Chapter 1: A String of Bad Luck
May 1986, Peng City Railway Station.
With an hour to go before the soft-sleeper train departed, Wu Feng was busily arranging his luggage, his mouth not stopping: “Mom, I’ve already called Third Uncle, he’ll pick you up when the train arrives!”
“Be careful on the way. If you encounter trouble, don’t worry about the luggage. I’ll send you money when you get Home. It’s best if you can resume your previous job!”
At this time, there were only the mother and son in the carriage, so they weren't afraid of being overheard while talking intimately.
His mother was a woman in her thirties, of medium height with a weathered face, dressed in cheap clothes from Hong Kong, with strands of dazzling white hair mixed in her ear-length bob.
“Da Feng!”
Standing aside, his mother, looking utterly exhausted, suddenly spoke.
Wu Feng instinctively turned his head, only to see his mother hesitate for a moment before quietly pleading, “If your father comes back, don’t get angry or quarrel with him, just let him go back Home!”
Hearing his mother’s plea, Wu Feng’s eyes immediately turned bloodshot, and an unknown anger surged within him.
“Mom, he’s a gambler who doesn’t care about his wife or child’s life, why bother with him?”
“Da Feng, don’t say that, he is your father after all!”
His mother’s face showed a pleading expression, and tears welled up in her eyes.
“...Okay, Mom, don’t cry, I’ll listen to you!”
He sighed inwardly, forcefully suppressing his anger. There was no reason for his innocent mother to bear the consequences of his gambler father’s mistakes. Their previous life was already oppressive and suffocating enough.
His mother was a typical traditional woman. While not exactly ‘submissive to her husband,’ she still cherished the relationship with his father, who had repeatedly accumulated gambling debts and shamelessly fled.
They had already argued and made a fuss, so there was no need to continue adding negative emotions to his mother.
Whatever dissatisfaction Wu Feng had, he could only keep it to himself. Fortunately, such days would no longer exist.
This time, he managed to get a soft-sleeper train ticket through the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office, which offered some safety assurance.
As other passengers gradually boarded the same carriage, Wu Feng politely greeted them and distributed a pack of Marlboros, quickly striking up a friendly conversation.
When it was almost time, he asked the other passengers in the carriage to help look after his mother, patiently reminded her once more, and then got off the train.
He watched the train disappear from sight before quickly walking through the chaotic, crowded station.
His tall, strong physique, floral shirt, jeans, and sneakers immediately marked him as a compatriot from Hong Kong, so naturally, no one with poor judgment would pick a fight with him.
He directly got into the minivan parked outside the station and greeted the driver, a younger man who had been waiting for a long time: ‘Drive, let’s go back to Hong Kong!’
The half-old, half-new minivan quickly started and headed towards Hong Kong.
Leaning back in the minivan seat, his thoughts drifted.
He was not from this world, or rather, not from this era.
He had transmigrated from 2024, a professional online novelist.
Also named Wu Feng, his soul merged with the young man of the same name who was in Tseung Kwan O, Hong Kong, in 1986.
Speaking of which, the young Wu Feng in this world had a rather extraordinary experience.
He was originally from Hubei Province in the Mainland, and he studied in his Home County Town from a young age: one year of preschool, five years of primary school, two years of junior high, and two years of high school. Unfortunately, he failed to get into a technical secondary school in the college entrance exam.
At that time, he was still young, only fifteen, and it wasn't suitable for him to start working in a unit, nor were there many positions available.
For his future prospects, he simply enlisted in the army, and even participated in the Two Mountains Battle with his unit.
Originally, with his education and performance, he even had the opportunity to directly enter a military academy through an internal army examination, but he was called back Home after his three years of compulsory service ended.
It turned out that his father had an uncle who was conscripted by the KMT army back then. After the war, he didn't go to Taiwan but instead went to Hong Kong with a group of defeated soldiers and stragglers, settling down in Tiu Keng Leng, where he married and had children.
Not long ago, feeling his end was near, he contacted his father through the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office, asking him to come to Hong Kong for a final visit and to arrange his funeral.
When his father arrived in Hong Kong, his uncle, while ill, asked for his opinion, then helped his father obtain a Hong Kong identity card and even a stable job before passing away.
At that time, his father, who had recently graduated from a technical secondary school, was already the director of the township veterinary station, a section-level cadre.
Soon after, his father, who had found his footing in Hong Kong, asked his mother to take a leave of absence without pay and follow him to Hong Kong.
At that time, the desire to go abroad was very strong, not to mention that the average salary in Hong Kong was shockingly high. If given the chance, everyone was willing to come and make big money.
In the spring of 1986, Wu Feng retired from compulsory service and soon came to Hong Kong, also obtaining a Hong Kong identity card.
With his education, finding a legitimate job in Hong Kong shouldn't have been a problem, but fate had other plans.
His father somehow developed a gambling addiction and completely wasted his life.
Initially, he only gambled with his own salary, but later he started gambling with his mother's salary. They quarreled countless times over this, but it was useless.
Later, he became bolder and even borrowed usurious loans from underground casinos to gamble.
When the loan sharks came to collect the money, he simply disappeared, leaving his mother and Wu Feng to face a group of vicious thugs.
They resorted to despicable tactics like splashing red paint and releasing snakes, along with various unbearable threats.
Wu Feng was not afraid; after all, he had experienced the baptism of gunfire on the Two Mountains front, so he wouldn't be scared of a few street punks. But his mother desperately held him back from fighting.
Fortunately, Huang Wengang, his Brother from his granduncle’s family, couldn't stand by and helped out. Wu Feng then joined his Brother to drive away the debt-collecting thugs.
At this point, Wu Feng was actually cornered, with no choice at all.
If he and his mother quickly left Hong Kong to return Home, his Brother’s family would have to face the loan sharks.
One hundred thousand hong kong dollars in debt, with interest compounding, who knew how enormous that number would become?
The only option was to stay in Hong Kong and resist, perhaps to be beaten to death by the debt collectors at any time.
Or to go astray, after all, he possessed considerable personal martial prowess!
His mother just cried, while also scolding his father, having no thoughts or opinions at all.
At this time, his Brother, Huang Wengang, suggested joining a triad!
Coincidentally, Zhong Ye of Hung Yee thought highly of his skills and wanted to take him under his wing.
He was still a bit hesitant. If Wu Feng also joined, he would be completely at ease.
If he didn't know his Brother's temperament, Wu Feng would have thought he was setting a trap for him to fall into. It was too easy to imagine things; his persuasion skills needed improvement.
Wu Feng had no choice but to agree. After meeting Zhong Ye of Hung Yee with his Brother, it was settled.
Zhong Ye helped repay the one hundred thousand hong kong dollar usurious loan; this was an immense favor!
Feeling depressed after returning, he got roaring drunk, and then the Wu Feng from 2024 transmigrated.
Because it was a soul fusion, the memories and emotions of the previous body were retained, which was why he reacted so intensely to the topic of his father.
After paying respects to Guan Gong and becoming a formal Si Jiu of Hung Yee, the first thing to do was to properly arrange for his mother to return Home. Hong Kong was temporarily not a place for her to stay.
Fortunately, his mother had a work visa and a temporary ID card, so she could continue working after returning.
Originally, Wu Feng intended to personally escort his mother Home, but Zhong Ye urgently needed manpower and wouldn't allow it, which led to the scene in the train's soft-sleeper carriage earlier.