Returning to 1949, I decided to hand it over to the state.

I didn't expect Guilliman to send the money so quickly.

The very next afternoon, a middle-aged man was pinned to the ground and arrested by the security guards.

The reason was simple: the man's attire was far too flamboyant: a long robe, a top hat, and the brim of the hat covering most of his face.

He walked with a very guarded posture, glancing around frequently, and clutching the small rattan box in his hand tightly to his chest.

Such a furtive appearance is far too conspicuous in the Ansteel plant area today.

Without saying a word, the guards pounced on the man, pinned him down, confiscated his small rattan trunk, and dragged him into the interrogation room.

"I'm really not a spy, I'm here to deliver money!"

The man, with his arms tied behind his back, was sweating profusely and repeatedly protesting.

"Give money?" The guard captain scoffed.

"These days, people still come all this way to deliver money? I've seen plenty of spies like you. Just stay put and wait for the leaders to arrive."

After all, the cross-border foreign trade order was still far from being finalized, and He Xiying did not publicize it to keep it a secret.

However, when the news reached his ears, and he heard that the security department had arrested a spy, he remembered the phone call he had received yesterday.

"broken!"

He Xiying hurriedly walked out and then quickly sent someone to call Jiang Fan over.

When Jiang Fan rushed to the interrogation room, he saw the man squatting in the corner with his hands covering his head, looking quite disheveled.

Jiang Fan's eyes widened, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

That's incredibly unlucky!

But thinking about it carefully, if I were in the security department and saw someone acting suspiciously around Anshan Iron and Steel Group, my first reaction would definitely be to arrest them first.

He Xiying then quickly dismissed the guards, personally helped the man up, and repeatedly apologized.

"Comrade, I'm so sorry, the people below are just too vigilant. It's a misunderstanding, absolutely a misunderstanding!"

Fortunately, the man dusted himself off and didn't seem to mind. Instead, he smiled, revealing a set of white teeth.

"It's alright, it's alright, I understand. It's always better to be careful these days."

As he spoke, he placed the small wicker trunk that the guards had returned to him directly on the table, glanced at the two men, and asked:

"Which one of you is Mr. Jiang?"

He Xiying subconsciously looked at Jiang Fan beside her.

Jiang Fan immediately stepped forward:

"I am Jiang Fan, hello."

Upon meeting the person in question, the man carefully examined Jiang Fan before continuing:

"Hello, Mr. Jiang."

"I am Mr. Guilliman's representative. I came here specifically to deliver the deposit on his instructions."

Jiang Fan was secretly shocked, not expecting that Guilliman could deliver the money to Ansteel in just one day.

Just how powerful is Guilliman?

Just as Jiang Fan was pondering, the man directly opened the lid of the box and lifted the red velvet cloth inside.

Rows of neatly arranged "large yellow croakers" immediately came into view.

For a moment, Jiang Fan's mind went blank, forgetting to think.

He Xiying, who was standing next to her, gasped and fell silent.

The golden light was simply too dazzling.

Even in his previous life, Jiang Fan had never seen so many real gold bars piled together in a jewelry store.

The man said somewhat apologetically:

"Mr. Jiang, I'm so sorry."

"Mr. Guilliman asked me to pass on a message: regarding the British pound, he doesn't have enough foreign exchange through his domestic channels for the time being, so this time he'll use an equivalent amount of gold to pay the deposit."

"It weighed 5000 grams in total. Mr. Guilliman specifically instructed me to add a little extra to make up for the exchange rate difference."

Damn, they're loaded!

Jiang Fan felt inwardly ashamed, while He Xiying remained relatively composed. He tried his best to make his voice sound calm:

"No problem, please convey to Mr. Guilliman that you are very grateful for his sincerity."

After saying that, He Xiying reached out to close the rattan box.

Jiang Fan suddenly interrupted:

"Factory manager, wait a moment."

He Xiying was taken aback, only to hear Jiang Fan turn to the man and say:

"Sir, I'm so sorry, but since this is your first time doing business, we need to check the quality first, is that alright?"

Upon hearing this, the man not only showed no displeasure, but instead revealed a hint of appreciation, and gestured for the other person to proceed.

"Of course, Mr. Jiang, please feel free to have it checked."

Since the other party didn't mind, Jiang Fan simply picked up a gold bar.

He first weighed the gold in his hand, then had someone fetch a broken porcelain bowl, heated it with fire, and carefully observed how the gold changed when heated.

After a moment, Jiang Fan made a judgment.

Although the color isn't perfect, it's definitely good enough.

After all, this was in 1949, and it was already very rare to have this level of purity. The 999 pure gold of later generations was all purified using modern technology.

After verifying the deposit and confirming it was correct, Jiang Fan was overjoyed and immediately put on a warm smile, saying:

"Sir, may I ask your name? Would you like to stay for a simple meal? Hehe."

The man couldn't help but laugh when he saw Jiang Fan's face suddenly turn slick and slippery.

"Mr. Jiang, my surname is Li, Li Xiangyang."

"However, I still prefer your serious demeanor from earlier. Please try to straighten out, hahaha."

Then, he stopped joking and waved his hand, saying:

"No need for a meal. Please make a note of this, and I will explain the delivery location and route to you."

"That's natural, that's natural."

Jiang Fan quickly took out his notebook and pen from his pocket.

Li Xiangyang said solemnly:

"This batch of goods needs to be transported by sea. You need to find a way to get it to Lushun Port and load it onto the designated cargo ship."

"The ship departs from Lushun, and there will be someone to meet you when it arrives at the port. You don't need to worry about the subsequent transfer."

As Jiang Fan took notes, he looked at the route with a slight frown.

Departing from Lushun Port? That means heading straight out to sea!

Aren't they afraid of being intercepted and arrested at sea by Kuomintang naval warships?

So Jiang Fan couldn't help but ask:

"Mr. Li, your route to the sea may not be easy to take."

Li Xiangyang simply smiled slightly, without giving a direct answer:

"Mr. Jiang, there are some things you don't need to ask. We have our own ways of handling them."

Jiang Fan nodded knowingly.

That makes sense. Anyone who can engage in transnational arms transport in this era and casually pull out ten pounds of gold must have connections that reach the highest levels.

After giving his instructions, Li Xiangyang had no intention of lingering and immediately took his leave.

He Xiying was starting to get restless.

Five kilograms of gold were pressed on the table. All he could think about was reporting to the Northeast Bureau chief as soon as possible, how to use this huge sum of money wisely, and how to allocate the factory's production capacity to ensure the timely delivery of the 1000 orders.

He shook hands briefly with Li Xiangyang and then left to make a phone call to report on his work.

Jiang Fan then escorted Li Xiangyang all the way out of Anshan Iron and Steel.

As they reached the main gate, Jiang Fan finally couldn't contain his curiosity and asked:

"Mr. Li, if I may ask, who exactly is this Mr. Guilliman? How does he come to have such power and influence?"

Upon hearing this, Li Xiangyang stopped and turned back to give him a meaningful look.

He seemed hesitant to say more, but after a moment, he felt that since they were going to do long-term business, it was only right to give the other party a guarantee of trust, so he lowered his voice and said:

"Mr. Jiang, all I can tell you is that Mr. Guilliman is a very trustworthy man."

"He has a great understanding of China, and his strength is beyond doubt."

"If you can build a good relationship with him, the benefits in the future will be self-evident."

After saying that, he adjusted his top hat and quickly disappeared at the end of the dirt road outside the factory area.

Jiang Fan stood there, watching Li Xiangyang leave.

Filled with doubts, I turned and walked into the factory.

We can't worry about that now; we need to go see what the factory manager has planned!