Chapter 70: Crisis Moment

In Shaanxi Lane, at Yunjiban, the furnace fire in the warm pavilion was burning bright, as if it were a different world from the bitter cold outside.

Zheng Degang had just finished being intimate with Miss Xiaocui when he heard a maid outside say softly: "Mr. Zhao is here, he is waiting for you in the parlor!"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Degang jumped off the bed in a hurry and, with the help of Miss Xiaocui, rushed to put on his clothes.

Zhao Datou was sitting on a yellow rosewood chair, holding a cup of hot tea; seeing him come out, he hurriedly set down the teacup and stood up.

"How did it go? Was the restaurant smashed?" Zheng Degang asked, taking the opportunity to sit down next to Zhao Datou.

"Xiao Erduo messed things up," Zhao Datou shook his head; he had brought over thirty men, but instead, more than a dozen of them were beaten and injured by the other side, and they returned looking bedraggled and defeated.

"Brother Zhao, what should we do next? We cannot let this slight go unavenged." Zheng Degang was somewhat exasperated.

"Brother, don't be impatient, listen to me slowly," a fierce glint flashed in Zhao Datou's eyes, "Although Xiao Erduo lost men, I have received big news. It is now confirmed that those two are the real culprits who killed my eldest brother! I sought revenge against Lou Bancheng and the little Japanese devils, but never imagined the real culprits were that hostage and his master!"

Zheng Degang's eyes narrowed slightly, realizing that He Yuzhu was no longer just his own enemy, but a common enemy for both of them; Zhao Datou was already tightly bound to the same boat as him.

"Are you going to take action yourself? If needed, I can ask my father-in-law for a few experts." Zheng Degang volunteered.

Zhao Datou was silent for a moment, then waved his hand: "Not for now. Since we have decided to act, we must cut the weeds and dig up the roots, eradicating his restaurant along with him; we must not leave any survivors."

"A man must be ruthless; if you're going to do it, do it thoroughly!" Zheng Degang added fuel to the fire.

Zhao Datou twisted his fingers, pondered for a moment, and said: "That kid and his master are tough nuts to crack; one of them can fight over a dozen men. Relying solely on cold weapons will likely be difficult to take them down; we must use 'hot hardware'."

"Big Brother, there is one thing I must remind you of," Zheng Degang lowered his voice, "That kid lives in a residential area. If you bring dozens of men with guns to force your way in, the commotion will be too big, and I won't be able to suppress it. Right now, Shen Shichang is watching me, pinning all the 'Five Sons Ascending the Branch' accounts on me, and he has even filed a report to Bureau Chief Dai."

"Why don't you concoct some dirt on him too! I don't believe he has no skeletons in his closet!" Zhao Datou frowned, a plan forming in his mind.

"That is an excellent plan. I heard that when he took over the Japanese Rolling Mill, he had shady dealings with Lou Bancheng. If we expose each other, in the end, this matter will be hard to clarify." Zheng Degang seemed to have found a way to break the deadlock.

Zhao Datou pondered with knitted brows for a while and said: "We can bring guns, but we won't use them unless absolutely necessary. We'll pick two or three in the morning, and act while people are fast asleep."

"Are you going to act tonight?" Zheng Degang asked.

"No rush, we need a meticulous plan." Zhao Datou waved his hand.

Zheng Degang leaned in closer, his voice dropping even lower: "Big Brother, our matter of embezzling enemy assets has been poked to the higher-ups. Recently, my father-in-law has been pulling strings, but with little effect. An expert gave him an idea to maneuver his way into becoming the mayor of Si Jiu Cheng. If he can come over, our troubles will be minor. However, the costs of pulling strings are not small; he asked me to raise 200,000 Big Ocean, does Brother Zhao have a way?"

Zhao Datou sucked his teeth: "I can scrape together at most 30,000 to 50,000 Big Ocean, no more than that."

"50,000 Big Ocean is definitely not enough," Zheng Degang gave a bitter smile, "My father-in-law has already spoken; we need at least 150,000. How can we gather that much?"

"150,000?" Zhao Datou gasped, "Even if we sold all the brothels, casinos, and opium dens, we couldn't scrape together that amount!"

"A foreign friend of my father-in-law gave him an idea, saying we could print some counterfeit legal tender and dump it into the Si Jiu Cheng market..."

Zhao Datou flatly rejected it: "Nowadays, big deals in the market only recognize Big Ocean! Legal tender is only used by commoners to buy groceries; no one dares to hold it overnight. How are we going to spend 200,000 in counterfeit notes?"

