Chapter 316: Acting, Old Du is a professional

"Secretary Hong, what do you think?" After finishing the plan, Du Yuesheng asked.

"The Boss's plan is quite similar to what I've considered.

"However... it's a bit late," Hong Zhiyou laughed with regret.

"What do you mean?" Du Yuesheng frowned.

"Last time I gave you and your young master a chance, you didn't grasp it.

"I said you could consider it.

"But it must be discounted.

"So... these supplies can only be purchased at a 50% discount,"

Hong Zhiyou said.

"50%?

"Secretary Hong, business isn't done like this. We purchased and hoarded at market price back then. With one slash from you, brother, I lose tens of thousands of US dollars.

"Isn't that a bit too ruthless?"

Du Yuesheng said grimly.

"Boss Du, there's no need to look at me like that. If I were scared, I wouldn't have reached this point today.

"Last time I said, my rule for making friends is the 9-1 rule.

"It's just a pity that you didn't really treat me as a friend.

"Then we can only talk business.

"Either confiscate these supplies of yours.

"Or sell them to me at 50% off. You decide.

"Also, I actually don't like Shanghai.

"In order to leave early, I hope to make a quick decision. 50% off is for today; if you drag it out, next time we talk it will be 20%.

"Before this cigarette is finished, I want to hear your answer,"

Hong Zhiyou extinguished the cigarette butt, lit another one, raised his chin, and watched Du Yuesheng smoke slowly.

Business is like this.

When in an absolute advantage, strength is the means.

Du Yuesheng looked at the young man in front of him, as if seeing his former self.

Humane, righteous, principled.

At the same time, capable, bold.

Ruthless enough, spicy enough.

"You don't need to count on secretly shipping the grain out to sell at a high price in Jiangnan.

"Or taking Tang Enbo's route.

"Tang Enbo just suffered a defeat in Ludong, letting 'adopted son' Shi Jue ride on his head and take a big dump. He's more panicked than you right now.

"When Zhang Lingfu died, the Chairman knocked Tang Enbo's head until it was broken and bleeding.

"This time, Jianfeng isn't investigating whether he participated in hoarding and speculation; he's already burning high incense. If he dares to mess around again, the Chairman could beat his brains out.

"I'll say it again, Jianfeng's surname is Jiang.

"No matter how crazy Kong Lingkan is, his surname is only Kong!"

Hong Zhiyou held the cigarette between his fingers, leaned forward, and stared at him, word for word.

"So, Boss Du had better put away those little thoughts!"

He sat back and took a big puff.

This puff made Du Yuesheng's heart hang in his throat.

He looked as calm as a stone statue on the surface, but he was secretly calling it bad.

He did have a trump card.

That was Tang Enbo.

Relying on their private friendship and interest ties, he could completely ship the grain out of Shanghai.

Grain was scarce everywhere, so selling it wouldn't be a problem at all.

Unexpectedly, Hong Zhiyou pierced his move with one needle.

Du Yuesheng knew he had met his match.

And he had no more moves to play.

Kong Lingkan could resist, at most losing wealth.

If he resisted, his family would be destroyed.

Dai Li was already dead; without this sworn brother, he had lost the opportunity to speak in the upper echelons of the National Government.

With the Chairman currently suffering defeats everywhere and being furious.

To collide head-on at this time meant only death.

*Sigh. *

He lost.

Du Yuesheng laughed, his murderous intent turning into a soft olive branch.

"50% off, I agree.

"I will cooperate with Jianfeng to sing this play well, and sing it to the end.

"Also, from now on, I hope we are friends.

"True friends."

He stood up and extended his hand.

"You're lucky, there's still a tiny bit left."

Hong Zhiyou twisted out the cigarette butt and let out a long puff of smoke.

Then, he reached out and shook Du Yuesheng's hand vigorously.

"Since we're friends, I'll give you another benefit."

Hong Zhiyou took out a hand-painted folding advertisement from his pocket and handed it to Du Yuesheng.

"For others, it's a fixed price.

"For you, Boss Du, 2% off."

After saying this, he stood up and walked away dashingly.

"Father!"

Upstairs, Du Weiping heard everything clearly and ran down *thump-thump*.

"50% off?

"With one sentence from him, I lose 60,000 or 70,000 US dollars.

