Spy Wars: Red Shopkeeper

Chapter 129 Poor Ghost
"Alright, so you're still using us as part of your argument? If that's how you're going to act, I'm leaving, and I don't want anyone anymore! Seriously, I made a mistake coming here."

It was worth the trip; I even got to see a good show. If it weren't for my status, I would have definitely chimed in.

There was no way to mediate. Gu Yansheng lifted his leg and patted Ding Mocun on the back, "Go, go, go, what's all the fuss about?"

He pulled Ding Mocun away, then turned back to Wu Sibao, pointed at him, and glared at him, silently saying, "Don't stir up trouble, quickly calm things down, I'll be there in a bit."

He took Ding Mocun back to his office.

Ding Mocun pulled up his shirt, sat down in his seat with an air of superiority, and was clearly very angry.

Gu Yansheng dismissed his secretary and became the waiter himself, pouring him water and handing it to him. "Alright, don't be angry. What happened?"

Ding Mocun raised his hand and slammed it on the table. "The Military Police Headquarters told us to release the person. Yingzuo was very unhappy when he heard that we couldn't get a confession after a whole night of interrogation. He asked us if we had any backup plans. He actually pushed the responsibility onto me, saying that it was my fault for not catching the person. Otherwise, the Bank of China would definitely have had clues."

Since he said that, Kagesa came to ask me. What could I say? I not only got scolded, but in the end, the whole thing became my problem.

Tell me, what was the environment like back then?

Ding Mocun recounted the scene of the arrest with righteous indignation, from interrogating ordinary employees to confirm the identity information of senior executives, to the complex internal structure of the Bank of China, to the time required to go up and down the stairs, to ransacking the office to collect information, and finally having to take people out.

The entire process was described in great detail, mainly highlighting that the mission took a long time, was intercepted by the police, and failure was to be expected.

“That’s quite normal.” Gu Yansheng nodded, especially since he wanted to get to know this brave and righteous police officer.

"Right?" Ding Mocun, having received confirmation, said with a pained expression, "It's actually quite normal for the mission to fail. Yingzuo told us to release the people, so we did. Everyone should just bear with it, and this matter will pass."

What I find most unacceptable about Li Shiqun is that he loves to shirk responsibility. He takes all the benefits and blames everyone else. The Special Agent Headquarters is a whole, and he has no awareness of treating the Special Agent Headquarters as a whole. In his eyes, only his own group are his own people. It's disgusting.

Even assuming it's my fault, if he pushes me out, does that mean Kagezo won't blame the Special Agent Headquarters? Will the Special Agent Headquarters then have an easier time? Won't the pressure still fall on us?

Gu Yansheng nodded in deep agreement and sighed, "It is indeed a bit unfair."

"This isn't over yet." Ding Mocun was really holding back his anger. He had finally found a worthy target to complain to, Gu Yansheng, and today he was in the mood to vent his frustrations. Once he started talking, it was like a flood.

Gu Yansheng listened for a long time, and it was all about the infighting between Li Shiqun and him at the Special Agent Headquarters.

What financial power was controlled by Li Shiqun's wife? What departmental positions were taken by him?

In the end, it all came down to a lack of money and manpower. The Japanese were specifically in charge of the intelligence headquarters affairs under Lieutenant Colonel Haruki, who was Li Shiqun's backer, and they weren't even on his side.

"Alright, alright, let's save this for next time we drink. Didn't you say you needed to talk to me? What is it?"

"It's alright."

"Nothing happened?" Gu Yansheng was shocked. "Then why did you go to Li Shiqun's room to cause trouble?"

Ding Mocun nodded, "That's right."

This left Gu Yansheng speechless.

Ding Mocun scoffed, "I heard you were here, but you didn't come to see me. How's that money-making thing you talked about last time? You can't always bring Li Shiqun along and leave me out when there's something to gain, can you? I just heard you needed people, but I have plenty of men under me."

"You don't have Liu San under your command." Gu Yansheng chuckled and sighed, "You guys, really, leave me speechless."

Ding Mocun laughed and said, "I have nothing to say. Tell me, what kind of business is this? You don't know that I have a lot of people to support."

"You're talking like the Japanese didn't give you any money." Gu Yansheng scoffed. You want money, huh? Getting money is easy, as long as you dare to take it.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "To be honest, there is business to be had. Didn't Mitsui ask us to get our hands on medicine?"

