20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 803 Investigation
The two of them visited several foreign trading companies and shops along Chiyoda-dori.

Zhuang Shuning only picked out two small trinkets, neither of which were expensive, but he spent a lot of money to give Miss Huang a pair of earrings as a reward for her helpful advice. Then he took her to a nearby restaurant and treated her to a big Russian meal.

The relationship between the sisters also became more and more harmonious.

Zhuang Shuning didn't even need to ask; Miss Huang herself kept mentioning the Japanese officer who was keeping her.

After all, a woman like her, who frequents the world of fame and fortune, can't help but talk about two things—men and money.

During the meal, Ms. Huang talked at length about her methods for managing her husband.

She diligently studied Japanese so as not to be deceived and to keep a close eye on the wallets of Japanese officers.

Upon hearing this, Zhuang Shuning quickly smiled and flattered, "Girl, you're quite impressive. You can even detect when the army is changing equipment. I don't have your ability."

Miss Huang waved her hand and said, "Actually, it's not that amazing. The main thing is that his sidearms have been changed. Even if I don't know much about guns, I can still tell the difference between a revolver and a pistol, right? Besides, after those Japanese officers changed their guns, everyone was complaining, saying that those traitors on the mainland wanted to kill them."

"Huh?" Zhuang Shuning was stunned. "What do you mean by that?"

Miss Huang shook her head and said, "I don't know either. I heard from Mr. Kawada that the new guns the military gave them were terrible, really terrible."

Originally, the Japanese troops stationed in Manchuria were mainly equipped with Meiji Type 26 revolvers for self-defense by their officers and lieutenants.

The Russo-Japanese War broke out in Meiji 37 (1898).

It is easy to see that the Meiji Type 26 pistol was already far behind the times.

Therefore, Japan urgently needed to develop a new standard sidearm for military equipment upgrades, which led to the famous Nambu Type 14 pistol, commonly known as the "Turtle Box".

To demonstrate the importance the empire placed on the Manchurian garrison, Emperor Taisho first equipped the Kwantung Army and the South Railway Independent Garrison with these new sidearms.

The Emperor's grace was boundless, and none of the Manchurian military officers dared to disobey.

However, this did not stop them from cursing the local military behind their backs.

how?
This is a gun of kindness!
This gun has an extremely high safety rating; it can't kill a cow in three shots. Even if you use it to commit suicide, there's a high chance you'll escape death.

Because the bullets often jam, this gun frequently switches between automatic and manual modes, always managing to surprise the user at opportune moments.

The Japanese officers stationed in Manchuria complained bitterly, but they had no choice but to accept the orders and replace a batch of old rifles.

Zhuang Shuning didn't understand firearms and couldn't distinguish between good and bad ones. He just kept asking, "So many guns were discarded and handed over to Mr. Kawada. He must have made a lot of money, right? Didn't you ask him to buy you a house or something? A man's money is like water in a sponge. If you make a fuss, you'll always get some!"

"No way, he wouldn't dare!"

Miss Huang smiled and said, "Although he can make a profit, he can't keep it all. The old guns that the independent garrison discards all have a fixed place to go."

"Where did they all go?" Zhuang Shuning asked.

"The better and newer ones are given directly to the police officers in the concession; the inferior and older ones are distributed to veterans and settlers; any left over might be sold to bandits; and those that nobody wants are simply destroyed."

Miss Huang's explanation was very logical and reasonable.

In fact, in the past, the old guns discarded by the Japanese would probably have ended up in the hands of the Fengtian Army.

But General Zhang is not the same as before. The Fengtian Arsenal can now imitate rifles. If it goes all out to produce them, the quantity will be quite considerable. Naturally, he will not look down on the old junk discarded by the Japanese. He will only want the new equipment from the Japanese.

After all, when the Independent Garrison was conducting its autumn exercises, Guo Degang hadn't yet rebelled, and General Zhang wasn't in such dire straits as he is now.

After listening for a while, Zhuang Shuning couldn't help but ask, "Then where does Mr. Hetian's ill-gotten gains come from?"

"Sis, why are you asking this?"

Miss Huang raised an eyebrow and glanced at her.

Zhuang Shuning was a little taken aback, and quickly waved his hand, saying, "Oh, it's nothing, just chatting!"

Miss Huang smiled slightly, but asked, "What, does your Mr. Jiang also want to get involved?"

Zhuang Shuning breathed a sigh of relief and said with a wry smile, "How could that be? The Japanese affairs involve the military, so it's not up to the Jiang family to get a share!"

"That's not necessarily true. Mr. Kawada has also heard of Boss Jiang!"

"Is it?"

