Chapter Eleven: Loyalty Often Found Among Lowly Rogues
Page 1 of 3
Wang Yaotang had no idea that Koon Jai Sum had already replaced him in his mind.
At the moment, he was more worried about how to cover the shortfall in funds.
The beginning of the month was payday.
Street punks did not risk their lives for love or glory. They came out to hustle because they wanted to make money.
That evening, at Hung Kee’s open-air food stall, Wang Yaotang was once again handing out wages. He had also invited his men to eat and drink.
More than twenty of them arrived one after another after eight, dragging small tables together and settling down to chatter.
Everyone knew that the boss had lost money gambling on football and been detained. Gossip like this could never be kept secret in the underworld. Koon Jai Sum might not want the news spread, but Shark Kwan’s people certainly would not help him keep it quiet. They were only too eager for the story to travel far and wide.
Debts had to be repaid. It was only right and proper.
“I heard the boss lost more than fifty thousand?”
“Bullshit. I heard it was over a hundred thousand.”
“Manchester United actually lost to the team at the bottom of the table.”
“Did any of you bet on the match?”
“I put down a hundred. Damn their mothers.”
“Those bits of news aren’t exciting enough.” A young man missing a front tooth rapped his knuckles on the table. When everyone looked over, he lowered his voice smugly. “You know what? The boss had a row with Brother Yiu at noon.”
“For real?”
“How could that be? Brother Yiu is so highly regarded.”
“Of course it’s true. Fly Boy at the door told me.” The gap-toothed punk could not stand being questioned. “Why was the boss detained? Because he had no money to pay. Pig-Nose Sum took the rake-off money meant for Brother Yiu and used it to get the boss released. Even then, it still wasn’t enough.”
“What about our money, then?”
“Who knows? We’ll have to see what Brother Yiu does.”
“It should be fine, shouldn’t it? Brother Yiu sold so much merchandise. He must have made a fortune.”
“Brother Yiu is here.”
“Brother Yiu.”
“Brother Yiu.”
More than twenty men sprang to their feet. The sight frightened several customers who had been about to come over for dinner, and they hurried away by another route.
Wang Yaotang nodded. “Sit down. What are you standing around for? You’re frightening away the owner’s customers.”
That was what he said, but nobody sat. Ah Wai dragged over a chair for him, and Wang Yaotang took his seat. Four-Eyes handed over the bag.
With a smile, Wang Yaotang pointed at the group. “Time to hand out the money!”
“Long live Brother Yiu!”
Ah Wai called out their names and checked the number of customers each man had brought in.
Four-Eyes counted the cash.
Wang Yaotang personally placed the money into each man’s hands.
Most of the more than twenty men were street punks responsible for selling goods and soliciting customers. The other eight were Blue Lanterns, whose main purpose was to intimidate people.
Strictly speaking, the street punks did not belong to any particular society. They were much like temporary workers, with no fixed wages. Today, they might work for Wo Sing Yee; tomorrow, if Fuk Yee Hing needed help, they would go there instead. The day after that, if they could not find work, they would wander the streets. In a month, they might scrape together five or six hundred dollars. They were the sort who never knew where their next meal would come from.
Page 1 of 3
Page 2 of 3
The Blue Lanterns were members of a society, but they had not yet entered through the incense hall and formally joined. They were comparable to contract workers, with fixed wages.
Ah Wai, Ah Gei, Ah Kit, and Four-Eyes were Wang Yaotang’s inner circle. The eight Blue Lanterns were his main force.
Whenever he needed manpower, Wang Yaotang handed the work to the Blue Lanterns who ate under his banner, and they would find friends to come and help.
If one day Wang Yaotang received a formal rank, he would be able to open an incense hall and accept several Blue Lanterns into the society, turning them into Forty-Niners.
A Forty-Niner could then introduce friends to Wang Yaotang, allowing them to become Blue Lanterns in the society.
In Young and Dangerous 2, after Chan Ho-nam received his rank, Bao Pi introduced a newly recruited underling named Jiao Pi to Chan Ho-nam and the others.
The distribution of the money continued for nearly an hour. A total of thirty-two thousand dollars was handed out. Each of the eight Blue Lanterns received fifteen hundred.
A year earlier, when the four of them had first entered Koon Jai Sum’s fold, they had not even taken home a thousand dollars a month.
After tossing two thousand dollars to Brother Hung, the owner of the food stall, Wang Yaotang left with Ah Wai and the other three. He had booked a lavish dinner at Hung Fook Kee Restaurant.
Guan Jiahui had already gone there with her younger sister, Wang Lixuan.
Before the dishes arrived, Wang Yaotang opened the bag and took out four bundles of cash, handing one to each of Ah Wai and the others.
“Your share of this month’s profits. Five thousand each. Don’t complain that it’s too little.”
“Wow, Brother Yiu, isn’t this a bit much?”
That was what Ah Wai said, but his hands were not shy in the slightest. He snatched the money and immediately began counting it.
“Brother Yiu, where’s mine?” Guan Jiahui grabbed Wang Yaotang’s arm and began rubbing against him. “I’m a designer, you know.”
“You have a share too. Just try not to spend it all.” Wang Yaotang pinched her cheek and took out two thousand dollars for her.
“Heehee, so much money! Hmph, that slut Ah Ha was bragging yesterday that she sat in an air-conditioned office and earned fifteen hundred a month. Just wait until I get home and wipe that smirk off her face.”
In 1980, Hong Kong’s per-capita GDP translated to an average monthly income of three thousand one hundred Hong Kong dollars.
