Chapter 529: Who Takes It Gets It

Tie Tou asked, puzzled, "Then those people you bumped into along the way earlier—didn't you steal from all of them? How did you steal it? How come I didn't see it?"

"Why do you say it so harshly? Those people were helping our brothers through a difficult time. This is doing good deeds and accumulating merit; the Buddha is blessing them, understand?" Wang Yan looked at him as if he were a lost cause, shook his head, and said, "Walking the world, how can you do it without a few special skills? If you could see through my 'empty-handed sleight of hand,' I don't know how many times my hands would have been chopped off."

"Brother Yan, isn't it not very good to do such shady things? We're unfamiliar with the place here. If we steal... um, find the wrong people to help us and cause big trouble, we'll have no place to be buried. I heard from my brother that there are a lot of gangsters here, and they kill people at every turn..."

"Tie Tou, I can understand that you came here to find someone. But you have to think about what to do after you find them. You definitely can't go back to the country in this life; going back means execution. And to stay here, we're both black-listed. You might not know what kind of life black-listed people live here yet, but you'll know later. One day you'll know that if you want to accomplish something, you have to do extraordinary things."

It sounded as if you knew a lot. Tie Tou shook his head in disbelief. "Brother Yan, how much did we spend on clothes earlier?"

"100,000."

"I heard from my brother that one of our yuan is eleven or twelve of theirs, so that's..." Tie Tou calculated silently and couldn't help but whisper, "Over 8,000?"

Wang Yan glanced at him like he was a fool. "Tie Tou, since you're here, settle down. Don't habitually convert the money here into our money for comparison. If nothing goes wrong, you'll live here for the rest of your life. Don't say 8,000; even 80,000, you won't be able to spend it. You should sort out this relationship yourself, digest it well, and don't always be so jumpy."

He wasn't fond of lecturing, but he wanted Tie Tou to grow up faster. He was a good seedling, and it would be a pity if he were killed just like that.

Tie Tou said "um," opened the wallet to look at the money inside, put the money he had in his pocket into the wallet, put it carefully into the inner pocket of his coat, patted it twice, and then strode after Wang Yan.

The journey had been so safe, he had changed into a new outfit, and he had a big brother as his backbone. Tie Tou, who had been feeling insecure since arriving, now felt a sense of security and gradually let go.

Just like that, the two found a place to eat a full meal, then went to the Fukuoka station and got on the Shinkansen—that is, the Japanese high-speed rail.

The process was naturally very smooth, not as miserable as Tie Tou's original experience. They ate and drank well along the way, and arrived in Tokyo that evening.

"Alright, you can't see anything from the outside. You'll have a chance to go in and see later."

Outside Tokyo Station, Wang Yan, carrying his bag, patted Tie Tou, who was looking at the Imperial Palace. "Where does your brother live? Let's take a taxi."

"Oh, right, right, right. He wrote the address for me when he sent me money." Tie Tou took out the wallet from his inner pocket, took out a piece of paper, and recited, "4-chome, Taikubo..."

Wang Yan took the note, glanced at it, then stuffed it back into Tie Tou's hand, waved to call a taxi, and reported the address. The taxi driver skillfully operated the car, turned, and left.

Taxis in Japan were very expensive, especially since the bubble had only just burst and its power hadn't yet been fully revealed. Having experienced the previous golden age and earned quick money, the taxi driver's arrogance hadn't faded. During the chat with Wang Yan, he was full of complaints, complaining that people were too stingy now, that there were far fewer people taking taxis, and that their income had plummeted, making it impossible to balance.

Tie Tou couldn't understand the gibberish, but he just leaned against the car window, looking at the neon lights outside, feeling the prosperity he had never seen before. In his mind, he was thinking about his Xiu Xiu...

