Days in Hong Kong variety shows

Early in the morning, in Tianxin Village, Mangongwu, a Toyota Crown S120 drove up a slope of about 200 meters and parked at the foot of a two-story building with light green exterior walls built against the mountain.

Cao Tai opened the car door and got out of the passenger seat.

The yard is about 200 square meters. Besides the car that Cao Taigang just arrived in, there is also a light gray Honda Accord 1st generation parked next to it.

Uncle De was in the far corner of the yard, gently waving two large, dark sticks on a protruding platform. Below the platform was a cliff more than 10 meters deep, and the fence was only about 50 centimeters high, but Uncle De seemed to be unafraid, hovering at the edge.

With light steps and a graceful figure, the two sticks flew up and down without making a sound. The rising sun over the distant sea still bathed the entire courtyard in golden light, and the light green building seemed to be gilded in the morning light.

A short-haired, muscular man in his 30s, wearing a white training uniform, was watching Uncle De demonstrate his martial arts, his eyes following Uncle De's movements.

Cao Tai followed Da Sha to the man's side. "Uncle Sheng, this is Mr. Cao," Da Sha introduced Cao Tai to the man first.

Then he turned to Cao Tai and introduced the man, "Mr. Cao, this is my cousin, my great-uncle's nephew."

"Mr. Yu, hello, I am Cao Tai." Cao Tai extended his hand and shook hands with the man's outstretched hand. There was a vague sense of familiarity; he must be a character from a movie he had seen before.

"Mr. Cao, hello, this is Yu Hongsheng."

As Cao Tai loosened his grip, he felt that his opponent's palm was large and powerful, with calluses on the back of his hand, which must have been formed by long-term bare-knuckle punches, indicating that his skill in boxing was very profound.

After Yu Hongsheng released Cao Tai's hand, his mind raced. A few days ago, his uncle said he would introduce him to a master, and they had arranged to meet at the old house this morning.

Cao Tai's first impression of him was that of a celebrity. He was about 180 cm tall, with a tall and handsome appearance. When they shook hands, his hand felt very strong, but his palm was smooth and not rough, unlike someone who practiced martial arts.

Just as both sides were preoccupied with their own thoughts, a whooshing sound came from the air. Looking up, they saw Uncle De wielding his sticks faster and faster, creating a flurry of stick shadows as they flew around him.

Cao Tai watched for a few seconds and felt that Uncle De's stick-waving routine should be coming to an end soon.

When I first arrived, I saw Uncle De wielding the sticks with measured speed and rhythm, without making a sound. At that time, Uncle De must have been able to steadily control the two short sticks in his hands.

The two short sticks were now tumbling and flying, creating a series of whooshing sounds. They looked incredibly powerful, but this was actually a sign that Uncle De was gradually losing control of the sticks in his hands.

Sure enough, in less than a minute, Uncle De regained his footing, and his arms continued to swing a few more times with the momentum of the short stick before slowly coming to a stop.

"Uncle De, what skill!" Cao Tai could tell that the two short sticks in Uncle De's hands were made of steel. Judging by their thickness, each stick weighed about 20 pounds. He didn't know how long Uncle De had been practicing before he came, but when he got off the car, he saw that Uncle De was wielding the sticks very fast without making a sound. His skill and control were not to be underestimated.

"It's been decades of practice. When I was young, I could play for an hour or two, but now I can't even last half an hour!" Uncle De leaned the two short sticks together, making a crisp "clang" sound of metal clashing, and then handed them to his nephew.

Yu Hongsheng grabbed two large iron bars, each about 4 centimeters in diameter, with his large hand. Although it didn't look as easy as carrying a lamp wick, he didn't seem to change his expression at all, and the two iron bars in his hand were like wooden sticks.

Da Sha, being quite perceptive, had already handed over a towel when Uncle De finished his practice. As Uncle De took the towel and wiped the sweat from his face, he noticed Cao Tai's eyes lingering on the two short sticks in his nephew's hand several times. Da Sha then said, "Want to try them? Each one weighs 16 jin (7 catties), and I had them specially made."

"Shall we give it a try?" Cao Tai reached out and took the short stick that Yu Hongsheng handed him.

Each stick is about 80 centimeters long and about 4 centimeters in diameter, straight all the way without a beginning or end, and covered with anti-slip textures. It feels like it weighs more than 16 kilograms when I hold it in my hand, but then I think about it, one kilogram in Hong Kong is 600 grams, which is different from the mainland, so it would be about 19 kilograms in the mainland, which is about the same as my previous estimate of 20 kilograms.

With a few light swings, Yu Hongsheng, who had previously underestimated Cao Tai because his hands lacked calluses, narrowed his eyes slightly. Most people would struggle to lift a 16-pound object with one hand, but Uncle De's effortless stick-wielding was due to a combination of strength and skill.

Cao Tai's swings were devoid of any skill; anyone with martial arts training could tell they were just brute force. He swung them with far more ease than if he were wielding two hollow iron pipes.

Yu Hongsheng's evaluation of Cao Tai rose to the highest level, and he no longer doubted his uncle's words that Cao Tai was a master.

"Indeed, wielding these two clubs, one can charge in and out of a massive army seven times over." These are 16-pound heavy weapons, one in each hand. In ancient times, even heavy armor would be breached with a single blow. If a skilled and incredibly strong general wielded two clubs, it was possible to easily smash through thirty to fifty pieces of armor in close combat.

"What are you thinking! These are specially made for practicing martial arts. If you actually use these two sticks to fight, you won't be able to wield them for more than two minutes." Uncle De said irritably after hearing Cao Tai's words.

"Oh, I thought this was your weapon, Uncle De? Where did you hang out before? What kind of gear did you use when you went to fight?" Cao Tai flicked his wrist, and the two iron rods struck each other, making a crisp "clang".

