Chapter 138: Flour
Normally speaking, Gu Yansheng is a very amiable person who doesn’t stir up trouble.
Forced requisition is forced requisition; it has nothing to do with him. They can confiscate however they like; in the end, the result won’t change. They definitely won’t succeed in confiscating it. Just watch the show.
But now they insist on him putting in effort, so he can’t be blamed for not being so amiable.
Coming out of the Office of Luo Junqiang, Gu Yansheng needs to make a trip to the Office of Ling Xianwen.
The Judicial Department’s reputation can be disregarded, but he is a member of the Consulate Faction. Since he knows there will be trouble in Shanghai, he still needs to notify Mr. Hase once, otherwise the reaction would be too slow.
“Secretary-General, I was dragged away by Vice Mayor Luo as a strong laborer.”
“What does he want with the Judicial Department?”
Ling Xianwen curiously walked out and gestured for Gu Yansheng to sit on the sofa.
Gu Yansheng plopped down on the sofa and smilingly recounted what happened in the Office of Luo Junqiang.
“According to his intention, the Industry Section of the Finance Bureau will produce a list of merchants, Lu Ying is in charge of coordinating staff for public order, and I am responsible for the legal provisions. It’s roughly a joint begging squad like that. The specifics will be discussed again tonight. He said he will treat us to dinner tonight to confirm the details.”
“What right does he have to order you around?”
Ling Xianwen didn’t care whether this matter could succeed or not and frowned unhappily, saying, “Acting like a whore and still wanting a memorial arch, if he wants to grab it, he can just grab it directly. No one is stopping him. Why make the Judicial Department take the blame?”
“Why did you agree to him? Just refuse.”
“How should I refuse?”
Gu Yansheng shook his head helplessly and said, “The person is from Minister Zhou, and the matter is something the Gendarmerie Headquarters wants to handle. If I flatly refuse, and then they whisper in someone’s ear, won’t I offend people again?”
“Minister Zhou’s side is one thing, but the Gendarmerie Headquarters side, isn’t that what you said, Secretary-General? The new commander is here; don’t ruin the relationship like with Iwasa again. Helping but failing to get the job done versus refusing to help and shirking, the attitudes are always different, right?”
What he said was not without reason, but Ling Xianwen still frowned. “The reason is that reason, but I don’t look favorably on the final result of this matter. It will definitely cause turmoil.”
“I think it will too, but I can’t push it off.”
Ling Xianwen tsked. “Troublesome matter.”
Originally it was sitting on the mountain watching the tigers fight, but now his own people have been pulled into the mountain too. That’s very frustrating.
Gu Yansheng smiled nonchalantly and comforted him, “Secretary-General, to be honest, long pain is worse than short pain. If he has the ability, he stays. If he really is another Sheng Wenyi, wouldn’t it be better to leave early and feel relieved sooner?”
“What you say is not wrong.” Ling Xianwen thought about it and looked at Gu Yansheng with the corners of his mouth slightly upturned. “Since he pulled you into the game, then find a way to help him finish this matter quickly, so he can leave sooner. The Shanghai Bund can’t accommodate such a big Buddha.”
Gu Yansheng chuckled lightly. “That’s what I think too. It’s just that Mr. Hase’s side will inevitably get a few media greetings.”
“No problem. It’s already like this; what else can be done? Anyway, it’s not once or twice. We’re used to it. We people in the middle are the hardest to deal with. We originally do supervision work, but the current situation is that the Military Department is tough, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wants us to supervise. How to supervise? Someone has to listen when we speak.”
After Ling Xianwen finished speaking, he got up and walked over to make a telephone call. “This matter still needs to be mentioned.”
“Hello, Mr. Hase, this is Ling Xianwen.”
After saying a few words, Ling Xianwen hummed a few times. “Okay.”
Putting down the telephone, he said to Gu Yansheng, “Mr. Hase wants us to come over.”
No need to say more; they drove to the Consulate.
Mr. Hase was already waiting.
“Mr. Hase.”
Mr. Hase frowned and said, “Shanghai has only just calmed down, and now they want to confiscate military grain and cotton yarn for 500,000 people. Do you think this matter can succeed?”
Ling Xianwen shook his head proactively. “It can’t. Mr. Hase, you know Shanghai’s current situation. From the end of the war until now, it’s only been a little over a year. The foundation is too thin. Industry hasn’t recovered, business is just average, and military supplies for 500,000 people really aren’t something the current Shanghai can handle. If forced, turmoil will inevitably arise.”
Mr. Hase looked at Gu Yansheng.
