photos to pretend to be upper-class, ordinary people really can't tell the difference."

Hong Bin smelled his fingers after rubbing his feet, with an intoxicated expression on his face: "When these group photos of me were distributed, there were also female celebrities in the entertainment industry who took the initiative to throw themselves into my arms. They all thought that I had connections and resources to give them. Even if I pulled up my pants and left, they would reflect on whether their bed skills were not good enough. So don't look at me fiercely all day long, thinking that uncle will have some intentions towards you. I have seen too many beautiful girls~"

Xiao Feng looked disdainful and said coldly, "You talk so impressively, but up to now, we haven't even seen the shadow of Zhai Xiaosheng that the boss asked us to deal with."

Hong Bin said: "Zhai Xiaosheng is not an ordinary person."

Xiao Feng raised an eyebrow and asked, "He's just a village representative, what's so surprising about that?"

Hong Bin smiled and said, "He is a relative of the boss. Have you ever heard of genes? Mr. Zhai is already a big shot, so how can his uncle be ordinary?"

Xiao Feng curled her lips and said something like she was looking for an excuse, then said to him with interest, "Why don't you try to deceive Mr. Zhai once?"

Hong Bin shook his head with a serious expression: "Remember, the first rule of a con man is to kill the poor and not the rich. There are masters in this world."

Xiaofeng said: "Zhai Xiaosheng is not a poor guy."

Hong Bin laughed and said, "But now I have Mr. Zhai as my backer, just like I used the photo of the real estate tycoon to deceive the Thai landlord. This is called borrowing power."

At this moment, the eldest brother's phone on the table suddenly rang.

"It must be Feng Gui sending this message to greet you again."

Xiaofeng found it funny that Feng Guifa, the village representative of Dashengwei, had been behaving like that recently. Fortunately, Mr. Zhai didn't want to trick him, otherwise this guy would have taken the bait long ago without having to spend so much time.

She changed her tone to a more businesslike one and answered the phone: "Hello, where are you looking?"

The next second, the female secretary's eyes suddenly lit up and she quickly turned to look at Hong Bin who was lazily leaning on the bed.

She mouthed to Hong Bin silently, "Zhai Xiaosheng."

…………Night falls.

Kwai Chung Pier, Natural Selection.

Zhai Xiaosheng and his son Zhai Jinghao from Xiawan Village approached the luxury gambling ship that was about to leave the port like country bumpkins entering the city.

The father was wearing a black cloth gown and the son was wearing a cheap suit, which formed a sharp contrast with the high rollers on the gambling ship.

Zhai Xiaosheng was surprised in his heart but did not show it on his face.

Zhai Jinghao was obviously much worse than his father. He couldn't take his eyes off the colorful lights on the gambling boat. His mind recalled the famous scene in the movie "God of Gamblers" where Wan Ziliang was full of vigor and defeated the gambling king on the high seas.

"Is this the Natural Selection that's often mentioned in the newspapers? It looks much more luxurious than in the movies. I wonder how much it costs to play on the ship."

The father and son hesitated on the shore and did not dare to board the boat.

The receptionist wearing a red vest noticed them and took the initiative to approach them, smiling and asking in a friendly manner: "Is this your first time here, bosses? Have you purchased the clay chips in advance?"

The mud code is the certificate for boarding the ship, but the father and son of the Zhai family obviously do not understand this.

Zhai Xiaosheng cupped his hands and said, "A Mr. Hong Binhong asked us to meet here."

The waiter's eyes flickered when he heard this, and he looked at the father and son in front of him again, with an eager smile on his face: "So you are Mr. Dato's friends. I remember your surname is Zhai? Mr. Dato told you that you can go directly to the ship when you arrive. There are specialists to receive you. Please."

The waiter respectfully invited the Zhai father and son onto the boat.

Zhai Jinghao stepped on the sampan and said excitedly, "Dad, I told you long ago that there is no problem with his Datuk status. How is it now?"

Zhai Xiaosheng said in a deep voice: "Shut up."

shore.

The waiter in a red vest watched the two people board the ship and shook his head with pity.

He silently took the intercom from his waist and reported to the ghost boy Tian on the boat: "Brother Tian, the piglets are in the cage."

on board.

The Zhai family father and son were overwhelmed.

Although the gambling ship had not yet set sail and the gambling hall had not been officially opened, the singing and dancing performances arranged during the waiting period had already broadened the horizons of the two country bumpkins.

On the stage is a dancing model wearing a bra and short skirt, trying to save fabric.

Below the stage was a beautiful public relations lady wearing a cheongsam, which was slit to the thighs, almost revealing her underwear. She was walking around with a tray, smiling, for guests to get drinks.

Zhai Jinghao always felt that he had a good family background in Xiawan Village, with a car and a house. But now that he had entered a new environment, he suddenly felt inferior, as if he had never felt before.

