The Chief Detective Inspector is dead. I'm now the top police officer in Hong Kong!

Chapter 101 The Tiger of Mong Kok (24)

Garden Street.

Zhong Zhihui, dressed in a suit and tie, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, locked his car, strode into a sneaker store, stood in front of the counter, slammed an LV handbag on the table, and muttered, "Paradise Boy."

"Chung, Chung sir?" Paradise Boy was startled, put down his game console, stood up and shouted, "You scared me to death, Brother Wisdom. You're impotent, you'll have to pay me back."

Wisdom clicked his tongue and laughed at the gangster with dyed white hair, a diamond nose stud, and a ripped sweater: "Your boss told you to mind the shop, and you just squat behind the counter playing video games?"

Paradise Boy held up his Nintendo phone, showing off: "Nintendo? You don't know anything about it. The other guys are minding the shop, I'll just collect the money."

Zhong Zhihui turned around and looked at the empty shop, amused, and said, "Where's your brother?"

"Damn it, I told them to mind the shop, but they're all out here eating shit!" Paradise Boy said angrily. Even though most of his income went to the gang, Paradise Boy was still considered well-off and had made it big enough to have a few henchmen and become a boss.

"Like father, like son. You play video games all day, and I play PUBG all day." Zhong Zhihui scoffed, pointing to the leather bags on the counter: "Inspect the goods."

Paradise Boy rummaged through the bag, glanced at the hardware, and muttered, "Who gave me this handbag? I don't accept secondhand items. Hmm, this is such a high-quality replica. Inspector Chung, did you find out about it?"

“Someone reported that there was a small workshop in Wan Chai that specialized in producing counterfeit leather bags. They were very realistic. After the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau (OCTB) raided the workshop, I brought over some samples.”

"Do you think it's worth it?" Zhong Zhihui smiled, not revealing his true intentions. Tian Tang Zai used to be a street vendor at an open-air market, but later, not wanting to pay protection money, he joined a triad and became a member of Wen Biao's gang. Because of his low status, he couldn't even get a top courtesan in Ma Lan.

Once, Zhong Zhihui took pity on him and gave him Miss Hong, thus beginning their friendship. Gradually, she began to take Tiantang as an informant.

"This is a huge opportunity!" Paradise Boy's eyes lit up, and he excitedly asked, "Officer Chung, do you want to make some money?"

When he was poor, he sold fish balls, ran a newspaper stand, and sold clothes and leather bags. Wen Biao also owned a counterfeit goods factory in the New Territories, where his younger brothers often worked. Their understanding of the market was no less than that of a businessman.

Zhong Zhihui nodded slightly: "I told you, 'Your boss, to come and talk to me. We'll split it 30/70, you get 30%, I get 70%!'"

That evening, Paradise Boy, carrying a handbag, arrived at Peach Bar on Portland Street, gave them the room number, and entered a private room.

Wen Biao was a burly man with a thick waist and broad shoulders, sporting a shaved head, looking every bit the tough guy. He was embracing two pretty girls, happily chatting with his men.

As a gangster boss, his life revolves around killing men, women, risking his life, and gambling. "Big Fool," the gang leader, who was a head taller than Wen Biao, sat to his left and yelled, "Hey Paradise, what's going on? Why aren't you playing games in the arcade?"

Paradise Boy forced a fawning smile and bent down to step forward: "Big Fool, I have important business to discuss with the boss. Can you step aside for a moment?"

Da Sha nodded slightly. He was a nice guy; he made room for Tian Tang Zai to squeeze in. Wen Biao, whose hand was still on the hostess Da Lei, leaned out and looked over, but didn't say anything.

Amidst the loud music, Paradise Boy pulled out a handbag and exclaimed, "Boss, top-quality counterfeit! Great business! Earning over ten million a year is no problem!"

Wenbiao took the handbag, opened the inner pocket, and, thinking the goods were hidden inside, found nothing. He said unhappily, "Damn it."

"It's a bag!"

"Tie your bag!"

Paradise Boy quickly pointed to the leather bag, thus avoiding a severe beating.

Half an hour later. In the private room, only the three men remained: the gang leader Wen Biao, the advisor Cheung Chau-jai, and Straw Sandal Da Sha.

"I've seen the goods that Paradise Boy brought. The quality is exceptionally good; they can be mistaken for the real thing. He's right; making over ten million a year is a piece of cake for him." Wen Biao said with a serious expression, swaggering back on the sofa with his arms outstretched, a cigar in his mouth, and his legs crossed, exuding arrogance and domineering swagger.

Big Fool clapped his hands excitedly and said, "Damn, this is awesome! Making counterfeit goods and making more money than a casino! Boss, not making money when you can is just inhuman."

Luxury handbags are high-priced industrial products, and by exploiting consumers, they certainly earn more than those in the entertainment industry.

Unless they can obtain a gambling license and provide a complete package of services including food, lodging, and transportation, thereby boosting the entertainment industry, simply running a gambling den is no match for selling pirated goods.

A legitimate luxury goods company can support an entire city in Europe. A counterfeit industry can make an inland city a household name.

Cheung Chau's son worried: "I'm afraid that if we make too much money, it will attract envy. The cost of counterfeit goods is high, so we can't sell them cheaply. It will take away the market share of genuine products."

"If those big bosses find me, I'm dead."

Although the gangsters didn't know which boss had won the agency rights or how many branches he had opened, they understood the simple truth that taking away someone's livelihood was like killing their parents.

Man-piu said, “That’s what I’m worried about, but if we don’t do it, other gangs definitely will. Didn’t Paradise Boy get his bags in Wan Chai? The counterfeit clothing industry is too competitive. I haven’t even taken over the Ladies’ Market yet. If we can make counterfeit goods, we don’t even need to fight for them. The whole street will naturally sell our goods.”

The piracy industry initially thrived thanks to the influence of legitimate products. However, as criminal gangs and syndicates operate, they quickly follow suit, creating a cutthroat market. Sooner or later, new, high-quality goods emerged, selling the same products as those in supermarkets and department stores. Therefore, legal action against piracy is a logical consequence of commercial logic.

Cheung Chau's eyes darted around, and he said, "Boss, you're only worried about the bosses retaliating, so why not just hand things over to Paradise Boy? Once he's made it big, we can take the factory back. If a big boss comes knocking, we can hand it over to him, then secretly move the factory to the mainland, just ship the goods, don't sell them. It's better to earn less than nothing."

Big Fool clapped again and exclaimed, "You really have a way, Master!"

“Alright, go and call Paradise Boy in.” Wenbiao made up his mind and decided to act immediately.

West Kowloon, Organisation des Consortia (O-District).

Huang Ye, dressed in a suit and tie, held a stack of red envelopes in his hand and handed them out to his colleagues with a big smile, saying, "Good luck on the first day of work."

"May your work commence smoothly and auspiciously."

On the first day back to work after the Lunar New Year, according to custom, the head of the household is to give out lucky money. In the past, when the Chinese detectives were still around, they would also slaughter a roast pig, worship Guan Gong, and make offerings to the Heavenly Empress.

"Thank you, Inspector Wong."

"Thank you, sir."

Hou Canxing, He Jiawei, and the others received their red envelopes, then sat back down, looking happy and laughing.

When the red envelope was handed to Lin Tiansheng, Huang Ye took it back and asked with a smile, "What did you call me, Asheng?"

"Thank you, sir!" Lin Tiansheng stood at attention and saluted, his expression extremely serious. Huang Ye was somewhat displeased, slamming the red envelope on the table without even saying "Good luck on your first day of work."

(End of this chapter)