Gu Yansheng said, “I agree with the Secretary-General’s view. It’s extremely difficult. But Mr. Hase, I have to say that the Wang regime government is established after all, which is Japan’s national policy. In the future, they will govern the whole country. If I refuse to help, it will be hard for me to get along with both the Gendarmerie Headquarters and the Wang Faction side.”
“I understand your difficulties.” Mr. Hase was still reasonable, just with an unhappy expression. “The main problem with this matter is still the Gendarmerie Headquarters’ shortsightedness.
The Military Department people only want to get what they need and completely disregard what serious consequences it will bring. Utter stupidity.”
Mr. Hase cursed and said, “I called you here today for two matters.
First, once the Nanjing Government is established, the superior unit will no longer be the Shanghai Gendarmerie Headquarters, but the Nanjing Government. You two are both people I have my eye on. I hope that one of you can go to Nanjing and enter the core of the Wang Faction.”
Ling Xianwen and Gu Yansheng were both startled. This statement was a bit unexpected, and they exchanged a glance.
Ling Xianwen spoke up. “Mr. Hase, as far as I know, the core personnel of the Wang Faction should be decided through negotiation between the Wang Faction and the Military Department represented by Kageza. They probably won’t give us people an opportunity.”
Mr. Hase nodded. “I know this point, but precisely because of this, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has the necessity and absolute necessity to supervise their actions and must not let them act recklessly.
You must find a way to enter the core of the Wang Faction.”
“Then what is the second matter?” Gu Yansheng asked.
“The second matter.” Mr. Hase paused and said, “Let the Military Department’s plan fail completely, and then you complete it.”
Another greatly unexpected statement. Ling Xianwen asked puzzledly, “Mr. Hase, the possibility of this actually failing is very high. What does complete failure mean?”
Mr. Hase didn’t hide it. “To the point of no return, all of Shanghai denouncing them.”
“Why? Can you tell us?” Ling Xianwen pressed.
Mr. Hase said unhappily, “The Military Department’s ability to handle economic matters is too poor, and they are a group of people who are particularly prone to arrogance. I need to use failure to wake them up a bit and keep control of Shanghai’s economic development in our hands.
Sometimes failure can lead us to success instead.
The reasons for this are very complex; you don’t need to care. You just need to achieve this point.
But I remind you, I know it’s not hard to make them fail. What I want is success after the failure, firmly in your hands. Can you do it?”
This matter is not easy to handle. Ling Xianwen didn’t speak for a moment. Military supplies for 500,000 people—this is no joke. If it can be done, it can be done; if not, no amount of talk will help.
“Can’t do it?” Mr. Hase looked at the two.
“This…” Ling Xianwen hesitated. “Mr. Hase, the reason I said earlier, completing it is indeed very difficult, almost impossible.”
“What about Mr. Gu?” Mr. Hase turned his head.
Gu Yansheng originally hadn’t thought about completing this matter, but now he really had to think if there was a way to handle it.
Working for the Japanese is simple: just one thing—you have to be useful.
“Mr. Hase, give me some time. Let me think and then reply to you.”
Leaving the Consulate, Ling Xianwen frowned and asked, “Military supplies for 500,000 from Shanghai’s current 3 million people—do you think it’s possible? You should have refused directly and not given him hope.”
“Don’t be hasty, Secretary-General. Let me think.” This matter, Gu Yansheng really needed to think carefully.
Ling Xianwen widened his eyes. “You really think it’s possible?”
“Why not?”
Back at the Judicial Department, Gu Yansheng called Lu Bowen; he still needed to consult him about the cotton yarn matter.
Now the Wang Faction personnel want cotton yarn and grain. Surprisingly, he really had someone who understood the market trends.
However, the person who answered at Lu Bowen’s Flour Mill told him the factory head was on a business trip, so Gu Yansheng contacted He Yun. He originally wanted to drink coffee but thought he’d just go directly to the factory for an inspection.
The Flour Mill is built along the Suzhou River, taking advantage of the Suzhou River’s water transport for easy transporting goods.
Lu Bowen’s Flour Mill is in Zhabei. As soon as Gu Yansheng’s car arrived.
He Yun was already waiting at the factory entrance to welcome him, with quite a few people there to greet, probably all the managers.
The Flour Mill feeds people well; with full bellies, He Yun looked much better than before.
“Welcome Director Gu for the inspection.”
“I’m just here to take a casual look.” With outsiders present, Gu Yansheng kept his distance.
“Where is your Factory Head Lu?”
