I had been in a high position in recent years and had been both respected and looked down upon. I had been called Little Master Three since Uncle Threes era, so it was regarded as a kind of moniker in the business. But the Nine Gates wasnt the only underground group in China. There were many families like the Nine Gates everywhere. The na Little Master Three worked in the Nine Gates system, but may not be recognized in other people's systems.
Moreover, these systems were so closed off that they were beyond the scope of ones imagination. Those in the Nine Gates had a long-standing reputation in their own system, but in so places, they might just be a random na. Everyone was familiar with goods from the Nine Gates, but they probably didnt know who the specific people in the Nine Gates actually were.
This Hong Ding Shuixian was also a nickna, but it was impossible for to know how prestigious the nickna was in his system. I didnt know why, but for so reason, it sounded like delicious cuisine (1).
In addition, it should be noted that there were certain rules when recruiting grave robbers in the Nine Gates system. No matter how unusual the recruiting process might be, the rules in this business were established by convention and Uncle Twos existence ensured that they were actually followed. But once you got out of the Nine Gates system, these rules were useless.
I rarely dealt with people outside of the Nine Gates. First, there were enough people within the Nine Gates system, so the profit that could be made was more than sufficient. Second, these wild grave robbers were unfamiliar and the probability of accidents was too high.
Those outside of the Nine Gates didnt have any predecessors, territories, or rules. They might have so unique skills that others couldnt dream of, but they all had a common feature: they didnt trust people.
Hong Ding Shuixian lived in Wuxi, so Fatty and I went to pay him visit. This guy lived in a dilapidated community that looked like it had been built in the 1990s. The faade on the houses looked very old after being drenched in the rain for so long. We could see all kinds of private balconies on each floor. The flowers and grapes growing in the sun rooms gave off a strange vitality.
Hong Ding Shuixian lived on the sixth floor of a seven-story residential building that didnt have an elevator. When we climbed up the stairs, we saw that the door was open and the air was filled with smoke. There were big, rough-looking tattooed guys playing mahjong at about six or seven tables.
I looked inside and saw that the room was only eighty square ters and appeared to have been converted into a mahjong room. There were cash and tiles on the tables, and it seed as if the pools werent small.
As Fatty and I glanced at each other, several of those big n looked at us while rubbing their tiles. One of them said, "Soone complained again. Tell your leader that its useless. If you keep whining, well demolish your property."
I did a rough visual inspection of their positions and then looked at the stairs behind . It was true that fighting these hooligans in this kind of space might not end well. I wanted to ask which one was Hong Ding Shuixian, but Fatty elbowed and pointed to the innermost table, where a shirtless young man with red hair was intently drawing tiles.
Fatty winked at , but I shook my head. If we fought at the door, we could handle all those people inside. But if we walked into this room and really fought, they would be able to spread out and overwhelm us.
In the end, I knocked on the door, stood on the threshold, and shouted, "We're looking for Hong Ding Shuixian."
As I knocked, I looked at the red-haired young man, but he didnt move at all. Instead, I noticed a thin, small man ca out from behind the door. He was only as tall as my chest and holding a kettle like he was pouring water for the tattooed guys. "Looking for ? He asked us. Whats going on?"
Fatty and I exchanged another glance and I asked, "Are you Hong Ding Shuixian? Isnt it red-capped daffodil?"
The little man scratched his crotch and then pointed at it. "Red-capped daffodil isnt my nickna, but the nickna of my second child. I usually dont show it to guests."
I didn't understand. He put down the hot kettle and whispered, "Who introduced you? I dont take male custors."
I looked at Fatty as if to say: Are you sure this man can help us? Fatty narrowed his eyes and said to Hong Ding Shuixian, "Don't you rember ? Im Pangpang (2)."
I looked at Fatty with widened eyes, unable to believe my ears. Fatty said to , "Don't get wrong, were netizens. Its my net na, my net na."
****
TN Notes:
(1) Per Tiffany: Many restaurants like to co up with fancy nas for dishes. Thats why Wu Xie felt the na sounded like sothing delicious.
(2) The pinyin of Fattys na is Pangzi. Pang ()=fat/plump. It seed stupid to say Fatfat and since its an online nickna, I figured it was best to leave the pinyin.
****
Season 2 Episode 4 around 38:50-40:55 (the setting and Wang ng being there instead of Wu Xie is different. But the overall premise is the sa). Also, reader Taomubiji has provided the link to the DMBJ discord here for those of you interested.
Reviews
All reviews (0)