After escaping from Beijing, Jiadai arrived in Guangzhou together with Huo Xiaomei.
Due to Jiadao's high emotional intelligence, handsome appearance, filial piety, and sensible nature, Huo Xiaomei's parents particularly liked him. The Huo family runs a watch business in Guangzhou, with their own factory and watch store. Huo Xiaomei's father arranged for Jiadao to assist at the watch store on Zhanxi Road.
Jiadao is also a particularly intelligent person. Within three months, he figured out the tricks of the watch-making trade. He found an experienced craftsman and started assembling watches himself for sale. Jiadao's business acumen was extraordinary, and his watches sold well. It didn't take long for him to earn his first pot of gold, which was about fifty or sixty "W" (a unit of currency, presumably referring to a specific currency or amount of money). In the 1990s, this was by no means a small amount.
Jiadao is a person who remembers where he comes from and knows how to be grateful. He has never forgotten the kindness shown to him by the Lao Huo family. One day, he heard that Lao Huo was ill, so he bought some fruit and went to visit him.
Putting down the fruit, Jiadao asked, "Uncle Huo, what's wrong?"
Uncle Huo sighed and said, "Jiayi, I have a toothache and I'm getting angry."
"Oh, what are you so anxious about? Isn't the watch business doing well?"
"Business is pretty good, but there's a batch of unpaid invoices, amounting to over 200,000 yuan! I don't think he intends to pay them."
Upon hearing this, Jiadao immediately chimed in, "Oh, really? Tell me, what exactly is going on?"
It turned out that a month ago, Du Tienan, a good friend from Zhanxi Road, had approached Old Huo to process a batch of watches worth 230,000 yuan. At that time, a deposit of 30,000 yuan was paid, and Old Huo delivered the goods on time. Du Tienan said he would pay the balance once his side settled the accounts, but unexpectedly, no money has been seen so far. Old Huo called to urge, and Du Tienan, being pressed, simply said, "I just don't have the money, so what if you don't like it!" In a fit of anger, Old Huo fell ill.
After listening, Jiadao said, "Uncle Huo, it's okay. I'll go talk to him."
Speaking of Du Tienan, he is nicknamed "Du Da Ba La". His face is smooth and shiny, and this nickname originates from a birthmark on the back of his head. He is a native of Guangzhou and earns a living by collecting protection fees in the Zhanxi Road area. He has around twenty brothers under his command.
Old Huo and Xiaomei insisted on not letting Jiadai go, fearing he might get into trouble. However, Jiadai persisted, saying, "It's alright, I just want to have a discussion with him."
Later, led by the watch factory workers, Jiadai arrived at Du Tienan's residence. Upon entering, she saw Du Tienan eating watermelon with around twenty of his brothers.
Jiadao spoke up, "Who is Brother Du? I'm from the watch factory, here to collect the payment for the goods."
Upon hearing this, Du Tienan laughed, "Hey, the debt collector has come knocking, right?" He raised his chin at one of them and said, "Xiaofan, show him out!"
Xiaofan stepped forward and tried to push Jiadao. Jiadao, a trained soldier, had one hand on a chair. Xiaofan didn't push him. Taking advantage of the situation, Jiadao picked up the chair and knocked Xiaofan down with a "snap".
Upon seeing this, Du Tienan quickly called his brothers to surround him. Jiadai drew a small military knife from behind and stabbed the belly of the kid who charged forward, knocking him down. Then, gripping the knife tightly, he shouted, "This is the only knife I have. Whoever comes up, I'll stab them! Anyway, I don't want to be spared. If I die here today, I'll take a few with me!"
This is called one person giving it their all, but ten people are no match. Du Tienan quickly said, "Brother, brother! Can you put down your weapon first?"
"You can put down the weapon, but bring me 200,000 yuan!"
"Brother, don't do this! Let's first take these two injured brothers to the hospital!"
After the wounded were taken away, the remaining dozen or so people didn't dare to move forward. Du Tienan continued, "Brother, put down your weapon first, and let's have a chat. You're not afraid of these twenty or so people, are you afraid of chatting with me?"
Upon hearing this, Jiadao said, "Okay, we can talk. But I can't let the weapon leave my side." With that, he tucked the small military knife into his back waist and sat down facing Du Tienan.
Du Tienan asked his brother to buy some wine and dishes. The two chatted and toasted while eating. Du Tienan was particular about his manners and appreciated Kayo even more. After drinking a pound of Baijiu, both of them felt a little dizzy.
Du Tienan asked, "Brother, there are over twenty people here, are you really not afraid at all?"
Jiadao smiled and said, "Brother Du, I'm scared! It's not true that I'm not scared. But I have no choice! I'm from Beijing, and I can't stay there anymore. I came to Guangzhou, and the Huo family has been kind to me. Without the old man of the Huo family, I wouldn't be alive today! Just for this reason, I have to get this money back!"
