Period drama: Old Cao's carefree life

Chapter 85 In business, you need to take it slow and steady!
Cao Wei Da's heart sank. That bastard with the mourning stick was putting me in a difficult position!
"Master Cao, we're innocent! We're just honest businessmen, we're not anti-Japanese elements at all!" The arrested men cried out, their faces pale and their voices filled with tears.

Looking around, many ordinary people who witnessed this scene dared not speak out, their eyes filled with grief and indignation.

Today they're arresting these shop owners, but who knows who they might arrest randomly tomorrow?
Everyone couldn't help but feel a sense of shared sorrow, like the fox mourning the death of its kin.

"Don't worry, as long as you're really not, you'll be fine."

He turned around, glanced at him expressionlessly, and ordered the patrol officers behind him, "Send everyone to Master Duo. Before my order, anyone who dares to detain or torture anyone without my permission will be skinned alive!"

After saying that, he gave Sang Liuji a cold look, hailed a rickshaw, and headed to the police station.

If it weren't for the fact that I had to keep him around to take the blame, I would have killed him right now!

Behind him, Sang Liuji spat at Cao Weida's back and sneered arrogantly, "Damn, he's just lucky. He got lucky and got in touch with Ono-sama. Look at how capable he is."

"Damn it, just wait until I get in touch with Ono-kun, we'll see!"

After returning to the police station, Cao Weida went straight to Xu Hancheng's office.

After knocking and entering, Cao Weida explained what had just happened and asked, "Director, you didn't issue this order, did you?"

Xu Hancheng quickly waved his hand in denial, "How could that be? I'm not that idiot Sang Liuji. I just gave the order from above to arrest suspicious individuals."

"There was a shooting near the Yangtze Dance Hall last night. It was said to be an S-type assault rifle. The Japanese are taking it very seriously. All the people from the East Asian Academic Research Association came out. The scene was terrifying."

"I reckon that bastard Sang Liuji is taking this opportunity to extort money, and is planning to kill innocent people and claim credit for it."

Cao Wei Da naturally knew this, and he asked, "Who gave the order, Commander Ono?"

"I subtly inquired with Commander Ono, and this time it was an order from the Special Higher Police: better to kill a thousand innocent people than let one guilty person go free," Xu Hancheng sighed helplessly.

“Cao’er, I know you want to save them, but there’s nothing I can do. I can’t let them go right now, otherwise the officers won’t let me off the hook.”

"Don't worry, I won't make things difficult for you."

It seems the Japanese are serious this time; they want to kill a group of Chinese as a deterrent!
After leaving the director's office, Cao Weida quickly arrived at the door of Ono Oda's office, but did not go in immediately.

After silently drafting a plan in his mind, he knocked on the door and went in.
"Ono-kun, excuse me."

"Cao Sang, come quickly and sit down."

Ono Oda has been in a good mood lately, and he's made a lot of money by "mediating" for Cao Weida's "friends." Most of the loans they took out from the bank have been converted into supplies.

During this period, the purchasing power of UnionPay coupons continued to decline, which was seen as a disaster by others, but they made a fortune.

Moreover, a batch of supplies has recently been 'allocated' and they are planning to contact Cao Weida.

"Cao Sang, I was just looking for you. We have a batch of obsolete weapons and ammunition that need to be disposed of. Could you see when you can get rid of them?"

"No problem, just give me a time, I'm available anytime." After exchanging a few words, Cao Weida steered the conversation towards the arrest of civilians.

"Ono-kun, I just ran into Sang Liuji on the street. He arrested a lot of civilians. When I got back to the police station, they had arrested quite a few more, saying they were anti-Japanese elements."

Upon hearing this, Ono Oda understood the meaning behind the words and said with difficulty, "This matter is ordered by Major Goto, and it is difficult for me to handle."

"Of course I want to make money, but..."

“Cao, do you remember what I told you before? Someone in the Special Higher Police has a keen sense of smell. If we go against the Special Higher Police now, and they start watching us, then our goods will be in big trouble.”

Cao Weida suddenly realized: "What you mean, Mr. Ono, is the guy in charge of this matter one of those people?"

"Yes, his name is Kenji Goto. He's a guy who's obsessed with the Emperor and very difficult to deal with. If we get entangled with him, we'll have a real headache."

"I see," Cao Weida sighed regretfully, muttering to himself, "Isn't this delaying our ability to make money? Besides, I suspect the Special Higher Police have already set their sights on our shipment."

Ono Oda asked with a hint of unease, "How so?"

Cao Weida said helplessly, "Although we have been extremely careful during this period, Sang Liuji is just too high-profile."

"You have no idea, he is very arrogant because he is taking advantage of the orders you issued, and he has caused chaos in the maintenance committee and the new people's association."

"You know what the Special Higher Police are like, how could they not have received a single tip-off?"

"These supplies were forcibly requisitioned under the guise of supporting the front lines, which has caused a lot of discontent. I'm afraid that if they don't end up being delivered to the front lines, things could get really bad."

At the mention of money, Ono Oda's face immediately darkened, his eyes flashing with a fierce light as he said menacingly:

"Don't worry, Cao Sang. If he dares to delay our chance to make money, then he's going against us!"