“He went to Jiangsu for business negotiations.” He Yun smiled and led the way. “Please come inside, Director Gu. The wheat in Jiangsu and Anhui is winter wheat, sown in winter and harvested in summer, around May or June.
This procurement is the most important, accounting for about 50-60% of our Flour Mill’s annual needs, so our Factory Head Lu took advantage of the current off-season to negotiate at the production areas.
Aren’t the Japanese strictly controlling wheat procurement quantities? Pull some strings to get a bit more, and the profit increases accordingly.”
He Yun smiled embarrassedly in a low voice. “Local scattered farmers always have some not under Japanese control; we can collect their rice too, accepting all comers.”
“Oh~” Gu Yansheng nodded and gestured with his head to the people following beside him. “Let them go back to work. You just accompany me for a stroll.”
“Yes.” He Yun sent her staff to work.
The staff were reluctant to miss this close-contact opportunity with a big shot and left lingeringly.
As Gu Yansheng and others walked, he asked, “Is the wheat here one crop per year?”
“Yes, sow wheat seeds in November to overwinter, harvest in May or June the next year, then plant rice after harvesting, and harvest rice again in November, so the land isn’t left idle. Local farmers prepare rice seedlings in advance, and once the wheat is harvested, they transplant the ready rice seedlings.”
“Doing real industry is different; you know a lot.” Gu Yansheng smiled and teased.
He Yun also smiled. “Love what you do; how can you not understand? Please come inside. Look, this is our production factory. Smell it—isn’t it fragrant?”
“Fragrant. No need to smell here; I smelled it at the entrance.”
The Flour Mill air had a unique fragrance from various volatile substances in the wheat kernels ground out, forming a wheat aroma that was very pleasant.
“When I got your call, I had the kitchen prepare some food for you. Try our flour. Let’s go.”
He Yun took Gu Yansheng to the office and had someone bring a plate of steamed buns and a bit of pickled vegetables.
“Try it?”
“Sure.”
Gu Yansheng took a steamed bun, tore off a piece, and chewed it, sighing with emotion. “This is much better than the steamed buns in the City Government canteen.”
“Of course. How many outside sold ones are like this? This is the best wheat.” He Yun was quite proud and smiled, saying, “Take some back when you leave.”
“Of course I’ll take some back. This is even better than what my housekeeper buys. There will be opportunities for you to supply exclusively in the future.”
“Sit down and eat some.”
“Okay.”
Gu Yansheng sat down and said while eating, “I’m here this time to ask if you understand Shanghai’s grain industry and what the current actual situation is like.”
The information the City Government can know is never as clear as what these people doing it themselves know.
“Grain industry? That depends on which part you want to know. We’re doing okay here.”
He Yun was the accountant and had the numbers in mind. “Originally, the transferor didn’t make it clear. Although the accounts showed 15,000 silver dollars a month at the time, in reality, the police, the Green Gang, and some scattered officials would also come to freeload.
Like the police, under the name of public order management fee, they take 1,000 silver dollars a month. The Green Gang, protection fee, 800 silver dollars a month. Officials are even harsher; several departments come to take a cut, so the actual profit is far less.
But our factory is different. Bowen privately let some wind out to them, saying there’s someone behind the factory. After that, they stopped coming.
Thanks to your influence; no one dares to come freeload.”
“Even if I gave them a few guts, they wouldn’t dare provoke me.” Gu Yansheng wasn’t surprised by this. As Director of the Judicial Department, if he got extorted, people would laugh their heads off.
“What about other factories?”
“Others’ days vary depending on their connections. The grain industry now has a Grain Industry Coordination Committee set up by the Japanese, with all major merchants as members.
It mainly coordinates grain at the origin: how much each can buy using their connections, then how much to hand over to the Japanese after production in SH city.
Also electricity. Shanghai’s production power is very tight now, with power cuts from time to time. For factories that ensure quality and quantity in handing over military grain, the committee notifies them of power cut times and restoration times.
If not handed over, sorry, the committee directly cuts their power.”
Gu Yansheng nodded as he listened. Electricity—that was a point that could be utilized.
He Yun continued, “As for factory revenue, it depends on factory size. Basically, those that can operate have connections behind them; the difference is the size of the connections. Japanese-funded factories aside, they mainly do military grain.
For our Chinese-funded or foreign capital factories, small ones scrape by, mid-sized like ours make about 10,000 silver dollars profit a month, large ones even more, around 30,000 to 50,000 silver dollars a month.”
Gu Yansheng hummed and asked directly, “Then, if I want to forcibly requisition military grain for 500,000 people from big and small merchants in Shanghai, do you think it’s possible?”
