The First Volume: The Spirit of Emptiness Chapter 61: Hard to Find a Big Buyer

  Re-establishing merit, and being particularly valued by Shi Ankang, even if the relationship is normal, there will be some reaction. The more you climb up, the higher your rights and status will rise, seeing others get more, always feeling that you get less.

  "Old Stone, you're not going to blame me for the proposal last night, or want to settle accounts with me from last night, are you? If that's the case, I have nothing to say." After entering the door, Wang Yaoyu had to consider what would be unfavorable to him.

  "You're responsible, even if you had a thousand mouths, you can't escape. What's not your responsibility, has nothing to do with you. However, Ya Zu, it seems like you've been hiding many things from me, otherwise, why would you always be so nervous? I'm still saying the same thing, everything has its limits, if you break the rules, no one can protect you, and there's no need to talk about face."

  Wang Yaizu was anxious, and a large batch of military supplies in his hands couldn't be sold. The eighth master's side also started to get anxious. Unsold guns are worthless. If something goes wrong and gets caught, the trouble will be even greater.

  "Hehe, who made me do so many bad things? Even I've forgotten some of them. Alright, old stone, if it's not to settle accounts with me, then there must be something you want me to take care of. Speak up, anyway, no matter how I refuse, in the end, I'll still have to take over. Who made me eat this bowl of rice? But don't tell me, you've found another lead on the Communist Party's underground organization?"

  Wang Yaoyu quickly changed the subject, talking too much would make Old Stone smell something fishy and investigate further, there were already too many clues.

  "People have come from the Northeast, one is a military commander from the Beiyang clique, and another is a trusted deputy officer beside Zhang Shao. They also brought some guards to Shanghai. You are also aware of the war situation, and only Zhang Shao can become an ally of Commander-in-Chief Chiang. However, no matter what, the other party is from the Fengtian clique, which raises too many questions. The Nanjing side is very worried about this. Firstly, they are afraid that if they handle it poorly, they will offend Zhang Shao, and secondly, they are afraid that there might be some conspiracy behind this, as Zhang Shao's 300,000-strong army has not moved for a long time, which has had too great an impact on the war situation."

  Chiang Kai-shek is the central army of the KMT, the principal of Huangpu Military Academy, and has come all the way from the Northern Expedition. He is the true central figure of the Nationalist Party. However, looking around the world, among the major warlords in various regions, except for General Zhang, there is no one who can become an ally of Chiang Kai-shek. Therefore, regarding the people sent by General Zhang from Northeast China, Nanjing will certainly be cautious.

  "Whether it's open protection or secret protection, with my temper, I can't serve people who don't come to me." Wang Yaozu didn't want to take on this matter in his heart. This thing was not reassuring, and for an unfamiliar object, there was no sufficient preparation. Wang Yaozu didn't want to do things that were hard work but not rewarding.

  "It was the person from the Security Command who came forward. I just let you pay attention to it. You grasp the measure yourself, as long as there is no mistake, this is the address of the restaurant where the two people live, and there are also photos of the two people inside."

  Wang Yaizu took the envelope and opened it directly in his office. After reading it, he remembered the appearance and address, then put the photo and letter back into the envelope and kept it close to his body.

  "After a while, I'll go meet those two people, but in their eyes, we should be unwelcome. Probably will get scolded when meeting them. What a tough job!"

  Wang Yaoyu finished speaking and left the office. As soon as he stepped out of the office, many pairs of eyes naturally focused on Wang Yaoyu. He said directly: "It's a tough job, two distinguished guests have come from Northeast Zhang Shuai's side, is anyone willing to take my place?" As soon as Wang Yaoyu said this, no one responded, and everyone immediately understood that it was a thankless task.

  No one answered, so Wang Yaoyu sat back in his own chair. He had just sat down for a moment when he immediately got up again. Walked to the phone. Picked up the receiver and was about to make a call. But after thinking about it, he put the phone down again. Walked back to the side of his own chair. However, he did not sit down, but instead returned to the phone again, picked up the phone.

  "Is this the switchboard? Connect me to the deputy commander of the Garrison Command!" Wang Yaowu made a direct call to the Garrison Command, but at first, he didn't intend to call the Garrison Command, it was just a sudden thought.

  "Hello, is this the Deputy Officer's office of the Garrison Command? I'm Wang Yaizu from the Investigation Section. I'm looking for Deputy Officer Yan. Regarding the guests coming from Northeast China, I'd like to inquire about it. If Deputy Officer Yan is not available, please find someone in charge to talk to me. This matter concerns both our families, and if handled improperly, both families will be in trouble."

  "Deputy Officer Yan, you're here. I wanted to ask, those two guests from Northeast China, how many people did your Public Security Command send over to keep an eye on them? This is my responsibility, maybe tomorrow or the day after, I'll go over and pay a visit."

