To be honest, running a shop is a rather dull affair, and this is something Zheng Bai Cheng has deeply experienced in his two lifetimes. When things get busy, it's manageable; you can at least distract yourself. Moreover, when there are more people around, chatting and laughing, it makes the shop lively.
The Yau Ma Tei area, although economically not as prosperous as the main island, and even less so than Central, is bustling with people. While many are poor, there are also many gangs.
Recently, the shop has been closing quite late, and he often gets to witness some excitement at night.
A few nights ago, a grocery store worker named Qiang suddenly returned and said, "Zheng, hurry up and close the door, someone is about to settle scores on the street." Although Zheng Bai Cheng had a rough idea of what settling scores meant and was curious, when his father told him to close the door, he immediately prepared to do so. To his surprise, Qiang even pulled down the roller shutter that had never been lowered before, giving him a sense of impending storm. He looked out at the street, and other shops were also closing their doors.
Once they had secured the doors, Qiang felt relieved and said to Zheng Bai Cheng, "Good boy, sigh, if I had come back a bit later, our shop might have been smashed..."
After Qiang explained, Zheng Bai Cheng finally understood that things were really chaotic at that moment.
Just then, loud noises erupted outside. After climbing onto his bed, he looked out through the small window. Two groups of people had gathered in the streets, both sides holding something in their hands. It was too far away, and with the lighting, he couldn't see clearly what they were holding.
Based on his memories from movies in his past life, they should be holding steel pipes and some prohibited knives. Otherwise, with so many people on the other side, they would surely be cut down without proper weapons.
His shop was right in the middle of the street, and he recognized who was on both sides. The last time, it was the "Long Mao" gang, and the woman across the street was unfamiliar to him.
"Long Mao, if you know what's good for you, clear this street. If you don't, do you believe I will cut you down?" The person across was very arrogant, as if he had Long Mao completely under his thumb.
"Get lost, you bastard! Today, I'm going to cut you down! Brothers, let's go and take them down, a hundred coins for each one we cut!"
Long Mao had no intention of negotiating; he directly led his men to charge at the opponent.
The other side didn't expect Long Mao to charge straight at them, which stunned them for a moment before they reacted and rushed forward, but they were a beat too late.
This was the first time Zheng Bai Cheng witnessed the legendary street fight of Hong Kong. At first, some people pretended to be casual, but he had the most authority to speak on this; after all, hadn't he heard that bystanders see things more clearly?
He saw two men, both wielding steel pipes, seemingly familiar with each other, chatting while they fought. There were many like them, making a ruckus as they clashed.
However, in the center of the fight, it was a different story. Both sides were fiercely attacking each other. He could already see that Long Mao had sustained injuries, his clothes torn, and the opposing leader was similarly wounded.
Someone had their arm chopped off, only to be cut down by someone else, and once on the ground, it was almost a death sentence, with people occasionally trampling over them.
But as the saying goes, "In the world of gangsters, one is not in control of their own fate." Perhaps influenced by the chaos, some had already lost their minds, pushed to the sides, and upon seeing an unfamiliar face, they charged in and cut that person down.
Quickly, such incidents began to spread around, and soon the fight escalated to a fever pitch. Zheng Bai Cheng realized that it was fortunate he had been brought back by Qiang; otherwise, he couldn't imagine what would have happened.
Thinking about it, it was like the movie starring Hong Gu; on construction sites, there was no way to rise above. If one couldn't take it, they would likely end up in a gang, surrounded by those brainless young punks living for the moment, drinking today and forgetting tomorrow. They might wake up in the morning unscathed, but by nightfall, they could be cut down or left maimed... it would be better to be dead. Then they would be discarded by the gang, or dragged off like a dead dog, not knowing where they would end up.
This thought sent shivers down Zheng Bai Cheng's spine; this place was too dangerous.
After half an hour of fighting outside, it finally stopped. Neither Long Mao nor the other side gained the upper hand. Long Mao initially had the advantage, but others were slacking off. Although they eventually fought seriously, it was too late to maintain their advantage.
He saw Long Mao and the opposing leader both lying on the ground, and when they realized their leader had fallen, the fight began to disperse. At that moment, the police arrived. In fact, Zheng Bai Cheng had seen the police coming long ago; they just stood back and didn't approach. It was only when both sides were nearly done that they finally appeared.
When the police arrived, everyone obediently crouched down, covering their heads, looking quite practiced. After a while, a white van arrived. Then the police began... to clean up the mess.
No wonder in movies about Hong Kong's gang life, they often say the police come to clean up; it turns out it comes from this.
Once the chaos outside settled, Zheng Bai Cheng finally fell asleep. That night was a good time to rest; he had been quite tired these past few days. However, he didn't sleep deeply that night. When he woke up in the morning, he still had dark circles under his eyes, and at the slightest noise, he would wake up.
At five o'clock, he got up, prepared breakfast, and hoped to make some money in the morning. When he opened the door, he sensed a lingering smell of blood in the air. He estimated that this bloody scent wouldn't dissipate anytime soon; there had been too much bloodshed last night, making him feel a bit nauseous.
However, many people still came to buy breakfast in the morning. They seemed to have gotten used to it and didn't care much about these things.
Moreover, some were discussing the incident, but they told Zheng Bai Cheng, "Ah Cheng, you better be careful. This territory has changed hands, and it looks like you'll have to pay a new protection fee."
Zheng Bai Cheng was mentally prepared for this. It was simple; when a new official takes office, they often want to show their power. With a change in territory, these shops would naturally have to pay more to congratulate the new boss.
By six o'clock, Qiang also got up and said, "These punks are affecting our business. In a couple of days, when the new boss comes in, we'll have to pay an extra hundred coins as a congratulatory gift."
It turned out that Qiang was aware of such matters; he probably had gotten used to it. Truly, it was a fantastical era.