Hong Kong variety show: Starting from helping Mr. Fok run ships

Chapter 67 The Duan Family's Eight Extremes Make a Name for Themselves at the Wharf!

Having spent so much time at the docks, Duan Tongtian was inevitably "corrupted," and his江湖气 (jianghu qi, a kind of chivalrous spirit) became increasingly strong.

He was originally a martial artist, so how refined could he be? Once he entered the martial world, his heroic spirit came out.

Duan Tongtian is living a very comfortable life now. Everyone at the dock calls him Master Duan.

Besides the brothers from Boss Huo's fleet who learned Bajiquan from Duan Tongtian, there were also some laborers and porters who learned from Duan Tongtian.

Duan Tongtian discussed it with Boss Huo and Zhang Guohao and decided to take these people under his wing, but they would have to pay tuition.

For the laborers, that was nothing. They didn't really want to learn boxing; they just wanted to stick together and keep warm.

It's common practice in the underworld to form gangs with martial arts schools and then cause trouble. In Tianjin, the entire underworld is controlled by just over a dozen martial arts schools.

There are quite a few martial arts schools in Guangdong Province, and many people practice one or two martial arts styles.

As one of the last regions conquered by the Manchus, a gathering place for rebels like the Hongmen, and a site of conflict between the locals and the Hakka, it's perfectly normal for people in Guangdong to practice martial arts.

Initially, people in the countryside practiced martial arts to seize water sources, while people in the city practiced martial arts to seize territory.

After all, apart from military camps, there are no other places with so many young, trained men in martial arts schools.

These people aren't all rich people practicing for fun.

Most people did it so that they could have a way to make a living after they learned it, since at that time, the laws were not as strict as in later generations, and there was no severe crackdown on criminal offenses.

Some people are skilled and lucky, so they join the army or even take the military examination.

Some people may not be physically strong, but they are bold and ruthless. They will bully and dominate the market, and together with many classmates, they will become local tyrants.

This situation is not much different from the early triads in Hong Kong. At first, they were just trying to survive, but as they got to the point where they had the means, they started to bully others.

In Guangdong province, there is a special term, "instructor," which refers to someone who trains thugs for high-ranking officials or gangs. These people are considered to be the kind of people who are not to be trifled with on the ground.

Duan Tongtian certainly wouldn't let his martial arts school turn into a club, and Boss Huo wouldn't agree to it either. But people still signed up to learn, not so much to join a club later, but mainly to avoid being bullied.

After several chaotic battles, no gang dared to come to the dock that Boss Huo frequented to collect protection money anymore.

Therefore, even if Boss Huo doesn't use outsiders for loading and unloading, there are still so many other merchants' ships that need stevedores.

These laborers, without exploitation from other societies, can make a living solely on the remaining merchants, and even live better than before.

But this good life made every laborer uneasy, fearing that if Boss Huo changed careers or did something else, where would they find such a good working environment?

Wanting to work hard and earn money, these laborers had to find a way, so they directly became disciples of Duan Tongtian to learn Bajiquan.

Although these laborers joined Duan Tongtian's ranks, Duan Tongtian was merely an employee of Boss Huo.

Although they are completely unrelated, they are still a kind of relationship.

At that time, Boss Huo will have to consider the family ties to some extent. Besides, everyone else is learning the boxing style, and if you don't, you'll easily be ostracized.

With these laborers learning alongside him, Duan Tongtian was even happier. He taught boxing at the dock every day, and with so many people, Duan Tongtian experienced the pain of teaching.

These students are all kinds of people; many of them can't distinguish between their left and right hands. They're good at doing chores, but not at using their brains.

Duan Tongtian was so worried about teaching these people Bajiquan every day that his voice got louder and louder, and his temper became a bit irritable.

This fully demonstrates what it means for environment to change one's life.

"Go back and get some rest, eat more meat, and be careful when the time comes."

Zhang Guohao gave Duan Tongtian some money so he could have something nice to eat.

"No need, my salary is enough to live on."

Duan Tongtian waved his hand in refusal.

"Here you go, this is specially approved by the boss. We have a special mission, so we need special funding."

Zhang Guohao insisted on giving the money to Duan Tongtian. He had asked Boss Huo for a total of one hundred yuan, which was fifty yuan each for Duan Tongtian. As for how much to give to the others, he left that to Boss Huo.

This money is just a simple nutrition subsidy. There will be extra kickbacks for coming back this time. This is dangerous work, and a few dozen yuan is definitely not enough to pay you off.

"Alright, my son has been craving beef these past few days."

Duan Tongtian didn't refuse again and agreed immediately.

The two went home separately, went to sleep, and waited for the pirate tournament to begin.

The next day, Zhang Guohao did not go to the pier, nor to the restaurant, nor did he go with his family to buy wedding supplies. Instead, he went to the flea market, looked through some newspapers and books, and checked information about pirates in Hong Kong.

In his past life, when Zhang Guohao heard the word "pirate," the only things that came to mind were TV dramas, movies, and the Somali pirates he saw on the news.

At that time, Zhang Guohao had not seriously learned about the stories of these pirates, especially after the mainland sent escort fleets, no one paid any attention to pirates anymore.

At that time, pirates in movies and TV series were more popular. Movies included Project A and Chinese Zodiac, while TV series included Fire Blue Blade.

To be honest, when Zhang Guohao watched "Fire Blue Blade" and saw pirates, he thought it was something the screenwriter had deliberately created for dramatic conflict.

I later learned that the world has never been peaceful.

If that era was so turbulent, then this era is even more so. Hong Kong Island is such a prosperous place, one of the world's economic hubs, with countless passenger and merchant ships coming and going.

There are countless pirates and defeated soldiers. Many of the newly joined pirates are defeated soldiers, and some of them have even taken away a lot of naval equipment, which is quite arrogant.

Zhang Guohao flipped through the old newspapers and found that they were really unreliable. How could a pirate be killed six times in half a year? Could this pirate become a necromancer or something?

These newspapers would stop at nothing to boost sales; they'd say anything. I bet the foreign marine police back then made up plenty of lies to deceive their superiors. They'd go out for a stroll and come back claiming they'd killed several big pirates.

"Young man, are you buying it or not? These newspapers are antiques, you'll tear them to shreds if you keep flipping through them."

The secondhand book seller, seeing Zhang Guohao only looking and not buying, said with some dissatisfaction.

"Okay, okay, is there anything else about pirates?"

Zhang Guohao put down the old newspaper and looked at the boss.

"Pirates? You're weird, why are you looking at pirates?"

The boss muttered under his breath as he listened to Zhang Guohao's question, clearly dissatisfied, and even started rummaging through old books. This guy was quite interesting.