1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 1053 The Boss Arrives
But before Wanfa could figure it out, the clerk outside called him out. A batch of high-quality rice and flour from a rice store in the city had arrived, and he was waiting for him to come forward to collect the goods and pay the bill.

Wan Fa came back to his senses, quickly put away his identity badge and put it back in the secret compartment under the bed, and then went out of the house to receive the goods at the entrance of the store.He specially ordered this batch of high-quality rice to welcome Gong Shiqi's arrival. Usually, everyone in the store, including himself, is not so particular about food.As far as the details that can be imagined, Wan Fa basically put in enough effort to make Gong Shiqi enjoy the best service during his stay in Chengfenghang.

Wan Fa also knew that these measures might not be of obvious help to Gong Shiqi's business in Hangzhou, but his status in the Ministry of Security was not high enough to directly participate in the actions commanded by Gong Shiqi , and can only be responsible for these logistical matters.Even if he intends to show it, he can only work more on these aspects for the time being.Of course, if Gong Shiqi could give him some opportunities to show his professional ability this time, perhaps the tasks he would accept in the future would be more advanced.

After Wanfa inspected the goods, he paid the bill to the steward of the rice bank with cash, and then told his staff to bring in the burlap bag containing the rice: "I will use the newly bought rice for cooking at night. I put the old rice for the time being. After moving things, sweep the yard clean, water the flowers and plants... and you guys, change into clean clothes later, don't look dirty!"

A clerk asked cautiously: "Shopkeeper, this big boss asks so much, will it be difficult to serve him?"

Wan Fa said with a stern face: "This is not an order from the big boss, but a request from me, the shopkeeper! You should do everything well now, and the big boss will live in a comfortable mood. Then everyone will have a better life. Wouldn't it be better for you to give some rewards than being singled out and scolded?"

Wanfa internally said that the distinguished guests who came this time were actually the real boss of Chengfenghang, but the boss was low-key and unwilling to publicize, so he announced to the public that Chengfenghang was hired by merchants from Lingnan.If there is a guy who doesn't do what he is responsible for well and is picked out by the big boss at that time, then don't expect Wanfa, the shopkeeper, to come forward to protect his job.Of course, Wanfa has also made a wish to the guys, as long as the big boss's trip to Hangzhou goes well, he will give them an increase of [-]% in salary.Although the guys were a little uneasy about the arrival of the big boss, but for the sake of salary increase, they still obeyed Wan Fa's instructions and did their best to complete the preparations for the reception.

Seeing that it was already past noon, Wan Fa gave another order, and then took a clerk out of the shop and went straight to the dock area by the Qiantang River to wait.According to the notification he had received before, Gong Shiqi's boat would probably arrive in Hangzhou this afternoon, so he had to wait by the river earlier.Of course, coming to the riverside in advance is not just standing there and blowing the wind. He has to contact the berth for the boat, hire a sedan chair, and the laborers and carts needed to unload the cargo.After arranging these things, he can go to the tea shop by the pier to rest, and wait for the arrival of his boss with peace of mind.

"Shopkeeper, the ship is here, wake up!"

When Wanfa fell asleep waiting in the tea shop, the waiter outside came in and woke him up.Wan Fa opened his eyes, asked the clerk to get a hot towel to wipe his face, then got up, packed his luggage, and walked out of the tea shop quickly.After all, it's been a year since the last time he saw Gong Shiqi. He hoped that he could appear in front of his boss in the best condition, so that his impression of him could be improved a little.

On the river, a lucky boat of about [-] materials came slowly, with a flag hanging on the mast, with the three characters "Haifeng" written on it.Haifeng is actually not the property of Haihan, but a commercial firm in Huizhou, Guangdong. Of course, this firm has a close relationship with Haihan. The main agent in the area.This time Gong Shiqi borrowed the name of Huizhou Haifeng as a cover, and he himself was from Lingnan, so he was even more comfortable playing the role of a wealthy businessman in the south.

When the ship docked, the laborers and bearers on the shore were already in place, and Wan Fa and his staff stood respectfully on the pier, waiting for Gong Shiqi to appear.However, it was not Gong Shiqi who got off the boat first, but several bodyguards under him. After going down to the shore to observe the surroundings, they signaled to the boat, and then Wanfa saw his boss whom he hadn't seen for a year. Appeared on the springboard and walked steadily ashore.

