Chapter 53: If You're Going to Take It, Take the Full Five Hundred Million

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“You’re crazy! Why are you cutting it?” Hua Shier’s sudden move startled Liu Yi.

Although Hong Kong Island was not under the Qing government’s jurisdiction, certain customs were deeply ingrained. Ordinary people generally kept their queues, adhering to Qing traditions. Only revolutionaries or those who had studied abroad and embraced advanced ideas would cut their queues.

Seeing his partner somewhat alarmed, Hua Shier said calmly, “Relax, this is Hong Kong. The Empress Dowager won’t reach this far!”

Liu Yi wanted to cover his mouth. That woman is called the Empress Dowager, but you just called her a ‘old lady’—how can you say such things?

Hua Shier then took out a razor blade that Shen Zhongyang had left in the locker room for shaving. He removed his bamboo hat and casually shaved off all the hair on his head, creating a bald look. It was more pleasing to the eye this way. In a couple of days, when the hair grew into a short crop, it would look even better.

After shaving, he tidied himself up briefly, and the two went out to patrol the streets. Liu Yi kept glancing at Hua Shier, then finally asked, “Did you lose all your salary gambling again and get upset?”

While speaking, Liu Yi was not idle. He removed his bamboo hat and gestured toward a street vendor selling sugarcane.

Without needing further words, the vendor took out two one-wen coins and bowed repeatedly, placing them into the bamboo hat. This was a form of bribery—officially called membership or regulation fees.

At that time, the currency on Hong Kong Island was: 1 dollar = 10 mao = 100 cents = 1000 wen.

Thus, one wen was also called one thousand Hong Kong units, meaning one-thousandth of a Hong Kong dollar.

Two wen could buy a bowl of wonton noodles, which was quite valuable then—much more purchasing power than two dollars in later times.

Seeing Hua Shier look around silently, Liu Yi asked again, “Hey, why aren’t you saying anything?”

Hua Shier replied helplessly, “What’s there to say? Upset? I’m used to losing by now. No big deal!”

“That’s true,” Liu Yi agreed, nodding. He took the two wen from the bamboo hat, kept one for himself, and handed the other to Hua Shier.

Hua Shier waved him off, “Keep it yourself. I don’t want the money.”

Liu Yi laughed, “See? You really are upset. Now you’re acting all high-minded? Don’t regret it later!”

“Don’t worry, I won’t regret it!” Hua Shier said, then suddenly remembered a famous line. Smiling, he said to Liu Yi, “If I ever collect money, I’ll collect a full five hundred million!”

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Liu Yi, chewing sugarcane, spat it out in surprise and coughed repeatedly. “You’re nuts! I really think you’re upset!”

Hua Shier smiled quietly. Five hundred million was just a number—not unheard of.

He thought to himself, the current situation is even more chaotic than when Detective Lei was around. If Lei Hu could make it, why can’t Hua Shier? (Summer: You mean by winning people over with virtue, the great Lei Hu? Hua Shier: Shut up!)

Hua Shier felt a sudden clarity. The first task was to make a name for himself; becoming like Lei Hu was also a way forward.

But to climb higher, capital was necessary, especially for a low-ranking Chinese officer in the Hong Kong police force like him. Financial backing was essential.

Take Smith, a high-ranking Chinese officer in the Central District police, played by 曾之伟 in the film. He was close friends with the wealthy merchant Lee Yu-tong. Clearly, Smith’s rise was inseparable from Lee’s strong support behind the scenes.

Hua Shier reckoned that to advance in the Hong Kong police force in the short term, he needed to figure out how to acquire a large sum of money.

During the patrol, Hua Shier was thinking about making money, while Liu Yi routinely collected protection fees from the vendors.

However, Liu Yi only collected fees from small stall owners. As for gambling dens, tobacco stalls, and brothels, he turned a blind eye. Those fees were collected by Indian intermediaries and mostly handed over to the British. As Chinese officers without weapons, they had no authority to crack down on those places.

