The arrogance started from Chinatown

Chapter 222: Asking you to pray to Mazu to bless me to get rich, not to bless you to get rich!
The next morning, gongs and drums sounded and firecrackers blasted.

Huang Kaijia opened the window and took a look, then immediately woke up the others in the room.

"Hurry up and get up, the lion dancers are coming!"

In fact, even if he didn't say it, the others couldn't sleep either, so they all got up from their beds and went to the window to look.

I saw gongs and drums clearing the way below, someone teasing the lions, and six lion dances tumbling and jumping, shaking their heads and wagging their tails.

"I haven't seen lion dance for a long time. I almost thought it was at home." Ouyang Geng said.

"Come on, let's go down and take a look!"

"It's not as clear from below as from above!" said Cai Shaoji.

"But it's more lively downstairs than upstairs!" Ouyang Geng laughed, quickly put on his clothes and went downstairs.

After all, it’s rare to experience this kind of excitement in the United States.

A few people watched the lion dance for a long time, and then saw a long queue in the distance. They went over curiously and found that someone was handing out red envelopes.

And they were Chen Zhengwei's subordinates. Two of them were distributing the money, and there were several others behind them putting the money into the red envelopes.

"Thank you, Mr. Chen! I wish Mr. Chen good luck!" The Chinese workers who received the red envelopes were all smiling and kept saying nice things.

"It looks like that's a lot of money!" Huang Kaijia saw that those people stuffed one-yuan bills into the red envelopes and sighed, there must be thousands of them.

"Not only here, there's more in front!" Zhong Wenyao pointed to the distance.

Zhan Tianyou was curious and asked a few questions. Then he was a little surprised. He came back and said to others: "Everyone in Chinatown has one. More than 40,000 red envelopes have been given out in one go!"

After this was said, others were also shocked.

"Mr. Chen is really generous!"

During the Chinese New Year, he gave out red envelopes worth tens of thousands of yuan at street fairs, and no one knows how much he is worth.

People like Zhang Kangren and Tan Yaoxun both came from poor families. When they saw the money given out by Chen Zhengwei, they felt that Mr. Chen was approachable, which made them admire him very much.

You have to know that the Qing government funded their studies in the United States, and their lives were not poor, but they were not well-off either.

The monthly living expenses were only a dozen dollars, and books were extremely expensive at that time.

An ordinary novel costs $1, and people squeeze money out of their living expenses to buy books and then read them in turn.

……

Chen Zhengwei got up very early today, at nine o'clock, and touched the eyes of the lion dance. Then he went to a teahouse nearby to watch the lion dance for a while, and then went to the martial arts hall to call Lin Changning to go to the Mazu Temple.

The Mazu Temple is on Waverly Street, only half a street away from Tavern Street and one street away from Chen Zhengwei's current house.

Chen Zhengwei didn’t know how many times he had passed by here, but this was his first time coming in.

After asking everyone inside to leave, Chen Zhengwei held a stick of incense and bowed toward the statue of Mazu with a pious look on his face.

"If you bless me with wealth, I will build a temple for you! Look at your place, it's so shabby and there's not even a golden statue. It doesn't suit your status!" Chen Zhengwei muttered to himself.

He has always been a devout believer of Mazu.

There is no need to kneel, what matters is your sincerity!

Chen Zhengwei casually inserted the incense into the incense burner, turned around and saw Lin Changning kneeling in front of the statue with his eyes closed. He seemed to be only slightly less pious than himself.

It's too superficial.

After leaving the Mazu Temple, Lin Changning went home, while Chen Zhengwei went to the casino.

Today is the first day of the Chinese New Year, and the casino opened early. As soon as I entered the casino, I saw many people gathered in front of a gambling table, shouting "Leopard, Leopard, Leopard!"

"It's a leopard again!"

"Is this true? This is the sixth leopard!"

As soon as Chen Zhengwei heard this when he entered the room, his eyebrows frowned and a grim smile appeared on his face.

Someone came to his casino to cheat?

Six leopards, are you so lucky? Even if I load six bullets into my gun, I can't kill you.

"Why are there so many people?" Chen Zhengwei stepped forward, pulled aside his men and walked in.

"Brother Wei, Sister Wanyun has thrown six leopards in a row!" the henchman next to him shouted.

"What the hell?" Chen Zhengwei was stunned.

Did you hear it correctly?

"Brother Wei, happy new year and great prosperity!" When others saw Chen Zhengwei coming, they quickly made way for him and said new year greetings.

"Sister Wanyun is so prosperous, Brother Wei must be even more prosperous!"

"Master Wei!" Wan Yun was wearing a red cheongsam with a coat on the outside, and was standing next to the gambling table.

Seeing Chen Zhengwei coming, he came over with a happy face and took Chen Zhengwei's arm.

"What's going on?" Chen Zhengwei asked.

Then everyone started talking. Wanyun had just arrived at the casino and saw them playing dice, muttering "good luck".

