The next day, early morning.
It was still dimly lit when Huo Yaowen got up and packed away the bamboo mat. He then took his washbasin, towel, and other items to wash up outside. By the time he returned, Mother Huo and Grandma had already woken up.
Huo Yaowen said in surprise, "Grandma, Mother, why are you up so early? Didn't I say that Ming Zai could just accompany me?"
Mother Huo smiled and said, "I know. Your Dad bought some steamed dumplings yesterday. I'll heat them up. Go downstairs and call Ming Zai up. You can both eat breakfast together before you leave."
Grandma, who was helping Huo Yaowen pack his luggage, said, "That's right, Ah Wen, eat breakfast before you go. There's no rush."
He had originally planned to grab something to eat on the way or at a cafe after going out, but seeing Mother and Grandma say this, Huo Yaowen nodded in agreement and then said, "Then I'll go downstairs and call Ming Zai up for breakfast."
"Go ahead."
...
Two hours later, around nine in the morning.
Hong Kong pier.
Huo Yaowen carried a heavy brown leather suitcase and stood by the ferry's railing, looking at the calm sea and Hong Kong Island, which was within reach not far away. An inexplicable surge of ambition rose in his heart.
Hong Kong in 1968, after experiencing the leftist union riots last year and the anti-British protests in May, seemed to have a calm daily life, but beneath it lay endless hidden dangers.
According to the information Huo Yaowen found in later generations, it was precisely because of the 1967 Hong Kong riots that the British Hong Kong Government intensified its control over triad gangs and initiated the decade-long Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) anti-corruption storm.
Starting this year, for the next ten years, Hong Kong would undergo a series of reforms and changes, which also accelerated Hong Kong's status as an international metropolis, the head of the Four Asian Tigers.
However, at present, it was still a chaotic mix of people, and gang fights in the streets occurred frequently. When Huo Yaowen first reincarnated, he witnessed a large-scale scene of a hundred people hacking at each other with machetes.
On one side, Ming Zai carried a bundle of bedding and other items wrapped in rags. He walked up to Huo Yaowen, placed it on the ground, and said with a hint of disappointment, "Brother Yaowen, you're about to become a lecturer at Hong Kong University. Will you not come back to the Uk Tsuen often anymore?"
At these words, some people on the ferry looked at the young man in front of Ming Zai with surprised expressions. White shirt, black trousers, and a pair of gold-rimmed glasses—his refined appearance indeed made him look very much like a teacher.
"How could that be?" Huo Yaowen smiled and said, "I'll still come back to live during holidays."
"Really? That's great, Brother Yaowen. Now I can't find anyone to play with."
Ming Zai suddenly leaned in close to Huo Yaowen's back and whispered, "Brother Yaowen, Big D and his group haven't been playing around the Uk Tsuen lately. I heard Big D's younger brother say that his brother recently took a big boss from'Shuifang' as his sworn brother, saying there's a big task to do."
"Big D took a big boss from'Shuifang' as his sworn brother?"
Huo Yaowen was first stunned, not quite understanding the meaning of the sentence, but soon another name for "Shuifang" appeared in his memory: "Wo On Lok"!
Wo On Lok originated from Hutchison, one of Hong Kong's largest gangs at the time. Because they operated an "On Lok Soda" company, to avoid attracting attention, members of the gang often referred to themselves as "Shuifang" (Water Room) or "Qishuifang" (Soda Water Room).
Eventually, this name also spread to outsiders, so people generally associated "Shuifang" with Wo On Lok.
"Yes," Ming Zai nodded, saying with a hint of envy, "Big D is really lucky. His brother told me that the boss Big D took as his sworn brother is the big brother of a street in Wan Chai's Blue House. He has several hundred people under him; he's very impressive."
Seeing Ming Zai's worshipful and envious look, Huo Yaowen's expression darkened. He said, "From now on, try to have less contact with Big D. If he tries to recruit you into a gang, you absolutely must not agree. With your personality, joining a gang would only make you the lowest-level foot soldier, not even as good as a '49er,' and you might end up taking the fall for someone else."
