Chapter 604: It's almost New Year's Eve

The phone call was from Kong Fansong.

It had been a long time since I had dealt with this god of wealth. It was a bit strange.

I was a bit upset at first. But that quickly disappeared.

There was nothing I could do, the other party had money.

The Kong family controlled the Ministry of Finance, and there were so many ways to make money.

Frankly speaking, at this moment in time, the Kong family must have more personal assets than the Prime Minister and his wife.

He responded with a smile, 'Director Kong, what can I do for you?'

'If I called you in the middle of the night and there was no benefit, I wouldn't dare!' Kong Fansong seemed to be in a very good mood.

'You name it. You name it. I won't sleep and I'll get it done,' Zhang Yong assured him, patting his chest.

This was his persona.

Greedy for money. Lustful. He was tempted by any advantage.

Occasionally, he feels that this might not work. But it is hard to change old habits.

Besides, with these two layers of disguise, everything seems to go more smoothly. No one is particularly vigilant towards him. Even his own enemies are like this.

On the contrary, if he makes himself out to be like Yan Shuangying, then he is finished. His opponents will also be super powerful.

'I dare not. But there is something urgent.'

'Say it.'

'Right now, I have a boat that's about to enter the Qiantang River dock. But something happened on the boat. I don't want to alert anyone else. I heard that you're in Hangzhou, so I'll have to trouble you. I'm really sorry...'

'I'll go to the dock now.'

'Thank you!'

'Wait for my news!'

'Okay!'

'I'm going!'

Zhang Yong hung up the phone and immediately got up.

He checked the map in passing. He discovered that Jiang Guohu was still alive. It's okay.

He simply dressed. He opened the door and went out. He said to the person on duty outside the door, 'Wake everyone up immediately. There's an urgent mission.'

'Yes.' The agent on duty hurriedly woke everyone up.

As a result...

Yang Lichu was also woken up.

She was wearing a dressing gown and came over to Zhang Yong's room curiously.

'What's going on?'

'You...'

Zhang Yong was stunned for a moment. Then he reacted.

Oh, he had given the wrong order. He had originally told all the agents to wake up. But that didn't include Yang Lichu.

But leaving Yang Lichu alone in the hotel is not safe either. Just take her with you. It's already 4am anyway. It'll be dawn in three hours. She can make up for the lack of sleep when she gets back. She just eats, sleeps and does nothing every day, so it's no big deal.

'Kong Fansong asked me to go to the pier.'

'What for?'

'Something happened to the Kong family's ship. He asked me to go and have a look.'

'What is it?'

'I won't know until I get there.'

'Then I'll go with you!'

'Good!'

Zhang Yong nodded.

Yang Lichu then went back to wash up and change clothes.

Zhang Yong suddenly remembered something. For this matter, Lao Bai must be brought along. Lao Bai could not stay at the hotel.

'Ring ring ring...'

'Ring ring ring...'

Suddenly, the phone rang.

Zhang Yong picked up the receiver. It was Gu Bafeng calling.

'Shaolong, Kong Fansong asked me to go to the pier with you. I'll be under your command. It might be a bit dangerous.'

'OK. Wait for me outside the pier.'

'OK!'

Gu Bafeng hung up.

Everyone moved quickly and without any nonsense.

Zhang Yong called Lao Bai. Five people stayed behind at the hotel to continue guarding the Japanese spy. Everyone else followed.

Gu Bafeng had warned that there might be some danger, so of course he didn't dare take it lightly.

Did Kong Fansong not tell him because he was worried that he wouldn't go?

However, there are the people he brought with him, and there are also Gu Bafeng's military police, which adds up to hundreds of people. There should be nothing to fear.

Xuan Tiewu is unlikely to not even give the Kong family face.

Set off. Arrived at the pier.

Gu Bafeng is quick, and has arrived early.

This guy, fully armed. He also brought three submachine guns. The number of people has also increased by a full 100.

It is estimated that troops were mobilised from the Hangzhou Military Police Headquarters.

Alas, having military power is good. You can always mobilise more manpower. No wonder the Director spared no effort in setting up the Righteous Army.

After all, the end of power is military power!

As long as you have military power, in ancient times, you were a warlord!

It's more or less the same now...

Anyone with a gun is a king. No one wants to be the second Wang Jiale.

'What danger?'

'Let's go in and talk.'

'Okay!'

The group went in.

Outside, heavily armed military police. At the centre were the secret agents led by Qin Lishan.

'What danger?'

'Five people mysteriously disappeared from the ship.'

'Disappeared? Mysteriously?'

'Yes.'

'Dead?'

'No one has seen them alive or dead.'

'Really?'

Zhang Yong couldn't help but doubt.

Is there such a thing? Five people, alive and well, have actually disappeared?

'Jumped into the sea?'

'I don't know.'

'Then...'

Zhang Yong frowned.

