Chapter 49: Planning for the Future

Hong Zhiyou entered the Station Chief's office.

Wu Jingzhong was in a great mood: "Zhiyou, you have performed a great service this time.

"Regarding the things confiscated from the Yamato Maru in the warehouse and from Yang Guoqing, you should have Yu Zecheng take you to pick one item.

"Pick whatever you like; take whatever you want."

"Station Chief, antiques, calligraphy, and paintings are wasted in my hands.

"If you really want to reward your student, give me some more health-nourishing tonics; those things are useful."

Hong Zhiyou did not stand on ceremony and said with a slick smile.

"Easy enough, come to my house for dinner tomorrow night," Wu Jingzhong readily agreed.

"Understood!"

He paced back and forth with his hands behind his back:

"This dog traitor Mu Liancheng has quite a lot of good things.

"I originally wanted to use the momentum to raid the naval warehouse tonight to avoid complications.

"Who the hell knew that Marshall's son-in-law and his party wouldn't go to the embassy, but instead lingered at the Marine barracks, saying they wanted to investigate the recent theft of American equipment.

"They don't want to be good angels, they just have to be road-blocking ghosts.

"Isn't that just being idle?"

"Teacher, I saw Mu Liancheng packing crates today," Hong Zhiyou said.

"He is planning to run.

"In that case, you work a bit harder, run between the Yong family and the Mu family, and have your little girlfriend keep a close watch.

"After the matter is settled, I will personally remove her label."

Wu Jingzhong said.

"Teacher, how about I don't go to the Yong family.

"I can manage making a little money, but catching Red agents is a head-lopping business..."

Hong Zhiyou said, looking troubled.

He really did not want to wade into these muddy waters; it was easy to get shot in the back.

"I underestimated Mu Liancheng; you really shouldn't have been dragged into the Yong family's business.

"In a few days, Boss Dai is going to send Wang Puchen to Beiping to be Han Hansan's deputy.

"He specifically requested that Wang Puchen pass through Jinhai.

"This man was a classmate of Boss Dai's in primary school back in Jiangzhe; the Boss trusts him very much.

"An imperial envoy is sitting in command.

"The arrow is on the string; it must be fired.

"Whether we expose our backsides or our faces, it all depends on this one shot.

"The Yong family, you must go!"

Wu Jingzhong rubbed his brow, looking very troubled as he gave the order.

"Alright," Hong Zhiyou accepted the order.

"A fair lady is a good match for a gentleman.

"Don't be under too much pressure.

"Women, once they are in bed, are just fish on the chopping block; you can take whatever you want from them.

"What intelligence or news can't you get?"

Seeing that he was emotional, Wu Jingzhong smiled and comforted him.

"This student will do his best," Hong Zhiyou smiled and accepted the order.

"By the way, Commander Chen's guns and artillery have arrived, but they are all damaged goods.

"Tomorrow, you go to the Army Hospital again.

"Director Ding Defeng will give you a batch of medicine; reach a deal with the Yong family as soon as possible, lure out the big fish, and completely destroy the Red agents' transport line."

Wu Jingzhong instructed solemnly.

"Understood," Hong Zhiyou nodded.

"Ah, I can finally get a good night's sleep tonight."

Wu Jingzhong slapped his thigh and stood up happily to leave.

You bastard, you're sleeping soundly because you're raking in the gold and silver.

What about me?

Diving headfirst into a nest of Red agents, only a ghost could sleep.

Hong Zhiyou walked toward his office.

Yu Zecheng flashed over from the side of the hallway and shook his hand:

"Zhiyou, thank you so much today."

"Old Yu, you're too polite.

"Actually, you know very well that the Station Chief calls the shots in Jinhai; even if Mao Sen came in person, he wouldn't dare do anything to you.

"You, you just think too much and are too cautious."

Hong Zhiyou laughed.

"It's good to be cautious.

"I'm not going back tonight; I'm sleeping in the office," Yu Zecheng said.

"Why?" Hong Zhiyou was puzzled.

"The Station Chief is too stingy.

"The things he let me pick aren't worth much; they don't even cover Mao Sen's capital."

"True, Mao Sen is afraid of being held accountable by Boss Dai, but the Military Statistics Bureau has an old tradition of shooting people in the back.

"Are you sure Mao Sen won't be in a fit of rage and find someone to put a bullet in me?"

Yu Zecheng gave a bitter smile.

Hong Zhiyou knew he was acting.

It was true that Mao Sen had suffered a small loss and been humiliated, but he wouldn't be stupid enough to provoke Boss Dai's wrath at a time like this.

Yu Zecheng was pretending to be afraid.

It could also be considered a roundabout way of currying favor with Wu Jingzhong.

After all, the Station Chief was making a fortune.

The "culprit" who performed the service was the one taking the heat.

It was understandable to play the part.

But Wu Jingzhong could see his loyalty and attitude in handling the matter.

Sigh, Old Yu really has it tough day after day.

Undercover work is not easy.

"Fine, avoid the limelight for a few days!

"Enough talk, I'm so tired I can't even keep my eyes open; I'm going to sleep."

Hong Zhiyou waved his hand, turned, and entered his office.

Late at night.

Liu San walked out of the Xiuchun Pavilion, drunk.

