20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 837 Warning
"Jingle Bell--"

Xiaoxiguan, the headquarters building of Zongheng Insurance Company.

The phone on his desk had barely rang once when Jiang Lianheng picked it up and succinctly commanded, "Speak!"

Meng Duo's voice came through the receiver.

"Ping An Tong No. 207?" Jiang Lianheng picked up a pen and paper and quickly scribbled a few lines. "Hmm, seventeen shops on Bagua Street and Xue Street... Anything else?"

Meng Duo sighed and said, "No, Qin Huaimeng had an appointment today. My second brother told me not to be too obvious, so I told him we'd talk again when we had time."

"A last-minute appointment?" Jiang Lianheng frowned. "Who did he have a last-minute appointment with?"

Meng Duo usually worked at the government office and had some understanding of the Jiang family's affairs, but not to the extent of being extremely knowledgeable. So he asked, "Master, do you know Director Takeda of the South Railway Investigation Department?"

"Takeda Shin?"

"Yes, that's him!"

Meng Duo gave a brief overview of the goodwill association, emphasizing in particular the meeting between Takeda Shin and Qin Huaimeng, and added at the end: "I was sent away at the time, so I don't know exactly what they talked about."

Jiang Lianheng's face was gloomy.

After he repeatedly rejected the offers from Takeda Shin, the latter finally decided to look for other partners.

Qin Huaimeng is different from Lao Dou and others. He is quick-witted and quite shrewd. If he also has the strong support of Wu Tianxin, he will definitely pose an even greater challenge to the Jiang family.

The situation seems to be getting worse.

After a moment of silence, Jiang Lianheng pondered and said, "Okay, I understand. Continue to find opportunities to keep in touch with Qin Huaimeng. If you can be invited to his home, that would be even better. When you do, make sure to remember the layout of his home. If anything else happens, let me know. Don't come to meet him; communicate by phone."

"Yes, boss, don't worry, I will do my best!"

Meng Duo didn't dare to stay on the line for too long, and after saying only a few words, he hurriedly hung up the phone.

Jiang Lianheng leaned back in his chair, silently lit a cigar, and continued to wait for further intelligence.

The office was quiet, the curtains were closed, and sunlight slanted in, casting dappled shadows on the bookshelves and walls.

During the Guo turmoil, the company accumulated many old insurance policies. Now that business has resumed, they urgently need his signature for confirmation. Xu Ruqing's funeral arrangements have to be left to his wife and family to take care of.

A short while later, the phone rang again!
Jiang Lianheng answered the call quickly, as usual.

This time, however, the sound of the west wind came through the receiver.

"Brother, we've found out where Qin Huaimeng lives. It's located at No. 207 Ping'an Road in the Japanese Concession."

"Are you sure?"

Jiang Lianheng didn't distrust Xifeng; rather, he was worried that most of the members of the Fan Gang were illiterate.

Li Zhengxi said, "Brother, don't worry. I sent out not only Xiao Kaoshan, but also a few porters. They all said the same thing. I just took a stroll over there. That place shouldn't be the Qin family's house. At least the house number has a Japanese surname on it."

"what is it call?"

"Saito."

“Saito?” Jiang Lianheng recalled what Chuang Hu had found out in Warehouse No. 7, and naturally thought of Saito Rokuro. “It should be that old Japanese man, Shiba!”

Li Zhengxi, however, dared not give a definitive answer, and hurriedly said, "I can't be sure yet. The house is nice, it's a small villa. I feel that an old team leader like Captain Chai probably couldn't afford it with his income."

“Maybe it was given to him by Qin Huaimeng. He borrowed it temporarily to ensure his safety,” Jiang Lianheng pondered. “If he wants to join the Japanese, he has to give them some benefits. Saito is not Takeda. Takeda wants intelligence, while Saito wants money. Wasn’t the Qingqiu Society last year the place where he made money and took a cut?”

"That...is possible!"

"I'm just guessing. Send a few more people over there to keep an eye on things. If there are any other developments, let me know. If I'm not at the company, tell your sister-in-law."

After saying that, Jiang Lianheng hung up the phone.

The two intelligence reports were verified against each other, and no discrepancies were found.

This seems sufficient to show that, at least regarding Qin Huaimeng's residence, Meng Duo did not lie.

Immediately afterwards, Jiang Lianheng dialed another number.

The phone rang twice, and then it connected. It was Nanfeng's voice: "Hello?"

"it's me."

"Brother, what can I do for you?"

Jiang Lianheng picked up a notepad from the table, glanced at it briefly, and said, "Nanfeng, the news from the Goodwill Association has been released. Seventeen shops on Bagua Street and Xue Street are preparing to be sublet to Xiao Dongyang. Go and find out which merchants they are and what their backgrounds are."

Wang Zhengnan's response was a little slow. He asked in a low voice, "Seventeen shops... Brother, could you be more specific?"

