Chapter 528: Empty-Handed Sleight of Hand

The horizon was slightly white. A stranded, capsized shipwreck lay across the coast. The wind whipped the sea waves, making a rustling sound as they surged, wave after wave, onto the sandy beach.

A group of over a hundred people with wet clothes were on the shore, huddled together in groups of three or five, shivering as they rested, eating some flatbreads and the like brought from their hometowns to fill their stomachs.

Since the beginning of the 1980s, global deflation had occurred, and the stock market had risen. Funds from Japanese banks flowed from manufacturing enterprises to real estate, retail, and personal housing. The stimulus of large-scale construction on the economy was unquestionable. Japan's economic strength advanced by leaps and bounds, not only leading Asia but also competing globally. It was even so arrogant that a gangster group like the Yamaguchi-gumi wanted to buy Las Vegas from their American "daddy."

Of course, Japan during this period was indeed very strong. Domestically, it was intoxicated by luxury, and externally, there were massive investments. It was indeed booming and powerful. However, this strength didn't last long. As the saying goes, "too much is as bad as too little." In the early 1990s, the Japanese stock market crashed, the economic bubble burst, and Japan's ambitions were beaten back, failing to recover for twenty years.

But ordinary people in China didn't know about this situation. It was the beginning of the opening-up period, the national gates were wide open, and temptations from the outside had slipped in. Ordinary people didn't understand national affairs, but they could hear about who had gone where and had become successful and earned a lot of money. Japan's situation in the previous few years was indeed good, and adding historical reasons and geographical proximity, some people from the Northeast and Fujian province had smuggled themselves into Japan through various channels. Of course, there were many from other countries, but the story was happening in Japan.

These people on the beach had come for these reasons. Most were from the Northeast, having taken a boat from Dalian, drifting through the night in the dark, and landing near Fukuoka in northern Kyushu.

A man with a square face and a big nose, wrapped in a heavy coat, was eating yellow cornmeal flatbread with the ice-cold water from his canteen, wolfing it down and getting food crumbs all over himself.

Seeing a man sitting cross-legged beside him with disheveled long hair, who hadn't said much along the way, looking at him, he thought for a moment, then used his dirty hand to take another flatbread from his pocket. "Hungry, right? I have one more. Here, don't mind the dirt, take it and make do."

This man with the square face and big nose was, of course, the protagonist of this story, Tie Tou. When the movie was originally shown, this Northeasterner had a Hong Kong accent, but now it was rationalized—he spoke full Northeastern dialect, which was quite interesting.

Wang Yan naturally wouldn't mind the dirt; he had an iron stomach and very strong digestive function. He gathered his hair with both hands, pushed it back, and accepted the flatbread with a smile. "Thanks, brother."

"When you're out and about, your own people should help each other. Eat up." Tie Tou waved his hand and asked with a smile, "I'm from Suihua, Longjiang. My name is Zhang Tiesheng, and everyone in the village calls me Tie Tou. What should I call you?"

"Your own people should help each other"—this statement was certainly correct, but anyone who believed it was a fool. It was just that they had only just arrived, and they were all from the Northeast, so there was an innate sense of closeness.

It was said that one Chinese person was a dragon, but a group of them were worms, and that Chinese people abroad were the least united. This was actually a very normal thing. China was too big, and the population was too large. Although it was one national culture, there were various differences in customs and regional wealth, so there was mutual discrimination internally, and it was indeed difficult to unite when going abroad.

Everyone was abroad to make a fortune. If they couldn't make a fortune from foreigners, they would naturally make a fortune from their own people. Taking advantage of the fact that newcomers didn't know anything, they would cheat, swindle, and deceive. If they were heartless, they would sell people, organize prostitution, use them as slave labor, or even harvest a kidney.

Wang Yan nodded with a smile. "Wang Yan, from Longcheng, Liaoning. I don't have any nicknames, but I'm twenty-nine this year. I should be older than you, right?"

"I'm twenty-six."

"Then you can just call me Brother Yan."

"Brother Yan!" When you're out and about, it didn't matter if you called someone brother or sister. Tie Tou asked, "I didn't see you speak to anyone along the way, and you weren't close to anyone. Did you come alone? Are you visiting relatives or what?"

