Chapter 36: Wang Yaotang’s Trump Card-Ilha de Hong Kong: De Pequeno Vendedor de Rua a Fornecedor Global(Fogos de artifício deslumbrantes)

Wang Yaotang took out his pocket notebook and scribbled quickly: "Shark Kun has repeatedly opposed me, but I am not angry."

After a moment's thought, he added another line: "Coffin Sam’s death was of his own making."

...

Wang Yaotang suddenly smiled. "Do you know how much stock Shark Kun has produced in one go?"

The three men were stunned and shook their heads.

"There are already 120,000 pieces finished in the warehouse," Wang Yaotang said, gesturing with his hand. "And the factory is still working overtime to produce more."

"That many? He’s insane. How much would that require in investment? Three million?" A-Wei’s eyes widened. "Does he even have that much money?"

"He probably gambled his entire life savings on this," Wang Yaotang chuckled.

"How do you know?"

"Guess who told me?"

"Old Li?" A-Wei asked, frowning.

"It couldn't be that Gui Laoquan fellow, could it? Shark Kun took his garment factory, but he must still be familiar with those workers," A-Jie speculated, his eyes darting around.

"Ha! You’d never guess—it was Pig-Nosed Tong," Wang Yaotang laughed heartily.

"Damn!"

"Why him?"

"Betting on both sides?" A-Wei caught on immediately.

"Last night, Shark Kun invited twelve triad bosses over and even put on a lingerie fashion show. He intends to saturate all of Kowloon with his goods within a single day," Wang Yaotang continued.

"Did Pig-Nosed Tong tell you that too?" A-Jie frowned.

"No, Blind Wah secretly told me," Wang Yaotang shook his head.

"What? Blind Wah is betraying his own boss?"

The string of revelations left A-Wei, A-Jie, and the others completely bewildered.

"It’s not betrayal, it’s business competition," Wang Yaotang tapped the table. "Shark Kun’s appetite is too big. If all the venues in the Tsim Sha Tsui branch of the East Union Society start using 'Lady Night' products, what happens to Blind Wah?"

"Blind Wah has been getting his stock from us and made over 80,000 dollars in less than a month. That’s more than his entire income from last year."

"Now, it’s all gone, swallowed whole by his boss," Wang Yaotang spread his hands. "The fact that he hasn't poisoned Shark Kun yet just shows how loyal he’s been!"

"Damn!" The three men immediately understood why Blind Wah was feeding information to Brother Yao.

"He called me last night. Though he didn't say it explicitly, I could tell he wanted me to just go and hack Shark Kun to death!" Wang Yaotang laughed as he spoke. "I reckon if I sent men over, Blind Wah would have the knives sharpened and ready for me, and even point out the way."

The three men imagined the scene and burst into laughter.

"So, don't worry. Shark Kun doesn't understand business; he’s investing blindly. His internal ranks are divided and he’s alienated everyone. What does he have to fight us with?" Wang Yaotang smiled, comforting them. "Setting fires, burning down factories and millions in goods—that would cause a sensation in Hong Kong the very next day. Do you think the police are dead? If the Big Boss doesn't hand someone over, the Wo Shing Yee won't be able to open a single venue; they’d be raided every day!"

"I don't want to be sending you food in prison," Wang Yaotang glared at A-Jie. "We can completely use business tactics to drive Shark Kun to total bankruptcy, boost our own brand, and eventually acquire all his assets!"

"Bitterness year after year, pressing the golden thread, only to tailor wedding clothes for someone else."

"Brother Yao, are we just going to do nothing? Just wait for him to die on his own?" A-Jie frowned.

"He won't die. He has those twelve triad bosses backing him. As long as he’s willing to share the profits, he won't go under," A-Wei shook his head. He had gained some business experience while managing the stalls and shops recently.

The three men looked at Wang Yaotang again.

"Your Big Brother is still your Big Brother," Wang Yaotang leaned back in his master chair with a calm expression. "Do you know what Four-Eyes has been up to?"

...

With a 'squeal,' the Toyota H20 pulled up near a newsstand. Four-Eyes, wearing a white shirt and black trousers, stepped out, followed by a few underlings carrying cardboard boxes.

"Boss, may your business thrive!"

"Young man, what are you doing?" The newsstand vendor looked at them. Was this another new newspaper agency trying to peddle subscriptions?

"Nice to meet you. Wo Shing Yee, Tsim Sha Tsui branch. Everyone calls me Four-Eyes," Four-Eyes said with a smile, extending his hand. "I’m here today to introduce you to a lucrative business opportunity."

"Huh?" The vendor scratched his head, confused.

"Come on, hang our products up for this boss."

The vendor watched in a daze as the two underlings attached iron hooks to the newsstand.

The hooks were straightened out, and the underlings began pulling bags from the box and hanging them up.

"Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing?" The vendor panicked, rushing out from behind the stand and grabbing one to look at it.

A transparent plastic bag, inside was...

It didn't matter anymore!

The promotional image on the front of the plastic bag was like magic, firmly locking the vendor's eyes.

The vendor kept craning his neck, eyes wide, desperate to see more clearly.

Four-Eyes stood by his side with a smile and asked softly, "Does it look good?"

"It looks good!"

"Do you like looking at it?"

"I love looking at it!"

"Do you want to buy one to take home for your wife to wear for you?"

"Uh..." The vendor gulped, hurriedly putting the item down. He looked at Four-Eyes with a sheepish grin, making meaningless chuckling sounds.

"This is called erotic apparel, designed to spice things up," Four-Eyes said, his tone full of persuasion. "There are eight styles in total, in different colors. The one in your hand is priced at 50, and our wholesale price is 20. How about it?"

The vendor looked at his stand; he had already hung up five styles.

Each bag had a promotional photo of a model. Even with only five styles, the vendor felt his eyes couldn't take it all in.

The models' poses were all so seductive!

He had checked, they were all top-tier harlots!

It was 1980; home video recorders had only just arrived, and the adult film industry hadn't really begun. Where would a newsstand vendor have seen anything like this?

He couldn't resist—he absolutely couldn't resist!

There was too much to see, he couldn't keep up!

"I'll take 100—no, 50 sets!" The vendor had been in the business for years; he could tell at a glance what would sell and what wouldn't.

Just based on those promotional photos...

Still, to play it safe, he would start with 50 to test the waters. If they sold well, he could restock. The vendor prided himself on being flexible.

Four-Eyes agreed with a smile, settled the account, and gave the vendor a business card with his pager number on it. He dropped the line, "Call me when you need more stock," and walked toward the next newsstand.

"Old man, may your business thrive!"