plumnovel Chapter 35 The Great Reshuffle at the Dock
Chapter 35 The Great Reshuffle at the Dock
Leaving the fish market, Finn headed straight for the dock area.
The air here is filled with the smell of sawdust and tar.
The leader of the "Iron Hook Gang" was a middle-aged man with a face full of scars, a hideous knife scar on his neck, and a missing hand that he had replaced with a rusty iron hook.
He was drinking around a campfire with a few of his men when they saw Finn walking towards them alone. They all stood up, clutching their bottles or short sticks.
Finn stopped a few steps away from the fire, the light casting a long shadow on the ground.
"Mr. Li asked me to pass on a message to you."
His tone was completely different from when he was talking to old Mike; it carried a condescending, informing tone.
The leader of the "Iron Hook Gang" slammed the bottle down on the ground.
"What did you say?"
"Things will get a little unsettled south of the dock in three days. Be careful."
After Finn finished speaking, he turned and left without waiting for any reaction from the other party.
"That's it?" Scarface roared behind him. "You fucking came all this way just to spout this nonsense?"
Finn didn't turn around, but simply raised one hand and waved before disappearing into the shadow of the mountain of shipbuilding materials.
Scarface looked in the direction Finn had left and spat.
"A pretentious bastard."
One of his men leaned over: "Boss, is what he said true or false?"
"Who cares if it's true or not!" Scarface kicked over a wooden barrel next to the fire.
"Pass on my message: tell the brothers to keep their weapons on them these next few days, especially around those warehouses in the south. Send more men to keep an eye on them!"
The last stop was the southern warehouse area.
This is the territory of "Stonefist". The leader, "Mad Dog" Barlow, used to be "Butcher" Jack's most loyal subordinate, a burly man whose brain was only muscles.
When Finn found him, Barlow was arm wrestling with his men, the veins bulging on his thick arms.
Upon seeing Finn, Barlow suddenly exerted his strength, slamming his opponent's arm hard onto the table, then stood up, his face filled with undisguised mockery.
"Oh, isn't this Mr. Li's one-eyed lackey? What, that Eastern guy finally let you, his dog, come out and pee?"
Finn was not provoked; instead, he put on a "sincere" expression.
"Barlow, Mr. Li knows you're a good man, loyal and righteous. He doesn't want to be enemies with someone like you."
He took a small purse from his pocket and threw it on the table, the coins inside making a crisp sound.
"Mr. Li is willing to pay this price to buy your territory. You and your brothers can leave Boston and do well anywhere."
Barlow burst into laughter, the sound echoing through the empty warehouse.
"Get the hell out of here! Go back and tell your Eastern master that no one will take 'Stone Fist's' territory unless I'm dead!"
"In that case..." Finn's expression became somewhat troubled. He leaned forward and spoke in a tone as if sharing a secret.
"Then I'll give you another piece of information, for the sake of us being gang leaders. In three days, the Lobster Soldiers will be raiding the docks. Their target is the North District, especially the area around the fish market."
"The south is absolutely safe. Mr. Li told me to warn you to stay away, but I think this is actually a great opportunity to make money, isn't it?"
Barlow stared at Finn suspiciously.
Seeing the perfect "sincerity" on Finn's face and the fleeting "hesitation" in his eyes, he became convinced that it was all a trick.
This one-eyed bastard is trying to trick himself into going south to his death.
"Get out!" Barlow grabbed the money bag from the table and slammed it at Finn. "Tell that yellow-skinned monkey that I saw right through his tricks!"
Finn dodged the money bag in a "scratched" manner, turned around and walked away quickly, his back view appearing somewhat hurried.
Watching Finn's retreating figure, Barlow proudly boasted to his men.
"See that? That guy's trying to trick us into going south! We're not going! Send the order: three days from now, gather our biggest shipment at the northern dock for trading! I'll show that Easterner who's in charge here!"
With the three messages sent out, the underground world of the entire dock began to stir with undercurrents.
Old Mike worked through the night, and his men, like a swarm of industrious ants, quietly smuggled boxes of bootleg liquor and contraband into Black Island Bay.
The "Iron Hook Gang" has tightened security on its southern territories, and its members have become extremely vigilant, ready to draw their knives at the slightest provocation.
Meanwhile, "Mad Dog" Barlow was smug, spreading the word that he had seen through Levi's conspiracy and intensifying his efforts to collect his loot, preparing to pull off a big heist in three days.
Meanwhile, in Boyle's bakery, a new rumor began to circulate among the gentlemen who came to inquire about "Dawn of the East".
"Have you heard? The Governor's Office has commissioned that mysterious Mr. Li to help restore order at the docks."
"Yes, Mr. Li is preparing to establish a new chamber of commerce and welcomes all 'legitimate businessmen' to join."
This news lends a legal and respectable veneer to Li Wei's impending takeover.
Inside the warehouse, under the glow of whale oil lamps, Fiona was leading several newly recruited Irish youths in calculating something on a board blackened with charcoal.
She used a strange bookkeeping method that Li Wei had taught her.
For every loan to be repaid, the amounts must be equal on both sides.
This girl, who used to only count bread and potatoes, is now showing amazing talent.
Complex lists of goods, staff salaries, and bribes to be paid to the dock foremen were all organized into clear tables under her guidance.
Li Wei stood not far away watching her. The girl's focused expression brought a sense of order to the chaotic warehouse.
He was very satisfied; Fiona, this "initial stock," was appreciating at a rate exceeding expectations. And of course, there was that increasingly captivating figure. Levi waited, waiting for everything to fall into place.
Just then, there was a gentle knock on the back door of the warehouse.
Seamus went to open the door, and a figure wrapped in a hooded cloak slipped in.
It was Samuel.
His face was even paler than before, and his young face was filled with anger and questioning.
"Li Wei!" he called out as soon as he entered, his voice trembling with suppressed emotion.
"Why did you do this? Why did you cooperate with the Governor's Office to suppress our compatriots at the docks? You have betrayed us!"
Levi gestured for Seamus to guard the door, then calmly walked up to Samuel.
"Sit down and talk, Mr. Samuel. This sacred cause is physically demanding; don't exhaust yourself before you've even begun."
"I'm not here for tea!" Samuel didn't sit down. "The Son of Liberty needs an explanation! You're acting as a lackey for the British!"
"Hounds and lackeys?" Li Wei laughed.
"What I'm cleaning up are the mad dogs and parasites on the docks. Tell me, has someone like 'Mad Dog' Barlow, besides using violence to exploit poor dockworkers and robbing small vendors, ever contributed even a penny to your so-called 'cause of freedom'?"
He took a step forward, closing in on Samuel.
"I'll ask you again, what good is a chaotic, filthy dock, where people fight every day over a few barrels of bootlegging, to your 'great cause'?"
"Would it be more useful to you to have a dock under my control, one that can quietly transport supplies for you, provide safe haven, and even inform you in advance which ships have tax officials on them?"
Samuel was left speechless.
His mind was filled with lofty slogans and ideals, but he never seriously considered these practical issues.
"This...this is two different things!" he retorted, sounding somewhat blustering but actually weak.
"No, that's the same thing."
"I'm clearing obstacles for your business. And I've also prepared a gift for you."