Chapter 286: Father-in-law and son-in-law join forces, settling everything

"Philson fell into the sea?"

"How could a perfectly fine person just fall into the sea?"

Lu Qiaoshan felt as if he were standing in an ice cellar; after muttering this, he slumped powerlessly into his chair.

Trafficking opium.

Selling red wine.

In the final analysis, it didn't rely on that second young lady of the Kong family, but on the direct promoter, Philson.

Once Philson died, the Cherry brand couldn't be pushed through the upper echelons of the Jinmen municipal government and the garrison.

Not to mention the opium; not everyone had the guts to sell that stuff.

In other words.

The 80,000 US dollars he had invested had gone down the drain.

"It's fake, it must be fake."

"Sufang, ask around again."

Long Er also wore a look of panic and loss.

"Could it be a counterattack from Hong Zhiyou?"

"That kid is very devious; back when Boss Dai's plane crashed, he and Ma Hansan were listed as suspects."

A flash of horror crossed Lu Qiaoshan's eyes as he spoke.

"Impossible."

"Philson is an American, a high-and-mighty commander of the Marine Corps."

"Even the Generalissimo treats the Americans like gods; who would dare touch him?"

Lin Sufang shouted loudly, masking the fear in her heart.

"Perhaps we all underestimated Hong Zhiyou."

"Miss Lin, the most urgent task is to find Powell as soon as possible to get the money back, and let that damn Cherry brand go to hell."

Lu Qiaoshan also began pounding the table.

"Alright."

"Squabbling here won't help matters."

"Section Chief Lu, you are responsible for probing the situation on Philson's side; after all, it was just falling into the water, there might still be hope for survival."

"Once confirmed, find out the inside story as soon as possible so we can make a decision."

Long Er was still relatively clear-headed and quickly gave orders.

"You two, let me state this first."

"This money is my entire life's savings; if Philson is alive, consider yourselves lucky, and the business continues."

"If he's dead."

"Heh, I can't afford to offend Kong Lingwei."

"But killing you two isn't hard."

"If the 80,000 US dollars can't be recovered, we'll see each other in the Secrecy Bureau's interrogation room, and I'll make you taste every trick in the book!"

Lu Qiaoshan's round-rimmed glasses were filled with intense, icy killing intent as he pointed coldly at the two of them.

After speaking, he picked up his briefcase and walked out quickly.

Lu Qiaoshan wasn't joking with Long Er.

In the past, for the sake of wealth and status, he could be duplicitous and let Lin Sufang and her husband be arrogant and sarcastic.

But this money was his entire net worth.

Once lost, he would never have a chance to turn things around; there was no reason not to risk his life.

Moreover, compared to Lin Sufang, Lu Qiaoshan had another unjust debt.

That was the munitions.

One-third of the munitions transported last time had been hijacked by that damn Li Ya and the Security Brigade.

The remaining two-thirds of the munitions meant for a comeback were also long overdue.

With Philson dead, given the nature of Americans, the newly appointed commander certainly wouldn't acknowledge the debt, and this batch of munitions would likely go down the drain.

One had to know that for this deal, the bulk of the investment came from Zheng Jiemin and Ke Shufen.

If he couldn't get back the munitions or the capital.

Ke Shufen could tear him apart alive.

Returning home.

Lu Qiaoshan didn't even take off his suit; he threw his bag aside, lay spread-eagled on the sofa, and panted heavily.

"Xiufen, I, my chest hurts."

He felt his heartbeat getting faster and faster; he felt like he was suffocating.

Li Xiufen hurriedly found medicine and fed it to him.

"Qiaoshan, look at how you're always getting bullied; if this continues, you'll lose your life. Can we just stop doing this business?" Li Xiufen said while wiping away tears as she unbuttoned his clothes.

"Sigh."

"There's no way back now."

"It's over, it's all over."

Lu Qiaoshan rested his head on the sofa and let out a hollow, turbid sigh.

"Xiufen."

"I'm afraid I won't make it past this hurdle."

"If, and I mean if I'm no longer here, go find Hong Zhiyou and apologize, and try to keep the operating rights for Lu Ming in Suzhou."

