Event:1925/04/22 Meeting Carl Stanford

We all go to Ho Fong Imports after breakfast for the meeting. It's a large brick building on the north bank of the Whang Poo River. A portion is built on wooden pilings of a pier, and a tile roof fends off the rain. Five sets of large doors along the side of the building give access to a high ceiling storage area. Two stories of low ceiling offices face the street. All windows are at least 7' off the ground and covered with iron grills that look especially sturdy. There are about 30 workers around. We are greeted by a woman (the one we talked to previously) who introduces herself as Sun Ch'unhua. Elise introduces us and gets us in. We go through the main warehouse, a large storage area supported by wooden pillars. We see many types of typical goods about illuminated by dim overhead lights. We are led up to the second floor to Ho Fong's office. It's a utilitarian space with simple furnishings. Filing cabinets seem very full. A stocky, rotund gentleman introduces himself as Ho Fong. Elise negotiates some basic business practices and establishes why we're here. Quinn explains why he and Victor had been by previously. Ho Fong says they work with 3rd party ship owners and some owned by Ho Fong Imports directly. We go on a warehouse tour. Quinn notices a step creak loudly on the way down to the warehouse floor and thinks it is loose. We notice many boxes from London, but we don't see any terribly familiar boxes. Quinn notes that there is a sizable space near the stairs that doesn't seem to be accounted for by what they've seen on the tour that would be rather large - the size of the reception area. Quinn excuses himself to the bathroom while everyone else goes back to the office, trying to get to the squeaky stair. Ho Fong sends a receptionist to lead him back though, and he doesn't have time to check anything out. Elise notices that Ho Fong has many Catholic items, and offers to show him her old bible over dinner. We're invited over to his house tonight. The secretary gives us his address - it's in the French Concession. We leave.

We go to the Seaman's Club. Elise and Quinn note that water seepage / erosion was not the cause of the damage. Quinn talks to some of the locals and is directed to Wang Yong who saw what happened. He swears that, even though he was drunk, he saw a walking fish, a human-sized horrifying walking fish creature: bloated stomach, bulging eyes, sharp teeth, human hands and feet but covered in scales. He says they came out of the ocean and undermined the structure. He's unsure how many of them there were, at least several, really strong and really horrifying. Jack questions the staff. They say one of the regulars is missing - an american... maybe John Smith - who was staying in the room where the wall shattered. The description of John Smith matches Jack Brady.

We go back to the Astor House Hotel to freshen up, pick up the bible, and then head to Ho Fong's house. His mansion is a compound with 13' high walls topped with spear points and broken glass worked into the tops (this isn't uncommon). A maid takes us into a luxurious sitting room where we're offered tea. This is fancy to Elise, so it's REALLY fancy. There's a guard behind a screen who smiles and bows when looked at, but he doesn't speak. Ho Fong comes and gets us and leads us to the dining room. Someone else is already there - we're introduced to his good friend and house guest Carl Sanford.

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