"Boss, you've worked hard all the way!" Wan Fa tactfully walked over to give him a hand. Although his body may not be as tough as Gong Shiqi's, this gesture still needs to be done.

Gong Shiqi nodded and said, "You have worked hard too, how have you been?"

"Everything is fine, everything is fine!" Wan Fa knew that it was not the place to talk at the moment, so he quickly asked for instructions: "Boss, should we go back to the store for a stay?"

After getting an affirmative answer, Wan Fa beckoned for the sedan chair to come over, and then ordered the man to watch over Ligong's unloading, while he trotted behind the sedan chair all the way back to Chengfenghang.Fortunately, Chengfengxing is only two or three hundred meters away from the pier, so it doesn't take much effort.

Back at the store, Wan Fa personally took Gong Shiqi to the third house in the packed wing room in the yard.Gong Shiqi washed his face, drank tea, and then turned away the others, leaving Wan Fa alone.

"You took care of this place well! It seems that you put a lot of thought into it, yes, yes!" Gong Shiqi praised Wan Fa as soon as he opened his mouth.

Wan Fa hastily replied: "The duty of the humble job is, don't dare to neglect, you should do your best."

Gong Shiqi nodded slowly and said, "You have been here for a year. You are more familiar with the situation in Hangzhou City than I am. Can you do what I sent someone to explain to you?"

Wan Fa responded: "Back to the boss, after getting the order four days ago, I immediately went to the city to find a suitable house. It's just that the time is short, so far I have only found two houses that meet your requirements. One is in the north of the city and the other is in the south of the city. , if the boss is interested, he can go to see the place tomorrow."

Gong Shiqi said: "Tell me about the conditions of the two houses first, and I will make a decision earlier when I have a clear idea."

Wan Fa said: "The house in the south of the city is an old house. It is said that it was built during the Longqing period. Like this Chengfeng house, it is also a courtyard with three entrances, but the area is much larger. The owner who built the house at that time He is the supervising eunuch of the Hangzhou Weaving Bureau. This house is not far from the Weaving Yamen. Later, a businessman bought this house 50 years ago. Now the family is in decline, and they plan to sell the house to raise money. The asking price is 8000 taels. The house in the east of the city is newer. It was built in the late Wanli period, but the house is a bit bigger. It is a six-entry yard, and the price is much higher. 3 taels is a lot of money. The transportation of these two houses is very fast. It's convenient and the surrounding area is quite peaceful."

Gong Shiqi said, "How far is it from the house in the north to the pier where the boat stopped just now?"

Wan Fa thought for a while and said, "About three li."

"What about the south?" Gong Shiqi continued to ask.

"It's almost twice the distance from here to the pier."

"Okay, then I'll go and see the house in the south tomorrow, and if it's suitable, I'll make a decision." Gong Shiqi quickly made a decision.

Since there are only two houses to choose from, the main factor he considers is the distance to the pier by the river in the south of the city, because the main way for Hangzhou to keep in touch with Zhoushan Island in this operation is through the short-wave radio station hidden on the lucky boat. up.If the action team's foothold in the city is too far away from the riverside wharf, the time it takes to transmit information on this route will increase, and the risk will increase accordingly.

From the house in the north to the wharf here, almost the entire urban area of ​​Hangzhou needs to be traversed. In Gong Shiqi's view, the risks during this period can be completely avoided.As for the price of the house, this will not be the main factor considered by the Ministry of Security. As long as it can facilitate the smooth implementation of the operation, both He Xi and Hao Wanqing are very generous with the necessary expenses.

However, Wan Fa did not understand the real purpose of the Ministry of Security’s rush to buy a house in Hangzhou this time. The order he received was to search for a house that was eager to sell recently in the city. Fortunately, it is more than 30 years old and has three courtyards.In addition, it can be delivered immediately after purchase, without waiting for the owner to move slowly.

This kind of order obviously has a very strong purpose. Wanfa guessed that Gong Shiqi must have planned some kind of action to be carried out in Hangzhou City, so he needed to temporarily purchase such a house as a base and command center. Just now Seeing at the pier that Gong Shiqi was accompanied by many familiar faces from the field team confirmed his guess.However, he didn't dare to ask Gong Shiqi about the inside information, because this was already beyond the scope of his authority.

