Chapter 322: Father-in-law and Son-in-law Join Forces to Settle Everything

"Philson fell into the sea?"

"A perfectly fine person, how could he fall into the sea?"

Lu Qiao felt as if his whole body were plunged into an ice cellar; murmuring, he collapsed powerlessly into his chair.

Trafficking opium.

Selling red wine.

In the final analysis, it didn't rely on that Second Miss of the Kong family, but on the direct facilitator, Philson.

Once Philson was dead, the Cherry brand could no longer be pushed through the Jinhai municipal government or the upper echelons of the garrison.

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

In other words.

The eighty thousand US dollars he had invested had gone down the drain.

"It's fake, it must be fake.

"Sufang, ask again."

Long Er also wore a look of panic and loss.

"Could this be a counterattack from Hong Zhiyou?

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

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

"Impossible.

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

"Even the Generalissimo treats the Americans as if they were 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 matter is to find Powell as soon as possible to get the money back, and let the damn Cherry brand go to hell."

Lu Qiao also began to pound the table.

"Enough.

"Arguing here won't solve anything.

"Director Lu, you are responsible for finding out the situation on Philson's side; after all, it's 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 instructions.

"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 is dead.

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

"But killing you two is still not difficult.

"If the eighty thousand US dollars can't be recovered, I'll see you in the Secret Service interrogation room, and I will make you taste every trick inside!"

A thick, icy murderous intent permeated behind Lu Qiao's round-rimmed glasses as he pointed coldly at the two of them.

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

Lu Qiao was not 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 mocking.

But this money was his entire life's savings.

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 Qiao 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 team.

The remaining two-thirds of the munitions to recoup his losses had also been delayed.

Once Philson died, given the nature of the Americans, the newly appointed commander would certainly not acknowledge the debt, and this batch of munitions would likely go down the drain.

One must know that for this business, 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 swallow him alive.

Returning home.

Lu Qiao didn't even take off his suit; he threw his bag down, lay on the sofa in a sprawl, and panted heavily.

"Xiufen, I, my chest hurts."

He felt his heartbeat getting faster and faster, and he was about to suffocate.

Li Xiufen hurriedly found medicine and fed it to him.

"Qiao, look at you, being bullied all day; if this continues, you'll lose your life. Can we just stop doing this business?" Li Xiufen said while wiping tears and loosening his clothes.

"Sigh.

"There is no way out.

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

Lu Qiao rested his head on the sofa and let out a listless, heavy sigh.

"Xiufen.

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

"If, I mean if I'm no longer here, go find Hong Zhiyou and apologize, and try to keep Lu Ming's operating rights 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 Qiao stroked her hair and smiled bitterly.

"Qiao, what are you saying?

"What do you mean by not being here?

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

Ring-a-ling.

The phone rang.

"You go answer it.

"If it's Director Zheng, just say I'm out and haven't returned yet." Lu Qiao managed to muster a bit of energy to say.

"I, I know."

Li Xiufen answered it.

"Director Zheng.

"Qiao... Qiao hasn't returned yet. Okay, okay, I'll have him call you back when he returns."

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

"It's Zheng Jiemin."

"Sigh.

"He won't let me go.

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

"Heaven bless, let Philson live, live."

Lu Qiao began to mutter to himself.

Lin Sufang returned to the Boatmen's Guild, feeling soul-lost.

She made several calls to the military camp in a row, but all were met with "no comment."

"Sufang, don't be afraid.

"If Philson is dead, it just means changing to another commander; we'll just take more money to bribe them.

"I don't believe there are any Americans these days who don't love money."

Long Er comforted her.

"Second Brother.

"Recently, we've been raising wages for the workers.

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

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

Lin Sufang sighed and said.

"No way.

"Such a big Boatmen's Guild, and 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 banks could withdraw at any time, and Hong Zhiyou would give you a share of the liquor profits every month.

"Now, that man surnamed Hong has blocked the two banks in his hands.

"There are no more liquor profit dividends either.

"The Boatmen's Guild's main revenue relies on the docks, shipping, and casinos; except for the casinos, the settlement cycles for the others are relatively long."

"Expenditures exceed income, so naturally, the money is dwindling."

Lin Sufang explained.

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

"To reshuffle the deck and cut through the Gordian knot, one must rely on throwing money around."

"If Anderson could stay alive, we could subsequently devour Hong Zhiyou and have a steady stream of massive income."

"But now..."

Lin Sufang looked troubled and could not continue.

She had indeed studied economics and psychology, and she believed that this set of tactics would be enough to finish off Hong Zhiyou.

But what she had not expected was that money really does not last long.

