Chapter 153: Drugs
Kyushu Pharmacy, as the largest pharmacy in Chinese Territory, had a layer of skin peeled off by Gu Yansheng, with shelves cleared out, yet it’s still lively and kicking today.
He’s currently wearing a long robe at the door, fiddling with beads and chatting and laughing with the still charming female shopkeeper of the neighboring rouge shop.
“Boss Qi, looking sharp.” Gu Yansheng stepped down from the car, smiling at him.
Qi Wuzhou saw Gu Yansheng and involuntarily shrank back, nearly scared out of his wits.
He immediately came up with an obsequious smile: “Director Gu honors us with his presence, what an honor, what an honor.”
“Not interrupting your chat, are we? You shouldn’t be too busy.” Gu Yansheng glanced at the female shopkeeper next door, who gave him a flirtatious look and smiled even more happily.
“No interruption, of course not, Director Gu, please come inside.” Qi Wuzhou wiped away nonexistent sweat. What did “not busy” mean? Implying he wasn’t taking things seriously?
Gu Yansheng loved the smell of Chinese medicinal materials in pharmacies and took a deep breath without saying a word.
Qi Wuzhou bent at the waist and proactively reported, “Director Gu, I know our efficiency is a bit slow, but it’s absolutely not because we didn’t take this to heart. Please hear me out first, have some tea, I’ll explain in detail. Little Six, chrysanthemum tea!
Director Gu, after our meeting, we discussed it and felt that procuring such large quantities individually wouldn’t work—one, it would invite competition; two, we’d undermine each other and might not complete the mission.
So we pooled together: those with connections provided them, those with force provided force. At production sites for various medicines, we directly sourced from capable locals, just like you.
This way, the large-volume supply issue is solved—as long as we win over this influential figure, the rest is no problem.
In finding this person, we need extra time, but once negotiated, we can take large quantities.
Of course, though we came up with this plan, we didn’t forget our core resale business for small quantities—still doing it, just not in big volumes. Like quinine, we bought only about fifty kilograms, so I was embarrassed to tell you.”
Little Six placed the chrysanthemum tea on the table. Gu Yansheng didn’t drink and asked after he finished, “So, have you negotiated?”
“Quinine is negotiated.” Qi Wuzhou perked up: “It’s what you need most, so we prioritized it. Officials in Nanyang are useless; we found local gang forces. Now it’s just negotiating price—they’re a bit short on that, those guys are dirt poor and demanding sky-high prices.”
Qi Wuzhou bent at the waist, smiling apologetically.
“This is pretty effective work, sit.” Gu Yansheng picked up the chrysanthemum tea, blew on it, thought about it, and put it down without drinking.
Snatching this boss’s stuff—he knows pharmacology, might’ve added arsenic or croton seeds or something.
The boss was about to sit with a smile at the praise, but seeing Gu Yansheng not drink, he lifted his butt again.
Gu Yansheng had no time for his mood and asked after putting it down: “Specifically, how much? I don’t get complicated stuff—just say procurement cost and cost to deliver to Shanghai Territory.”
Qi Wuzhou paused briefly: “Their local procurement is 300 silver dollars per kilogram; with local gang and shipping, it’s 800 silver dollars per kilogram to Shanghai.”
Gu Yansheng sneered: “That local gang is pretty greedy—one ton is 500,000 silver dollars in fees, ten tons is 5 million.”
Shipping ten tons of medicine is just one ship, not much cost.
But the math doesn’t add up—Sato Kenji from Mitsui offered 400,000 US dollars for two tons of quinine, which breaks down to 1 US dollar for 5 grams.
That’s 0.2 US dollars per gram, about 0.8 silver dollars.
Normally, Sato’s price should be them taking advantage.
But now smuggling cost with gang extortion is still just 0.8 silver dollars.
How expensive is Japanese procurement of quinine?
“Has this procurement price always been this?”
“No, small quantities are definitely pricier, foreigners even more so. But we used local gangs to front it—probably used some tactics—so the price is super cheap, just this agent fee is too high, way too black.
Actually, it ends up more expensive than our original procurement—previously, we bought at half a silver dollar per gram, just smaller quantities.”
Gu Yansheng didn’t mind after hearing.
This business is interesting—buying two tons of quinine, they thought it’d lose money.
But even at this black price, it still doesn’t lose.
He thought they’d need to make up from other medicines—no investigation, no speech. He was even discussing with Ding Mocun how much loss on quinine; Sato’s thinking led him astray.
Qi Wuzhou smiled obsequiously: “Director Gu, since you require us to sell to you at one gram gold for ten grams quinine—about 0.4 silver dollars per gram—so, heh, we wanted to negotiate a bit lower. Then when you receive our other medicines, your financial pressure eases too?”
“You don’t need to worry about that—negotiate if you can, if not, procure ASAP. I care about time.”
Time negotiating price might as well receive goods sooner, save more anti-Japanese fighters—money can be earned elsewhere anyway.
“Yes, yes, I’ll contact them right away.”
“What about other medicines?”
Qi Wuzhou briefed on other medicines—hot smuggling drugs mainly sulfonamides and morphine.
Sulfonamides including medical devices from Germany—this requires cracking German customs; backups are United States and United Kingdom.
Morphine raw material is opium, procurable from India and Myanmar, then private workshops in Shanghai for production, but won’t reach medical grade.
Medical morphine sources are still Germany, United States, and Japan itself.
So Qi Wuzhou and crew are now targeting German customs—theoretically, cracking Germany gets all major medicines, including aspirin.
“Sometimes change approach—don’t fixate on officials, who have big appetites, but underlings might not. Throw ten thousand US dollars at a bottom guy, he’ll be so dazed he’ll rack his brain to let you through, desperate ideas; if you don’t get out, he won’t sleep easy with the money.
German customs like this, Nanyang gangs too.
Big gangs are greedy, second-tier not necessarily.
In Nanyang, get ten tons quinine at once; once out, have their rival gangs rob during trade—8 million thing, maybe 800,000 settles it.”
Qi Wuzhou’s eyes widened, scalp tingling—this idea was beyond imagination, ruthless.
“Enough, move faster. Hope to see your medicines soon. I don’t care how you get them or cost—if you really settle ten tons quinine for 800,000, I’ll still buy at agreed price, one million US dollars; excess is yours.”
Words landed, Qi Wuzhou’s blood rushed to his head: “Director Gu means it?”
If so, this trip earns them 3 million silver dollars—3 million!
Need rival gangs? Recruit 1,000 fierce Shanghai fighters, rob the bastards!
Get some Czech guns, grenades—what’s hard about killing Nanyang dirt ghosts?
Then claim to be Japanese—come to Shanghai if they dare!
“Of course, I don’t care about process, only result. Call me with news.”
Though Gu Yansheng isn’t at city government, Liu Xiaolou is—reachable.
