The arrogance started from Chinatown

Chapter 592 A Basin of Cold Water

A few days later, when Chen Zhengwei and others boarded the Warrior to Jivara, Cuba, a passenger ship from Victoria, Canada to San Francisco also arrived in San Francisco.

"We're here, it's right in front!" Looking at San Francisco in the distance, everyone from Xiesheng Hall rushed to the bow, with smiles and anticipation on their faces.

They will fight here next.

I heard that the status of Chinese people here is much higher.

Although they have some people and forces in Canada, they are all in Chinatown and they oppress the Chinese.

If it is not necessary, they will not leave Chinatown because they just don't want to be bullied.

Even an ordinary white person dares to insult them, and the police will exploit them at will.

“I wonder if the status of Chinese people here is as good as those people say!”

"It should be true, right? After all, we have fought several battles with the US government!"

Some people whispered, and as the ship entered the port, some people looked for a long time before pointing in the distance and said, "It's Chinese!"

There were mountains of goods piled up on the dock. Several wealthy Chinese businessmen in gentlemen's suits were talking about something, and some Chinese workers were loading the goods onto the ship.

These were textiles and grain destined for Panama.

"So many goods! How much do they cost?" Seeing those goods, Ma Liu's mind became moved.

It seems that the life of Chinese people here is really good.

"Those people don't have braids!" someone said.

Some members of Xieshengtang subconsciously touched the back of their heads.

Half of the members of Xieshengtang had pigtails, and the other half did not.

Canada's Chinatown is a small circle, and most of the people there stick to their traditions and culture. They keep braids to maintain contact with their hometown culture.

Therefore, for the sake of this "cultural identity", many members of these "Hongmen" branches also have braids.

"I've heard that Chinese people here don't have braids anymore. You guys will stand out if you have braids."

"Give me the knife!" A Xieshengtang member stretched out his hand to the side, and someone immediately handed him the knife.

He put the knife behind his head, gritted his teeth, and cut off the braid with his hand.

Messy hair fell from the back of his head.

The others hesitated and then followed suit.

Since the Chinese here don't have braids, they naturally didn't do it either in order to avoid being conspicuous.

When the gangway was put up, the people from Xieshengtang got off the boat. When they went through customs, the foreigners at customs simply took a quick look at their customs clearance documents and waved their hands to signal that they could pass.

After leaving customs, they saw many young Chinese people wearing gentlemen's suits and soft hats on the streets outside.

These people stood on the street smoking, chatting, and walking. The foreigners next to them were already accustomed to them and no one bothered them.

Some people would even chat with them with a smile.

After watching carefully for a while, the mood of these Xieshengtang members became better and better. Just as they had heard, the status of the Chinese here was indeed not low.

Much better than Canada.

However, this group of people standing at the dock were quickly noticed.

Seven or eight young men in gentleman's suits came over and looked them up and down: "Why are there people coming here at this time? Where are they from?"

It's already October, so there are definitely no ships coming from the Qing Dynasty.

“Are we all Chinese?” Ma Liu separated the others, bowed and said with a smile.

(To add, there are always comments saying that there was no China at that time, so we should not be called Chinese. In fact, in the Ming and Qing dynasties, people began to call themselves Chinese, especially overseas. In the Treaty of Nanjing signed by the Qing Dynasty in 1842, the name China was used to represent itself, and in the Treaty of Beijing in 1860, the name China was also used.

Officially, except in extremely formal occasions, European and American countries all call it China or the Chinese Empire, especially in countries where English is the main language. If not China, what should it be called?

"Of course it's Chinese." A young man in gentleman's suit said immediately.

"What's your last name?" Ma Liu asked again.

"Excuse me, my surname is Chen!" A young man in gentleman's suit in the middle smiled.

"What mountain?" Ma Liu asked again.

"What mountain?" The young man surnamed Chen raised his eyebrows. A young man next to him immediately thought of something and stepped forward to ask, "Are you from the Hongmen?"

"Canada Xieshengtang, Ma Liu!" Ma Liu bowed.

The faces of the henchmen also turned cold: "People from the Hongmen came here? Do you know what San Francisco's name is?"

Originally, most of the gangs in Chinatown were branches of the Hongmen.

When Chen Zhengwei rose to prominence in San Francisco, he had many conflicts with them. Of course, all those Hongmen branches are gone now.

Therefore, when they saw that these people were from the Hongmen, those thugs became a little unfriendly and thought that they were here to cause trouble.

One of them took out a whistle, put it to his mouth and blew it. The sharp sound of the whistle attracted half of the people on the street to look over.

Then some people poured out from the shops or the alley entrances, gathering here like the sea.

But in just a moment, there were three layers of people surrounding it.

