Chapter 49: The Temptation of Home

  Lin Xiaotang smiled lightly, "Don't be so shocked, this thing isn't eaten like that. Dragon Master is a senior from the sea, naturally revered beyond compare, eating like this in front of outsiders will inevitably lead to people saying that Dragon Master doesn't know how to enjoy himself and has fallen to a lower level."

  The Dragon King smiled and said, "What do you mean?"

  Lin Xiaotang took off his outer jacket, rolled up his sleeves, and bowed to the Dragon King, "Dragon Lord, if it's convenient for you, may I borrow a handy tool from you?"

  When Long Wang nodded, he handed a dagger to Lin Xiaotang's hand.

  Lin Xiaotang weighed the dagger, then grabbed a pomfret that was just the right size, held it in her hand, and quickly scaled, bled, removed its gills and bones. The pomfret was still jumping around, its body constantly twisting, but under Lin Xiaotang's iron-like fingers, it couldn't move at all. Lin Xiaotang wielded her knife like a flying sword, and within three minutes, the entire pomfret had been transformed into crystal-clear white fish slices on a plate, leaving only a fish head behind. If one looked closely, they could even see the fish's mouth opening and closing weakly.

  Lin Xiaotang did not put down the dagger, but instead picked up a sea urchin, used the dagger to open a small mouth at the top of the sea urchin, took out the internal organs, and washed the yellow liquid with clear water. Before long, a plate of sea urchins was processed, neatly placed on the plate.

  Lin Xiaotang took the beef again, cutting it into uniform thin slices along the grain of the meat, and arranged them neatly on a plate. She looked up at Long Wang and asked, "Dragon King, do we have soy sauce and wasabi paste on the boat? That's what the Japanese call mustard, right?"

  The Dragon King finally came out of his shock and nodded hastily, "Yes, there should be!"

  Before long, the servants brought over soy sauce and wasabi, but they were all unopened. Longye smiled awkwardly, "We've had them on the boat for some time now, it's just that we don't know how to use them."

  Lin Xiaotang mixed two things into the seasoning and sprinkled some in the sea urchin shell, then called out to everyone, "It's ready."

  Long Ye looked at Lin Xiaotang, puzzled, and picked up a piece of fish, dipped it in some sauce, and stuffed it into his mouth. A spicy flavor suddenly rushed to his nostrils, seemingly with the trend of penetrating his entire brain. Two lines of tears involuntarily flowed down his face as he took a deep breath, his face flushing bright red.

  The woman sensed that something was wrong with Long Wang, flipped her hand and pulled out the pistol from her waist, aiming at Lin Xiaotang, "What kind of drug did you put in the meat?"

  The Dragon King hastily waved his hand and took a long time to catch his breath. He let out a loud sigh of relief, "Refreshing! This is really exciting, but now my mind is clear and I feel too comfortable."

  The woman stared at the Dragon King in surprise and slowly withdrew her pistol.

  Long Ya took two more bites, his forehead already densely covered in sweat. "I'm so sorry, I've been at sea for twenty years and didn't know that eating raw food had such nuances, it's really a waste of my life!"

  Lin Xiaotang smiled apologetically, "It's my fault for not making it clear. This was the first time eating wasabi, so it's inevitable that you wouldn't be used to it. Actually, if you find some white wine to smell, you'll recover even faster!"

  On the side, a large plate of beef had already been rounded up by Huo Yan himself, while Ma Qixiang was still eating sea urchin non-stop. "This raw sea urchin is much more delicious than sea urchin soup!"

  Lin Xiaotang pointed to the wasabi bottle on the table, "No wonder Longye didn't know, this is a specialty of Japan, and in Shanghai, only authentic Japanese restaurants have it. We also have a tradition of eating raw food in Guangdong, but usually with ginger juice and soy sauce, nothing as addictive as this!"

  The Dragon King burst out laughing, "I originally wanted to give you a warning, but it ended up being my own downfall. I truly got what was coming to me!" The atmosphere inside the cabin also relaxed as a result.