Gong Shiqi said: "These guys under your command, are there any hidden dangers?"

Wan Fa shook his head and said, "They are all locals, and they are quite honest and obedient. I explain the situation to them according to the predetermined words, so these guys want to work hard to show their performance and win the favor of you, the boss."

Gong Shiqi said with a smile: "Forget it, for safety's sake, from now on, your buddies should not enter this yard, so as not to leak the news. You go and see if the people I brought are here, there are seventeen people in total. Personally, when everyone is ready, let's prepare for dinner!"

Wan Fa responded, and immediately withdrew.The handyman he hired at the pier had already delivered Gong Shiqi and his party's luggage with a cart, and two carts full of wooden boxes were being delivered to the yard one by one by Gong Shiqi's men.When Wan sent out the number of people, he noticed that apart from a few familiar faces from the field team, most of the people who came this time were people he had never seen before, and they were all young men with strong bodies. I am also a little puzzled, why the security department, which has always been short of manpower, suddenly has so many more manpower.According to what he knew about the establishment of the Ministry of Security in Zhejiang, the field team did not have so many people.

However, Wanfa didn't bother to inquire about these details at the moment, so he sent all his staff to the front yard to prepare dinner, and then helped bring these wooden boxes in.There are two wing rooms in the east and west of the courtyard, Gong Shiqi lives in one, and the remaining three rooms are probably a bit crowded if there are more than a dozen people to live in, so it is possible to temporarily add a few more beds in the main hall up.

After dinner, Wan Fa went back to his room to get Cheng Feng's account books, and then went to the backyard to see Gong Shiqi.Although the boss has not mentioned the matter of checking the accounts, Wan Fa thinks that it is better to be conscious about this kind of thing. Anyway, the business conditions of this place are not bad, and there are no shady problems in the accounts. Communicating more with your boss should be beneficial and harmless to yourself.

Gong Shiqi was not really interested in Chengfenghang's business status, but his subordinates took out the account books themselves, so they still had to look through them out of responsibility.Gong Shiqi saw that the accounts were well organized, and judging from the account figures, Chengfeng Bank had made a slight profit in this year's operation, and had already recovered nearly half of the fees paid to the previous owner for taking over the business here. It also shows Wanfa's intentions during the operation here.

Gong Shiqi closed the account book after reading it, and said to Wanfa with a pleasant face: "Good job, the situation on your side, after I return to Zhoushan, I will report the truth to Minister Hao."

Wan Fa replied in surprise: "So Director Hao has also arrived in Zhoushan?"

Gong Shiqi didn't intend to hide the news, he nodded and said, "Minister Hao is here to personally oversee important matters, and he will probably stay for a month or two before leaving."

Wan Fa muttered: "Humble job... I wonder if I'm lucky... Can I go back to Zhoushan to see Minister Hao?"

Gong Shiqi could roughly guess what Wanfa was thinking, nodded and said: "I will consider this matter, you first help me handle the matter in Hangzhou properly, if it is done well, then I will arrange for you to go back to Zhoushan to report to Hao The minister will report on the work face to face."

"Thank you boss!" Wan Fa quickly responded.Similar to this kind of opportunity to meet with the big boss above, a relatively low-level intelligence officer like him may not be able to get a chance after a few years. If he can meet him once and be lucky enough to get a few compliments, then his promotion will definitely go much smoother in the future .

Gong Shiqidao: "You came just in time, I have a map of Hangzhou City here, please show me the important places in the city first."

After finishing speaking, Gong Shiqi took out a map and spread it on the table. The map showed the approximate distribution of blocks in Hangzhou City. It was drawn according to the direction of up, north, down, south, left, east, right, and west. The ten outer city gates were marked on it. Pass through the main water veins in the city, as well as the locations of some of the main government offices in the city.

Although this map was not drawn by Wanfa, he has lived here for a year and has entered Hangzhou City at least fifty or sixty times, so the general distribution of the streets in the city is quite clear.At that moment, he recalled slowly and explained to Gong Shiqi the names and environmental characteristics of the neighborhoods in the city.Gong Shiqi took a pen and paper and wrote down the main points he said one by one, adding notes on the map from time to time.

(End of this chapter)