Spy Wars: Red Shopkeeper

Chapter 185 Tree Bark
"Yes." Ma Shiqi and his bodyguards retreated outside the door.

After Guo Linshuang and the others left, she said with a faint smile, "Director Gu came here about the shares?"

“That’s right.” Gu Yansheng raised his hand; “Sit down and let’s talk.”

"If it's about shares, then there's no need to discuss it. I, Guo, am not short of money." Guo Lin smiled calmly, standing with his hands behind his back, keeping everyone at arm's length.

Gu Yansheng was in no hurry. He poured himself and his teacup a cup of tea. "Capital knows no nationality, but capitalists do. May I ask, Mr. Guo, what nationality are you?"

Guo Linshuang retorted without losing her composure, "I am Chinese, but does Mr. Gu represent all Chinese people? Threats and fake documents—don't I need to spell things out for him?"

"Does it matter who I represent?" Gu Yansheng chuckled. "If I take your shares, you'll be safe in Shanghai. Your company can expand its operations, not only in the Chinese-controlled areas, but also by selling goods directly to the Kuomintang-controlled areas."

"You, in your line of work, should know very well how scarce supplies were in the Kuomintang-controlled areas."

“I understand, but so what? I don’t want to sell. I’m content with just doing my own thing. The revenue from the concession is enough for my Guo family to live comfortably. We don’t need the money from the Nationalist-controlled area.”

Gu Yansheng was not angry, but calm. "So, I'm asking you, what country are you from? If your capital represents the Chinese people, and this matter is beneficial to China's war of resistance, and you have the opportunity to contribute, then you must seize it."

When you're poor, you should focus on your own well-being; when you're rich, you should help others. Some people are so poor that they send all their sons to fight in the war, while others are so rich that it's just a matter of selling scarce goods to the Kuomintang-controlled areas.

I didn't go too far or make things difficult for you, did I?
If you're representing Australia, the country where you made your fortune, then there's no problem. You really have no reason to contribute. Being a wealthy man in the concession, making money off foreigners and Chinese people, is perfectly reasonable.

"Then I'll tell you in advance: within three months, I'll make Yong'an Department Store vanish into thin air."

Guo Lin laughed heartily, then burst into angry laughter. After laughing, her face changed and she frowned, saying, "Director Gu, you are a director of the SH Municipal Government. You come here to talk to me about national righteousness. Don't you find it funny?"

"Is it funny? I don't think so." Gu Yansheng took a sip of tea and said, "I've already said it, it doesn't matter who I represent, and what does it matter to you who I work for? Just because I work for the government in the Japanese-occupied areas, you refuse to sell your goods to the Nationalist-controlled areas, is that the logical connection?"

Guo Linshuang frowned slightly, paused, and said, "My company is not just owned by the Guo family; there are other overseas Chinese shareholders as well. If I can't sell the shares to you, I can't very well be forced out, can I?"

“Yongan was founded by your Guo family. The most valuable thing is this 22-story building we are in now. If this building is gone one day, Yongan’s market value will collapse instantly, and the shares will be worthless. Now, we are on the eve of collapse.”

Do the overseas Chinese behind you want worthless shares or real money?
I doubt we can convince the shareholders.

Guo Linshuang finally sat down, frowning as she asked, "How many shares do you want?"

Gu Yansheng took a sip of tea, put down the cup, and said, "Fifty percent. I want the right to control the stock."

Guo Linshuang's expression changed drastically: "Impossible! Fifty percent of the shares? Are you kidding me? I'd have to sell you almost all of my shares. How am I supposed to do this?"

"I absolutely must be the dealer. How much are you going to pay me?"

Guo Linshuang thought about it carefully, taking into account Gu Yansheng's appetite, and gritted her teeth and said, "Ten percent, that's the most."

"Deal." Gu Yansheng said readily.

Guo Lin, who had been enjoying herself immensely, suddenly felt terrible. Damn it, she'd driven too much.

After thinking for a moment, he chuckled. There was nothing he could do now that things had come to this. "Director Gu really knows how to bargain."

"You clearly got a great price." Asking for an exorbitant price and then negotiating, Gu Yansheng didn't have much money to begin with.

Guo Lin, trying to salvage the situation, said slyly, "We haven't discussed the price yet, Director Gu. Don't get too excited. It'll be based on today's closing price plus two silver dollars."

"How much is that?"

"I don't know, the market hasn't closed yet." Guo Linkshuang glanced at her watch. "There's still half an hour left."

Gu Yansheng thought for a moment and smiled, "Okay, let's go with this price."

"A gentleman's word."

"A swift horse, a whip."

"it is good!"

Guo Lin smiled with a sense of triumph. She immediately got up, went out, opened the door, and said, "Xiao Wang, notify our broker to buy up Yong'an's stock and raise the price by eight yuan. It can't be more or less than the current price."

"Yes."

After giving her instructions, Guo Linshuang sat down as if nothing had happened. "Director Gu, you can back out if you don't want it. Consider this my treat to tea today. You're welcome to come to me for tea again in the future, but let's not talk about anything else."

"It's just a cup of tea, it's not like I can't afford it." Gu Yansheng was very generous, not minding being taken advantage of a little, soothing his wounds, and getting his money back later.

"This cup of tea isn't cheap," Guo Linshuang said smugly, needing to add a few words of sarcasm.

"It's not cheap," Gu Yansheng nodded. "What's Yong'an's market value now?"

