Spy Wars: Red Shopkeeper

Chapter 230 Strike
"Sigh." Gu Yansheng raised his hand to stop Ding Mochun from speaking. "What's there to explain? You say the right thing to the right person. How could I not understand if you said something like that in this situation?"

"Yes, yes." Ding Mocun was very relieved by Gu Yansheng's understanding.

Gu Yansheng smiled and said, "If you really help Chongqing, it will actually benefit the business, and I don't object to that. However, I must remind you that you can take the letter of appointment and do the work, but you must remember one thing: a general in the field may not obey orders."

What does Chongqing see in you? Isn't your value simply this position?
But if you do too many dangerous things and the Japanese find out, you could lose your position at best, or even your life at worst. At that point, Chongqing might not care about you anymore.

Ding Mocun understood perfectly well; he had already been taken advantage of by Chiang Kai-shek once. "I understand. In the end, only money matters."

"That's right, making money is the real goal. Don't listen to what they say. As long as you don't fall from this position, even if you just do business with Chongqing and do nothing else, Old Chiang will still have to hold his nose and call you a pillar of the state, right?"

"Hahaha, you're right."

"Come on, let's go back and divide the money."

Gu Yansheng did not want Ding Mocun to get too close to Chongqing. Helping was fine, but there was no need for him to be single-mindedly devoted to serving the Party and the country.

Of course, given Ding Mocun's personality, even if Gu Yansheng didn't say anything, Ding Mocun would still have different dreams than those in Chongqing.

Gu Yansheng said that he just wanted Ding Mocun to be more resolute, so that he wouldn't blurt things out and get CC kicked out. There was no need for that; Gu Yansheng didn't want CC to try to win him over again.

"Okay, let's go back and divide the money." A bright smile immediately appeared on Ding Mocun's face when he mentioned money.

I'm terrified of being poor.

"Chongqing is unusually polite this time. CC is usually extremely stingy, but this time they are willing to give all the money. This is a pleasant surprise."

It wasn't until I came to Shanghai that I realized how easy it is to make money. One trip to Shanghai is equivalent to all the hard work he's put in over the years in Chongqing!
He invested $10,000, and now it's $30,000!
I'll go home and count the money at night; I'll wake up laughing in my dreams.

"What's so surprising? Listen to Wu Kaixian's background, the Executive Yuan. I estimate that nine times out of ten, it's because the CC Clique refused to accept the loss of this batch of medicine, couldn't communicate with Xue Yue, and took the case to Chiang Kai-shek."

When Chiang Kai-shek heard there was a possibility of bringing you, the director of the Special Agent Headquarters, back, he'd have no choice but to put in a good word and do you a favor.

Ding Mocun nodded, saying that it wasn't impossible to analyze it that way.

Otherwise, who paid for it?

The loss was split 50/50, but now they bear the entire loss, resulting in a price difference of 20,000.

Chiang Kai-shek and the CC Clique didn't seem like the type to willingly throw away those extra $20,000.

As the car drove back to western Shanghai, passing by No. 76 on its way to the teahouse, a casual glance revealed action team members hurrying by at the entrance of No. 76.

"What's going on? Why are you in such a hurry? I'll go down and take a look."

As soon as the car stopped, Ding Mocun got out and casually called someone over to ask him questions.

After listening to a few words, he waved to the team members, released him, frowned, got into the car, and cursed under his breath as soon as he got in.

"What bad luck! The personnel chief that Li Shiqun arrested was a complete idiot. He didn't even get a beating, just a few words of coaxing and he confessed. What kind of good-for-nothing is Dai Li? He has no backbone at all. You could at least hold out for one night, right?"

Gu Yansheng chuckled, "Hey, hey, jealous, aren't you?"

Ding Mocun gave a stubborn snort, straightened his suit jacket, and leaned heavily back in his chair. "What am I jealous of? He's just a personnel section chief. It's not like I haven't arrested him before."

I'm just annoyed that Li Shiqun got another advantage. Originally, with Mr. Wang and the others coming back, Li Shiqun hadn't achieved anything yet and was almost certainly going to be punished. Now, he's been given a second chance.

Even if the head of the personnel department can't produce any big stuff, he can still produce a bunch of small fry, enough for Li Shiqun to get by.

Gu Yansheng clicked his tongue twice and comforted him, "Alright, he gets the credit and you make the money, you're not at a loss."

"That's true." Thinking of money, Ding Mocun did feel a little comforted. What was the point of being an official if not for money? Even if Li Shiqun arrested all the Kuomintang agents, the reward from the Japanese wouldn't be as much as he would get for doing a single business transaction.

"Are you still sitting?" Gu Yansheng urged.

"What's wrong?" Ding Mochun asked, confused. "Can't I sit?"

“Go back. Everyone’s already taking action. Why are you still coming to the teahouse with me?”

The money won't be lost, but now that Li Shiqun has captured people, he'll definitely have to report his success to the Japanese. If the Japanese ask where you've been, he'll say you went out to play this afternoon.