If they fell into the water, there's no way to find them.

He's not a detective. He doesn't know how to investigate. If he were to solve the case, it would indeed be a bit difficult for him.

If it weren't Kong Fansong who called, he would probably not take on such a task.

He is not a professional. Interfering with the investigation rashly. He would be laughed at, right?

He saw a huge cargo ship in the distance. For a moment, he was a bit surprised.

This cargo ship is even bigger than the one I saw yesterday. Yesterday's ship belonged to the Japanese spy Xu Sheng. It probably had a cargo capacity of 1,000 tons. But the one I'm seeing now is definitely a big one, with a cargo capacity of more than 2,000 tons. Its total displacement may exceed 3,000 tons.

If it were in Europe or America, such a cargo ship would certainly be nothing. However, in China, a cargo ship with a displacement of more than 3,000 tons is definitely considered large.

Cargo ships of this class can definitely not be built domestically. They can only be imported. And they are not cheap.

After all, the Kong family is in charge of the Ministry of Finance, so they have money.

Arrive next to the cargo ship.

Someone is already waiting.

The two parties know each other. The Kong family is also represented. His name is Kong Younian.

Kong Younian is the owner of the ship. The cargo ship is registered in his name. The ship's name is Lucky. Standard displacement 3,500 tons.

It is a bulk carrier. It has four holds. Each can be loaded with a different cargo.

'We have just returned from the South Seas. We loaded with cane sugar.'

'When we left Manila, there were 37 crew members. And 125 passengers.'

'When we passed Guangzhou, 53 passengers disembarked. 137 passengers boarded. And 7 crew members left.'

'When we arrived in Quanzhou...'

'When we arrived in Wenzhou...'

Kong Younian gave a brief introduction. He also brought along the ship's log.

Zhang Yong leafed through the log. It recorded the situation in some detail. How many people came on board. How many people left. How much cargo was unloaded. How much cargo was loaded. It could be concluded that the cargo ship was a bit like a bus. It stopped at every stop. People and goods came and went.

'When did the five people go missing?'

'I don't know.'

'In other words, it is possible that some people went missing when the ship docked in Guangzhou?'

'Maybe!'

Kong Younian couldn't say for sure.

It had never happened to them before. It was because very few guests ever left the ship.

If a guest wanted to leave the ship, they would let the ship know in advance. Relatively speaking, the guests were more nervous about the ship leaving. Because they had already paid.

'Can we go on board and have a look?'

'Please.'

Kong Younian took them on board.

Zhang Yong switched to economy mode. He noticed several gold emblems.

After all, this is the Kong family's boat, and it is only natural that it carries some gold. The fare back from Manila must be a small gold bar.

Switching back to normal mode. There are also several weapon symbols.

This is also obvious. The Kong family's boat must be equipped with weapons.

It is also normal for a boat with more than 30 crew members to be equipped with more than 30 weapons. In addition to ordinary pistols, there may also be machine guns.

The sea outside is not safe. Pirates may appear at any time.

'By the way, are you sailing alone or in a convoy?'

'In a convoy. We have five ships in total. The other four have all gone to the Wusongkou dock.'

'Could it be that those five people got on the wrong ship?'

'I don't think so. The other four ships don't have any passengers. They're all simply transporting cargo.'

'Okay...'

Zhang Yong didn't ask anything else.

It seems that someone like Lin Beiqiu should be hired to investigate.

Apart from catching Japanese spies, his other abilities are really mediocre. Trying to become a famous detective? Too much.

'Did you bring any contraband?' Gu Bafeng suddenly asked.

Zhang Yong: ?

Then he reacted.

Right. I forgot to ask the most important point.

Did the Kong family's ship have any contraband? If so, the situation is much more complicated.

There are many types of contraband. Such as foreign cigarettes, perfume, matches, cameras, film, and so on. They are all considered contraband. No tax is paid on them.

However, more often than not, the so-called contraband actually refers to a specific product. That is opium.

Zhang Yong knew that the Kong family had been selling opium in secret. It was even stored in the Ministry of Finance's warehouse. As a result, it had attracted the attention of Japanese spies.

Now, when the Kong family's fleet returns from the South Seas, it would be unusual if it didn't bring back a little opium.

'Well, we did bring back a little. Just a little.' Sure enough, Kong Younian didn't hide it. But the quantity was obviously not the truth either.

Zhang Yong couldn't help but doubt. Was all the so-called sugar cane sugar, or was it all opium?

On second thought, he felt that this was an exaggeration.

After all, a few thousand tons of sugar cane sugar was understandable. But a few thousand tons of opium would be terrifying.

One ton is 2,000 catties! 5,000 tons of opium is 10 million catties. Such a terrifying quantity would definitely scare anyone to death. Well, I guess the Kong family wouldn't dare to get that much at once. No one in the Nanyang could provide that much either.

