Reborn in 1970, I thrived in Hong Kong.

The atmosphere in Li Huai-ren's restaurant was a bit strange the next morning.

Suddenly, Lin Qingxia became much closer to Li Huai-ren than before, acting like a newlywed wife, serving him food, porridge, and fried dough sticks, as if she were a completely different person.

Teresa Teng pouted, glancing at Li Huai-ren and then at Brigitte Lin from time to time. She felt angry but had nowhere to vent, making her feel terrible and miserable.

Guan Jiahui and Chen Yulian looked left and right, their eyes full of gossip.

Li Huai-ren remained silent, focusing only on eating.

Seeing this, Ye San Niang smiled slightly, ate a bowl of ginkgo porridge, and then got up and went back to her room.

A short while later, she returned to the restaurant, smiling broadly as she spoke to Brigitte Lin and Teresa Teng:

"Miss Lin, Miss Deng, Miss said she's going to buy New Year's goods today and asked if you two are free to go with her, and also to buy New Year's goods for the young master."

Lin Qingxia and Deng Lijun were taken aback, but then they realized that the young lady Ye Sanniang was referring to was Li Huai Ren's older sister, Li Yawen!

Of course, Li Yawen and the others knew her; they would meet with her at least once a week at Li Huai-ren's house.

Their future sister-in-law asked them to go shopping for New Year's goods together. What a joke! How could they refuse?

The two agreed on the spot, and after finishing breakfast, they hurried back to change their clothes and disguised themselves properly.

Around 8:30, Li Yawen drove from Hong Kong Island to pick up Ye San Niang, Brigitte Lin, and Teresa Teng, and they went to Causeway Bay to buy New Year's goods.

With the eldest daughter in charge, Brigitte Lin and Teresa Teng immediately lowered their heads and became meek, no longer competing with each other, displaying a true sisterly bond.

Meanwhile, after his elder sister, Ye San Niang, and the others left, Li Huai Ren also got into Qiao Wu's Mercedes.

As soon as he got in the car, Qiao Wu said:

"Boss, the tunnel leading to the Lei Luo villa is almost finished, and the tunnel leading to the villas of Yan Tong and the other Chinese detectives, the Ma family, and the British guys you specified is also almost finished."

When should we make our move?

Li Huai-ren thought for a moment and said:

"Let's set it for the Lantern Festival. Lei Luo and several other Chinese detectives are all family members. According to the Chaoshan people's custom, the Lantern Festival is more important than the Spring Festival. Let's set it for the night of the Lantern Festival!"

Lei Luo and the Ma family were probably the richest. After the operation began, the first to be emptied was Lei Luo's house, and the second was the Ma family's...

Qiao Wu nodded:

"no problem."

The two then carefully discussed the details of the operation, repeatedly scrutinizing and filling in any gaps to ensure that nothing was overlooked, until the Mercedes stopped in front of a Song Dynasty-style tavern in Phoenix Film City, at which point the discussion ended.

In the tavern's main hall, modeled after the halls of the Song Dynasty, thirty-six burly men stood in three rows. Li Huai-ren stood before them, looking at them, and asked again:

"You really don't want to stay in my security team, and you've made up your minds to become thugs? You won't regret it?"

"Boss, no regrets!" the thirty-six burly men roared in unison.

Li Huai-ren nodded:

"Alright, since that's the case, I won't try to persuade you anymore."

I will take good care of your families and arrange jobs for them all.

There are thirty-six of you in total, which is exactly the number of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Stars. From now on, you shall use the Thirty-Six Heavenly Stars as your code name to contact Qiao Wu.

Zhang Qiang, you are Tiankui Star; Li Qi, you are Tiangang Star; Zhao Hai, you are Tianji Star; Qi Fei, you are…”

After reciting the code names of all thirty-six people in one breath, Li Huai-ren paused, looked at them, and gave them instructions:

"There's one thing you must remember: no matter how you do in the future, you all have to clean up your act and get out of trouble before July 1, 1997."

I've told you what day July 1, 1997 was, and you should all remember it.

"You absolutely, positively must remember this: no matter how you've fared, on the night of June 30, 1997, you all need to be back in this tavern and dutifully keep an eye on this film studio, understand?"

"Understood!" The thirty-six burly men, codenamed the Thirty-Six Heavenly Stars, responded in unison to Li Huai-ren.

Li Huai-ren looked at them and said:

"As the saying goes, even a hero can be brought down by a penny. How can you survive without money? Qiao Wu will give each of you ten thousand Hong Kong dollars later."

Also, if you have any financial difficulties in the future, or encounter any problems you can't solve on your own, don't be shy, just contact Qiao Wu directly, understand?

