Goose City, Shenghao KTV.
In the garishly decorated private room, Zheng Hai reclined on the sofa, dissatisfied, with a woman on each arm, not even taking off his sunglasses in the dark.
His body swayed erratically to the blasting music, and his hands were not idle, having a great time playing with the two hostesses, occasionally complaining about the hard life at sea.
“Damn it, after half a month at sea, my body smells like brine, even stronger than those Hong Kong guys!
A Nan didn't even bring dry rations; we went hungry the last two days!”
The dancer clinging to him laughed, her heavy makeup wrinkling her face, and she spoke in a deliberately sweet voice:
“Oh, Brother Hai, you go out on the boat yourself? You should just leave such things to your subordinates.”
Zheng Hai slapped her roughly on the body, eliciting a sharp cry:
“You know nothing. This trip was a huge business deal; I staked my entire Net Worth just to pull this off.
If I hadn't made the trip, those workers wouldn't even have meat to eat. That’s called being merciful... scratch that, having a saintly heart!”
“Brother Hai, you sure know how to joke. How much money can meat make? I bet it’s all about nice cars and cell phones, right?”
The dancer rubbed against him and looked up, blinking. Her eyes beneath long lashes were full of longing, and Zheng Hai understood immediately what she meant.
However, he had drunk too much beer and was desperate to relieve himself first.
“Damn it, I’ll take care of you tonight if you serve me well.”
Zheng Hai cursed, went to the restroom, and then stepped out to the room entrance to light a brand new imported cigarette.
“Damn it, what kind of venue did Wang Hu find? Not a single fresh one among these girls.”
He had heard from Wang Hu that a new batch had arrived, but judging by their performance, they were all seasoned veterans, and he immediately lost interest.
Just as he lit the cigarette, he heard the voice of the person himself:
“Da Hai, you shouldn't talk trash behind my back. I specifically arranged for Yan Yan and Yue Yue to be here for your pleasure, just for your Face.”
Wang Hu lived up to his name; he was short and stout, with tattoos on his bald head. His designer clothes looked quite imposing, but his face, piled high with flesh, held an unconcealable viciousness that was unsettling even when he smiled.
Zheng Hai gave him a sidelong glance:
“Pleasure? It would be more like pleasure for her.”
Saying this, he pulled out a very new Motorola from his jacket. Wang Hu took it like a treasure, turning it over and over, and said sinisterly:
“Da Hai, bring any good things you get my way in the future. I, Laohu, run this venue based on loyalty; I guarantee not a single slip-up.”
Zheng Hai’s reply was one of disdain:
“This is just a little. If you want to swallow it all, you should consider your own appetite. If you eat it all? Aren't you afraid of choking to death?”
Wang Hu was momentarily stunned. He knew Zheng Hai’s background well; he followed his big brother in duty-free trade in his early years, and now that he was going solo, he was just starting up, with the most valuable thing being a black car of unknown origin to maintain appearances.
This was his first time doing the ‘US dollar’ business. Wang Hu initially thought he was just doing a one-off job, but it seemed he was aiming for something big?
Wang Hu was considered a figure of some standing in Goose City; if Zheng Hai dared to say he couldn't handle it, it meant the amount was substantial.
Wang Hu didn't feel slighted at all; instead, he said excitedly:
“Da Hai, I heard you got a speedboat. Did you go to Hong Kong to establish connections? Don't look down on your brother; I know everyone in this area! If I introduce you, I guarantee you won't lose out.”
Zheng Hai said proudly:
“More than just fast, that speedboat is half my Net Worth. Without a speedboat, I couldn't do this business.
In this area right now, I’m the only one who can guarantee that Grandpa absolutely won't catch up!”
As he spoke, Zheng Hai seemed to return to that night: several of Grandpa's Patrol Boats chased desperately, but when his 'Duty-Free No. 1' hit the Throttle, in just a few minutes, he had shaken off those pesky Cops like sticky plasters.
So-called international duty-free trade mainly revolved around Hong Kong.
Compared to the Mainland, Hong Kong's particularity made it extremely suitable for Product importation, and its jurisdiction was much more relaxed than the interior.
Imported Products arriving at the Port are not taxed; under normal Procedures, they must be declared to Customs and taxes paid before entering the Market.
But if Customs is bypassed, and these Cargoes are transported ashore via Small boat when the vessel arrives or nears the Port, the price will be several times cheaper than normal declaration, resulting in huge Profit upon sale.
These mainly consist of Electronic Products, frozen meat, and Cars. Electronic Products are characterized by small Volume and high Profit, while frozen meat and Cars, although large in Volume and Weight, also yield high overall Profit.
Due to the cumbersome Procedures required for declaration and the high tax rates, Cargoes that come ashore via the water route are known in the Industry as Zou Shui, which was once the main channel for the Mainland to obtain imported consumer goods.
Regarding this type of duty-free trade, although the police on both sides were trying hard to suppress it, because it didn't pose a major threat and the police forces were stretched thin, they generally didn't have the energy for strict guarding, often choosing to turn a blind eye.
But there were exceptions.
Besides Electronic Products and Cars, there were some Products that couldn't legally enter not just because of taxes and declaration, but because they were fundamentally prohibited from legal entry, thus requiring the same method to enter.
For example, Flour or rock sugar; if the Cargo was of this nature, the police would dig three feet into the ground to find you.
More than ten years later, the state of the Industry was as follows:
If you transport frozen meat, Grandpa will chase you for a bit and then give up, because Grandpa also eats ten-dollar Pig trotters after work;
If you transport the 'Double Lion Treading Ball' （ or the certain triangular famous brand ）, the water at the Pearl River Estuary will boil from the impact.
Electronic Products and Cars are slightly better, but because the amounts involved are so large, the level of supervision is not much lower.
However, Zheng Hai absorbed advanced Industry concepts, stepped into the Industry's Blue Water, upgraded his methods to deal with challenges, and achieved an upgraded, brand new Safety Transportation system.
In just one hour, he completed a Transportation process that previously took at least three or four hours, and once he Landed ashore, someone was there to Support him.
For the First batch, he risked choosing high-Value cell phones. Before starting, he had borrowed money from almost every Usury Loan shark; if he had failed, he would have had to chop off his hand.
But since he had successfully reached the shore, this Profit was enough for him to Earn a lot of money; that little bit of Interest was nothing.
Competitors, because they still used traditional Small boats, had an interception rate of over 30% and never dared to transport high-Value Cargo all at once, nor could they operate too frequently.
But Zheng Hai was different; he had fully grasped the Advantage of the 'Da Fei'. Before Grandpa Equipped Helicopters, ordinary encirclements were practically just for show.
Four units of 720 Horsepower crazy Power—even Grandpa had never witnessed such a thing!
The 'Da Fei' emerged in the mid-90s due to the prosperity of duty-free trade, but its Main purpose was the Transportation of luxury Cars.
Although cell phones and other Electronic Products sold well, they were relatively troublesome to move out, and with many people around, mistakes were inevitable.
Cars offered high Profit per unit, and the Buyers generally had the means to Launder them, making them the ideal target for a duty-free trade Commissioner.
Zheng Hai was already preparing to purchase more Motors; once he had more boats under his command, he would dare to go into the Car business.
The quality of the boat Tang Wen made last time was very good; A Chang should have been notified already, right?
It’s such a waste for such a skilled young man not to get involved in the water route business.
Zheng Hai was contemplating whether to pull Tang Wen into the business when he saw Li Chang approaching.
Li Chang’s opening words were unexpected:
“Brother Hai, that kid from the Tang family is suspicious!”