"Why are you so far away from me?" Pansy Ho looked at Shen Fangdu, who was sitting upright on the sofa, with a charming smile, and couldn't help but laugh. She looked like a thirsty female demon who wanted to eat Tang Sanzang's flesh.
"Old monk, cough cough, I'm a little sleepy, Sister Qiong."
"If you're sleepy, just go to sleep. I have a room here."
"Um...Isn't that inappropriate, Sister Qiong? I'd better go back to the hotel to sleep."
"Oh my, am I that scary?"
"Um..." Sister, to be honest, I'm scared of what you just did.
Pansy Ho chuckled as she looked at the silent Shen Fang.
"Alright, you can sleep in the next room. Xiaoxin usually sleeps here when she's drunk. Don't worry, she won't do anything to you. A grown man like you, acting like such a coward."
Shen Fang dared not say anymore: "Sister Qiong, what do you mean I'm a coward? I'm just trying to keep public and private matters separate."
"Tch, keep public and private matters separate." Pansy Ho stood up, grabbed a bottle of red wine, and looked at Shen Fang.
"Want some drinks?"
"A little drink is fine. But don't get drunk."
Pansy Ho opened the red wine and poured a glass for Shing Fong.
"So what if you're drunk? Are you afraid of inappropriate behavior while drunk?"
"Forehead..."
Shen Fang didn't know what to say at this moment, and took out a cigarette case but didn't dare to light it.
"Go ahead and smoke. Feel free to smoke here. Others can't smoke, but you can."
Goodness, that's a really ambiguous statement...
Red wine and cigarettes, an unparalleled combination.
“My father is very supportive of my project, but I’ve been away recently, and the fourth branch of the family has started to have designs on it.”
"The gambling king is old, but he is not senile. Although the fourth wife is capable, the second wife is even more capable. In addition, you, Sister Qiong, are already so outstanding, and you have two good helpers. The future is definitely in your hands."
"I'm afraid that Fourth Aunt has deceived Father."
"No, but your family is indeed a bit too large. If the gambling king wants to maintain balance, he has to disperse your respective forces. Sister Qiong, what do you think the future of your He family is?"
"Gambling?"
Pansy Ho shook her head: "I'm not particularly optimistic about the future of the gambling industry. My father's empire is still stable now, but once he leaves, the empire will collapse. Even if I gain control, I can't guarantee that I can be like my father. Besides, I don't believe that our Ho family can make a living from this business forever. So many people are envious."
"It's perfectly normal to be envious. Macau casinos are like money printing machines. And legal money printing machines at that." Shen Fang had witnessed it firsthand; it really was like making money while lying down.
"So, the Ho family has made too many enemies, and I'm also afraid that the mainland... will one day settle accounts with us. After all, this is an enormous fortune, and the Ho family has been enjoying it for so many years."
"This is one of the reasons why my father is so supportive of this project."
Shen Fang immediately understood. In fact, the Ho family and Xiang Huaqiang were the same. Although gambling was legal, it was also a gray industry. When the Ho family rose to power, Macau had not yet returned to China. Although it has now returned, it is still an autonomous region under the "one country, two systems" principle.
"Sister Qiong, how should I put it? Gambling is the foundation of your He family, but you can't put all your chips in it. Diversification is the key. As long as you have a gambling license, you'll have a steady stream of cash flow, but you can't force this. Being too reliant on it is bad for everyone. Besides, I think this thing will eventually..."
Pansy Ho nodded: "I understand what you mean. That's what I was planning too. But now Angela Leong is preparing to expand the gambling industry to the internet. Alvin Chau, who works under her, has been very arrogant lately and is preparing to apply for an online gambling license overseas."
"Alvin Chau?"
Pansy Ho nodded: "One of Broken Tooth Koi's underlings has caught the eye of Angela Leong, who has recently given him a lot of power. He's working in many VIP rooms and is doing very well lately."
Shen Fang stroked his chin; he knew this person.
Alvin Chau initially made his fortune by working as a "shill," which is essentially a person standing at the gambling table as a "shill." He would either pretend to be a professional and teach people how to "win money" or teach them how to "borrow money," thereby charging high interest rates. To put it bluntly, he was a loan shark, and this business was often accompanied by threats and intimidation.
However, making money by soliciting customers, lending money, and taking a cut is a mentally and physically demanding job. It's not like the gambling king, who could make money behind the scenes with just a gambling license, and even then, it's all about "interest compounding and money making money."
Having spent years in casinos and witnessed the glamour of big shots, Alvin Chau, dissatisfied with the status quo, embarked on the first bold change in his life.
He discovered that the previous profit model was "commission on principal," meaning that for every principal borrowed by a gambler, 20% was taken. However, this method of lending to gamblers involved immediate repayment, making it difficult for lenders to generate turnover.
To make his money grow exponentially, Alvin Chau converted all his cash into chips and lent them directly to gamblers, lowering the interest rate to 10%—meaning he took 10% of every bet. While this might seem like he was taking less than before, the gamblers, with larger initial stakes, higher winnings and losses, and more frequent bets, ended up paying even more in commissions. In this way, Alvin Chau's lending operations snowballed.
Thanks to this bold change, Alvin Chau, who made a name for himself in the "street hustler" circle through speculation, soon met the first benefactor in his life—Wan Kwok-koi.
Helping others
Alvin Chau's biggest idol, Macau gambling tycoon Stanley Ho, once said that wherever there are casinos, there are bound to be triads. Having made his first fortune, Alvin Chau naturally needed his protection.
At that time, Wan Kuok-koi, the leader of 14K, the largest triad organization in Macau, saw Alvin Chau's earning power and brought him under his command. Originally just a grand-disciple of Wan Kuok-koi, Alvin Chau suddenly became Wan Kuok-koi's right-hand man.
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