This made Ma Liu and other people from Xie Sheng Tang change color.

I didn't expect to get into so much trouble just after arriving in San Francisco.

Seeing the other party's attitude, Ma Liu knew that the other party was not only not from the Hongmen, but also had some hostility towards the Hongmen.

If we don't handle it well today, we'll all be left here.

Ma Liu quickly bowed and said, "We are brothers from all corners of the world, and all Chinese people are one family! We all come from poor backgrounds, and it's not easy to live in Canada, so we want to come here to make a living!"

"If there is any misunderstanding, I apologize here first!"

Soon, this matter reached Rong Jiacai's ears.

Yan Qingyou went to Chicago. With more than one hundred Hongmen members, the matter was not a big deal, but it was not a small one either. The people below did not dare to make the decision, so they sent someone to inform Rong Jiacai.

"Hongmen?" Rong Jiacai leaned back in his chair and thought about it.

He didn't like the people in the Hongmen. From the information he got, whether in Southeast Asia or the United States, the sale of opium and the trafficking of human beings were closely related to the various Hongmen gangs.

But throwing people into the sea makes people feel intolerant.

If it gets out, it won't be good.

It would be even worse if people spread false information about it.

"Bring their leader to the club so I can meet him!" Rong Jiacai said after thinking for a moment.

When Ma Liu's subordinates heard that they were only allowed to meet someone, they quit on the spot.

"Wait here, I'm going to go see Mr. Rong!" Ma Liu was still sober, and then asked with a smile: "Can I ask someone to accompany me?"

"After all, I'm a rude person and I'm afraid of being rude. It's good to have someone around to remind me so I don't say the wrong thing!"

The others looked at him with a half-smile and tilted their heads: "Just one. Come with us."

Soon, Ma Liu was brought to the club. When he entered the club, he saw handmade carpets everywhere. The walls were decorated with various precious woods and oil paintings. There were several electric lights hanging inside, which made the place brightly lit. He took a second look at the club.

After all, there is no such thing in Canada. And the foreign waiters that can be seen everywhere in the club, both men and women, are of good temperament, especially the female waiters.

Where can you see so many beautiful women in Victoria, Canada?

Ma Liu looked for several times before he calmed down and looked away. Then he saw a young man sitting on the sofa, looking at him with a smile. He was also dressed in a gentleman's suit and wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses.

He is thin and looks quite gentle.

"This is Mr. Rong." said the henchman.

"Mr. Rong, I'm Ma Liu from Xieshengtang. I'm sorry to meet you." Ma Liu bowed.

He knew Chen Lao Hu, but didn't know this Mr. Rong. However, he thought he was Chen Lao Hu's trusted subordinate.

"Mr. Ma, sit down and talk!" Rong Jiacai said with a smile, motioning Ma Liu to sit down.

"I'll get straight to the point. Mr. Ma, you are from Canada? Where in Canada? What's the situation there?"

"We came from Victoria, where there are four to five thousand Chinese people. We brothers used to be able to make a living, but now it's hard to even make a living," Ma Liu said with a wry smile.

"Oh? How do you mean?" Rong Jiacai asked curiously.

"There used to be some merchant ships going there. The Chinese also needed food, clothing, shelter and other necessities when they arrived overseas... But now we haven't seen any merchant ships for more than a year, and we brothers can't stand it any longer. Plus, those foreigners are bullying us unreasonably, so we brothers want to come here to find a way out."

Rong Jiacai understood after hearing this.

Nowadays, all those merchant ships are heading to San Francisco, where there are many Chinese people. No matter what goods they bring, they can just sell them directly to Chen Zhengwei, and they can also leave with a large number of easy-to-sell goods such as guns and bullets.

Naturally, no one went to Canada.

"So what are your plans here?" Rong Jiacai asked again.

"Not yet. We plan to take a look at the situation here first and then make a decision. We brothers don't do this for anything else but to have enough food and clothes and not be bullied. Please rest assured, Mr. Rong. We have heard of Mr. Chen's reputation and we will definitely not cause trouble here." Ma Liu said.

"Is that so..." Rong Jiacai thought for a moment and said, "You want to find opportunities in the United States, and we are not unreasonable people. But there is one thing I have to tell you first!"

"Mr. Rong, please speak!" Ma Liu finally breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the other party's words.

"First, you are not allowed to sell opium to the Chinese! Mr. Chen hates this the most. If you do it, don't blame us for being ruthless!"

"Secondly, if I find out about any kidnapping or robbery of Chinese people, I will show no mercy either!"

"Third, there is no place for you in California. As for other places in the United States, you can go and have a look."

Rong Jiacai warned slowly.

