Spy Wars: Red Shopkeeper

Chapter 176 Delivery
That evening, Gu Yansheng and Ding Mocun stood on the banks of the Huangpu River, watching the cargo ship set sail.

Ding Mocun was satisfied; his money-making journey with the medicine had finally begun.

Gu Yansheng was satisfied; Ding Mocun had finally boarded the ship.

The two looked at each other and laughed.

Earning a lot or a little money is a small matter; helping Ding Mocun make money is the real deal.

Now, number 76, almost half of it is in his hands.

This trip is divided into two parts. The first part is to Jiujiang, and the second part is to Wuhan.

Wuhan is Gu Yansheng's own name. Officially, the ship was transporting high-end goods to the Japanese-occupied areas around Wuhan for sale, including imported red wine and sake from Shanghai, various canned goods, chocolates, and so on.

In reality, the cotton yarn and opium paste were used to fulfill the Japanese people's own money-making goals.

As for the small amount of medicine I brought, it wasn't much; tens of thousands of dollars worth of medicine isn't a large sum.

The ship carried Mitsui's customs clearance documents, the Military Police Headquarters' customs clearance documents, the Asia Development Institute's Central China material transportation documents, the Shanghai Municipal Government's military supplies distribution permit, and the Special Operations Headquarters' military supplies transportation documents.

The transport personnel were Gu Zhuxuan's Jiangbei gang members and Chen Mo's Green Gang members.

The people who met them at their destinations along the way were agents of the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (CBIS) dispatched by the CC. During their transport, the boxes of medicine would be sealed with seals from the Central Party Headquarters, and no one would open them until they reached their actual destination.

CC specifically requested that Jiujiang relinquish a small portion, while Wuhan relinquish the vast majority.

After passing through customs, they will let the local Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (CBIS) handle the transshipment themselves.

Before setting off, all the steps were agreed upon, and now all we need to do is wait.

Gu Yansheng and his team showed their sincerity by delivering the goods first, so CC also had to show its sincerity by guaranteeing the safety of the goods quietly.

It's about reciprocity; doing it often will lead to more future interactions.

"Shall we go grab a late-night snack?" Ding Mocun suggested.

"Alright, let's go, Director Ding. Isn't Shanghai better than Chongqing?" Gu Yansheng joked.

This poor major general, who only had a little over ten thousand US dollars, could double his assets if this trip went smoothly, and he was feeling refreshed and in high spirits.

Ding Mocun laughed heartily, "Making money is much more satisfying now."

Before, he worked at the post office, skimming off bits and pieces here and there to save up a little money. Of that, he would inevitably have to give a share to his superiors. Now, CC is giving him a share, and the feeling is indeed very different.

He now understood how Dai Yunong, a graduate of the sixth class of the Whampoa Military Academy, had risen step by step to become an equal to Xu Enzeng, the once-powerful Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, and had even utterly defeated his post office.

The post office is truly rubbish; they didn't even realize that Dai Yunong had buried someone right next to them.

Such professional intelligence organizations are truly professional when it comes to smuggling; this is true of the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (Zhongtong), the Military Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (Juntong), and the 76th Division.

There's absolutely no need to worry about being investigated; it's hard not to get rich.

Looking back now, he realizes that Xu Enzeng's downfall was that the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (CBIS) in Shanghai was wiped out by the 76th Division. He doesn't even know if the organization has been rebuilt yet, and all the smuggling routes in Shanghai have been cut off.

Dai Yunong is different. With Du Yuesheng's connections, smuggling in the foreign concessions never stopped. With each side gaining and losing, he made even more money. Supporting his subordinates costs money. Xu Enzeng had no money, so how could he not be suppressed?

"No wonder some people like war; war is a very lucrative business."

Ding Mocun sighed, and Gu Yansheng smiled. The two went to a restaurant and ordered a few dishes to eat.

Gu Yansheng ate a peanut and casually asked, "Have your people been buried in Anhui yet? When will the land route be open for trade?" He couldn't just stay for free; he was there to gather information.