This speech moved Du Tienan. He agreed and said, "Brother, sure! If you need anything on Zhanxi Road in the future, just tell me, your brother Du!"
"Brother Du, if you want to consider me as your brother, bring me 200,000 yuan in a while."
"Alright! There's no rush for the money. Today, we brothers won't leave until we're drunk! I'll cover the money for you first, and you go back to fulfill your duty."
"Brother Nan, I don't understand. What do you mean by this?"
"I won't hide it from you, brother. I don't want to owe money to the Lao Huo family. Their eldest brother is a good person. But something went wrong with me."
"What went wrong?"
"The person who helped me place the order is Huang Yongyi from the train station. He's a big bully, more powerful than me. A while ago, he asked me to order a batch of watches, but he hasn't paid me yet. We originally agreed on 350,000 yuan, but he's been dragging on for over a month. Brother, this has nothing to do with you. You can take the money back first."
"Brother Nan, what's this person's background?"
"I'm not quite sure about the details, but the guys under his command are pretty tough. No one in the area around the train station dares to give him a hard time. He has about forty to fifty followers. I've approached him several times, but he never cooperated."
"Brother Nan, are you afraid of him? If you want to consider me as a friend, I'll go with you! What are you afraid of? Come on, let's go find him!"
The two of them immediately left, with Du Tienan driving a Santana straight to the train station.
Upon entering the room, I noticed that there weren't many people inside, only seven or eight. However, each of them was a tall, burly man in his thirties with a fierce appearance. Several of them hailed from the Northeast, exuding an intimidating aura.
Du Tienan said to Old Huang behind the desk, "Brother Jie, how have you been recently? It's been over a month since I paid for that batch of watches. Do you think it's time to settle the payment? The watch store is also in a hurry."
Huang Yongyi raised his eyelid and said, "In a hurry? Don't I have to wait until I have money? Chasing after this little bit of money? Go back first! We'll talk after the money is settled. Go back and tell the watch shop owner to come and talk to me himself! Doesn't his mother want to stay in this area anymore?"
Upon seeing this situation, Jiadao knew that the normal way to get the money back was not feasible. Guangzhou was a place where all kinds of people mixed together, and gangs were everywhere. With a firm resolve, Jiadao took a taxi to Baiyun District and obtained two five-shot hunting rifles from a small hideout under the leather goods city.
With this determination, Jiadao single-handedly managed to retrieve a truck and its skin from Huang Yongyi's freight station to pay off the debt. Later, when Huang Yongyi couldn't find Jiadao, he turned to Du Tienan and beat him up until he ended up in the hospital.
Upon hearing this, Jiadao was infuriated. "You can mess with me, but not my brother!" He struck again, single-handedly crippling Huang Yongyi's legs.
After this incident, Jiadai became famous in one battle on Zhanxi Road. The story of "one person with two guns, taking on Huang Yongyi alone" quickly spread. The brothers in the underworld would ask at the drinking table, "Hey, do you know Jiadai?" "Of course! He's tough and loyal!"
This is what we call "a wolf traveling a thousand miles to eat meat." After Du Tienan recovered, he held hands with Jiadao and said, "Brother, we are good brothers for life!" Their friendship grew even deeper, and a few months later, they even opened a bar together on Zhanxi Road.
However, people fear fame, while pigs fear being strong. Jiadao's fame in Guangzhou also attracted the attention of another group of forces.
Time flew by, and it was July 1990. Du Tienan had almost recovered. That day, he said to Jiadao, "Brother, Brother Nan has a matter. Are you interested?"
"Brother Nan, you say."
"I plan to invest in opening a dance hall along Yuexiu Yanjiang Road. The area is planned to be developed into a bar street, and the prospects are very good. If you're interested, how about we work together, brother?"
Ji Dai agreed to the partnership, but insisted on a 70% to 30% split in the profits, believing that Du Tienan was the driving force.
During the renovation of the bar, Jiadao discovered another business opportunity. He unified the beverage supply for over 30 bars along Yanjiang Road, leveraging the volume advantage to negotiate lower purchase prices. He then delivered the drinks to the bars at prices lower than the market wholesale price, still making a profit. This business alone allowed Jiadao to earn nearly one million yuan a year.
In September, as the weather turned cooler, the bar street along the river became increasingly bustling. With timely and attentive service in terms of drinks, Jiadai's business thrived.
That night, Kayo, Du Tienan, and the bar manager were drinking outside the store. At this moment, another important brother of Kayo's in the future made an appearance.
When Kayo turned around, she saw a young man, about 1.78 meters tall and wearing worn-out clothes, standing by the night market snack stand across the road, riding a broken bicycle and eating lamb skewers. At that very moment, a thief passed by, casually picked up something from his pocket, and turned to run away.
