Chapter 7, The Matter Must Be Escalated (Part 2)

"So, does this mean that from now on, the work of the foreigners will be monopolized by you, Brother A Yuan?" A member of the gang, primarily composed of locals, asked with a cold smile, while several other leaders of smaller gangs also sneered, their smiles filled with ill intentions.

Liu Lichuan let out a sigh of relief and quickly cupped his hands to send off Wang Guochu and the others. Then, he secretly glanced at Wu Chaoyue, who was passionately conversing in English with the foreigners, and inwardly lamented, "Little ancestor, can you please stop causing trouble? My Double Sabers Association primarily consists of Cantonese members, and in Shanghai, a strong dragon cannot suppress a local snake. If we monopolize the resources, it would be strange if the other gangs didn't unite to dismantle my Double Sabers Association!"

After speaking, Wu Chaoyue quickly turned to the foreign priests, including Luo Weilin and Mai Dusi, asking them to immediately teach the workers a verse from the Bible in Chinese, and suggested that they choose something simple and easy to remember, so that the workers could experience some initial success. The priests, including Luo Weilin, were delighted to hear this and quickly selected a verse from the Bible. Then, Luo Weilin, who was more fluent in Chinese, stepped forward and loudly recited in Chinese: "Dear Chinese friends, memorizing the Bible is not difficult at all. Please listen carefully—let the elderly speak first, and let those of great age teach with wisdom"

Cheering, more than 200 dockworkers controlled by the Double Knife Society strode onto the ship to take on work, while many remembered Wu Chaoyue's warning and did not forget to recite the Bible verses they had just learned while working. Seeing this scene, foreign priests such as Luo Weilin and Mai Dusi were, of course, trembling with excitement and wiping away tears. Wu Chaoyue also quietly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to himself: "Fortunately, the beginning went smoothly; I helped them get started, and from now on, I should have nothing more to do with it."

Wu Chaoyue is here feeling relaxed and at ease, while on the other side, Liu Lichuan, the leader of the thugs from the Lao Wu family, is on edge, constantly observing the movements at the dock. As Liu Lichuan anticipated, it wasn't long before Wang Guochu, the leader of the Bailong Society, along with Xiao Fujian, the leader of the Bird Party, and several other heads of small gangs, approached Liu Lichuan. Xiao Fujian, the Bird Party leader secretly supported by Shanghai's county magistrate Yuan Zude, wore a forced smile and said to Liu Lichuan, "Brother A Yuan (Liu Lichuan's nickname), impressive, to eat alone, you've even invited the foreigners over."

Sighing, in accordance with Wu Chaoyue's request, Liu Lichuan still sent someone to organize the dock workers controlled by the Shuangdao Society to gather near that British ship, while also leaving enough personnel to protect Wu Chaoyue and the foreign priests such as Luo Weilin. Wu Chaoyue, with a furrowed brow, led these foreign priests forward to prepare for a speech, but the more than twenty foreign priests were all in high spirits, rubbing their fists in anticipation, and eagerly discussing how to convey those biblical sayings to the dock workers.

Listen carefully

With the assistance of Liu Lichuan and the thugs from the Double Knife Society, Wu Chaoyue finally managed to quiet down the chattering workers. He then quickly shouted, "Listen carefully, it is not I who want you to recite the Bible, but the foreigners who require you to do so in order to get work. This has nothing to do with me! Rest assured, reciting a line from the Bible is not difficult at all. I will now invite the foreign priest to recite a line for you to listen to, and you can see for yourselves how easy it is to learn"

Then, Father Martin and the others naturally rushed back to Wu Chaoyue's side, urging him to shout to the dockworkers who had already recited a verse from the Bible: "Brothers, listen carefully, as long as you learn to draw a cross on your chest, recite the verse you just learned, and then draw a cross on your chest with your hand, all the business from that American ship will be yours!"

The more one fears, the more ghosts appear. Just as one British ship had not finished unloading, another American ship docked. The dockworkers controlled by the Hundred Dragons Society and the Bird Party, along with other gangs, were overjoyed to see this and rushed to take on work. However, as soon as they spotted the American flag hanging on the ship, Martin and two other American priests rushed up as well, shouting in English as they boarded the vessel. They exchanged just a few words with the American ship owner, who, being equally devout, immediately patted his chest and agreed to help. He also decided not to unload the cargo for the time being, rejecting all requests for work from the dockworkers, and was willing to waste a little time waiting for the designated workers from his compatriots to board the ship.

Subsequently, Wu Chaoyue naturally created the biggest news in Shanghai this month. After more than two hundred dockworkers, controlled by the Double Knife Society, gathered as required, Wu Chaoyue, with great reluctance, stepped forward to inform these dockworkers that they must learn a verse from the Bible in order to take on this business. He also explained the benefits they would receive from learning this verse, demanding that these unfortunate dockworkers recite the Bible collectively with the foreign priest. He generously stated that those unwilling to recite the Bible could leave immediately—only to go hungry today.

The dockworkers, who make a living through hard labor, naturally hope for more business, so after hearing Wu Chaoyue's shouting, those unloading goods at the dock were filled with joy, reciting the Bible verses they had just learned with even more diligence and effort. However, on the other side, Liu Lichuan clearly saw that the atmosphere among gang leaders like Wang Guochu and Xiao Fujian was filled with murderous intent, which made Liu Lichuan feel even more distressed. "Little ancestor, you have put me in a terrible situation! The Double Knife Society that your grandfather and I painstakingly established might just be ruined because of you!"