"Father, this is US dollars, US dollars!

"You—are you old..."

Du Weiping was so angry he was about to go crazy.

"Weiping.

"A person cannot fight for gains and losses for a moment; what is lost today can be earned back sooner or later.

"But if your life is gone, you have nothing."

Du Yuesheng looked at his son, sighing silently in his heart while speaking earnestly.

They say dragons beget dragons, phoenixes beget phoenixes, and rats' sons know how to dig holes.

He had roamed half his life, how did he give birth to such an un-enlightened stupid thing?

On the contrary, Hong Zhiyou, young as he was, was awe-inspiring.

"I—I just don't accept it. When has our Green Gang ever suffered such a big loss?" Du Weiping was still upset.

"Stupid!

"You think Jianfeng doesn't dare kill you!

"Is your head harder than others?

"I tell you, if tomorrow the heads of Wang Chunzhi and his son hang on the flagpole of the Central Bank building at the wharf, I wouldn't be surprised at all.

"Do you know what Hong Zhiyou said?"

Du Yuesheng, seeing him unable to get the oil and salt, could no longer remain calm.

"What did he say?" Du Weiping asked.

"He said Jianfeng had a coffin made.

"He is showing his ambition with death, wanting to fight the Kong family to the end.

"What are you?

"Is your life more precious than the Chairman's son?"

Du Yuesheng pointed at his nose and cursed.

Du Weiping's face turned pale, finally understanding Jianfeng's determination and boldness.

"Father, I—should I go abroad to hide?" This Young Master Du panicked.

"Where to hide?

"Since Secretary Hong set the conditions, he won't let you die.

"From now on, you are not allowed to go anywhere, just stay at home,"

Du Yuesheng said coldly.

"By the way, what did Hong Zhiyou give you?" Du Weiping asked curiously.

Du Yuesheng then subconsciously took it out.

"Selling the house?

"100,000 US dollars!"

Time flies like an arrow.

In a blink, it was October.

Following the propaganda, broadcasts, and the pressure brought by Tang Enbo's soldiers guarding the malls and grain, more and more merchants privately "surrendered" to Jianfeng, selling hoarded livelihood supplies at low prices.

With supplies guaranteed in the market, citizens had confidence in the Gold Yuan notes again.

Commodity trading was moving toward the right track.

The original state of depression had already shown signs of warming up.

Inside the office.

Jianfeng was on the phone:

"Secretary-General Weng, you and Minister Wang must persuade the Chairman. Shanghai cannot continue to print money crazily now. The gold and US dollars collected must be used as ballast for the common people's rations.

"Good, thank you, Mr. Weng and Minister Wang."

Hanging up the phone, Jianfeng said with some fatigue: "The Chairman wants the Shanghai Central Bank to transfuse blood to the Northeast again. I hope Weng Wenhao and Wang Yunwu can withstand the pressure.

"Zhiyou, the equipment on your side needs to be prepared urgently to ease the military supply pressure at the front."

"It's already being collected, and it will definitely be transported to the Jinzhou front by the end of November," Hong Zhiyou said.

"Good.

"I trust you with things,"

After spending these two months together, Jianfeng truly sighed that talents were hard to come by, occasionally comparing Hong Zhiyou to his own Zhuge Liang, and now he couldn't leave him for a moment.

"How is the situation at the grain shops?" Jianfeng asked again.

"We still underestimated the population of Shanghai. 【316

"Relying solely on these, supply and demand are far from keeping pace with consumption."

"The inventory is showing signs of running critically low."

Hong Zhiyou answered truthfully.

"Hmm."

"Your 'salami slicing' strategy is quite good."

"Economic warfare, especially regarding currency regulation and value preservation, requires a process of building trust."

"The market has been stable these past two months, and the common people have regained their trust in the Gold Yuan Notes."

"The small slices are finished; now it's time to cut into the big transfusion."

"Is Du Yuesheng ready on his end?"

Jiang Jianfeng asked.

Stabilizing the public's confidence in the Gold Yuan Notes required time; his idea was to stay in Shanghai for at least seven or eight months, coordinating with the support from Wang Yunwu and Weng Wenhao above to thoroughly stabilize people's livelihoods.