  "That's right, it's just a small matter, if you don't speak with a heavy tone, who would listen so attentively?"

  Wanted to ask then hung up the phone. Then went out, reason is that there are things to do, many people think it's for the two from Northeast to make some preparations.

  Wang Ya Zu indeed went out to handle matters, but what he handled was not official business, it was private matters. Calling the Garrison Command was just an excuse and a way to lure people in. The meat that had been put in his mouth couldn't be swallowed, and in the end, it would only choke him to death. Therefore, Wang Ya Zu rode his bicycle directly to the entrance of Ba Ye's mansion. It was daytime now, but at the entrance of Ba Ye's mansion, there wasn't a single passerby or vendor.

  —

  The house where Eighth Master lived was very large, as big as five surveyors' shares. The house was big and the people living there were also many. All thirty-six Tian Gang who were most famous under Eighth Master's command lived in Eighth Master's home, practicing martial arts and protecting the mansion in their daily lives. When needed, they would send out suitable people to take on tasks. If one of the Thirty-six Tian Gang died, another would replace him. Eighth Master had been taking on business for six years without losing a single case. However, Eighth Master also had his own measure, it was because he didn't take some big business that he could have such prosperity today.

  Wang Yaoyu was not the first time to enter Baba's mansion, but he didn't often come in either. For someone like Baba, even if they were on the right path and held official positions, they wouldn't directly interact with him unless necessary, and when they did, they would be polite; otherwise, they would pretend not to know him, or even use his remaining value to push him out as a scapegoat, making great contributions to society.

  The doorman did not recognize Wang Yaoyu, but those who dared to enter were either idiots who knew nothing or people who came to discuss business. They were all people with status. The gatekeeper politely approached and asked about Wang Yaoyu's identity. In front of people they didn't dare offend, many people are very polite and courteous. Of course, in other situations, it would be a different expression and attitude.

  "I am Wang Yaozu, I have important matters to discuss with Eighth Master, is Eighth Master available now?" The transaction between Wang Yaozu and Eighth Master was known only to a few people, so the relationship between the two men was also kept secret. Therefore, when the gatekeeper heard the name, he couldn't confirm it and could only let someone hurry into the courtyard to inform Eighth Master. This back-and-forth took some time, and Wang Yaozu directly entered the small room of the gatehouse, leisurely drinking tea. Such actions made the gatekeeper even more afraid to offend Wang Yaozu, and he brought out his hidden good pastries to entertain Wang Yaozu.

  Finally, there was a response, and Eighth Master had to hurry up to meet Wang Yaoyu. Continuing on the small path, it took about 100 meters or so before they saw the main hall. On the way, a person wearing an ordinary gray linen robe brushed past Wang Yaoyu's side, and Wang Yaoyu glanced at him, feeling somewhat familiar, his mind quickly turning over.

  "Old Eighth Master, it's been a long time. Is everything all right? How's business?" The Old Eighth Master sat in the main hall, and he extended his hand to invite Wang Ya Zu to sit beside him in a position that only honored guests could occupy.

  "It's not good, people are getting old and there are more things to worry about, so they can't sleep. I had insomnia again last night, Ya Zu, I really don't want to give up, should we just let those military supplies rust into scrap iron?" The maid brought tea and left, and the other unrelated people also retreated to a relatively far distance.

  "Still can't find a big buyer?! I believe Eighth Master has tried many ways, the largest single transaction the other party can swallow how much military supplies, this year really many people want to buy guns. Some local miscellaneous troops are still using long spears and big knives." With money to buy guns, with guns there is an army, with an army there is territory, with territory there is food and pay for soldiers, even bandits understand this logic.

  "I know you, Ya Zu, are specialized in catching communists. I don't want to have anything to do with those communists either. The routes we take are all the local tyrants' paths. The biggest deal was that the other party could only buy 300 guns, and they wanted both rifles and submachine guns, as well as a lot of bullets. Adding up some other miscellaneous things, it's just over 1,000 guns. You also said, Ya Zu, that doing too many small deals is very dangerous. Because I've temporarily put them on hold, only verbally saying I'd help think of a way, and not even collecting the deposit of one silver dollar."

  "It's really impressive that you can find a way to sell all 1,000 rifles in such a short time, Brother Ba. I was thinking, if we really have no other choice, we could transport all the military supplies out of Shanghai and conduct transactions elsewhere, which would be safer and also delay things for a bit. However, Brother Ba, this isn't ideal either. I still hope to sell all the military supplies at once, which would not only be safe but also pave the way for future transactions. Moreover, I just thought of another method - trying to sell all the military supplies to the government at a low price! The government is also in urgent need of large quantities of military supplies to expand its army."