There were many teenagers in the Uk Tsuen now, most of whom were the first generation of newborns who came to Hong Kong in the 1950s. Therefore, many gang members would come here to recruit foot soldiers to replenish new blood for their gangs. There were few in previous years, but after the '67 riots last year, many old gang members were arrested and imprisoned, which led to many gangs being short-staffed, prompting them to recruit people from poor places like the Uk Tsuen.
Huo Yaowen couldn't, and didn't want to, control others, but Ming Zai's family had been old neighbors with his own for over a decade. Ming Zai himself was quite honest, just liked to play and follow others around aimlessly, so it was necessary to give him a few warnings and tell him to pull back before it was too late.
"Take the fall?" Ming Zai didn't understand the term.
"It means dying for someone else!"
Huo Yaowen glared at Ming Zai and added, "If you dare to join a gang, I'll be the first to tell your Dad, and he'll hang you up and beat you!"
As soon as Huo Yaowen mentioned his Dad, Ming Zai instinctively recoiled. The person he feared most was his Dad, who was burly and had a fierce look. When he was little and got beaten, he was always hung up and whipped with a belt. This made Ming Zai appear unruly and stubborn on the surface, but in reality, he was the most timid inside.
Looking at Ming Zai, who had followed him since childhood in his memories, Huo Yaowen thought for a moment and said, "You've been out of school for over a year now. Have you thought about finding a job lately?"
Ming Zai replied, "My Dad wants me to learn carpentry, but I want to be a uniformed police officer! It's very impressive, and there's a lot of money to be made."
"You, a uniformed police officer? Do you even know how to write the character for 'death'?"
Huo Yaowen said irritably, "You weren't oblivious to what happened last year, were you? Your Dad is a plainclothes officer at the Kowloon Police Station. Didn't he tell you that being a cop is the worst right now?"
"He did," Ming Zai said, lowering his head. "My Dad said that over a hundred uniformed police officers died last year alone, and even two Senior Inspectors died."
"That's right."
Huo Yaowen patted Ming Zai's shoulder and said, "Being a cop used to be really impressive. Not only could you make money, but people were respectful to you wherever you went. But it's different now; being a cop is very dangerous. Especially uniformed police officers, they don't even carry guns. With just a police baton, what if your superior tells you to patrol near Kowloon Walled City? Do you have the guts?"
"N-no..." Ming Zai stammered, trembling.
"It's not impossible."
Although Huo Yaowen's predecessor knew Kowloon Walled City was dangerous, he had only heard it was dangerous and never seen what it was actually like.
But Huo Yaowen, who had researched Kowloon Walled City, knew that the current Kowloon Walled City was the most dangerous place in Hong Kong, a chaotic mix of people and various gangs. Frankly, even if someone died there, no one would care.
The British Hong Kong Government currently almost ignored Kowloon Walled City until the mid-1980s, when it mobilized tens of thousands of police officers to forcibly demolish the century-old Kowloon Walled City.
Ming Zai swallowed, saying worriedly, "If I don't become a cop, I don't want to do carpentry. It has no future."
"You kid!" Huo Yaowen glared at him and added, "For now, follow your Dad's wishes and become a carpenter. When the opportunity arises, Brother Yaowen will find you a good job that not only pays well but is also impressive."
"Really?" Ming Zai's eyes lit up.
"When has Brother Yaowen ever lied to you?"
Huo Yaowen smiled and said, "If you learn carpentry now, you can eventually start your own renovation team. In recent years, Hong Kong's real estate industry has been booming, and renovation teams will be in high demand."
In the coming years, it would be a great era of prosperity for Hong Kong's real estate, which would only plummet rapidly around the time of the Sino-British negotiations. So, starting a renovation team and slowly developing it into a renovation company still had a very broad future.
But Ming Zai couldn't see this. Even hearing Huo Yaowen say it, he didn't care much. Ming Zai now only wanted to find an impressive job, like his Dad or Brother Yaowen—one a plainclothes police officer, the other a Hong Kong University teacher—how prestigious that would sound!