Chapter 21: Legal tender

'I knew about Qingpu a long time ago.'

'Where did you find so many veterans? You didn't train them yourself.'

'Have you heard of the rural army?'

'Oh!'

Zhang Chu understood.

It turned out to be the Japanese invaders' retired veterans!

Anyway, after the Japanese invaders' veterans were discharged, they had to be registered.

They could be re-recruited if necessary. After the full-scale outbreak of the War of Resistance, those divisions and regiments with serial numbers in the 10s came into being.

'It's easy to recruit them. 30 yen a month. They'll do anything.'

'There are many more like them.'

'This time, their target was your Kong family's warehouse. Next time, I don't know who it will be.'

'Threatening me?'

'Isn't this normal operation?'

'Haha.'

Zhang Yong didn't get angry.

A contest between civilized people, right? Fine, then kill them all!

A certain country almost wiped out the indigenous Indians. Later generations also hailed it as a beacon of human civilization. I can learn from that.

'You have offended Colonel Iwasaki, and the consequences will be severe.'

'Who is Iwasaki?'

'He is General Tojiro's protégé.'

'Oh...'

So it's Tojiro!

I understand.

He's famous, everyone knows his name.

His opponent is actually him? Suddenly, he felt motivated.

'Does he have money?'

'What?'

'Nothing.'

Zhang Yong shook his head.

It was strange, why did he ask such a question?

Money?

Killing the Japanese invaders is for money?

Of course. If there is, it would naturally be better. It's like this operation.

Before, he seemed to lack motivation. But since Li Boqi gave him two silver dollars, it was as if he had been injected with adrenaline, and his energy immediately came back.

His courage seemed to have returned. He was not afraid of fighting anymore.

This inevitably made Zhang Yong a little worried about himself, wondering if he would not be enslaved by the big money.

However, if he could kill the Japanese invaders while also robbing them of all their property, it would feel really good!

The Japanese invaders' property had all been looted from China. Robbing it back would be returning it to its rightful owners. So there was no psychological burden.

'Do you know which of those groups has the most money?'

'You want money?'

'Shh! Don't say it so loud! I just want to take back what belongs to us Chinese.'

'Qiang.'

'What?'

'There's a group with the code name [Qiang]. As in rose. Very rich.'

'Meng Chaowei's group?'

'No. This group is even richer than Meng Chaowei.'

'Thank you!'

Zhang Yong turns around and leaves.

He was motivated. He immediately went out to sweep the streets.

Meng Chaowei's Shenghua Silk Mill made hundreds of thousands of dollars in profit a year.

Richer than him? How much was that?

A million a year?

Wow...

'Detective Zhang, think about it,' Yan Guangkun said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

'Give me a Concubine Duan and I'll work for you,' Zhang Yong responded without any pretence.

'It's settled,'

'It's settled,'

Zhang Yong said seriously.

Report back to Li Boqi. Include the conversation with Yan Guangkun. No secrets.

'Richer than Meng Chaowei?'

'Yes.'

'Then he must be the owner of some hidden company.'

'It's possible.'

Zhang Yong thought the same thing.

Meng Chaowei's identity was the owner of Shenghua Silk Mill.

If the other Japanese person also hid their identity and set up a company in the name of a Chinese person...

The problem was that Lin Xiaoyan had not revealed any detailed information.

This woman is very cunning.

She just mentioned it in passing, without giving any details.

If you want her to reveal the real information, it is absolutely impossible. If you want to find someone, you have to go out and search for them yourself.

'What is the situation with that No. 6?'

'I'm not sure.'

'What do you know, team leader? Where should I start?'

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'The people around that Nationalist army major have all been combed through. But apart from the rickshaw puller, no other Japanese have ever been found. However, I deduce that there must be a second Japanese.'

'Why?'

'There must be someone who contacts the Nationalist army major and negotiates the terms. And then hands it over to the rickshaw puller to follow up.'