"hold head high."

“I told the drug dealers there to buy me enough quinine every year, and I would turn a blind eye to the rest of the drugs coming in. But the amount of drugs is so large that they are bound to flow out.”

Gu Yansheng stopped there, gave Ding Mocun a look, and Ding understood, "You mean to be exiled to the Kuomintang-controlled areas?"

Gu Yansheng nodded.

Ding Mocun frowned. "This is no small matter. If the Japanese find out, we'll be in deep trouble."

"What can we do?" Gu Yansheng leaned back with a displeased expression. "Ten tons of quinine, those drug dealers lose hundreds of thousands a year. If other places don't compensate them, how can you handle this?"

Ding Mocun frowned as he drank his tea, then looked at Gu Yansheng after a moment's thought, "What do you think?"

Gu Yansheng moved closer. "Didn't you come from Chongqing? What I mean is, you should contact some old acquaintances in Chongqing, find a powerful drug dealer, and make a one-on-one deal with him. Just do it alone, and try to be discreet. How he sells it is none of your business."

We buy these drugs from drug dealers, resell them at a higher price, and whatever the price, that's our profit.

There are bonuses from Mitsui, a cut from the drug dealers, and another profit from Chongqing. A few hundred thousand US dollars a year is no problem at all.

Ding Mocun thought about it carefully and said, "This matter is a bit risky."

"Is it really that risky to have hundreds of thousands of dollars falling from the sky every year?" Gu Yansheng said in detail, "I've thought about this. Either we should just drop it and not care about Mitsui, and then say it can't be completed in a few months or a year. Whether he's happy or not, there's nothing we can do."

Half a ton or a ton of quinine can always be obtained, and the remaining medicines are almost all scattered in the daily occupation area. There's no money to be made; it's just hard labor.

If you want to make money, we won't show up. We'll find someone in Shanghai to set up a company, and you'll coordinate with the person in Chongqing. From now on, these two agents will handle business. If word gets out, we won't know anything.

Five or ten tons of quinine, Mitsui is satisfied, we've made money, and with the money problem solved, the manpower issue is the simplest thing.”

"Let's do it!" Ding Mocun wasn't new to this business, so he didn't hesitate for long. He then asked, "What about transporting the goods? There are quite a few Japanese checkpoints to get through. We can handle Shanghai, but what about the Japanese in other places?"

Gu Yansheng smiled. "The Japanese asked me to transport drugs to all the Japanese-occupied areas. Isn't that just a side job? How much does medicine even weigh?"

"Hahahaha." Ding Mochun understood completely. "Brother Gu is clever. There's no problem at all now."

I've even gotten through the most difficult clearance documents. It's so easy to make money this way, without even needing to lift a finger.

“You have no problem, but I have a problem.” Gu Yansheng tapped the table. “I heard from the Japanese that a new government is going to be established, and your special agent headquarters is going to be merged into it?” “Yes, that’s what they said at the time, but wasn’t that special envoy a fake? I don’t know if it counts.”

"I think it still counts. It's basically the same as the Military Intelligence Bureau in Chongqing, setting up stations in various regions. I'm considering that your Special Agent Headquarters will also need to expand outwards. So, I suggest that instead of focusing your efforts on Shanghai, you should recruit more people and think about expanding your territory."

"What if the Japanese clear customs, and then your intelligence headquarters gets involved? There's no need to make this a public spectacle so everyone can get a share. Protect our business."

Ding Mocun nodded repeatedly, "Your reminder makes sense. I'll think of a way to expand our manpower and open up new territory so that Li Shiqun has no territory to open."

"Alright, then hurry up and make the contact. I'll be going now. Prepare some money. Those herbal medicine merchants are as poor as ghosts and need us to pay for them."

"You need to pay upfront? How much?"

"Of course, the more the better. They need at least tens of thousands of US dollars. Where will they get the money to import the drugs from abroad before the first batch is sold?"

"How much?" Ding Mochun's cheeks trembled when he heard that it was over ten thousand US dollars.

"Tens of thousands, is that a lot?" Gu Yansheng looked at him strangely. "No, I heard that Director Ding was reported in Chongqing because he was caught embezzling. You're a major general, don't you have tens of thousands of US dollars?"

"No." Ding Mocun felt somewhat looked down upon. It was unbecoming of a major general to have embezzled so little. "I was discovered in a hurry at the time, and even if I had wealth, I couldn't take much with me. I really don't have that much now."

