Period drama: Old Cao's carefree life

Chapter 15: Worth the Risk!

"Of course, no problem. You can go ahead. I'll stay home all day. Once you've made all the arrangements, come find me anytime."

Seeing that Zheng Chaoyang was already interested, Cao Weida chuckled inwardly.

With such a large batch of supplies, and having already shown utmost sincerity, he didn't believe Zheng Chaoyang wouldn't be tempted.

He had anticipated this result, so he wasn't surprised.

Once Zheng Chaoyang is interested, he'll have established a connection with the Red Party.

"Are you really going to give me this batch of medicine for free? Do you know how much this batch of medicine would sell for on the black market?" Before leaving, Zheng Chaoyang asked again to confirm.

The Red Party's policy has always been not to take a single needle or thread from the masses, but this batch of medicine in his arms is not comparable to a single needle or thread; it represents at least dozens of lives!
Nowadays, a single dose of penicillin can sell for three to five ounces of gold.

That's right, it's the price of one!

How many tubes are in one box?

Twenty!
How many boxes are there here?

Twenty boxes!
Four hundred in total!

How much would that cost?!

Although sulfonamides and Prontosil are much cheaper than penicillin, they are still definitely valuable items!

All together, it's a huge sum of money!
Cao Weida waved his hand dismissively, "A real man keeps his word. If I said I'd give it to you, then I'll give it to you."

"I'm a coward, afraid of death, and I don't dare to do things like charging into battle. I can only do what I can."

"Alright, let's go quickly. We're all pressed for time, so there's no need for such formalities."

Zheng Chaoyang gave him a complicated look, nodded, and quickly left.

Cao Weida took out a cigarette, lit it, and watched the departing figure, muttering to himself:
"We've got the Red Party sorted out, now it's just a matter of getting in touch with the KMT. No rush, there's still time, we can take it slow and make contact eventually."

He was not in a hurry to contact the Kuomintang.

Doing business with Ono and Oda wasn't just about making money; the years between the Japanese defeat and the liberation of Beiping (Beijing) would be crucial in their actions.
On the other side, Zheng Chaoyang, who had left, did not return to the police station, nor did he go to his dormitory. Instead, he hailed a rickshaw, randomly told a place, and observed his surroundings with high vigilance.

He changed rickshaws several times along the way, and walked through several alleys, making sure that no one was following him. Only then did he cautiously leave a message at the mailbox.

Afterwards, they hurried to a safe house and waited anxiously.

While waiting, I recalled Cao Weida's words and kept replaying my past experiences in my mind, trying to figure out where I had gone wrong and exposed myself.

But no matter how much he tried to recall, he couldn't find any mistakes, which troubled him greatly.

In the afternoon, a series of three short, three long, and two short knocks sounded at the door. Zheng Chaoyang was overjoyed to hear such a unique knocking sound and quickly opened the door.

A figure wearing a hat flashed in, and Zheng Chaoyang breathed a sigh of relief, "Shanfeng, you've finally arrived."

"Huanshan, why are you in such a hurry to meet me? What important information do you have that you must report in person?"

Huanshan, Zheng Chaoyang's code name when he went undercover in the police station.

The speaker, codenamed Mountain Peak, was Luo Yong, the head of the underground Communist Party in Beiping and Zheng Chaoyang's direct superior after liberation.

"Shanfeng, come and see what these are!" Zheng Chaoyang exclaimed excitedly. Luo Yong looked in the direction he was pointing, and was immediately shocked, his eyes flashing with disbelief: "These...are anti-inflammatory drugs?!"

"Yes, anti-inflammatory drugs!" Zheng Chaoyang nodded vigorously, and his eyes welled up with tears as he recalled the terrible price the organization paid for the anti-inflammatory drugs.

Because of the lack of anti-inflammatory drugs, too many of our compatriots have died from inflammation. Too many of our compatriots who could have gotten out of bed intact have become disabled due to the lack of medicine.

The Red Party was in dire need of anti-inflammatory drugs. In order to obtain these drugs, countless underground party members and couriers risked their lives and used various channels to acquire them.

As a result, many people had their identities exposed during missions and suffered brutal persecution from the enemy.

It can be said that the organization paid a heavy price in order to obtain anti-inflammatory drugs.

Sometimes, the lives of several veteran underground party members could be lost for just a box of penicillin!

"Where did they come from?" Old Luo asked in disbelief. He counted them and found there were a full twenty boxes!

And it's 20 sticks per box, not 10 sticks per box!
"A gift from someone else."

"A gift?!" Old Luo looked at him like he was kidding. Zheng Chaoyang gave a helpless, wry smile.
"It was indeed a gift from someone else. You've heard of Cao Weida, one of the three cowards in the police station, right?"

"I've heard of it, could it be..."

Zheng Chaoyang nodded. "That's right, it was him who gave it to me."

"Tell me the details. What's going on?"

So Zheng Chaoyang told him everything without holding back.

Luo Yong listened attentively, and after he finished, he frowned deeply. "So, he has already guessed your identity?"

If an undercover agent's identity is discovered, it's like putting your head in the other party's noose. Whether they want to strangle you or not is up to them.

Therefore, once an undercover agent is exposed, there are basically only two choices: retreat or fight to the death. "Did you notice you were being followed when you came?"