Wang Yan knew Tie Tou's thoughts, but he wasn't prepared to say much, because that was the main reason Tie Tou made up his mind to become a gangster. It was because he saw that Eguchi Toshinari was the vice-chairman of the Sanhe Society and knew he was a gangster boss that he wanted to do it, wanting that kind of success. Of course, there was also the reason of not wanting to be ordinary. After all, he had been living so miserably; relying solely on diligence and ability, he wouldn't be able to live a good life in this lifetime.

Most importantly, he was a person with ideas. In his hometown, he ran a farm machinery repair factory, and it was the beginning of the opening-up period. If he hadn't come to Japan and developed normally, he probably wouldn't have been bad off.

What Wang Yan valued was Tie Tou's ideas and his execution—he was a good subordinate...

Tokyo Station wasn't very far from the destination, only about seven kilometers. Although it was the time for nightlife, there were many cars on the road and many traffic lights, but they arrived in half an hour.

Upon arriving, they knew why the taxi driver was a bit rude to Wang Yan, because the environment here wasn't very good. Compared to other places, the houses were a bit old, and many people walking on the street had unfriendly or sloppy gangster looks.

Thinking about it, it made sense. A bunch of black-listed people—where could they stay in a prosperous place? Having a place to stay was good enough; what more could they ask for?

Paying the expensive fare, Wang Yan and Tie Tou stood side by side, looking out of place with the surrounding crowd. After all, they were both in suits, wearing big leather shoes, and wearing coats on the outside, which was a contrast to the others in casual wear, still having a sense of oppression. Especially when Wang Yan deliberately swept his cold gaze over, this sense of oppression became even stronger.

Ignoring the bystanders, the two followed the sign with the address on the wall and searched all the way, soon stopping in front of a residential house. It was the kind of single-family house in Japan, looking old from the outside, clearly having been there for some years. Bursts of laughter came from inside, sounding like quite a few people—very lively.

Standing in front of the door, Tie Tou took out the piece of paper again and compared it character by character with the sign at the door, fearing that he would knock on the wrong door and cause trouble. Only after confirming it was correct did he nod to Wang Yan. "That's right, Brother Yan, this is it."

Wang Yan signaled with his head. "Knock on the door."

Tie Tou nodded, took a deep breath, and knocked on the door.

In an instant, the liveliness inside disappeared, and not a sound could be heard. Before long, the door was opened, revealing a face with a guarded expression.

The person looked at the spirited Tie Tou in front of him, was stunned for a moment, and then reacted, grabbing Tie Tou's arms with joy. "Brother Tie Tou!"

"A-Watching Ajie." Tie Tou laughed and hugged A-Watching Ajie after letting go of his arms.

This handsome face was the target of this mission, A-Watching Ajie. However, his handsomeness was actually limited. Seeing him in person now, he didn't actually have the quality from the movie. After all, the living environment was like this, so even if he was handsome, it couldn't really show. And like Tie Tou, A-Watching Ajie also spoke full Northeastern dialect—completely different from the Daniel Wu in Wang Yan's mind.

The brothers hugged for a while. Tie Tou let go of A-Watching Ajie and said, "A-Watching Ajie, let me introduce you. This is the big brother who came with me. I owe a lot to his care along the way. Brother Yan, this is the brother from the same village I told you about. We both have the surname Zhang; his name is Zhang Yujie, a good brother who grew up with me."

A-Watching Ajie nodded. "Hello, Brother Yan. Thank you for taking care of my Brother Tie Tou."

"Hey, no need to thank me. Tie Tou said it—when you're out and about, you have to help each other." Wang Yan waved his hand. "Alright, don't stand at the door. There are too many eyes; let's go in and talk."

A-Watching Ajie reacted, saw some people standing and watching not far away, and hurriedly let the two in and closed the door.

The house wasn't big. Entering the room was the hall, where seven men were surrounding a small square table eating and drinking. At this moment, they all stood up, their eyes focused on the two. This was different from the original drama, because the original Tie Tou was miserable when he came, but now he and Wang Yan were dressed quite decently—money wasn't spent in vain. As the saying goes, "respect the clothes, not the person." This group of people couldn't figure out the background of Wang Yan and Tie Tou, so they were all very polite, even a bit reserved.