Although among the more than 200 dockworkers there were quite a few who were merely pretending, and some who were silent, the sight of so many Chinese people reciting the Bible in unison moved foreign priests such as Luo Weilin and Mai Dusi, who had been in China for over a decade, to tears. They drew crosses on their chests while continuously thanking the Lord for His omnipotence. In order to spread the Lord's gospel rapidly across the land of China, they specially created a living Chinese treasure named Wu Chaoyue, affectionately referred to as a "living treasure"! However, Father Martin and a few other priests who had also recently arrived in China were not entirely satisfied with this. They felt that these dockworkers should also be taught to draw crosses and that the meaning of the Bible verse should be explained to them. Nevertheless, after being persuaded by other priests who had already endured the hardships of missionary work, Martin and the new priests agreed to proceed gradually, without forcing the dockworkers to learn too much all at once.

After listening to Liu Lichuan's words, Wang Guochu and several other gang leaders, including Xiao Fujian, felt their anger subside. After exchanging a few glances, they all nodded and said: "Alright, since Brother Ayuan has made it clear, we will give you this favor, but remember, this is the only boat!"

However, dissenting voices are certainly unavoidable. Soon, many dockworkers began to shout, "Young Master Wu, how difficult is the scripture you want us to memorize? What if we are unable to learn it?"

Did you hear me clearly? Wu Chaoyue shouted loudly: "As long as you learn this sentence, the work on this foreign ship will all belong to you - the picture - the book, and no one can take it away! Repeat after me, keep your voices in sync - the elder should speak first, and the wise should teach others with wisdom"

"Brother Yuan, did Wang Guochu and the others leave? Didn't you see?" one of the subordinates asked, puzzled.

"It has nothing to do with me, it is unrelated to me." Liu Lichuan said with a bitter smile, gesturing slightly to foreign individuals like Luo Weilin, and quietly added, "They asked me to do this, and even invited Young Master Wu from the Wu family to intervene; I cannot disregard his face."

Indeed, Wu Chaoyue's casually conceived idea precisely targets the vulnerabilities of impoverished workers. A mere ten wen is nothing more than a trifling amount for Wu Chaoyue, akin to the small change given to him by Wu Jianzhang, which he could easily toss into the water without a second thought. However, for these dockworkers who toil hard for their daily meals, it represents a meat bun or two large steamed buns. Furthermore, with Wu Chaoyue announcing that Liu Lichuan has committed to waiving today's fees, how could these dockworkers possibly have any reason to be dissatisfied? Thus, before Wu Chaoyue could finish his words, the dockworkers were already cheering loudly, expressing their overwhelming willingness.

The matter is not yet resolved. After a while, when another British ship entered the port of Shanghai, British priests including Luo Weilin only boarded the ship to say a few words in English, and the ship owner immediately drove away the other dock workers who were vying for work, preferring to delay a bit of time to wait for the designated workers from their own country to board and unload the cargo. Wu Chaoyue had no choice but to plead with Liu Lichuan at the request of Luo Weilin and others, saying, "Uncle Liu, please go find some more workers willing to carry the Bible. I heard that there are still a few foreign ships coming into port. If they all agree to help these foreign priests, the workers you have on hand may not be enough."

Liu Lichuan was taken aback and quickly turned his head to look at the dock, only to find that Wang Guochu and the members of the Hundred Dragons Society had indeed vanished without a trace. Also missing were the leader of the Bird Gang, Xiao Fujian, and several other heads of small gangs. Liu Lichuan's heart instantly felt as if it had plunged into an abyss, silently screaming, "This is bad! Things are about to escalate!"

"Yes! My little ancestor!" Liu Lichuan almost wailed in response, and quickly called over a loquacious subordinate, instructing, "Hurry and tell Wang Guochu that if his subordinates are willing to recite some nonsense foreign scripture, I am willing to give them the work on this new ship!"

"I didn't mean that." Liu Lichuan, no matter how skilled he was, did not dare to confront all the gangs in Shanghai—Du Yuesheng and Huang Jinrong were not capable of that either. He quickly shook his head in denial and cupped his hands, saying: "Brothers, please do not misunderstand. Today is just the beginning; every beginning is difficult. Therefore, I have to step forward and call for unity. Once this ship is unloaded, if there are more ships in the future, the work will still belong to everyone, distributed according to the old rules. Please give me some face; I will host a banquet another day to make amends"

In just fifteen short characters, it is indeed not difficult to recite. Under the repeated guidance of Wu Chaoyue, more than two hundred dock workers truly recited in unison, word for word: "The elderly should speak first. Those with long lives should teach others with wisdom"

"Go aboard to take on the work!" Seeing that more than twenty foreign priests had nodded in satisfaction, Wu Chaoyue waved his hand to let the dock workers board the ship, and energetically shouted again, "Remember this verse from the Bible well; if you can't recite it when you finish the work and come to collect your wages, you will only receive an extra reward of ten wen! Today's cut will also be honored! Do you understand clearly?"

Note: Wu Jianzhang established the Double Knife Society in Shanghai, with Guangdong people as the backbone, while the Shanghai county magistrate Yuan Zude formed the Bird Party, with Fujian people as the backbone. Both are historical facts. The Hundred Dragon Society, which existed concurrently, is also not a fabrication