Chapter 99 How can I help you?

Chapter 99 How can I help you?

Chapter 99 How can I help you?

The group stepped into the main gate with door gods on the left and right. On both sides of the tall mahogany and gold-painted plaque of Liao Wan Shek Hall, there was an inscription on the lintel: The world is high and I am happy to see the five peaks arching in beauty. The Wuwei is prosperous and I am happy to see the two carps flying.

Then go around the screen wall, come to the patio, step over the bluestone slabs, and enter the front hall.

There are several tables and chairs in the front hall, and plaques with words like "Jinshi", "Wenkui", "Yakui", "Wenshi" etc. are hung on the wall. Each plaque represents a successful Jinshi in the family. There are dozens of plaques of different sizes, which is enough to show that the Liao family has a long history and a prosperous family.

Most of the plaques had lost their paint, many were eaten by insects, and some had traces of being buried or burned. Only one red-based gold-painted signboard was brand new and bright, with the three words "Bachelor of Arts" on it attracting attention.

That was the plaque specially erected for Liao Qingqi, the 19th generation grandson of the Liao family in Sheung Shui, when he received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Island University of Hong Kong in 1961. The then clan leader set up this plaque for him to bring honor to the family.

Today, Liao Qingqi is the owner of the Hong Kong Space Museum, the founder of the Astronomical Society, a well-known astronomy researcher, and enjoys a certain reputation in the academic community.

Normally, Liao's disciples would celebrate weddings, funerals, and promotions in the front hall and at the open space at the door. There was a practical purpose for the gentry to raise money to build the ancestral hall, and in ancient times, the clan schools would also be built in the ancestral hall.

When welcoming distinguished guests or holding important banquets, the central hall will be the venue. After the front hall, there is a hall with paintings of flying phoenixes and rocs. The closed wooden door in the hall is the [central door].

Opening the central door to welcome guests is the highest etiquette in Chinese tradition. It is only opened when the clan holds a festival, or when someone wins the imperial examination and the local chief executive comes to attend.

Yin Zhaotang looked at the thick layer of dust on the door and estimated that it had not been opened for at least ten years, so he and his brothers naturally walked around the middle door.

In his two lives, he had visited many ancestral halls, including those in the mainland, overseas, and Hong Kong Island, but when he thought about it carefully, he had never walked through the middle gate. He must have not lived well enough. A real man should walk through the middle gate once he has the chance.

Jiang Hao, Danta and others often drank in the ancestral hall in the countryside, but they didn't even know that the door in the stall could be opened.

Go through the front hall and come to the middle hall.

Fat Cat was wearing a low-key gray gown, with a dragon head stick leaning against the corner of the table. He was sitting on a royal chair and sipping tea contentedly.

"Here comes the man who wants to become a big shot overnight. Brother Chen, please teach the young man well and let him know how high the sky is and how deep the earth is."

Sitting in the main seat, an old man in a brown Tang suit, with gray hair and a spirited look, was holding a kettle of hot water, brewing tea, and gently brewing it with a bowl covered.

“Amao, don’t underestimate young people. Without them, who will take care of you in your old age? The world is now ruled by young people. For old men like us, it is a blessing to be able to help. Who dares to give us advice?” Liao Runchen was in his fifties, with a handsome face. He would frown when he was not smiling, and he looked very dignified. Even when he smiled deliberately, he gave people a sense of distance.

He did not have the usual smiling face and friendliness of the fat cat, like Maitreya Buddha.

But the two of them happened to be of the same age, and they had obviously known each other before, so they had a lot of topics to talk about.

Fat Cat took a sip of tea and sighed, "Yes, when people get old they become restless and will be buried sooner or later."

"You loser, with the two red sticks under your command so powerful, who would dare to bury you?" Liao Runchen joked with a smile, he had already heard of the name of Shenxiantang.

Guangzai pressed his hand and asked Niu Qiang, Jiang Hao and his brothers to stop in the courtyard, and then entered the central hall together with Yin Zhaotang and Liao Zhihong.

The construction of three courtyards in a folk ancestral hall is already the maximum scale, and arranging chatting in the central hall shows respect.

This is because the inner hall of the third entrance is where ancestral tablets are enshrined. It is only opened during the Qingming Festival and the end of the year, and outsiders are not allowed to enter.