A-Watching Ajie walked two steps to Wang Yan and Tie Tou. "I'll introduce you. This is the Brother Tie Tou I've been mentioning to you, and this is Brother Yan who took care of my Brother Tie Tou on the way here. Brother Tie Tou, Brother Yan, this is Lao Gui, Xiao Dai, and this is Aunt Hao and her daughter Xiao Mei, who also just arrived and are now helping us cook, do chores, and wash clothes. This is..."

The responsible A-Watching Ajie introduced everyone to Wang Yan and Tie Tou, considering it a meeting.

Wang Yan looked at each of these "garlic cloves" one by one. Lao Gui was a short, chubby man with a short beard; Xiao Dai was a bit dark and lean; the others included some who wore glasses and seemed like intellectuals, some who were dull-eyed and not good at speaking, and some who were grinning and looked honest. They each had their own characteristics. This table of people, not counting Aunt Hao and Xiao Mei, none of them survived; they were all hacked to death by the Japanese gangsters of the Sanhe Society.

It didn't matter much that they were selling drugs; after all, they were selling them to the Japanese. Their influence wasn't big, and they couldn't harm China. As for the "community of shared future for mankind," Wang Yan didn't care much—as long as they didn't harm their own people, it was fine.

It was just that they didn't know how to protect themselves and were overestimating their abilities by getting involved too much; that was why they were courting death. Later, they were blinded by desire, couldn't listen to advice, and were obsessed with money, so it was difficult for them to last long. To exist, they needed influence, background, and to integrate into society, especially the upper class—that was the best strategy. But they only had influence, and only a force of 200 people at most, so there was no reason for them to exist; they would die sooner or later.

Wang Yan looked down at what they were eating and shook his head. "Back in the hometown, I heard people say how they made a fortune coming to Japan, but you guys are just eating these rice balls? Not even a piece of meat?"

A-Watching Ajie wanted to explain awkwardly, but Wang Yan waved his hand directly, took out his wallet, took out three large banknotes, handed them to the girl on the side, and looked at the older-looking woman. "Aunt Hao, right? I hear your accent is also from our Northeast. Take this money and trouble yourself to prepare a proper meal. Oh, right, buy some wine too. Tie Tou and I haven't eaten since noon. Here's another 20,000; just buy according to this, and you can keep the rest."

Starting with 50,000, not only was Aunt Hao overwhelmed, but everyone else was stunned. Only Tie Tou had no reaction, because on the way to Tokyo, he had watched his big brother bumping into people, and later, when he paid attention, he found that his big brother could steal even without bumping into people. His courage was great, and he acted like nothing had happened. He looked at the briefcase his big brother had casually placed at his feet and fell into deep thought...

Seeing no response, Wang Yan shook his hand. "What are you all stunned for? Go, Hao Hao Dashen, I'm really hungry."

Aunt Hao opened her mouth to speak, but A-Watching Ajie saw her embarrassment. "Brother Yan, you just finished saying it and you forgot. Aunt Hao also just arrived, and it's quite chaotic here, so she doesn't go out much. I'll go. Lao Gui, Xiao Dai, you guys keep them company and introduce the current situation."

There was still someone sensible. The honest-looking person standing behind walked out. "I'll go. You guys sit and talk, I'll be back soon."

"Thanks, Brother Li."

That person waved his hand, very decisively took the money, put on his shoes, opened the door, and left.

A-Watching Ajie greeted, "Brother Tie Tou, Brother Yan, Lao Gui, let's sit down and talk. Xiao Mei, bring two more cups."

Wang Yan and Tie Tou took off their big leather shoes and sat cross-legged on the Japanese tatami with a group of people. The girl brought cups and poured Japanese sake for Tie Tou and Wang Yan. A-Watching Ajie finally asked the question that everyone present was wondering about.

"Brother Tie Tou, Brother Yan, how did you come over? When I opened the door just now, I didn't recognize you in this attire."

