Chapter 1485: Killing the Prestige

Lin Jing stood there, listlessly clutching a cigarette between his lips; today, he had been utterly humiliated.

To think that just two years ago he had led his brothers to conquer Tuen Mun and sweep through Yau Ma Tei, yet never did he expect to fall to such a state today; he had truly lost immense face and would be mocked by every thug, big and small, across Hong Kong Island for the rest of his life.

Even those not involved in triads would inevitably hear various versions of today's events from who-knows-where and use them as fodder for jokes.

Watching Wang Yan sitting on a stool, drinking soda, laughing and chatting with the thugs lying on the ground, explaining concepts like capital, feudalism, and the underworld to those around him, Lin Jing, despite a thousand grievances in his heart, could only sigh that only a fierce dragon dares to cross the river...

Feeling even more turbulent emotions than him was Peng Yunliang, who had a thousand exclamations of shock stuck in his throat, unable to speak them.

He knew Wang Yan had once single-handedly overturned hundreds of people in Jingcheng, but a scene like today's still made his heart pound with fear; it was simply too ferocious.

He had to admit the correctness of the argument of fists, for if their fists weren't hard, they would inevitably have suffered humiliation and insult today before leaving with suppressed anger.

Although Wang Yan had now blown the matter wide open and extorted eight hundred thousand, acting utterly lawless, at least for now, the problem seemed basically solved to perfection.

As for future retaliation... Peng Yunliang glanced at the laughing Wang Yan, then at Lin Jing, who looked as if he wanted to die, and finally at the crowd that had followed Wang Yan, their faces beaming with joy; he felt the Sun Yee On should be sensible enough...

"Wang Yan, now that we have this money, we can't possibly take it all back, can we?" The militia captain was quite capable, directly raising the issue of distribution.

Wang Yan nodded with a smile: "Captain Li is right; of course, we cannot take it all back. Look, not all the comrades who came with us are from our commune; everyone has suffered fatigue, shed blood, and endured mental distress, so everyone deserves to share in the glory; of course, we certainly won't just divide it privately among ourselves; such a huge sum, if we took it back, might make us wealthier than our entire county, which is unrealistic.

Therefore, I plan to split this money into several portions: out of the eight hundred thousand, four hundred thousand will go to the county; this is necessary, otherwise, while we cause trouble here, the county would only receive complaints from superiors and suffer hardships, which wouldn't be good; the remaining three hundred thousand will belong to our Hechuan Commune, allowing the commune to build two more factories or repair two more roads, so the folks can earn more.

As for the remaining one hundred thousand, it will be distributed to the other communes that sent militia comrades, considered as earnings from external missions; the over twenty thousand we collected inside earlier is our extra bonus; with that, we can buy some fresh goods to take back and keep a few hundred yuan each, which should be about right.

Of course, it only counts if we return; comrades, let me speak with petty caution: you have all seen the situation here; it is slightly wealthier than ours, but the outlook is far from optimistic; only by sticking together can we avoid being bullied; otherwise, just like Zhong Yuemin and Zheng Tong, those two would have been beaten into pig heads.

What is capitalism? Comrades, capitalism means that your very existence is merely an asset to the capitalists; when you labor, they exploit your surplus value; when you fall ill, they ruthlessly profit from your medical expenses; and when you face a lawsuit, before you even reach the court, the lawyers will first strip a layer of skin off you; and as for these damned thugs, each one plays the rogue against you, forcing you to a state worse than death."

"Wang Yan, rest assured; before we came, it was agreed that if anyone dares not to return, we will scrape the earth three feet deep to dig them out, break their legs, and drag them back, with each commune responsible for supporting their own people.

Previously, I wasn't sure if we could find everyone, but seeing the underworld here now, handling matters is too convenient; when the time comes, we will just let these people do the searching." Captain Li spoke with sharp clarity, firm in ideology yet flexible in method, truly a remarkable figure.

Wang Yan laughed heartily: "Well said; comrades, do not do such unpromising things; in a few decades of development, we will certainly be far better off than here.

You might wonder why it will take us decades while they achieved this so quickly; it's simple: because we have a large population; do you think we are poor enough already? No, there are places even poorer; the mountainous regions of the Northwest, Guizhou Province, and the snow regions all face great difficulties; we are developing comprehensively, unlike here, where they focus development on a few small areas, letting capitalists fill their pockets and officials grow fat and gluttonous.

You still don't fully understand the meaning now, but in a couple of days, let Peng Sheng take us on a tour of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, and you will see what 'lights and red wine' truly means."

Everyone pledged their loyalty, stating they would absolutely not fall behind or stay in Hong Kong Island without permission.

Wang Yan believed in their sincerity, because along the way, he had told these people many things about Hong Kong Island: how water and food were all supplied and guaranteed by the mainland, how filthy the Chengzhai here were, and how drugs were sold openly here, and so on.

Of course, more important was Wang Yan's combat prowess and his lawless style of action; without Wang Yan's iron head holding the line, they would never dare to be so arrogant here; no matter how skilled in fighting they were, at this very moment, they could not defeat all these people lying on the ground.

