Chapter 168: Where in Life Do We Not Meet Again?

In the evening, when Li Xian returned to the hotel and recounted the day's adventures, Xu Maohe was left gaping in astonishment.

Li Xian's scheme was actually quite simple: he had calculated that the scammer would return to the pawn shop to inquire about the real value of the watch. Then, he used the empty pawn ticket he had previously requested from the old pawnbroker to pass off as the pawn ticket for the Lange watch, taking advantage of the scammer's relaxed guard due to his belief that he had struck a great deal.

The whole process relied on exploiting the scammer's greed, leading him to fall into the trap.

It was that simple, akin to dropping a gold watch on the ground. Li Xian had merely taken a slightly circuitous route, leveraging the pawn shop's authority.

It was a case of using the same method to deal with the scammer as the scammer used to con others.

"Wait a minute…" Xu Maohe took a while to process it before asking, "So you're saying you met a scammer on the street today. Is that right?"

"Yeah," Li Xian nodded.

Old Xu rubbed his forehead and massaged his temples. "So… you scammed that kid? Scammed him out of four thousand five hundred?"

"Yep." Li Xian nodded again. After a moment, he added, "To be precise, it was four thousand. Five hundred of that was my bait. And that scammer didn't look like a man."

Xu Maohe had already automatically ignored the scammer's gender and the exact amount involved. After a moment of silence, he pulled out three cigarettes from his pocket, lit them, and then stood solemnly in front of Li Xian. "Xianzi, today I, Xu, am asking you to be my mentor. Please teach me how to navigate the underworld! You're really something!"

Seeing Xu Maohe's solemn attitude, Li Xian gave him a kick and scolded with a laugh, "Get lost! Can you really learn this? It's all about intelligence, you know? Intelligence!"

Li Jie, watching the two of them joking around, smiled faintly.

Although the scammer being conned was amusing, she still had some concerns. "Bro, the watch is still at the pawn shop, right? What if that scammer is waiting at the pawn shop for you to retrieve the watch? We're not familiar with the area…"

Li Xian tapped his clueless younger brother with his chopsticks. "Are you two made of wood? Do you think the scammer recognizes me or you? When I got back, I found an accounting firm. Tomorrow, I'll handle some company matters. I'll give you the pawn ticket later, and you two will be in charge of retrieving the watch."

...

The next day, Li Xian arrived at an accounting firm in Mong Kok.

At this time, the trend of Hong Kong businessmen investing in the mainland was already on the rise. Even in the 1970s, when business was still speculative, some mainland merchants had been using various methods to operate.

Thus, the shell company market had already formed a complete industry model in Hong Kong.

When the firm learned that Li Xian wanted to buy a company, they immediately presented him with a large list of company names, all of which were already registered.

Although the names were ready-made and could not be chosen, Li Xian didn't mind. He was originally just looking for a company in Hong Kong to create a Hong Kong businessman's identity for easier operations in the mainland.

As for what the company was called, he didn't have much of a requirement.

It was like a condom… used once and discarded.

Among a large number of generic shell company names, Li Xian picked the slightly upscale "Hengyuan Trading" and paid for it.

Surprisingly, the four thousand five hundred he scammed wasn't enough, so he had to add an additional five hundred from his own pocket.

The process went smoothly. After spending two hours drinking tea at the accounting firm, they completed the transfer of the company's legal representative via phone. Li Xian received a complete set of blank but legally effective company documents.

With the company settled, the subsequent tasks were much easier.

After leaving his contact information and entrusting the accounting firm to recruit a Hong Kong lawyer and accountant who could work in the mainland for a period, Li Xian took the documents and left.

Checking the time, he called Xu Maohe and learned that they had already redeemed the watch. Li Xian instructed them to wait where they were, planned to check out of the hotel, and then return to the mainland.

He had been out for several days.

The situation in Binhai was still unresolved, and with the impact of the Shen Taifu and Yu Zuomin incidents, the newly established sanitary napkin business department was feeling uneasy.

He needed to return as soon as possible.

"Damn it!"

In the backseat of the taxi, while Li Xian was contemplating whether he should hire a Guangdong native or simply hire a local actor in Hong Kong to negotiate the acquisition of the Red Flower Sanitary Napkin Factory with Binhai, the greasy taxi driver in front shouted angrily at the rearview mirror.

Li Xian removed his hand from his chin and turned around. He saw a large group of people with sticks running up behind them on the bustling street. The scene was reminiscent of the clichéd gang fights in low-budget Hong Kong movies!

Before the return to the mainland, the security situation in Hong Kong had always been a headache for the British.

But in reality, this situation was largely caused by the British themselves. When Hong Kong became a free port, the management was happy to see the Chinese govern themselves. Consequently, a large number of Chinese staff and police officers were arranged in the Public Works Department, the Marine Department, the Chinese Civil Affairs Department, the High Court, and the Police Commissioner's Office.

However, the British did not know that even before they took control of Hong Kong, the triads formed by Chinese immigrants had already established themselves as local rulers.

So, from the beginning, the old Hong Kong gangs had been a mix of black and white.

Later on, although the triads were disbanded, the foundation had already been laid. Despite the British government's efforts to manage it, the unique nature of Hong Kong gangs meant that the effects were minimal. It wasn't until the early 1970s, when the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) was established, that the situation improved somewhat, but it was not eradicated.

By this time, the gangs had infiltrated all layers of Hong Kong society. Even the film and literary circles had gang influences. Among them, the Cheung brothers, who used intimidation to force top Hong Kong celebrities into working for them, were a prime example.

So, seeing this scene on the street, Li Xian wasn't surprised.

However, when he saw the person being chased by the large group, his eyes widened in disbelief.

"Damn it!"

Watching the figure running desperately towards his taxi, Li Xian wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry.

At that moment, he thought the world was just too small…

Just as he was about to lock the car door but couldn't find the lock, the door was suddenly pulled open.

With a heavy slam of the door, the person shouted at the taxi driver.

Perhaps afraid of getting involved, the driver anxiously muttered a long string of Cantonese that Li Xian couldn't understand but clearly wasn't pleasant.

But seeing the group of people approaching menacingly, the driver cursed loudly, forcefully turned the steering wheel, and with a screeching tire noise, the taxi made a sharp turn and sped away.

Only when the pursuers had given up the chase did the person in the back seat finally relax with a sigh.

At that moment, she saw Li Xian in the back seat, making strange faces and covering his face with his hands.

The air in the car seemed to freeze as their eyes met.

After a few seconds, the person screamed, grabbed Li Xian by the collar, and shook him vigorously.

"Damn it! You scammer! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been spotted by my enemies on the street! Give me my money back! You damned scumbag!"

Li Xian felt like he was being thrown into a spin dryer. Watching the pathetic scammer in front of him, he lifted his leg and kicked the scammer's face.

The two of them ended up wrestling in the back seat of the taxi.

With his collar pulling on his throat, Li Xian used his foot to forcefully press the scammer's face against the car door while shouting the only Cantonese curse he knew.

"Damn it! How dare you call me a scammer? Eat shit!"