Chapter 48: Lou Bancheng Forced to Donate

Inside the interrogation room of the Japan Military Police, the air was stagnant and oppressive.

Lou Bancheng sat on a hardwood chair, facing the sinister face of Tanaka Taro, feeling completely ill at ease.

"Lou-san! Your conscience is greatly corrupted!" Tanaka suddenly slapped the table, "Imperial Army soldiers went to your factory to inspect, and you actually dared to open fire and resist!"

Lou Bancheng hurriedly stood up, wearing a fawning smile as he said, "Officer Tanaka, there is a misunderstanding here!"

"A misunderstanding? Then tell me, what kind of misunderstanding?" Tanaka sneered, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the tabletop.

"After investigation, it was Dengzhao's subordinate Zhao Datou who brought a dozen or so men to the Rolling Mill to cause destruction last night, and they even exchanged fire with our Security Team. It just so happened that the Imperial Army arrived at that moment, and that Zhao Datou took the opportunity to be the first to open fire on the Imperial Army. The Imperial Army mistakenly thought it was us who opened fire and wouldn't listen to any explanation at all..." Lou Bancheng pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his temples, "Our Security Team of over eighty men was just like that, by the Imperial Army..."

"Nonsense!" Tanaka interrupted sternly, "It was clearly you who opened fire first, and you even killed sixty-eight Imperial warriors! You must provide an explanation!"

"I really didn't lie! That was the enemy sowing discord!" Lou Bancheng was almost about to cry.

"I don't care about that!" Tanaka waved his hand, "We lost so many people, you must pay compensation of two hundred thousand Big Ocean! Considering you donated fifty thousand Big Ocean before, I have already been very polite!"

Lou Bancheng said with a bitter face, "Sir, I really have no money left. Since you still remember that I donated fifty thousand, this time my steel mill has suffered heavy losses... How about I compensate you with the entire steel mill?"

"Lou-san," Tanaka leaned in gloomily, "For the sake of our friendship, you pay one hundred thousand Big Ocean, and gather it within ten days. Otherwise... you're dead! Send the guest out!"

Returning to the Lou Mansion, Lou Bancheng slumped into the grand armchair, his face ashen.

He looked at his godson Lou Gang and sighed heavily, "How should we compensate those security guards who died?"

"Father, seventy-four men from the Rolling Mill Security Team died, and six ran away and haven't returned; they probably feared you would hand them over to the Japanese. I initially plan to compensate each person fifty Big Ocean."

"Give each family one hundred; none of them have it easy." Lou Bancheng waved his hand, "Also, the little devils want one hundred thousand Big Ocean from me this time, with a ten-day deadline. Give me some advice on what I should do?"

"How about we invite Mr. Shen over to discuss it? Didn't we just give them 5,000 Big Ocean?" Lou Gang said.

Lou Bancheng's eyes lit up, "That's a good idea."

"Father, we really suffered a dumb loss this time. It's all that Zhao Datou's fault; if it weren't for him, this incident wouldn't have happened last night."

Lou Bancheng shook his head, "Last time the devils forced a donation of two hundred thousand, we only gave fifty thousand, and they have been holding a grudge ever since. Even without Zhao Datou opening fire, they would have found another excuse."

Lou Gang nodded.

Lou Bancheng lowered his voice, "Go invite Comrade Shen Wenqing over, and tell him the Lou Family is willing to donate more money."

As Lou Gang was about to leave, he called him back, "Wait, tell me more about the specific losses at the steel mill."

"One workshop burned down completely, and two workshops were partially damaged. Half the workers didn't come to work this morning; to fully resume production, it will take at least three months," Lou Gang replied.

Inside the Military Police Special Higher Division office, the atmosphere was as cold as a cellar.

The newly appointed Chief of the Special Higher Division, Ishii Saburo, expressionlessly pushed a notice in front of Sun Qiang.

"Are you literate?" Ishii's voice lacked a trace of warmth.

Sun Qiang hurriedly bowed, his face full of fawning smiles, "Yes, yes, Sir, I attended a private school!"

"Read it out and tell me what is written on it."

Sun Qiang leaned in and carefully identified the characters on the notice: "Gui Tian, you turtle grandsons... if you continue to be obsessed and refuse to repent, you will surely be killed twofold within days! Do not say you were not warned... Huang Daxian." As he read, he translated it into colloquial speech, his tone carrying a bit of showing off.

"Smack!" A crisp slap landed on his face.

Sun Qiang covered his face, completely stunned, feeling that this new superior was a hundred times harder to serve than Gui Tian.

"I don't want the literal meaning!" Ishii stared at him coldly, "I am asking you, what do you see in this notice?"

Sun Qiang shivered in fear, read it carefully a few more times, and suddenly his eyes lit up, "Sir! I understand! This Huang Daxian seems to be hinting that if we don't continue to investigate... perhaps he really won't cause trouble anymore! And this case could be closed!"

"Smack!" Another slap.

Sun Qiang was completely too afraid to speak.

"You explained it very well." Ishii's face was without a ripple, "This slap is a reward for you."