If they truly abandoned their families and careers to stay here, Wang Yan would unleash his divine might, and they truly could not hide; moreover, the Peng family was here; in these past few days, they had roughly understood the Peng family's influence in this place...

Following Wang Yan and expanding their horizons, they also understood that wanting to earn money steadily here without encountering any trouble was indeed a very difficult matter...

After waiting for quite a while, a line of vehicles drove over.

The leader wore a suit and glasses, appearing to be in his thirties; he scanned the scene, his target clear, and headed straight for Wang Yan.

"You must be Wang Sheng; I am Xiang Yan; please forgive my rudeness on this first meeting."

Looking at the hand extended before him, Wang Yan cheerfully shook it, then patted the man's arm and asked: "Is Xiang Sheng very formidable? If I didn't know you were a thug boss, I would have thought you were a legitimate businessman."

Xiang Yan's face twitched as he pulled his hand away from Wang Yan: "If I hadn't sent people to investigate everywhere, Xiang Mou would have thought Wang Sheng was just a damned thug."

"Are you unconvinced?" Wang Yan smiled.

"Wang Sheng, having eighty thousand knocked out of you, aren't you unhappy in your heart?"

"I will hide it." Wang Yan helped adjust the man's tie, "You still lack a bit; you are looking down on Wang Mou; however, since you brought the money, let's let it go this time; next time we happen to meet, we will settle accounts then; what are you waiting for? Bring up the money!"

Xiang Yan's face turned iron-blue; he waved his hand, and one of his subordinates brought out a box of money.

He said: "Regarding this matter, I have already informed Society Leader Liang."

"You're a reactionary and you still think you're right?" Li Kui shouted angrily, "Even if you found the Instructor, you would still deserve it!"

"Brother Yong has style." Wang Yan laughed cheerfully as he took the money; "Come, come, brothers, let's count it bill by bill right here in front of everyone; oh right, I forgot about these damned thugs; Brother Yong, you go, make them line up and hand over all the money on their persons; this is our pocket money."

"Got it."

Li Kui stood up and walked toward those thugs, ordering them to line up and hand over their money one by one.

"Wang Sheng, why must you be so ruthless?" Xiang Yan gritted his teeth.

Wang Yan lit a cigarette and sneered: "Hurry up and die, damn it; you people here force others to lose their homes and sell their sons and daughters, and you traffic drugs to cheat and harm people, yet you don't say your actions are ruthless; I just ask you for some spending money, and you call me ruthless?

You damned cancer; if it weren't for worrying about bad influence and getting punished when I return, I would tear your head off today and kick it like a ball; you're just a thug boss; what act are you putting on? To stand here and talk fire with me, you probably had to burn nine sticks of incense to Lord Guan Guan when you got back, you damned fool..."

Wang Yan reached out and shoved Xiang Yan, causing him to stumble.

This action caused the bodyguards behind Xiang Yan to draw their guns.

Wang Yan surged forward rapidly, directly breaking the arm of the nearest bodyguard, snatched the gun, and fired bang-bang-bang-bang, emptying the magazine and shooting through the wrists of all these bodyguards.

He then threw the gun to Xiang Yan, removed the cigarette from his mouth, gently exhaled a puff of smoke, and said, "Xiang Sheng, is having a gun so formidable? I have six million guns behind me! Oh, and thirty million militia! Who do you think you are?"

Wang Yan's words were spoken with utter, bullying audacity; Xiang Yan was covered in cold sweat, terrified by Wang Yan's combat prowess...

Glancing at him, Wang Yan said nothing more, turning to sit back down to smoke and drink soda, watching the militia members counting the money bill by bill, and watching Li Kui leading two people to scrape money off the thugs one by one.

Peng Yunliang, accompanied by several family members with bruised and swollen faces, watched all this, feeling speechless and choked up, truly not knowing what to say.

Ferocious, too ferocious.

To put it bluntly, even the Peng family would not dare to clash so massively with Sun Yee On, as that would be a fight to the death; but Wang Yan indulged no faults, showed no mercy, and worked people to death.

He could already imagine that tomorrow, the headlines of those third-rate newspapers would all be about today's incident; Sun Yee On had lost all face...

After quite a while, the money counting was finished here, and the money collection was finished there; Wang Yan stood up, spread his body into a 'T' shape, and stretched with a big yawn.

Just as he was about to leave, Captain Li sidled up to Wang Yan and whispered: "Wang Yan, don't you think those vehicles are quite good too? Taking them back, you could haul cargo; your brigade's roads are all repaired now; wouldn't it be a bit odd to have no vehicles?"

"Hey..." Even Li Kui laughed, "You really can't say otherwise, Captain Li; your words are excellent; Brother Yan?"

"Truly authentic~"

Wang Yan hummed in a strange, affected tone, "Xiang Sheng, let me make another small request; look, our entire commune has only one broken motorcycle, which is inappropriate; I see these vehicles of yours are quite good, and this sedan you sit in is nice too; could I trouble you to help smooth the way so we can take the vehicles back with us when we return?"

