20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 498: The Reckless Man of the Time
Who is Wang Laojiu?

Jiang Lianheng had no time to ask further questions, and Shen Shili had no time to say more.

The two sides were confronting each other at the dock, and a large-scale gang fight was about to break out at any time.

There were crowds of spectators on the shore, all staring intently, no one wanting to miss the show before their eyes.

Unfortunately, the river was roaring and the distance was too far, so I couldn’t hear what the dock workers were arguing about.

However, at this point, it seems no longer important where the resentment comes from.

Wang Laojiu, surrounded by his four brothers, stepped forward and whispered a few words to the dock boss opposite.

He was not tall, wore glasses, and looked up when he spoke, which inevitably made him look three points shorter, and even made people feel a little pitiful.

The other leader was a big man with a short neck and broad shoulders. He relied on his large numbers and started to curse:

"Wang Laojiu, you stinky beggar, I saw pity for you country folk and gave you a meal, but you still took advantage of me and came to the dock to steal the limelight, you little jerk, go back to your own province!"

After saying that, the leader turned sideways and waved his arm. The gang members behind him immediately responded in unison, and the shouting and cursing became louder and louder.

"Get off the dock, you stinking beggar!"

"Get away from Puxi Pier, you little jerk!"

The gang members cursed and shouted while rolling up their sleeves, rushing forward and making preparations to take action.

The dozen or so people in the front row, holding knives and sticks, were the most arrogant and should be the registered gang members in the gang. Most of the dock workers were just carrying loads and putting themselves in danger for the sake of the job to show off their strength.

But with sixty or seventy men gathered at the dock, the scene was still very horrifying.

In comparison, the people on Wang Laojiu's side were much quieter.

Seeing this, the leader couldn't help but snort coldly, looking extremely proud, cursing, and turned around to take action.

Unexpectedly, when I glanced over, I saw a cold light flashing before my eyes!
Wang Laojiu was a ruthless man who spoke little, with a calm face and decisive action. Without any hesitation, he swung up the short-handled axe and chopped the man on the head!

Seeing the evil wind blowing in his face, the dock leader felt a chill in his heart.

Unfortunately, the crowd behind him was as dense as a screen, and he had nowhere to retreat. There was no time to block with a stick, so he had to lean his body, step closer, and stretch out his tiger paw, intending to grab Wang Laojiu's wrist to resolve it.

Although the action was beautiful, it was too late.

Wang Laoxiao is thin and looks like a ghost, and his attacks are extremely swift.

The axe blade flashed with cold light and broke through the air, stirring up a gust of wind. Although it failed to hit the leader's face, it hit the collarbone under his neck directly. Suddenly, there was a "crack" sound, like dry wood breaking, and then blood rushed into the sky, splashing three feet!

The dock workers and onlookers immediately exclaimed!
Hearing a scream of "Ahhh", the dock boss suddenly dropped his left shoulder and staggered to fall.

Wang Laojiu did not hesitate for a moment, kicked the leader in the heart, kicked him far away, pulled out his axe, and shouted:

"Brothers, follow me!"

At the command, morale boosted.

Wang Laojiu raised his sharp axe high, led his brothers and sisters beside him, and immediately rushed into the battle to kill!

Both sides were excited and surrounded each other in the blink of an eye, fighting hard and risking their lives!

Looking from afar, one could hear the deafening shouts of killing and see crowds of people.

Carrying a load, a stick, a long knife, an axe...

All kinds of weapons were sometimes raised up by the crowd and sometimes swallowed up by the crowd.

For a moment, screams were heard one after another, the sound was boiling and shocking!

In the panic, Wang Laojiu was seen swinging his axe repeatedly, leaning sideways and exerting his strength, sweeping across the mountains. Although he was thin, he was brave and fearless!
There is a saying: If one soldier is cowardly, the whole general will be cowardly.

Under the desperate charge of Wang Laojiu and others, the dozen thugs in the front row of the dock were quickly defeated, and they threw away their weapons and armor and fled in panic.

The dozens of dock workers that followed were hard laborers trying to make a living, so of course they would not risk their lives. Normally they were fence-sitters, but when they saw that the situation was not right, they immediately dispersed.

Wang Laojiu and others took advantage of the situation to seize the dock, raised their arms and shouted in unison!
At the same time, the spectators on the shore finally came to their senses.

Seeing many people curled up and groaning on the dock and the road covered with blood, several kind-hearted people immediately screamed in shock.

"Someone's dead! Someone's dead!"

"Go call the police! There's a gang fight going on at the Bund Pier!"

"Let's get someone to carry them to the hospital first!"

Suddenly, a very discordant cheering sounded from the noisy crowd.

"Great, great!" Jiang Lianheng was so excited that he couldn't help clapping his hands and praising him repeatedly, "What a fucking tiger, he's a real man!"

