HongKong1960

Chapter 15: The Local Crew's Righteousness

"Sigh, I'm fading away. I went from opium to this 'powder' (heroin), and I don't have much time left," Uncle Fung raised his arm, revealing dense pinprick marks. "But you young men have a chance. Remember, never touch 'powder' or gambling." Uncle Fung warned us solemnly.

He explained that to make it in the underworld, you run a gambling den but never gamble yourself, and you run a drug stall but never touch the 'powder.' If we could stick to that, we would surely soar. He himself was out of chances, but we were young and still could.

We thanked Uncle Fung and told him not to worry—the three of us would definitely revive this place!

Just as we were talking, a loud, abusive voice came from outside!

"F*ck your mother, Old Ghost Fung, get out here!"

A young guy leading a small crew marched into the gambling den and immediately grabbed Uncle Fung by the collar!

"Ah-Seh (Snake), w-what's wrong?" Uncle Fung greeted him with a nervous smile.

"You motherf*cker, have you paid this month's fee? Are you trying to shut down this gambling den or what?" The guy called Ah-Seh reached out, ready to hit Uncle Fung.

"Wait, Ah-Seh! End of the month! Wait until the end of the month, and I'll definitely give it to you!" Uncle Fung pleaded.

It turned out this guy was called 'Flower Snake' (Fa Seh), a member of the Chiu Chow (Teochew) gang, the 'Yi Qun' (Righteousness Gang), which operated nearby in Shek Kip Mei. One triad group paying protection money to another? That made me laugh right there.

"Wow, you say next month this month, and next year next month! If you die one day, who am I going to collect from?!" Ah-Seh shouted arrogantly, then flipped over a nearby gambling table. He ordered his lackeys to snatch all the money from the terrified gamblers, who were too scared to move!

"Consider this the interest. I'll be back at the end of the month to collect the rest!" Ah-Seh grabbed the money from the table, pointed at Uncle Fung, and turned to leave!

"Hold it!" I stood up. Ah-Yi and Ah-Ho stood up with me.

"What do you want? Who are you guys?" Ah-Seh glared at us, turning around. His dozen or so lackeys became alert.

"We're covering this gambling den starting today. I don't care who you are, you're not taking a single cent of the money from this casino!" I stated!

"I swear, Old Ghost! What, you found some help?" Ah-Seh grabbed Uncle Fung's collar again.

"Let go of him!" Ah-Ho rushed up and slapped Ah-Seh's hand away. The two sides immediately started arguing, ready to pull out weapons! Without a word, Ah-Yi, Ah-Ho, and I showed our 'gear,' ready to move at any second!

Seeing the three of us facing their dozen-plus men without batting an eye, Ah-Seh paused and asked for our names.

I told him I was Chung Sai-Man!

That's when Flower Snake's face went white.

"Are you the Chung Sai-Man who chopped up Wong Yuen-Ban in Lei Yue Mun?" Flower Snake asked.

The 'Yi Qun' had seized control of all the gambling dens in Shek Kip Mei, and Uncle Fung had to pay them a thousand dollars in protection fees (To Dei Fei) every month to keep operating!

"That's right. Just a couple of days ago, we also slaughtered Wong Kam-Hung. Are you looking to get a tombstone planted for you in Shek Kip Mei today?" Ah-Ho challenged.

"s**t, so what if you guys are tough? This is Shek Kip Mei, and we, the Yi Qun, are in charge here!" Flower Snake was enraged, pulling out his knife, ready to fight!

Just then, a huge crowd poured in from outside!

Ah-Wah, with his group of dozens of Tsz Wan Shan youngsters, arrived at the gambling den, surrounding the enemy completely!

"Damn it, who is trying to mess with our 14K? Who?!" Ah-Wah held his cleaver, and all the young men around him gripped their weapons.

Flower Snake was instantly stunned into silence. The knife he had pulled out quickly shrank back into his hand!