Then, by leveraging Shanghai's status as an economic locomotive, he would let the credit of the Gold Yuan Notes spread to other provinces and cities across the country, thereby pulling the Nationalist government's economy back from the brink.

Hong Zhiyou could only say that this was an interesting idea.

Jiang Jianfeng was merely indulging in wishful thinking.

He did not realize that the momentum of the world's trends was as swift as a thunderbolt; let alone seven or eight months, the Northeast would completely collapse by next month.

"Yes, he can hand things over at any time; he's just waiting for your order."

Coming back to his senses, he said to the confident Jiang Jianfeng.

"So far, I have dealt with sixty-four officials and wealthy merchants, but that is far from enough."

"We must be thorough; we must exert great effort."

"Tonight, we take the knife to Du Weiping!"

Jiang Jianfeng stood with one hand behind his back, spiritedly holding up his index finger.

"Yes, I will call Long Tao to arrange it immediately," Hong Zhiyou said, accepting the order.

That evening.

Hong Zhiyou and Long Tao led three hundred police officers and two companies sent by Tang Enbo to the Green Gang's headquarters.

Having received the news early, over a thousand Green Gang disciples were blockading the headquarters.

The two sides stood in a standoff, and for a time, the military and police found it difficult to enter.

"Secretary Hong, we are old friends; what is the meaning of this grand mobilization in the middle of the night?" Du Yuesheng walked out and asked with his head held high.

"Chief Du."

"Acting on Director Jiang's written order, Du Weiping is suspected of hoarding and reselling supplies. I have come to invite him over for questioning; I ask for Chief Du's cooperation," Hong Zhiyou said with a stern face.

"And if I say no?" Du Yuesheng said.

"No?"

Hong Zhiyou took a submachine gun from a soldier's hand and fired a burst at the Green Gang's century-old plaque.

Clang.

The large plaque crashed to the ground, shattering into pieces.

Ah!

"Madman."

"Kill him!"

The Green Gang disciples were all shocked and furious, their foreheads bulging with veins, their bright axes trembling from being gripped so tightly.

"A bunch of unruly rabble."

Hong Zhiyou sneered and gave a hand signal.

Boom—!

On both sides of the long street, several tanks rolled over.

The soldiers on the tanks manned heavy machine guns.

After adjusting their aim, the gun barrels were all pointed at the Green Gang members.

"This..."

Facing the steel beasts, the Green Gang disciples grew panicked.

"I will say it one more time: hand over Du Weiping."

"Otherwise, don't blame me for leveling this place!"

Hong Zhiyou said with an extremely arrogant air.

"Fight them."

"That's right, we cannot hand over Weiping; the Green Gang has no cowards afraid of death. Let's fight them."

With someone unafraid of death making noise, the crowd grew agitated again.

"Alright."

"I appreciate the good intentions of all you brothers, but my son broke the law and is guilty just like any commoner; brothers, you must not shed blood over this."

"I, Du, will cooperate with Director Jiang and hand over my son."

Du Yuesheng shook his long gown, cupped his fists to bow and thank the crowd, and then strode inside.

Soon.

He walked out, escorting a terrified and disheveled Du Weiping.

"Secretary Hong, I have brought you the person."

Du Yuesheng looked at him, and the two exchanged a subtle glance.

"Much obliged."

"Withdraw the troops!"

Hong Zhiyou raised his eyebrows slightly to signal him to rest assured, and with a wave of his hand, he withdrew the blockading force.

"Whew."

Du Yuesheng breathed a secret sigh of relief.

He had to put on this performance.

First, it was due to his disappointment with the current situation; the Nationalist army was suffering defeat after defeat, and supplies in Shanghai were tight. Once the Red side liberated Shanghai, given his identity and the 'April 12th' incident back then, he would very likely be purged.

He had already conceived the idea of leaving Shanghai and heading to Hong Kong.

But as the head of a gang, he had to provide an explanation.

Having his son taken away by Jiang Jianfeng tonight was the perfect opportunity to serve as the catalyst for the Green Gang's "decline."

Being enemies with the Crown Prince and getting slapped down—wasn't it perfectly normal to go to Hong Kong to avoid the limelight?

Secondly.

Deliberately challenging Hong Zhiyou was also a performance for the Kong family to see.

An arm cannot twist a thigh.