"I'm from Hong Kong and Kowloon. When I used to fight, I carried two short jujube wood sticks weighing two or three pounds each, but this is the one I use most often." Uncle Tak stretched out his hand and made a gun gesture.

"Oh, that crazy? Back then, did gangs often use firearms when fighting for territory?" Cao Tai was a little confused. The rule of the Niu Tribe in Hong Kong Island had always been very stable. He had never heard of any period when gangs were so unrestrained and the Hong Kong government did not regulate them!

"Pfft!" Yu Hongsheng, who was standing next to him, couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Brother Tai, your great-uncle used to be in the Hong Kong and Kowloon Brigade's short gun squad. He wasn't involved in any triads," Big Fool couldn't help but explain from the side.

"Oh," Cao Tai blinked. He had previously thought that Uncle De was some kind of veteran of the underworld, someone who had formed a relationship with the foreigners during Lei Luo's time. This time, he had directly contacted a powerful mid-level official in the foreigners to help him with the ID card application. However, he did not expect that Uncle De was actually a former soldier.

When Uncle Tak took out the hand-drawn military map, I should have guessed that he had a military background. I never expected that he came from the famous Hong Kong and Kowloon Brigade!

Many members of the Hong Kong and Kowloon Brigade are young intellectuals, including many graduates of English-language colleges. The English translators for the leaders of the East River were all from the Hong Kong and Kowloon Brigade.

So it's not surprising that there are surveying professionals in such a talented team, whether Uncle De studied surveying himself or was taught by a surveying expert in the team. According to the map Cao Tai had seen before, Uncle De's surveying skills were very high, and judging from the map's condition, Cao Tai suspected that Uncle De was re-measuring and correcting the map every year, because some of the landmarks were clearly recent man-made additions, such as newly added artificial landscapes.

"That was all in my youth!" Uncle De said calmly, but his expression was full of pride.

"I've called you here today to discuss our collaboration again, and also to introduce you to Hung Sheng. After all, what you're doing might attract the attention of the police, and Hung Sheng's current position can sometimes help you avoid some trouble!" Uncle De then explained the purpose of his visit.

"Where is Mr. Yu currently employed?" Cao Tai stared intently at Yu Hongsheng.

"The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) is now headed by the Chief Investigator of its Operations Department."

As expected of Li, Yu Hongsheng, the ICAC's Deputy Commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) and Director of the Operations Department, is the ICAC's second-in-command. Now around 30, he has risen to the position of Chief Investigator of the Operations Department, a mid-level position with the authority to handle cases independently. As Uncle De mentioned earlier, if any police officer is monitoring him, Yu Hongsheng could be a huge help. If he were to release a rumor that he's keeping an eye on that officer, the police would be thrown into chaos. After all, investigating Chinese police officers is the ICAC's favorite tactic at this time.

The group went inside for tea and chatted about Cao Tai and Da Sha's business partnership. They reasoned that if the deal went well, Da Sha's business would immediately triple. Previously, his smuggling of cars and seafood business only generated around 100 million yuan in annual revenue. Now, if they could control the seafood import and export business at both wharves as Cao Tai planned, their annual sales were projected to reach 1 billion yuan. Da Sha, with a 20% stake, would still have 200 million yuan a year, with a net profit estimated at 30-40 million yuan.

Since Nine-Dragon's contribution was still needed, both parties agreed that he could take a share of the entire seafood business. Finally, it was agreed that Cao Tai would take 60%, Da Sha 20%, Nine-Dragon 10%, and Gang Sheng and Xiao Fu 5% each.

During the discussion, they talked about how to support Nine Dragons in taking over Wo Yee. Uncle Tak from Fish Head Point had already made connections with the East Kowloon Anti-Drug and Anti-Triad departments. Yes, it was Edward, the Sai Kung Commissioner, whom Cao Tai had only met once, who made the contact. Because the East Kowloon Major Crimes Unit had seriously offended him this time, he had contacted the NB and O-Division, mainly targeting them with a petty trick.

As the sun set, Cao Tai finally left in Da Sha's car. It had been a fulfilling day; the plans had been finalized in just one morning, with details planned and contingency plans in place for any unforeseen events.

In the afternoon, Cao Tai learned about weapons from Uncle De. After all, in his previous life, he only practiced unarmed combat with the military and police, and the only weapon he was familiar with was the bayonet.

Cao Tai learned Uncle De's mace technique in just over an hour. That's right, the two iron rods Uncle De used to practice with that morning weren't short rods, but the legendary mace technique of Qin Qiong. He said he learned it from a deputy company commander surnamed Qin in the guard company when he went on a business trip to the headquarters of the column.

Later, his mace skills did not prove effective on the battlefield. Instead, after he became a policeman, he made a name for himself with his two batons. At that time, the gang members on the two streets he was responsible for patrolling were all gentlemen. When they met, they would bow and scrape and respectfully call him "Good morning, Yu sir!"

Later, when he sparred with Uncle De, he didn't expect Uncle De to become more and more cunning with age. Cao Tai's strength was more than three or four times that of Uncle De, but his skills and experience were far inferior. Their speed was about the same, but Cao Tai was captured by his opponent's grappling techniques several times. In the end, he still managed to break free quickly by relying on his super physique and strength.

Unable to win quickly, Cao Tai could only force a three-minute, relentless attack to wear down Uncle De's stamina before finally securing victory. Cao Tai had previously thought that his physique had doubled and that he possessed superhuman strength of over a thousand kilograms, making it easy for him to easily defeat the martial arts experts at this time. Who would have thought that he would almost be defeated by an old man?

Realizing his mistake, Cao Tai immediately corrected it. Ignoring Uncle De's panting, he stepped forward to ask for instruction in martial arts.