Nanyang 1931: From piglets to giants

Chapter 33 No good banquet
Xuehua Hall, back hall.

At a long Western-style dining table, Master Zhang Yucai slowly sat down at the head seat and gestured with his hand. The twenty-one presidents of chambers of commerce on both sides of the long table pulled out their chairs and slowly sat down.

The 21 members are from:
Fujian Guild Hall, Huizhou Guild Hall, Guangxi Guild Hall, Chaozhou Eight Districts Guild Hall, Panyu Guild Hall, Zhongshan Guild Hall, Dong'an Guild Hall, Huining Guild Hall, Sanshui Guild Hall, Fuzhou Guild Hall, Yongchun Guild Hall, Chayang Guild Hall, Jiaying Guild Hall, Chixi Guild Hall, Qiongzhou Guild Hall, Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, Selangor Tin Miners Association, and Rubber Workers' Union.

These twenty-one representatives plus Zhang Yucai himself, a total of twenty-two people, almost represent the vast majority of Chinese in Kuala Lumpur society. It is not an exaggeration to say that this is the highest authority organized by the Chinese in Kuala Lumpur themselves.

However, although they sat down, there were only cold dishes on the table, but no hot dishes. Although everyone seemed to be chatting enthusiastically and trying to build relationships, they were obviously absent-minded and spoke mostly politely.

At 5:55, the concierge suddenly called out the name of the person who was to be named. "Taiyou Mining, Mr. Zheng Yi, representing Mr. Li Xiaoshi."

In an instant, the twenty-two people stopped talking to each other, and everyone stared at the door until Zheng Yi, wearing a well-fitting suit, walked in from outside.

You know, Zheng Yi is a bit of a tech geek, so this is his first time attending such a party.
Similarly, these big guys were seeing him for the first time, so they all looked at him in unison.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Zheng Yi, and I'm the general manager of Taiyou Machinery. I'm sorry to be here uninvited. Tonight, I'm Li Xiaoshi. If you want to talk to Li Xiaoshi about anything, just talk to me. I can make the decision on Taiyou Machinery's affairs."

After saying that, Zheng Yi became quite nervous and scanned the people at the table one by one, especially Zhang Yucai who was sitting at the very back, at the first seat.

This man was about sixty years old, older than Li Jiqian. He was wearing a soft satin jacket, obviously of the Qing Dynasty style, and holding a bracelet made of either topaz or beeswax on his hand.

(Photo by Zhang Yucai)

When he saw Zheng Yi coming in, he actually laughed out loud.

"Are you Zheng Yi, little brother Zheng? Great, great, I've heard of you a long time ago. You can build machines, you're a real talent!

Since you said you would represent Li Xiaoshi tonight, okay, I have reserved a seat for Li Xiannephew as well, right where you are standing now, Xiaohong.

"master."

"Serve the food! It's time to eat. Also serve this young brother Zheng Yi, no, nephew Li Daxian, a set of bowls and chopsticks!"

"Yes, let's have dinner~~"

As soon as he shouted, countless beautiful waitresses with pretty faces and curvy figures began to serve the hot dishes one by one. One of them even took a pair of empty bowls and chopsticks and stuffed them directly into Zheng Yi's hands.

But there was no stool for him.

Although there was no stool for him, everyone was looking at him.

Seeing that he was obviously confused and at a loss, they all started laughing.

Zheng Yi was really panicked, knowing that today's dinner might not be a good one, as this was a test to intimidate him.

It was clear that Zhang Yucai had gathered twenty-one bosses who best represented the local Chinese forces in Kuala Lumpur to put pressure on him.

Since he came to replace Li Xiaoshi, he could only bear the pressure of these people on behalf of Li Xiaoshi. At least he seemed to be much easier to bully than Li Xiaoshi.

"Are you going to turn against me?"

He had an urge to turn around and leave, but after thinking it over he stopped.

Turning around and leaving at this time almost made it clear that he could not negotiate the matter. Li Xiaoshi would be the one to negotiate tomorrow, so his trip would be in vain.

Li Xiaoshi said that he had arranged someone to escort him today, but that was undoubtedly a waste.

'what do I do? '

"What would he do if Li Xiaoshi came?" People are forced into doing things. Zhang Yucai and these twenty-one presidents treated him like this. Of course, he was a little angry in his heart. Instinctively, he knew that he couldn't lose face at this time.

Those voices mocking him really irritated him a bit.

With a clang, Zheng Yi threw the empty bowl in his hand.

The fall stopped everyone's laughter, and they all looked at him seriously. However, a large group of servants in the cafeteria pulled out their guns without any hesitation and pointed them directly at him.

Boom, boom, boom.

Zheng Yi's heart beat faster and faster. With the black muzzle of a gun pointed at him, it was impossible for him to say that he was not afraid. Even though he knew that Zhang Yucai would not dare to kill him, he still felt scared.

However, somehow, even though he was extremely nervous and his heart was about to jump out of his throat, under the muzzle of the gun, he actually had an urge to go wild or even fight back.

Even he himself didn't know that when he was pinched and hurt, the ferocity that had always been suppressed in his bones would be directly aroused.

The cowardice, timidity and fear that I had felt just now disappeared without a trace at this moment, and there was even a kind of excitement and eagerness that came from deep within me.

He didn't know if this was a rebound, but he knew that he seemed to be in particularly good shape now.

It is particularly suitable for dealing with this so-called show of force.

"Excuse me, everyone, and Mr. Zhang, I have a problem. I can't hold things in my hands when I'm standing. Could anyone help me and give me a seat?"

After saying that, Zheng Yi's eyes swept over the eyes of everyone at the table one by one.

"No? If not, I'm leaving."

He really couldn't believe it. Among the twenty-two chamber of commerce presidents, was there not one who wanted to please Li Xiaoshi?
Even if they were all representatives of the old forces, were there only a few who were more open-minded and wanted to transform? Were they determined to follow Zhang Yucai to the bitter end and fight them to the bitter end?
Sure enough, after he finished speaking, someone suddenly said, "Master Zhang, everyone, I think since Brother Zheng is here on behalf of Master Li, he should be a fellow Cantonese, at least one of us. We should give him a seat."

"Look, there are twenty-one people sitting on both sides of this table. There are eleven people sitting opposite me, but only ten sitting on my side. Isn't this unbalanced? I suggest we try to find a seat for Brother Zheng Yi."

As he spoke, he actually stood up slightly and moved his chair further inward.

"Skewer it, just string it together and the space will be free."

When he did this, the others couldn't help but look at Zhang Yucai. Zhang Yucai simply closed his eyes and said nothing.

Seeing this, everyone followed suit and moved away one by one.

After all, everyone is here to discuss business. Giving them a warning is fine, but if they really provoke them to leave, then their trip would have been in vain.

In this way, everyone soon found a seat for Zheng Yi. The maid was quite sensible and brought a chair over for Zheng Yi to sit on.

Zheng Yi actually felt a bit comfortable sitting there. He bowed to the man who had just spoken for him and said, "What's your name, brother?"

"Chayang Guild Hall, Gao Huan."

"Thank you, Brother Gao. I will remember you."

As he spoke, Zheng Yi crossed his legs and smiled. He saw several bottles of red wine in decanters on the table. They should share one bottle for every four people.

Zheng Yi took it directly and took a big sip from the decanter.

"Excuse me, I'm thirsty. Let me have a drink first. Master Zhang, have your men put away their guns. I'm a coward and I can't talk about anything at gunpoint."

(End of this chapter)