"Then return to our hometown in Yuedong; I buried three gold bars in front of my father's grave at the ancestral home. If you dig them up and spend them sparingly, it should be enough to get by."

Lu Qiaoshan stroked her hair and smiled bitterly.

"Qiaoshan, what are you saying?"

"What do you mean 'no longer here'?"

"You, don't scare me." Li Xiufen cried even harder.

Ring-a-ding.

The phone rang.

"You go answer it."

"If it's Chief Zheng, just say I'm out and haven't returned yet." Lu Qiaoshan said, barely summoning a shred of energy.

"I, I know."

Li Xiufen answered.

"Chief Zheng."

"Qiao... Qiaoshan hasn't returned yet. Alright, alright, I'll have him call you back when he gets home."

Li Xiufen hung up the phone and looked at Lu Qiaoshan:

"It's Zheng Jiemin."

"Sigh."

"He won't let me off."

"This game of chess can't be saved; I'm finished."

"Heaven bless, may Philson be alive, alive."

Lu Qiaoshan began to mutter to himself.

Lin Sufang returned to the Cao Gang in a state of dejection.

She made several calls to the barracks, but all she got was "no comment."

"Sufang, don't be afraid."

"If Philson is dead, it just means we'll get a new commander; we'll just throw more money at them."

"I don't believe there's an American these days who doesn't love money."

Long Er comforted her.

"Second Brother."

"Recently, we've raised wages for the workers."

"We've spent a lot of money sending gifts to the garrison and the American troops."

"This time we threw away over a hundred thousand US dollars to buy the brand, and there isn't much liquid cash left on the books."

Lin Sufang sighed and said.

"No way."

"Such a big Cao Gang, and we're out of money?"

"Secretary Hong managed it quite well before; how could the money be gone?" Long Er asked with a frown.

"Before, you felt the money came in fast because the bank could withdraw at any time, and Hong Zhiyou gave you a share of the liquor profits every month."

"Now, the one surnamed Hong has kept both banks in his own hands."

"There are no more liquor profit shares either."

"The Cao Gang's main revenue relies on the docks, shipping, and casinos; except for the casinos, the settlement cycles for the others are quite long."

"Expenses exceed income, so of course the money is less."

Lin Sufang explained.

"How could it be like this?" Long Er was a bit confused.

"If we want to reshuffle the deck and cut the Gordian knot, we have to rely on throwing money."

"If Philson can stay alive, we can swallow Hong Zhiyou later and have a steady stream of big money coming in."

"But now..."

Lin Sufang looked troubled and couldn't continue.

She had indeed studied economics and psychology, and believed that this set of tactics could crush Hong Zhiyou.

But what she hadn't expected was that money really didn't last long.

The foreign devils had huge appetites, and the Cao Gang had so many mouths to feed that it really ate up money.

"What about the opium money?" Long Er asked.

"The opium money was used to stake a batch of goods with Philson, and the previous batches sold were distributed through the Kong family's channels."

"You know, the Kong family was trafficking this stuff with people like Du Yuesheng back then."

"Now, the payment for the goods hasn't been recovered."

"This money is probably... Second Brother, I'm sorry, I really didn't expect it to be like this."

Lin Sufang looked at Long Er with guilt and choked up again.

After passing through the hands of the second young lady of the Kong family, the goods had already been shipped out in several batches; if they could have settled the payment, they would have done so long ago—could they really have dragged it out until now?

Clearly, the Cao Gang had become pure laborers.

"Sigh."

"I know, you're one of the second young lady of the Kong family's people, and you came to Jinmen to eat up Hong Zhiyou and me."

"However, I'm still grateful to Heaven for letting me meet you again and have you."

"I don't have that many schemes."

"I only know that you're pregnant with my child."

"Being able to say these words and stand by me, I, Long Er, didn't cherish you in vain."

"Sufang, things have reached this point, thinking more is useless; just tell me what to do."

Long Er said.

"Second Brother, thank... thank you." Lin Sufang threw herself into Long Er's arms, feeling incredibly grateful.

"Second Brother, go borrow some money from the two banks."

"Also, collect the accounts from the casinos to gather some cash first."

