Spy Wars: Red Shopkeeper

Chapter 192 Sweeping the End
"Doesn't the seal from his Central Party Headquarters have any deterrent effect at all?"

Gu Yansheng felt there was something fishy about this. "If it was something his subordinates stole, Xue Yue wouldn't know. How many heads does Xue Yue have? Are they so bold as to dare to steal something after seeing the seal of the Central Party Headquarters?"

"It's a matter of timing," Ding Mochun said, adjusting his posture and leaning back on the sofa. "Have you seen the newspapers these past two days? Okamura Yasuji has taken Nanchang."

If you work backwards from the time the attack occurred, wasn't the Ninth War Zone already in a standoff with the Japanese near Nanchang? It wasn't that they had already started fighting, but rather that it was close to starting.

The goods were unloaded in Jiujiang. I estimate that CC is preparing to give this batch of medicine to the local Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (CBIS). As for whether it's for sale or to distribute supplies as a favor, either way is possible.

The news must have leaked. Xue Yue's men found out. With a major battle imminent, they don't care about the Central Party Headquarters anymore. They'd even dare to steal from the Emperor himself. We're not really on the same side anyway.

Gu Yansheng frowned and remained silent. If that were the case, it was indeed very likely that it had been stolen.

If he were the officer in charge, seeing those boxes labeled "Central Party Headquarters" would definitely mean valuable items, and he would have to seize them.

Whether they'll survive or not is uncertain; who cares about the punishment they might receive later?

Besides, what can you do if I don't admit it?
Ding Mocun continued, "Brother, don't be fooled by the fact that we're all from Chongqing; there are many factions within us."

Take Xue Yue, for example. He came from the Guangdong Army, but now he's aligned himself with Chen Cheng's civil engineering faction.

Chen Cheng was Chiang Kai-shek's right-hand man. If Xue Yue took the medicine, it was as if Chiang Kai-shek had taken the medicine.

However, Chiang Kai-shek and the CC Clique were not on good terms, and there were various open and covert struggles within them.

Chiang Kai-shek ruled the country while Chen Cheng led the party. It was said that everyone was running their own separate sphere, with party and military power separated. But how could the CC Clique not be envious of military power?
CC has always wanted to use the party system to interfere in military affairs, but Chiang Kai-shek was certainly unwilling to let him. Now that Xue Yue's troops have taken CC's things, and CC wants to investigate, will Chiang Kai-shek let him intervene?

Furthermore, Xue Yue himself had his own ulterior motives. After all, he came from the Guangdong Army and had rebelled against Chiang Kai-shek several times. At most, he was a stepchild, and definitely not a direct descendant.

I suspect that Chiang Kai-shek ordered Xue Yue to fight a bloody battle in Nanchang, but Xue Yue probably complained about insufficient supplies. It's also possible that Chiang Kai-shek somehow found out the CC Clique had bought a lot of good stuff and leaked it to Xue Yue to do him a favor.

"You're taking my things as a favor?" Gu Yansheng scoffed in anger.

Chiang Kai-shek could only find out from Dai Li. Could it be that there was a Military Intelligence Bureau in Jiujiang who discovered that the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics was sending good stuff, and then had Xue Yue's men steal it?

There's no need to inform Chiang Kai-shek. The local Military Intelligence Bureau would be lured by the sight of the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBIS) belongings, and they'd be perfectly capable of committing such a robbery.

Afterwards, Boss Dai could still do Xue Yue a favor.

Ha, looks like I really got fleeced.

Ding Mocun sighed, slapped the armrest of the sofa, and said, "So I think this matter is difficult to handle. To be honest, it's a natural disaster."

Although CC says they will investigate, Xue Yue is not cooperating, and Lao Jiang is not cooperating either. I'm worried that this matter will drag on indefinitely, and it's impossible to say how long it will drag on.

After I learned about this, I immediately sent people to inquire about the details in Nanchang. As you just saw, I've had another testing site opened and some experienced personnel recruited to check if this batch of medicines has appeared on the market.

Gu Yansheng frowned and waved his hand, "What's the point of keeping the site open now? According to you, this thing can never be recovered. We can't keep waiting. Will we still sell other medicines? How much will we lose?"

"Half of the goods."

"So much? If we really count it all as ours, how much money can we make on this trip? Less than 50%."

Tell CC that the two companies should split the money 50/50. If he can come up with the funds, the business can continue, and there's still a lot of stock to ship. If you can reach an agreement, have his people bring the money to Shanghai.

Gu Yansheng added, "From now on, before shipping goods, have his people check the inventory themselves, so that they won't be stolen halfway through the journey and take advantage of us again."

If Gu Yansheng could agree, Ding Mochun could also breathe a sigh of relief, as they would have to pay $11500 just for the cost of half the goods.

