As the quintessence of the country, where there are Chinese, there is mahjong, to say what is to break the restrictions of dating around the world, Tong Tsai believes that the most direct way of communication is - rubbing a plate of mahjong!
On the 18th of last month, a generation of grandmasters in Hong Kong's local mahjong industry, the second-generation head of the "Chicken Record Sparrow Pavilion", "Uncle Chicken" Lin Guoqiang, passed away at the age of 105.
(Photo: HK$01)
The family later announced the news to the outside world and announced that a memorial service would be held for him on August 11, and the next day, August 12, a funeral ceremony and a festive red banquet would be held.
What's even more touching is that they pledged to donate all the money they received to charity, specifically to help the elderly.
Speaking of "Uncle Chicken" Lin Guoqiang, we have to mention his legendary life in the mahjong world.
(Photo: HK$01)
The first mahjong house in Hong Kong
Maybe everyone's impression of mahjong parlors comes from Hong Kong police movies: foul language, black smoke miasma, rampant underworld, money laundering, group fights...... In short, there is a strong smell of rivers and lakes, and it is not a place where "serious people" will set foot in.
(Photo: Internet)
But in Hong Kong, mahjong parlors are not only a legal entertainment venue, but also a local culture.
The "most legendary" mahjong house in Hong Kong is actually the first mahjong house in Hong Kong, and its name is "Rooster Kee".
(Photo: Internet)
As for why it is called "Rooster" and not "Sparrow", the story starts from the 30s of the last century.
At that time, a man named Lin Kun lost both his parents and wandered to Hong Kong to seek a livelihood.
(Photo: Internet)
After being introduced, Lin Kun's first job was working on a chicken farm, so he was called "chicken" or "chicken".
One night, when he was sleeping, he dreamed of a rooster crowing, so he was awakened, so he simply got up and went to work early.
Morning work also means leaving work early, after getting off work that day, Lin Kun ran to buy a horse ticket (a lottery in Hong Kong), never expected, a buy to win 105 yuan!
(Photo: Internet)
105 yuan was a huge amount of money back then, and he took 15 yuan out of it to open a small shop on Temple Street, selling sugar water and snacks such as mung bean paste, attracting a large number of neighbors in the vicinity.
In order to attract business, Lin Kun provided mahjong for the neighbors. Because it was made of bamboo mahjong at that time, it was easy to be damaged, so the neighbors took the initiative to leave a little money for repairing mahjong, which was the earliest "pumping" rule.
(Photo: Jiji official website)
Unexpectedly, more and more people play mahjong. Lin Kun simply stopped opening the store and opened the Sparrow Pavilion instead.
In this way, Hong Kong's first sparrow house was born, located at 2-8 Temple Street, named "Rooster Kee", of course, to "repay" the chicken that brought fortune in his dreams.
(Photo: East Net)
The business of the Sparrow Pavilion is getting better and better, but Lin Kun has become addicted to the habit of smoking opium, and after that, he handed over the business to his wife and no longer asked about the Sparrow Pavilion.
Until the death of his wife, the Sparrow Pavilion was officially handed over to Lin Guoqiang, the second son known as "Uncle Chicken" - who is also the person who has contributed the most to the development of "Chicken Record".
(Photo: East Net)
"The door is not the right door" model
Lin Guoqiang was born in 1923, and he said, "I can play mahjong at the age of 8."
Before taking over the "Rooster Chronicle", Lin Guoqiang worked as a police officer, and was a famous jockey in Hong Kong, and was invited to serve as the "Chairman of the Hong Kong and Kowloon Mahjong Association".
You know, in those days, jockeys were no less in the limelight than stars.
(Photo: Sing Tao Headlines)
After becoming "Uncle Chicken", he soon encountered a headache: in 1955, the British government in Hong Kong announced a ban on gambling and hoped to close all sparrow restaurants in Hong Kong.
Everyone knows that Chinese love to play mahjong, and after the sparrow restaurant closes, where to go for recreation?
As a popular jockey, "Uncle Chicken" was invited to be the chairman of the first "Hong Kong and Kowloon Sparrow Chamber of Commerce", hired lawyers on behalf of the whole industry, and lobbied the British government in Hong Kong for six months.
(Photo: Hong Kong Wen Wei Po)
Eventually, the government agreed to legalize the Sparrow House, but stipulated that it had to apply for a license.