"I'll go find the second young lady of the Kong family and see if she can spare some money for us to hold out until the new commander takes office and we see how things stand." After a long time, Lin Sufang said with renewed spirit.

"Good, let's split up and act now." Long Er nodded.

One hour later.

Long Er returned.

Lin Sufang sat by the bed, both of them looking ashen.

"Did you borrow any?" Lin Sufang asked.

"No."

"Mr. Ji said there's no liquid cash on the books and he can't spare any for me."

"I also contacted several foreign firms we had good relations with before, and they were also..." Long Er shook his head and said.

"What about the casinos?" Lin Sufang asked.

"Zhou Yan said that a couple of days ago, the son of an old military governor fired a gun in the casino, so business has been slow these past few days, and there's no revenue on the books." Long Er said.

"He's fobbing you off; he and Hong Zhiyou are clearly in cahoots."

"These guys who eat inside and out."

Lin Sufang cursed.

"They've always been Hong Zhiyou's people."

A bitter smile appeared on the corner of Long Er's mouth, "Enough of that, what about your side?"

"Kong Lingwei said to wait and see."

"She's waiting for news about Philson; to be precise, the entire Kong family is waiting." Lin Sufang said.

"Good, then we wait."

"If Philson isn't dead, then Hong Zhiyou is the one who will die."

"If he is dead, we'll just continue to throw money at the next commander." Long Er nodded and said.

"Dead... Second Brother, I think we should take the initiative to strike."

"If Hong Zhiyou dies, perhaps all the problems will be solved."

A cold light flashed in Lin Sufang's beautiful eyes as she said coldly.

"I'll arrange the manpower immediately." Long Er said without even blinking.

"No."

"Your people are prone to leaking information."

"We can have my eldest brother and Lu Qiaoshan join forces to do it."

"Lu Qiaoshan came out of the Nanchang Investigation Section; this is his old trade, and besides, with him as a backstop, things will be much easier to handle." Lin Sufang said.

"Good, I'll go arrange it tomorrow." Long Er nodded.

The next day.

Hong Zhiyou bought breakfast and arrived at the station.

"Master, mutton soup, flatbread, stuffed with pig head meat and sausage, and half a liang of sweet potato liquor from Ludong; care for a little drink?" He said as he deftly laid everything out on the coffee table.

"Wonderful."

"Finally, I can achieve mutton soup freedom."

"When your mistress was here, everything she made was bland; it was either chicken soup, pigeon soup, or soft-shelled turtle soup, and she wouldn't eat cilantro and wouldn't let me add any."

"When I finally got to drink mutton soup, it was boiled thin and watery, with goji berries and all sorts of messy things added."

"It made it taste like nothing."

Mentioning this mutton soup, Wu Jingzhong had a belly full of complaints.

He took a sip, then bit into the crispy stuffed flatbread, and immediately praised it:

"Hmm, not bad, it tastes a bit like what I had when I was in the Northwest District."

"From now on, this is the routine."

"While those two mother and daughter aren't coming back for a while, let's eat our fill first."

"If Master likes it, I'll buy it for you every day." Hong Zhiyou nodded and said.

"Try this liquor too, sweet potato liquor from Ludong; it goes best with mutton soup." He opened another bottle of liquor.

"There are rules at the station." Wu Jingzhong could drink, but he wasn't a heavy drinker.

"I know."

"Philson is dead." Hong Zhiyou said in a low voice.

"Are you sure?" Wu Jingzhong put down his chopsticks and asked urgently.

"Sure."

"Last night on the way to Qingdao, the wind and waves were too strong; he drank too much, slipped, and accidentally fell into the sea."

"News came from Ke Ke's side; the person is already dead, and the body is in Qingdao."

"Now the US military has blocked the news; I estimate that even the Generalissimo hasn't heard a whisper of it yet."

Hong Zhiyou smiled faintly.

"Good."

"Good, this is worth a drink; fill it up." Wu Jingzhong was overjoyed.

"Sit, you have a drink too." He ordered.

The father-in-law and son-in-law each poured a small cup and clinked them together; Wu Jingzhong took a satisfied sip and continued:

"Without Philson, the Kong family's business can't be done either."

"Is the second young lady of the Kong family still lingering in Jinmen?"