"I came alone. I don't have any acquaintances here. I just heard that our countrymen are doing well here, so I came to make a fortune. I see you're different from those people who are completely clueless about where to go. Do you have relatives here?"

Wang Yan bit into the rock-hard flatbread. It wasn't cornmeal, but coarsely processed corn grits—real coarse grain. He hadn't eaten this stuff for many years, and now that he suddenly ate a bite, it felt quite good. It was said that people were strange; after eating too much fine grain, the coarse grain he used to be tired of had become a delicacy.

Seeing Wang Yan eating happily, Tie Tou nodded. "Your eyes are sharp. I have a brother from the same village who came a few years ago. I'm here to rely on him this time."

"You have an acquaintance..." Wang Yan pondered pretentiously, his eyes fixed on Tie Tou...

Tie Tou was also a sensible person; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to stand out among so many people and get others to follow him. Naturally, he understood Wang Yan's meaning. He thought for a moment and said hesitantly, "How about... you come with me first to get settled? My brother is in Shinjuku, Tokyo. There are many of our countrymen there, all black-listed people like us without status."

"It's settled then. Give me a drink of water."

Handing over the canteen, Tie Tou asked, "Brother Yan, why did you come here?"

"Didn't I just say? To make a fortune." Seeing his expression, Wang Yan shook his head with a smile. "It's just that I offended someone at home and couldn't stay. Anyway, I'm a single man with no family to worry about. I gritted my teeth, stomped my foot, and found a way to get on the boat. Don't worry, I won't cheat you. We're both from the Northeast. As you said, when you're out and about, you have to help each other. You gave me food and drink and are taking me to your brother's place to stay; I definitely wouldn't do anything heartless."

"No, that's not what I meant. It's just that we didn't know each other before, so I was just getting to know you."

"Then why did you leave your hometown? When we got on the boat earlier, I saw a policeman grab you, and then that snakehead smashed a rock into the back of his head. I guess he won't survive. You left behind quite a few of your things and didn't take them. If you had stayed behind then, there's a high probability that the policeman could have been saved, and even if something really happened, it wouldn't have been your fault. At most, you'd be locked up for a few years and then get out. Now it's different; you can never go back in your life. What was it for?"

He was also talking nonsense, mainly just making conversation with Tie Tou. In that situation, if Tie Tou had stayed behind, he would have been a real murderer, and a murderer of a policeman at that. Nine times out of ten, he would have been executed. Of course, if that policeman hadn't died, it would be another matter.

Thinking that he could never return to his hometown in this life and had also caused the loss of a life, Tie Tou felt uncomfortable. He shook his head and said, "I came to find my girlfriend. She came a few years ago, and since last year, there's been no news. I couldn't rest easy, so I came looking for her. Dead or alive, I have to have an answer."

"You're a romantic." Wang Yan returned the canteen to him, gave a thumbs up, and didn't make any sarcastic remarks.

Tie Tou gave a bitter smile in return and silently ate his flatbread...

They were waiting here for the snakehead to take them to several big cities. Moreover, they had a series of activities such as introducing places to stay and black-market jobs. It was a one-stop service, not a case of "dying upon arrival," but a mature system to scrape as much money as possible from these smuggled black-listed people.

Of course, the snakehead who brought them over wasn't very good; he actually dared to smash a rock into a domestic policeman. His business skills weren't proficient. Truth be told, this kind of smuggling business didn't need to involve any loss of life; they also relied on their reputation. Now that he had brought so many people out, the snakehead's information definitely couldn't be kept secret. Going back would also mean being a fugitive, and there would be no good end. And he had capsized the boat, losing everything.

After eating, Wang Yan gathered his hair back again. Without hair wax to fix it, it scattered as soon as the wind blew, and the feeling of it fluttering wasn't very good. Under Tie Tou's surprised gaze, he took a box of "Hua Zi" cigarettes from his pocket, gave one to Tie Tou, and struggled to block the wind to light it. "Get up, it's time to go."

Tie Tou asked, confused, "Aren't we waiting for their people to take us away?"

Wang Yan tilted his head toward the road by the coast. Tie Tou followed his gaze and saw a figure riding a bicycle in the distance, heading toward them. Although there was still some distance, looking at the attire, he knew it must be a Japanese patrol policeman.