Then Wanyun came over and threw a leopard.

Then he threw six leopards in a row.

The thugs in the casino stopped playing and came to see Wanyun.

"Is it true? So outrageous?" Chen Zhengwei was a little skeptical.

He couldn't believe that someone was so lucky!

This is not throwing six big ones and six small ones, this is throwing six fucking leopards!
Especially Wanyun, if she was really that lucky, how could she be sold to San Francisco? And although she didn't gamble, she would sometimes throw a few dice when she went in and out of the casino.

"Just throwing it for fun!" Wanyun said with a smile.

"Throw two more to me and see!" Chen Zhengwei was curious.

"If I miss, don't blame me, Mr. Wei. It was just luck!" Wan Yun thought for a while and said, she didn't think she could throw it out again, but she didn't want to refuse Chen Zhengwei.

She actually had some anticipation in her heart, and her expression showed a bit of girlish excitement.

Then he threw the investment into the dice cup, shook it up and down in his hand a few times, and then slammed it on the table.

Then he carefully moved the dice cup aside, revealing first a six, and then two sixes.

"Seven leopards!" The surrounding thugs started to make a commotion.

Looking at Wanyun is like seeing the God of Gamblers.

Chen Zhengwei picked up the dice, looked at it, then threw it into the dice cup and shook it.

One, two, four.

It seems there is no problem.

"Try it again!" Chen Zhengwei said to Wan Yun again. This time, Wan Yun shook the dice cup enthusiastically, as if trying to show off to Chen Zhengwei.

But this time it's only 566.
The thugs around him sighed immediately, as if they had lost.

However, seeing seven leopards in a row was an eye-opener for everyone.

Chen Zhengwei thought for a while and took Wanyun upstairs.

"You have to pray to Mazu to bless me to get rich. It's no use for you to get rich. You can only get rich if I get rich!" Chen Zhengwei said as he walked.

"I pray to Mazu every day to keep Lord Wei safe and sound!" Wanyun felt a little aggrieved.

"What's the use of peace? You need to get rich!"

After Chen Zhengwei went upstairs, he saw the white jade statue of Mazu next to the wine cabinet. He picked up the incense from the side, bowed towards the statue with a pious look, and then inserted the incense into the cabinet.

He felt this one was more stable than the one in the Tianhou Temple.

"Brother Wei, Great Poland is here."

"Let him come here!"

A moment later, Dapolan was brought over; "Mr. Chen, we have found information about Jamie Mays's enemies."

"Tell me about it!" Chen Zhengwei asked immediately. He had asked Greater Poland to find out if Demimes had any enemies before. It took more than ten days to find out.

"Juan Vives, a Sephardic Jew!" Greater Poland said directly.

"The one selling cigars?" Chen Zhengwei asked after thinking for a moment.

There were only a few well-known figures in the San Francisco underworld, and he knew only one person named Juan.

"Yes, Mr. Chen. Juan Vives has been coming to San Francisco since his father's generation, mainly to trade slaves in Southeast Asia..."

"Later, when Jamie Mays rose to power, he clashed with Juan's family, which suffered great losses. In addition, the slave trade was abolished, so Juan led his people to leave San Francisco ten years ago. Later, he became a cigar smuggler."

"Because of this relationship, he rarely returned to San Francisco, but the hatred between the two sides was never resolved, and his people never entered Jewish territory."

"Many members of the Juan family died at the hands of Jamie Mays...Jamie Mays still controls some of the assets left by the Juan family."

"How many people does Juan have in San Francisco?" Chen Zhengwei asked.

"More than 30 people. There is a Sephardi company over at the port. It is his trading company."

"Capture Juan's two men and kill them, then throw them to the border of the Jewish territory." Chen Zhengwei said casually after hearing this.

Anyway, no matter whether it is useful or not, let's try to stir up trouble first.

Maybe a fight would break out.

If there is no fight, then increase the intensity. Whoever makes money by illegal means will have a good temper?

If your subordinates have all been killed and you don’t react at all, you’d be a cuckold.

"Do it more naturally, so that they have an excuse or reason to appear in the Jewish territory!" Chen Zhengwei said again.

"I know what to do. The port is not far from the Jewish territory. We should find an opportunity to lure them over and kill them." Greater Poland immediately understood.

Since following Chen Zhengwei, he has done a lot of things like this and has gained a lot of experience.

After finishing his explanation, Chen Zhengwei pressed the cigarette butt into the ashtray, got up and went home to change his clothes.

Lin Changning also changed his clothes.

Afterwards, Chen Zhengwei took his people to Dingshilou, and soon guests began to arrive.

The first guest who arrived surprised Chen Zhengwei somewhat. It was Scannell, who came with his wife.

"Welcome, Mr. Director!" Chen Zhengwei and Lin Changning greeted them with a smile.

"It's the former director!" Scannell forced a smile. "I handed in my resignation letter this morning, and the mayor has approved it."

