Chapter 140: He Yuzhu Acquires Cultural Relics

Shen Shichang stepped into the study, and the several trusted officials who had long been waiting there stood up immediately.

He waved his hand, signaling everyone to sit down.

Without much small talk, he cut straight to the point and began discussing with them the personnel arrangements following the death of Dai Laoban.

After listening to several officials speak, Shen Shichang summarized: "The current situation is very delicate. Deputy Bureau Chief Zheng and Secretary-General Mao will definitely fight to the death. Only by supporting Deputy Bureau Chief Zheng to take the top position can our faction preserve its strength during this power reshuffle..."

Deputy Mayor Tian was the first to express his stance: "I agree with Shen Gong's view."

Several others also expressed their support.

"Since everyone agrees with this plan, I will call Deputy Bureau Chief Zheng to state our position," Shen Shichang said.

After finishing his sentence, Shen Shichang grabbed the phone and dialed his old friend, Deputy Bureau Chief Zheng.

"Old Zheng, when the Nanjing Ministry of National Defense asks for my opinion, I will nominate you to serve as the Director of the Secret Service Bureau."

On the other end of the line, Deputy Bureau Chief Zheng pondered for a moment and said: "Shen Gong, thank you. I know your difficulties... If this can be done, I will hand over the Northern District to Wenqiang to manage... However, the position of the Beiping Secret Service Bureau involves many parties; I will consider it after weighing all opinions..."

Hanging up the phone, Shen Shichang let out a long sigh of relief. After a morning of tense maneuvering, the sudden crisis from last night had finally been dissolved into nothingness.

Once the officials had left one after another, Shen Shichang called Liu Rusi into the living room.

"The trouble you caused this time has finally been dealt with," Shen Shichang looked at her with sharp eyes. "Let this not happen again. In the future, if something comes up, you must notify me in advance, lest I be put in such a passive position."

Liu Rusi lowered her head to admit her mistake and whispered: "Dad, I was wrong! Last time... I just thought you were going to cut ties with me!"

"Cut ties?" Shen Shichang gave a cold snort. "If you and I cut ties, would anyone believe it?"

Liu Rusi nodded, her eyes turning red: "Dad, I understand... Then I will head back first."

At the same time, after seven days of sailing, the cruise ship Shengli Hao slowly entered Yokohama Port.

The ship would dock here for two days. After consulting with Zhao Ying, He Yuzhu decided to take Su Qing, who was proficient in Japanese, to Tokyo.

Their purpose was to see how those little devils who had plagued China for over a decade were living. If necessary, they would also stab them in the back. How could they let them just walk away and live a peaceful life so easily?

Su Qing understood his role; he left his son, Su Zhi, on the ship.

The three of them hired a car to go to Tokyo.

It seemed that the major air raids from the United States in March 1945 had caused indelible damage to this city, which was once the most modernized in Asia. Although a year had passed, it was still broken walls and ruins; complete buildings were few and far between, replaced by vast stretches of makeshift shacks.

Most of the people busy clearing the ruins on the streets were women and children; the figures of young, able-bodied men were rare.

The Jeeps of the US Military drove recklessly through the dilapidated streets.

Some Japanese women, upon seeing them, began to pose and preen, trying to solicit sex work; some even brought their young children along, a scene quite miserable.

He Yuzhu and Zhao Ying were dressed decently, immediately attracting many begging children who chased after them, pleading...

He Yuzhu took out his Camera and silently recorded images of this city of ruins.

Looking at everything before her, Zhao Ying sighed softly: "The devils are indeed hateful, but these common people also look truly pitiful."

He Yuzhu shook his head, his tone firm: "This country has a gambler's mentality in its bones. Once there is an opportunity, they think about external expansion. How many times in history have they launched wars against foreign countries..."

Zhao Ying looked at He Yuzhu in surprise: "It seems I really underestimated you..."

"Not going to school doesn't mean I don't read," He Yuzhu smiled. "Besides, when I was in school, I studied the textbooks written by the little devils. Why study that?"

Su Qing, standing to the side, interjected: "The ancients said, 'The Japanese know small courtesies but lack great righteousness, are constrained by small details but lack great virtue, value trivialities but ignore shame, and fear power but do not cherish virtue.' This is exactly the case."

He Yuzhu patted Su Qing on the shoulder: "Teacher Su is the one with the learning. We are ashamed of our inferiority!"

Su Qing smiled, feeling a bit embarrassed.

The three of them were not here to indulge in sentimentality. As soon as they reached the banking district, they began their operation.

He Yuzhu and Zhao Ying posed as siblings and entered the bank under the guise of consulting on business.

