Spy Wars: Red Shopkeeper

Chapter 262 Hard Protection
Secret Service Headquarters.

Gu Yansheng knocked on Wu Sibao's office door, "Sibao."

"Hey, hey!" Wu Sibao jumped out. "Minister Gu, what's up?"

"Follow."

Gu Yansheng took him to Ye Jiqing's office.

"Director Ye."

"Mr. Gu, welcome, welcome, please have a seat." Ye Jiqing's eyes lit up as soon as she saw the box in Gu Yansheng's hand, and she smiled broadly. "What would you like to drink? Coffee?"

"Okay." Gu Yansheng sat down on the sofa, put the suitcase on the coffee table in front of him, crossed his legs and said, "One cup of coffee isn't enough. I'm here to freeload. Will you cover dinner?"

"Of course I'll take care of you! I'm so looking forward to you coming to eat. You'd better come every day."

Ye Jiqing complained that the coffee was being made too slowly, so he came over and sat down to chat. He couldn't just come up and talk about money.

"I've been playing mahjong with the wives of officials who come here recently. When we talk about the talented men in Shanghai, you're the most distinguished among the single ones. Several families want to introduce women to you."

"They have daughters, nieces, and even a young lady from a wealthy family in Shanghai. Hey, would you be interested in meeting them? Just say yes, and their family will definitely be satisfied with you."

Women love to chatter about everyday matters, especially at the mahjong table. Gu Yansheng, this golden bachelor, is someone you couldn't find another like him in Shanghai.

According to the intelligence obtained by Ye Jiqing, Minister Zhou himself rose to prominence by relying on his wife's family background. If it weren't for his father-in-law, the secretary-general of the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce, how could he have known a high-ranking official in Chongqing right after graduation and become the director of the political department with the rank of major general just four years after graduation?

Even with the rank of major general, he doesn't have as much power as Gu Yansheng's current ministerial position. He is a true dragon among men, and there are many people in Shanghai who want to curry favor with him.

Gu Yansheng chuckled and said, "I like smart women. If a woman is as intelligent as Director Ye, then I'll consider it."

Ye Jiqing chuckled softly; her words were truly sweet.

"What are you thinking about?" The door was open, and Li Shiqun walked in. "I told you, you come to my wife's place more often than you go to mine. If I didn't have an informant, I wouldn't even know you were here."

"Haha." Gu Yansheng was very relaxed, leaning back on the sofa and said, "Director Ye said she wanted to introduce me to someone, but I said I would only consider getting to know someone she picked out. As for introductions from other people, I don't know what their intentions are. I don't have time for that."

"You should find a woman to marry soon, get married early, have children early, and give my son a son to keep him company. But I know that you have too high standards and it will be hard for you to find someone."

Li Shiqun has a son named Li Jiansheng.

Li Shiqun sat down next to Ye Jiqing and reprimanded, "If you're going to play mahjong, then play mahjong. Don't go around introducing things to Yansheng. Do you know what they're after? This isn't an ordinary family. Be careful."

Li Shiqun didn't like his woman getting involved in such matters. The chances of success were slim. If it did succeed, great, but if it didn't, and something went wrong, it would damage their relationship, so it was completely unnecessary.

Ye Jiqing was still unhappy, "How could I not know? I was just casually mentioning that this happened. I was just chatting and didn't say anything else. Why are you so upset?"

"Alright, alright, you're right. I have serious business to discuss with Yansheng. Are you two finished?" Li Shiqun didn't bother arguing with a woman.

"We haven't even started talking yet, what important business do you have?" Ye Jiqing was still unhappy.

Gu Yansheng smiled and said, "You go first, we're not in a hurry."

Li Shiqun nodded. "I told you about Fu Xiao'an last time. His son works at the Sino-French Bank, the one where Du Yuesheng is the boss, right?"

"Well, what happened?"

“I spent some time burying someone inside. Recently, he found out that two months ago, Fu Xiao’an borrowed a loan of 1500 million silver dollars from the Sino-French Bank. Just now, he repaid 1800 million of that.”

"So much?" Ye Jiqing stared wide-eyed with curiosity. "What does he need so much money for?"

"Cotton yarn," Li Shiqun replied casually. "Haven't you guys been working on this business together lately?"

Ye Jiqing suddenly realized, and then said, "You think he's given back too much, and there's a problem?"

"The problem isn't that he's repaying too much, but rather, on what grounds does he have to lend out 1500 million?"

Li Shiqun looked at Gu Yansheng and said, "You remember, right? When Fu Xiao'an's son was involved in a scandal and it was reported, we did it ourselves."

