Siheyuan: Big City, Small Love

He Lai was walking on the streets of Hong Kong City, looking at the Kowloon Walled City in front of him, and he felt deeply saddened.

Kowloon Walled City, the name is quite domineering, but the appearance of the house betrays it.

Kowloon Walled City is actually a complete slum and the largest slum in the world.

Unlike the domineering name of Kowloon Walled City, its actual area is actually very small, only 0.026 square kilometers, not much different from a small park.

But in this palm-sized place, there are more than 4 people living here, with an average area of ​​less than 4 square meters per person. The population density is nearly times that of Beijing. This record has not been broken so far.

To accommodate more than 4 residents, the city relies on more than 400 buildings that are densely packed and stacked on top of each other, and all of them are illegal buildings that have been privately raised and widened, without exception.

The most exaggerated thing is that every building becomes taller and wider every year at a speed visible to the naked eye, and is built up layer by layer.

The entire Kowloon Walled City is like a big banyan tree, with densely packed branches intertwined so that no one can easily find the veins.

Therefore, there are no real roads in the entire Kowloon Walled City. The original road surface is occupied by various buildings, leaving only a one-person-wide aisle for pedestrians.

Most of the people living here are poor, basically all of them came from inland areas, who don’t have the money to apply for Hong Kong ID cards, as well as some marginal figures, and those gangsters all have their dens here.

Kowloon Walled City is filled with prostitution, gambling and drugs, and the underworld is the dominant force here.

In addition to the gangs fighting in the streets every day;

You can also see voluptuous women wearing revealing clothes everywhere;

the flagging drug addict;

The casino is open all night long...

There are more than a hundred drug gathering places, dozens of places for buying pleasure, and more than a dozen large casinos. More than 9% of the drugs in Hong Kong come from here.

The place is so complicated that even He Lai doesn't dare to take the risk to enter. After all, he doesn't know what dangers are waiting for him inside.

Kowloon Walled City is known as a lawless place, and it is not just talk. It is truly a lawless place. It originally meant "the mainland can't control it, the Eagle Kingdom is unwilling to control it, and Hong Kong can't control it."

Now it seems more like the government, the police, and the law cannot seem to touch the boundaries here.

There is a saying in Hong Kong: "Even if you commit murder and arson outside, as long as you escape into the Kowloon Walled City, you will not be caught."

Of course, if you don’t have money to pay the protection fee, something bad will probably happen.

When Bo Hao's younger brother saw He Lai looking outside the Kowloon Walled City, he came over to remind him that it was unnecessary and he should not go in, as rich people were not very welcome in the walled city.

After all, even if it was Bo Hao, he wouldn't dare to act arrogantly in Kowloon Walled City. He only had a small force here, occupying about a quarter of the territory.

He Lai naturally would not seek trouble for himself. Entering such a slum would do no good except to add unnecessary trouble to himself.

He Lai was thinking more about whether the Kowloon Walled City could be retired earlier. After all, it seemed to have been demolished in the 1990s in its previous life.

He Lai didn't stay here for long and left, going to the industrial park. Lu Zixuan was not there.

He Lai's secretary came over and handed five admission documents to He Lai.

"Boss, the admission procedures you asked me to go through have been completed. It's at St. Paul's College Primary School. You just need to bring your child and the documents with you when the time comes."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work. By the way, what's your name? I seem to have forgotten it again."

He Lai asked awkwardly.

"Boss, my name is Lin Meixia, you can just call me Xiaolin or Xiaoxia."

Lin Meixia said respectfully.

"Oh, okay. Xiaolin, there's a man named Wang Sangou coming here tomorrow with his family. You should arrange some work for him and his wife, and find them a place to live."

He Lai ordered.

"Okay, boss, what kind of work do you need?"

"Just arrange it and find a job that's a little easier."

"Ok."

"Well, you can go down. By the way, don't I have an assistant? Where is he?"

He Lai asked.

"He went to help your father get familiar with the factory. Mr. Lu is a bit busy today, and his assistants are all with him, so I asked Assistant Lu to help temporarily. Do you need me to call him over?"