Hong Zhiyou nodded and said: "Still here; the Kong family is greedier than imagined. Although Madam Jiang spoke up for me, I see that Madam Kong is still just stalling."

"Perhaps she won't even call Kong Lingwei at all."

"If I don't bleed a bit, I don't think the second young lady of the Kong family will leave."

"If she doesn't leave, you can't close the net." Wu Jingzhong frowned and said.

"No matter."

"The Kong family has stepped down after all; without Kong Xiangxi's official position, and coupled with their historically ugly eating habits, there are fewer people who will buy their account."

"This month, I gave Song Ziliang nearly half the dividends less."

"I'm not in a hurry, but the Song family will be."

"Furthermore, the second young lady of the Kong family is crazy, but she's also human."

"When Boss Dai was here, Kong Xiangxi cheated the Loyal and Righteous National Salvation Army out of military supplies, and the two sides had a very unpleasant falling out; the Salvation Army once made a fierce threat to assassinate him."

"If she doesn't leave, I'll find two veterans to go over and practice."

Hong Zhiyou deliberately came up with a clumsy "bad idea."

Sure enough, Wu Jingzhong immediately opposed it:

"Absolutely not."

"The Jiang, Song, and Kong families are one; Song Ziliang can deal with her, but we can't."

"The second young lady of the Kong family is Madam Jiang's apple of her eye, closer than her own daughter."

"If you touch a hair on her head, it's equivalent to making a move against Madam and the Jiang family; it concerns the Generalissimo's face, so you must not act recklessly."

"If you touch her."

"You'll be the second Wang Yaqiao or Ke Chengwu, and even Ke Ke won't be able to protect you; by then, Mao Renfeng will be fighting to take your head."

"He's been waiting for this opportunity for a long time."

"You have some ability now, but if you want to arm-wrestle with the entire National Government, you're still too green."

"This plan must not be used."

He put down his glass and warned Hong Zhiyou very seriously.

"Yes, Master's lesson is correct; the student was reckless." Hong Zhiyou said.

He was doing it on purpose.

Recently, he had accomplished several major tasks in a row, all of which were above old Wu.

If he didn't show some clumsiness, old Wu, who had always controlled the overall situation, wouldn't be used to it.

Now there wasn't any suspicion or the like.

He was just afraid that old Wu would feel that he had risen up, sprout thoughts of retiring, and even stop using his brain, wasting that belly full of wisdom and calculation.

People only make progress through constant struggle.

He had to get old Wu moving.

"Master, the student is confused; please give me some guidance." Hong Zhiyou said.

"Think about it, what do rich people fear most?" Wu Jingzhong asked with a smile.

"Fear of death."

"Fear of filth."

"Fear of being uncomfortable." Hong Zhiyou pondered for a moment and answered.

"How about using leprosy again to scare her away?"

"No, the leprosy trick is useful, but it brings social panic and requires multi-departmental coordination; it's too troublesome to operate, and Zhang Tinge and Chen Zhangjie can accompany us to perform once, but they can't cooperate every time."

"After all, if someone stabs it to the Generalissimo, it's also a troublesome matter."

Wu Jingzhong shook his head and said.

"Then..." Hong Zhiyou scratched his head, out of ideas.

"You're right, fear of filth."

"These young ladies feel uncomfortable if they don't bathe or drink coffee for a day."

"At a meeting two days ago, Zhang Tinge was still complaining to me, saying that the steel pipes at the water plant are leaking severely, and now that prices are skyrocketing, water fees can't be collected, leading to heavy losses."

"The Ji'an Water Plant is almost about to close down."

"Just right, you have the water company cut off the water in the area where Miss Kong lives."

"If she can't take a bath for a week, let's see if she can still stay."

Wu Jingzhong said.

"Master, this method is good, but the surrounding commoners and shops will all suffer along with her." Hong Zhiyou said, feeling troubled.

"Look, you're being narrow-minded."

"The commoners have tough skin; if you cut off their grain, they'll go dig wild vegetables and gnaw on Guanyin clay. If you cut off their water, with such a big Haihe River, Luanhe River, and water wells, can they really just die of thirst?"

"You are now considered a superior in Jinmen City."

"Those who accomplish great things do not fuss over trifles."

