Spy game? Stop guessing, I really am an undercover agent!

Chapter 80 Spending other people's money to do your own thing

"Ino-kun, Suzuhara-buchi, please enjoy your meal. There are other guests downstairs, so I'll have to get back to work." The proprietress was far more perceptive than one might imagine. Upon hearing that the broken vase was actually worth 50,000 yen, she instantly realized that there were some things she shouldn't be listening to.

"Mrs. Kawamura, thank you for your hard work." Shingo Suzuhara nodded slightly to the proprietress.

The proprietress collected the tray, bowed slightly to the two of them, and quickly left the private room.

Yusuke Ino wisely poured Shingo Suzuhara a glass of sake, and then poured one for himself.

Then he clinked glasses with Shingo Suzuhara, and the two drank it all in one gulp.

“Ha,” Suzuhara Shingo took a breath and suddenly said, “Yusuke, you should cut ties with Mrs. Kawamura as soon as possible.”

"This woman is much smarter than you think."

Yusuke Ino blushed and hurriedly explained, "Uncle, there's nothing between me and Mrs. Kawamura."

Shingo Suzuhara gave Yusuke Ino a meaningful look: "Yusuke, we're all men."

“Your uncle was once your age too, so I know exactly what you’re thinking.”

"You can have an obedient woman, but you can't have a woman you can't control."

"Otherwise, she could become your weakness at any time."

Yusuke Ino frowned and quickly changed the subject, saying, "Uncle, let's not talk about that. Mr. Chen gave away 80,000 silver dollars in one go."

"I think you should refuse him for the sake of safety."

"If he's willing to spend such a high price, it must be something big."

Department Head Suzuhara picked up a piece of sea bream sashimi, dipped it in wasabi and soy sauce, and put it in his mouth.

The chilled sea bream, infused with the flavors of the seasoning, creates an indescribable explosion of taste on the palate—both incredibly fresh, tender, and refreshingly delicious.

"Yusuke, it's good that you can't let money cloud your judgment. At least it proves that you won't make any big mistakes in the future."

Shingo Suzuhara took a sip of sake: "But it seems we can't refuse Mr. Chen's kindness right now."

"Because he has already discovered our weaknesses."

Yusuke Ino hesitated and asked, "A weakness?"

Suzuhara Shingo sighed and said, "Didn't you ask me before why we can't import and export supplies on a large scale?"

"I've told you before, the time isn't right."

"Now I'll tell you the real reason: it's because we didn't have professional financial advisors to handle the aftermath."

"Even if we could sell a million worth of supplies, figuring out what to do with that million would be far more difficult than simply selling a million worth of supplies."

"You want to hide the money? If the supervisory department receives a report, they can catch you red-handed with almost no effort."

"If you go through underground banks, those people make their living from this business. We have no control over when they are human and when they are treacherous."

"If you want to deposit your money in the bank, haha."

"The Shanghai Stock Exchange is already under the control of the Empire. Whether it is an American bank or a French bank, there may be traces of the Special Higher Police among them."

"Only small deposits will not arouse the other party's suspicion."

"But if you deposit a million dollars, it will be discovered immediately that a huge amount of money has been deposited into certain accounts."

“If we get investigated, we’ll be easily exposed, which is why I’ve been telling you to sell supplies in small, incremental ways.”

“Sometimes having too much money isn’t a good thing.” Yusuke Ino nodded, but then asked, puzzled, “Uncle, if that’s the case, why did you say you couldn’t refuse?”

Shingo Suzuhara said calmly, "Because Mr. Chen is a professional financial manager."

“He is an honors graduate of Kyushu University in economics and pharmacy, and he knows better than us how to manipulate funds.”

"By taking out these 80,000 silver dollars, he meant that he had a way to launder this money, or even more money."

"This leaves us with only two options: either abandon it and continue to make money by shoveling food from a small amount."

"Either we trust him, and we become deeply intertwined with him, sharing both prosperity and adversity."

Yusuke Ino suddenly realized, "So, Uncle, you're considering whether or not to continue working with him?"

Shingo Suzuhara picked up the wine glass on the table, took a sip, and said with a wry smile, "Actually, I have no other choice."

"As the Chinese often say, it is easy to go from simplicity to luxury, but difficult to go from luxury to frugality."

“The supply business isn’t something I can control alone. Those people have seen how a deal can earn two hundred thousand US dollars, so why would they give up such a good opportunity and go back to using the dumbest and slowest methods to make money?”

Yusuke Ino asked, somewhat puzzled, "Uncle, since you've already figured it out, why do you still put on such an aloof expression?"

Suzuhara Shingo sighed, "This is the only way we can do it. Chen Sang's personality and methods mean that he is not someone who is willing to be subordinate to others."

“I just wanted him to know that he can make decisions, but he can’t cross the line.”

“Shanghai provides him with a stage, allowing him to showcase his talents and perform to his heart’s content. However, it is not up to him to decide when this play begins and when it ends.”

Office of the Director of the Economic Department of the Shanghai Municipal Government.

"Okay, okay, I understand, Ino-kun. I know what to do. Let's meet again next time."

After hanging up the phone, Chen Yang waved his hand dramatically. The matter had finally come to a happy ending for everyone.

The mountain town obtained more than 300 kilograms of gold and also eliminated 20 or 30 Japanese soldiers. Yu Zuobai, as the person in charge of the operation, was naturally highly rewarded.

Nanjing used this incident to report the loss of more than 2,000 tons of supplies, thus closing the gap left by the previous failed "cleansing" campaign.

Chen Yang obtained 500 kilograms of gold from it, and no one is investigating now. With this 500 kilograms of gold as capital, he can smoothly carry out the next step of his plan.

Colonel Suzuhara and Commander Otani of the Military Police Headquarters were overjoyed, as they were sitting at home when a sum of money unexpectedly fell into their laps.

This time, everyone got what they deserved, and the only one who was unhappy was probably the Shanghai Joint Special Higher Police.

After all, someone with enough weight has to take the blame for such a huge mistake.

"Secretary Li, please have Director Qin from the First Department and Director Tang from the Second Department come in." Chen Yang picked up the phone, dialed the internal line, and gave the order to Li Ningyu.

Li Ningyu responded and hung up the phone. A short while later, Qin Gang and Tang Yuelin knocked on the door of Chen Yang's office.

"Director Qin, Director Tang, I have arranged everything for you."

Chen Yang said without any hesitation, "The logistics department of the Military Police Headquarters will send over some stamped notes this afternoon."

"After you verify the damaged materials, fill out a form."

"Remember, everything is prepared for you, so you absolutely must not make any more mistakes."

A blank slip with a stamp? Qin Gang and Tang Yuelin were momentarily stunned; this operation seemed strangely familiar.

It seems that several hundred years ago, an emperor surnamed Zhu beheaded tens of thousands of people because of this incident.
(End of this chapter)