Before Gu Yansheng could even finish speaking, he clapped his hands. Ding Mocun's face immediately fell. "Damn it, we really need to be careful. I'm leaving now."

After saying that, he hurriedly opened the door.

Gu Yansheng didn't stop him. "Hey, even if you're a bodhisattva, you still have to sit there. If you have achievements, you can report to the Japanese first. After all, you're the director, so it's perfectly legitimate."

"If you really have nothing to do, you should buy some food for your men and treat them. They'll appreciate it then, won't they?" Gu Yansheng smiled. "You should spend the money you've earned."

Ding Mocun raised an eyebrow. “Getting some late-night snacks is fine, but who do we report to? Yingzuo isn’t in Shanghai. Am I supposed to report to Qingqi? Qingqi took Li Shiqun’s drug. Even if I call him ‘Dad,’ he only recognizes Li Shiqun as his biological son.”

Gu Yansheng chuckled, "Whatever. You have to put on an act, even if it's just for your own people."

Ding Mocun didn't press the matter. "Alright, let's talk about this tomorrow."

"Okay, I'll bring the money to you tomorrow." Gu Yansheng waved his hand and left.

Let's leave an excuse to go to No. 76 and go check it out tomorrow.

The next morning, Gu Yansheng went to the bank, deposited the cassette tape into the safe, and then returned to the Huxi Teahouse.

I listened to Ma Shiqi's report on the transportation of supplies.

"The supplies that were transported over there this time are mainly tungsten ore, pig bristles, tobacco, and tung oil. They are all good stuff, but the quantity is not much. What do you plan to do with them?"

"Ask Boss Gu if he can find someone to take away the items that the Jiangbei Gang is already buying and selling. As for the rest, which are not Jiangbei Gang business, contact Zhang Xiaolin and give them all to him. We don't do retail. From now on, this will be the model for all goods coming from there."

The returns and risks of selling CC's products in retail are disproportionate, and Gu Yansheng has no interest in making money from it, nor does he want to compete with gangs for business. He and Ding Mocun can simply take a middleman's cut.

Of course, the profits are given to the gangs, and they also bear the risks.

If something goes wrong, the Japanese will have to deal with the Green Gang first. By the time they trace the gang leader from the black market vendors, Gu Yansheng and Ding Mocun will have time to react.

Ma Shiqi nodded, "Okay, I'll arrange it right away."

"it is good."

During the banquet in the latter half of yesterday, Wu Kaixian explained that after deducting the deposit for the next batch of medicines, the remaining profit from this batch of goods would be the operating expenses for CC's trip to Shanghai to regroup. He hoped that Ding Mocun would help out and earn more money.

Ding Mocun said that there are many people here who make money, some with connections to the Japanese and some with the Green Gang. He could only guarantee that there would be some profit, and the amount should be quite good, but it was hard to say how much they could make for the time being.

The purchase price of tungsten ore in the Kuomintang-controlled areas was 50 silver dollars per 100 catties, while the selling price in Shanghai was 100 silver dollars per 100 catties. The profit was not good, less than half after deducting the transportation cost, and it was also very heavy, so it could not be packed too much.

The price difference for tung oil is larger; it costs 80 silver dollars for 100 catties, while the black market price is 300 silver dollars.

Needless to say, Yunyan cigarettes can definitely generate three times the profit if sold wholesale.

The most valuable part is actually the pig bristles.

This item is a necessity in military operations. Japanese trading companies want it. The purchase price in the Nationalist-controlled areas is 50 silver dollars per 100 catties, while the black market price in Shanghai is 500 silver dollars per 100 catties.

It's not wrong to say that the upper echelons of Chongqing were indirectly funding the enemy by reselling good stuff to the Japanese, but this stuff could indeed make money off the Japanese and be used as operating funds.

Of course, if some of them embezzled, that's another matter entirely.

I picked up the newspaper on the table and glanced at it. There was no doubt that yesterday was another night of constant gunfights, as the newspapers had already given it full coverage.

The fact that Yu Xiangqin, the head of the intelligence team in western Shanghai, was reminded of this undoubtedly led to the spread of the news.

Furthermore, with Liu Sanhui relaying information, the Military Intelligence Bureau's Shanghai branch may also have a hidden agent within No. 76.

The news must have gotten out to some extent, but with the current communication conditions, no matter what organizational structure the Military Intelligence Bureau implemented in Shanghai, the few hours it took for Yu Xiangqin to escape to No. 76 were definitely not enough to notify everyone.

Even if someone is notified to go into hiding, it will be difficult for these people to escape Shanghai, as the person arrested is the head of the personnel department. If nothing unexpected happens, there will be a large-scale manhunt throughout Shanghai in the next few days, with arrest warrants issued at all entrances and exits, and their appearance and identification documents will be checked one by one.

It's certain that the Shanghai region will be targeted, but the extent of the damage is unknown.

Gu Yansheng took the money box and drove to No. 76.

(End of this chapter)