  The Dragon King wiped his mouth with his sleeve and said, "Let's get down to business. What did Old Wan let you come for? Explain it first. I don't do anything without a benefit, no profit means no effort!"

  Ma Qixiang was about to speak when Lin Xiaotang interrupted him, "That's natural, since we're asking Dragon Lord for help, there must be some benefits."

  The Dragon King picked up a box of cigars from the table and tossed it to several people. He himself smiled, lit a cigar.

  "I heard that Dragon Brother has been keeping the peace in the nearby waters, and the goods of several bosses in the concession area have also passed through his territory. Is that so?" Lin Xiaotang lit a cigar and asked casually.

  The dragon king's eyes flashed with a hint of sharpness, and he nodded slightly.

  Lin Xiaotang continued: "That Shanghai thing recently, Zhang Xiao Lin and Wan Boss having an affair, no need to ask, Long Ye must have known about it?"

  The Dragon King burst out laughing and rubbed his short hair, "That has nothing to do with me, they can fight however they want, as long as they don't interfere with my getting rich!"

  Lin Xiaotang smiled and said, "I'm not talented, but I'm that little brat Zhang Boss wants to get rid of!"

  The Dragon King's eyes widened suddenly, "Is it you? Is your head worth twenty yellow fish?"

  Lin Xiaotang smiled wryly and rubbed his chin, "That's Old Zhang's favoritism!"

  No one noticed that the man wearing glasses behind Long Wang suddenly raised his head, looking at Lin Xiaotang with a slight surprise.

  The Dragon King chuckled, "You little brat's got quite some guts, I'm a famous dragon who opens his eyes for money, aren't you afraid I'll tie you up and send you straight to Zhang Xiao Lin?"

  Lin Xiaotang patted her own head, "Of course I'm afraid, but the business I've planned is far from just twenty gold bars. Alas, people die for wealth and birds die for food. So there's no choice, I gritted my teeth and came."

  The Dragon King smiled sinisterly, "Alright, I'll let you finish what you have to say. If the number doesn't meet my expectations, I will definitely send you to Zhang Xiulin."

  Lin Xiaotang stood up and pointed to the sea outside the porthole, "As far as I know, in the past, Sanxin Company's goods would always pass through Longye's territory. Every year, Sanxin Company would also give Longye some benefits to ensure that the goods were safe and sound, right?

  The Dragon King nodded. Lin Xiaotang's words were not bad, Sanxin Company was run by Huang Jinrong, Du Yuesheng and Zhang Ailing, with Huang Jinrong as the nominal head, but everyone knew that Huang Jinrong loved money, Zhang Ailing was good at fighting, and only Du Yuesheng was best at managing. Therefore, the actual controller of Sanxin Company was always Du Yuesheng, plus his own long sleeves were good at dancing, "human face, scene face, emotional face" three bowls of noodles, all sides were satisfied, so various forces looked up to Du Yuesheng as a horse's head. This point was also one that the Dragon King admired very much, therefore, the cooperation between the two parties had always been pleasant.

  But things have changed recently. After the Japanese occupied Shanghai, Du Yuesheng fled to Hong Kong, and Zhang Aoling's family dominated the Shanghai Bund. This person has always been arrogant and domineering, and now that he has no restraints, he is naturally showing off his skills. The Dragon King's waterway, he doesn't take it seriously anymore. Although he can't openly take action due to their shared identity as members of the same gang, recently he has been secretly instigating the Japanese to crack down on several gangs that make a living from the sea, and is no longer as polite to the Dragon King as before.

  Lin Xiaotang looked at the expression changes of Long Wang, plus the preparation before coming, and had already figured out 80% of his thoughts in his heart. At this time, he threw out a sentence in a timely manner: "Now Sanxin Company is dominated by Zhang Xiao Lin, and Old Man Wan has been forced to leave Shanghai. I'm afraid Dragon Lord's business won't be that easy to do in the future?"