While eating, Ding Mocun said, "Stations in several major cities have been established. In the countryside, it's easy to set up some transit stations. The only thing that needs time now is to investigate the local social relationships."

"Hurry up," Gu Yansheng reminded. "Time is money. Perfume, soap, red wine, and sake are needed by the Japanese and Chongqing. Medicines are only needed once in a while, but this kind of thing can be shipped every day and is available nationwide."

“I know, but that area is now a frequent site of war, and there are many spies from all sides, and they are very experienced. If we want to transport goods, I have to find out who the Japanese are. There must be quite a few spies planted by the Japanese in the area.”

Since it's smuggling, they definitely have to avoid the Japanese if they can.

Gu Yansheng thought for a moment and then smiled and said, "Hey, Li Shiqun and I are planning to make a big splash in the stock market. Do you want to come along?"

Ding Mocun's eyes lit up, and he stopped eating, "What's big?"

Gu Yansheng explained the situation: "Stock manipulation is a long-term business. It's impossible to make a fortune in a short period of time. But the key is stability. You can make a profit every now and then. Since you have spare money, you might as well lend it to the shareholders at interest."

“Sure.” Ding Mochun thought for a moment and smiled. “If you think stocks are a good idea, then I think they are.”

After all, it wasn't a secret within No. 76 that Li Shiqun made money on stocks.

"But will Li Shiqun let me participate?" Ding Mocun raised an eyebrow.

Gu Yansheng scoffed, "Do you really have to say it out loud? Just leave the money with me, I'll invest, and you can just pretend it never happened."

"When we need to stock up on goods, we'll buy from Wing On Department Store. The more we buy, the higher their profit margin. Once that news gets out, their stock price will easily rise. We'll make a profit on the stock, and then make another profit by shipping the goods to the Kuomintang-controlled areas."

"Hahaha, great, let's do it this way!" Ding Mocun was thrilled and his mind was very quick. "Then when we need to, we can seize a batch of his goods, spread the news that Yong'an Department Store is suspected of smuggling, the goods have been seized, and the company is under investigation. The stock price will drop again, and then we can buy it back."

"Yes, that makes sense."

"Alright, alright." Ding Mochun nodded repeatedly, raising his glass. "Come on, let's have a drink."

Gu Yansheng clinked glasses with him, "But keep your mouth shut about this, just pretend you don't know anything. Otherwise, if Li Shiqun finds out and you two start arguing, I'll be very annoyed."

"Do you even need to tell me? I don't even want to see his face. He's a scoundrel. From now on, just come to me for this kind of business. Why bother with him?"

"Do you have money?" Gu Yansheng scoffed.

Ding Mocun was touched on a sore spot and drank alcohol.

"How's the investigation into the Japanese arms dealing going?"

"There's been some progress. There's really not much to investigate in this kind of thing. Every quartermaster, regardless of which army they belong to—Japanese, American, Central Army, or local army—is corrupt. Just drag them out and shoot them. There won't be a single innocent one."

Gu Yansheng looked at him and asked, "What evidence did you find?"

"Do we need to find evidence? Just find the money. That Japanese guy is incredibly stupid. He deposited the money in his own bank. I went over and checked, and I got it right away. With his salary, he couldn't earn that much money in eight lifetimes."

"Why don't you report it quickly and settle this matter? Once you've settled this matter, I think you can focus your energy on Wuhan. We'll send a ship there, and don't come back empty-handed; bring back some supplies."

Gu Yansheng was still waiting to see the excitement.

Ding Mocun nodded. "I'll get to it quickly. After all, he's a quartermaster. We need to catch them red-handed. Do you think someone who can be a quartermaster wouldn't have connections? There might be a powerful figure among the high-ranking officers in the Military Police Headquarters."

Be careful not to bite the snake instead of killing it. Just watch, with their abilities, it won't be long. The next time they strike, I'll definitely catch them.

(End of this chapter)