Since his son was fired from the bank, Fu Xiao'an shouldn't have been able to borrow money from the Sino-French Bank. The last time the Sino-French Bank lent him money was to rescue Du Yuesheng's butler, Wan Molin.

Gu Yansheng understood. "You mean Fu Xiao'an still has contact with Chongqing?"

Li Shiqun shook his head. "Saying it was a contact isn't accurate enough. Last time, it could be considered a one-time deal between Chongqing and Fu Xiao'an to save Wan Molin. One saved the man, and the other lent him a loan."

Otherwise, Fu Xiao'an would never have gone bankrupt.

Based on this situation, we can infer that Fu Xiao'an was not from Chongqing.

But now things are different. The Sino-French Bank has given Fu Xiao'an another 1500 million yuan. So I have to ask, on what basis?

Ye Jiqing analyzed: "The interest of 300 million for two months is obviously too high, so Fu Xiao'an is helping Chongqing make money?"
Perhaps their relationship was only one-time, but after that one time, Fu Xiao'an tasted the sweetness of success. This time, in order to operate in the stock market, he needed cash and set his sights on Chongqing again.

They intend to exchange certain profits and future cooperation for funds from Chongqing.

"And Chongqing gave him 1500 million yuan simply because they wanted to acquire Fu Xiao'an?"

Li Shiqun nodded in agreement. "What you said basically matches my analysis, but there's another possibility. Fu Xiao'an became a Chongqing resident after the last time. 1500 million is a significant amount. If he wasn't from Chongqing, why would Chongqing trust him and gamble so heavily?"

“What you say makes sense.” Ye Jiqing nodded in agreement.

Li Shiqun looked at Gu Yansheng and asked, "Do you know if Fu Xiaoan has any other expenses besides cotton yarn that require large sums of money recently?"

"I don't know that. Apart from the cotton yarn business, I don't usually have any dealings with him. You know, we used to not get along." Gu Yansheng chuckled.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "But apart from needing money for cotton yarn, he probably doesn't need such a large amount of funds anywhere else. What other business could possibly require so much money?"

Li Shiqun nodded and pondered, "If it's just about cotton yarn, then he's using Chongqing's money to make money for himself and Chongqing. There must be some kind of deal involved, otherwise I can't think of any other explanation."

Those who work in this line of work are somewhat obsessive, insisting on getting to the bottom of things. If Gu Yansheng were in Li Shiqun's position, he wouldn't have had much success in dismantling the Military Intelligence Bureau's Shanghai branch for long, and he wouldn't have had any performance pressure from the Japanese. As a traitor, why would he bother targeting Fu Xiao'an?

The key is that Fu Xiao'an is no ordinary person.

"Actually, if you say this must be related to Chongqing, I don't think so. There is another explanation. Fu Xiao'an was facing the risk of bankruptcy at the time, so it was normal that he couldn't get a loan. But he got through it later."

Having acquired assets and made money recently, I want to make a big splash in the stock market. I need to borrow funds from the Sino-French Bank. As a normal business transaction, the Sino-French Bank has no reason not to do it, even if they charge a higher interest rate.

"Three million yuan, in two months—if I were a bank manager, I wouldn't refuse."

Gu Yansheng once again protected Fu Xiao'an.

Li Shiqun thought for a moment and shook his head. “You’re oversimplifying things. Normal business dealings can certainly be done, but the problem is that the boss behind the Sino-French Bank is Du Yuesheng. Is a manager qualified to handle a loan of 1500 million? Shouldn’t it be reported to the bank’s board of directors?”
Although Du Yuesheng was not in Shanghai, there were definitely people from Du Yuesheng's side on the board of directors, and the manager himself was probably one of Du Yuesheng's men.

If Fu Xiao'an comes to apply for a loan, wouldn't Du Yuesheng think of using him for something else?
If it were me, and Fu Xiao'an came to apply for a loan, I'd stall him, make him set conditions, and ask him to do something for me before I'd lend him the money.

"That's possible," Gu Yansheng nodded.

Li Shiqun became suspicious, and this suspicion just wouldn't go away. After all this time, he was determined to uncover Fu Xiao'an's true identity.

"Then what do you want to do?"

"It's just difficult."

Speaking of this issue, Li Shiqun smiled wryly and sighed, "Fu Xiao'an is really difficult to deal with. He has too many connections and even knows high-ranking Japanese officials, but..."

Li Shiqun paused, leaned forward, and said with a knowing look in his eyes, "The Central China Expeditionary Army Headquarters has now been reorganized into the China Expeditionary Army Headquarters. I heard that its backers have been transferred back to Japan. The current commander is Nishio Toshizo, and the chief of staff is Itagaki Seishiro."

