1994: I Became a Literary Master in America

Chapter 4 Useless Golden Finger

Inside the tenement building, only Mr. Yin and Kenny remained.

Kenny sat down in front of the tea boat and began to brew the new tea.

Mr. Yin walked over and sat down beside him, looking at Kenny and saying, "Just now, it wasn't my fault, was it?"

"Old Ding, what are you talking about? It's all for A-Jie's own good."

But should we really let A-Jie quit?

"Given the current situation of the Ghost Shadow Gang, whether they withdraw or not is of little significance."

Do you know why I came so late today? I was stopped by James as soon as I came out of the subway station.

He said things are different now than they were ten years ago.

Ten years ago, if we were ruthless and fierce enough, we could establish ourselves in Chinatown. But now… everything is about money; human life is worthless. Do you remember the Inamoto-kai? Those little devils in Little Tokyo, do you recall them?

Kenny laughed and said, "How come I don't remember?"

Back in the day, we fought the Inamoto clan to the death. I even got shot and almost died. If Jia Dong hadn't risked his life to save me, I'd be a pile of bones by now… But the Inamoto clan is gone now. It seems like it disappeared in '91, just like that. Now all that's left is a bunch of insignificant thugs.”

"They didn't disappear, they just hid."

"what?"

"They've handed over all their businesses to those Yakuza management companies you mentioned. Yuichi Inamoto has now disappeared behind the scenes and laundered his money! James said that he seems to have received funding from some Japanese conglomerates and is now a front man, specializing in money laundering... But in terms of strength, he has become stronger, he just hasn't shown his face."

Huaqing also received substantial financial support from Taiwan.

The future of the business world will belong to the financial empires; we must change our mindset and escape our current predicament as soon as possible.

"Transformation?"

Kenny poured Mr. Yin a cup of tea and said with a wry smile, "Old Master, I'm good at fighting and killing, but I can't change careers..."

"I met some big shots in prison."

Giuliani is planning to develop Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn, and I intend to get involved.

"Yangtou Bay? That wasteland by the sea."

"It's wasteland now, but it won't be for long! John Gottie Jr. is willing to cooperate, and through him we can get into the development of Sheepshead Bay."

"John Jr.? The current godfather of the Gambino family?"

"yes!"

"Old Ding, you..."

"I helped his father while I was in prison."

John Gottlieb's father, John Gottlieb, was the third godfather of the Gambino family and the only Mafia godfather to be betrayed by his deputy and imprisoned.

His case was personally overseen by Giuliani when he was the New York Attorney General in 1992.

Is it reliable?

"Whether it's reliable or not, I'm going to take the gamble."

Mr. Yin took a sip of tea and then lit a cigarette.

"As for Chinatown, as I said before, just hold onto Mott Street and Canal Street; that's our foundation. Focus your efforts on cooperating with Gotti's side; I expect it to start by the end of the year at the latest. I won't have time to keep an eye on things here then."

And he's working with Gorty...

Mr. Yin suddenly gave a bitter smile.

Kenny understood what he meant: for the Ghost Gang, cooperating with the Gambino family was a double-edged sword.

"I asked A-Jie to quit because I was worried that he would get too deeply involved in the future."

Besides, that kid is smart; it's a waste for him to be in a gang... Let him try his luck. We'll cover for him; he can't possibly end up homeless. Another thing is, the new immigrants are too flamboyant! Just like when we started out, they're fierce and ruthless.

They'll eventually set their sights on Chinatown in Manhattan. Rather than resorting to violence, it's better to cut our losses and survive...

They owe us a favor, and we can protect our business.

Gangs come and go, but financial groups remain constant. As long as we have money, whether it's the Wang family gang or the Lin family gang, they're all just our "knives."

After Mr. Yin finished speaking, he smiled.

Kenny understood and nodded, saying, "In that case, letting Ah Jie leave the Ghost Shadow Gang is actually a good thing!"

"Of course!"

A profound and enigmatic smile appeared on Mr. Yin's face.

……

Xu Shengjie's home is located on East Broadway, near Sowerby Park and Canal Street, one of the main east-west thoroughfares in Manhattan's Chinatown.

It was already late at night, and there weren't many pedestrians on the streets.

Xu Shengjie stopped in front of a building with a red exterior, relying on his memory.

After parking the motorcycle, he picked up the canvas backpack and walked straight through the gate.