Shen Shili nodded beside him: "Of course, these poor guys want to compete with the Green Gang for food on the dock, so they can only fight desperately!"

"Then the 'three tycoons' can't control him?"

"Ah, the 'three tycoons' are wealthy men, and Wang Laojiu is a desperate criminal. One is bright and the other is dark. How can they hit a fly with random punches?"

Hearing this, Jiang Lianheng narrowed his eyes and laughed.

If the core members of Wang Laojiu's gang cannot be caught, it means that the spies of the "Three Tycoons" are not as exaggerated as imagined.

The municipal structure of two sectors and three regulators provides a living space for the common people in Shanghai.

The common man became angry and blood spattered five steps forward.

No matter how capable you are, you only have one life. You don't have to worry about thieves stealing, but you have to worry about thieves thinking about it. When the "three tycoons" meet a really tough guy, they can only retreat.

Jiang Lianheng felt relieved.

Just as I was about to ask again, a shrill police whistle suddenly sounded behind me!

Everyone turned around following the sound and saw a team of French Concession police rushing towards them.

Hearing the whistle, Wang Laojiu and others stopped celebrating and quickly called on the congregation to cross the wooden planks on the dock, jump onto the small cargo boat at the bridgehead, grab the sharp axes, and break open the cargo boxes without even looking at what was inside. They just poured it all into the river.

Seeing this, many of the spectators on the shore were puzzled, so they began to whisper and talk among themselves.

"Oh, what does this mean?"

"Do they have a grudge against the boat owner and the cargo owner?"

"Not necessarily. It's also possible that the managers of the docks and warehouses owe them wages!"

Seeing that the audience was confused, Shen Shili mistakenly thought that Jiang Lianheng and the other two were also blind, so he began to explain with great pride.

"Boss, you don't know that if you want to steal the business at the dock, you can only do this. Even if they carry the goods away, they can't find a place to sell them. The black market merchants know which dock the goods are lost. If the goods are lost at the dock of the Green Gang, not only do they dare not take over, they also have to help arrest the people!"

Jiang Lianheng smiled and said flatteringly, "Brother, you know a lot." "Of course, I've been wandering around for twenty years!" Shen Shili said, "If you want to seize the wharf, you must not only fight the Green Gang, the patrol officers, but also the various businesses. Only when all three parties take a step back, your wharf will have business."

Jiang Lianheng didn't say anything else.

As they were talking, the police from the French Concession had already arrived at the shore.

However, just when they were close, their pace suddenly slowed down, the whistles became louder and louder, and their actions seemed particularly passive.

On the other side, after Wang Laojiu and others unloaded more than a dozen boxes of goods, they seemed unwilling to stay here any longer.

Seeing that the situation was almost over, Wang Laojiu waved his hand, gave a few orders, and led many dock workers to disperse to the south.

This place is located at the junction of Chinese and foreigners. When the police team from the French Concession saw the troublemakers running away, they were unable and unwilling to chase them, so they waved their hands - "disband" - and the police and the criminals dispersed as if nothing had happened.

Gradually, the onlookers dispersed.

Only the wailing of the wounded on the dock and the bloodstains on the road seemed to prove that everything that had just happened was not a dream.

Silently watching Wang Laojiu and the others walk away, Jiang Lianheng suddenly turned around and asked, "Has this kind of thing happened often recently?"

"I saw it twice with my own eyes alone," Shin Shili said confidently.

"This Wang Laojiu wins every time?"

"I saw those two times, and they won both times."

"The influence of people from Anhui Province in the foreign land is so great?" Jiang Lianheng frowned, seeming a little confused. "Why haven't I heard of this before?"

Shen Shili waved his hand and said with some disdain: "There are indeed many people from Anhui Province in Shanghai. They are everywhere, such as rickshaw drivers, street performers, docks, and factories. But they don't have any industry, and they can't be said to have any power. It's only in the second half of the year that Wang Laojiu has become popular."

"So he is the president of the hometown association?"

"Oh my, boss, you really know how to tell a joke. If he were the president, he would be the boss. Why would he be a desperado on the street?"

Jiang Lianheng nodded silently.

The wages of avarice is death.

Someone who works as hard as Wang Laojiu must be trying for something. Even if it's not for money or sex, it's at least for fame and prestige.

He has never seen anyone who has no selfish motives at all and can truly "leave home after the work is done, hiding his achievements and fame", and he doesn't think there will be such a person.

Therein lies a paradox, of course.

He has never seen anyone who can truly "hide his achievements and fame"; those who he has heard of must have not been able to "hide their achievements and fame."

So, whether there are such people in this world is actually a mystery.

Jiang Lianheng then asked, "Since the top leaders of the Shiliyangchang are the 'three tycoons', and the docks at the Bund and Shiliupu are under their control, why didn't the people at the other docks come to help just now?"