Ah-Wah was managing a 'chicken flat' (brothel) for his boss just down the street in Sham Shui Po, not far from here. The moment Flower Snake showed up, Ah-Yi and I had sent Uncle Fung's two lackeys out to 'blow the whistle' and call for backup (Chui Gai). Ah-Wah and his crew were fast—they showed up in about ten minutes!

"Drop the money!" I pointed at Flower Snake!

"Did you hear him?" Ah-Wah delivered a kick to Flower Snake. Flower Snake flinched, staring coldly at Ah-Wah. He finally backed down, dropped the money, and slunk away with his crew.

I handed the money back to the gamblers, telling them to keep playing, and then thanked Ah-Wah.

"No problem, Brother Man. Why are you being so polite with me? You three are my good big brothers. If it weren't for you, we'd still be 'Blue Lanterns' in Tsz Wan Shan. We wouldn't have been promoted so fast!"

"Don't worry, Brother Man. We're just managing the place at the brothel down the street in Sham Shui Po. Just give us a call if anything happens, and we'll be here instantly. My hands are itching from not fighting every day!" Ah-Wah laughed.

"Alright, Ah-Wah. We're all brothers. If you have trouble on your side, let us know, too. Stay and drink with us tonight!" I said.

Ah-Wah readily agreed and stayed with his crew to have dinner in Shek Kip Mei that night.

From that day on, I knew that Flower Snake and the Yi Qun wouldn't let this go. So, Ah-Yi, Ah-Ho, and I prepared in advance. We had Uncle Fung prepare a few sharp weapons and hide them in the casino, and the three of us remained vigilant, just in case. After all, the Yi Qun was the 'Local Turf Boss' here, and they wouldn't back down after being humiliated!

Uncle Fung told us we should avoid conflict with the Yi Qun. He said Sze-Yeh Tan was a sneaky guy and deliberately sent us to Shek Kip Mei because we were gaining too much momentum.

"F*ck your mother, look at me again, and I'll gouge your eyes out!" Ah-Wah cursed.

"Fine. You guys are tough today. I'll settle this score with you! Let's go!" Flower Snake left.

Uncle Fung warned that if we couldn't stabilize the casino in Shek Kip Mei, and instead got into a fight with the Yi Qun, making a huge mess, Sze-Yeh Tan could use that to speak ill of us in front of the Ah Gungs. Moreover, if the Yi Qun managed to take us out in a fight, it would play right into Sze-Yeh Tan's hands!

Uncle Fung's words were spot-on. He was truly an old-timer in the game, and we all agreed after thinking it over.

Ah-Yi said, "Sze-Yeh Tan wants to promote his nephew, Guye Wai, and is deliberately trying to ruin us three brothers. We can't fall for his trap. Let's ignore the Yi Qun for now and focus on making this casino a hit, so the society can see our capability!"

Ah-Ho countered, "Ah-Yi, that's easier said than done. It's not that easy. All the gamblers with some money are already going to the Yi Qun's Zi Fa dens and their Sei Sap San (Thirteen Cards) games!"

Ah-Ho was right. Uncle Fung's gambling den mostly catered to scattered local workers who didn't have much money. The wealthy gamblers were basically all taken by the Yi Qun. To revive this half-dead gambling den, we really needed some skill.

But that didn't stump Ah-Yi. The next day, Ah-Yi went to Mong Kok and contacted several wealthy friends he was close with. These rich kids, like Ah-Yi, were sons of former KMT (Kuomintang) officials. Their fathers had accumulated massive wealth during the Republic of China era and, after the Communist liberation, brought their military fortunes to Hong Kong and invested in business, making them all millionaires. These rich kids had nothing much to do but eat, drink, womanize, gamble, and bet on horses. They were good friends with Ah-Yi, and now, hearing that Ah-Yi had joined a society and was running a gambling den, they were all quick to accept his invitation to come and support him!