Newborn 1927

Everyone who heard this was shocked, almost unable to believe their ears. Three million! No wonder the other party wouldn't let go; who could let go in such a situation? Mrs. Wu exclaimed, "Three million? Why don't you just rob us?" Liu Yishou laughed, "Robbery is nowhere near as fast as gambling. If you're lucky, you can win it all back in one night. Don't believe me? Ask your son; hasn't he lost that much?" Wu San probably never even considered giving him the money; when gambling, how could he care how much he lost? At this moment, he naturally had no way to refute it.

Mrs. Wu said, "Even if my family were rich, we couldn't come up with that much cash. How about this, I'll give you 30,000 silver dollars first, and you release my son. I'll pay the rest later." Liu Yishou laughed loudly and said, "Do you think we're three-year-olds? You think you can fool us with that? Let me put it this way! We brothers are after money, not lives. We're taking this money. If you don't pay, then we'll have to pay with your son's life. If you think your son's life isn't worth that much, then I won't be polite; this day next year will be his death anniversary." As he spoke, he pressed a cold dagger against Wu Sanpa's neck. Wu Sanpa cried out in terror, repeatedly calling for his mother, a cry that broke Mrs. Wu's heart. So, Mrs. Wu quickly agreed, "I'll give you the money; I'll go back and get it right away."

Liu Yishou said, "Wouldn't it have been better if you had said so earlier? Brothers, keep a close eye on him. I'll go with Mrs. Wu to get the money. As soon as we get the money, we'll release him immediately. If we don't get the money back, or if I don't return within an hour, don't wait for me. Kill this brat, and then run for your lives!" Liu Heizi and Tiedan agreed and picked up Wu Sanpa. Liu Yishou carried a black leather suitcase and came to Mrs. Wu, saying, "Mrs. Wu, my worthless life is nothing. If you dare to play any tricks, it doesn't matter if I die, but your son will definitely be dead." Mrs. Wu gradually calmed down, partly because she loved her son dearly, and partly because she had other plans. She took Liu Yishou home.

Mrs. Wu was usually arrogant and domineering, and no one in the headquarters' family compound liked her. Now that Wu Junshi wasn't around, everyone kept their distance. Liu Yishou followed Mrs. Wu to her house, carefully observing the path along the way. Mrs. Wu rummaged through her drawers and cabinets, bringing out all the cash, gold bars, and silver dollars she had, but it was a drop in the ocean, far from enough. Finally, she gritted her teeth and said, "The big money is all in HSBC. Come with me to withdraw it. But let's make it clear first, whatever amount you have, I'll withdraw it all for you. That'll be the end of it. I won't pursue the matter of you hurting my son, is that alright?" Liu Yishou said, "If it's not too much short, I can make an exception. If it's far too much, then I'll have to ask you to find another way."

Mrs. Wu took the deposit slip and led Liu Yishou to HSBC. On the way, Liu Yishou saw Gui Liqiu secretly protecting him, so he gestured as they walked, relaying the message. Gui Liqiu quickly relayed the message to Yang Jiefang, who, seeing everything was normal, instructed Gui Liqiu to proceed according to plan.

The two arrived at HSBC. Mrs. Wu took out her deposit slip to withdraw all her savings, which immediately alerted the bank manager. A foreigner rushed out and asked Mrs. Wu if she was sure she wanted to withdraw everything. After Mrs. Wu confirmed, Liu Yishou suggested exchanging all the money for bearer drafts at sight. He also exchanged all the cash in the trunk for these drafts to reduce weight. A total of 1.85 million taels of customs silver was exchanged, all packed into the black leather trunk. Liu Yishou didn't actually understand what drafts were, nor did he know how much one tael of customs silver was worth. He was simply following Yang Jiefang's instructions, saying, "That's enough, I don't need the rest." He picked up the black trunk and tried to leave. Mrs. Wu tried to snatch it back, saying, "You can't have this money until my son is released." Liu Yishou wasn't going to let her get away with it. He hid the hand holding the suitcase behind his back and slapped Mrs. Wu across the face, yelling, "If you want your son to live, you'd better behave yourself." The slap was so hard that Mrs. Wu was dizzy and didn't see a man standing behind Liu Yishou, also carrying a black suitcase. That man was Gui Liqiu. He subtly and quickly switched the suitcases with Liu Yishou's, then quietly took two steps back, creating some distance.

The bank manager asked Mrs. Wu with concern if she needed help, but she refused. Liu Yishou waved the switched suitcase in his hand and said, "This is your son's life-saving money. If we get back too late and can't save your son's life, don't blame me." Mrs. Wu, anxious for her son, didn't press the matter further and followed Liu Yishou to the casino. Gui Liqiu then left the bank, turned a corner, and handed the suitcase to Yang Jiefang. Yang Jiefang said, "You proceed with the original plan. We'll meet outside the city." Gui Liqiu agreed and turned to head towards the casino.