"Look at Jiang, Song, Kong, and Chen; does anyone care about the lives of the commoners?"

"They care about whether their thrones are stable and whether their pockets are full of silver; who cares about the commoners."

"So, put away your little bit of compassion; this world doesn't need the light of Buddha to shine everywhere."

"Universal harmony is the faith of the Red Ticket."

"It has nothing to do with you or me."

Wu Jingzhong waved his hand and said.

"Besides, it won't even take seven or eight days; I estimate that young lady will go crazy in two days." He added, fearing Hong Zhiyou would have a burden in his heart.

This was also the reason why he trusted and was willing to hand Wu Rui over to Hong Zhiyou.

This prospective son-in-law of his had a conscience.

Although not much, in this world, he was already considered a living Bodhisattva.

"Good, but Master, I want to slow down for a while and let them fight among themselves first."

"I've already notified the foreign firms and the underground banks."

"It's very difficult for Long Er to replenish his funds."

"The Cao Gang just spent a huge sum to buy the Cherry brand, and the winery and marketing all need money; they have enough to keep them busy."

"By then, given Lin Sufang's character, the first thing she'll cut is the wages of the Cao Gang workers."

"I'm afraid it won't even be as good as before."

"In this way, when I take it over later and restore their previous normal wages, they'll have to be grateful to me, which is far better than me taking it over now and cutting a chunk, causing public outrage."

"And Lu Qiaoshan."

"This person has always been petty, especially regarding money, which he values too much."

"Once Philson dies, his munitions will go down the drain, and he's also put his house and all his family assets into it."

"Whether it's Zheng Jiemin or himself, they could be suffocated to death."

"Later, I'll give him a little sweetness, and he will inevitably strike back madly at Long Er and the others."

"Having him act as the executioner is far better than me getting involved myself."

"After all, there's the Kong family in between."

"I can avoid a little bit wherever I can."

Hong Zhiyou said.

"Hmm."

"This is the way a smart person acts."

"Then you must first communicate with Lu Qiaoshan and let him turn back from his wrong path."

Wu Jingzhong drained the liquor in one gulp and stood up to open the window to let the smell out.

"Take a look at this."

He turned back to the desk and pulled out a document from inside.

Hong Zhiyou opened it and saw: "Proposed establishment of a Special Action Inspection Group, specifically to coordinate with various Class A stations of the Secrecy Bureau, local offices of the Party-Communication Bureau, the Three People's Principles Youth League, and the Inspection Division of the Garrison Headquarters; the Inspection Group leader will be held by Second Department Director Hou Teng."

"The Inspection Group will report directly to and be responsible to the Ministry of National Defense."

"Jinmen Special Action Inspection Group, to be held by Deputy Group Leaders Wu Jingzhong, Sun Chuanzhi, and Lu Qiaoshan!"

After reading it, Hong Zhiyou's brows furrowed tightly:

"Lu Qiaoshan has been promoted?"

"He can even stand on equal footing with you and Sun Chuanzhi."

"Yes, this time killing students has shown off his prestige; integrating the intelligence system is the Generalissimo's intention, and the personnel list was also personally approved by him."

"What did I say, Lu Qiaoshan will continue to rise."

"This so-called Special Action Inspection Group, isn't it just about violently suppressing students and workers, tricking young people into joining the army, and forcibly conscripting soldiers?"

"And it's a damn 'Special Action'."

"Going around in circles, it's just the same old routine from the May 30th Massacre years ago."

"This is really losing all face."

Wu Jingzhong snorted with disdain.

"Master, you should take on less work with this; if Lu Qiaoshan likes to show off, let him go ahead."

"Anyway, I don't think he can handle this job."

"It would be strange if Ye Xiufeng could pee into the same pot as the Secrecy Bureau and the Inspection Division."

"I'm afraid the Generalissimo will just be tossing and turning in vain again."

Hong Zhiyou said.

"Regardless, I'll hold onto the document for now."

"While the official notice hasn't come down yet, you first suppress him and stabilize this person before talking."

"At the very least, he can't be an enemy."

Wu Jingzhong ordered.

"Understood." Hong Zhiyou nodded.

……

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 287 =====