Chapter 342: with translation of chapter title

Wan Chai Happy Valley.

This is Hong Kong Island's first racecourse, and also the oldest in all of Hong Kong.

Happy Valley Racecourse, also known as Happy Valley Racecourse, is located at 28 Wan Chai Road, Wan Chai District.

Inside a luxurious private room, four people were playing cards.

The game is Big Two, and the rules use a 54-card deck with the jokers removed.

Players can bid based on their hand; calling 'Big Two' indicates a desire to become the dealer, and the dealer has priority.

The dealer leads, and the other players follow in counter‑clockwise order; the player who first gets rid of all their cards wins.

Compared to bridge, Big Two involves a larger luck factor.

The four people at the table, led by Uncle Tong Shadan Tong, the other three are also well‑known figures in Hong Kong Island.

Da Liu was busy serving tea and water to the others, and frankly, it really was like that.

In this room, Aimeigao Group chairman Da Liu had no seat and could only do odd jobs.

Only Shadan Tong's word could let him in; otherwise, Da Liu's hope of entering this door was pure fantasy.

Now he and these card players are simply incomparable.

This is the famed Hong Kong Island private organization, the Landlord Club.

The Hong Kong Island Landlord Club, also known as the Hoe D Club, was founded by the Hong Kong Island tycoon Uncle Tong Shadan Tong.

The organization was set up in the 1970s; its main members were a few big tycoons who kept in touch through card games.

At the same time they exchanged business information, forming an alliance of commercial interests that could call the wind and summon the rain in Hong Kong Island's stock market.

Uncle Tong tossed his cards aside and laughed heartily: 'Looks like my luck is good today—I've won three rounds in a row.'

The others at the table joked, 'Uncle Tong, when is your luck ever bad?'

'Haha! You sure can talk.'

Uncle Tong turned to Da Liu and said, 'It's tough being a waiter—spit it out, what's up?'

Da Liu replied respectfully, 'Uncle Tong, I don't know what I did to offend Mr. Hongxin Li; Aimeigao has been hitting walls everywhere, and I'd like you to help smooth things over.'

'Oh, He Xin's son‑in‑law Li Xin, this kid is a handful—he doesn't even know how he offended anyone. What are you up to?'

From Uncle Tong's tone, you could tell he was very familiar with He Xin.

Da Liu gave a wry smile and said, 'Uncle Tong, if I knew where I'd offended Li Xin, I wouldn't feel this awful.'

'Even if I were carrying a pig's head, I wouldn't know where to go to worship!'

Uncle Tong glanced at Da Liu and said, 'I'll make a call to check the situation.'

After saying that, Uncle Tong got up, went to a suite, picked up the phone, and dialed He Xin.

'He Xin, I'm A Tong—a peripheral member of the Landlord Club has offended He Xin; could you find out what's going on?'

'If it's not a big deal, have Xiao Liu bring tea and apologize to He Xin to settle it—what do you think?'

'A Tong, what can I say? Of course I'll handle it for you!'

He Xin still held Shadan Tong in high regard; the man had helped him several times.

Don't mention this little matter—no matter how big it gets, he'll see it through.

Shadan Tong had always been enthusiastic about opening a casino; back then he and He Xin both lived in Shallow Water Bay, they were sports buddies, but their relationship wasn't that deep.

Shadan Tong had long wanted a chance to work with He Xin, but felt he was an outsider and hesitated to speak up.

In 1976, He Xin decided to break into the international market, choosing Bajisitan as his first stop.

He befriended President Abutuo, and with his support, He Xin splurged thirty million to open a new casino.

Just before the opening, Bajisitan underwent a coup, the president was toppled, and He Xin's thirty million went down the drain.

At that time He Xin's wings weren't yet full; these losses hurt his vitality, so he stayed home to recuperate.

Shadan Tong found him and urged him to make a comeback, saying money was no problem—he had plenty.

When He Xin heard someone was offering money, he immediately perked up, saying this was a lesson learned: now he knew overseas casinos must be approached cautiously, choosing a politically stable country.

So the two spent a long time researching and finally settled on Yilang; this place had wealthy people, and at the time its king was Baliewei, the longest‑reigning monarch—how could it not be stable?

After pulling strings with great effort, they together invested fifty million dollars to build a racecourse.

Sure enough, as soon as it opened, banknotes came flooding in, and it also generated considerable revenue for the Baliewei government.

Baliewei was delighted, decided that after three months of operation he would award He Xin a title, allowing him to enter the ranks of the nobility.

He Xin was overjoyed, had a flashy outfit tailor‑made for the ceremony, and also invited Shadan Tong to witness this glorious moment together.

The two flew excitedly to Deheilanhhou, but as soon as they stepped off the plane they realized, damn it, another coup had happened!

This time it was the Huomeini‑led Yisilan Revolution that toppled Baliewei.

The two fled east and west, hiding, and finally made it back to Hong Kong Island.

But those fifty million dollars were gone too!

He Xin once again needed to heal his wounds, and Shadan Tong went to comfort him, saying he still had money and could still make a comeback.

This time He Xin said, 'Looks like places too far away won't work; it's better to stay closer, like Southeast Asia, where we can keep things under control.'

The two finally settled on Feilübin, where President Masi si was at the height of power; through the president's brother‑in‑law they opened a country hotel casino, and brought in casino management staff from Pu Jing Duchang.

This time everything went smoothly, no coup occurred, and business was booming to the point that President Masi si himself grew envious and outright confiscated the casino.

They kicked He Xin and Shadan Tong out of Feilübin!

This time He Xin was badly hurt; thereafter he dared not step beyond the levee, returning honestly to tend his business in Aodao.

Yet Shadan Tong had lost so much money that He Xin felt a bit embarrassed, and so he planned to give Shadan Tong a share of the Aodao casino's equity.

Besides He Xin himself, three others held shares: Mr. Huo, Ye Deli, and Ye Han.

Mr. Huo couldn't be moved, Ye Deli was He Xin's brother‑in‑law and also off‑limits, so Ye Han's shares became the target.

Ye Han was called the "Gambling Saint", a legendary figure of Aodao; later, the Gambling Saint and the Gambling King turned against each other and became enemies, which was actually because of the shark bile and shared equity matter.

Finally, some of Ye Han's leverage was seized by He Xin, forcing him to give all his shares to Shadantong.

From then on, Aodao Entertainment entered the era of the iron triangle formed by He Xin, Mr. Huo, and Shadantong.

It seems that the information Li Xin previously understood was still not detailed enough.

The relationship networks of these big tycoons are intricate and complex; perhaps between any two of them there is some connection unknown to outsiders.

For example, He Xin and Shadantong are like brothers who share hardships.

The two of them partnered to open a casino, and they never lose!