ryethenovel Chapter 2: Make Others Think Highly of You
Chapter 2: Make Others Think Highly of You
In the 60s, Hong Kong was under British colonial control, and there was collusion between the police and triads, leading to widespread corruption.
For ordinary people, this was the darkest of times.
But for ambitious people, this place, like Shanghai in the 20s, is a place where powerful figures rise to prominence!
Wu Shih-hao smuggled himself to Hong Kong three years ago and worked as a laborer at the pier for a period of time.
Not long after, the ambitious Wu Zhenkun led his brothers to join his clan uncle, Wu Zhenkun, nicknamed Fatty Kun, in the Anle family.
Last year, Wu Shih-hao was assigned by Fat Lao-kun to be in charge of the "business" in Shek Kip Mei. Since then, Ah-hao from Tai Ho has been officially promoted to Brother Hao of the Water Room.
In the martial arts world today, the name Wu Shih-hao is neither too big nor too small; he can barely be considered a figurehead.
Lin Yuanshan quickly came to understand this firsthand.
The two walked out of the south gate of the Walled City for seven or eight minutes and saw the Kowloon City Police Station with its gray and white flat roof across the road.
Wu Shih-hao strode over, first handing a cigarette to the uniformed policeman at the guard post, giving his name as the water station officer, and then swaggering in with Lin Yuan-shan.
The main lobby on the first floor is the office of the uniformed officers.
A large notice was posted on the right-hand wall: Unregistered individuals must register within 7 days.
Below the notice, against the wall, was an office desk, behind which sat an old man in military uniform.
About twenty ragged illegal immigrants lined up tremblingly, waiting to complete their paperwork and receive their travel permits, at the shouts of a young uniformed policeman.
As soon as Lin Yuanshan entered, he saw a man who hadn't prepared five yuan for tea.
The young uniformed policeman's face darkened. He struck the man on the back of the head with a baton, then dragged him towards the left passage as if he were a dead dog.
The illegal immigrants were terrified and fell silent upon seeing this.
"Hey, Yuan. This way." Wu Shih-hao stepped onto the stairs and found Lin Yuan-shan standing there watching the commotion.
"Oh, you're here." Lin Yuanshan withdrew his gaze and followed him upstairs.
As they walked, Wu Shih-hao said, "That's the passageway to the basement level. The detention rooms and darkrooms are located there. It's obvious that the guy was taken as a human sacrifice; he's definitely going to be embarrassed."
Lin Yuanshan hummed in agreement. As a researcher of Hong Kong history, he was no stranger to the term "heads".
In this era, a "human head" is a scapegoat, used by detectives in various districts to take the blame for cases, improve the crime-solving rate in their jurisdictions, and curry favor with the foreigners above them.
In the underworld, there are actually people who specialize in this business.
However, the police would certainly not let go of any opportunity to cut costs.
Take that unlucky guy from before, for example. Even if he were falsely accused of the least lucrative crime of roaming and causing trouble, we could still save HK$200 in head fees.
The detective took half of the money, leaving a hundred dollars. The plainclothes team on the second floor took another half, leaving only fifty dollars, which finally ended up in the uniformed group where the profits were meager.
The young uniformed policeman who struck the man got twenty yuan, while the officer in charge of the uniform got ten yuan.
As for the others, from those in old military uniforms to those standing guard at the gate, each person received anywhere from a few dollars to a few cents.
At this moment, Lin Yuanshan had already followed Wu Shih-hao up to the Criminal Investigation Department on the second floor.
Wu Shih-hao knocked on the door with his fingers and beckoned Lin Yuan-shan to follow. Every time he passed a desk, he would leave behind two packets of Nanyang Double Happiness cigarettes.
Once you get to the very back, near the counter in the detective's room...
Wu Shih-hao unzipped his jacket, took out a pack of Marlboro cigarettes, and placed it on the table: "Brother Cheng, we're here. Sorry to keep you waiting."
The plainclothes officer, known as Brother Cheng, was about forty years old. He was wearing a gray polyester suit and brown sandals.
Hearing Wu Shih-hao's words, he put down the horse racing newspaper, pulled and closed the drawer, and put away the cigarettes on the table: "Ah-hao, I just came from Yunlai Teahouse too."
