Chapter 95 Damn You to Hell

Chai Jin had no mind to stay on the phone. After hanging up, he leaped down from the bus.

As soon as Liu Qingwen saw Chai Jin, he hurried over. “Brother Jin, what’s the move? Let’s go find Lord Zhang’s younger brother. Those little bastards have come right to our door!”

Fang Yi’s face was tense too, with a look that was at once anxious and guilty.

The reason Chai Jin had rushed back so hastily was because the people who had once hunted Fang Yi in South Harbor had appeared again.

It had to be said, these men were not without skill.

Chai Jin said nothing. Gripping his mobile phone, he walked toward the office building.

The moment he arrived, he saw red paint splashed across the office door, with the words "Repay debts, pay back money" scrawled on the wall in huge letters, glaringly sinister.

The glass door had been smashed, and the office inside had been wrecked beyond recognition.

Fortunately, the two of them had gone out on business during the day. Otherwise, both would have been in trouble.

Chai Jin walked through the place coldly, examining everything piece by piece.

After a long while, he reached the window, lit a cigarette, and gazed out at Harbor City across the water. Taking a drag, he said in utter indifference, “Tell me everything about this man. Since he wants to be our first stepping-stone in South City, then we’ll oblige him and stamp him straight into the mud.”

From behind him, Fang Yi quietly explained this Boss Mo’s background.

He was not a native of South City, nor was he of our nation’s blood.

He was a man from Harbor City, born to parents from South Vietnam.

His father was no good sort. In his younger years he had been a snakehead roaming the seas, making his living smuggling people across borders.

Later, he gathered a sizeable force and came ashore in Harbor City.

But things were not so smooth there either; his boss was wiped out as soon as they landed.

So he fled to South City. In the eighties, when supplies were scarce in the country and the economy was still in the uncertain transition between planning and market forces, this man made his fortune through smuggling and contraband.

Later, after being dealt with several times by South City authorities, he realized that this line of work would not last.

By the late eighties, the stock market began to heat up, and he turned to stocks, where he came to know Fang Yi.

But old habits die hard. He still played the stock market by the old underworld rules, and everyone kept their distance.

After listening, Chai Jin turned back to Fang Yi. “How did you end up knowing a reckless bastard like this?”

Fang Yi gave a bitter smile. “Back when I was trading stocks, I was seeing red. We took anyone’s money. Who knew he’d stab me in the back?”

“Brother Jin, I can only count on you.”

Chai Jin ground out his cigarette in the ashtray. “If he wants the underworld, I know the underworld better than he does.”

“Call him. Set up a dinner. Also gather up all your creditors and bring them together. We’ll settle everything at once.”

“The sooner it’s dealt with, the sooner we can get back to work in peace.”

Fang Yi nodded.

Then Chai Jin took the two of them and left the office.

More than an hour later, they were standing in the Xisha area of Futian District.

It was still a rural scene, but in years to come a vast expanse of farmers’ houses would rise here.

These scattered little homes, without any labor at all, would become the source of billion-level fortunes.

Chai Jin had no interest in such things.

He entered a teahouse beside a gate arch here.

It was unremarkable, but the moment they stepped inside, they were watched.

A bleached-blond youth blocked their way. “Who are you looking for?”

Chai Jin smiled. “Please inform Mr. Zhang. Tell him someone introduced by Lord Zhang of South Harbor has come to pay a visit. My name is Chai Jin.”

The blond fellow sized him up for a while, frowning. “Wait here.”

He walked off to the side, pulled aside a curtain, and from within came the clatter of mahjong tiles.

There was also a particularly rough voice cursing, “I’m telling you, you little bastard, I tell you to let it go and you let it go?”

“What are you throwing out that nine of circles for? Damn it, you’re driving me mad.”

“You’re this old already, and you still can’t play South Harbor mahjong?”

Another voice muttered back stubbornly, “Lord Long, this is Guangdong, after all…”

“Damn your mother, you still dare talk back? Believe me, I’ll make you swallow that nine of circles.”

“No, Lord Long, I didn’t mean it.”

...

After the blond youth went inside, the room quickly fell silent.

Then the rough voice shouted, “I’m telling you, why not just let him in? Do I look like some United Nations official, needing a notice just to meet someone?”

“Yes, Lord Long.”

Soon the blond youth came back out.

He tipped his head toward the inside at Chai Jin. “You can go in. The two of them stay outside.”

“That’s the rule.”

Chai Jin nodded to the two of them and smiled. “Thanks, brother.”

Though the blond youth looked difficult to get along with, he was rather straightforward. He said, “Mind your words in front of Lord Long. The old man has a quick temper.”

Chai Jin smiled and nodded. “Thanks, brother. I’ll treat you to tea later.”

“No need. Go on in. You two can find a place to sit as you like.”

After speaking, the blond youth returned to the doorway, propped one foot on the counter, and took a fruit knife from the side to trim his nails.

Liu Qingwen and Fang Yi also found places to sit.

Chai Jin went inside.

In the mahjong room, he saw three middle-aged men with bruised, swollen faces, all of them looking miserable as they drew and discarded tiles.

There were also four or five people standing upside down against the wall nearby.

Seated at the side was an old man who looked extremely rough and fierce.

His eyebrows and beard were thick, and he seemed to be in his sixties. He wore a traditional Chinese jacket as well, with a mobile phone set beside him and its antenna extended long and straight.

His bearing was very much like Zhang Fei from the Three Kingdoms.

Smack.

A nine of circles slammed onto the table. At the same time, he grabbed the mobile phone and used its antenna to scratch inside his nostril.

Then he lifted those naturally formidable eyes and looked at Chai Jin. “My brother called me. You’re Chai Jin, right?”

Just as Chai Jin was about to speak, a middle-aged man beside him was trembling as he held an eight of myriads, carefully placing it on the table.

The old man flew into a rage and swung the mobile phone down hard on the man’s head.

“I told you to play the eight of myriads! What the hell are you doing? Damn it, I’ll beat you to death!”

The man hurriedly got to his feet and dropped to his knees with a thud. “Lord Zhang, why don’t I just give you the money directly? I really don’t know how to play South Harbor mahjong.”

“Damn it, get over there and stand on your hands!”

To his surprise, the middle-aged man seemed greatly relieved. Overjoyed, he ran to the side, put his hands on the floor, kicked his legs up against the wall, and stood on his hands with remarkable skill.

Clearly, this was not his first time doing it.

Lord Long looked up at Chai Jin again. “You know South Harbor mahjong?”

Chai Jin smiled and nodded. “Back in South Harbor, I often played with Lord Zhang and the others. I know a little.”

“All right then. We’re one short. Sit down and play a while with me.” Lord Long was forceful.

Chai Jin nodded and took a seat at the table.

After sitting down, he glanced at the bruised and swollen faces of the others inside.

He asked casually, “And these are?”

While arranging the mahjong tiles, Lord Long said, “They owe me money. Damn it, look at you young people, how can you be like this?”

“One must have integrity in life.”

Then he pointed at the one standing on his hands over there. “This young man even wanted to court my girlfriend. Chai Jin, tell me, should I be angry or not?”