boyutpedia Chapter 5 Recruiting Followers and Finding Jobs
Chapter 5 Recruiting Followers and Finding Jobs
During the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, most of the motorized vehicles were confiscated or destroyed by the Japanese.
Therefore, during this period, rickshaws experienced a brief revival.
According to records, there were more than 800 rickshaws on the market at that time.
Vehicles, boats, shops, porters, and spies—these five trades have always been industries that the underworld is keen to get involved in.
Back then, rickshaw pullers were strong in the arms, legs, and had great stamina. When they wore burlap vests, they were rickshaw pullers; when they picked up machetes, they were gang knife-wielders!
Even if you gave Ercengdao three times the courage, he wouldn't dare to point at Tie Tou and hurl insults like he did today.
Unfortunately, it was the 60s, and with the popularization of buses and private cars, the British Hong Kong government gradually restricted the development of rickshaws.
Starting last year, the issuance of new license plates was even suspended.
The profession is becoming obsolete, and income is meager.
In the past, many underworld bosses who ran rickshaw companies, who could both support their henchmen and take a cut of the profits from the rickshaws, gradually gave up the business and instead assigned their henchmen to run brothels.
They were escorted from Mei Ho House in Shek Kip Mei to Fung Yu Tea House on Tung Choi Street in Mong Kok.
The 3.2-kilometer, 20-minute walk, saw Tie Tou, who was pulling the cart, clearly distracted, nearly hitting pedestrians several times.
Fortunately, the man didn't stray from the path and successfully pulled Lin Yuanshan to the entrance of Fengru Teahouse.
"Young Master Yuan, we've arrived." Turning around, Tie Tou pushed down the handlebars with his left hand, bent over to the side, and bent his right arm at the same time, allowing Lin Yuanshan to use the momentum to get off the bike.
Lin Yuanshan got out of the car, took out a dollar, and handed it to Tie Tou: "Brother Tie Tou, you've worked hard."
Tie Tou didn't take the money. His eyes flickered, and he clenched his fists and lowered his head.
But the next second, he resolutely raised his head and mustered his courage to ask, "Young Master Yuan, do you really mean what you said at the entrance of Chao'an Prison: 'We are one family'?"
Upon seeing this, Lin Yuanshan laughed on the spot: "Logically speaking, since we've just met by chance, your question, or rather your request, is really overstepping a line."
But what can I do? I have no one to rely on right now.
So, you'll stay with me for three days. During this time, I might ask you to kill someone, or I might ask you to set a fire. Only if you can endure these three days will you be qualified to work for me.
If you're willing to take a gamble, come with me to the teahouse.
If you don't have the guts, then there are plenty of options; let's go our separate ways.
After saying that, Lin Yuanshan stepped into the teahouse.
Without a second's hesitation, Tie Tou first parked the car against the wall, then straightened his clothes and quickly caught up with Lin Yuanshan.
At this moment, Lin Yuanshan, who had entered first, was already standing in front of the counter on the first floor.
He was talking to a waitress in her early thirties with willow-leaf eyebrows and almond-shaped eyes, wearing a cheongsam.
"This young master looks unfamiliar." The woman in the cheongsam glanced at Lin Yuanshan and asked with a smile, "Would you like to have tea and listen to music on the first floor, or perhaps go up to a private room on the second floor to discuss business?"
Lin Yuanshan looked at the other person and returned a bright smile: "I can't hide it from my sister's discerning eyes. My name is Lin Yuanshan, and my ancestral home is Chenghai."
I heard from people from my hometown that there is a teahouse called Fung Yu in Mong Kok.
The boss was no ordinary businesswoman, but the famous Chan Yin-nei, the leader of the Twelve Beauties of Mong Kok.
Boss Chen is a woman of great loyalty and compassion, and so are the women who work under her; they are all quick to help those in need and in distress.
As the saying goes, at home you rely on your parents, but when you're out in the world you rely on your friends.
I arrived in Hong Kong by ferry last night, and after picking up my travel permit this morning, my first stop was Fung Ru, where I plan to find a fellow villager to help me find a suitable job.
Just then, Tie Tou walked over.