Tie Tou laughed. "My situation, you know. It's all thanks to Brother Yan's care. He's quite powerful; he bought both of our outfits."

Lao Gui looked at Wang Yan. "Brother Yan has been to Japan before? Or did friends here send you money? Your outfits aren't cheap; they're enough for us to earn for ten or eight days without eating or drinking. I wouldn't have the heart to buy such expensive clothes."

Wang Yan waved his hand with a smile. "It's my first time here too. Didn't I just say, I heard people from our side say how they made a fortune in Japan, but I saw you guys eating so poorly, which is a bit different from what I imagined."

"You can't believe what others say. I thought the same when I first came, but it turned out I was living miserably too. Every day I'm terrified, and from time to time, I get bullied." Seeing he was kind, Xiao Dai on the other side also spoke up. "Then Brother Yan, how exactly did you get the money?"

"A kind person helped us."

"A kind person?" The whole room was full of question marks. The Japanese they met mostly looked down on them; they really didn't know there were such kind people here who would give away tens of thousands?

"Oh, it's just stealing, isn't it?" Tie Tou revealed his big brother's secret and showed them Wang Yan's movements. "He just bumps into people like this, and the wallet in their pocket is in his hand. Japanese people have money, and they all carry tens of thousands in their wallets. Isn't that just cheap for us?"

"Brother Yan has this special skill?" Lao Gui became a bit relaxed. He wasn't being cornered by the police to fight for his life. Petty thieves were mostly rats, and in terms of status, he was the big brother of this room. "You shouldn't have been doing badly in your hometown, right? Why did you smuggle yourself to Japan?"

"Offended some people, couldn't stay in the hometown, so I ran to Japan to make a fortune. When I just got off the boat, Tie Tou kindly shared a flatbread with me. I saw he was a good person, and heard he had an acquaintance here, and we could be considered fellow countrymen, so I shamelessly followed him. After all, I'm unfamiliar with the place, so I needed a place to stay."

Wang Yan raised his glass to drink with them, grabbed some peanuts from the table and ate them, very naturally changing the subject. "What kind of work do you all do here?"

A-Watching Ajie took over. "Just doing odd jobs. There are intermediaries specifically for us black-listed people. They are all Chinese, but they have permanent residency and came here earlier. They find jobs for us and take a few thousand from each person. They're making a fortune."

Tie Tou asked, "What exactly do you do?"

Xiao Dai, who was drinking, angrily put his glass on the table. "What else could it be? Sorting garbage, cleaning up trash on construction sites for construction companies, cleaning up debris in sewers, scooping feces—in short, jobs that the Japanese don't want to do fall on us black-listed people, specifically serving the happy life of the Japanese. Damn it..."

This was the huge gap between imagination and reality, and being unable to change the status quo while not wanting to run back home in such a miserable state, it was inevitable that there would be some resentment.

Tie Tou asked again, "If you do those jobs, how much can you earn a day?"

"If you're lucky, 7,000 or 8,000; if you're lucky, about 10,000. It's not certain. There isn't always work to do, and there are many black-listed people living near us, so we have to fight for work."

"7,000 or 8,000..." Tie Tou was again habitually calculating, nodded, and said, "Not bad. That's over 600 yuan a day. You can't earn that much in a month back home."

After speaking, he reacted and subconsciously looked to his side, only to see his big brother shaking his head with a smile.

Before he could say anything, he heard Lao Gui snort coldly. "600-plus is only called money back home; here it's nothing. Do you know how much our rent is? 10,000! Not for a group, but for one person. You'll see the living environment when you go up later; it's very broken, small, and you can't stretch your legs at all. Just now Brother Yan said our food and drink were poor, but there's no way around it. If we really ate and drank well, we wouldn't have much left every month. We came here to make a fortune, but we have to support our parents back home, right? We have to send money back so they can enjoy life. It's just that Brother Yan has ability; where would our money be enough to spend? Brother Yan, why don't you teach us a trick or two?"