Tie Tou stood up with a jolt and hurriedly followed Wang Yan, who had already started walking away.

Wang Yan wasn't the only one with sharp eyes; others had discovered it long ago. As the two of them took the lead in running away, everyone was now frantically packing their things and scrambling to run toward the shore.

That policeman also discovered the fleeing crowd, took out the revolver at his waist, and without a word, fired a warning shot, shouting loudly for them to stop. Of course, no one listened to him. Moreover, after the shot was fired, the terrified people ran even faster, and in a short while, they had scattered and disappeared...

"Went the wrong way, went the wrong way." After running for a while and reaching a place with buildings, ignoring the gazes of some Japanese residents, Tie Tou, who had come to his senses, hurriedly grabbed Wang Yan. "Tokyo is that way; we ran in the wrong direction."

As he spoke, he was about to pull Wang Yan to turn around, but Wang Yan's feet were rooted to the ground, and he couldn't be moved at all. He turned back anxiously. "Oh my, what are you still standing there for? Let's go quickly. If the police come in a while and deport us, what will we do? Wasn't the crime of crossing the ocean suffered in vain?"

"Don't panic just because you see the police. People, when they panic, they easily lose their brains." Wang Yan shook his head calmly. "We're in Fukuoka; Tokyo is 1,000 kilometers away. Even if you run until your legs break, you won't make it. Didn't your brother tell you how to take a car?"

Hearing this, Tie Tou let go of Wang Yan and slapped his own forehead. "I have to take a car. He told me to find the station and buy a ticket at that automatic ticket machine. He also said it's basically all Chinese characters, so it's easy to recognize."

"I thought you were taking care of me, but it turns out I'm taking care of you." Wang Yan shook his head and patted his shoulder. "This time, so many people came together, and the police just fired a shot. The police in this area must have all come out to catch people. Like us, at a glance, it's obvious we're smuggled. Let's go, let's change clothes first. It's not that I'm lecturing you, Tie Tou, but look at your sneaky, guilty look—can you not attract attention? Trouble is everywhere. Since you're here, settle down. It doesn't matter if you're unfamiliar with the place, but you have to stand tall and be generous, you know?"

After finishing his words, Wang Yan changed his expression like a dog's face—one second he was smiling, the next he had a fierce look. He pointed at the people around him and scolded loudly, "What are you all looking at? What's so good to look at? Am I your father?"

He was speaking Japanese, of course. After all, his Japanese level was LV3, a standard Kanto accent, and it was the kind of gibberish with an angry tone.

Looking at the ordinary Japanese citizens who dared to be angry but didn't dare to speak, he turned and walked away with a smile.

Tie Tou looked at the angry people and hurriedly chased after Wang Yan with his somewhat bow-legged legs. "Brother Yan, you speak Japanese?"

"A hobby. By chance, there was an old guy in our neighborhood who got a pile of pornographic videotapes from somewhere. They were screaming, and I didn't know what they were saying. Later, it was boring, so I learned some Japanese myself. Otherwise, why would I come here? It's because I can say a few sentences."

"What did you say to them just now? Why didn't it sound like good words? Especially that 'Baka'—I know what that means."

"Nothing much, roughly meaning 'what are you looking at, looking at your mother's...'"

"Awesome." Tie Tou gave a sincere thumbs up.

After a short time together, he found that this Wang Yan was very powerful. He could make him believe him, and he seemed to know some martial arts. His strength wasn't small, and he was quite good at fighting. In his hometown, he was well-known in the surrounding villages, and no one dared to provoke him—otherwise, why would he be called Tie Tou? As a result, when he tried to pull Wang Yan just now, he didn't move at all. Now he could even speak Japanese, and his courage was great. Unfamiliar with the place, he dared to arrogantly scold the locals.

Regarding the reason Wang Yan gave for coming to Japan, he had doubted it from the beginning, and now he doubted it even more. He said he offended someone; now it seemed he might be wanted for some crime, couldn't stay at home, and had to run away...

Thinking this way, a few hours passed without realizing it. Tie Tou carefully followed Wang Yan into the city and saw the prosperity here that far exceeded his hometown. Unlike the blue sky and white clouds and the endless black land at home, the streets here were full of cars, and the flow of people was shoulder to shoulder. In such an environment, the two of them wrapped in heavy coats looked very abrupt, more like beggars.