Outside the casino, a large crowd of onlookers had gathered, several layers deep. At the casino entrance, a dozen or so police officers, led by their captain, were heavily armed and watching the casino intently. Inside, Liu Heizi and Tie Dan had drawn their pistols; one pointed them at the police officers outside, while the other held Wu Sanpa's head to his chest. Wu Sanpa's injured hand had been bandaged, and his legs trembled uncontrollably. Liu Heizi, who had a penchant for hitting people's hands, was quite intimidating to him. Yan Donglai and another special forces member hid in the crowd, vigilantly observing their surroundings.

When Liu Yishou and Mrs. Wu arrived, the patrol captain immediately approached Mrs. Wu with a fawning smile. Liu Yishou proudly displayed the black leather suitcase in his hand, saying, "Brothers, the money's in hand. But not three million silver dollars, only a little over 1.8 million taels of customs silver. If you two brothers have no objections, we'll take our profits." The surrounding onlookers gasped in astonishment; 1.8 million taels of customs silver was practically three million. Who wouldn't be envious? It was clear that this quartermaster surnamed Wu had amassed quite a fortune over the years. Liu Heizi replied, "That's enough, we can't push him to the brink!" Tiedan agreed. Thus, the three reached a consensus.

Mrs. Wu had already spoken to the patrol captain and turned back to shout, "You've taken the money, release him now!" Liu Yishou laughed, "Mrs. Wu, in this situation, if we brothers release Young Master Wu, we'll be riddled with bullets the next second. If you want us to release Young Master Wu, you have to guarantee the safety of the three of us brothers first. Otherwise, we'll all die together, at least we'll have company on the road to the underworld, right?" Mrs. Wu knew he was telling the truth, so she asked, "Then what do you want?" Liu Yishou said, "That's simple, please have Young Master Wu accompany us out of the city. Once we've confirmed it's safe, we'll release him in front of you." At this point, Mrs. Wu had no choice but to agree.

So, Mrs. Wu had the patrolmen clear a path. Tie Dan led the way, Liu Heizi followed with Wu Sanpa behind him, and Liu Yishou brought up the rear, slowly making their way to the city gate. Mrs. Wu and the patrolmen followed closely behind, maintaining a distance of about ten paces. Behind them followed a group of onlookers. When they reached the city gate, the patrol captain suddenly shouted, "Wait!" He waved his hand, and more than ten patrolmen quickly moved forward, all their long guns pointed at Liu Yishou, stopping him in his tracks.

Liu Yishou asked, "What are you doing? Trying to back out?" The patrol captain said, "We just received orders from above. Your actions are tantamount to kidnapping. Considering you have a valid reason, we can spare your lives, but you must leave the ransom!" Upon hearing this, the onlookers booed. Such high-sounding words, weren't they just after the money? Liu Yishou said, "So you mean we brothers have to pay to buy our safety?" The patrol captain said, "No matter what you think, I can only obey orders." Liu Yishou laughed, "Brother, can we make a deal? We can split it fifty-fifty." The patrol captain shook his head, "No negotiation. If you dare harm Young Master Wu, you will surely die; if you are willing to leave this ransom, we can agree to spare your lives." Liu Yishou had to admire Yang Jiefang's planning at this moment; it was truly meticulous, otherwise, all their efforts would have been in vain. Just then, a patrolman stepped forward and forcibly snatched the black leather suitcase from Liu Yishou's hands. Mrs. Wu remained silent, merely observing coldly.

Liu Yishou said helplessly, "Fine, we brothers admit defeat today. How about this? We can forgo the money, but you must leave Yantai alive. You stay in the city and don't come out. We'll release Young Master Wu after we've walked a hundred paces away. Is that alright?" The patrol captain said, "That's fine. If you haven't released Young Master Wu after walking two hundred paces, then don't blame me for being impolite." Liu Yishou agreed, and the patrolmen lowered their guns.

When Liu Yishou and his two companions had walked about a hundred meters—the distance they had been scribbling at recently—they dropped Wu Sanpa in the middle of the road and took off running. The patrol officers immediately gave chase, but they were clearly no match for Liu Yishou and his group. By the time the officers reached Wu Sanpa, Liu Yishou and his men were already more than two hundred meters away. Seeing that he was safe, Wu Sanpa immediately became arrogant and shouted, "Kill them all! I'll reward you handsomely!" Mrs. Wu, lagging behind, shouted as she ran, "Don't let a single one escape! If you let even one get away, I'll deal with you all one by one!" The patrol captain waved his hand, and the officers immediately raised their guns and aimed at Liu Yishou and his companions.