Hua Shier felt both annoyed and helpless. Besides flipping them the middle finger, all he could do was draw circles and curse them silently.

After walking a bit, they saw a crowd gathered at the entrance of an alley, with several Chinese officers maintaining order.

Liu Yi noticed the situation and called out, “Looks like a big case. Let’s go check it out!” He pulled Hua Shier toward the scene.

Hua Shier remained calm on the surface but knew it was the body of Hou Sheng that had been found—since that alley was where he had acted last night.

The discovery of the body was expected, so Hua Shier was not nervous and followed Liu Yi to inspect.

Liu Yi squeezed into the crowd and asked the officers maintaining order, “Brother, what happened?”

Seeing they were on the same side, the officer didn’t hold back: “Two people were killed last night…”

He lowered his voice mysteriously, leaning in toward Hua Shier and Liu Yi:

“The coroner said one victim’s ribs were pierced from behind. The forensic expert said only a bear could apply such force. You think that’s creepy? The guys all think it might be something unclean…”

The officer finished with a knowing look, making a gesture that meant “you get it.”

“Is that for real?” Liu Yi became intrigued. If he weren’t excluded from this case, he’d definitely be pushing through the crowd to watch.

“Let’s go, nothing to see here!” Hua Shier waved off the curious crowd and pulled Liu Yi away from the scene.

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On the way back, Liu Yi kept speculating about whether some unclean demon had committed the crime.

Great, now this guy was talking about monsters—unclean monsters.

Hua Shier cursed in his heart, “You’re the real monster. You’re unclean. Your whole family’s monsters.”

Suddenly, a figure lying in the corner caught Hua Shier’s attention.

The man was disheveled and ragged, clearly a beggar—the character Liu Yubai, played by the King of Li in the film.

In Hua Shier’s eyes, the most formidable fighter in the entire “October Siege” was not Shen Zhongyang, nor the Shaolin monk Wang Fuming, nor the Qing general Yan Xiaoguo, but this fallen beggar Liu Yubai.

In the original story, Liu Yubai single-handedly fought dozens of Qing assassins, displaying extraordinary strength. Hua Shier had even searched online for information about this character because of that.

Liu Yubai, born in 1871 in Yangzhou, Jiangsu, trained in martial arts from childhood, became the Qing’s martial champion at seventeen. He later fell in love with his father’s concubine, causing his father to die of anger, and his beloved woman committed suicide in front of him. He then fell into despair, squandered his family fortune, and became a beggar on the streets of Hong Kong.

It was at that time that Lee Yu-tong bought the Liu family’s assets, “Jinliyuan,” at a low price, gaining its channels and becoming a wealthy merchant.

A martial champion—Hua Shier’s eyes lit up when he saw him. He took out a one-dollar bill from his pocket and placed it in front of Liu Yubai.

“Master Liu, here’s something for you!”

Liu Yubai, dazed, opened his eyes, took the bill, and said expressionlessly, “Thanks.”

He put the money away and closed his eyes again.

Liu Yubai showed no intention of talking, but Hua Shier wanted to chat.

“Master Liu, I heard you’re a martial champion. How about sparring sometime?”

Without opening his eyes, Liu Yubai replied coldly, “I can’t block your kick.”

Hua Shier was surprised and looked around. Seeing no one paying attention, and that his partner Liu Yi had gone to collect protection fees nearby, he lowered his voice and asked, “You saw it?”

Before acting last night, he had scanned the surroundings to ensure no one was around.

But in hindsight, he still lacked experience. Without streetlights, it was pitch dark at night. Liu Yubai had been lurking in the shadows of the wall corner, naturally unnoticed.

Still, since Liu Yubai was the one who saw, Hua Shier was not worried about being betrayed. This man was loyal and sincere, a man of his word—aside from his poor judgment in loving his father’s woman, he had no major faults and would not betray others.