He Yuzhu took the opportunity to use his Space Ability to quietly get his hands on the household registration transcripts and seals of some wealthy families.

Afterward, Su Qing's skill in carving seals and modifying documents, which could pass for the real thing, came in handy.

Next, He Yuzhu impersonated a US Military family member to go to the bank to handle business. His and Zhao Ying's fluent English became the best talisman; in this period where Americans were viewed as the supreme authority, no one dared to question their identities.

Once inside the vault area, He Yuzhu was no longer polite, using his Space Ability to collect everything he could.

The three cooperated tacitly, and within a single day, they visited three banks in succession, almost clearing out the safe deposit boxes there.

By evening, He Yuzhu returned to the ship carrying two heavy suitcases.

Zhao Ying couldn't wait to come to his cabin to count the "spoils of war."

After organizing them, He Yuzhu found the harvest to be quite rich, especially in books and paintings, and what was even more infuriating was that these books and paintings almost all came from China.

Tokyo's livelihood was withered, but those former high-ranking officials and nobles had still hoarded massive wealth.

He Yuzhu put the US dollars, Japanese yen, and some books and paintings into the suitcase for Zhao Ying to see, while he put away the rest of the books and paintings; for one, the suitcase couldn't hold them, and for another, he didn't want to appear too omnipotent.

Zhao Ying came from a scholarly family and had studied music, chess, calligraphy, and painting since childhood. When she saw those fifty-plus scrolls of calligraphy and painting from the Song and Ming dynasties, she couldn't help but be both shocked and angry: "How many good things have the little devils actually stolen from us?"

"Fortunately, we still have a chance to take some back this time! Most of them are probably already in private collections..." He Yuzhu said.

It took Zhao Ying nearly two hours to count the US dollars. She looked up and said to He Yuzhu: "The total is 【amount】 US dollars. Do you still only want twenty percent of the company's shares?"

He Yuzhu nodded: "Right now I can help you out, but in the coming decades, the company's operations will mainly rely on you. My appetite isn't big; I just hope that when I'm old, you won't swallow up my nest egg."

"Go to hell!" Zhao Ying was truly a bit annoyed upon hearing this. "What kind of people do you take us for!"

He Yuzhu smiled and pointed to the suitcase full of Japanese yen: "We must spend this money within tomorrow."

Zhao Ying asked: "What do you want to buy?"

He Yuzhu pondered: "Let's check the black market. If they are selling things the little devils stole from China, we'll use their money to buy them back. My idea is, if I buy books and paintings, I'll keep them in my collection first. After these items appreciate in value later, I'll sell them and inject the money into the company."

"I raise both hands in favor!" Zhao Ying immediately expressed her support. "If you didn't have some special privileges, we would even feel a bit embarrassed."

Early the next morning, the three headed to the Tokyo black market.

The daytime black market in Tokyo mostly traded in daily necessities. After wandering for half a day, there was nothing worth buying.

Later, Zhao Ying struck up a conversation with a Japanese-American who had lived in the United States. With him leading the way, they finally found a district specializing in antique calligraphy and paintings.

Many shops here were still primarily selling Chinese cultural relics, clearly from those officers and soldiers who had returned home to find their families in poverty and were selling off the items they had looted.

Among the three, Su Qing was the most knowledgeable, but as soon as he entered these shops, his eyes lit up, and he couldn't move his feet when looking at those paintings. This behavior of his was immediately exploited by the shopkeepers, who kept raising the prices.

Very quickly, the three of them adjusted their strategy.

They came up with a secret code: if Su Qing touched his nose, it meant the quality was average; touching his mouth meant it was passable; touching his ear meant it was a masterpiece.

Once a signal appeared, Zhao Ying would offer a price corresponding to that grade; if she bargained too hard and the shopkeeper did not want to sell, He Yuzhu would then step in to mediate.

After a full day, He Yuzhu had used up almost all of that large box of Japanese yen and also spent quite a lot of US dollars, buying back a large quantity of Chinese calligraphy and paintings that had been lost overseas.

What made Su Qing the most excited was that they had actually managed to purchase treasures such as the Tang dynasty's "Emperors of Successive Dynasties" by Yan Liben, the Tang dynasty copy of the Nüshi Zhen Tu, and the Shinü Tu.

As the sun set, the three of them walked out of the antique street, satisfied with their bountiful harvest.

However, just as they turned into a relatively secluded street, more than twenty burly men dressed in black kimonos suddenly swarmed out from the front and back, and they drew their samurai swords one after another to surround the three of them.

A short, fat man paced out, his eyes fierce, and he rattled off a string of Japanese.

Su Qing's expression changed slightly, and he quickly translated in a low voice: "They want us to leave the items behind and say we can go."