"That's easy to say. We came here just to make a living and would never do such things! But we are new here and haven't figured out the situation in the United States yet, and some brothers are coming later. Can we stay in San Francisco for a few days, find out the situation, and then decide where to go?" Ma Liu begged in a humble manner.

"How many people are there?" Rong Jiacai was a little surprised.

"There are still two or three hundred people!" Ma Liu said immediately.

In fact, half of the two or three hundred people behind were small businessmen who came over to inquire about the situation.

There are only more than two hundred people who are truly members of Xieshengtang.

However, he regarded those small businessmen as his own food. If he wanted to develop in the United States, how could he do without them? So he planned to take them with him and leave San Francisco.

"Remember, don't cause trouble! Otherwise no one can protect you!" Rong Jiacai didn't make things difficult for the other party.

After meeting Ma Liu, he soon returned to Chinatown.

Ma Liu and his companions arrived in San Francisco with great expectations, but were poured a bucket of cold water as soon as they got off the boat.

He could only find a small hotel in San Francisco with his people to settle down, while he inquired about the situation here and waited for others.

After learning about the prosperity of San Francisco, the status of Chinese people here, and the ongoing construction of Los Angeles, the people at Xie Sheng Tang no longer wanted to leave.

But you have to go even if you don't want to.

Chen Lao Hu is very powerful here, and Mr. Rong has also made it clear in advance.

If they stay here and refuse to leave, they might be beaten to death one day.

Soon, after confirming that Chinese people not only had a high status in San Francisco, but also that no one in the entire United States dared to bully them, they decided to visit the eastern United States.

For example, a big city like New York.

……

A cargo ship with the US flag is parked in the port of Jivara, Cuba.

"It's really troublesome. I was afraid of scaring them, so I changed the boat!" Chen Zhengwei got off the boat yawning. The fleet stopped twenty nautical miles away, and he changed to a cargo ship.

"What the hell is this?" Chen Zhengwei just got off the boat and saw a lump of it on the ground. He walked around it with a twitching face.

Shivara is a small port, mainly used for loading and unloading agricultural products, which are loaded and unloaded by various horse-drawn and ox-drawn carts.

Therefore, the air here has a high content of cow dung.

"I guess there are no good hotels here! You guys go look for one." Chen Zhengwei was giving instructions to the people around him when several people in customs uniforms from the port came over and looked Chen Zhengwei and the people behind him up and down.

Chen Zhengwei's yellow skin made them raise their eyebrows. Chinese?

However, looking at Chen Zhengwei's physique and the people behind him, he doesn't seem like someone who is easy to mess with.

They didn't want to cause trouble, they just wanted to remind:
"Sir, you need to register your ship and cargo information, and pay a fee. And your identity information."

Chen Zhengwei didn't even look at the two of them. Naturally, he would let his men take care of this matter.

Su Ya, the captain of the transport ship and two customs officers walked aside, stuffed some US dollars into the bag, and then all the formalities went smoothly.

Chen Zhengwei then found the most upscale hotel in the area.

The two wooden doors at the entrance of the hotel were pushed open, and Chen Zhengwei led a group of people in.

The guests in the hotel also looked up.

Among them were a few travelers or businessmen who were dressed fairly respectably.

After seeing Chen Zhengwei's appearance clearly, they all withdrew their gazes.

The first floor of the hotel is dimly lit. It is a restaurant and bar with waitresses who wear cheap perfume, have rough skin and act as prostitutes. The air is filled with the smell of food spices, and rats and bugs can be seen occasionally.

"Is this a hotel? I fucking thought I was in the countryside!" Chen Zhengwei cursed, and then a dozen of his men followed him in.

The boss was unsure whether these people were coming to stay at the hotel or to rob it because of the aggressive manner in which they came.

"Is this the best hotel in Shivara?" Su Ya, who was responsible for translating and asking for directions, also began to doubt his life and asked the local who was leading the way.

"Yes, this is the best hotel in Shivara!" The local nodded heavily.

"Brother Wei, this is the best hotel in Shivara. Do you want to stay here?" Su Ya asked Chen Zhengwei helplessly and embarrassedly.

"The transaction will be held tomorrow night. Am I that kind of pretentious person?" Chen Zhengwei cursed.

"Sir, do you want to eat or stay overnight?" The hotel waitress came over and asked cautiously. The strong smell of cheap perfume made Chen Zhengwei sneeze.

"Damn, my rhinitis is coming back!" Chen Zhengwei pinched his nose and walked out with a dark face.

I'm not being pretentious. What kind of hardships hasn't Mr. Chen gone through?
He has rhinitis.

"Find out who the richest man here is and where he lives!" Chen Zhengwei waved his hand.

"When you go out to do something, you can't be too pretentious. But when you encounter a problem, there are always more solutions than problems!"

(End of this chapter)