The doorman was a middle-aged Chinese man in a security guard uniform. He glanced at him through the window but didn't greet him.

In the original owner's memories, his relationships with his neighbors were just average.

The residents here are mostly white-collar workers, predominantly of Chinese descent, with some Black people, a few White people, and two Indians.

The original owner had previously had a conflict with one of the Indians.

The main reason was that the other party took advantage of his young age, resulting in Justin and his gang coming to his apartment and vandalizing it… Justin was even taken to the police station, detained for three days, and then released on $2,000 bail. However, since then, the people in the apartment building have kept their distance from him. No one bullies him, but no one wants to associate with him either.

After all, who wants to deal with gangsters?

Xu Shengjie didn't seem to care about this.

He returned home, went into his room, closed the door behind him, threw his backpack on the sofa in the living room, stood in the center of the living room, and looked around.

The house is small, with two bedrooms and a living room.

The living room is furnished with a sofa and a TV, and the window faces the street outside, making it very bright and airy.

This is his home!

Xu Shengjie stepped forward and drew the curtains.

He sat on the sofa and turned on the TV.

It was the FOX channel, and The Simpsons was playing. Xu Shengjie couldn't help but laugh.

During the six years he spent in the hospital, he watched all 565 episodes of The Simpsons.

Who would have thought that this animated film, which started in 1989, would set numerous Guinness World Records and continue to air for 26 years?

However, he didn't care about that.

Instead, he took off his coat, picked up a butterfly knife from the coffee table, and slashed his arm.

hiss……

It hurts!

But Xu Shengjie didn't cry out. Instead, he stared at the wound, watching the blood slowly flow down his arm like a winding snake.

There are no signs of it healing on its own.

Is it because there isn't enough time?

He got up, rummaged through the drawer of the corner cabinet, took out a bandage to stop the bleeding, wrapped it around his arm, and then sat back down on the sofa.

The gunshot wound in his abdomen has healed completely without leaving any scars.

An immortal body?

He fantasized, though he knew in his heart that it was just a fantasy.

In May, the weather in New York was still relatively cool.

Xu Shengjie took a shower, changed into comfortable clothes, walked barefoot on the carpet, and then plopped down on the sofa.

He opened his arms, looked up at the ceiling, and fell into deep thought.

Since his transmigration, he has been thinking about how to escape the gang.

Unexpectedly, Mr. Yin returned and actually offered to let him withdraw.

However, the matter of murder...

Ultimately, it remains a hidden danger.

At this time in his previous life, he was still in school.

After that, I went to university, graduated, and got a job... To be honest, I don't know much about what happened in America during this era.

All I knew was that the United States in the 1990s was the only superpower on Earth.

With rapid technological advancements, a strong national power, and constant warfare, China possesses formidable military strength.

As for the lives of ordinary people?

You may have some understanding of America from movies, TV series, or news reports, but much of the news... This is an era where a minority controls the channels of discourse. The America you know is merely the America that a small group of people want you to know.

The real America...

We'll have to wait twenty years, until the internet is fully developed and information channels are infinitely open, before we gradually learn the truth.

In the 1990s, the United States was the beacon of the world!

Xu Shengjie shook his head, got up and walked to the refrigerator, taking out a bottle of soda.

I took a big gulp, then let out a burp – so refreshing!

The sodas of this era are still quite authentic, unlike the sugar-free sodas of the future that have no flavor at all.

Xu Shengjie drank the can in one gulp, threw it into the trash can, and his gaze inadvertently swept over the canvas backpack.

He picked up his backpack, sat down on the sofa again, and took out his passport, wallet, green card, and an application form.

It is an application form for the Pan-Asian Theatre Company.

Xu Shengjie had heard of this troupe in his previous life; it seemed to be a troupe founded by Zhang Disha.

Zhang Disha, on the other hand, is a Chinese American living in the theater industry and is somewhat well-known on Broadway.

He's a director and has acted in the Broadway classic "Lovely Lady, Kind Gentleman"... other than that, I don't know much.

Of course, the original owner knew nothing about this person.

Zhou Wenqiong currently resides in the basement of 99 E 3rd St.

It's not far from Xu Shengjie's home, about a ten-minute bike ride away.

I picked up my passport again and looked at the woman in the photo...

is her!

Xu Shengjie suddenly slapped his forehead and couldn't help but laugh.

……