These are all newly transferred from the local area, not veterans from the Central China Command. Don't you think this is an opportunity?

"You came prepared," Gu Yansheng said with a smile. "Are you planning to report him to the highest levels?"

Li Shiqun did not deny it, saying, "We can't let his old backer's disciples and followers stop us."

Gu Yansheng thought for a moment and said, "I don't agree with this."

"why?"

Gu Yansheng will protect Fu Xiao'an again. Damn it, he'll collect protection money from this old bastard sooner or later.

There was nothing he could do; the target was there, and Li Shiqun wanted to hit the bullseye.

Gu Yansheng didn't speak, but bent down and opened the two boxes in front of him, turning them towards them. "One is $100,000, your principal, and the other is $200,000, your profit from this transaction."

Gu Yansheng looked at the group of people with sunken eyes, especially Wu Sibao, and couldn't stop smiling.

He grabbed a handful in each hand, very excited. "I knew you'd bring good news as soon as you arrived, haha, double! And it's only been a short time!"

“Two months,” Ye Jiqing interjected, her smile subtle. “Mr. Gu, you’re practically a Midas touch. Your eye for making money is incredibly sharp, absolutely perfect.”

"It's only twice as much, not much," Gu Yansheng said modestly.

"It seems like not much. I remember cotton yarn futures have increased several times recently." Wu Sibao, being straightforward and a bit slow-witted, didn't realize at all that his words were a sign of doubt towards Gu Yansheng.

However, Ye Jiqing reacted quickly, glaring at him, "Sibao, whatever Mr. Gu says is what it is."

Gu Yansheng rolled his eyes. "What nonsense are you thinking? Would I stoop to embezzling your money?"

This is a long story. I did tell you about the potential returns of three to five times, but the market has changed, so I have to end this early.

Gu Yansheng explained how the Japanese had gotten involved.

"I'm a conservative person. I'd rather not earn money if I'm not sure I can succeed. If the Japanese pull some dirty tricks and forcibly requisition our assets, we could really lose everything. So I'll take what I can get while I'm ahead."

This is double, I rounded it up; Fu Xiao'an himself didn't even get double.

"So that's how it is." Ye Jiqing suddenly realized. She thought to herself, the God of Wealth was never that kind of person.

"Sibao, apologize to Mr. Gu, and think before you speak in the future!"

Wu Sibao was wronged. "There's no need to apologize for this. I didn't suspect you of shortchanging me. It was because I was looking at the stock market and I just felt I should get more. I blurted it out without thinking. I was just asking, not suspecting you. Minister Gu, you understand me."

Gu Yansheng gave him a sneer, "Others have costs for market making, so shouldn't we, as partners, also bear those costs? Theirs is less than double, while ours is already pretty good."

"Understood, understood." Wu Sibao nodded repeatedly, his eyes darting around as he asked with a smile, "Then let's continue shorting, follow the Japanese and make another fortune, isn't that free money?"

Ye Jiqing was also puzzled, "Yes, keep going."

Gu Yansheng raised his hand and shook his finger, "There is a fundamental difference. This time we are going long, we are operating the market ourselves, and we are 100% guaranteed to win, so we dare to gamble so big."

But now that we're in charge, I don't want to get involved.

"I understand." Ye Jiqing nodded. She liked the God of Wealth's steadiness; he either didn't make a move, or when he did, it was sure to make money.

"If the Japanese forcibly conscript, it's not just a sure thing that they'll make money, it's a guaranteed win. You're being too cautious," Wu Sibao complained.

"You dare to question Mr. Gu?" Ye Jiqing sneered.

"Alright, you can talk about this later. Let's get down to business. You just said you disagreed. Does that have anything to do with the money?" Li Shiqun was waiting to hear more.

Gu Yansheng hummed in agreement and tapped the money box: "There's something I need to say here, but don't let it get out. Not only were we involved in this deal, but Minister Zhou was also involved, and the amount involved is quite substantial."

Li Shiqun and Ye Jiqing exchanged a glance and listened quietly.

Gu Yansheng continued, "If you report this to the higher-ups in the headquarters, the Japanese will likely agree to let you investigate. Regardless of whether Fu Xiao'an is from Chongqing or not, Minister Zhou's affair will be brought to light, and the fact that we all made money together will also be brought to light."

The Japanese are now forcibly requisitioning grain, and public resentment in Shanghai is boiling over. Have you considered that if the Japanese also forcibly requisition cotton yarn, the cotton yarn market will collapse, and another stock market crash is very likely to occur?

Captain Wu should know that a large part of the current stock market activity is being driven by the cotton yarn industry.

Wu Sibao nodded, "That's right."

