Nanyang 1931: From piglets to giants

Chapter 40 Tea Money
"Master Guan, I, Zhang Yucai, today wish to become sworn brothers with Brother Zheng Yi. From now on, we will share happiness and hardships together. Come, brothers, burn incense!"

Without saying anything, Zhang Yucai almost dragged Zheng Yi to the front of the Guan Gong statue, and knelt on the ground and kowtowed.

Ignoring his speechless look, he forced himself to accept him as his brother.

"Brother, do you like this golden Guan Gong? If you like it, I'll give it to you. Hahahaha, this was given to me by Master Lu, the big boss who used to be my brother.

I am giving it to you now, as a kind of inheritance. I hope you will not let down the Hongmen's heavy responsibility, and in the future, revive our Hong family's empire!"

Zheng Yi: “…………”

Am I joining the Hongmen now?

He turned around and glanced at Chen Liushi.

Chen Liushi: "Good! Good! Good! Today, my Hongmen brothers have recruited another outstanding person. It's like Zhao Zilong joining Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, adding wings to the tiger! Good brother, Lao Zhang, I am here to bear witness to you!"

Zheng Yi: “…………”

How come you, a Fujian native, are also a member of the Hongmen?
For a moment, Zheng Yi was convinced by this old rogue.

As the richest man in Kuala Lumpur, he is actually a big figure among the overseas Chinese community. Zheng Yi really did not expect that in addition to being ruthless, the old man also has such a shameless side.

When trying to scare people, they can specifically find an actor to kill them at the dinner table. The actions are so cruel that they send chills down one's spine.

After Chen Liushi arrived, he immediately surrendered. After all, he was a hero and a person whose name was recorded in history, but he started to act like a scoundrel and a scoundrel.

Now that the two sides have agreed to cooperate and turned enemies into friends, he can still force a young man in his early twenties, two generations younger than him, to become sworn brothers with him and force him to join the Hongmen at an advanced age of over sixty and almost the leader of the Hongmen in Kuala Lumpur.

How did he manage to change his mood so naturally within just one meal?
In Zheng Yi's understanding, for a successful person, being pretentious and aggressive is not considered as a skill.
But even though he has such a high status, he can still be so soft and do such shameless things without caring about his dignity.

This is terrible.

Of course, Zheng Yi was not so opposed to joining the Hongmen.

The Hongmen has never been an organization with much coercive power. Once you join, you join.

Objectively speaking, this is not a bad thing for him.

Instead of stopping this matter, Chen Liushi was clearly adding fuel to the fire.

For the time being, he still hadn't figured out what Chen Liu was thinking.

The meal was so thrilling and eventful that after Zheng Yi had basically managed to not lose face and not embarrass Li Xiaoshi, he was actually a little exhausted both physically and mentally.

Therefore, after the meal, he resolutely rejected Zhang Yucai and others' suggestion to take him to have fun again and left.

Chen Liushi said that he drove here and it was just right for him to take him home. Zheng Yi didn't think much about it and got into the car naturally.

"By the way, haven't you become a member of our Fujian Chamber of Commerce yet?"

After getting in the car, Chen Liushi handed him a cigar and asked naturally.

"Try it! These are cigars grown by us Chinese in Indonesia."

"Indeed, no. I was sold as a piglet. After being rescued by the Li family, I have been working for the Li family. Most of their workers are from Xinyi, so I really haven't had much contact with people from our hometown in Fujian."

Tan Lark Sye smiled and said, "We Fujianese are good at sea voyages, smuggling, finance, and mining. There are indeed not many of us. In Kuala Lumpur, there are indeed fewer. In Singapore, for example, most of the people are Fujianese."

Zheng Yi: "Maybe this is fate. I also happen to speak Cantonese, so it's not inconvenient for me to be in the Li family."

"Well, but no matter what, since you are from Fujian, you should go to the Fujian Association to register your place of origin. After all, we are from the same hometown, and Fujianese people abroad should help each other."

Zheng Yi then realized that Chen Liushi's car was not taking him back to Li Garden. So it could only be going to the Fujian Association.

"Sixth Master, you are right."

As for fellow townsmen, Zheng Yi certainly has no objection to registering his place of origin.

Soon, Zheng Yi and Chen Liushi arrived at the Fujian Association in Kuala Lumpur, filled out their place of origin and names, and performed a ceremony to worship the gods.

Back in the car, Chen Liushi took out a red envelope and handed it to him, saying, "This is for you."

"What's this?"

"Tea money, this is the rule set by my uncle. The Fujianese who came earlier have to give tea money to the Fujianese who have just arrived, so that they can settle down and take root."

"Are all the new Fujianese here? Then I won't be so polite..."

Zheng Yi was stunned after opening the red envelope.

There was actually not a banknote in it, but a check.

"Overseas Chinese Bank, 400,000 Malaysian ringgit? Sixth Master, is this tea money?"

Chen Liushi: "This is what my uncle wants. Just keep it. This is your tea money."

"How can this be possible? No merit, no reward. How can such a large sum of money be just for tea?"

Zheng Yi repeatedly rejected the checks, saying, "I have always admired you and Uncle Ling's reputation and character. If there is anything Uncle Ling can do that I can help with, I will do it without hesitation, even if it means risking my life. It is an honor to work for Uncle Ling, and there is absolutely no reason for me to accept payment."

Chen Liushi smiled and grabbed Zheng Yi's hand, and with a half-smile, forced the check into his pocket.

The strength in his hands was like a pair of large iron pliers, and his arms were so powerful that even a big guy like Zheng Yi couldn't tear him apart.

"My uncle has nothing for you to do. This is really tea money for you."

"Sixth Master, stop joking. How can there be 400,000 yuan for tea? This is a joke."

The general tea money is one or two dollars, which is enough for the first month's rent and food in Nanyang. The purpose is to give newcomers who have just arrived in Nanyang a buffer, so that they can at least choose a job well.

Don't be silly and don't know anything. In order to survive, you are eager to find a job and sell yourself like a pig without thinking.

This is actually a great merit. The reason why Tan Kah Kee has such a great prestige in Southeast Asia is not unrelated to this tea money.

Four hundred thousand for tea!

What a joke.

But Chen Liushi said: "The so-called tea money is the money for us new immigrants from Fujian to settle down. How can you, Mr. Zheng, be compared with ordinary mediocre people?

For others, a few dollars would be enough to make a living, but if you, Mr. Zheng, want to establish yourself in Southeast Asia, even if you have 400,000, it’s probably far from enough, right?

As he spoke, Tan Lark Sye handed Zheng Yi another business card and said, "This is my brother-in-law, Lee Kong Chian (Tan Kah Kee's son-in-law), Chairman of the Overseas Chinese Banking Corporation. OCBC Bank was formed by the integration of fifteen surviving Chinese banks in Southeast Asia. It is currently the largest Chinese financial organization in Southeast Asia."

"From now on, if you have any projects under 10 million, you can ask him for low-interest loans. No collateral is required, just your name, Mr. Zheng."

Zheng Yi: ???

Tan Lark Sye: "My uncle has always been a benevolent and generous person. He was particularly passionate about charity. He has always done everything he can to benefit the nation, the country, and society. He asked me to tell you that you are a talent, a talent for Fujian and all the Chinese in Southeast Asia."

"What you do must be beneficial to society, to Nanyang, and to the nation. Helping you gain a foothold in Nanyang is doing public welfare. With your talent, Mr. Zheng, and your foothold in Nanyang, what does a mere sum of money mean to you?"

(End of this chapter)