The appetites of the foreigners were too large, and those many mouths in the Boatmen's Guild were truly money pits.

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

"The money from the opium—Anderson held a batch of goods, and the previous batches sold were distributed through the Kong family's channels."

"You know that the Kong family was originally trafficking this with people like Du Yuesheng."

"Now, the payment for the goods has yet to be recovered."

"I'm afraid this money... 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.

Once it passed through the hands of Miss Kong Er, the goods had long since been shipped out; if they could have settled the payment, they would have done so long ago—could it really have been dragged out until now?

Clearly, the Boatmen's Guild were pure laborers.

"Sigh."

"I know you are a person of Miss Kong Er, and you came to Jinhai to eat Hong Zhiyou and me."

"However, I am still grateful that Heaven allowed me to meet you again and possess you."

"I don't have that many ulterior motives."

"I only know that you are carrying my child."

"Being able to say these words and stand by me, I, Long Er, did not dote on you in vain."

"Sufang, things have reached this point, and thinking more is useless. Just tell me, what should we do?"

Long Er said.

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

"Second Brother, go to a couple of money shops and borrow some money."

"Also, collect the accounts from the casinos to scrape together some funds first."

"I will go find Miss Kong Er and see if I can get her to advance us some money to hold out until the new commander takes office and we see how things stand." After a long while, Lin Sufang said, bracing herself.

"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 is no liquid cash in the accounts, so he cannot advance it to me."

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

"What about the casinos?" Lin Sufang said.

"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 is no revenue in the accounts," Long Er said.

"He is just fobbing you off; he and Hong Zhiyou are clearly in cahoots."

"These turncoats."

Lin Sufang cursed.

"They have 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 is waiting for news about Anderson; to be precise, the entire Kong family is waiting," Lin Sufang said.

"Fine, then we wait."

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

"If he dies, we will continue to throw money at the next commander," Long Er nodded and said.

"Die... Second Brother, I think we should take the initiative."

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

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

"I will 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 from the Nanchang Investigation Section; this is his old trade, and besides, with him covering the bottom line, things will be much easier to handle," Lin Sufang said.

"Good, I will 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's head meat and sausage, plus half a liang of sweet potato liquor from Ludong—care for a small drink?" As he spoke, he deftly laid everything out on the coffee table.

"Wonderful."

"Finally, I can achieve freedom in mutton soup."

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

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

"It ended up having no flavor at all."

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

He took a taste, then took a bite of the crunchy stuffed flatbread, and immediately praised it:

"Hmm, not bad, it has a bit of the flavor I had back when I was in the Northwest District."

"From now on, this is the routine."

"While the mother and daughter aren't coming back for a while, I'll eat my fill first."

"If Master likes it, I will 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 in the station," Wu Jingzhong could drink, but he was not a heavy drinker.

"I know."

"Anderson is dead," Hong Zhiyou said in a low voice.

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

"Sure."

"On the way to Qingdao last night, the waves were too high, he drank too much, his foot slipped, and he accidentally fell into the sea."

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

"The U. . military is currently sealing off the news; I estimate that even the Generalissimo hasn't heard a whisper yet."

Hong Zhiyou smiled faintly.

"Good."

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

"Sit, you have a cup too," he ordered.

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

"Without Anderson, this business of the Kong family cannot be done either."

"Is Miss Kong Er still lingering in Jinhai?"

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

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

"Unless I bleed a significant amount, I don't think Miss Kong Er 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 from power after all; without Kong Xiangxi's official status, and coupled with their historically ugly way of doing things, there are fewer people who buy their act."

"I gave Song Ziliang nearly half less in dividends this month."

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

"Furthermore, Miss Kong Er may be muddled, but she is still human."

"When Boss Dai was alive, 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 harsh threats to assassinate him."

"If she doesn't leave soon, I'll find two old soldiers to go over and drill her."

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

As expected, Wu Jingzhong immediately objected:

"Absolutely not.

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

"Miss Kong Er is the apple of Madam Jiang's eye, even dearer than her own daughter.

"If you touch a single hair on her head, it is equivalent to acting against the Madam and the Jiang family. It concerns the face of the Leader; you must not act recklessly.

"If you touch her.

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

"He has been waiting for this opportunity for a long time.

"You have some ability now, but you are still too green to try and arm-wrestle the entire Nationalist Government.

"This plan must never be carried out."

He set down his wine glass and warned Hong Zhiyou very seriously.

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

He was doing it on purpose.

Recently, he had accomplished several major tasks in succession, all of which had surpassed old Wu.

