Chapter Thirty-two: The Reorganization of the Jia Family

  With doubts about Gao Qiaoxin, with the two Japanese women sent by Yamashita Kiyohiko, and with half of the brothers from Zhongyitang, Ye Tufei returned to Jiajiazhuang.

  After experiencing the war, Jia's house seemed a bit desolate. The streets were littered with rubble, people were scarce, and many shops had their doors tightly closed. Even those that opened their doors to welcome customers had few patrons, and business was dismal. The prosperity of the past had become a fleeting memory, and the current state of decline didn't know when it would end. Those who had died couldn't rest in peace, while those who were still alive felt disheartened and disillusioned.

  The pillar industry of the Jia family was coal mining. In those days, the Jia family was the overlord of the coal mining industry. Now all the coal mines have changed hands and are being forcibly occupied by the Japanese. The workers in the coal mines have fallen from being laborers to being slaves. Being able to eat their fill and continue living is their only hope. Under the gloomy sky, only the traitors' days are bright. They drink wine as before, eat meat as before, gamble as before, and visit prostitutes without stop.

  "This won't do, it goes against the great East Asian Co-prosperity Sphere's principles of the Great Japanese Empire! Adjustments must be made!" On his first day in office, Ye Tufei summoned all the Han traitors from the Jia family and held a meeting. At the meeting, he solemnly declared, "Since it's co-prosperity, that means we should let the common people live better lives than before. Otherwise, wouldn't the Great East Asian Co-prosperity Sphere just be empty talk? I think this doesn't align with Japan's interests. I will make a special report to the Xuzhou authorities about this matter. Please remember, listen to my words, Ye Tufei. If there are any problems, I, Ye Tufei, will take responsibility for you. If you don't listen to my words and any problems arise, you'll have to explain it to the Japanese yourself!"

  Ye Tufei's boastful words could not intimidate this group of big and small traitors. They each had their own masters, and for them, a fart from their master was much more important than Ye Tufei's words. Moreover, they did not believe in Ye Tufei at all, thinking that he was just a bandit on Erlang Mountain who had somehow managed to gain the recognition of the Japanese. Some traitors even concluded that Ye Tufei was nothing but a cannon fodder and would soon be discarded by the Japanese like a used tool.

  So after the meeting, the big and small traitors ate what they should eat, drank what they should drink, those who liked to gamble continued to gamble, those who liked to visit prostitutes continued to do so, and no one took Ye Tufei's words seriously.

  Ye Tufei held more than a dozen meetings in one week and issued a series of decrees, but it was like a speck of dust falling into a pond, unable to stir up any ripples.

  Ye Tufei was furious and directly called Takahashi Makoto. Takahashi Makoto highly approved of Ye Tufei's way of thinking, only by making the society better and letting the common people eat well and live well, would there be fewer desperate people, and their actions in the ancient Han tomb could be guaranteed.

  Takashi Nobukazu explained the reasoning to Yamashita Keigo, who immediately made a thought report to the division commander. The next day, the division commander's intention was clear: he believed that Ye Tufei's understanding of the concept of Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere proposed by the Great Japanese Empire was correct. He instructed Yamashita Keigo, saying that for those Chinese who opposed the Great Japanese Empire, we must severely suppress them, killing one if there is one, and as many as there are; it's better to kill more, even if mistakenly, but absolutely cannot be soft-hearted. However, for the good people who surrender to our Great Japanese Empire, we should consider their livelihoods more. Those who pretend to be friends of ours while oppressing good people under the banner of the Imperial Japanese Army are not our friends at all; let Ye Tufei teach them a lesson!

  Then, the commander of the division specially instructed Yamashita Kōsuke and said: "You tell Yasukuni Decai that I support hitting those Chinese who appear to be loyal to me on the surface but actually fill their own pockets. However, if this fire is burned to the head of my Great Japanese Imperial Army, it is something I cannot tolerate."

  Yamashita Keigo thought to himself, isn't this the same as saying nothing? These Han traitors and running dogs, which one of them doesn't rely on some power from Great Japan? But he didn't dare have even half an opinion, and could only express strict execution of the division commander's orders.

  But for Ye Tu Fei, this was already enough.

  Ye Tufei did not directly take action against the big and small Han traitors after obtaining the Shangfang Baojian from Xuzhou. Instead, he chose to target their masters behind them.

  Wasn't it said that these Japanese people can't be moved?

  Ye Tu Fei's visit to them does not mean he wants to move against these dignitaries, Ye Tu Fei's purpose in visiting them is to make a deal with them.

  Ye Tu Fei first found the boss of Jiajia Wang Coal Company, Nomura Daixing. As soon as they met, Ye Tu Fei opened his mouth and said: "Mr. Nomura, I know you are not a pure businessman, your true identity should be responsible for the Imperial Army, I think, as for you, how to increase coal production is the most important thing. If you agree with my statement, we continue to talk, if you don't agree, I will leave immediately!"

  Yamashita Kengo greeted Nomura, and although he looked down on this Chinese man with the surname Ye, he had to give Yamashita some face. So when he saw Ye Tufei, he decided to treat him with courtesy. When Ye Tufei opened his mouth and spoke fluent Tokyo-accented Japanese, he felt that this Chinese man with the surname Ye was indeed not ordinary and should be able to match his courteous attitude. When Ye Tufei revealed his most pressing difficulty in one sentence, Nomura's psychological defenses were completely broken through.

