Espionage: You're tasked with spying, but you'll blow up the Special Higher Police?

Zhou Hongyi had been struggling with who to send to procure the materials for these poisons. Purchasing through normal channels would inevitably leave traces, while buying from the black market couldn't guarantee the purity and quality of the materials. Now that Chen Gong, with his Kuomintang (KMT) affiliation, was handling the procurement, he felt relieved; the KMT's warehouses certainly had a considerable quantity of such poisons. With the material issue resolved, the next step was to determine the timing of the operation.

After bidding farewell to the secret liaison point of the Military Intelligence Bureau, Zhou Hongyi returned home. He generously gave away the small yellow croakers that Director Feng had entrusted to him to deliver to Ding Mocun, using other people's money, to Chen Gong. He kept the remaining small yellow croakers for himself, since he would need money for many things in the future.

Although he had gone to bed early, he did not fall asleep immediately. Only after hearing Ding Mocun's voice did he open the door and come out.

"Zhongliang hasn't rested yet?"

Zhou Hongyi pretended to have just woken up, rubbed his eyes and said, "I drank a bit too much and just got up in the middle of the night. I heard you were back, so I came down to say hello."

"Your gunshot wound hasn't fully healed yet, so drink less alcohol. By the way, I ran into Colonel Shimazu today. He wants you to come to his office tomorrow; it's probably because your official appointment has been approved."

Zhou Hongyi feigned surprise and asked, "Really?" Then, in a very ingratiating manner, he took the teacup from Wang Ma and handed it to Ding Mocun.

"Brother-in-law, have some tea. There's something I'd like to ask you about."

"What is it?" Ding Mocun asked, picking up his teacup and blowing away the foam on top.

“I heard from our bureau chief that there is a vacancy in the Ministry of Finance, and all sorts of forces are eyeing it. Does my brother-in-law know about this? Who is most likely to take that position?”

Ding Mocun looked up at him, a half-smile on his face, and said, "What, you're interested, kid? Your personality isn't suited for an office job. Don't you prefer to travel around?"

Zhou Hongyi coughed and said, "Brother-in-law, you know me. Of course I'm not interested in that position, but our bureau chief is. You know he's scheming and cowardly. Although he's the bureau chief of the Second Branch, he hasn't accomplished anything in all these years. He just likes to make money, give gifts, and build connections. I heard he's given you quite a few gifts too, brother-in-law. Last time, that ginseng..."

Upon hearing about American ginseng, Ding Mocun coughed lightly, signaling Zhou Hongyi to shut up, but still whispered, "That ginseng is quite effective. Ask him if he has any more, and get a few more."

Zhou Hongyi nodded with an understanding expression, and then said, "Of course, none of that is the most important thing. Brother-in-law, I believe you are also aware of the current situation of our Second Branch. One of the deputy directors is dull-witted and has no background, and the other is old and has retired. Once our director is transferred from his current position, his position will be vacant."

Ding Mocun put down his teacup, turned to look at Zhou Hongyi, and pointed at him, saying, "So you were waiting for me here. But you've only been in the police station for a short time, and you've already been promoted to head of the special operations team and given the title of deputy director. If you continue to be promoted to director, wouldn't that be too high-profile and conspicuous? It might make you a target of resentment."

Zhou Hongyi moved closer and, with great flattery, massaged Ding Mocun's shoulders, saying, "Brother-in-law, I wanted this position so I could better cooperate with your work. Think about it, once I'm in the position of the Second Precinct Chief, the entire police station will be like our home. You'll be able to command them more easily, and they'll be a powerful ally for you. Although the police station doesn't have as much power as the 76th Precinct, it can still handle some dirty and hard work. After I train them for a while, they'll definitely only recognize you, brother-in-law, and won't recognize anyone else."

Ding Mocun smiled without saying a word, but Zhou Hongyi could sense that the other party was interested.

Indeed, Ding Mocun was constantly hampered by Li Shiqun at No. 76, and important positions were also controlled by the latter's deputy director, which made Ding Mocun very unhappy. But if Zhou Hongyi could take the position of director of the Second Branch Bureau, it would indeed be a great help to him.

Moreover, Zhou Hongyi is both intelligent and capable, and has close ties with the Special Higher Police. He could easily use this connection to completely seize control of the 76th Special Agent Headquarters, drive Li Shiqun away, and make it his personal fiefdom. At that point, he could do whatever he wanted, deciding the life or death of others with a single word, like a local tyrant in Shanghai's underworld.

Ding Mocun couldn't help but let his mind wander for a moment, but he quickly recovered, picked up his teacup again, blew on it, and said, "Zhongliang, it's good that young people are ambitious. I'll look into this matter privately, but you can't rely entirely on your brother-in-law. Tomorrow, when you go to the Special Higher Police, you can also subtly ask your teacher for their opinion."

"Okay, brother-in-law, then I'll trouble you to go through all this trouble. I'll talk to the teacher again tomorrow. I'll remember about the ginseng. I'll make sure our Director Feng prepares a few more to send to you."

Zhou Hongyi thought to himself, "I hope this old lecher doesn't eat himself to death one day. Working during the day is already high-intensity; to then use his rest time at night to indulge in pleasure—even an iron body wouldn't last long. It seems these spies live each day as if it were their last. After all, they never know when Kuomintang or Communist assassins will come after them; these people just live for the moment."

After planting a seed for Ding Mocun, Zhou Hongyi returned to his room and slept soundly until dawn.

Early in the morning, he first went to "onepiece" to explain some registration and audition matters to Xiao Bei, and then came to the police station to inform Director Feng about Ding Mocun's desire for ginseng.

"The director said that ginseng is effective? I understand, I understand, hehehe~~~ I didn't expect Zhongliang to care so much about my old Feng's matter. I just asked you for help, and you asked about it for me that very night. This matter is not urgent, not urgent, it's better to be cautious."

As Feng Jinxiong spoke, he took out a few more American ginseng roots from the cabinet. His old face was beaming with joy, while Zhou Hongyi chuckled inwardly, as if he had found a simple way to profit from both sides.

He first used Ding Mocun's identity as a major traitor and spy chief to solicit favors from others and collect bribes. He kept things like small yellow croakers and silver dollars for himself, only sending over aphrodisiacs such as ginseng and tiger penis. The profits generated in this process were pure profit, without any risk or investment. He got money for free. Is there any business in the world that is simpler and more profitable than this?

Zhou Hongyi couldn't help but delve deeper into the matter and realized it was indeed a path to wealth. Moreover, as his own position rose, such opportunities would become more frequent.

It seems I should go out more often in the future and connect with the upper echelons and high-ranking officials in Shanghai.

Oh, and those wealthy wives—don't underestimate the social circles of Shanghai's wives. The power behind these older women is immense, needless to say, and they themselves are incredibly wealthy. Getting to know their men through these circles won't seem out of place. Hehe, that's settled then.