If he didn't show a bit of clumsiness, old Wu, who had always controlled the overall situation, would feel uncomfortable.

Now, there was no longer any suspicion or the like.

He was only afraid that old Wu would feel that he had risen up, harbor thoughts of retiring, and consequently stop using his brain, wasting all that wisdom and calculation.

People only progress through constant struggle.

He had to get old Wu moving.

"Teacher, the student is confused; please provide 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 replied.

"Should we use the leprosy scare to drive her away again?"

"No, the leprosy trick works well, but it brings social panic and requires coordination between multiple departments; it's too troublesome to operate. Zhang Tinge and Chen Zhangjie could play along with us once, but they won't cooperate every time.

"After all, if someone reports it to the Leader, it will be a troublesome affair."

Wu Jingzhong shook his head and said.

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

"You are right, fear of filth.

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

"At a meeting two days ago, Zhang Tinge was still complaining to me that the steel pipes at the waterworks are leaking severely. Now that prices are skyrocketing, water fees haven't been collected, and the losses are severe.

"The Ji'an Waterworks is about to close down.

"It just so happens that you can have the water company cut off the water supply to the area where Miss Kong is staying.

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

Wu Jingzhong said.

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

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

"The common people have thick skin. If you cut off their grain, they will dig for wild vegetables and gnaw on edible clay. If you cut off their water, with such a large Haihe River, Luanhe River, and wells, can they really just die of thirst?

"You are now considered a person of status in Jinhai City.

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

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

"They care about whether their thrones are stable and if their pockets are full of silver; who cares about the common people?

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

"Universal harmony is the faith of the Reds.

"It has nothing to do with you and 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 had a burden on his mind.

This was also the reason he trusted Hong Zhiyou and was willing to entrust Rui Rui to him.

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

Although not much, in this world, it already counted as a living Bodhisattva.

"Good, but Teacher, I want to delay for a while and let them fight among themselves first.

"I have already sent word to the foreign firms and underground banks.

"It will be very difficult for Long Er to secure funding.

"The Cao Gang just spent a huge sum to buy the Cherry brand; they need money for the distillery and marketing, so they will be busy enough.

"When the time comes, given Lin Tao's character, the first thing she will cut is the wages of the Cao Gang workers.

"I'm afraid it will be even worse than before.

"In that way, when I take it over later and restore their normal wages, they will be grateful to me; it will be far better than taking it over now and cutting their pay, which would cause public resentment.

"And there is Lu Qiaoshan.

"This person has always been petty, especially regarding money.

"With the death of Anderson, his arms deal went down the drain, and he lost his house and all his assets.

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

"Later, if I give him a little sweetness, he will inevitably launch a crazy counterattack against Long Er and the others.

"Having him act as the executioner is far better than me stepping in myself.

"After all, there is the Kong family in between.

"I will avoid it as much as I can."

Hong Zhiyou said.

"Hmm.

"That is the way a smart person acts.

"Then you must first sound out Lu Qiaoshan and let him find his way back."

Wu Jingzhong downed his wine in one gulp and stood up to open the window to let the smell out.

"Take a look at this."

He returned to his desk and pulled out a document from inside.

Hong Zhiyou opened it and read: "Proposed establishment of a Special Action Inspection Group to specifically coordinate with various Grade A stations of the Secret Service Bureau, local offices of the Dangtong Bureau, the Three People's Principles Youth League, and the Garrison Command Inspection Division. The head of the inspection group will be Hou Teng, Director of the Second Department.

"The inspection group will report directly to and be responsible to the Ministry of National Defense."

"The Jinhai Special Action Inspection Group will be headed 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 now stand on equal footing with you and Sun Chuanzhi."

"Yes, this time the killing of students has shown his might. Integrating the intelligence system is the Leader's intention, and the list of personnel was also personally approved by him.

"What did I say? Lu Qiaoshan would continue to rise.

"This so-called Special Action Inspection Group, isn't it just the same old business of violently suppressing students and workers, tricking young men into joining the army, and forcibly conscripting them?

"And they call it a 'Special Action.'

"Going around in circles, it's just the same old routine from the May Thirtieth Incident years ago.

"They have no shame left at all."

Wu Jingzhong sneered with disdain.

"Teacher, take on less work for 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 get along with the Secret Service Bureau and the Inspection Division.

"I'm afraid the Leader is just going to waste his efforts again."

Hong Zhiyou said.

"Regardless, I will hold onto the document for now.

"Before the official notice comes down, you should suppress him first and stabilize him.

"At the very least, we cannot be enemies."

Wu Jingzhong instructed.

"Understood," Hong Zhiyou nodded.

(End of chapter)