Among the onlookers who followed, Yan Donglai, Gui Liqiu, and two others drew their guns without hesitation and opened fire. Yan Donglai, knowing the principle of "capture the leader first," fired at the patrol captain; Gui Liqiu, disliking Wu Sanpa, fired at him. Before the patrol officers could even open fire, gunshots rang out from behind. The two sides were only about twenty meters apart; for Yan Donglai and Gui Liqiu, who had been diligently practicing their marksmanship, it would be difficult to miss. With a series of bangs, the patrol captain and Wu Sanpa were hit almost simultaneously.

Liu Yishou and his two companions heard the gunfire behind them, but instead of turning around, they ran forward as fast as they could. They were carrying Mauser pistols, which were already beyond their effective range; turning back to return fire would be futile. The best option at this point was to get out of the enemy's firing range as quickly as possible. They also understood that with the distance exceeding two hundred meters, the patrol officers' marksmanship was unlikely to be effective.

However, things often take an unexpected turn. Yan Donglai and Gui Liqiu's gunshots seemed to be a signal. Suddenly, a large group of onlookers emerged, each pulling out a pistol and firing at the patrol officers. The officers were stunned, some falling to the ground, others fleeing in panic. The officer carrying the black leather suitcase became a prime target, sustaining over a dozen bullet wounds. Immediately afterward, three more men sprang from the crowd, rushing towards the officer with the suitcase almost simultaneously. Their purpose was obvious: to seize the suitcase. However, before they could get their hands on it, they were struck by bullets from an unknown source. Chaos erupted instantly. Yan Donglai and Gui Liqiu exchanged a glance and immediately took advantage of the chaos to retreat. Money is a powerful motivator! Over 1.8 million taels of customs silver, nearly three million silver dollars, were right before their eyes, enough to drive the crowd into a frenzy of fighting.

After Yan Donglai and his two companions caught up with Liu Yishou and his group, they talked about the chaotic battle outside the city gate and couldn't help but burst into laughter. Gui Liqiu laughed and said, "Go ahead and rob! Go ahead and rob! All you'll get is a pile of old newspapers. Haha, I really want to see their interesting expressions when they open their suitcases." Yan Donglai, however, said admiringly, "Little Boss is truly a genius!" The others also sincerely admired him.

They hadn't gone far when they encountered Yang Jiefang, who was waiting for them on the road, carrying a black leather suitcase. He had already counted it; it indeed contained 1.85 million taels of customs silver in immediate drafts. Yan Donglai and the others stepped forward and called out, "Young Master!" Their admiration was evident. Yang Jiefang asked, "Are all the brothers alright?" Everyone shook their heads, indicating they were perfectly fine. Yang Jiefang patted the black leather suitcase and said, "All spoils must be turned over to the authorities. Liu Yishou, you won more than this in the two days at the casino, didn't you?" Liu Yishou smiled wryly, took out a heavy cloth bag from his person, and opened it to find it full of gold bars—dozens of them. Then, Liu Heizi and Tiedan also took out a bag of gold bars and handed it to Yang Jiefang. Liu Yishou explained, "We won quite a bit. The silver dollars were too heavy, so we exchanged all the ones we could for gold bars. The rest that we couldn't take with us went to the casino." Yang Jiefang packed the gold bars into a black leather suitcase and laughed, "It's alright, just consider it as depositing it there. We'll get it back with interest later."

Liu Yishou's eyes lit up, and he said, "Little Boss, let's do another heist in a while!" Yang Jiefang shook his head and said, "No, this kind of thing can only happen once, not twice." Liu Yishou said, "We can do it somewhere else. There are plenty of spendthrifts in the world." Yang Jiefang was also taken aback, thought for a moment, and said, "That makes sense. I know there's a notorious spendthrift in Shanghai, a gambling addict. But he has good sportsmanship; he accepts his losses. He once lost an entire street in Shanghai in one night and acted like nothing happened." Liu Yishou said excitedly, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go to Shanghai!" "Let's venture out and meet that spendthrift." Yang Jiefang shook his head and said, "Not now. That place is a den of dragons and tigers. We'll have to wait until you've completed your special forces training and met my requirements. That spendthrift's Hanyeping Company was once the largest integrated steel enterprise in Asia. It's a real waste that it's fallen into his hands. If I could control it, I could make it the world's largest integrated steel enterprise! We'd build guns, cannons, tanks, airplanes, warships... Hey, I'm getting off-topic. Let's focus on the present! Now that we have the money, the next step is to get the guns. I suppose we've succeeded with Sun Zhiyong too!"