It wasn't that he, Du Yuesheng, wasn't willing to stand with the Kong family; in reality, he had no other choice.

He couldn't even protect his own son.

How could he talk about resisting Jiang Jianfeng's wealth-grabbing?

In this way, both face and substance were taken care of, and the Kong family couldn't find any fault.

Du Weiping was arrested.

That same night, the Green Gang's warehouses were raided.

The next day.

Amidst the noisy cries of newsboys: "Extra, extra! Chief Du Yuesheng of the Green Gang's son has been arrested; Jiang Jianfeng strikes down another tiger..."

The motorcade loaded with supplies moved slowly in an endless stream.

Citizens set off firecrackers one after another, celebrating the news.

Jiang Jianfeng handled matters with lightning speed; three days later, Du Weiping's verdict came down: eight months in prison for reselling civilian supplies.

For a time, the entire Shanghai Bund was in an uproar.

Wealthy merchants scrambled to hand over hoarded supplies; prices not only stabilized but even saw a slight decline.

The Gold Yuan Notes were stabilized, and the Central Bank took the opportunity to collect gold, silver, and US dollars, obtaining as much as four hundred million US dollars.

Jiang Jianfeng's prestige and influence surged instantly.

Morning.

"Director, this is the latest news from the Central Daily News; many party elders have high praise for your tiger-hunting campaign, even regarding you as the hope for reform."

Hong Zhiyou took the newspaper and walked into the office.

"We must be humble and cautious."

"Sun Ke just called me, saying he hopes I will acquire the supplies in Wang Chunzhe's hands."

"Long Tao went to investigate."

"The goods hoarded by Wang Chunzhe and his son far exceed those of Du Weiping."

"The Wang father and son are doing a fine job for certain people; how can the spirit of Mr. Sun rest in peace in heaven?"

Jiang Jianfeng sighed.

"Did he mention an acquisition plan?" Hong Zhiyou asked.

"Double the market price," Jiang Jianfeng said.

"That high?"

"If we buy Wang Chunzhe's, Kong Lingkan will definitely demand even more."

"In the end, wouldn't the gold and US dollars that the common people exchanged for Gold Yuan Notes just flow from the national treasury into the Kong family's pockets?"

"Wouldn't we become accomplices to the Kong family?"

Hong Zhiyou saw at a glance that the matter was not simple.

"Indeed."

"Sun Ke has merit for standing up to Li Zongren on behalf of his father, and he is Mr. Sun's son; this matter puts me in a very difficult position."

"It's possible this is a trap instigated by the Kong family."

"If I let the Wang father and son go, I have to let the Kong family go."

"Given the current daily consumption of grain reserves, if we don't take down the Kong family, the economic reform could collapse overnight, and our hard work would be in vain, failing the trust placed in us by the Generalissimo."

Jiang Jianfeng walked to the window with his hands behind his back, feeling troubled.

"How about this: I will neither refuse nor agree to Sun Ke."

"You go and talk to the Wang father and son."

"Acquire them at market price or lower."

"If they are willing to sell at a low price, it will set an example for the Kong family, and everyone will be at ease."

"If they are not willing..."

Jiang Jianfeng glanced at him without finishing the sentence.

"This subordinate understands," Hong Zhiyou said without the slightest hesitation, accepting the order.

Jiang Jianfeng was tied down by damned upper-level relationships.

He wanted him to come out and shoulder the pressure as a lone official.

Let him be a lone official then.

In any case, there were three months left; once Jinhai was liberated, he would go to Hong Kong.

People like Sun Ke would either go abroad.

Or they would go to the island.

As for the island, ultimately, Jiang Jianfeng would still have the final say.

Therefore, as long as he clung tightly to Jiang Jianfeng, other social niceties could be cut off; they were of little use.

"Zhiyou!"

"We must weather the difficulties together... weather the difficulties together!"

Seeing him agree so resolutely, Jiang Jianfeng couldn't help but feel a warmth in his heart.

It was just that, due to his status as a superior, and furthermore, he didn't have the habit of making promises to people, the words about sharing future fortunes never left his lips; he only patted Hong Zhiyou's shoulder firmly.

"This subordinate will definitely give it his all!"

Hong Zhiyou accepted the order sternly.

(End of chapter)