At the entrance of a men's clothing store on the street, seeing Wang Yan bury his head and walk in, Tie Tou hurriedly pulled him back and whispered, "Brother Yan, I only have less than 50,000 here. We still need to eat and take a car; the money for clothes isn't enough. If we put on the clothes and run, it'll be troublesome if they call the police to catch us."

His heart was very tired. This big brother was too wild and always made him worry. Along the way, Wang Yan bumped into several people, and several times he almost started a fight. He was very arrogant.

Tie Tou certainly had his merits; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to become a gangster boss, although he couldn't control his subordinates later, but that was also because he didn't manage them. His current state was what it should be for someone who had just arrived and had no bottom in his heart. If it were Wang Yan, he would also be like this. Before becoming familiar, he would definitely not talk much, let alone do much, and would carefully adapt.

But now it was different. Wang had reached this level, so being overly cautious would be too pathetic. And most importantly, they were traveling together, and he wanted to plant the concept of being the "big brother" in Tie Tou's mind. The current "Brother Yan" wasn't yet a brother, just a form of address, not a status.

He shook his head and whispered, "Why do you talk so much? We're now dependent on each other, grasshoppers on the same rope. Could I harm you? How pathetic. Shut your mouth, don't talk, follow me in."

This was a ready-to-wear suit shop. Japanese workers wore suits; a glance at the street showed that men were all like that. It wasn't that they wanted to wear them, but the social situation was such that they had to. Wang Yan naturally chose to follow the crowd and wouldn't deliberately show off.

The shopkeeper was a woman in a tight skirt, and there was a shop assistant, a little girl in her twenties. Their service was excellent, and they didn't treat the two differently because of their incompatibility. She bowed slightly and asked happily, "Welcome, what style would you like to choose?"

Wang Yan spoke calmly, "I want something slim and casual, and for my friend here, a loose style. Also, match it with a pair of leather shoes."

"Alright, sir." The shopkeeper asked, "Judging by your accent, you're from Kanto, right?"

"Tokyo. I came here to handle some things, but things didn't go well, and I ended up in such a sorry state. Really..."

Tie Tou was dumbfounded watching from behind. Damn, this is called "can say a few sentences"? That skillful conversation, seeing the shopkeeper's smiling appearance, was no different from chatting in their hometown. He became more and more suspicious: what exactly was this big brother?

Very quickly, the two changed from inside to outside—black suits, white shirts, pointed leather shoes. Because it was only March, the weather was a bit cold, and each got a black woolen coat. Tie Tou was no good; he was timid and had no style. Wang Yan was different—people rely on clothes, horses rely on saddles. The previous decadence was gone, and his slicked-back hair was tidied up again. Plus, he was tall and sturdy, looking very majestic and spirited. Tie Tou almost didn't recognize him.

The shopkeeper also felt he was very stylish, but her professional quality still made her say the cold number of 100,000 yen with a smile.

Under Tie Tou's disbelieving gaze, Wang Yan took a long wallet from his pocket, counted out ten banknotes and handed them over, didn't bargain at all, said goodbye, and turned to leave.

After changing their attire, the two walked on the street much more naturally, and no one looked at them with strange eyes anymore.

Tie Tou didn't throw away his original clothes but found a bag to put them in. He followed Wang Yan and asked, puzzled, "Brother Yan, is this not your first time in Japan?"

"Of course it's my first time."

"Then how are you so familiar with everything everywhere, and how do you have so much money?"

"As long as you know Japanese characters, you can also be familiar with everything. As for where the money came from..." Wang Yan raised an eyebrow, bumped into someone walking from the opposite direction, and then very arrogantly pushed the person he bumped into until the person lowered his head and walked away. Only then did he turn back and continue walking with Tie Tou.

Under Tie Tou's confused gaze, Wang Yan took out a wallet with a sleight of hand, flipped through it casually, and patted it into Tie Tou's hand. "Everyone is here for the first time. As your brother, I don't have anything to give you. Although this kid is a bit poor, he still has tens of thousands on him, and this wallet looks pretty good too. Take it, it's yours."

Tie Tou subconsciously grabbed the wallet, looked down at the ID card inside, and only then did he react: it turns out it was all stolen... ===== CHAPTER 529 =====