If calculated based on the price sold to CC, that would be $34500.

If calculated according to the regular black market price, it would be double.

He had only given Gu Yansheng $10,000 of his entire fortune in this business, and he really couldn't afford to lose it; he was almost frantic with worry.

"Okay, I will definitely make it clear to him. If any problems arise again, it will be his responsibility."

"Let's see if he brings money first. If we don't see any money, how can we know if he's genuinely interested in doing business?"

But we can't let this money go to waste. What if they get their hands on something good now and then pull other stunts later?

Gu Yansheng added, "If you let them bring some goods to Shanghai to sell, they'll lose money even if the ships come back empty. At least we can make some extra money here to subsidize them."

Gu Yansheng offered everyone a way out, and Ding Mocun readily accepted.

“I think it’s a good idea. Things like tungsten ore, pig bristles, soot, and tung oil are all good stuff in Shanghai. There are plenty of people who want them. Japan even buys some of these things at high prices. I’ll ask them and have them buy some.”

Pig bristles are used to produce military cleaning tools; tung oil can be used to manufacture insulation materials. It is grown by farmers in Yunnan, but is favored by the upper class in Shanghai. I heard it can fetch a good price in England and is a famous brand.

Smuggling is a win-win situation where everyone turns a blind eye; otherwise, smugglers would have been wiped out long ago.

Whether it's for military or not doesn't matter. As long as we're spending money on each other and the boss pays the bill, it's real money when it's converted into cash. If it's just sitting at home unsold, it's just a pile of waste.

“That’s settled then. My stock business with Li Shiqun is already open. Director Ding, you still need to work harder to make money, otherwise, how am I going to pay you your share before your investment funds have even arrived?”

"So fast?" Ding Mochun asked anxiously.

"Of course we should be proactive when it comes to making money. I'm off now, let's hurry."

That evening, Gu Yansheng went to check on the progress of the medicine.

Such a high-ranking official, still overseeing business at one in the morning, Qi Wuzhou could only admire him.

After communicating with the people on the ship, Qi Wuzhou reported: "The medicine we transported back from Germany this time is mainly sulfonamide, 20 kilograms per box, and there are 200 boxes in total."

The anesthetic morphine is sold in boxes of ten, totaling four hundred boxes. There are also six hundred and seventy-two boxes of other medicines scattered around.

"Seven hundred sets of high-end German surgical equipment, and a stimulant used by the German military called deoxyephedrine, which is said to enable soldiers to fight for extended periods and make them extremely brave."

Deoxyephedrine? Isn't that methamphetamine? Gu Yansheng had heard that Japanese soldiers had a habit of using drugs in battle, but he didn't expect that the Germans did too. But who would he sell this stuff to?
But I'll let it go for the sake of sulfonamides.

"You weren't chased this time, were you?" Gu Yansheng joked.

Qi Wuzhou quickly shook his head. "I wouldn't dare. This is a normal transaction. The person leading the team is a local pharmaceutical company. The Germans are more disciplined than the Southeast Asians; they take the money and do the job." Gu Yansheng smiled faintly. "You can give me a detailed list later. Also, how much is it in total?"

"The list is already here." It was prepared during the procurement process. Qi Wuzhou took out the ledger from his pocket and handed it over. "The original purchase prices are all here."

Gu Yansheng took it and looked at it. The first item was sulfonamide, with a purchase price of $9 per kilogram.

Gu Yansheng was surprised, "Sulfonamides are so cheap? I remember they're sold by the gram on the black market?"

"Yes, retail is by the gram, one dollar per gram. If it's by the kilogram, it's 300 to 500 dollars per kilogram, depending on the market."

Qi Wuzhou, who works in this industry, is well aware of the price fluctuations of sulfonamides. "These things are not expensive to buy from their place of origin. Even at $9, the intermediary's money is included. If you order in large quantities, the channel fees will be more expensive."

If you were to buy directly from the factory, you only need a small amount; just bribe the factory staff, and you can get it for less than $6. The reason it's expensive in Shanghai is mainly due to the blockade. The Japanese strictly controlled sulfonamides, so they were expensive in Shanghai, and even more expensive in the Kuomintang-controlled areas.

It was incredibly profitable. At $9 a kilogram, that was only about 30 silver dollars, but it sold for 300 to 500 silver dollars in Shanghai.

Gu Yansheng looked at the prices of the other items. Apart from the surgical equipment being a bit expensive, the other medicines were actually quite cheap when calculated per unit.

Gu Yansheng looked at Qi Wuzhou, "You've given me all the original ledgers, so how can you ask me for a price now?"