"how many?"

"More than ten thousand US dollars."

Gu Yansheng shook his head, "You've wasted your position as a major general."

Damn it, people really look down on those who don't take much!
“Then you should communicate with the people in Chongqing and see if they can advance the money, otherwise the process will be much slower,” Gu Yansheng said.

Ding Mocun thought for a moment: "I can talk about this, but it will take time. I need to do some work to get in touch with the old friends there."

"Okay, I'll wait for your reply. I still have some left, enough for now."

After saying goodbye to Ding Mocun, Gu Yansheng wandered around the building and then went to find Li Shiqun.

Li Shiqun was very curious and asked with a half-smile, "Was he cursing at me?"

"You know it already, why are you asking?" Gu Yansheng scoffed. "Don't ask too much. I'm just doing business, I don't want to be caught in the middle and become a punching bag."

"Alright, I won't ask." Li Shiqun didn't make things difficult for Gu Yansheng. "The manpower is ready. You can take Sibao directly. Do you want some money prepared?"

“Bring some with you. If you find a good one that you like and the price is right, we’ll contact them by telegram and have them pay the deposit. That way, we can avoid bad communication and someone else snatching the house.”

Li Shiqun nodded, made a phone call to his wife, and brought over ten thousand US dollars.

"Use it for now, and we'll see if it's not enough."

"Okay, I'll be going now."

Gu Yansheng found Wu Sibao and left with Liu San and others, along with a radio, totaling eighteen people.

"Go home and pack your things today. Bring some decent clothes. We're buying a villa or mansion, so don't dress too shabbily. If you don't have any, go buy some now, and Director Li will reimburse you. We're leaving tomorrow."

"Yes."

"Liu San, stay behind. Everyone else, you can leave. We'll meet at the train station entrance at 9 a.m. tomorrow."

"Yes."

Gu Yansheng led Liu San into the car.

"Didn't you ask Li Shiqun just now? Has the person been released already?"

"He was released and taken away by the Green Gang disciples who had been waiting at the door." Liu San sighed, "He really is a tough guy. If he had spoken, I would have sent him on his way. But Li Shiqun used all his strength, the tiger bench, the electric chair, he was beaten to a pulp, but he still didn't say a word. He's really something."

The butler Mr. Du hired is incredibly capable; he hasn't received any anti-torture training and relies entirely on sheer willpower.

Gu Yansheng nodded. "He's a real man."

Gu Yansheng would love to find a butler like that, but such a person is hard to come by.

"Does Li Shiqun have any new arrangements?"

"Yes, although the person was released, Yingzuo did not give up. Li Shiqun ordered Wu Sibao to send his men to keep an eye on Wan Molin's people, preparing to play the long game and catch a big fish."

That means everything's alright for now. "Does Chen Mo know?"

"I don't know yet. I'm going to inform him later, but his team members are still out there. News of Mr. Wan's release will definitely spread, and he'll find out soon."

Gu Yansheng nodded: "You should still contact him and tell him that you will be going to Nanjing for a while. If anything happens, tell him to come to me."

"Okay, I see."

After explaining the situation, Gu Yansheng told Liu San to get out of the car so he could go find Shen Linshen.

"I'm moving houses this time, and I need to hire a few servants. It would be best if someone could be arranged to act as an intermediary for our communication. Otherwise, it would be inconvenient if we contact each other too frequently. Do you have any suitable candidates? Driver, butler, nanny, chef, bodyguard, any position is acceptable."

"This is a good opportunity."

Shen Linshen thought for a moment and said, "However, the people I've just recruited are still under observation in terms of their character and abilities. The people they come into contact with are quite different when they go to Shanghai to play the role of an ordinary citizen versus when they come to your side to play the role of a butler."
"If you need a family doctor, I can recommend one. She's a female doctor at the French Concession Hospital. She's one of our people; the organization specifically prepared her for you, so your status allows for legitimate contact. She's a backup for my position; if something happens to me, she'll take over. The organization has assessed her abilities; she's capable."

“Doctors also have limitations on contact.” Gu Yansheng said thoughtfully, “After all, it’s not something we’re in contact with every day. We can have backups, but I’d prefer someone who’s permanently stationed.”

"I'll look for other roles." Shen Linshen knew that the doctor's identity had limitations.

(End of this chapter)