"Of course, what's so strange about that?" Miss Huang retorted. "Boss Jiang is a prominent figure in Fengtian's business community, so it's normal for him to have heard of him. Besides, if the Japanese are dealing in old weapons and they sign a contract with the provincial government, that's fine. But if they're looking for bandits in the mountains to be their buyers, they'll probably have to ask Boss Jiang to act as their go-between!"

Zhuang Shuning was surprised and said in a daze, "You know quite a lot about the Jiang family."

Miss Huang didn't hide anything and immediately smiled and said, "I know all the big wealthy people in Fengtian very well. I did my homework before."

Zhuang Shuning looked slightly embarrassed and waved his hand, saying, "I don't get involved in his business much, and I don't understand it either. As long as he doesn't mistreat me and gives me money to spend, that's fine."

"It's good that you're like this, it saves you a lot of trouble!"

"However, how do you know that Mr. Kawada has heard of the Jiang family?"

“He would mention it occasionally, especially when his friends came over.”

"What friend?"

"Hiss... Oh dear, I can't quite remember, I think it was something like Takeda."

"Takeda Shin?"

"Oh, yes, yes, it's Takeda Shin!" Miss Huang nodded quickly and said, "He's not very tall, always wears a suit, speaks fluent Mandarin, and seems to be an employee of Nanchong Railway Company. Have you seen him?"

Zhuang Shuning shook his head.

She had never met Takeda Shin, but for a while, Jiang Lianheng often mentioned this Japanese man.

Jiang Lianheng always said that Takeda Shin, this little Japanese, was different from other Japanese soldiers. At least so far, Takeda Shin had shown goodwill towards the Jiang family in every way.

Although his goodwill was clearly intended to win over the Jiang family, he never resorted to any despicable means.

Zhuang Shuning thought for a moment, then asked, "So when the two of them met... what did they say about the Jiang family?"

“I don’t know about that,” Miss Huang said. “But don’t worry, it shouldn’t be a big deal. Mr. Takeda is a very gentlemanly man. He always greets me when he sees me, but he always turns his back to me when he talks to me, and he often argues with Mr. Kawada.”

"Arguing?" Zhuang Shuning frowned. "Aren't they friends?"

Ms. Huang laughed and said, "Sigh, who doesn't clash? Friends don't argue, right? They argue quite fiercely! But after it's over, things go back to normal. Mr. Takeda comes as usual, and Mr. Kawada receives him as usual. To be honest, I always feel that Takeda is more capable than Kawada, but maybe it's just my imagination!"

"After all, they are employees of Nanchong Railway Company. I've heard that they have a lot of authority."

"Hmm...it doesn't seem like it. When he encounters other Nanchang Railway employees, Mr. Kawada's attitude isn't as respectful." Zhuang Shuning pondered for a moment, then asked, "Could it be some kind of collaboration?"

"Oh, now that you mention it, you've reminded me!" Miss Huang suddenly remembered something. "I remember that the Nantetsu Independent Garrison changed its equipment during the autumn exercises this year. Mr. Kawada had been in charge of it for a long time, but he didn't get his share until the end of last month. He bought me a necklace and then treated Mr. Takeda to drinks, saying it was to express his gratitude. Maybe Mr. Takeda's contribution was part of his share of the profits!"

Upon hearing this, a sudden inspiration struck Zhuang Shuning.

At the end of last month, when Guo Wengui issued his telegram opposing Fengtian, it was only a little over ten days ago.

The South Railway Independent Garrison's autumn maneuvers were held in September of this year. With such a long gap in between, it's clear that Kawada only managed to make some money from the old weapons. This suggests that a batch of these firearms was only recently sold. The fact that Whistleman Li and his group suddenly acquired another batch of firearms makes it hard not to speculate.

But then again, is the Jiang family really that important?
Was it so important that Japan was prepared to use someone else to do its dirty work?

If you're going to kill them anyway, why bother saving them?

To eliminate the Jiang family's supporters and force them to side with the Japanese?

Zhuang Shuning shook his head inwardly. It wasn't that he was being self-deprecating, but no matter how he thought about it, Jiang Lianheng had no right to make the Japanese go to such lengths.

While she was still puzzled, Ms. Huang couldn't sit still any longer. She immediately put down her knife and fork and suggested, "Sister, let's not talk about those men's trivial matters anymore. I know a hair salon with top-notch perming skills. I'll take you there to try it out."

Zhuang Shuning snapped out of her daze, nodded blankly, and said, "Okay, anyway, I don't have anything else to do, I'll do whatever you say..."

…………

On the other side, when Jiang Lianheng and the others arrived at Nakamura Photo Studio, it was still early morning.

After last night's commotion, the Jiang family's car was somewhat damaged, with slightly deformed doors and dents on the hood, and had not yet been repaired.

Most importantly, there were several cracks in the glass windows, and when the car was moving, the wind leaked in from all sides, making people freeze and their noses and eyes water.