Kayo could see clearly that the young man was stripping the skewers, even though they were separated by more than ten meters. He stood up and shouted to remind the young man. The young man turned around and glanced at Kayo, then shrugged his shoulders carelessly. The thief, being insatiably greedy, stole the bags of the two women in front of him in succession before running away.
Seeing this, the young man got on his bike and chased after them. Kayo, with her hands in her pockets, followed leisurely. The thief turned into a small alley, where two accomplices were waiting for him. The three of them were dividing the stolen goods.
The young man parked his car, walked into the alley, and shouted, "Give back my wallet!"
A thief turned around and pulled out a bayonet, shouting, "Don't seek death!"
"Just the three of you? Come on, let's play!" The young man was not afraid at all.
A person came with a knife, but the young man flipped his wrist and accurately grabbed the opponent's knife-holding hand. With two powerful punches to the opponent's face, he knocked him down directly.
"Attack him!" The other two thieves pounced on him. But the young man was agile and used both hands and feet to knock the other two thieves to the ground in just a few strikes.
Kayo watched from the side, seeing it clearly. Originally wanting to help, she couldn't help but laugh upon seeing the situation.
The young man searched out the wallets and stolen money of the three thieves and stuffed them into his pocket, probably amounting to a thousand yuan. He smiled at the thieves lying on the ground and groaning, saying, "Hehe, keep stealing in the future. You're lucky to meet me, I didn't send you to jail." With that, he pushed the cart and left.
Jiadai took a step forward and said, "Dude, your move is pretty interesting."
"When did you come over?"
"I was just about to remind you. Were you waiting to take advantage of me?"
"Hehe, I'm not afraid of your ridicule," the young man said, scratching his head. "I'm from out of town and have no skills here in Guangzhou. I can't get a meal without work. And I can't steal or rob. Fortunately, there are many pickpockets around. These days, I deliberately show off my wealth, waiting for them to steal it. Then I find their hideouts and take back my wallet to cover my food and drink."
"Judging by your accent, you're not from around here. Where are you from?"
"I'm from Jinan, Shandong. I've been here for almost a year, but I haven't found a job yet. The pace is too fast, and I can't keep up."
"Buddy, don't rush off." Jiadao stopped him. "Meeting is fate. I run the karaoke bar over there. Come have a drink and make a friend."
"These kids are going to call for help in a moment..."
"If I were afraid, I wouldn't have come. Let's go!"
The young man felt that Jiadai was sincere, so he agreed. The two returned to the bar and chatted while drinking.
"Brother, I feel we have a good connection. I'm responsible for the alcohol supply on this street, and the profits are decent. If you have nothing to do, how about staying here and helping me?" said Jiadao
"I don't like being controlled by others."
"It's okay, it's fine if you don't want to. Let's just drink."
The two men drank for over forty minutes, engaging in a delightful conversation. At this moment, the three thieves from before indeed summoned seventeen or eighteen individuals. The leader was a square-faced man about one meter eight tall, appearing honest and straightforward, yet with a fierce gaze.
"Who hit my brother?" the man with a square face shouted.
The young man stood up and said, "I did it!"
"Surround him!" A group of young people immediately piled in.
Jiadao folded her arms and watched coldly. The leader of the group drew a small military knife and pointed it at the young man, "I'll cripple you today, believe it or not?"
Jiadao stepped forward and said in Beijing dialect, "I can hear your accent. Are you from Beijing? I'm from Shunyi."
"What's up? Your friend?"
"Don't make a scene," Kayo put an arm around his shoulder and pulled him aside, "We're all tough guys from Beijing. If we go to Guangzhou to do this (pointing at the theft), won't we be laughed at? Let's take him away and drop the matter. Besides, your brother deserved to be beaten for stealing. If it were me, I would have beaten him too."
"Who are you? What are you meddling in?"
"It doesn't matter who I am. Just try to move him and see if you can walk out of this street. I know all the bosses here."
"Sure! What's your name? I'll remember you!"
"Kayo."
"Jiadao?" The man with a square face changed his expression. "The Jiadao from Zhanxi Road? The brother who single-handedly took down Huang Yongyi with two guns?"
"Heard of it?"
"Brother! I'm really sorry! I was too ignorant to recognize Mount Taishan! I'll leave, I'll leave right away!" The man's attitude took a complete 180-degree turn. He waved his hand for his subordinates to disperse and said to Jiadao, "Brother, I'm in charge of seventeen or eighteen thieves in this area. My name is Xu Yuangang. If you need anything in the future, just tell me!"
After Xu Yuangang led the others away, the young man clasped his hands and said to Jiadao, "Wow, you're quite famous!"
"I'm not famous or anything, just know some people. I think highly of you. Remember to come to me if you need anything."
"Okay, thanks! I've had quite a bit of wine. My name is Jiang Lin."
This Jiang Lin was the "second brother" who later followed Kayo and possessed great business acumen, known as the top warrior under Kayo. Most of Kayo's business in Shenzhen was later handed over to him to manage.