"Th-thank you for the reward, Sir!" Sun Qiang hurriedly bowed ninety degrees.

"Then tell me, what should we do next?"

Sun Qiang rolled his eyes and said as if offering a treasure, "Sir, why don't we catch someone who looks like the kid on the wanted poster, claim he is Huang Daxian, and parade him through the streets! When the real Huang Daxian sees it, he will know we don't want to pursue it anymore, and he will probably stop."

"Smack! Smack!" Ishii backhanded him with two more slaps.

Sun Qiang immediately squeezed out a smile, "Thank you for the reward, Sir Ishii!"

A strange smile finally appeared on Ishii's face, "So-ka. Sun-kun, yours is very good." But he immediately asked, "But how do we make everyone believe he is Huang Daxian?"

"That's easy to handle!" Sun Qiang got excited, "There are many leather workers at Caishikou who used to specialize in sewing heads for death-row prisoners in the old days... We can catch one and have him replace this corpse's head with a weasel's."

"Baka! Stupid!" Ishii scolded, "Do you think you can fool everyone like this?"

"Sir, that's all I can think of!"

Ishii pondered for a moment and said, "Don't sew on a head, just sew on a short tail! Stick some yellow fur on the body, and when parading him through the streets, deliberately expose that short tail to make it look ambiguous!"

Sun Qiang praised, "The term 'ambiguous' is used well! We won't admit he is Huang Daxian, only that he looks a bit like a yellow weasel. Even if we don't say it actively, naturally some people will pass it on as a strange tale. This move is a success. Sir Ishii is too wise!"

"Sun-san, hurry and go find someone."

The He Family steamed bun shop finally opened, but the location was remote, and customers were sparse.

He Daqing was worried, and finally, Chen Qingshan and his daughter volunteered to push the cart to Di'anmen Street to try their luck.

He Yuzhu stayed in the shop to greet customers; only about twenty people came in the morning, and by noon, there was no one in sight.

He sat by the table, bored, staring blankly at the surface of the water at Shichahai outside the window.

Shen Guizhi also felt stifled inside the house, so she took little Yushui out for a stroll.

He Yuzhu was worried and shouted to the back kitchen, "Father, I'm going out for a bit, you watch the shop!"

"You little brat, slacking off again!" He Daqing grumbled.

"My Siqiang will be back soon. There are no customers right now anyway!"

He Yuzhu strolled along behind his mother, always keeping a distance.

Just as Shen Guizhi stepped onto Yinding Bridge, a figure suddenly approached from the side—it was exactly that bearded man.

He Yuzhu's heart tightened, and he followed quickly. Although he guessed the other party was not a bad person, he still wanted to know why he was always approaching his mother.

Shen Guizhi saw someone walking toward her, startled at first, but when she saw the other person's appearance clearly, her whole body froze, tears welled up instantly, and her voice trembled, "Wenqing...? Is it you?"

Shen Wenqing also choked up: "Sister... I went to Qianmen to look for Father and Mother, only to find out they were both gone... and I didn't know where you had gone... If I hadn't happened to see you last time, we siblings might never have met again in this lifetime." His voice was hoarse, "Are you doing well?"

"Since you found us, why didn't you come directly to the house?" Shen Guizhi asked, wiping away her tears.

"Sister, you should know what I do for a living..." Shen Wenqing said in a low voice, "I was afraid of implicating you. I knew you had opened a shop, so I just kept watching from afar... Today, I finally waited until you came out."

Not far away, He Yuzhu could not hear the conversation clearly, but he vaguely guessed the other person's identity. He stopped his footsteps and quietly retreated behind a tree, leaving them a space to talk.

"Wenqing, come and meet your brother-in-law. He is an honest man and won't talk nonsense." Shen Guizhi pulled her brother's sleeve.

Shen Wenqing shook his head: "Sister, seeing that you are doing well, I am at ease. I won't disturb you."

"Then... then come to the shop often to eat something, all right? If I don't say anything, no one will know." Shen Guizhi took a step back and pleaded, her eyes full of expectation.

"Alright, I will still be in Si Jiu Cheng for a while, I will definitely come often."

The two chatted in low voices for a while longer, and Shen Wenqing stuffed a small cloth bag into Shen Guizhi's hand. She pushed it away twice, but eventually accepted it with red-rimmed eyes.

When Shen Guizhi turned around to walk back, her face still bore undried tear stains, but the corners of her mouth were already curled into a smile.

Only then did He Yuzhu walk out from the side and take his younger sister Yushui. While rocking her to make her giggle, he teased: "Mother, did you find money? Why are you smiling so happily?"

"You little brat, how dare you make fun of your mother!" Shen Guizhi scolded with a smile and made a gesture to hit him, but He Yuzhu dodged it nimbly.

As soon as He Yuzhu and his mother returned to the shop, they discovered a person full of murderous intent sitting in the corner, with dozens of steamed buns piled on the table, devouring them ravenously. The person's waist was bulging, clearly concealing a weapon.

He Yuzhu immediately became alert. Who is this person? Are they really here to eat? He secretly clenched his fists, ready at any moment to deal with any potential trouble.