However, nowadays it is not as important as in ancient times. As long as you greet the host, no one will mind if you go to the inner hall for a walk. Some hosts like to treat the ancestral hall as a scenic spot and invite guests to visit the historical site to show off their family heritage.

But Sijiuzi was obviously not qualified to enter the hall, so he could only stand on the stone slab, bow and shout: "Ding Ye!!!" "Grandpa."

"Uncle Liao."

Yin Zhaotang greeted Fat Cat, then greeted Liao Runchen in a familiar manner, and sat to the right of Grandpa as arranged by Liao Zhihong.

Liao Runchen smiled and looked at him, seeming to be very satisfied. He nodded and praised him, "Young people are full of energy and spirit. Not bad. I heard that you are going to build a sneaker factory in Sheung Shui Wai to make money?"

Liao Zhihong placed two cups of hot tea on the tea tray, placed one next to Yin Zhaotang and handed one to Guangzai.

Yin Zhaotang took a sip of tea and licked his lips, then said politely, "Yes, Uncle Liao, please take care of me in the future."

"You really don't hide anything. Okay, you want me to take care of you. What benefits can I give you?" Liao Runchen asked as a matter of course, holding his cane.

Yin Zhaotang said with a smug look, "Of course there are many benefits. First of all, it will create jobs for Sheung Shui Township. Uncle Liao is the first vice chairman of the Heung Yee Kuk and he will definitely care about the employment of the villagers."

"Secondly, we give villagers shoes to wear during festivals, which is an employee benefit. Finally, if Uncle Liao is interested, you can help distribute sneakers together, and we can all make money together."

Liao Runchen nodded and turned to joke: "Ah Mao, is your little brother generous or stingy? He talked for a long time and didn't give me a penny, but he still wants me to protect him. Pick it!"

"He even tricked me into selling shoes and working for him!"

Fat Cat pursed his lips and smiled: "Really, Brother Chen, you want to collect money from a child? Be careful, I will bring the whole club to Shangshui Township to ask for red envelopes at the end of the year, and I guarantee you will pay three times the amount."

Liao Runchen looked helpless and said with a wry smile: "Okay, I won't charge you any money, I'll work for you for free. Atang, tell me, what is the sneaker factory going to do?"

Yin Zhaotang knew that Liao Runchen's test was very clear and straightforward. The amount of support Liao would give depended on how many points he could get.

The plaques hanging high on the wall of the ancestral hall and the couplets on both sides of each entrance all reminded him without exception that traditional ancestral halls are never stingy in supporting talents, whether they are within the clan or outside the clan. Making connections and recruiting talents are almost what every clan instinctively does.

Correspondingly, the ancestral hall never supports useless people, let alone provides support to mediocre people from other ethnic groups. Guests sitting in the central hall, those with talent are guests, and those without talent are beggars!

Yin Zhaotang visited the factory and said, "The company bought the factory from the four major companies. The workshop has been set up. There are more than 50 looms, weaving machines, and cutting machines. The production equipment is complete."

"The warehouse is stocked with materials worth 1.7 million, including rubber soles, cotton cloth, cotton linen and gauze. What we lack now is workers, management and sales channels."

"The most important thing is definitely sales. If there is sales, production can naturally increase. So, I plan to use OEM products to enter the market, using the lowest price and selling the best brand."

Liao Zhihong, who was pouring tea nearby, suddenly brightened up his eyes and exclaimed: "Mr. Yin, you were planning to sell pirated goods from the beginning!"

Hong Kong Island has been a market flooded with piracy in the 1980s. All kinds of pirated CDs, pirated purses and handbags have emerged one after another. If there are people who need them, there will be people to supply them.

Many people in the underworld have piracy as a part of their business philosophy, but it has not yet been applied to sneakers. Now that it is brought up, everyone present will immediately know how to deal with it.

Guangzai looked at Yin Zhaotang in surprise. He didn't say that in Tuodi yesterday!
Liao Runchen was even more knowledgeable and quick-witted. He figured out the meaning immediately and sipped the tea and said, "Shenxiantang, right? That's interesting. How can I help you to make you happier?"

(End of this chapter)