'Couldn't the rickshaw puller also be the one who recruited the Nationalist army major?'

'No. There must be two separate people. Otherwise, that Nationalist army major would not have been so obedient.'

'Then I'll go find the second Japanese.'

'Good. Here are your official documents. There's a photo.'

'Photo?'

Zhang Yong was taken aback.

It seemed that no one had even asked him to take a photo. How could there be a photo?

'It was brought over from the police station,' Li Boqi said, intentionally or unintentionally. "Your file has been completely removed. No one will be able to access your file except for us from the Lixing Society. At the same time, arrangements will be made for your family to be transferred to Nanjing in the near future.'

'Ah? To Nanjing?" Zhang Yong was very surprised.

Arrange for the family to move?

There's going to be a war soon?

Shouldn't there be more than two years?

'This is the rule,' Li Boqi said. 'The families of key personnel must all live in Nanjing.'

'Yes,' Zhang Yong suddenly understood.

This is a kind of monitoring in a sense. To prevent people from defecting.

Of course, sending the family members to a different place can also better protect the family members. So as to avoid retaliation by the enemy.

It can also make you work wholeheartedly. Don't always think about home. It's best to treat the Lixing Society as your own home.

'Can they be sent to Chongqing or Chengdu?'

'You want to send them that far?'

'If possible...'

'Yes,'

Li Boqi's answer was very decisive.

Zhang Yong immediately felt relieved. This was the right decision. It would save the trouble of having to move again later.

'But going somewhere else will have to be at your own expense.'

'Er...'

Zhang Yong was at a loss for words.

He wondered if there were any real estate agents in Nanjing at the time.

If there were, they would certainly be laughing their heads off.

'I'm willing to pay for it myself.'

'You've thought it through.'

'I have. I'm worried about the war.'

'That's Nanjing,'

Li Boqi shakes his head.

He thinks Zhang Yong is worrying too much. If Nanjing is unsafe, where is safe?

Zhang Yong doesn't explain this in detail. It's better to let people think he's afraid of death. It's the perfect disguise. The key is to send his family to Sichuan and Chongqing. Then find somewhere to settle down.

The prerequisite is to have money.

Well, he needs to make money. A lot of money.

The 100 silver dollars he was previously awarded are definitely not enough. He needs to get at least a few hundred.

And maybe you need to get in with the right people in Sichuan and Chongqing.

Preferably the triads or something.

Actually, Chongqing is not safe either. Not as safe as Chengdu.

In fact, during the eight years of war, Chengdu was the safest city. Kunming is not bad either. Guiyang is too remote.

'Ding-ling-ling!'

'Ding-ling-ling!'

The phone suddenly rings.

Li Boqi picks it up. Zhang Yong then says goodbye. But Li Boqi stops him with a gesture.

Don't go yet. We're not finished. Zhang Yong had to stand still.

Soon, Li Boqi finished talking on the phone. He stood up and said, 'Let's go. We're going to the pier.'

'The pier?' Zhang Yong was surprised. What for?

Where is the pier in Songhu, anyway? Is it by the sea? Or by the river?

As a newcomer, Xiaomengxin rarely ventured beyond his own little area. I don't understand!

'Right. Tianzi Pier.'

'What happened?'

'It's also the Ministry of Finance's business. A box of legal tender was stolen.'

'Legal tender?'

'Yes. Legal tender to be issued soon. It was just printed in the United States and returned. When disembarking, it was discovered that one box was missing.'

'A box of legal tender is not worth much, right? Do we need to get it?'

'It's not a matter of value. It's a matter of it not yet being issued. If it's stolen by someone with ulterior motives, it could be counterfeited. And then it could disrupt the currency market.'

'I see.'

'Also, one dollar bill is equivalent to one dollar, so even if you lose tens of thousands of dollars, it's worth tens of thousands of dollars.'

'Got it!'

Zhang Yong immediately perked up.

Tens of thousands of dollars!

Tens of thousands of dollars!

I'm coming!