"You guys are old, your reactions are slow, you can't learn." Wang Yan shook his head. He just didn't want to teach; it was too much effort. "I heard that the Japanese look down on thieves. Although there are thieves, there aren't many. Along the way, I also found that the Japanese really don't have much vigilance. If you are bold, it's very easy. Don't say you don't do this on weekdays; looking at how you want to learn from me, I know your hands aren't clean."

Lao Gui giggled. "No way around it, we're all forced into it. Petty theft can earn a little bit."

After waiting for a while, the person who went out to buy things came back with difficulty, carrying large and small bags of food, all of which were cooked food and food made by restaurants, not needing Aunt Hao to be busy anymore. Immediately, everyone ate and drank together, chatting and relaxing.

Just like that, they ate and drank, and Wang Yan hit it off with them. Everyone called him "Brother Yan," and he also figured out everyone's background. Although they were all quite scheming, they were still too young in front of him.

They didn't eat or drink for very long. Wang Yan wasn't lying; he and Tie Tou were really hungry, and they both ate a lot. Of course, they drank a lot of wine too. It was still sake, served hot, which was only 15-18 degrees. They drank it all at once, which was just right to be slightly tipsy.

Seeing it was about time, and the rest was just empty talk, Wang Yan said, "Can I take a bath here? I just washed my face simply for the past two days. After the dust of the journey, I need to take a good bath so I can sleep comfortably."

"Right, this journey was tense, and I sweated a lot. My body feels sticky." Tie Tou, who was already slightly tipsy, perked up. His spirit had been tense all along, and following his bold big brother made it even more likely to snap. Now that he had arrived at his own people's place, he suddenly relaxed, and having drunk wine, he was exhausted and sleepy.

Lao Gui shook his head. "This broken place, it's good enough to have a toilet; how could it accommodate a bath? A-Watching Ajie, take them to the bathhouse to wash."

"Alright." A-Watching Ajie ate the last piece of meat and wiped the oil on his pants. "Lao Gui, you see if you can clear a space and tidy it up."

"Forget it, don't go to that trouble. Tie Tou and I will sleep in this hall; just get us some bedding." Wang Yan stood up, stretched, and tucked his white shirt into his pants. "A-Watching Ajie, put my bag away."

Tie Tou was even more spirited. He looked up and winked at Wang Yan, but Wang Yan just shook his head and pretended not to see.

A-Watching Ajie said "oh," put the briefcase away, and went downstairs. Wang Yan and Tie Tou also tied their shoelaces, said goodbye to the others, and the three opened the door and went out.

"Here, Tie Tou, A-Watching Ajie." Wang Yan took out the "Hua Zi" cigarettes and gave one to each. "Don't say I'm stingy. It's not easy to buy here, and I was in a hurry, so this is all I have. One less for every one I smoke."

Ignoring A-Watching Ajie's surprise at not having seen the world, Tie Tou lit the cigarette and took a puff. "Brother Yan, is it okay to leave the bag in the room? I'm worried..."

"No need to worry, they're all our own people, they can be trusted." A-Watching Ajie guaranteed. "What's in that bag? Why are you so worried?"

"Money!"

"That bag is full of..." Halfway through, A-Watching Ajie reacted. "The whole briefcase is full of money? Is it all stolen by Brother Yan along the way?"

Tie Tou said "um." "Over 600,000!"

"What?" A-Watching Ajie was shocked and stopped in his tracks. "How about... we go back and carry it with us? That's safer, Brother Yan?"

Wang Yan, who hadn't spoken, smiled and shook his head, exhaling a long puff of smoke calmly. "It's just a few hundred thousand. You guys didn't earn it, so it's not a big deal. They shouldn't be so short-sighted. Let's go, let's go take a bath."

A-Watching Ajie asked foolishly, "What if they really take it?"

Wang Yan turned back and looked at him calmly. "Whoever takes it, I'll kill them!" ===== CHAPTER 530 =====

Wang Yan turned back around and looked at him calmly: "Whoever takes it, I'll kill them!"