"Thank you, boss!" All thirty-six Heavenly Stars had tears in their eyes and thanked them in unison.

Outside the antique-style tavern, Li Huai-ren watched as the thirty-six burly men, whose code names were now the Thirty-Six Divine Stars, went their separate ways, and he felt quite emotional.

These 36 men were troublemakers in his 200-plus-strong perimeter security team. They were all retired special forces elites who had seen blood on the plateau a few years ago. They couldn't stand the loneliness and were too impatient to get out and make their way in the world.

Li Huai-ren tried to persuade them several times to no avail. Seeing that they were determined to leave, he simply let them go and provided them with a sum of money.

Qiao Wu looked at Li Huai Ren and said:

"Boss, it's not a bad thing that these 36 people left. They got the life they wanted, and now we finally have our own eyes and ears in Hong Kong, so we won't be caught off guard if anything happens."

Li Huai-ren nodded, then turned to him and said:

"Keep an eye on them, and if they encounter difficulties, try your best to help them. Money is an easy problem to solve."

After thinking for a moment, he added:

"If their problem isn't financial, then if necessary, I'll allow you to use your security team to secretly help them resolve the issue, but you must do it cleanly and leave no loose ends."

After getting into the car, Li Huai-ren thought for a moment and said to Qiao Wu:

"Don't go home yet, turn around and find Piggy, I need his help!"

Piggy lost thirteen times in a row betting on Big or Small at the largest gambling den owned by the Ma family on Waterloo Road. He bet on Big and Small and got Big every time, losing a total of HK$80,000.

Piggy glanced sideways at the dealer shaking the dice, a flash of cold light passing through his eyes. With a cigarette dangling from his lips, he casually asked the dealer:

"Are you new here?"

The dealer was already drenched in sweat and pale-faced. He glanced at the gamblers around him and quickly replied:

"Brother Zai, no, I've been rolling dice here for a year."

Piggy sat up straight and glanced at him:

"If you're not new, why did you let me lose thirteen games in a row?"

The croupier felt extremely wronged:

"Damn it, you know the rules for cheating here: you win big and lose small. You keep betting on the side with the highest stakes; you're clearly looking for trouble..."

When Piggy saw that he didn't reply, he immediately reached for his waist, pulled out a pistol, climbed onto the gambling table without saying a word, and smashed the gun directly on the dealer's head!

The croupier dared not resist, clutching his head tightly with both hands, letting him smash it!

"Fuck your mother! I'll hit you on the head, and you still dare to cover your head with your hands?" Piggy missed his head and hit his hands instead, enraging him!

Upon hearing this, the croupier immediately resigned himself to his fate and released his hands, letting Piggy smash his head with the gun. He was quite tough, only screaming but not begging for mercy. After a few blows, Piggy knocked him unconscious, and he collapsed to the ground with several bloody holes in his head, bleeding profusely. His head was covered in blood, which was quite frightening.

Inside the casino, there was a deathly silence. No one, whether they were casino staff or gamblers, dared to breathe. They just watched as Piggy smashed the dealer into a bloody mess, unconscious.

"Fuck your mother! How dare you cheat on me! According to the rules of the underworld, if you get caught cheating, your finger will be chopped off, and you'll be compensated ten times the amount for every thousand lost."

"Fuck your mother! I'm kind-hearted, I'll let it go even if I chop off your finger, but you cheated me out of 80,000, I'll only take 800,000!"

After saying that, he pulled out a large plastic bag from somewhere and, in full view of everyone, swept the money from the gambling tables into the bag, filling it completely. He then slung it over his shoulder and walked away leisurely, leaving behind two sentences before he left:

"Tell your boss Ma that if he doesn't pay the fees on time this time, then I, Piggy, will come and collect them myself!"

"If you don't pay the fees on time next time, it won't be me collecting them. Boss Ma knows very well who will collect them."

As soon as he left the casino, Piggy spotted Li Huai-ren standing next to his Mercedes from a distance, and he sighed inwardly.

"Sigh, Brother Luo is right, once someone leaves, the tea grows cold!"

How long has it been since Lok Ge stepped down? The Ma family, Yi An, and others have already started to disobey him.

Looks like I need to make some money in the next two years. As soon as Brother Luo leaves Hong Kong, I'll immediately go diving to Taiwan to meet up with Zhiwei and the others!

Looking up at Li Huai-ren again, a thought suddenly flashed through Piggy's mind:

"If Li Huai-ren, that spoiled brat, can really afford to buy the remaining land of that large industrial site after the New Year, then he will definitely have a lot of money in his hands!"

Before diving to Taiwan, should we pull off a big heist and squeeze all his money out of him?