NABC Chapter 14 Friendly Neighbors
Chapter 14 Friendly Neighbors
They stepped down from the boxing ring.
Ah Hu tossed a small bundle of Hong Kong dollars to Song Sheng, teasing, "Handsome, if I'd known you were such a bad boxer, I should have bet more!"
Song Sheng squeezed the small wad of money, which amounted to about two or three thousand yuan.
At this time of year, this amount of money is quite substantial.
It seems my odds were pretty high just now.
He put the money in his pocket and said sincerely, "Thank you, Brother Tiger."
This thank you is necessary. If the other party hadn't lent him 500 yuan as gambling capital, he wouldn't have earned 2,000 or 3,000 yuan with just his 20 yuan or so, even if his odds doubled.
Ah Hu: "Come with me. There shouldn't be any more fights for you here tonight. You were too dominant in that fight earlier; most of the other fighters probably won't challenge you now."
Song Sheng understood and followed the other person to a quiet balcony where miscellaneous items were piled up.
Night had fallen, and the overall tone of the walled city became even darker.
Ah Hu leaned against the edge of the balcony, lit a cigarette, and took a deep drag with a copper-cased kerosene lighter. He then looked at Song Sheng and said, "Handsome, your punches are pretty fierce. Did you just arrive in Hong Kong recently?"
"It's true that I just arrived recently."
"Is there a place to stay?"
"not yet."
"I see. The Walled City will arrange accommodations for boxers who have signed contracts. However, the environment won't be very good. If you don't like sharing with others, you can find your own place to stay, but you must notify us as soon as possible after you find one."
That way, when there's a boxing match, someone can let you know in advance.
"Is the place we've been assigned to inside the walled city?"
"Yeah, about four or five boxers share a room."
"Sharing a place... I think I'll pass. I'll look for one myself first. Thanks to Tiger, I have some spare cash now."
Song Sheng wasn't particularly picky about accommodations, and the conditions inside the walled city were fine.
The key issue was that he had to share a room with several boxers. In that already cramped and damp room, the smell... he didn't even want to think about it. Song Sheng would rather find a street corner to make do.
"If you're looking for a venue yourself, you'd better hurry, because you can usually book one or even multiple venues here within a day or two."
"I see."
"Here, this is your business card. Take it with you when you come over. Someone will greet you. If you need anything, just let me know."
As they were talking, Ah Hu tossed over a black business card, hard and stamped with gold.
It reads: Longcheng Real Estate Co., Ltd....
The other side was marked with what appeared to be a boxer's number.
Is it that formal?
Seeing Song Sheng's surprise, Ah Hu explained, "There's no need to be too surprised. Nearly half of the land deeds in the entire Dragon City are under Sister Pei's name. It's just a real estate company."
Good guy!
Nearly half of the land title?
She's definitely a super-rich woman!
Song Sheng vaguely remembered that the Hong Kong government spent dozens of small dollars on the demolition and resettlement of Kowloon Walled City. Although not all of it was used for compensation, as long as he could hold onto nearly half of the land deeds, they would be worth at least several hundred million dollars in the future.
That woman is actually worth that much.
No, it's that they're incredibly rich.
……
at night
Song Sheng arrived at a tenement building on Yonglong Street. The temporary place to stay was introduced by Ah Hu's henchmen.
He was new to the area, and it was getting late, so he didn't refuse.
Of course, he still has to pay the rent for the apartment.
The landlady was a nice-tempered woman, and since she was introduced by an acquaintance, Song Sheng only had to pay one month's rent as a deposit.
During this period, housing resources were extremely scarce on Hong Kong Island. Given the supply shortage, the fact that landlords offered a deposit and rent payment arrangement was most likely due to the referral from someone else.
The room Song Sheng stayed in was not large, less than ten square meters.
The hardboard bed alone took up almost half of the room, along with a worn-out small table and a chair with a crooked leg; that basically made up the entire room.
The walls inside the room were covered with old newspapers, some of which had turned yellow.
However, since it was a temporary shelter, Song Sheng casually released the crow, letting it roam freely near the Tanglou.
He lay on the hard bed and began to think about what to do next.
Suddenly, I heard a rustling sound.
Song Sheng stared at the rooftop with boredom, thinking to himself: The soundproofing of residential buildings in this period is really bad.
……
The next day, early morning
Song Sheng pushed open the wooden door to go out for a walk, just as the door to the next room opened from the inside.
A man in a dark long robe led a little boy out. The two met at the door and were both taken aback.
Ip Man nodded politely as was his habit.
Song Sheng also came to his senses: "I am a new resident who just moved here, Song Sheng."
The person in front of him looked almost exactly like the character in the movie, so much so that Song Sheng recognized him at a glance.
Unexpectedly, a temporary place to stay would become Ip Man's neighbor.
Song Sheng couldn't help but glance at Ip Man.
He wore a cotton long shirt and trousers, with a patch on one of the trouser legs.
His appearance is characterized by a buzz cut, a smiling face, and a ramrod straight back, giving him a gentle and reserved demeanor.
"Ip Man." Ip Man was quite kind, and he introduced the little boy to him, saying, "This is my son, Ip Chun, Ah Chun, call him Uncle."
The little boy obediently said, "Uncle."
Song Sheng nodded and politely praised her for being well-behaved and sensible.
Actually, when Song Sheng met Ye Zhun, he had a question that he was quite curious about.
Logically speaking, when the first Ip Man movie was made, Ip Man's son, Ip Chun, was already able to run and jump, so he must have been at least two or three years old.
The first and second parts span more than a decade.
Is it normal that Ip Chun still looks like a little kid?
……
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, they parted ways.
Song Sheng locked the door and prepared to go buy some daily necessities.
You need to prepare the most basic household items such as bedding, buckets, changes of clothes, and toiletries.
Not only are the toilets in this place public, but even the drinking water has to be drawn from a tap downstairs.
Moreover, during morning and evening rush hours, long queues form due to insufficient water pressure.
Fortunately, Song Sheng didn't plan to cook for himself, so he didn't need to prepare too much water in his room, and naturally, he didn't need to queue up for water during peak hours.
He browsed around the shops in the vicinity and bought almost all the daily necessities he needed.
When he returned with bags full of things, he saw Ip Man again after dropping off the children.
The other party is posting hand-drawn posters announcing the opening of their school and the commencement of their teaching practice on the streets and alleys.
Song Sheng didn't notice him at first, but the other party blocked his way when they posted the notice at the entrance of the building.
"Excuse me, could you please move aside? Thank you."
"Excuse me, oh! Mr. Song?"
"..."
Song Sheng, dragging large and small bags, tilted his head and noticed the hand-drawn advertisement that Ip Man was putting up. He nodded and said, "So Mr. Ip is a martial arts master."