Lin Meixia asked.

"No, no, then let him follow my father first." He Lai waved his hand and refused.

He turned around and thought, yes, Lu Zixuan has so many things to do, he must be dizzy.

After all, Lu Zixuan had to take care of the 100 million US dollars in gold, the batch of meat, the jade and gems from Bo Hao, and the company's affairs. He Lai felt a little sorry for him when he thought about it.

Forget it, forget it, don’t think about it anymore. Lu Zixuan has five or six assistants under him anyway, so it shouldn’t be a mess.

He Lai casually glanced at the documents and went home. He still had to tell Wu Juan and the others the news that he could be admitted.

In the villa, Wu Juan looked at the admission documents in her hand. Although she didn't recognize many words, fortunately she had attended literacy classes for a few days, so she still recognized the two words "enrollment".

"My Wen'er can finally go to school!" Wu Juan said with a smile as she took Wen'er in her arms.

"Thank you, Mom." Wen'er was also very happy. He was tired of staying in the villa every day these days.

"Brother, what if I don't understand?" Wu'er asked.

"If you don't understand, learn it. What else can you do? Study, study. If you don't study, how can you understand it?"

He Lai said with a smile.

He Lai didn't know whether there were any classes taught in Chinese at St. Paul's College, or whether all classes were taught in English or Cantonese.

Never mind. Wu'er and the other two are only seven years old. It shouldn't be too difficult. We can just hire a few tutors when the time comes.

As for the older girls, if you help them a little, you will be able to catch up slowly.

"Brother Lai, this is English. I haven't learned it yet. Can Wu'er and the others learn it?"

Rain said worriedly.

"What English? Don't you speak Chinese?" Wu Juan asked immediately.

"Well, mother, Chinese is definitely taught, but Hong Kong City is now under the management of Eagle Country, so learning English is inevitable. But don't worry, it won't be too difficult for children to learn."

He Lai smiled.

In the 1960s in Hong Kong, it is unlikely that all the students in their schools spoke Cantonese and English. After all, even in Hong Kong movies today, Mandarin is still very common.

"Oh, is that so? Okay then, you keep an eye on him and don't let Wen'er get bullied." Wu Juan said worriedly.

"Okay, mother, I will definitely give the order."

He Lai agreed immediately.

……

It was almost evening when the three sisters of Da Niu were sent back by the driver.

"Big girl, second girl, and little girl, come here quickly. How is your father treating you well?" Yu Shui quickly called the three sisters over.

"Well, Daddy is so good to us. He took us to many places. It was so much fun. Sister Yushui, there are so many fun things in the amusement park..."

The little girl lay in Yu Shui's arms and told her about her experiences during the day.

"Brother! I want to go to the amusement park too!" When Wu'er heard the girl talking about the amusement park, she immediately became interested.

"Okay, let me take you there and let you have fun!"

"No, I want my elder brother to take me!"

"Brother is busy!"

"Brother has it!"

……

After a while of noise, He Lai brought the three sisters into the study and said, "Big girl, uncle Lai has arranged a school for you. You can go to school with Wu'er and the others in a few days."

After hearing what He Lai said, the big girl was extremely grateful. After meeting her father, she thought He Lai would ignore them no longer, but she didn't expect that He Lai still cared about them.

"Thank you, uncle." The girl said with red eyes.

"Girl, do you want to live with Uncle Lai, or do you want to go back to your dad's place? Your dad's place may not have good accommodation."

He Lai asked.

"I'm sorry, Uncle Lai. The three of us have agreed that we want to go back to my father. We will definitely pay Uncle Lai back when we grow up."

The big girl said firmly.

"Yes, come on, uncle, we will definitely pay it back!" Erniu and Xiaoniu also said.

"Three silly girls!" He Lai said helplessly.

Then he told her that he had arranged for Wang Sangou to work in the factory, and that her family could then live in the factory dormitory.

He would also arrange a car to pick them up at school. After all, the Southern District of Hong Kong Island is a bit far from Kowloon, and it would be inconvenient for the girls to go there by themselves.