It was like saying that Ma and I were both worth hundreds of billions. In reality, ordinary workers at the bottom generally earned seven hundred to a thousand dollars a month, while white-collar workers made only two to four thousand. The money Wang Yaotang had given his brothers was already equivalent to the salary of an ordinary manager.
At that time, homes in Kowloon sold for seven hundred to a thousand dollars per square meter. Based on the prevailing incomes, Ah Wai and the others would be able to take out mortgages and buy houses of their own after four or five months.
“Brother Yiu, if you keep this up, you won’t have enough money to restock next month. You collected thirty-four thousand from the seventeen hundred in rake-offs, and the boss didn’t give you a cent. Today, you also handed out thirty-two thousand in wages.” Four-Eyes kept the accounts and knew the figures best. Wang Yaotang had handed over thirty percent of the net profit to his brothers. “And what about the other shop? Are we still renting it? If we register a company, we’ll also need registration capital and a law firm’s agency fee.”
As soon as Four-Eyes finished speaking, the private room fell silent. The brothers all looked toward Wang Yaotang.
Ah Wai even tied up his money again and handed it straight back. Seeing this, the other three pushed their money back as well. Only Guan Jiahui clutched hers awkwardly, her face crumpling as though she were about to cry.
Wang Lixuan sipped her cola while secretly watching her brother.
Moved, Wang Yaotang smiled and punched Ah Wai in the chest. “Don’t your mother’s medical bills need paying?”
He turned to Ah Gei. “Grandma’s getting old. Don’t make her work anymore. Take her to the hospital for a full checkup, then let her stay home and enjoy her retirement.”
“Don’t look at me.” Ah Kit wore a broad grin. “My gambling-addict father can drop dead for all I care. I won’t give him a single cent.”
“Rent a place and take your mother out to live somewhere else,” Wang Yaotang snorted.
“Yesterday, when I got home from school, I heard your father beating your mother again,” Wang Lixuan suddenly cut in.
Ah Kit’s expression froze. His fists clenched tightly, and his face twisted with rage.
The others’ expressions darkened as well.
Who, at such a young age, did not want to sit in a university lecture hall?
No one wanted to become a street punk. Behind every street punk was a story of misfortune.
Of course, when all was said and done, it came down to one word:
Poverty.
“All right, all right. Drink up.” Wang Yaotang lifted his beer bottle and tapped it against the table. “Now that we’re making money, stop dwelling on unhappy things. From now on, your shares will only get bigger. Within a year, I guarantee you’ll all have houses of your own.”
“Come on, drink!”
Page 2 of 3
Page 3 of 3
“To Brother Yiu!”
“To Brother Yiu!”
They had a wonderful dinner, and it was after ten by the time they headed home.
Guan Jiahui held Wang Yaotang’s hand all the way, reluctant to leave. Her family of four was crammed into a twenty-square-meter apartment. Summer had arrived, and they still did not have air-conditioning. It was unbearably uncomfortable.
Wang Yaotang had just showered and was preparing to rest when someone suddenly knocked on the door. He looked through the peephole and saw Four-Eyes.
“What do you want?”
“Here.” Four-Eyes handed over the money. “I don’t need it urgently.”
“For heaven’s sake, weren’t you saving up to study law and become a barrister?”
“I’m not becoming a barrister anymore. I’ll study accounting instead. Buying books will be enough.” Four-Eyes beamed.
Wang Yaotang gripped the money in his hand and waved irritably. “Fine, fine. I get it. Now stop disturbing me and your sister while we sleep.”
Bang.
The front door slammed shut. Wang Yaotang drew a deep breath.
Damn it. All this sentimentality was such a nuisance.
“Brother Yiu, are you unhappy? I can cheer you up.” Guan Jiahui came over and rubbed against him like a kitten.
“Go back to the room. I’m going to smoke.” Wang Yaotang waved her away.
After helping him light the cigarette, Guan Jiahui obediently returned to the bedroom.
He had not finished the cigarette when there was another knock. He leaned over to look through the peephole.
It was Ah Wai.
“What do you want now?”
“We bought too much medicine last month, but the money wasn’t enough for the hospitalization. Cash is no use to me right now.” Ah Wai seized Wang Yaotang’s hand, slapped the money into it, and turned away. “I’m off.”
“Damn it!”
Wang Yaotang shut the door and muttered under his breath. The smoke made his eyes sting until he could barely keep them open.
Sure enough, it was as though they had planned it together. Within minutes, Ah Gei and Ah Kit came by one after another.
“Grandma’s used to working. She won’t agree to retire, and I can’t exactly tie her up. We’ll leave things as they are for now. A few more months won’t make much difference.”
“Mom refuses to let us rent a place. She can’t bear to spend the money. Anyway, Brother Yiu, you’re opening a shop soon. Let Mom sell goods there later. It’s inconvenient for a bunch of men to handle that kind of business. We can sleep there and watch the shop at night.”
“Damn you lot. Every one of you is so poor you’re pissing blood, yet you’re trying to act generous like somebody else. You deserve to end up dead in a ditch!”
Cursing and swearing, he drove them all away and shut the door. Yet his heart was filled with an indescribable feeling.
Wang Yaotang closed his eyes and forcefully exhaled several times. Then he sat down on a stool and began counting the money. He had to keep track of it.
You can say they are poor.
You can say they are crude.
You can say they are stupid.
But they are my brothers!
Four-Eyes: 6,500
Ah Wai: 7,200
Ah Gei: 6,800
Ah Kit: 6,250
Page 3 of 3