Chapter 28: Kojirō's Plan
"Old Zhao, that little Japanese has come out," Yu Dazhi, disguised as a rickshaw driver, whispered to Zhao Zhi sitting in the rickshaw, pretending to wipe his sweat with a towel. Zhao Zhi secretly looked forward through the newspaper in his hand and indeed it was that Xiao Jilang guy. This guy could really hold his breath. Morun and Xiao Jilang had traded twice again, getting nearly 200,000 taels from him, but he never saw this guy contact anyone else. Could it be that Xiao Jilang's store always stored a large amount of silver?
Zhao Zhi tapped his foot lightly on the rickshaw, "Follow him, but not too close, be careful not to get discovered." Yu Dazhi quickly grabbed the handlebars and turned back with a smile, "Master Zhao, please don't worry, in this city of 49, there's no place I can't find, and no one I've ever lost track of." What Yu Dazhi said wasn't false, this kid had been hanging around in Beiping City since he was young, if it weren't for his familiarity with the roads and alleys, he would have probably been caught by the police several times already.
"Mr. Zhao, if you turn right at this corner, it's the East Asia Bank," Yu Dazhi suddenly said, and indeed, the rickshaw carrying Xiao Cilang stopped in front of the East Asia Bank. Zhao Zhi watched as Xiao Cilang entered the bank with a large suitcase. About half an hour later, Xiao Cilang came out of the bank with a small bag and a big smile on his face, probably exchanging it for the large suitcase he had earlier.
Kojirō was feeling quite pleased with himself at the moment, and even the somewhat gloomy weather seemed to have cleared up a bit. In his good mood, Kojirō even went so far as to nod in greeting to his waiting coachman. He clutched the small leather package tightly to his chest, rather like someone holding a hot potato - if he held on too tight, it would burn him, but throwing it away was also out of the question, after all, potatoes could fill an empty stomach.
The few bronze artifacts collected from the declining Manchu noble descendant were handed over to his superior, Kotaro Miyamoto, the manager of Toyo Bank. Miyamoto was Kojirō's direct superior in Beiping, and they were mainly responsible for investigating China's antiques and treasures, and then using all means to bring these treasures back to Japan. However, as a merchant by birth, Kojirō would not serve the empire for nothing, and at this moment, the small leather bag in his arms contained 30 gold bars, which was Kojirō's reward, issued by his superior Miyamoto on behalf of the Black Dragon Society.
This time, the bronze wares were purchased with the money provided by Heilong, so he didn't have to spend a single penny. After handing over three bronze wares, he got 30 gold bars in return, and Xiao Cilang's heart was filled with joy. These 30 gold bars were truly his own private property, and Xiao Cilang couldn't help but take out one of the gold bars from his bag and rub it with his hand. The rickshaw happened to be turning a corner, and due to the angle, the sunlight shone directly on the gold bar, causing the flashing yellow metal light to make Xiao Cilang's eyes feel dizzy for an instant.
To continue trading with the old man, Xiao Jirou spent a high price to buy three bronze wares from him, spending nearly 200,000 taels of silver. It's not that Xiao Jirou is foolish, but rather he is a very cunning businessman. Don't forget, Xiao Jirou has lived in China for many years and is familiar with the Chinese people's love of money and tendency to be greedy for small gains. This time, he first offered a high price to buy out the remaining items from the old man's hands. According to Xiao Jirou's investigation, the old man was indeed a member of the Eight Banners nobility, with countless antique treasures in his family. If he could keep this big customer, wouldn't his own wealth increase accordingly?
However, there was also a place that made Kojirō uncomfortable. That guy called Nago was too arrogant, every time he came to his own store, he either despised his tea or thought the taste of his prepared snacks was too bad. If it weren't for not having investigated Nago's background and storage location yet, Kojirō would have had him arrested by the Japanese military police long ago. His many years of living in China had already taught Kojirō to hide his true nature, and he had to endure for the sake of the remaining transaction.
But watching those five people take away the large bundles of money from him, Kojirō had a feeling of cutting his own flesh. If he could get the antiques and save this money at the same time, it would be great! Kojirō hugged the leather bag containing gold bars tightly, and began to imagine in his heart. 200,000 crisp yuan, with this amount of money, you can sell several houses in Beiping City, if you use them to buy rice to eat, you can't finish eating until you die.
"Let you be arrogant for a few more days, once everything is in hand, I'll send you to the constabulary." Xiao Cilang thought about the five being caught by the constabulary, and the things left behind in the hutong house, including the ocean of wealth, his heart was filled with great joy again. Xiao Cilang had long made up his mind that after the final transaction with the five, he would use the name of the constabulary to frame him for a crime and sentence him to death. As long as the five were caught by the constabulary, wouldn't the house and everything in it be left for himself to deal with? The large sums of money he had paid to the five would also belong to him, wouldn't they? Xiao Cilang couldn't help but burst out laughing at this plan.
In the North Ping Japanese Kempeitai, there were people from Xiao Zilang's hometown. Moreover, Xiao Zilang also had an identity as a member of the Black Dragon Society. As long as it wasn't too outrageous, the Kempeitai would help out, considering the benefits Xiao Zilang provided. After all, they had done this many times before and were old hands at it. Xiao Zilang had already planned everything out: he would keep the mansion in District Five for himself, the antiques and treasures confiscated would belong to him, and the remaining money would be split 70-30 with the Kempeitai, with him taking the larger share, of course. After all, this was something that needed to be kept secret from the Black Dragon Society, a risk that had to be taken.
Suddenly, Kojiro in his imagination heard several shouts, and the rickshaw he was riding in was hit by a huge force. "Ah!" Kojiro let out a miserable cry, and with the vehicle, he had already flipped over to the side of the road. The leather bag that was tightly held in his arms just now was thrown far away. Fortunately, Kojiro was not seriously injured, and the rickshaw only trapped him inside without hurting his body. As soon as he was helped up by the rickshaw boy, Kojiro didn't even bother to brush off the dirt on his clothes, but looked around for his leather bag everywhere.
"Sir, is this your bag?" The rickshaw driver who had helped up Xiaojiezi was holding a leather bag and asking him. The driver had fallen quite hard, his elbows and knees were scraped and bleeding through the holes in his clothes. But no matter what, customers are always right, especially when they're riding in your own vehicle, so the driver forced a smile despite the pain.
"A wooden stake suddenly appeared out of nowhere and got stuck under our wheel, so the rickshaw was overturned." The rickshaw driver looked at his own deformed rickshaw with a sorrowful face. This is the tool he uses to make a living, and now it's been ruined like this. Who knows how much money it'll take to fix it?
