Songhu: Never Give Up

Chapter 166: As long as the price is affordable, God can be sold by the pound

When Yue Qianli saw Monica again, he couldn't help but frowned. The agreed ten minutes took 22 minutes. If he had such a sense of time, he would definitely drive her away.
Facing Yue Qianli's dagger-like eyes, Monica guiltily apologized to Yue Qianli, using the Chinese word "I'm sorry".

Then she explained in fluent English why she was overtime, simply because she couldn't find the right clothes;

Monica didn't know why she had to apologize to an Oriental man, and she felt like a child who had done something wrong. She was very upset. This was so unlike herself.

"Being 12 minutes late and not being able to find the right clothes is not an excuse. I hope this is the last time!"

Yue Qianli's words made her a little depressed, but suddenly she reacted, a surprised smile appeared on her face, and she excitedly gave Yue Qianli an American hug, which made him a little embarrassed. This is not a good thing for Americans, especially when Duan Yaqin is present.

"Ahem, Monica, this is the East, and we usually just shake hands to show our hospitality."

Monica said disdainfully:
"Colonel Yue, I heard that you are the top student at West Point, have lived in the United States for several years, are the head of the Yue Group, and are a general that the Japanese are terrified of. You wouldn't be frightened by a polite hug, right?"

"Monica, first of all, let me correct you that I am not a general, and secondly, how much do you know about me?"

Yue Qianli looked at her warily after he finished speaking, but Monica said nonchalantly:
"Yue, you should know what the last name Morgan means in the United States. The Morgan family holds 15% of the shares of the Yue Group. Strictly speaking, we are one family."

Yue Qianli suddenly realized, and then said jokingly:
"If we use this standard to define our own people, then more than half of the capitalists in the United States are members of the Morgan family. After all, you are good at investment."

Monica was amused by Yue Qianli's American humor, and then said to him seriously:

"But you are different. You are the most special person, so please take good care of me."

Yue Qianli couldn't understand why the Morgan family allowed Monica to come to the war-torn East to serve as a military liaison. It definitely wasn't because of the Yue Group.

In front of the Morgan business empire, the Yue Group cannot stand up to the standard. Since they can't figure it out, they might as well just ignore it. Maybe Monica just has a Morgan surname, and there are many peripheral people in the big family.

Monica's matter was just an episode. After finishing his own business, Yue Qianli asked Custer to contact a buyer for him. He was going to sell some of the seized Japanese weapons, and Custer readily agreed.

Yue Qianli was not short of this little money, but he had seized too much equipment this time and could not take it away at all. Many of those who bought the equipment on the black market in Shanghai were underground personnel of the Red Army, and they could use them to fight the Japanese.

Custer's network of contacts was indeed extensive, and he found a buyer for him in less than a day. After meeting the man, Yue Qianli decided to sell it to him at a 40% discount, and agreed to exchange the money and goods in three days. Yue Qianli gave Custer a 10% commission.

Custer accepted it without hesitation. Friendship is friendship and business is business, and the Americans make the distinction very clear.

Then he sent Monica away and discussed with Custer how to rescue Xie Jinyuan and others. Custer looked embarrassed, and Yue Qianli said coldly:
"You can tell the British guy that I'll give you $50!"

"Yue, this is not about money. It's hard to explain to the Japanese. The British are worried that they will use this as an excuse to send troops to the International Settlement."

"For one million US dollars, we can put on a show for the Japanese. I guarantee that they will have no way to defend themselves, and it will end up being a muddled lawsuit." After hearing this, Custer immediately became interested. This was one million US dollars, and it would be considered quite generous for him to give the British only 100.

"Yue, you are always irresistible. Tell me, how do you act?"

Custer was indeed blinded by money. In the Western world, everything can be traded. As long as you can afford the price, even God can be sold by weight.

Then Yue Qianli laid out his plan in its entirety, and Custer nodded repeatedly, then said:
"Yue, I can't guarantee that I can convince them, but if they really don't agree, then we can make it real. I'll find someone to do it for you, and the money will be mine."

Yue Qianli smiled. It turned out that when the money was in place, they really didn't mind killing people and robbing them.

Yue Qianli originally planned to do it himself if the negotiations failed, but now that Custer is willing to do it for him, that’s great. Any problem that can be solved with money is not a problem.

With a profit of more than 20 US dollars, Custer felt that waiting any longer would be disrespectful to the US dollar, so he turned around and went to find the British. They were his "cousins" and they would talk to him for the sake of money.

Yue Qianli waited patiently. In order to rescue hundreds of brothers from the 524th Regiment, any price he paid was worth it.

Custer was indeed very efficient. In just one day, he brought back the news that Yue Qianli had been waiting for:
"Yue, the British guy means that since we have to act more realistically, we don't need to keep those guards. They are all White Russian mercenaries and are worthless."

Yue Qianli understood what the British meant instantly. If some White Russian mercenaries died, it would be easier for him to attack Japan and get himself out of trouble at the same time.

"Yue, the British will knock out the White Russians by then. You just need to follow the plan and make sure their reporters take pictures of the Japanese from behind."

Yue Qianli made an OK gesture, agreed on a time to start, and left the concession with Monica;
That night, with the tacit approval of the concession authorities, the equipment and supplies ordered by Yue Qianli were transported across the Suzhou River via the Garbage Bridge, including supplies retrieved from Smith's warehouse.

Duan Yulin brought the replacement battalion to support the troops and transported all the supplies back to Hongkou overnight, where they were received by the baggage train.

This batch of supplies included thousands of seamless steel pipes, a large amount of sugar, potassium nitrate, explosives, medicines and newly purchased equipment, enough for the baggage train to use for a period of time.

The next night they sold the remaining spoils to a mysterious buyer, including six 6mm mountain guns, 75 Type 17 heavy machine guns, more than 130 Type 80 light machine guns, 2 grenade launchers, more than Type rifles and the corresponding ammunition.

All payments were made with "big yellow croaker", with a total value of about 80 silver dollars.

The two parties exchanged money and goods, and they didn't know each other after the payment and goods were settled. Judging from their behavior, they should be opponents. Yue Qianli pretended not to know. He only cared about money. This was the rule of the black market.

After finishing these chores, it was time for him to perform as agreed with the British. Yue Qianli selected dozens of people from the reconnaissance company, all of whom changed into the stripped uniforms of the Japanese Marine Corps and disappeared into the night...

(End of this chapter)