Chapter 140: Utterly Reluctant To Leave
“Search until they are dead!” Tada Naoyoshi listened with eyes gleaming, nodding repeatedly without stop.
He felt a sudden sense of enlightenment.
But he was also somewhat worried, “Cao Sang, Nankou, Changping, and Shahe—these three places are the throat strongholds of Beiping. Once the resistance forces attack, these places will bear the brunt. Should we consider changing the location?”
For Beiping, Nankou, Shahe, and Beiping’s three areas are the north gate guarding its safety, possessing irreplaceable value in military defense, transportation links, and strategic buffering, and can be called the lifeline of northern Beiping.
Choosing sites in these three places is tantamount to extreme adventure.
But Cao Weida expressed a different opinion, “It’s precisely because these three places are crucial that they are always heavily guarded.
China has an old saying: the most dangerous place is the safest place. You must have heard it.”
Tada Naoyoshi nodded. This saying was very famous and often applied in various aspects, so he had naturally heard it.
“That’s it then. Heavily guarded, it looks dangerous but is actually safe, and it can also minimize the risk of transporting supplies.” At this point, he paused before continuing:
“I won’t hide it from you. Even if I don’t say it, you should have guessed that our business has connections with the Kuomintang and the Communist Party.”
Tada Naoyoshi fell silent. He naturally knew that relying solely on the people in Beiping to swallow such a large volume would be nothing but a pipe dream.
He could guess it even without thinking.
Seeing his reaction, Cao Weida smiled faintly, “Everyone knows it well, so I won’t say more. You know the importance of these three places; those above naturally know even better.
Speaking conservatively, if these three places are really lost by then, how long do you think Beiping with its gates wide open can hold out?
Instead of worrying about the danger of choosing these three places, consider how much convenience choosing them will bring us and how much money it can save.”
Tada Naoyoshi fell silent again. After pondering in his mind, he knew Cao Weida was right.
If these three places fell, it would be equivalent to throwing open the gates of Beiping. Even choosing other places would offer no real safety.
On the contrary, the transportation and circulation costs for supplies would be much higher, making their business less smooth.
After a long silence, he slowly nodded: “I admit you have a point, but”
“Tada, sir.” Cao Weida waved his hand to interrupt, saying gravely: “Doing business always involves risk. There is no deal in the world that is one hundred percent safe.”
“If there really were such a deal, no doubt it’s a trap waiting for you to jump into, or it’s just too stupid and self-conceited.”
He leaned his body forward a bit,
“Risk is often directly proportional to returns. You don’t want to take the slightest risk, yet want to make big money without effort—where in the world is there such a good thing?”
“Often behind what looks safe lie countless dangers.”
“Only by sharing the interests can we maximize the sharing of risks. With entangled interests, everyone can work together, right? So I still suggest that I make the connection, and we make the cake bigger. What do you think?”
Tada Naoyoshi fell silent again. After a long time, he nodded with a wry smile, “Cao Sang, I admit you’re right. I was too greedy.”
He took a deep breath, straightened his face, and said: “Alright, Cao Sang, I agree to your plan, but please give me three days. I need to persuade the others. Please understand, Cao Sang!”
Cao Weida smiled, “I understand, of course. Doing big things requires caution. If you rashly agreed on behalf of your group, I wouldn’t dare to agree instead.”
“Yōshi, Cao Sang, you’re a great talent!” Tada Naoyoshi expressed deep admiration.
“Tada, sir, you’re too kind. It’s just for a bite to eat.” Cao Weida smiled faintly, “By the way, Tada, sir, about Qiu Ziming I mentioned earlier…”
“Cao Sang already said it was a misunderstanding…”
“It was indeed a misunderstanding, but I’m afraid Lin Yuanjiang might…”
“Don’t worry, Cao Sang. I’ll warn him personally.” Tada Naoyoshi agreed immediately. In his eyes, Lin Yuanjiang was just one of his dogs. If disobedient, he could just beat it to death and get another.
Although he thought Cao Weida was also just a dog, this dog was different. It wasn’t his alone, and the masters behind the dog were too many, with relationships too complex—far beyond what he, a chief consultant of the police station, could afford to provoke.
Moreover, both he and they needed this dog to make big money for them. Under such massive interest binding, no one dared to act rashly.
Since he couldn’t touch it and had needs from it, he naturally had to befriend it.
Not only could he not offend it, but he also had to occasionally give it chicken legs or chunks of meat to keep it well-fed.
The previous Tada Naoyoshi had always performed his duties diligently, living a tight and meager life each month.
His life couldn’t be called harsh, but it was fairly impoverished. Even wanting to go to a Japanese restaurant a few times a month for a treat required weighing his wallet carefully.