Qi Wuzhou smiled humbly, "This isn't the first time I've done things for you, Director Gu. You're not the kind of person who deliberately makes things difficult for us. I believe you'll always let us make some profit. It's up to you."

Using a feigned retreat as a tactic, Gu Yansheng asked, "Including the labor costs for transportation, how much is it in total?" He pointed towards the ships.

Qi Wuzhou paused for a moment: "A total of over 137,000 US dollars."

The total amount of medicine this time is less than the quinine last time. If we transport it more often, we can make it a regular occurrence.

"I'll give you 20, okay?"

“Okay, you decide.” Qi Wuzhou nodded with a smile, his expression unchanged.

He was overjoyed. Although it seemed that the profits from smuggling drugs overseas hadn't doubled and were far less than what he could make selling smuggled drugs on the black market, he was still very happy.

But how much can be sold on the black market?

We're shipping in large quantities now, and there's protection provided.

This trip alone, split among several bosses, will surely net each a few thousand dollars, which is no small sum.

"Mr. Gu, shall I contact you again when the next shipment arrives?"

"Okay, go get the money."

Gu Yansheng asked Ma Shiqi to give them money.

Loading and unloading the cargo here, followed by warehousing, would probably take another night of work. Gu Yansheng decided not to wait any longer and left after the handover was complete.

The next day, Ma Shiqi came to report on the progress; everything was going smoothly.

"Director, what should we do with this batch of goods?"

"Take out 40% and put it in two warehouses in the concession. Put the remaining 60% together and find someone else to take it."

"Aren't they sold to the Kuomintang-controlled areas?" Ma Shiqi asked curiously.

"We also need to give an explanation to the Japanese. With so many merchants, it's inevitable that there will be leaks. Where did all these medicines go after arriving in Shanghai? So, we need to distribute some of the medicines to the Japanese-occupied areas in the future."

Ma Shiqi understood. "The director is very thoughtful. I'll get on it right away."

"Wait a minute," Gu Yansheng stopped him. "After you've dealt with the medicine, call the leaders of each gang and tell them to go to the warehouse to purchase the medicine. Just say it was me who said it."

Later, when they took opium outside, in every city and town they opened an opium den, they would also open a pharmacy for me. I didn't care whether the medicine was sold legally or on the black market. Don't ask me, I don't want to know, but they had to sell it.

The black market in Japanese-occupied areas also comes from the same people. When there's an oversupply, they can drive down the price. If they still can't sell it, it will flow to the Nationalist-controlled areas. But that has nothing to do with us.

In the future, when there are more goods, we won't need to occupy 60% of the area each day; 50% or 40% will suffice.

You need to leave room for them in the price you offer, ensuring they can make a profit.

Ma Shiqi nodded with a smile, "There are so many good things, you can't get them normally, they're definitely happy to do this, it's free money, isn't that what gangs do?"

Gu Yansheng said with a faint smile, "Whether you're happy or not isn't important. The key is that you need to keep good accounts and make sure that 40% of the medicines disappear in a reasonable way."

Ma Shiqi raised an eyebrow. "Understood. Don't worry, I'll get more people involved. With more people, and each family buying a little, the quantity will be impossible to track."

"Well, let's go."

That evening, Ding Mocun came to find Gu Yansheng for tea.

"They've agreed to the plan. The losses will be split 50/50. Then, the supplies will be transported to Shanghai, and they'll send someone to return on the ship to contact us. The money will also be brought over with the ship."

That's good. With everyone going back and forth, supplies can circulate. Gu Yansheng told him about the arrival of a new batch of medicines at the port.

As long as the money arrives in Shanghai this time, the next shipment can be dispatched immediately.

Ding Mocun felt greatly comforted upon hearing this and exclaimed, "That's wonderful!"

This line is making money non-stop now, every minute is profitable, so there's no need to be strapped for cash anymore. Otherwise, a director of a secret service headquarters wouldn't even be able to pull out ten thousand dollars from his pocket.
It wasn't until I arrived in Shanghai that I realized Gu Yansheng was absolutely right; what a waste of that major general rank.

Chen Mo was also on the drug procurement list this time. He now has the drugs on hand, and the price is only double the purchase price, which is not expensive.

Gu Yansheng spoke with Shen Linshen about the medicine, suggesting that the organization assign a task to Chen Mo.

Whether it's under the guise of medicine or replenishing ammunition for the New Fourth Army, and Chen Mo is asked to help transport it, it's up to the organization to arrange it.

As long as we find an opportunity to replenish Chen Mo's forces, Chen Mo will be able to better establish himself in southern Anhui. In the future, land transportation can be handled by Chen Mo's people through transit stations, thus completely opening up both water and land routes.

The smuggling issue has been dealt with, and we're just waiting for the people from Hanoi to arrive.

(End of this chapter)