There are 144 tiles in a deck of mahjong, and the government issued 144 licenses that year.
The "Rooster Kee" is the first sparrow house in Hong Kong to obtain a legal business license.
(The first licence photo: Rooster Kee official website)
Since then, the sparrow industry has shone in Hong Kong, and "Uncle Chicken" has opened one branch after another, from Kowloon City to San Po Kong and then to Kwun Tong.
And it is unimaginable that in those days, the opening of a branch of "Chicken Kee" was a big news sensation in Hong Kong, and the whole street was full of flower baskets and people.
Lin Guoqiang has a good relationship in black and white, and many big stars of that era will also come to cheer, which is quite lively!
(Photo: East Net)
However, the most talked about is the love story of Lin Guoqiang and his wife Betty (Betty Wong).
At that time, Lin Guoqiang, as a jockey, had unlimited scenery, often went to high-end social places, and met many powerful people and celebrities.
It was at a Jockey Club performance banquet that the red thread of fate connected him to Huang Betty.
Huang Beidi, who was born in a famous family, returned from abroad, and has the reputation of "Cha Cha Dance Queen".
(Photo: HK$01)
Both of them have each other in their hearts, but the reality has put a huge gap in their status - one is a young lady, and the other is a sparrow house at home.
In the eyes of the world at that time, this was simply a model of "the door is not the right household".
It wasn't until later that "Uncle Chicken" won the Hong Kong championship jockey, and he drove a red convertible sports car to pick up Betty, and finally won the hearts of the beauties.
(Photo: HK$01)
In order to avoid the secular constraints of the wrong household, the two "flashed" marriage, registered on the first day, and "eloped" to Japan the next day to travel and get married.
Before leaving, they also published marriage notices in major newspapers, announcing the news of this "flash marriage".
In this way, the two ignored the world's vision and stayed together all their lives.
(Photo: HK$01)
Breaking the "Negative Impression"
Back to the Hong Kong Sparrow House itself.
Aside from history, what is the unique culture of Hong Kong Sparrow House?
Take "Chicken Record" as an example, in order to ensure fairness, "Uncle Chicken" created a set of rules for violating the law decades ago, which is still used today, and is stronger than the signboard of the old store.
(Photo: Jiji official website)
More than ten years ago, the sparrow hall in police and gangster films was always rampant with gangsters, in order to eliminate the negative impact of the sparrow house being filmed, the industry bigwigs hit it off and decided not to lend the venue for film shooting, vowing to take off this "black hat".
(Photo: HK$01)
The government is also on standby, supervising the sparrow industry more tightly than anyone else, and the boss and employees must be innocent to prevent the invasion of the underworld, so there will be no "watching" situation by the underworld at all.
Each mahjong table in "Ji Ji" is equipped with two employees, who buy food, pay utility bills, and make reservations......
If you want it, they can do it.
(Photo: HK$01)
If the mainland tourists come here to play mahjong too late, the staff will also arrange a taxi to send you to Huanggang Port, which can be said to be more intimate than the current "Haidilao".
The question is, Hong Kong's labor is so expensive, can you afford to support so many employees?
In fact, the Sparrow Pavilion relies on pumping water from customers, 5% per guest, and the winning guests have to put money in the transparent box every game.
The bigger the stake, the more water is pumped, which is also the survival of the Sparrow House.
(Photo: HK$01)
There will be a small sign on every mahjong table in Hong Kong, the number on it is the stakes of the table, the elderly generally only play 50/100, 100/200 small amounts, usually thirty or forty years old will sit on the 1000/2000 table.
The daily turnover of the Sparrow Pavilion is 6 percent to the boss, and 4 percent is distributed to employees according to the level of the position.
Taking the "Rooster Kee" San Po Kong branch as an example, supervisor-level employees can get 40,000 to 50,000 Hong Kong dollars per month with a basic salary plus bonuses, and female workers serving tea can earn 20,000 Hong Kong dollars a month.
(Photo: Internet)
Some employees have feelings for the Sparrow House, and even after retirement, they often come back to help and play cards with customers.
(Photo: HK$01)
Of course, although the "Chicken Record" Sparrow Pavilion has gone through many years, and "Uncle Chicken" laughingly said that "the three generations of a family are not good at brand art", it is still thriving.
This undoubtedly shows the unique charm of mahjong as a social activity.
So, what other fun social activities do you think are also popular in Hong Kong besides playing mahjong?