Espionage: I Have Photo Editing Software

Time flies, autumn goes and winter comes.

Three months passed in the blink of an eye.

November 7th is the beginning of winter.

Fujimura's restaurant.

"Help me park the car!" Wei Renming said, tossing the keys to the receptionist while carrying his briefcase and speaking fluent Japanese.

After practicing for a period of time, his spoken English has improved significantly, and he is now able to have simple daily conversations.

"Yes," the waiter said, bowing.

"Be careful! I just picked up this Ford last month, don't scratch it." Wei Renming walked into the courtyard with a smug look on his face. He went to the reserved private room, pushed open the door, and said with a smile, "Sorry to keep you waiting, gentlemen."

Shimizu Taro joked, "Even if the God of Wealth arrives late, we still have to welcome him. Yamagami-san, don't you agree?"

He was wearing a custom-made high-end suit and an expensive watch on his wrist, a stark contrast to his shabby appearance just a few months ago.

This is all thanks to Wei Renming.

During this period, he used wealth and lust as weapons to slowly corrupt Qingshui's will and amplify his inner desires, eventually dragging him halfway down the drain.

"Of course. Without Wei-san, we'd still be living a miserable life," Yamagami Ryosuke said with a smile.

He was never a good person to begin with.

Wei Renming made only a slight indication, and Yamagami Ryosuke, the supervisor, eagerly shared part of the Photographers Association's funds with him.

"You two flatter me too much," Wei Renming said with a smile, tossing his suitcase onto the table. "Open it and take a look!"

"What's inside?" Shimizu Taro took the suitcase without warning, unfastened the leather buckle, and opened the box.

Inside the box, several stacks of cash were neatly stacked.

"Here is eight thousand legal tender." Wei Renming knelt down, took a sip of wine to moisten his throat, and then deliberately raised his voice, "Based on your respective shares in the photo studio, each of you will receive eight hundred."

"So many?" Shimizu Taro swallowed hard, his eyes wide with astonishment, looking like he'd never seen anything like it before.

"It's unbelievable that a single photo studio can generate such high revenue every month!" Yamagami Ryosuke exclaimed, speechless.

He would have to work for six or seven years without eating or drinking to save up eight thousand French francs.

Wei Renming earned it in just one month.

"This is just the revenue of one photo studio. What if we opened several more?"

"Give me a break!" Wei Renming rolled his eyes. "Do you know what I was going through last month? I was shooting three sets a day! And I barely made this much money. You, on the other hand, talk about opening more studios without any sense of hardship. If you're so capable, why don't you go shoot some yourself!"

Ryosuke Yamagami said sheepishly, "It was my oversight. Here, let me toast you."

After the two drank together, Wei Renming sighed:

"This can't go on. We need to find a way to make more money."

"Isn't this enough?" Shimizu Taro was surprised by Wei Renming's appetite.

Wei Renming shook his head and said:

"Your hometown is in Tokyo, right?"

"Exactly!"

"How about I do the math for you?"

"What accounts are we set up?"

How much would it cost to buy a typical apartment in Tokyo?

"Prices in Tokyo are quite high. In the city center, a 30-tatami-tatami house costs 3,000 yen."

"What about a Japanese-style courtyard house with a garden?"

"It would probably cost tens of thousands, or even more."

"Even if the photo studio is doing this well every month, it would still take you years to afford one, right? You have three children. Once they grow up and start their own families, they can't always be crammed together, can they? Wouldn't that mean you'd have to buy three more houses? How much would that cost? If you live in a house with a garden, you'd need to hire a maid, right? The daily maintenance of the garden would also cost money, wouldn't it? And there are daily household expenses too. Now, do you still think this amount of money is too much?"

As Wei Renming spoke, he changed the subject and said:

"The corruption within the Nationalist government is well-known. I'm not so clear about the situation in Japan, but human nature is always greedy!"

Shimizu-san, you've left your homeland to stay in China for so many years. What you've been after, besides money, is getting promoted, right?

If you have money, you can bribe your way through all sorts of connections and save yourself years of hard work. Am I right?

"This..." Shimizu Taro wanted to refute, but couldn't say a word.

Wei Renming laughed and said, "Money always seems too little once you start spending it."

During this period of time, through his painstaking efforts, he successfully bound Qingshui and Shanshang together with mutual benefits, forming a small team.

But this is far from enough.

He needs to use more benefits to firmly bind the two of them to his ship.

"Making money isn't that simple," Shimizu Taro said hesitantly.

"Effort makes money slowly, but money makes money quickly!"

After planning for a long time, Wei Renming saw that the time was ripe and said, "I plan to set up a company to do import and export trade. Are you two interested?"

"A trading company?" Yamagami Ryosuke thought for a moment. "What kind of products do they deal in?"

"We'll sell whatever goods China is most in need of! I'll invest 30,000 yen, taking a 51% stake. You two don't need to contribute any money; each will take a 24.5% stake. How about that?" Wei Renming said, observing the expressions on their faces.

Ryosuke Yamagami's eyes lit up, looking eager to make a move.

Shimizu Taro frowned, seemingly having some concerns.

"Of course. There's no such thing as a free lunch. These shares aren't free; I need to leverage the channels provided by you two!" Wei Renming revealed his true intentions.

"Channels?" Shimizu Taro asked warily.

"China has been at war almost every year for the past few decades. What is the most needed thing here? Without a doubt, it is arms! But this is a business that not everyone can do, at least we can't do it right now."

Besides weapons, we also lack all sorts of medicines! The profit margin on medicines is no less than that of weapons, especially those smuggled in—the profits are enormous! If we can get into this business, how can we not make a fortune?

No sooner had he finished speaking than Shimizu Taro exclaimed, "No way! Smuggling is a serious crime! If I'm caught, my future will be ruined!"

Wei Renming didn't speak, but turned to look at Yamagami Ryosuke.

Yamagami Ryosuke pondered for a moment, then said, "Shimizu-san, excessive caution is cowardice. We're both in intelligence work, why pretend we don't know? How many Japanese merchants in China don't smuggle? If they can do it, why can't we?"

"Of course not! Because we are public officials! This is absolutely forbidden!" Shimizu Taro said.

Yamagami Ryosuke scoffed, "Absolutely forbidden? It's only been a few months since the Jidong incident, and Shimizu-san has already forgotten?"

"I don't want to argue with you!" Shimizu Taro stood up, preparing to leave.

Wei Renming said calmly, "Qingshui-san, I only told you these things because I considered you a true friend. Now that you've left this door, our friendship is over."

"Those who walk different paths cannot make plans together!" Shimizu Taro said firmly.

"Good! I admire your integrity! I hope you can keep it up!" Wei Renming said.

Shimizu Taro snorted coldly, pushed open the door, and left.

"Without him, things will be much more difficult for us." Yamagami Ryosuke had long known Wei Renming's plans; he was just putting on an act today.

"I believe he will change his mind," Wei Renming said with a confident expression.

"What are you planning to do?"

"No need to rush, just wait and see."