"Don't even mention me, Fujita-kun, Matsui-kun won't let him get away with this either!"

"Sang Liuji is a fool too! He's good for nothing but causing trouble!"

Ha, it's just a one-time freebie anyway, can't we let them be arrogant for a bit?
"Ono-kun, it's better to be safe than sorry. If something goes wrong, it'll be too late to fix it then!" Cao Weida said, squinting.
"You said before that we also have people in the Special Higher Police?" "Hai, so, Mr. Cao, what are you trying to say?"

"I'd like to ask, why don't we help our men up?" Cao Weida chuckled, a glint of shrewdness in his eyes.
"If our people get high positions in the Special Higher Police and win over some of the less steadfast high-ranking officials, wouldn't our business be much safer?"

Ono Oda's heart skipped a beat. "Tell me in detail."

"Ono-kun, it's not that I'm pessimistic, but it's really too cumbersome and unsafe for us to wait for you to withhold some supplies and then risk selling them. If we get targeted, we'll have to live in constant fear."

"Putting aside everything else, Ono-kun, think about it yourself. How many times could you handle such a large amount of supplies the first two times? And how great would the risks be?"

Ono Oda fell silent. Cao Weida was right; opportunities like the goods traded in the last two transactions were rare, and the risks were considerable.

For example, the supplies he had Cao Weida sell this time were not comparable to the previous two times, amounting to only about 20,000 silver dollars.

All that money wasn't his; he'd only get less than five thousand.

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Since Cao Weida has said so, there must be a solution. Ono Oda listened attentively.

"Ono-kun, you need to listen to my advice about this business." Seeing that Ono Oda had taken the bait, Cao Wei Da smiled inwardly and began to speak eloquently:
"Whether it was the two previous transactions or the large-scale looting of supplies using Union Bank coupons, these were all unsustainable and could only be done as one-off deals."

"Doing business requires a long-term, sustainable approach; we need to build an industry chain! Relying on just a few of us is definitely not enough; we need to bring more people into our industry chain!"

"Once we turn everyone in Beiping and even the surrounding areas into our own people, how can our business compare to what we have now?"

Ono Oda listened with great excitement, yet hesitated, "No, Cao-san, if you do this, won't you drag all the high-ranking officials into this?"

"Not only government officials, but also the surrounding military forces need to be involved!"

"Then bring them all in!" Cao Weida's eyes gleamed with wisdom as he grinned. "I'm not afraid of bringing in a lot of people, I'm just afraid they won't come in!"

"Only by bringing them all into our supply chain can our business thrive!"

"As long as I can open a gap in the border, and set up a freight station near the city gate, I can send a steady stream of supplies out and bring them back in!"

He held up two fingers and said confidently, "I can't say much, but I can guarantee this number for everyone in a year!"

"Twenty thousand silver dollars?" Ono Oda was slightly tempted, but his emotions didn't fluctuate much.

His standards are much higher now than before; 20,000 a year is really not something he can afford.
"No, two hundred thousand!"

"Two hundred thousand?!" Ono Oda exclaimed in surprise.

Cao Wei Da smiled slightly, "US dollars!"

hiss~~
Ono Oda gasped, having contributed to the future of global warming.

The current exchange rate between the US dollar and the silver dollar is roughly 1:1.5. In other words, if the business can be done well, it's possible to earn 300,000 silver dollars a year!
なんで!
It really shocked him!

He had never had so much money in his entire life!

His heart pounded like a drum, and he confirmed:
"Mr. Cao, this is no joke. Two hundred thousand US dollars is simply unbelievable!"

Cao Wei Da said confidently, "Ono-kun, I can't guarantee anything else, but when it comes to doing business, I'm quite knowledgeable."

"If I weren't certain, how could I dare to speak so carelessly?"

"but."

"But what?" Seeing his hesitation, Ono Oda hurriedly asked, "You can tell us what the problem is, and we'll definitely help you solve it if it's within our power!"

Compared to the annual dividend of $200,000, he didn't think there was any problem that could stop him, except for the Emperor!
Compared to his enormous wealth, the Emperor is nothing!
Cao Wei Da feigned difficulty for a moment, then said guiltily, "As you know, in business, you do business with whoever has the money."

"If we're talking about this land, it's definitely the Kuomintang. The Red Party may be a bit weaker, but its wealth shouldn't be underestimated."

"Therefore, once an industrial chain is formed, we will inevitably have some dealings with them."

"But if the relationship becomes too close, what if those loyalists to the Emperor discover it?"

Ono Oda's face twisted in a grimace. "Then let them die!!"

Mu Ran turned his head, his eyes fixed on Cao Weida: "Cao Sang, you know that you are the Chinese person I trust the most. Now tell me, is that number you just mentioned true or false!"

“If we help you sort everything out, and you ultimately fail to make that money, you’re my friend, so I can be a little more understanding. But I can’t control the anger of the others!”

"They even take their anger out on me!"

"So, for our safety, you have to tell me the truth now: can you actually do it?"

(End of this chapter)