After all, Zhai Xiaosheng was older and calmer, but when he saw that among the people coming and going on the gambling boat, there were actually several important officials from the Municipal Bureau, he couldn't help swallowing his saliva.

Just when he was hesitating whether to go up and say hello.

A young man in casual clothes came up quickly to greet us.

Guizai Tian wore gold-rimmed glasses on his nose, and had a gentle smile on his face. He said in a warm tone, "You two must be Mr. Zhai and Mr. Xiao Zhai? My name is Li Yutian, and I am the person in charge of this gambling ship. Mr. Dato has instructed in advance that you can go directly to the VIP lounge to see him after you board the ship. Please follow me."

Zhai Xiaosheng unconsciously compared Guizai Tian with his own Zhai Jinghao. They were both young men, and the one in front of him might be a few years younger than Zhai Jinghao, but his speech and behavior were far better than his son's.

Such talented people are very respectful when they mention Hong Bin. Could it be that the old cat has burned its whiskers and I have misjudged him?
Guizaitian didn't say much during the whole process and led the Zhai father and son to the private room upstairs.

He knocked on the door gently: "Boss, Mr. Dato's guest is here."

The door of the box was opened from the inside, and two tall and strong men were guarding the door. Zhai Xiaosheng recognized them as the bodyguards who followed Hong Bin when he visited for the first time.

"Haha, Mr. Zhai is here. The one next to you is your son, right? Not bad, he looks very handsome."

The gambling room outside has not started yet, but the chips are already piled up on the gambling table in the VIP box.

Hong Bin held the secretary named Xiao Feng in his arms, turned around to look at Zhai Xiaosheng and his son, smiled and said hello, pointed at the men across the gambling table and said, "Please wait a moment, we can talk after I finish this round! Boss Ye won several million from me last night, I must make it back with interest tonight!"

"Dad, it's the boss of Brick and Stone Ye Ye." Zhai Jinghao tugged at Zhai Xiaosheng's sleeve and said excitedly in a low voice.

Zhai Xiaosheng ignored him and looked at Ye Zhiming, who was on the same stage with Hong Bin and was known as the Bridge King of the Business World and Brick and Stone Ye. His breathing became a little heavy.

Hong Bin is fake, so is Zhuan Shi Ye also fake?
Ye Zhiming noticed the other party's gaze, glanced at the Zhai family father and son casually, turned to Hong Bin and smiled, "Mr. Dato, do you still care about the win or loss of millions? I heard that you are developing in Yuen Long recently. If you count the wins and losses of this shop outside the gambling table, the wins and losses must be at least over 100 million!"

Hong Bin laughed heartily: "Just focus on gambling, don't talk so much. Let's each draw a card and play big. I'm going to all-in on the five million chips on the table. I wonder if Boss Ye dares to follow?"

Ye Zhiming shrugged nonchalantly: "All in, then all in."

The chips on both sides, totaling over tens of millions, were overturned on the table with a loud crash.

Zhai Xiaosheng was completely shocked by the scene before him.

Last time, it was Hong Bin who took the initiative to come to discuss cooperation, but I didn’t cherish him. This time, he wants to snatch this financial sponsor from Dashengwei, but I don’t know what conditions he will offer.

At the gambling table, Ye Zhiming and Hong Bin were competing with each other by playing a card, and the winner had already been decided.

Hong Bin grabbed a card with the Nine of Hearts and looked at the Eight of Diamonds in Ye Zhiming's hand. He laughed loudly, "I can even encounter something like 9 vs. 8? It's such a coincidence that I won a point from you, Boss Ye. It seems that I have good luck tonight."

Ye Zhiming cursed and laughed as he threw the cards on the table: "I don't want to play anymore. The feng shui of Hong Kong is not good for me. Wait for me to go down and prepare, and then tell the captain to sail. We will continue when we reach the high seas."

As soon as he left, only Hong Bin and Zhai Xiaosheng were left in the box.

"Want to play with me? You have to win at least another five million from him tonight to make it an even number!"

Hong Bin spoke in an arrogant tone and grabbed a handful of chips and stuffed them into Xiao Feng's collar.

Then he turned his head and looked at Zhai Xiaosheng and his son behind him, and casually pushed a pile of chips to distribute them: "Hey, whoever sees it gets a share. This is my gift to Mr. Zhai. However, these chips can't be exchanged for money. Here are about 200,000? Anyway, how much can be left depends on your luck tonight."

Zhai Xiaosheng shook his head and smiled, "I'm sorry, Mr. Dato, I never gamble."

"Then let Xiao Zhai give it a try."

Hong Bin said unhappily, "Why, you won't even accept the money I gave you, are you being disrespectful?"

(End of this chapter)