"Wang Yan!"

"Ai, don't be so angry; you also came from the mainland; helping the motherland with development and construction is also your duty and obligation."

Wang Yan cheerfully patted his shoulder, "Then it's settled; I'll drive the cars away first; you focus on the subsequent checkpoints; just now I told Lin Sheng we would stay another half month to experience the 'lights and red wine' of Hong Kong Island before leaving."

"Xiang Sheng, don't let me depart with a troubled heart. If I stayed, I would disturb your sleep and sour your mood; should that shorten your life, I would become a sinner against our commune. A good man like you, so devoted to the nation and supportive of the motherland's development, ought to live a hundred years. Xiang Sheng, don't you agree?"

"Wang Sheng, take care!" Xiang Yan ground out, character by character, through clenched teeth.

"Hahaha... then many thanks for Xiang Sheng's generosity. I knew that though Xiang Sheng's body is in the Cao camp, his heart remains with Han; wherever he goes, he is a descendant of Yan and Huang. Truly a patriotic merchant, eh? Hahaha..."

Wang Yan waved his large hand. "Brothers, get in the vans! Where's the driver? Hurry up and roll over here to drive; once you've delivered us to Fanling, you can return on your own!"

The drivers watched Xiang Yan with trembling hearts and quaking spirits. Xiang Yan gave no signal; it was a middle-aged man standing beside him who waved his hand, whereupon the group hastily jumped into the cabs and started the engines.

A convoy of more than twenty vans rolled back to Fanling in great pomp.

Upon their return, Peng Yunliang summoned a medical team to treat everyone's wounds and administer tetanus shots.

Wang Yan also generously distributed money to the Peng family youths who had followed Peng Yunliang and joined the brawl, ending up bruised and battered; each received one thousand yuan, a reward exceeding their expectations.

It was only 1971; the monthly income for a worker in Hong Kong was merely a few hundred yuan. This one thousand yuan was enough for them to save up for several months...

Wang Yan, covered in blood, stripped off his clothes, took a comfortable bath, and changed into a suit and leather shoes prepared by Peng Yunliang, looking quite the part of a respectable man.

That night, representatives from all the major families of the New Territories gathered in Fanling to sample the herbal tea, dispersing only around midnight...

At noon the following day, Peng Yunliang came to invite Wang Yan to a meal to discuss matters of cooperation.

The venue was a place rich in ancient style, with exquisite interior decoration featuring various wooden furnishings. More than ten people were already present; eight sat around the table, while ten stood.

Seeing Wang Yan enter with Peng Yunliang, everyone rose to their feet.

An elderly man of about sixty, vigorous and spirited, smiled and said, "So you are Wang Yan? I have long heard your famous name; seeing you today, you seem no different from anyone else."

Without waiting for Peng Yunliang's introduction, Wang Yan instantly shifted his expression and hurried forward, forcibly taking the old man's hands in his own. "Elder Liang, you are absolutely right! I am just an ordinary citizen of China. If I must add another identity, I am an activist. But once I return home, I will be a Party member."

This was the director of the Fan Xinhua News Agency's Hong Kong branch, the longest-serving incumbent, who had made significant contributions.

Elder Liang laughed heartily. "Very slick indeed. I heard about yesterday's incident; it has put me in a very difficult position."

"Elder Liang, the reactionaries here are too rampant. I merely wanted to curb their arrogance; otherwise, they wouldn't even know their own names. A bunch of trash who have committed every evil deed, yet they actually think themselves important figures."

Elder Liang shook his head. "All smooth talk. Clearly you were handling your own affairs, yet you expect me to clean up your mess."

"How about I share some with you, Elder? There are still twenty-one vans and one Mercedes; I'll give the Mercedes to you as your exclusive car." Wang Yan fully embodied the reckless spirit expected of a nineteen-year-old.

"Such a large institution; I have no use for your money, nor can I afford to ride in your car." Elder Liang was caught between laughter and tears. "You've already fought, taken the money, and driven off the vehicles; where is there any room for afterthoughts? Very well, let the matter rest here. Next time you come, you must behave yourself, or I will deal with you."

"Yes, yes, yes! We resolutely obey your instructions, Elder!" Wang Yan laughed cheerfully.

With Elder Liang having spoken, the matter naturally concluded, resolved perfectly. All affairs on the Hong Kong side were under the overall command of the branch office, which held considerable authority.

He waved his hand and sat back down. "Very well, let us discuss the main business."

Thus, everyone sat down. Wang Yan took a seat beside Elder Liang, while Peng Yunliang had no place at the head; instead, he sat on a chair at the table's edge with the others.

The group then commenced a meeting that would determine the future of the New Territories. This was no empty talk; by heeding Wang Yan's ideas, they could rely on their own strength, supported by the mainland, to develop the New Territories, and develop it very well indeed.

Achieving a form of family-led common prosperity, in another sense...

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