  The Dragon King snorted, "So what? Our two families are from the same school and have cooperated for so many years. Can't I just turn against Zhang Xiaolin because of your words? Besides, I understand what you mean. You're now being hunted by Zhang Xiaolin with no way out, and you want to drag me down with you to take advantage of the chaos, right? Although I'm a rough person, I'm not stupid!"

  Lin Xiaotang smiled and waved her hand, signaling Huo Yan to take out a file bag and throw it directly in front of Long Wang. "Dragon King, whether you get angry or not, it seems it's not up to you to decide. You might as well take a look at this first."

  The dragon king took over the suspicious document, inside which were two copies of a file, one in Japanese and one in Chinese. Fortunately, the dragon king had read books for two years, although his level was limited, but he could still recognize the title and signature of the document.

  This is a document co-signed by Zhang Aoling and Li Shiqun No. 76, reporting to the Japanese Kempeitai for instructions, suggesting that the Japanese army clear the sea area near Shanghai as soon as possible to open up a safe and unobstructed sea route for Shanghai. The Kempeitai has approved and fully agreed with their request, and will have the Shanghai garrison send a request to the Navy Department to ask the Japanese fleet stationed in Shanghai to assist in clearing out the pirates, tentatively scheduled for April this year.

  Having roughly translated the two documents, Long Wang's back suddenly broke out in a cold sweat, but he still pretended to be nonchalant and tossed the documents aside, "You think you can fool me with just these few pieces of paper?"

  Lin Xiaotang sat back down, "Really or not, I don't count. There are numbers and dates on top, Dragon Lord has been in Shanghai for so long, he must have his own connections, this document is not some kind of top secret, I believe it will be found out soon."

  The Dragon King and the woman beside him exchanged a glance, both hands grasping the table, "What exactly do you want?"

  Lin Xiaotang spread her hands, "It's simple, block the sea route, within a month, not one box of Zhang Shao Lin's goods can land on Shanghai beach."

  The Dragon King took a deep breath, leaning heavily against the back of his chair. He had not expected this young man to have such a big appetite. Indeed, the Dragon King had long been aware of Zhang Yaolin's ambition, who not only wanted to control Shanghai but also wanted to firmly grasp the surrounding areas, including the sea, because only in this way could he control all trade and commerce in Shanghai. The Dragon King was deeply convinced of this, but he had never mentioned it to any of his confidants, only discussing it with his sister, the long-haired woman who served as his guard, but they had not come up with a good solution.

  Ma Qixiang finished picking his teeth and exchanged a smile with Lin Xiaotang, "Dragon Master, before I came, my master Wan Laoban entrusted me to bring a letter written by Mr. Du himself."

  Du Yuesheng's letter was written to Wan Molin, and Wan Molin's reason for passing the letter on to Long Wang was deeply meaningful. In the letter, Du Yuesheng made detailed arrangements for various matters in Shanghai and entrusted Wan Molin with overseeing the overall situation. At a time when the country's survival was at stake, it was essential to unite all forces to thwart Zhang Ailing's plan to unify the Shanghai gangs. The letter mentioned his fellow disciple Long Wang, instructing that active contact be made with him, and allowing Wan Molin to allocate a dock on the Huangpu River to Long Wang in order to win him over.

  The Dragon King's hands couldn't help but tremble a little. A dock, he knew very well what it meant to him, for those who made a living on the sea, they always thought about one day being able to set foot on land with dignity, and leave behind a legacy for their children and grandchildren. The sea was glorious, but after all, it wasn't home!

  Note 1: The practice of eating raw food has a long history in China. During the Republic of China period, it was limited to some areas in southern China, such as Fujian and Guangdong provinces, and was not widely spread. Japan advocates for eating raw food, believing that it helps preserve the freshness and nutrition of ingredients. In the early 20th century, due to the lack of widespread use of refrigerators, eating raw food did not become popular, and only existed in some coastal areas. As for wasabi becoming well-known in China, it originated from an article by Mr. Guo Moruo, which was already in modern times, but the exact time cannot be verified.