Zheng Degang said: "The higher-ups have already stated their position on this; the government is going to force the implementation of legal tender. Those who have Big Ocean and gold must exchange them at the bank; if they don't listen, their homes will be raided!"

"That will cause chaos!" Zhao Datou said worriedly.

"If my father-in-law comes to Si Jiu Cheng to be an official, this job won't be ours. On the contrary, the profits we made from this 'takeover' will all have to be spat out!"

Zhao Datou fell into deep thought.

The door of the Dian'anmen Grocery Store was pushed open, and Lao Zhou walked in, looking exhausted.

Seeing this, Shen Wenqing hurriedly went up to meet him and handed him a cup of hot tea.

"You must be exhausted! Go inside and rest; we can talk about whatever it is tomorrow." Shen Wenqing said softly.

Lao Zhou shook his head and said with a serious expression: "The higher-ups have instructed us to make contact with a Doctor named Liu Xiaohua. When he was in the United States, he lived with one of our comrades for a period of time and had a good impression of us. This task was originally assigned to another comrade, but he hasn't made any progress. Headquarters received news from Nanjing that the Nationalist government is encountering bottlenecks in developing special explosives and wants Liu Xiaohua to help them, but he is hesitant. This also proves that Liu Xiaohua's political stance is inclined toward us."

Shen Wenqing frowned and analyzed: "Given this situation, his surroundings have likely already been surrounded by the Military Statistics Bureau. If we rashly go to make contact, it will inevitably cause problems!"

Lao Zhou paced back and forth in the room, thinking anxiously about countermeasures.

The two were somewhat at a loss regarding this matter.

At the same time, the front door of Liu Rusi's mansion was being pounded thunderously.

Pingping threw a coat over her shoulders and got up, impatiently pulling back the door bolt.

Outside the door was a girl in her early twenties, heavily powdered and painted; she was shivering with a pale face and said breathlessly: "I have an urgent matter to see the Miss!"

Pingping recognized her as the informant Chuntao and stepped aside to let her in: "The Miss is upstairs, go straight up."

Chuntao gulped down the hot tea handed to her by Liu Rusi, caught her breath, and said hurriedly: "Tonight, Zhao Datou and Zheng Degang held a secret meeting. They are no longer just talking; they are about to act... Also, I heard big news: Zheng Degang's father-in-law is pulling strings to come to Si Jiu Cheng to be mayor... I slipped out under the pretext of feeling unwell to report this, I must go back quickly."

"When you have time, go find Pingping to collect 100 Big Ocean, go back first." Liu Rusi said decisively.

Chuntao left in a hurry.

Liu Rusi pondered for a moment, picked up the black telephone, and dialed a number: "Battalion Commander Wang, send some men to guard He Ji Restaurant and Nanluoguxiang 95... someone is about to take action, the other side has over two hundred people..."

"Yes, Miss!" the voice on the other end replied.

Liu Rusi hung up the phone, went downstairs, and found Pingping: "Take a guard and go immediately to Nanluoguxiang 95 to find Zhuzi, and tell him about this immediately. Tell him I have already sent men to guard three locations, and ask him what his plans are; go quickly and return quickly."

Pingping took a car to Nanluoguxiang and knocked heavily on the courtyard gate.

Yan Bugui came out in a panic, wearing an old cotton-padded jacket; seeing it was a strange girl, he muttered: "Oh my, what time is it..."

Pingping said coldly: "I have an urgent matter to find He Yuzhu!" Her eyes were sharp, and she had a box-cannon tucked into her waist, which scared Yan Bugui into a shiver; he hurriedly led the way: "I'll take you there right now, right now."

He Yuzhu heard the sound and hurried out; seeing it was Pingping, he immediately said: "Wait a moment, let me put on a coat."

Yan Bugui shrank to the side, peeking and observing.

He Yuzhu put on his clothes and casually grabbed a large handful of legal tender and stuffed it into his hand.

Yan Bugui was immediately all smiles, saying repeatedly: "Zhuzi is a stand-up guy! A stand-up guy!"

He Yuzhu ignored him, walked out of the courtyard with Pingping, and got into the car.

Pingping said: "The Miss has already sent soldiers to guard your home, the restaurant, and your master's house; she asks what your plans are?"

He Yuzhu pondered: "Please thank the Miss for her trouble regarding my master and the restaurant; there is no need to leave anyone at my home, I can defend it myself."

Pingping nodded, turned, and left by car.

In the cold night, He Yuzhu stood alone in the courtyard, his exhaled white breath condensing into frost.

He knew well that Zheng Degang had to be eliminated, but thinking that Liu Rusi was now involved, if he killed Zheng Degang himself, it would become a ready-made handle if he and Liu Rusi were to become enemies in the future.