Just as he turned into an alley, a dark shadow flashed out, and a heavy club smashed into his head.

"Ugh!"

Liu San let out a muffled groan and passed out cold.

When he woke up.

He was already in a dark, secret room.

"Are you Liu San?" Under the dim oil lamp, a scarred, burly man asked coldly.

"Yes!

"Who, who are you?" Liu San was filled with terror.

"What did Ma Kui want with you?" the scarred man asked.

"What Ma Kui? I don't know him," Liu San stammered, playing dumb.

The scarred man pulled a short knife from his waist, grabbed Liu San's ear, and sliced it off in one stroke.

Blood gushed out.

Liu San let out a pig-like shriek.

"Are you going to talk?" The scarred man was ruthless and didn't waste words; he grabbed his other ear.

"I'll talk, I'll talk."

Liu San was so scared he wet his pants and confessed honestly:

"Ma, Ma Kui asked my father to monitor Yong Jianqiu.

"Yong is an important Red agent in the Jinhai underground; through him, we can catch the big fish."

"Who is your father?" the scarred man asked.

"The Yong family's butler, Liu Fu." Liu San blurted it all out.

"Anything else you haven't confessed?"

"Think carefully, think clearly." Scar's knife pressed against Liu San's neck.

"Yes, yes."

"My father discovered the secret passage the Yong family used to contact the regional committee officials."

"It was in a teahouse."

Liu San dared not hide anything and confessed everything, one by one.

"Anything else?" Scar asked.

"Nothing else," Liu San said.

"Puchi!"

Liu San, deceased.

The next day.

Hong Zhiyou went to Hongfa Teahouse at noon.

"Secretary Hong, this is yours."

As soon as they met, Long Er took off his sunglasses and handed over a box.

Inside were fifteen large gold bars and several rolls of US dollars.

"Brother Er, why so much?" Hong Zhiyou was overjoyed.

"This is just the beginning."

"These are from Yang Wenquan's arms, plus my share of the Cao Gang's dividends from last month."

"I said it before, we are brothers, my life is yours."

"You must have a share of the Cao Gang's money."

"In the future, if we two brothers cooperate, you have the means and I provide the muscle, we won't have to worry about not making money."

Long Er laughed.

"Thank you, Brother Er." Hong Zhiyou used tea to replace wine and toasted him.

"By the way."

"Your share of Zhang Si's assets hasn't been cashed out yet; recently, US dollars and gold bars are tight in the market, so they aren't easy to exchange."

"I'll give it to you later, or I can exchange it for real estate."

After a pause, Long Er said.

"Forget the real estate, I only want gold bars."

"No, US dollars would be best."

"You can go find Vice Prefect Qian to exchange it; he has plenty of US bills."

"As for antiques, cars, houses, and the like, I don't mind if the valuation is a bit lower, I just want to liquidate them."

Hong Zhiyou waved his hand and said.

Gold is hard to carry when running away later; US dollars are more convenient.

The key is to exchange them with Vice Prefect Qian.

Later, when the station chief and I wash him out, I can recover a wave of capital myself.

A win-win, no loss.

"You don't like real estate?"

"Right now, those merchants and officers are all scrambling for the Western-style houses on Fifth Avenue."

"Especially those people in the Beiyang Cabinet, they only recognize this; it's worth a fortune, you can make a lot just by flipping it, why don't you want it?"

"Little brother, you're in such a hurry to liquidate, you aren't planning to run away, are you?"

Long Er asked curiously.

"You could say that."

"Brother Long Er, have you ever thought about the future?" Hong Zhiyou nodded meaningfully.

"What's there to think about? Holding onto the Cao Gang's territory is enough to spend for three lifetimes." Long Er picked up a piece of food and laughed casually.

"The Red Party is fighting the landlords and dividing the land; once the Nationalist government falls, the first people to be liquidated will be people like you!"

"When that time comes, let alone money, you won't even be able to keep your head."

Hong Zhiyou led him toward his own plan.

"No way."

"The Nationalist government has excellent firearms and a million troops."

"And we have famous generals like Xue Yue and Chen Cheng, plus the support of the Americans."

"Hu Zongnan has the border region surrounded so tightly now; not to mention attacking, if we just drag it out for three or five years, we can starve them to death."

"How could the Nationalist government possibly lose?"

Long Er chuckled, unconvinced.

"You can't think of everything too optimistically; you have to make preparations for both outcomes."

"I've heard that US dollars and gold bars circulate very well in Xiangdao and Aodao, and it's a mixed bag of people, a breeding ground for gangs."

"You should send people over to lay the groundwork first, preferably to open a water and land shipping company."

"In the future, if there is any change, we can transfer our assets at any time."

"By then, with six thousand Cao Gang disciples and some weaponry, we can carve out a territory in a slightly remote walled city."

"Advancing, we can dominate a region; retreating, we can enter Nanyang."

"Wouldn't it be good to learn from Li Jun?"

Hong Zhiyou plotted.

The fall of Jinhai is not far off; he must convince Long Er to engage in "major development."

The early days of Xiangdao and Aodao.

If you have a group of brothers carrying "fire sticks," you can dominate the underground world; at the very least, you could be a local tyrant like those in the Kowloon Walled City, and life would still be quite comfortable.

(End of chapter)