Of course, the resignation letter was just a nice way of saying it to make him look more respectable.

Even if he didn't hand in his resignation letter, the mayor would have fired him today.

After greeting Scannell's wife, Chen Zhengwei and Scannell stood aside and talked: "This is only temporary. It won't be long before you can return to that position."

"I hope so." Scannell said. He was actually not in a good mood, but he needed Chen Zhengwei's help at this time, so he came so early just to have a chat with Chen Zhengwei.

"Of course, we are friends, I will definitely help you!" Chen Zhengwei said with a smile. "What kind of person is the new director?"

It took such a long time to change the chief, obviously the new chief is not one of the three sheriffs.

The mayor wanted to take control of the investigation bureau in a short period of time, so he planned to choose one of the three sheriffs, but none of the three were reliable.

The conflict between him and Chen Zhengwei came to a temporary end.

So it took more time to find the right person.

"We don't know yet, but it's definitely a candidate that meets the mayor's expectations." Scannell shrugged.

Chen Zhengwei understood what he meant. The mayor wanted someone who would not be in cahoots with Chen Zhengwei and who had the ability to clean up the Investigation Bureau.

"I think the mayor's expectations will be dashed!" Chen Zhengwei said with a smile.

Soon other people arrived, first some wealthy businessmen from the port and shareholders of the ironworks, and then the owner of a small shipyard.

Chen Zhengwei brought Lin Changning to greet the guests who arrived one after another, exchanging a few words with each of them while also paying attention to Lin Changning.

Lin Changning was not very good at small talk and did not know how to socialize, but her demeanor was very generous and steady, not at all like someone her age.

Although he speaks little, it doesn't make people feel looked down upon.

And when he speaks, he uses a slower pace and looks people in the eye.

Chen Zhengwei was very satisfied.

The hostess's performance is very important.

"George! I'll introduce someone to you later!" Chen Zhengwei patted George on the shoulder. A moment later, he saw Frank Nash from the San Francisco Examiner and took George over.

"Frank! Let me introduce you to someone. This is George, the president of the San Francisco Chronicle!"

"This is Frank, the president of the San Francisco Examiner! I still have a small stake in the San Francisco Examiner!"

Chen Zhengwei introduced the two people with a smile, and then Judge Brown and Jones also came.

After Jones arrived, he quickly formed a small circle among the crowd. This guy really has a wide range of friends.

In addition, people like James and many Republican members also came.

"Pastor Hobart, I didn't expect you to come!" Chen Zhengwei greeted Pastor Hobart with a smile. He was a devout believer.

"I just happen to have some time today!" Hobart smiled gently.

Chinatown is filled with horse-drawn carriages that look very expensive.

After the owner of the carriage got off and entered the restaurant, the carriage was led to the street next to it to wait.

In the distance, several reporters kept taking note of the visitors' identities and thinking about how to write a press release.

The arrival of customs officer Chester is the highlight.

Because of the conflict between the two parties, the port was shut down for three days. Unexpectedly, Chester came to attend Chen Zhengwei's banquet in person.

Therefore, when Chester appeared, many people looked over.

"Welcome, Mr. Chester! And Mrs. Chester! We're glad you're here!" Chen Zhengwei and Lin Changning greeted them with a smile.

"Mr. Chen!" Chester smiled and shook hands with Chen Zhengwei.

Even if he disliked Chen Zhengwei, he had no intention of offending him.

After everyone arrived and chatted for another half an hour, the banquet began.

The banquet was a buffet of Chinese and Western food, and there were actually quite a few Chinese cold dishes as well.

Chen Zhengwei stood in front of everyone with a glass of wine in his hand and said, "In our Chinese calendar, yesterday was the last day of the year, and today is the first day of the new year!"

Chen Zhengwei paused for a moment and then said:
"So I've experienced one year more than you!"

Everyone chuckled.

“We can’t stop the pace of time, but we will embrace the future with a new attitude. We are the same in this respect!”

The crowd began to applaud.

“We’ve all been through a lot last year, and San Francisco will be completely different this year! I hope each of us can play an important role in this change!”

Chen Zhengwei looked at everyone, then said with a very determined smile without any hesitation:
"For example, me. There is no doubt that I will play a greater role in this city in the future! I think no one will object, right?"

Chen Zhengwei stood in the front with a high-spirited look on his face. He was making a high-profile announcement that he would have greater influence and status in the new year.

The crowd applauded again.

It has to be said that this kind of self-confidence and high profile can easily influence people.

"By the way, there is one more thing I want to say. My club will open in seven days! Everything is the best in San Francisco, and you will find what you want there!" Chen Zhengwei raised his glass and gestured to everyone.

Of course, advertising for the club is just a side effect.

The purpose of holding a banquet is to demonstrate one's influence and status. I believe that some news about this banquet will spread quickly.

This can save a lot of trouble in business.

(End of this chapter)