Chapter 121: Buying People's Hearts
Mr. Tang, who was proud of his fortune, became the focus of the whole audience. As a foil, Ono Taro naturally attracted a lot of gloating eyes.
There are rumors that Tang Ye and Ono Taro have bet no less than 10 million yuan for this game, which is not a small amount for anyone. Gambling is a complex human behavior. Winning money is certainly one of the pleasures, but watching others lose money is a greater pleasure. People at the scene wanted to see the Japanese look like they had lost their parents, but Ono Taro still looked like he was smiling and calm. People couldn't help but curse inwardly: Bah, you are just holding on!
Ono Taro stood up and walked to the host, took the microphone, cleared his throat and said, "Let me say a few words."
The people who were about to leave in a noisy manner were all stunned. They wanted to hear what he had to say, and the scene suddenly became much quieter.
Ono Taro smiled and said, "First of all, thank you all for coming today. This game is actually just organized by our club for our own entertainment. I didn't expect so many friends from all walks of life to give me face and take the trouble to support me. Taro, I am honored to be here and I am grateful."
Someone said contemptuously: "No one is here for his sake. He has already lost his money. What's the point of saying these polite words?"
Ono Taro said: "I have never been in favor of gambling. I heard that many people bet on the two boxers. I am really ashamed."
Suddenly someone was surprised and asked: "What kind of big-headed maggot is this? Isn't he the banker?"
Someone immediately asked anxiously: "Is the Japanese trying to default on their debt?"
Mr. Tang was also confused.
Many people held up the magnetic strips in their hands and shouted, "Does the result still count?"
Ono Taro pressed his hands down and said, "Now that things have come to this, of course it counts."
The commotion was brought under control in time.
Taro Ono said: "What makes me most ashamed is that many people in the club placed large bets on the boxers I selected out of trust in me. This was something I never expected."
Someone couldn't help asking, "What do you want to say?"
Ono Taro said, "In order to prevent our brothers from suffering losses, I hereby declare that any Thirteen Spices member who bets on Jiang Zhicheng to win will be compensated by me regardless of the amount of money lost."
The dozen or so old men from the Thirteen Spices stood up in surprise after hearing this, and bowed to the leader with gratitude, saying, "Thank you, Chief."
Others who had lost money on Chiang hurriedly asked, "What about ours?"
Ono Taro smiled and said, "I'm sorry that my ability is limited."
"Why?" These people were not happy. They lost money as well, so why should they be the only ones to pay for it?
The old men were afraid that something might change, so they gathered around Ono Taro and glared at the people below them and said, "What does it have to do with you if our gang leader pays for it himself?"
Everyone thought about it and it made sense. It was their boss's job to take care of their younger brothers. Who told you that you were not a member of Thirteen Spices? It was fine for those who won money, but those who lost money suddenly felt like they were watching two brothers fighting, making trouble, and finally being kicked out.
Li Changgui was puzzled: "What is this Japs singing? Why can't I understand it?"
Zhang Nianzu sighed and said, "It has nothing to do with us anyway, let's go." Ono Taro's behavior was beyond his understanding, but he didn't have the time or mood to think about it. He just hoped that Chiang Kai-shek's affairs would not be affected.
Ono Taro suddenly said, "As the head of the club, I want to make a rule that similar competitions will not be held in the future to avoid unnecessary trouble and safety hazards. For the sake of fairness, members of this club can vote and raise your hands if you agree."
The dozen old men raised their hands without a second thought. They were not considering whether to continue the competition in the future. If they didn't want to fight here, they could go somewhere else. If they really couldn't, they could just fight underground. The most important thing was that they hadn't received the money that Ono Taro promised to give them. Who would want to offend the Japanese at this critical moment? Thirteen Xiang had already bought Lao Jiang, and these ten people were the leaders of various factions. When they raised their hands, almost all the Thirteen Xiang people followed suit.
Faced with this, Master Tang could only roll his eyes. There was nothing he could do. Some mid-level leaders had lost everything just to bet on this match, and he couldn't stop it just by glaring.
"Very good, more than half passed." Ono Taro said politely, "Everyone has worked hard, I will treat everyone to a midnight snack tonight." The leaders agreed happily.
Before leaving, Zhang Nianzu looked back and saw that Thirteen Spices had split into two gangs. The gang leader and the deputy gang leader had to treat people to a meal. In the past, the deputy gang leader Tang Ye, who held real power, had only a few people around him, while Ono Taro, who had just arrived, was now able to call the shots. The words "buy people's hearts" immediately came to his mind, but... what was the point of Ono Taro buying people's hearts?
Lei Tingting was also puzzled: "Didn't the Japanese want to make some money and leave? Why does it look like he plans to settle down here?"
…
Everyone got in the car and went back.
In this battle, Li Asi won the competition, but no one was happy about it. What made them even more unhappy was that before coming here, they still had a schoolbag of money, but now they only have the schoolbag left.
Zhang Nianzu comforted Li Ah Si and said, "Ah Si, don't be sad. This is not your fault. We will ask Lao Jiang what happened at that time."
Ah Si was still struggling, "I really didn't use any strength."
There were flashing police lights at the intersection ahead, and there were several policemen, apparently they were checking cars.
Zhang Nianzu and Lei Tingting looked at each other, with tacit understanding and sweetness. They both remembered at the same time that their fate was born from this. That night, Lei Tingting had an intersection with Zhang Nianzu just to avoid a car inspection.
When he arrived, Zhang Nianzu suddenly realized that they were not checking cars, or rather, they were checking cars, but not for drunk driving.
There were several police cars parked at the intersection, and the police were checking passing vehicles one by one as if they were facing a great enemy. What was even more surprising was that behind the police were armed police soldiers with live ammunition. This kind of scene only appeared occasionally when serious crimes occurred in the early years when communications were extremely underdeveloped. Among the people in the car, only Li Changgui had seen it.
It was late at night and there were few vehicles, so it wasn't long before it was Zhang Nianzu and his friends' turn.
"Identity card." The policeman who came to question me was very tall. He just said three words while bending over. He was not a traffic policeman, and he did not check for drunk driving.
Zhang Nianzu and others handed over their credentials.
Officer Gao carefully compared the photo with himself, and then said, "Open the trunk."
Zhang Nianzu did as he was told.
Li Changgui smiled and asked, "What happened?"
Officer Gao ignored him. Before he could open the trunk, two armed police officers pointed their guns at it. The lid was opened, and it was empty. The two armed police officers collected their guns according to the procedure.
Ah San looked at the scene in front of him as if he was watching a movie, and said excitedly: "It's so serious? I don't know who they are arresting."
Officer Gao closed the trunk and returned the ID to Zhang Nianzu. Only then did he relax a little and asked, "Where are you from?"
Zhang Nianzu said: "Dick Bar."
Officer Gao was stunned and said , "Wait a moment." Then he ran to a police car with its back door open on the side of the road and said, "Captain Peng, here are some people who just came out of Dick's Bar."
