Chapter 42: Chu Mingan Is Dead
“What happened?” Chen Yang asked in a deep voice.
The man glanced at Li Ningyu, then slightly bowed to Chen Yang and said: “Director Chen, we just received a telephone call from the International Settlement Police Station. Tongji Office Director Chu Mingan was attacked by unidentified persons on Slin Road.”
“He was stabbed more than ten times, and he’s not going to make it now.”
“What?” Chen Yang was taken aback. On the first day of official work for his Economic Department, the Tongji Office Director was hacked to death?
It really was a disaster at home, bah, an inauspicious start.
“Secretary Li, the 8:40 morning meeting is temporarily canceled. You go down first and notify the section chiefs to focus on their own work.”
“By the way, what’s your name?”
The man said awkwardly with a embarrassed look: “Officer, I’m a clerk at the Tongji Office. My name is Feng Jian.”
“It’s my turn on duty today, so…”
Chen Yang raised his hand before he could continue: “Take me to the scene.”
Li Ningyu reminded: “Director Chen, the police station and Joint Special Higher Police Affairs are following up on the murder case. Besides meeting colleagues, you have a very important meeting.”
Chen Yang waved his hand: “No meeting is more important than the life of a subordinate. After such a thing happened, as his superior, I naturally have to go comfort the family and seek justice for my subordinate.”
“Secretary Li, I’m telling you, work is important, but we can’t just focus on work and ignore human feelings.”
Li Ningyu hesitated for a moment and said: “Alright, I’ll relay your decision to the section chiefs. How about rescheduling the meeting to 3 p.m.?”
Chen Yang had no time to argue with her, picked up his briefcase and said: “Whatever.”
Shanghai, Slin Road intersection.
When Chen Yang and Feng Jian drove to Slin Road, the area had already been cordoned off with rope by the concession police station personnel.
Besides the police station people, Joint Special Higher Police Affairs had also sent people to the scene.
The victim was the newly established Economic Department Tongji Office Director, an official appointed by the Japanese, so they obviously wanted to confirm if this matter involved them.
Feng Jian forcefully pushed through the crowd, clearing the way for Chen Yang ahead. The two squeezed to the innermost part, where a police station constable immediately scolded them not to barge in and avoid contaminating the scene.
Feng Jian showed his City Hall work ID and introduced Chen Yang’s identity to the man, who then reluctantly lifted the rope to let them in.
Approaching the crime scene, the first thing Chen Yang saw was a Dodge black sedan.
The sedan owner Chu Mingan was lying covered in blood next to the sedan, with a Shanghai-plated bicycle still stuck to the locomotive.
Analyzing the scene, it seemed someone deliberately crashed into the other party with a bicycle, then unexpectedly hacked him to death while he got out to argue.
This method was very familiar, clearly the usual means of those Revival Society veterans.
“Mr. Chen, why are you here?” At this moment, a surprised voice came from behind Chen Yang.
Chen Yang turned around and saw it was Ando Shinichi from Joint Special Higher Police Affairs.
With him was a short Japanese man, no taller than 1.6 meters, with triangular eyes and a hooked nose.
Even without ever meeting him, anyone could sense an extremely sinister aura from him at first glance.
As the saying goes, the face reflects the heart; this guy was clearly ruthless, heartless, and quick to turn on people.
“Matsui-kun, what a coincidence,” Chen Yang politely slightly bowed to Ando Shinichi, then pointed to Chu Mingan’s body not far away: “The victim is the Economic Department Tongji Office Director, one of my subordinates. It’s my first day on the job, and my subordinate suffered this disaster for no reason.”
“Sigh, I naturally have to come take a look, lest people say I’m insensitive to human feelings.”
Ando Shinichi nodded slightly in understanding, then turned sideways to introduce to Chen Yang: “Mr. Chen, let me introduce, this is Section Chief Matsui Koji of the Special Higher Police Affairs Investigation Section.”
“Matsui-kun, this is the new Director of the Economic Department, Director Chen Yang.”
Not everyone in Joint Special Higher Police Affairs has military rank; most are under police establishment, with only a small portion being Gendarmerie Headquarters officers conscripted to assist operations.
This Matsui Koji was a proper policeman, unlike Ando Shinichi who also held a major’s rank with authority to command military forces.
“Director Chen, hello.” Matsui Koji slightly bowed to Chen Yang, and Chen Yang quickly returned the courtesy: “Section Chief Matsui, pleased to meet you, take care of me.”
Seeing Chen Yang so polite, the sinister expression on Matsui Koji’s face softened a bit. Before he could speak, a woman’s wailing cry rose from the crowd.
The woman spoke in Shanghai dialect, chattering away; Chen Yang understood, but Matsui Koji and Ando Shinichi were baffled.
They looked toward the source of the crying and saw a woman in a qipao desperately pushing through the crowd, trying to rush in.
Feng Jian next to Chen Yang quickly leaned in and said: “Officer Chen, this is Director Chu’s wife. What do you think?”
Chen Yang nodded slightly: “Bring her in. Her husband has met with disaster; the bereaved should at least see him one last time.”
Feng Jian acknowledged and hurried to bring her in.
Then Chen Yang turned to the two and said: “Matsui-kun, Ando-kun, I’ll go take a look. If there’s anything you need help with later, don’t hesitate.”
Ando Shinichi quickly said: “Mr. Chen, please go ahead…”
Watching Chen Yang comfort the family, Ando Shinichi suddenly said: “Matsui-kun, what do you think of Director Chen?”
Matsui Koji hesitated for a moment, then slowly said: “I think this man is not simple.”
“A subordinate he hasn’t even interacted with for a day was attacked and killed, yet he made time to come visit. It shows he has some insight into human relations.”
“This guy wants to be Liu Imperial Uncle…”
Ando Shinichi was stunned for a moment, then laughed: “Matsui-kun truly has sharp eyes. This guy is young, but well-versed in all these subtleties; even Consul Iwai thinks highly of him.”
“Otherwise, how could he sit in the Director of the Economic Department position at this age?”
While the two talked, Mrs. Chu, who had been wailing nearby, gradually calmed down under the consolation of Chen Yang and the others.
Chen Yang instructed Feng Jian to help Mrs. Chu handle Chu Mingan’s funeral arrangements, then reminded Mrs. Chu that she could come to City Hall to find him if she needed anything.
After doing everything, Chen Yang got in the car and hurried back to City Hall.
Back at the office, Chen Yang immediately called Iwai Koichi at the consulate to report the situation of Chu Mingan’s murder.
Iwai Koichi had already received intelligence about Chu Mingan’s killing one step ahead.
Chu Mingan was the Tongji Office Director, also in charge of freight.
Now that he was dead, freight matters needed someone else to take over.
But such professional talent was hard to find. Tongji Office was a subordinate unit of the Economic Department; they couldn’t just insert a Japanese.
So, Iwai Koichi could only have Chen Yang fill in for now; they would take over the position once they found professional personnel.
After hanging up, a smile appeared at the corner of Chen Yang’s mouth. After bustling half the day, he finally got what he wanted.
What he wanted was exactly this sentence from Iwai Koichi: to have the Tongji Office in his own hands.
