Mr. Eddie kuài jì se.......I think they are dead!

So in 1976 I was in college but still working full time doing accounting. I took a lot of night classes at Pace and would go out to clients early in the morning. That was back in the days when I still could get up early in the morning.

We had this Chinese Restaurant client called Szechuan D'Or that was owned by this very nice couple named James and Nancy Tseng. I had been there a few times with Mr. Eddie Kuai ji se to do the taxes. It was on 40th Street off first Avenue just steps away from the FDR. I had only gone there a few times but then something happened.

The owners were murdered.

They were both shot in the restaurant and left to bleed out on the floor surrounded by bags of fortune cookies and the cardboard cartons they used to send out take out. The rumor was that it was the "Ghost Shadows" which was the big Chinese gang at the time. They were going around extorting Chinese restaurants and businesses at the time. They were an off shoot of one of the tongs. The cops thought that the Tseng's didn't pay off and that's why they were murdered.

What was funny was that someone else took over the next week and they didn't miss a beat. Was this guy part of the gang? He was an older guy and had something to do with the tong I think. I know that all the cooks and waiters were scared shitless of him. He was always very nice to me. He was the first one to get me to try pork fried dumplings. I was scared not to try them when he put a plate in front of me. I will always thank him for that.

We never got the full story. The reason why this happened had something to do with the building. The Tseng's owned it and some big developer wanted the air rights or something or to buy it outright. We did the taxes there for another six years or so and then our firm changed and stuff and I lost track of what happened with it since I was no longer involved.

But for a couple of years when the door opened and a couple of young Chinese dudes in leather jackets would walk in the door.....well lets just say.....the sphincter muscles loosened a little....and that was even before I ate anything!