Unless they went to the East India Company...

But a few thousand catties is probably possible. This quantity is well within the Kong family's normal digestion capacity.

'Is it all still there?'

'Yes, they are. We've checked carefully.'

'Then I have no further questions.'

Gu Bafeng turned to Zhang Yong.

He had thought someone was after the opium. But that had been denied.

If it wasn't opium, then it was complicated. Where did the five people who had mysteriously disappeared come from?

"Were any of them from your family?'

'No.'

'Then why are you so nervous?'

'It was five British people.'

'What?'

'It was five British people who disappeared.'

'No...'

Zhang Yong paused.

He felt the need to have a good talk with Kong Younian.

This guy, obviously, wasn't telling the truth. Just the five people who went missing, why were they so nervous?

The Kong family was in charge of the Ministry of Finance after all, and they were still brothers-in-law with the Commissioner. What did it matter if five ordinary people went missing? There wouldn't be any problem if a few hundred went missing.

It turned out that five British people went missing. Then the lack of any news became a big problem.

If the British Consulate pressed further...

'Kong, you're not telling the truth!' Gu Bafeng also began to sense that something was wrong.

We're here to solve the problem. Don't treat us like idiots!

You haven't told us a single thing. What's the point?

'You come with me!'

'Okay!'

Kong Younian led Zhang Yong and Gu Bafeng into a cabin.

There were only the three of them. He finally told the truth.

'In Manila, five Englishmen came to see us. Four men and one woman. They said they were from Kuala Lumpur. They wanted to go to Tianjin.'

'They were willing to pay 200 pounds each to be taken from Manila to Shanghai. They would find their own way from Shanghai to Tianjin. I agreed. So they came on board.'

'When we reached Guangzhou, all five of them got off the ship. Then they got back on.'

'When they reached Quanzhou, the British woman got off the ship. Then she got back on. None of the four British men got off the ship.'

'Then, when they reached Wenzhou, none of them got off the ship.'

'Then, when we entered the estuary of the Qiantang River, we discovered that all five of them had disappeared.'

'We searched everywhere on the ship, but we didn't see anyone. So we knew something was wrong. So we reported it on the radio.'

Kong Younian said slowly.

Zhang Yong didn't say anything. Gu Bafeng also didn't say anything.

That was the situation. It was not exactly strange.

If it were an ordinary person, it really wouldn't be a big deal.

If they're gone, they're gone.

I didn't lose them. They lost themselves.

Who would dare blame the Kong family?

No one even asked.

But the British did. If the British pursued the matter, the Prime Minister would have to give an explanation.

That was the fundamental reason why Kong Fansong called.

An explanation was needed.

Where are the five British people? What happened? The British must be answered. If the British are not satisfied, there could be another diplomatic incident. The committee members are most unhappy about offending foreigners. Naturally, the Kong family dare not neglect them.

'By the way, I have their photos.'

'Oh?'

Zhang Yong's mind twitches.

There are actually photos?

Do you need to take photos to get on the ship?

Doubts...

'Our young master took them by accident.'

'Your young master?'

'Kong Lingkan.'

The final answer came from Gu Bafeng.

Zhang Yong suddenly understood.

So this was the master.

Very impressive.

He was actually on the ship too?

Wait. How old is this young master of the Kong family?

He can't still be a child, can he?

'How old is your young master?'

'Just turning 20. In his early 20s in the Western calendar.'

'He was also on the ship?'

'He went to Manila with the ship to see the sights.'

'So, on the ship, he had dealings with the five Englishmen?'

'Yes. Our young master studied in the United States since he was young. His English is very good. This time, he came back for the Chinese New Year and went out for a stroll...'

Zhang Yong nodded thoughtfully.

His thoughts had nothing to do with Kong Lingkang. Instead, he was secretly feeling a sense of emotion. It's almost New Year's...

Wait!

'What day is it today?'

'It's the 28th.'

'What day is New Year's Eve?'

'The day after tomorrow.'

'What?'

Zhang Yong was suddenly stunned.

Damn it!

This job really has no future.

No days off. He's forgotten when the New Year is.

Every day is just one task after another. Where's a normal life?

Oh dear...

The New Year is the day after tomorrow. And he's still working today.

What's more, no one's even reminded him that the New Year is coming. Has everyone forgotten?

Oh dear...

Has the Fuxing Society really sunk to this?

There's no New Year atmosphere at all.

No way!

The New Year is coming up. I must take a holiday!

We must have seven days off!

Future generations will all have seven days off. We must have them now too.

No.

We must have eight days off.

New Year's Eve, New Year's Day and the first seven days of the year, all off!

We can deal with anything that happens after the New Year.

What if we don't see the five British people again? Maybe they went somewhere to celebrate Chinese New Year.

So...

'Mr Kong, we will follow up on this matter.'

'We will let you know if there is any news.'