  "Yexiang, I'd be happy to hear your analysis. Please come in and have some tea, we can have a good exchange."

  For the entire afternoon, Ye Tu Fei explained to Nomura about economic structure, value circulation, management efficiency and even human nature. Finally, he summarized to Nomura: "Improving the treatment of coal miners seems to increase production costs on the surface, but in reality, it increases productivity, improves efficiency, reduces management consumption, and actually lowers costs. Mr. Nomura, you have been in business for many years, you should be able to understand my point."

  Nomura Daisuke poured a cup of tea for Ye Tufei and said, "I highly agree with your words, Ye San. The fact that the Great Japanese Empire has friends like you is a blessing to the empire and to Greater East Asia. I believe in you and support you, so just go ahead and do it!"

  Can Ye Tu Fei convince Nomura Taiyi so easily just by relying on reason? Obviously not, when he was talking about reason, he also listed the actions of those Han traitors one by one. In fact, Nomura knew what these Han traitors were doing under his command, but he needed them to do things for him and make use of them, so Nomura could only turn a blind eye. Now, with Ye Tu Fei's free service, those Han traitors have become dispensable, which will save a huge amount of expenses! Nomura is not stupid.

  They broke through Nomura's defenses, and the twenty or so big traitors who had been eating and drinking well were stunned. Their rice bowls were smashed by Ye Tufei, and their good days of eating and drinking were gone forever. Regret! They really regretted it! They immediately surrendered to Ye Tufei, hoping that he would be magnanimous and give them a mouthful of food to eat.

  Ye Tu Fei was never a hard-hearted person. He immediately expressed his attitude towards the several big men, saying that he could reward them with a meal: prison food!

  With Nomura's good start, Ye Tufei and Jia Jiawang's respective Japanese forces' "transactions" all achieved varying degrees of success. The prices Ye Tufei offered were even higher than what they had painstakingly negotiated themselves, and no one would genuinely refuse such a good deal.

  In other words, after this round of "transactions", Ye Tufei has become the spokesperson for the Japanese forces in the entire Jiajia Bay. This identity is far more important than Yamashita's appointment of Ye Tufei as the highest administrative officer of Jiajia Bay. Takahashi Nobuo called to express his satisfaction with Ye Tufei's achievements, and not only was he satisfied, but also Yamashita, and even the division commander praised Ye Tufei highly.

  The only one who was not satisfied was Guo Zhonglin, who did not understand Ye Tufei's actions and thought that Ye Tufei was a fool for helping the Japanese with their business. Ye Tufei did not argue or explain, but instead asked Guo Zhonglin a question: "How much money have we gotten from Zhang Qi's hands?"

  "One hundred and ten thousand yuan, this sum of money has never been used."

  "Really?!"

  "Oh, last time at Er Lang Mountain, 'Over-the-River Dragon' Zhao Da found fifty large yellow croakers in the goods Zhang Qi was transporting and also handed them over to us."

  "Can this wealth stay with us and produce sons and grandsons?"

  "Of course not!"

  "Right, if we let them go and they give birth to a bunch of children for us, would you still care about the money now?"

  Guo Zhonglin seemed to understand, scratched the back of his head and didn't say anything else.

  "What's more important is that by doing so, it can at least make the common people's lives a bit better, fewer people will have to sell their daughters and leave their hometowns, and more people will be able to warm up and barely get through the day. This is also the only thing we can do for the common people now."

  A month later, Ye Tufei's overall adjustment to Jiajiawang was in place, and society quickly gained stability. There were more people on the streets, and shops were also gradually increasing.

  Koukyou Shin's phone call arrived as scheduled, reminding Yatou Fei that it was time to start the plan to find the Han Dynasty ancient tomb on Erlang Mountain. Yatou Fei was extremely unwilling to search for and excavate his ancestors' graves, but he had no choice, Koukyou Shin's phone call was actually a harbinger of doom.

  Takahashi's "Kokoro" has a similar effect to the "sex"/"desire" of Takehisa Yumeji and the "vinegar spirit" of Tanabe Seiko.

  When it comes to the "sex" / "desire" issue of Kōko Hashimoto, we have to talk about the personnel training methods of Japan's Tokkō organization. From a Japanese cultural perspective, the Japanese are relatively open-minded towards male-female relationships, with a hint of "laughing at poverty but not at prostitution". The concept of chastity among Japanese women is extremely weak, and they value technique instead. Whether or not they can satisfy men and bring them maximum pleasure is what Japanese women strive for. In Japan's special agent training institutions, the cultivation of sexual techniques is highly valued, so any female agents who have undergone formal training through official channels tend to be very open-minded towards sex and have strong demands for it.

  Takashi Kōko is a prominent figure among Japan's female spies, and her demands for 'sex' are also unparalleled in the industry. As long as she has time, she will not refuse any man's request, no matter how humble or lowly he may be. However, Takashi Kōko also has a principle, which is to demand a certain level of ability from men; if a man cannot satisfy her in 'bed', then such things will absolutely never happen again.

  Of course, some special characters need to be treated differently, such as Yamashita Keigo.

  (Friends who are interested can guess the direction of the plot, hehe, those who guess correctly will be heavily rewarded by Lao Yan, and I'll treat you to a drink!)