Ever since smuggling the first batch of supplies and making money, he went straight to the Japanese restaurant he previously couldn’t bear to visit more than once a month.
And boldly ordered a hostess he had wanted before but couldn’t afford due to empty pockets.
It was only then that he realized young and tender women could be so compliant and sweet-talking, serving him comfortably.
From then on, he was unable to stop, utterly addicted.
That little waist twisted so softly!
It even made him, a fifty-something old man, feel a second spring.
But such enjoyment didn’t come free; his wallet was depleting day by day, and the previous smuggling volume was gradually insufficient for him.
To make more money, the smuggling scale naturally had to increase, and… how does China put it?
Oh, right, increase revenue and cut costs!
Cutting costs was impossible; if he cut costs, how could he enjoy himself?
So he could only increase revenue. Thus, when Lin Yuanjiang came under him, he directly took him in.
As a result, Lin Yuanjiang also showed him respect with some money, boosting his slush fund considerably.
But compared to Cao Weida’s money-making plan, Lin Yuanjiang’s small change was naturally insignificant.
He knew full well which was more important.
If Lin Yuanjiang dared to ignore his warning and offend Cao Weida, he could only kill the dog and eat the meat, then replace it with a more obedient one!
Daring to disobey the master’s orders, was there any need to keep this dog?
“Very well, then I’ll trouble you, Tada, sir. Come, I’ll toast you a glass.”
After eating, they naturally wouldn’t leave immediately; the hostesses here were plentiful and each more beautiful than the last.
Cao Weida shrewdly paid the bill in advance, drawing feigned anger from Tada Naoyoshi, but he didn’t refuse the goodwill, grinning lewdly as he put his arm around the hostess and entered a private room.
Behind him, watching Tada Naoyoshi enter the private room with the woman in his arms, Cao Weida smiled faintly.
As the saying goes, it’s easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but hard to go from extravagance to frugality.
The previous Tada Naoyoshi could be considered dutiful, posing no small obstacle to Beiping’s resistance against Japan.
But now, Tada Naoyoshi had become one of the corrupt insects within the Japanese military and political circles, eroded by money and women.
This was quite good.
“Master, I’m a bit tired. Can you take me to my room?” In his arms, the hostess looked up at him pitifully, her slender fingers drawing circles on his chest.
The woman was fairly pretty with a decent figure. Not wanting to waste, he smirked evilly, hooked her chin, and said: “Sure, I pride myself on being a gentleman. How could I bear to refuse such a small request? Let’s go, I’ll take you back to your room right now.”
An hour later, Cao Weida tightened his belt, left the room, glanced back at the clothes strewn everywhere inside and the sweat-drenched alluring figure on the bed, and slowly closed the door.
After exiting the main gate, just as he was about to hail a rickshaw to leave, someone called out to him.
“Cao Ye, Cao Ye!”
“Eh? Fifth Master, what a coincidence, running into you here.”
“Hey, what coincidence? I’ve been waiting for you here! Half a day already!”
This made Cao Weida’s brows twitch involuntarily, “Fifth Master, you have some skills, knowing I came here today? Your news is quite quick!”
“Hey, nothing to it. I happened to spot you. I just came out of the prince’s mansion with good news for you. As soon as I got here, I saw you getting out of a sedan and going into the Beiping Hotel with a Taijun. I searched inside but couldn’t find you, so I figured you went into a private room.”
Fan Wu Ye kept a smile on his lips, his attitude respectful yet not quite, seeming to flatter while holding his airs, giving a pretentious feeling.
Cao Weida suddenly understood. So that’s how it was—explaining why his whereabouts were so easily discovered.
“Fifth Master, you shouldn’t have done that. Just ask the attendant and say you’re my friend; how could they not let you see me?”
“Nah~ You went in with a Taijun, surely discussing matters. How could I interrupt? Anyway, it wasn’t urgent; I just strolled around.” Fan Wu swung his arms, full of masterly swagger.
“That’s too embarrassing. Anyway, it’s mealtime. Let’s go in and grab a bite…”
“No no no, no need to spend that much. If you want to treat me to a meal, I’d rather have some fried tofu.”
They’d only met twice including this time. Last first meeting, it was Dongxing Tower and silver dollars, yet he gave nothing in return. Now second time, asking to be treated at Beiping Hotel—he couldn’t accept that.
He, Fan Wu, was a genuine Bannerman descendant of Beiping. He had face!
“Alright, Fifth Master, you’re trying to save me money, fair enough. What delicacies haven’t you eaten? Only street snacks bring out local flavors. Deal, let’s go eat some fried tofu. I want to try it too.” Cao Weida continued his flattery as always. Since Fan Wu Ye said there was good news, he was indeed interested to hear it.