As we approached our destination, the photo studio happened to open for business.

From afar, I saw Nakamura Ichiro push open the door, carrying two wooden boards with Japanese and Chinese characters written on them respectively. The prices were clearly marked, in black and white, color, and snapshot format, with the promise of "you get what you pay for, fair and honest."

The car didn't drive to the main entrance, but stopped slowly not far from the photo studio and observed it carefully for a moment.

"gone!"

Jiang Lianheng adjusted the brim of his hat, making a move to open the car door.

Seeing this, Zhao Guoyan and Li Zhengxi also prepared to get out of the car to escort them, but Jiang Lianheng stopped them by raising his hand.

"No need, you guys wait in the car. Nakamura is an old friend, I'll go ask him what's going on myself."

"Brother, isn't this too dangerous?" Li Zhengxi asked worriedly. "What if that Nakamura kid really has a problem?"

"If there's really something wrong with him, you can come and collect his body later!"

As Jiang Lianheng spoke, he opened the car door, straightened his wool coat, glanced at the surrounding road, and then strode towards the Nakamura Photo Studio.

The car was not turned off.

Zhao Guoyan and Li Zhengxi dared not be negligent. Although they were in the car, they both took out their sidearms, looked around, and were always on guard against the pedestrians passing by.

Even at this point, Jiang Lianheng still had not made up his mind to eliminate Nakamura Ichiro.

After all, when Jiang Lianheng was fighting with the Bai family, Nakamura Ichiro kindly took in Hu Xiaoyan, relieving Jiang Lianheng of any worries.

Before confirming the truth, Jiang Lianheng did not intend to act rashly.

Moreover, Jiang's family members still need the protection of the Japanese concession.

At this moment, killing a Japanese person in the Japanese concession could, if not handled carefully, endanger the lives of the entire family.

Jiang Lianheng knew very well that it was precisely at times like these that it was necessary to remain calm and collected.

He calmed himself down, his steps gradually becoming more cheerful, and only when he reached the front of the photo studio did he shout, "Hey, you little devils!"

Ichiro Nakamura was wiping the shop window when he heard the noise. He felt slightly annoyed, but when he turned around, he immediately laughed and muttered, "You Chinese pig!"

Jiang Lianheng didn't care at all. He strode over and laughed loudly, "Hahaha, you damn dog! It's been almost twenty years and you're still running this shabby photo studio. My toilet is bigger than your shop. You still call me a pig? I think you're not even as good as a pig."

"What do you know? This is my hobby!"

Ichiro Nakamura didn't mind and greeted him with a smile, looking him up and down before suddenly asking very seriously, "Jiang-kun, how are you? Are your family members all well?"

"It's alright, anyway, the remaining people are enough to settle scores with you."

Jiang Lianheng's smile remained unchanged, but he squinted to carefully observe Nakamura Ichiro's expression—and found nothing unusual.

Nakamura Ichiro was a little confused, and asked with a frown, "What do you mean?"

"It's nothing, just kidding!" Jiang Lianheng looked around, then glanced sideways into the photo studio. "Hey, it's so cold, aren't you going to invite me in for a bit?"

“Okay!” Nakamura Ichiro put down what he was doing and went inside first. “Come in and have a seat. I’ll make you some tea!”

"What are you doing, trying to drug me?"

"Drugned? Are you sick?"

Although Ichiro Nakamura's Chinese has improved significantly, it is still not fluent enough, so he was slightly confused when he heard this.

Jiang Lianheng wasn't sure if he understood or not, so he walked over and put his arm around Nakamura's shoulder, almost pressing himself against him. His behavior was overly intimate, but he said, "Isn't that right? I'm sick, lovesick, I've been thinking about you."

"Damn it, you like men now?"

Ichiro Nakamura was eager to get rid of it.

Jiang Lianheng stubbornly refused to let go until they entered the photo studio and confirmed there were no ambushes inside. Only then did he raise his arm, casually pat Nakamura on the shoulder, and said with a wicked grin, "Life is all about trying!"

"Disgusting! You should go find a geisha then!"

Nakamura Ichiro seemed to be used to Jiang Lianheng's jokes, so he didn't take them seriously. He cursed as he walked to the table to make tea.

After Jiang Lianheng entered the photo studio, he looked around and saw a Japanese flag and a Rising Sun flag hanging on the wall. He frowned and muttered to himself, "Hey Nakamura, your shop has changed. There weren't any of these weird things before. People who didn't know better would think you were a retired soldier!"

"What's so strange about that? I'm Japanese, of course I have to love my country!"

Nakamura Ichiro calmly poured two cups of hot tea, then, without looking up, casually asked, "By the way, I haven't had a chance to ask you yet, how is your family's stay at the Nantetsu Hotel?"

(End of this chapter)