Shen Shili explained: "No, there are so many docks on the Huangpu River, including the British Concession, the French Concession, and the Chinese Concession. How can they manage them all? It's just that they are in control of both the black and white, so everyone comes to worship them as their masters. They don't usually deal with them, but only when there is something wrong do they come to them to settle it!"

Jiang Lianheng and the other two looked at each other and felt more and more that the title of “Three Tycoons” was a bit unworthy of the title.

"Hiss—why do you think the Green Gang isn't that bad?"

Hearing this, Shin Se-ri's eyes widened immediately and she said hurriedly, "Boss, you can't say that. There are still strong men in the Qing Gang, but the current Qing Gang is completely different from the previous Qing Gang."

"Huh?" Jiang Lianheng was stunned. "What do you mean?"

Shin Shi-li was about to speak, but suddenly stopped and asked with a smile: "Boss, I've said so much, are you going to hire me as a guide? It only costs you one dollar a day, which is very cheap!"

Jiang Lianheng took out a silver dollar and said, "Here's the money. You tell me first. I'll give it to you. I want to hear the truth, not stories. Do you understand?"

"Ouke! Ouke!" Shin Se-ri nodded repeatedly.

"Then tell me first, why are the Green Gang in Shanghai different?"

"Hey, boss, outsiders don't understand the situation. They only know that there are three tycoons of the Green Gang in Shanghai. If you ask me, how can they be considered the leading gang leaders?"

At this point, Shin Se-ri suddenly looked around nervously, then lowered his voice and said:

"The three of them are nothing more than the little scoundrels from Zhengjiamuqiao. Apart from the Qing Gang's banner and family name, they don't have the slightest trace of being a Qing Gang member!"

"From the sound of it, it seems...all Qing Gang disciples behave like you?" Wen Tingge interrupted and asked.

"No, no, no, it's even more impossible for me!"

Shen Shili finally had some self-awareness, and immediately raised his thumb and said, "Boss, let me tell you, the real leader of the Green Gang is Chen Yingshi, the one who led the revolution, the Restoration Army, and the Grand Commander of Shanghai. The 'three tycoons' are nothing but small fry!"

As he spoke, he became afraid and could not help looking back frequently, for fear that people he knew would hear his "violent remarks".

"Unfortunately, Governor Chen was killed later, and the Qing Gang had no successor. It is no longer the same Qing Gang as before." Shen Shili continued, "The current Qing Gang is actually the little scoundrels that Inspector Huang's wife and Sister Guisheng have won over. They rely on the Qing Gang, but how can they be considered Qing Gang members!"

At this point, Jiang Lianheng finally understood.

Compared with the Qing Gang and the Hongmen, the gang has a shallow foundation, so it seems understandable that they now introduce the so-called "Three Tycoons" as the leading figures.

In short: to put it seriously, the Qing Gang's orthodoxy has been severed; to put it lightly, the gangsters' true colors have been revealed and they can no longer pretend!

I don’t know whether Shin Shili is a disciple of the Qing Gang or not. Anyway, when he said this, he looked somewhat heartbroken.

"If Chen Yingshi was still in the Qing Gang, there would be no chance for Wang Laojiu to show off his power at the dock!"

"That's a good point. Here's a dollar as a reward." Jiang Lianheng said nonchalantly, "But I'm not interested in dead people. I just know that the 'three tycoons' can't beat this Wang Laojiu."

Shen Shili shook his head and said, "Boss, you can't say that. They have just started fighting, and it's not certain who will win or lose!"

"That's even better. We have to start watching a play from the beginning!" Jiang Lianheng said with a smile, "Brother, if I want to meet this Wang Laojiu, where should I go to find him? The Anhui Provincial Guild Hall?"

"You can't find him. Wang Laojiu has no family background in Shanghai and he appears and disappears like a ghost. That's why he's hard to deal with!"

"He wouldn't never show up, would he?"

"That's not the case. Ask around with his fellow countrymen. As long as he's still in Shanghai, there's always a chance to run into him." Shen Shili immediately offered himself, "Boss, if you want to find him, I can run errands for you. The price is negotiable."

Jiang Lianheng nodded, and then agreed to meet again tomorrow, and urged him emphatically: "Do it well, and when you find the person, you will definitely not let him down."

Shin Se-ri was overjoyed. After bowing and saying goodbye, she quickly turned around, crossed the road, and ran quickly towards the city.

Seeing that he had walked a little further away, Jiang Lianheng turned around and whispered to Wen Tingge, "You're still alive. Go and see where he is getting information and who he's meeting. Don't rush back."

Wen Tingge was naturally prepared. It was not because he was worried about Shen Shili, but he wanted to use the eyes and ears of this local who traveled around the world to see where all kinds of people lived in the foreign land.

"Boss, what should we do now?" Liu Yansheng asked.

Jiang Lianheng said without hesitation: "Go back and have a meal, take a nap, change clothes, and go shopping in the Great World in the evening!"

(End of this chapter)