Chapter 697: Chapter 697: Chinatown and the Hongmen
Xu Yang and Wang Xiaocong left and returned to the hotel.
During dinner, they discussed the situation with Liu Qiangxi and Ma Huateng.
Both of them were very satisfied with the progress.
With the affair of Cain’s father Parit, it was now possible to put Nolden, the Family Head of the Brook Family, behind bars.
Moreover, considering Nolden’s trafficking of vagrant addicts and illegal migrants for organ trade, securing a life sentence for Nolden shouldn’t be difficult.
With the wealth of the four men, plus the help from Hongmen, they could definitely hire a powerful team of lawyers.
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Once Nolden was dealt with, they wouldn’t have to lift a finger; simply alerting the rival families and organizations to the Brook Family would ensure its absolute downfall.
The next day.
The four took a car arranged by the hotel to Chinatown.
The headquarters of Hongmen was located in Chinatown of New City.
Hongmen was a gang organization.
In today’s society, gangs could only bully ordinary people.
Du Yuesheng, a big boss of the gangs during the Republic of China, once made a very vivid metaphor for gang organizations.
He said that gangs were like the night pots of important people, doing dirty work when needed and tucked under the bed when not.
If the night pot became dirty and wasn’t willing to be cleaned, it was simply discarded.
If young people knew about this metaphor by Du, there would probably be far fewer willing to mix with society’s underbelly.
It was only with the consent of influential figures that gang organizations could exist.
With a snap of their fingers, those figures could make the gangs disappear into smoke.
The Mafia in Sicily were already quite fearsome.
Yet when faced with a tough individual like Mussolini, the Mafia didn’t stand a chance and were instantly crippled.
No matter how powerful the Mafia’s influence was, it couldn’t compare to the armed forces controlled by Mussolini.
Given that the official law enforcement budget in the beautiful country wasn’t overly abundant, police could only focus their efforts on the bustling parts of cities.
As for the slums, there was little they could do, necessitating gangs to maintain order.
Additionally, officials desired votes and needed the assistance of gangs.
Therefore, the existence of gangs in the beautiful country was relatively tolerable.
As long as they didn’t commit any heinous crimes that incited public outrage or threatened national security, officials would tacitly accept the existence of gangs.
Hongmen was a Chinese gang organization tacitly acknowledged by officials of the beautiful country.
Of course, this tacit recognition was primarily due to influential officials in the beautiful country wanting to implement a “Chinese to control Chinese” strategy.
Due to cultural differences, the management of concentrated Chinese communities was quite troublesome.
To better govern these communities and reduce management costs, empowering Hongmen to help control the area was a more economical and effective approach.
Hongmen had its glorious era.
It was during the time when Roosevelt was in office.
Roosevelt used to be Hongmen’s lawyer, and after he took office, he remembered past favors and naturally took care of Hongmen.
At that time, Hongmen’s influence spread throughout the beautiful country and even held considerable sway in Europe.
However, this glory was fleeting; as soon as Roosevelt stepped down, it faded away.
Moreover, the rapid development of Hongmen at its inception was related to the beautiful country’s Chinese Exclusion Act, which led to an extremely harsh living environment for Chinese in the beautiful country. Banded together for warmth, many joined Hongmen seeking protection.
Later on, when the Chinese Exclusion Act was repealed and the living conditions for Chinese improved, the eagerness to join Hongmen diminished.
Previously, Chinese people had to rely on Hongmen to survive in the beautiful country, which naturally strengthened Hongmen.
Nowadays, things are different. While there are still many restrictions for Chinese in the beautiful country, overt discrimination is non-existent.
As long as Chinese individuals work hard, reaching the middle class is not an issue.
So now, young people no longer have the desire to join Hongmen, leading to its inevitable decline.
Over the years, Hongmen’s strength has continuously diminished, much like a peasant’s shabby celebration of Chinese New Year, getting worse with each passing year.
But no matter what, a skinny camel is still bigger than a horse. Although Hongmen could no longer compare to its past, let alone its most glorious era, it remains the largest Chinese organization in the Pretty Country.
Just as Xu Yang said, we’re all people of Huaxia, hence there’s a familiar closeness and a greater trust. Chinese people facing issues they can’t solve through legitimate means often prefer to seek out Hongmen’s help.
Of course, there’s that saying, you need to have money for it to work.
If you don’t have money, Hongmen won’t help you with your affairs.
Even if you die, Hongmen won’t bother with you.
…
Chinatown.
A concentrated community of Chinese people.
Since China’s Tang Dynasty was quite formidable in history with very open foreign policies and had the most significant influence in the West, overseas Chinese communities came to be known as Chinatowns.
The location of New City’s Chinatown is quite advantageous, just a wall’s distance from the famous Wall Street.
Wall Street is the economic center of the Pretty Country.
If the Pretty Country were a person, Wall Street would be its heart.
Wall Street represents wealth; this is where global capital converges.
Wall Street is not just the economic center of the Pretty Country but also the world’s economic center.
The world’s funds converge on Wall Street, and through the Pretty Country’s stock market, a barometer for the global economy is formed.
Whether it’s the price of oil from the Middle East, soybean prices from South America, rice prices from India, industrial goods prices from China, raw materials prices from Africa, etc., they are all determined by the capital play on Wall Street.
Adjacent to Chinatown is the Pretty Country’s art center.
The world-renowned Broadway is there, where stage plays that represent the highest form of art in the Pretty Country are performed.
However, the sights of Chinatown are incomparable to those of Wall Street and the art center.
The security in Chinatown isn’t too good, and it’s relatively dangerous to go out at night because there are many homeless people here.
Most of the Chinese living in Chinatown aren’t in great financial shape.
In New City, one of the world’s top metropolises, Chinatown represents the poorer, less developed side.
The Pretty Country’s media has reported on the condition of Chinatown, but it hasn’t attracted official attention, and the situation has not improved.
Many Chinese in Chinatown can’t even speak English.
There are also some illegal immigrants who have traveled thousands of miles to the Pretty Country only to work as dishwashers in restaurants.
Of course, with China’s economy improving, the situation with illegal immigrants has greatly reduced.
The condition of Chinatown has also improved to a certain extent.
But it still can’t compare to the clean and well-kept white communities.
As Family Head of Hongmen Zhongyi Hall, Chen Buhui’s standard of living is naturally at the highest level in Chinatown.
In fact, all the middle and high-ranking members of Hongmen do not live in Chinatown but only work there.
They all have their own luxurious houses in the upscale neighborhoods of Manhattan.
People like Chen Buhui can already be considered wealthy and influential magnates.
As long as the big shots of the Pretty Country don’t touch them, they can live very well in the Pretty Country.
Now, Chen Buhui, with his two sons and several key members of the Zhongyi Hall, stood at the entrance of Chinatown, waiting to welcome Xu Yang and his party.
Passersby who saw them standing at the entrance were quite surprised.
They wondered who could be so significant as to warrant Chen Buhui’s personal reception.
Many people stopped to watch, curious to see who Chen Buhui was waiting for.
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