Underworld Chronicles: Qiao Si's Strategist, Xiao Ke, and Wang Weifan

This Harbin superstar, I believe many people have already guessed it. Who else is the big brother of Harbin? It must be Huang Jinrong, who has dominated Harbin for more than 10 years and calls himself the Harbin's Huang Jinrong, and Qiao Siye, the fourth master of Shanghai's Xu Wenqiang.

Qiao Si's real name is Song Yongjia. He is a typical country boy. When he was a child, there was a bridge in the village. He often went to play on the bridge. Because he was the fourth child in his family, the villagers called him "Bridgehead Fourth".

Later, Qiao Si became famous. The character for "bridge" sounded a bit rustic, but the Qiao Family Compound was famous, so they removed the "wood" radical from the name. Everyone called him Qiao Si. Later still, as he became more and more powerful, they started calling him Master Qiao Si.

Before he turned thirty, Qiao Si was destitute. His family was so poor that, without exaggeration, they had trouble even getting enough to eat.

Qiao Si's father earned money by pulling a rickshaw. Just think how much money you can make pulling a rickshaw. Lao She's "Camel Xiangzi" is an example. Those were the livelihoods of poor people.

It's just like driving for Didi now, working yourself to the bone and not making much money. Don't listen to some media bragging about earning 10,000 or 20,000 yuan a month. You'd have to work 24/7 without sleep to achieve that. If it were that easy to make money, everyone would be scrambling to do it. Would it be possible for a poor kid like you to get a chance?

Qiao Si's father supported his family by pulling carts and carrying goods. Qiao Si had six siblings, and his father was the sole breadwinner. Their life was incredibly difficult; they were so poor that they were lucky not to have starved to death.

The family endured this hardship, but sometimes misfortune seems to favor the unfortunate. When Qiao Si was 13 years old, his father died from overwork.

The loss of the family's breadwinner was a fatal blow to the Qiao family. A person is dead, but the living must go on living.

There was no other way, so Qiao Si's eldest brother took on the heavy burden of the family. But there were too many mouths to feed, and the little money Qiao Si's eldest brother earned on the construction site was simply not enough to make ends meet.

Qiao Si's older brother could only steal—stealing iron and steel bars from construction sites and selling them—just to barely support his family.

The good times didn't last long. Not long after, Qiao Si's elder brother was discovered and thrown into jail, and the family lost another pillar of support.

In the end, with no other options, Qiao Si's mother made a living by washing clothes and cleaning for others, and even feeding the family became a problem.

When Qiao Si was a child, he was timid and hesitant because his family was poor. This has always been the case in any era. People with money naturally hold their chins high because they have confidence. People without money are more or less insecure.

Because his family was poor, Qiao Si dropped out of school at a young age and went out to work as a bricklayer with someone from the village, doing plastering.

Working away from home is barely enough to make ends meet; at the end of the month, there's hardly any money left. Qiao Si ate pickled cabbage and dried radish, lived in a makeshift shed filled with the smell of stinky feet, and just endured it all day long.

One evening, after finishing his work, Qiao Si ate a bag of pickled vegetables and two bowls of rice. With nothing else to do, he went for a stroll on the street to look at the pretty girls and have some fun.

As he passed a small restaurant, he suddenly saw a familiar figure through the window. Qiao Si looked closely and realized it was the man who had worked with him before, nicknamed Tiger.

Tiger sat with three people, looking quite respectable now that he was dressed in an old suit, a far cry from his previous slovenly appearance.

Then, looking at the table, wow! There was fish and meat, a whole table full of dishes, and several people were laughing and drinking as they ate.

"Damn it, when did this guy get rich? What kind of business is he doing now?" Qiao Si thought to himself.

Qiao Si originally wanted to go in and say hello, but then he looked at himself again. He was covered in mud, wearing worn-out sneakers, and his big feet were almost worn through. So he decided that it was better for the poor to stay out in public and wait for him outside.

Qiao Si walked into the alley opposite the restaurant, took out the cheap cigarettes from his pocket, and started smoking. As he smoked, he watched Tiger and his gang eat and drink heartily, getting angrier and envious the more he watched.

After waiting for more than an hour and smoking more than 10 cigarettes, Qiao Si finally saw Tiger and his group finish their meal and were about to pay the bill and leave.

Qiao Si threw the cigarette butt in his hand on the ground, stomped it out hard with his muddy sneakers, and slowly walked towards the restaurant entrance, pretending to have a chance encounter with the tiger.

Tiger, his face flushed from drinking, was bragging to three people when Qiao Si called out, "Brother Tiger, Brother Tiger!"

Tiger stopped in his tracks when Qiao Si shouted at him. He looked up at Qiao Si and couldn't remember who he was for a moment. "Who are you?"

Tiger, don't you recognize me? Qiao Si, Si'er~

Ah, Qiao Si, are you still working on the construction site?

Yeah, they're still plastering at the construction site. Tiger, have you struck it rich?

"What kind of fortune are you talking about? Just making a little money. If you do it right, you can make 10,000 or 20,000 at a time," Tiger boasted.

Qiao Si's eyes widened immediately. My God, they can make 18,000 yuan in one go? This is like robbing a bank!

Qiao Si took out a cigarette from his pocket and was about to light it for Tiger. Tiger saw Qiao Si's cheap cigarette and knew he couldn't smoke that. So he took out his own Furongwang cigarette from his pocket and said, "I have some here. Here, Si'er, smoke mine."

Tiger handed Qiao Si a cigarette. Qiao Si saw that it was a good cigarette, so he quickly took it, lit it for Tiger with a lighter, and then lit one for himself.

"Tiger, you've definitely struck it rich. Want to play with your little brother?" Qiao Si said to Tiger after taking a drag of his cigarette.

"The work I do is beyond your capabilities. It's not technical work, it's grueling work," the tiger said, exhaling a puff of white mist.

Tiger, what kind of tough job is it? How will you know if you don't try? With our relationship, don't you trust me?

"I'm leading a demolition team of a few people now. You wouldn't believe how tough it is these days. Some of those holdouts are incredibly difficult, no matter how much money they offer, they're always complaining. Sometimes we have to be forceful. If we can't demolish it within the deadline, we not only won't make any money, but we'll also have to compensate the owner for their losses," Tiger said, enunciating each word clearly.

"Brother Tiger, can you take me with you? I work myself to the bone all day and don't earn much money. Besides, being a bricklayer isn't a good future. I want to try something new while I'm still young," Qiao Si said with a smile.

You've got a lot of energy, kid. Do you have that kind of ruthlessness? Let me tell you, sometimes you might end up with knives. This kind of money isn't so easy to earn.

"Brother Tiger, I know fortune favors the bold, just let me try. If it doesn't work out, I can always come back and continue plastering," Qiao Si pleaded.

Tiger had a good relationship with Qiao Si when they worked on the construction site. He thought Qiao Si was quite clever and reliable, so he said...

"Alright, we can go and deal with a few holdouts tomorrow. Meet me at this place at nine o'clock tomorrow morning. Give it a try." Tiger said, writing down an address for Qiao Si.

Qiao Si said, holding the note in his hand, "Thank you, Brother Hu. I'll definitely be there early tomorrow."

"Okay, see you tomorrow then, Si'er. We're going to wash our hair and let loose after we finish drinking, so we're off now," Tiger said with a smile.

Tiger, you're busy, you're busy. Qiao Si watched Tiger and his group leave.

Will Tiger be able to take Qiao Sijin into the demolition team? Stay tuned for the next episode.