Lin Yuanshan took out a five-dollar bill, pointed to the woman selling cigarettes across the street carrying a wooden box, and said, "Go, buy two packs of Governor Viceroy."
Tie Tou quickly adapted to his role as a follower, responded, took the money, and ran out of the teahouse.
Lin Yuanshan explained to the woman in the cheongsam, "Please excuse me. He's someone I hired to do things. Later, could you please arrange something for him to eat?"
Seeing that Lin Yuanshan had just arrived in Hong Kong, he actually hired a follower.
Coupled with his lavish spending and the fact that he smokes imported cigarettes, his demeanor suggests he comes from a wealthy family.
The woman in the cheongsam smiled and said, "Young Master Yuan, what a coincidence."
I am from Jinshi, Chaozhou. My humble name is Qiaoru. We are all fellow citizens of Jiaozhou.
"Good, fellow countrymen are the best!" Lin Yuanshan feigned surprise and followed Sister Ru up to the second floor: "Sister Ru, you can just call me A Yuan. As the saying goes, people are cheap when they leave their hometown."
"I might fool outsiders, but even my own people know I'm worthless these days."
Upon hearing Lin Yuanshan reveal his shortcomings, Qiaoru not only had a great impression of him, but also believed that he came from a gentry family and was at least an educated person.
Judging from Lin Yuanshan's demeanor upon entering, it was worthwhile for her to use her connections to exchange for a favor he had done before he became successful!
Some people might wonder how a mere waitress in a teahouse could possess such power.
Because of the Canton-Hong Kong general strike in the 20s, teahouses, the largest service industry in Hong Kong, were paralyzed for a time.
The owner of the Shi Nian Gao Sheng Tea House suddenly had a brilliant idea: to recruit women as workers.
This innovation not only solved the manpower problem, but also led competitors to discover that hiring female waitresses made the business of Gaosheng Tea House even better.
After that, hiring female waitresses in teahouses became a trend.
Just think about it, that was in 1920!
At that time, the only women who had the courage and ability to show their faces in public and socialize were either reformed dancers or chivalrous women from the martial arts world.
Over the decades, this group of women has gradually established themselves in teahouses.
Among them, those from Chaozhou, relying on the Chaozhou people's spirit of unity and mutual assistance when making a living outside, and depending on the Chaozhou gang, gradually became popular waitresses in teahouses.
[A simple sentence: Go to a certain teahouse in Hong Kong and find Sister A.]
No letter of introduction or lavish gifts are needed.
With their distinctive Chaofeng accents, these "big sisters" would use their connections among familiar tea drinkers to help them find jobs, rent accommodations, and even learn a trade to make a living.
[This quote from "Old Hong Kong: The Pearl of the Orient," page 91, is not fabricated; it is based on historical fact.]
Qiaoru led Lin Yuanshan up to the second floor and asked the waiter to open a private room.
The two sat down, and she got straight to the point: "A-Yuan, what can you do? What kind of job would you like me to help you find?"
"I am proficient in writing and arithmetic. My father worked at the Chongqing Chemical Research Institute when he was young."
This research institute is the earliest unit in Southwest China to systematically study plastics technology. Lin Yuanshan spoke half-truthfully, giving his cheap father, Lin Huaijin, who was far away in his hometown carrying a manure scoop, a new identity: "I want to find a technical job at Li Yicheng's Yellow River Plastics, Shixiawei branch."
Qiaoru frowned slightly after hearing this.
Lin Yuanshan is literate and arithmetic, and his appearance and temperament are both top-notch.
It wouldn't be difficult to find him an office job; any small Teochew business or factory would have plenty of owners willing to hire someone like him.
But Lin Yuanshan specifically requested that he go to a particular factory under Li Yicheng's name, which made things difficult.
Seeing that Qiaoru was deep in thought and silent, Lin Yuanshan did not urge her.
Just then, Tie Tou returned with cigarettes, and Lin Yuanshan first opened a pack of Governor's cigarettes and distributed them around.
Then, he pushed another bag, with two hundred-dollar bills underneath, in front of Qiaoru: "Sister Ru, please help me out. Whether my younger brother can rise up depends on your skills as the eldest sister!"