As Mr. Guo walked into the study, the carved wooden door closed gently, and the mansion slowly returned to the quietness that it should have late at night.
But the dawn of Hong Kong Island has quietly torn open the night.
A thunderclap, far more violent than the Guo family had imagined, exploded along with the loud cries of newsboys in the foggy streets, in the crowded newsstands, and in the morning teahouses filled with the aroma of tea!
The morning light had just appeared and the mist on the sea had not yet completely dissipated, but the newsstands on the streets and alleys of Hong Kong Island were already crowded with people.
Today's scene is completely different from the past. Newsboys from several left-wing newspapers are selling their products particularly hard. Their shouts are loud and urgent, revealing an excitement that they can't contain.
"Newspapers for sale! Freshly published Ta Kung Pao! Front page headlines, exclusive revelations!" In front of a newsstand in Central, a young man vigorously waved the newspaper in his hand, which was still smelling of ink.
The bright red title on it is particularly eye-catching: "Directly! The bloody and tearful record of the North Point factory: the reverse day and night under the sewing machine and the meager wages!"
The photo below is very large and shocking: in the simple workshop, the sewing worker’s eyes are numb and tired, and her hands are full of scars, which makes people feel tight.
"Wen Wei Po! Wen Wei Po! Shocking launch of the 'Kowloon Walled City' series of explorations! First released today, the first time into the forbidden area, directly hitting the unknown world of life and death deep in the walled city!" In front of another newsstand, the newsboy was shouting about another big event.
The citizens in a hurry, whether they were gentlemen in long gowns and jackets, housewives carrying vegetable baskets, or workers rushing to work, were all attracted by the headlines that were different from usual and the gimmick of "forbidden area".
"Huh? The Ta Kung Pao is so bold today? Dare to talk about the workers?"
"Quick! Give me a copy! It's the factory in North Point, my brother works there!"
"Hey, please, give me a copy of Wen Wei Po! Kowloon Walled City? Didn't they say that strangers are not allowed to enter? Are there really any reporters who dare to go in?"
"There is also the Hong Kong Commercial Daily. Their front page seems to have reported the inside story of HSBC lending in favor of the financial group..."
There was a lot of discussion and people rushed to buy the products by pulling out change from their pockets.
The newspaper boy's movements of collecting money and delivering newspapers were obviously much faster, and he couldn't hide the excitement and surprise on his face. One, two... More and more people gathered in front of the stall that mainly sold these left-wing newspapers, and the newspapers were sold out in an instant.
In the famous Luk Yu Tea House in Wan Chai, the hustle and bustle of early morning tea drinking and chatting has reached its peak.
The aroma of the steaming morning tea is mixed with the louder sounds of newspaper reading and discussion.
An old man in an old-fashioned suit put on his reading glasses with great effort, holding the newly bought Ta Kung Pao, pointing at the huge photo of the female workers in North Point, his voice trembling:
"Oh my, look at their eyes and hands... They are no different from when I was in the factory thirty years ago! Decades have passed, and they are still working so hard! They really should be allowed to speak out! This newspaper has the courage to tell the truth today!"
Several old friends at the same table also leaned over to look at the photos and sighed.
At a nearby table, several dock workers in work jackets gathered around a newly purchased copy of Wen Wei Po, pointing at the huge panoramic aerial photo of the Walled City, as well as the close-ups of the narrow alleys and messy shanties inside, and marveled:
"Wow, did they really capture what's inside?! Was this captured from the sky using a helicopter? I only dared to listen to people bragging about it from the outside before, but it turns out that the world inside is really like this!"
Someone lowered his voice with a bit of awe: "I heard that it's very complicated, with gangs, drug dealers and everything else..."
"Wow! Look at this Hong Kong Commercial Daily!"
There was a louder exclamation from another table. "The front page of their report said that HSBC's loan flow analysis last year showed that Hang Seng Real Estate received so much, and the interest rate was so low? It's so difficult for other small and medium-sized real estate banks to get loans! Isn't this clearly favoring the big real estate developers to support the market? I just read the news that the HKMA said it would support the real economy. When I compared the two, I realized that there is a huge problem!"
This report, which names names, directly points out the core contradictions in the operations of capital and banks, and speaks for small businesses, is like a depth bomb in the eyes of ordinary citizens.
The teahouse was suddenly in an uproar; the voices originally chatting about stocks or family matters were immediately drowned out by the heated discussion and shock over these reports.
"Wow! That's amazing! Can banks and real estate developers really cover up everything?"
"There must be something behind this! How could such a powerful force be possible without any help?"
"How could the newspapers dare to write like this before? Aren't they afraid that HSBC will send a lawyer's letter to cover it up?"
There were all kinds of speculations, anger, and exclamations mixed together. Many people's newspapers were taken away by their companions out of curiosity, and some stood up and asked their neighbors:
"Excuse me, can you lend me your copy of the Commercial Daily after you finish reading it?"
The more anxious customers waved to the waiter: "Waiter! Waiter! Quick! Buy another copy of Wenhui Daily, no matter how much it costs!"
Such scenes appeared simultaneously at the entrance of Causeway Bay Market, Apliu Street in Sham Shui Po, Temple Street in Yau Ma Tei, Ladies' Street in Mong Kok, Kowloon... in almost every street corner where newsstands were concentrated!
Ta Kung Pao, Wen Wei Po and Hong Kong Commercial Daily, these left-wing newspapers that may have been circulated only in specific circles in the past, have become the first things that tens of millions of Hong Kong people talk about in the morning and the information they must see first.
In just over an hour, a surge of reading and discussion enthusiasm spread from the newsstands on the streets to offices, office buildings, buses and trams, and quickly spread throughout the city!
In the Ta Kung Pao newspaper building, the early morning tranquility had already been broken by the rapid ringing of telephones one after another.
"Hello! Editorial office? I'm the union representative of the Yik Hing Garment Factory in North Point! The front-page report in your newspaper is so well written! So true! Every word touches the hearts of our workers! Hundreds of workers in our factory are passing it around! Thank you for speaking up for us grassroots workers!"
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