[ilikeoldchangke]

Fungye : Don’t worry…. It’ll probably take a few months for me to get into the groove of things….see how is everything being run here…. Then… we’ll see what is the best way to bring my good stuff in here eh… ahahahahahah…



Andy glared at Fungye with a grim expressions with both of his hands in his pocket.




Fungye addressed all who were listening.

Fungye : Don’t worry about the police… or authorities…. I have so many of them in my pocket in Taiwan…. How much does it cost here??? I’ll buy them all !!!hahaahha….




No one laughed , that is until Andy opened his mouth.




Andy : Oh… that is one thing I’m sure you cannot afford….. that’s our politicians…. You know what is the pay they are drawing… ??




Scattered laughs broke out among the men and elders as Fungye glared at Andy.


Fungye : We’ll be reorganising alright….restructure as you call it…. For the future…. And along the way…. If any elders….. wishes to leave…. You are welcomed to do so….




Uncle Po pressed Fungye for a decision.


Uncle Po : Fungye…. Do you have a decision ?



Fungye : Oh fuck yeah….. neither of the 2…. Are worthy to lead…..


Fungye walked to the middle of the floor with his hands stretched out like Christ the redeemer statue in Brazil. With his hands out, he slowly turned anti-clockwise a full circle before announcing his intent.




Fungye : I will…. Gladly accept… the position to lead the family….. into the future…

Voices of protest broke out and almost all the elders stood up at the same time.




Fungye : That is all I have to say… hahah… hahaha…. Hahahahahha…. Haha…

Tracy stood up together with Leonard and Ollie while the rest of their men cleared a path for their departure.



Gabriel went over to Uncle Po and whispered something in his ears. Uncle Po nodded.

Fungye went over to Gabriel and said he looked forward to the handover and for a tour of the country like what Gabriel promised.


Fungye : I hope this won’t affect our relationship….. as relatives….it’s a… practical decision….. and I look forward to the tour….of your beautiful country…. Haha…hahahahah….


Fungye turned and left as Gabriel gathered the rest of the elders.



Everyone else was to leave the room including Kate and me.


I got back out into the open and my parents chided me for staying inside the hall for so long.

Mum : Which part of not mixing with this group of people do you not understand Jake !!


I ignored her and I went over to Kate again.


Jake : What now? ?


She just gestured for me to wait for a minute.


Tracy was still waiting for her ride and she came over to say goodbye to Kate.



Tracy : Maybe we can grab coffee…. This couple of days…when I’m here..

Kate : Sure… let’s do..


I waited till Kate was alone before I went over. She dragged me back to a corner of the courtyard.


Jake : We’re all fucked aren’t we….


Kate : You can say that…

Jake : What do we do now ?? We should tell Gabriel and the others about the 9th vote..


Kate : NO!...

Jake : Why not ??



Kate reasoned that they would be so angry with me that they might just kill me on the spot. If either Ah Keong or Andy had that vote, none of this would happen.

Jake : Shit… what have I done…


Kate : Keep that vote safe…. Tell no one… it will still come in useful…

Jake : Yes… you were saying something about the inauguration …..i can use the vote then…


Kate : Yes… but we don’t know when will that be… the date can only be decided by Fungye…

Jake : We’ll hold out till then….. I’ll vote him out the moment I get the chance to…


Kate stared at me for a couple of seconds, as if she was thinking of what to say to me.

Kate : Who said anything about voting ??



Jake : Huh ?

Kate told me that the 9th vote can only be exercised before election.



Jake ; Huh ? I don’t understand… then why you tell me I can use it during the inauguration ???

Kate : you don’t vote on that day Jake…. You use it to challenge Fungye’s right to leadership. ….



My jaws dropped 2 cm as I stared at Kate.


Jake : What….what if I win ??


Kate : Then you’re the boss…. until the next election… it’s not going to be easy…. Not only would you need the elders to be behind you…. You need the buy in of all the men as well…..every single one….



Kate looked around to make sure no one was near us before going on.


Kate : Which is why you must keep this a secret…..word has gone out that the 9th vote was missing for a while……there were rumours on both sides….…some claimed Ah Keong took it…..others suspected Gabriel kept it for himself………. If Fungye so much as get a wind of what you will be doing…… all he needed was to bribe one of the elder or the man….




Jake : You…..

Jake : Got to be….

Jake : Fucking… kidding me…


I said it so slow because I had to replay what Kate said to me barely a few seconds ago several times just to be sure I was hearing the right thing.


Kate walked up to me , her body almost touching mine.


I could smell the shampoo in her hair and her face was literally less than a finger’s length away.



Kate : Am I smiling right now Jake ?



I shook my head.




Kate : That means I’m not joking…




Kate walked off as she spoke.


Kate : We need to get the logistics of the next few days sorted out…. There’s so much things to be done… we also need to start shifting some documents out of the offices… stuff we don’t want Fungye to know….we… …Jake… Jake… are you listening ??

Jake : yah….yah….




Kate came back and grabbed my arms.


Kate : Get a grip on yourself Jake… this is important…. We cannot allow Fungye to do what he wants…


I nodded again.



Jake : How… the fuck ….. do I get the elders…. And their men…..people that barely know me….. to agree to follow me… ?



Kate pondered my point for a moment before replying with no expressions on her face.



Kate : Start working on a good speech…




Jake : … fuck…




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