Wu Shih-hao smiled and took out a cigarette case: "Okay, have a cigarette after you finish your morning tea."
"It's good that I'm here, it's good that I'm here." While saying he would come himself, Cheng took the cigarette and leaned over to Wu Shih-hao to strike the famous match.
He lit a cigarette, took a puff, and the next second, Cheng Ge exhaled two plumes of smoke from his nostrils.
At this moment, he noticed Lin Yuanshan standing next to Wu Shih-hao, staring at his horse racing report.
"Ah Hao, is this the cousin from Chenghai you mentioned?"
"Wow, not only is he handsome, but he's also dressed quite well." Cheng Ge glanced at Lin Yuanshan and asked with amusement, "Hey, young man, looking at me so intently, did you go to school back home?"
Worried that Lin Yuanshan wouldn't be able to handle the situation, Wu Shihao stepped in to smooth things over: "My uncle is both a scholar and a warrior, so naturally Yuanshan can read and write."
Lin Yuanshan, who had been waiting for an opportunity to speak, slowly raised his eyes to look at Brother Cheng: "Brother Cheng, hello, my name is Lin Yuanshan."
The tips in this horse racing newspaper are really exaggerated, making the horses sound like they could fly. However, I noticed that the English name of the most popular horse is printed incorrectly.
Cheng Ge was taken aback upon hearing this, and reached out to grab the horse racing newspaper: "Oh? Where was it printed wrong?"
Seeing Wu Shih-hao's bewildered expression, Lin Yuan-shan pointed to the string of English at the top of the horse racing rankings: "It should have been LUCK, which means good luck and great fortune. It's the most auspicious word at the racecourse."
However, the magazine's layout was sloppy; the last letters were reversed, printing it as LUKC.
Upon hearing the conversation, several plainclothes officers gathered around.
"Oh my, young man, I didn't know you could speak English."
"It was indeed printed incorrectly; LUCK is the correct one."
"Hey, you talk like you know English."
"Hey, the word 'good luck' often appears on the signs of bars run by foreigners."
Also, in the casinos of Macau, you can see it everywhere. Even though I, a complete gambler, don't understand English, I remember this word: "idiot."
……
A horse racing report was passed around among several people.
Lin Yuanshan, who caused all of this, has returned to Wu Shih-hao's side with a smile.
Seeing this, Cheng Ge was secretly amazed. Ah Hao's cousin was no ordinary person.
He spoke fluently and answered questions logically, showing none of the shyness and restraint that a typical illegal immigrant would have when first entering the police station.
Most importantly, he not only knows how to read, but also understands English.
With these conditions, they are definitely not comparable to those poor fellow villagers who smuggled themselves into Hong Kong and could only do hard labor at the docks!
Why don't we try to build a good relationship with the other person?
After all, Lui Lok, the current detective chief of Shau Kei Wan, was said to not even be able to read all the words in the newspaper when he took the police exam.
Thinking of this, Brother Cheng's face became more enthusiastic: "A Yuan, right? Why are you being so formal?"
We're all family here, so just call me Brother Cheng, like Ah Hao does.
These Hong Kong horse racing newspapers are terrible; their tips are inaccurate, and their content is printed haphazardly. Otherwise, why would we always be unable to win?
Oh right, you're making street paper, right?
"Come on, come on, brother will take you downstairs to take care of things."
Seeing Shili Cheng put his arm around Lin Yuanshan's shoulder and walk towards the stairs, Wu Shihao was a little surprised.
He greeted the plainclothes officers present and hurriedly caught up.
Shi Licheng was notorious in the Yau Ma Tei plainclothes police unit for his opportunistic and ruthless behavior.
Back in the day, when they came to get their travel permits, even if they had an acquaintance who introduced them, the other party would just call a military uniformed receptionist and at most help them cut in line.
With the help of the shrewd old plainclothes officer Cheng, Lin Yuanshan received his travel permit in less than five minutes.
With the matter settled, the two parted ways with the opportunists.
Once they were outside the police station, Wu Shih-hao couldn't help but ask, "Ah-Yuan, were you deliberately staring at that horse racing report inside, trying to get that snobbish guy to talk?"