"More than 25 million silver dollars."

How many shares are there in total?

“Three hundred and twenty-five thousand shares.” “That’s thirty-one thousand two hundred and fifty thousand shares. I make ten dollars per share, which is more than three hundred thousand dollars in a cup of tea.” Gu Yansheng drank his tea.

Although stocks can still be bought from the stock market, the price will be higher if you buy them in bulk, so it's still more cost-effective to buy from Guo Linshuang.

The stock market closed half an hour later.

手下进来汇报，“行动前81块8毛8，现在收盘价，89块8毛8。”

Guo Lin raised her hand and eyebrows, "Director Gu, is this price acceptable?"

"That's 91.88 yuan, a very auspicious number. That's the price. I'll have someone bring the money tomorrow to complete the share transfer."

Guo Linshuang was quite impressed by Gu Yansheng's magnanimity; he didn't utter a single complaint even when Gu Yansheng dug a pit right in front of her.

Gu Yansheng gave instructions, "I will appoint someone as a director and give her a position in finance, but don't reveal her relationship with me. I won't interfere with your other business matters; you should still take the lead."

This was to be expected, and the statement of not interfering was quite straightforward. Guo Lin nodded readily, "No problem."

"Can you get medicines from here?"

"Of course, Wing On Department Store has everything."

"Quinine too?"

"Yes, but not much." Guo Lin laughed and said, "Have you heard about the robbery of the Nanyang gangs? I don't know what went wrong with those Shanghai businessmen, they went and robbed them, which has led to the Nanyang's inventory being depleted. Now quinine is in short supply."

“Never heard of it.” Gu Yansheng shook his head. “Then if I need a large amount of quinine, what can I do?”

Guo Linshuang frowned. "This is quite difficult. The quinine from Southeast Asia needs to be sold all over the world. In the past, East Asia was blocked, so they accumulated inventory. Now they've been robbed once, and their production lines can't keep up. If the demand is large, they'll have to wait again, unless..."

"Unless what?"

"Unless you buy cinchona bark directly and process it yourself."

Gu Yansheng raised an eyebrow. He had indeed heard from Mitsui that the reason Japan didn't have quinine was because they couldn't get cinchona bark. Buying the raw materials themselves was indeed feasible.

Sure, you might get some unexpected benefits.

Can you buy it?

“You can definitely buy it, it’s just hard to get it in. You see, the people who purchase this stuff are either pharmaceutical companies or the government. Ordinary people don’t need it. Even pharmacies and drug dealers will definitely buy finished products, right?”
However, this item is an internationally embargoed commodity for Japan, so it's impossible to ship a large quantity to Shanghai. They're afraid you'll sell it to Japan, and they're also afraid the ships will be seized by Japan. So it's very difficult. A small amount is possible, but a small amount probably won't meet your needs.

If it's just a little bit, it's better to just buy medicine.

Unless it's sent to Chongqing, then it's acceptable.

But Chongqing is under lockdown again, so goods can't get in, which doesn't concern us.

"How could it not be related?" Gu Yansheng's spirits lifted upon hearing this. What a great idea! Buy it under the name of Chongqing, then sell the shoddy products to the Japanese at a high price.

Then the original medicine in his possession could be sold in the Kuomintang-controlled areas. In Chongqing, even tree bark could be bought, so it would be quite normal for him to buy some original medicine and resell it on the black market.

very good.

As for being blockaded, isn't the blockading just against the Japanese themselves? For them, finding Mitsui means there's no blockade.

And there are also smugglers who travel over mountains and valleys; they are incredibly daring.

"Alright," Gu Yansheng said, looking at Guo Linshuang. "Not bad, this channel alone is worth 300,000 silver dollars."

"Why don't you open your business in Chongqing?"

Guo Linshuang's eyes widened. "Me? Go to Chongqing to open a pharmaceutical company just for a drug? That's too much trouble. It's hard to manage, and if the factory gets bombed by planes, I'll lose everything. No way!"

"You don't need to start a pharmaceutical company. Just open a company in Yunnan and be responsible for receiving the purchased bark. I'll take care of the rest, including the pharmaceutical production."

"How will the goods get in? It won't be via the Burma Road in Yunnan, will it? The Japanese are bombing there every day. Truckloads of bark are being destroyed. How much money will that cost? How many people will die?"

"You seem to know quite a lot about smuggling."

Gu Yansheng chuckled, "You don't need to worry about crossing the border. The border crossing is normal. Just take the main road. I'll handle the Japanese problem."

"He's certainly capable," Guo Linshuang thought, looking at Gu Yansheng. "Since he dared to make such a boast about solving the problem of the Japanese army, it's clear how high Gu Yansheng's status is among the Japanese."

He couldn't help but shrug and sneer, "Didn't Director Gu just say that he wanted me to support the war effort? Are you supporting Chongqing or Japan? After this medicine is produced, you're not going to sell it to the Japanese, are you? Otherwise, I find it hard to believe that the Japanese would let you pass through."

"If I want to sell pharmaceuticals to the Japanese in the Kuomintang-controlled areas, do I have to pretend and sell half to the people in the Kuomintang-controlled areas? Are they blind?" Gu Yansheng raised an eyebrow: "Judging by actions, not intentions, as long as a portion of the cinchona bark you bought saves Chinese people, then to you, Mr. Guo, you are a patriotic capitalist of the Chinese people, isn't that the logic?"

(End of this chapter)