"And once it collapses! The stock market will be in ruins, and the public resentment will boil over with food shortages. At that time, Shanghai's economy will be even more depressed. Wouldn't the Japanese have a reason to deal with us then?"

You submitted the list yourself!

At that time, not only will you not have any credit, but you will also be punished. Given the greed of those Japanese-owned companies, it's another matter whether we can keep the money we've earned.

He said we've damaged Shanghai's economy and demand compensation. What are you going to do about that?

Upon hearing this, Ye Jiqing's face turned serious. "Shiqun, this matter cannot be discussed. Given the Japanese character, they will definitely force us to reveal it. Moreover, most importantly, if Minister Zhou finds out that it was caused by our betrayal, then we're finished. Do you still want to have a good life in the future?"

“I also think we can’t say.” Wu Sibao wholeheartedly agreed. “We can’t let them take my money. Not to mention the 200,000 we earned, they might even make us lose another 200,000. It’s hard to explain how we got this money.”

Li Shiqun frowned and took a deep breath. "I've oversimplified things. If that's the case, then we shouldn't even investigate Fu Xiao'an."

Gu Yansheng nodded, "You've already gotten yourself into a lot of trouble by investigating him, and in the end you still won't get any good out of it."

"Stop investigating, give up." Wu Sibao wasn't going to waste his time. "I'd rather use that time to think about how to make more money."

"You idiot." Li Shiqun rolled his eyes, not wanting to say anything more.

"Why are you cursing me?" Wu Sibao was still annoyed.

"Alright, let's go eat. Minister Gu, are you free?"

"Of course, I came here to freeload a meal."

"Haha, let's go."

After the meal, I returned to No. 76.

Li Shiqun summoned Wu Sibao, who still looked displeased.

"You get upset when I call you an idiot? You know how to make money, but with the meager sum you have, when will you ever get rich?"

I've noticed you've got some money in your pocket, and your temper's gotten worse and worse. You even dare to give me the cold shoulder during a meal. What's wrong? Can't I yell at you anymore?

"Don't I have any pride!" Wu Sibao is now rich and has a bad temper. "You're an idiot, you're an idiot. Would it kill you to speak normally?"

"You're not satisfied, are you? Fine, then let me ask you, who is the richest person in all of Shanghai?"

"Fu Xiao'an, what's wrong?"

"Then why would I target him? Do you think I did it just to arrest the Military Intelligence Bureau?"

You labeled him a member of the Kuomintang's Military Intelligence Bureau, and when you arrested him, how many of his assets passed through our hands? You still don't understand why I targeted Fu Xiao'an?"

Wu Sibao suppressed his anger. "So you targeted Fu Xiao'an for his money?"

Li Shiqun chuckled, "Do you know how much wealth he has? He's the richest man in Shanghai!"

Did you hear what Gu Yansheng just said? He made over 50 million silver dollars in cash this time alone!
If we really catch him, this wave of money will be worth at least 30 million!
Isn't this much better than trading those worthless stocks?

Wu Sibao gasped. What he said was really true. Although he didn't admit that the stock was worthless, it was a good thing. He just didn't have enough capital right now.

He lost interest after a moment's thought. "Old Gu just said that Fu Xiao'an can't be touched. It's a good thing you didn't, otherwise we would all be killed."

Li Shiqun didn't want to argue with him, so he calmly said, "I called you here to talk about this matter. Since we can't have a public trial, then we won't. Find some experienced people to follow him around the clock. When the time is right, we'll kidnap him, force him to reveal his assets, and then kill him."

Wu Sibao didn't hesitate to kill, he just felt it wasn't easy.

“We have investigated Fu Xiao’an. He has his own bodyguards and is protected by military police. It’s difficult to even follow him, let alone kill him.”

Not counting his own bodyguards, Fu Xiao'an had twelve military police officers by his side, a number specially approved by the headquarters when Nanjing was still under his control.

Now, except when I'm working at the municipal government office, I'm alone, protected by a motorcade of military police who can't get close at all. But when I go home, I'm protected by military police and bodyguards.

There was absolutely no way to make a move; Li Shiqun had already thoroughly investigated this when he first became interested in Fu Xiao'an.

"You know that, don't you?"

"Of course I know. The reason I asked you to follow him is to find an opportunity to record all his movements, to put in a lot of effort to find his weaknesses. One aspect is to follow him and find his weaknesses, and perhaps we can also find other clues about the Military Intelligence Bureau from him."

Think about it, how could the Kuomintang agents who contacted him be of low rank? Just because he can't interrogate them doesn't stop us from fishing.

Besides, aren't tens of millions worth our effort?

"Okay, I understand." Wu Sibao was indeed tempted.

(End of this chapter)