"Don't worry, if I did, I wouldn't be able to contact you."

"Okay, take these medicines with you, and we'll arrange your evacuation tonight!"

Zheng Chaoyang firmly replied, "No, I can't leave yet."

"You!" Old Luo roared, his voice low and furious, "Do you know what the consequences will be after you've been exposed!"

Zheng Chaoyang said earnestly, "I know! But I still can't leave!"

"Do you even have any respect for organizational discipline?!"

"Comrade Shanfeng, Lao Luo!" Zheng Chaoyang said solemnly, "My life is insignificant, but those supplies are very important!"

"It's worth the risk for those supplies! Organizational discipline is important, but these supplies are even more important!"

"But what if it's a trap?"

"I'll accept it!" Zheng Chaoyang's attitude was unwavering: "Old Luo, even if there's only a one in ten chance, I'm willing to take the gamble!"

"If this is fake, at most I'll lose my life, but if it's real, you should know how much benefit it will bring to us and the organization!"

Luo Yong fell silent. Zheng Chaoyang was right. If what Cao Weida said was true, then there would definitely be more than just this one transaction in the future.

If this channel can be established, it will bring a continuous stream of scarce resources to the organization and the Party in the future.

Is it dangerous?

It's definitely huge; it's a life-or-death gamble!

But the returns are equally huge!
It's so huge it's worth risking your life for!

Zheng Chaoyang's tone softened a bit, "Old Luo, my sacrifice is a small matter, but we can't just watch such a good opportunity slip away!"

"Moreover, it wasn't as dangerous as people imagined. In my opinion, Cao Weida was actually a passionate patriot with positive and ambitious ideas."

"Although I didn't see the Japanese soldiers' bodies with my own eyes, this shouldn't be fake."

"Otherwise, I wouldn't be here discussing these things with you properly right now; I would be tied up in the Special Higher Police's interrogation room, chatting with those Japanese spies."

Luo Yong believed this. In many spy films, the Japanese would test and search for evidence against underground party members who were already suspected, but it was all nonsense.

The truth is, whenever someone was suspected, the first thing the Japanese spies would do was lock them up and interrogate them first.

Is the approach of "better to kill a thousand innocent people than let one guilty person go free" really something that only Kuomintang agents do when dealing with Communist underground members?

The Japanese devils are even more adept at this!
The intelligence agency's interrogation skills have resulted in countless wrongful deaths!
Unless, the Japanese are trying to catch a big fish!
However, the Japanese would never use so many anti-inflammatory drugs as bait; the price would be too high.

Seeing that the leader did not speak, Zheng Chaoyang continued, "Old Luo, if possible, I would like to try to win over Cao Weida."

"Whether he is timid or not, I don't know now, but I do know his character. He has never bullied ordinary people. In fact, within his circle, he has a very good reputation among the people."

"If we can recruit him into our team, it will be of great help to the organization!"

"We'll talk about that later. Are you really sure you're not going to evacuate and are going to take the risk tonight?" Although the temptation of winning the gamble was very strong, as a comrade-in-arms who had fought alongside Zheng Chaoyang for so many years, he was still very worried about Zheng Chaoyang's safety.

"I've thought it through!" Zheng Chaoyang said solemnly. For the victory of the revolution, to reduce the number of comrades who would have to sacrifice, and to add a massive supply line for the organization, his personal safety was no longer important.

He had long been prepared to sacrifice himself for the organization and the revolution at any time.

After a long silence, Luo Yong finally managed to say with difficulty, "Be careful."

On the other side, Cao Weida, who was waiting for Zheng Chaoyang's reply, sat in the yard with his legs crossed, chatting with his third sister-in-law. His humorous words made his third sister-in-law laugh.

"You little rascal, you've got a real way of making people laugh. By the way, I've been keeping your third sister-in-law in mind about what I told you before. It'll be almost done in the next couple of days. If it works out, you can't treat your third sister-in-law badly."

"Oh, really?! Thank you so much, Third Sister-in-law!" Cao Weida beamed with joy. "If it really works out, I can't possibly mistreat you, Third Sister-in-law, since you're my matchmaker."

As they were talking, there was a knock at the gate.

Cao Weida turned his head and saw that Xiao Erduo was leading a man who looked honest and simple-minded, standing at the door.

"Brother Cao, did I disturb you?"

"Third Sister-in-law, let's talk later." Turning to Little Ear, she said, "I didn't disturb you. I'm free. Come on, let's talk inside."

After entering the house, the two exchanged a few pleasantries. Xiao Erduo mainly flattered Cao Weida and made the man kneel down and kowtow to express his gratitude. It turned out that he was Sun Dahu, who had been arrested.

Cao Wei Da was speechless. Sun Da Hu looked honest and simple, but he turned out to be quite cunning.

After that, Xiao Erduo revealed his main purpose for coming today. He had a "friend" who had been taken away by the police a couple of days ago, and he wanted to ask Cao Weida to put in a good word for him.

Cao Weida shoved the small yellow croaker into his pocket and nodded with a smile: "Don't worry, I will definitely pass on the message. Tell your friend's family not to worry. As long as he did not participate in any resistance and as long as he is still in the military police station, I can get him out."

"Even if he is taken to another place, I can still find a way to help him."

(End of this chapter)