"These are the current circumstances. Do your best to investigate. This matter is not too urgent."

"Oh, that's good. I'll go and find out more. I'll get back to you if I find anything."

"No need to reply to me," Jiang Lianheng said in a deep voice. "Just tell Dongfeng about these people's situation, and he will discuss it with your sister-in-law."

Wang Zhengnan readily agreed, then asked, "Brother, is there anything else you need?"

Jiang Lianheng, with a cigar in his mouth, tapped the notepad with the tip of his pen, shook his head and said, "That's all for now."

After hanging up the phone, a knock suddenly sounded at the door.

"Boom boom boom!"

"Enter!"

With permission, Fang Yan gently pushed open the door, carrying a stack of documents awaiting signature. He placed them on the desk and said softly, "Boss, the accounts have been checked. I just reviewed them. Please take another look, and if there are no problems, please sign them!"

Jiang Lianheng took it, glanced at it briefly, and immediately felt overwhelmed.

In the past, out of trust in Fang Yan, he probably wouldn't have even looked at it before signing it.

But things are different now. The Jiang family has suffered considerable losses recently, both in terms of financial resources and manpower.

Needless to say, the loss of manpower was immense. On the night of the chaos in the border region, the Jiang family lost more than thirty of their "gangsters," all of whom were staunch brothers under Jiang Lianheng.

The financial losses were not limited to the looting suffered by the Jiang family. In fact, even before Guo Degang raised his army, the financial order in Fengtian was already quite chaotic. Not only were the Fengtian banknotes depreciating one after another, but the Jiang family, under Suo Jinfeng's "earnest advice," also voluntarily spent money to buy 300,000 yuan of provincial government bonds. In addition, the establishment of the Opium Monopoly Bureau also caused the Jiang family considerable losses.

During the Guo Rebellion, countless transactions in Fengtian were disrupted, and numerous shops were looted and burned. The claims for cargo insurance and fire and water insurance alone would have been enough to give the Jiang family a hard time.

Admittedly, the Jiang family is a gangster, and they can renege on their debts, leaving ordinary merchants with no choice but to be angry but dare not speak out.

But if Jiang Lianheng really does that, the Jiang family's business will probably come to an end.

Doing business by being aggressive and resorting to coercion might bring you some small fortune, but it won't make you a big boss.

Moreover, people buy insurance from the Jiang family because they are drawn to Jiang Lianheng, believing he has enough prestige and ability to help resolve any troubles ordinary merchants might encounter.

Trying to renege on a debt at this point is tantamount to slapping yourself in the face.

Jiang Lianheng couldn't do it.

On the other hand, no matter how much he spends money recklessly, he is now well aware of the predicament his family is in—their money is exhausted, and they have nowhere else to recruit men.

With that thought in mind, I hesitated a bit when I put pen to paper.

"Hiss, are you in a hurry to sign these documents?" he asked.

Fang Yan paused for a moment, then shook his head and said, "It's not that we're in a particular hurry, but it's almost the end of the year. If we don't sign it now, it might cause trouble when we're summarizing the accounts, so it's better to do it as soon as possible."

“Here’s what you’re doing—” Jiang Lianheng handed the documents back to him, “Take these to your wife tonight when you have some free time, let her take a look, and if she says it’s okay, then I’ll sign it.”

"it is good!"

Fang Yan took the document but placed it on the coffee table next to the sofa. Then, he took out a few sheets of paper from his pocket and leaned closer, saying, "Master, these are the arrangements for the old lady's funeral. Please take a look. I've already contacted the paper-making shop, the music troupe, and the pallbearer. The monks, nuns, and Taoist priests, as well as the clothing and name tags for the funeral, are all arranged by the managers of the funeral parlors in the city. I've also made a budget for the expenses. Do you think it's acceptable?"

Jiang Lianheng was quite pleased and quickly took it to examine it carefully—everything that other families had, his aunt had; and everything that other families didn't have, his aunt also had.

However, even so, he still felt guilty.

"The funeral rites were all done, but the scale seems a bit lacking. Are there too few people?"

"Boss, is this still not enough?"

“I think it’s lacking!” Jiang Lianheng pointed to the funeral bill. “Look at this, how come you only found a dozen or so people for the band? Hire another twenty. And the pallbearers and the monks, nuns and Taoist priests, hire another twenty for each of them. The old lady suffered a lot in her life, and this funeral is her last. It must be a grand and proper funeral. Don’t you know what expenses should be saved and what expenses shouldn’t be saved?”

It wasn't that Fang Yan was unaware of the situation; rather, the host's desired spectacle was simply too extravagant.

According to Jiang Lianheng's plan, the cost of carrying the coffin for this funeral procession will probably double.

At this point, he no longer cared about the money.

Fang Yan dared not persuade him any further, and could only nod and say, "Okay, I'll go and do it now."

"Wait, I haven't finished yet!" Jiang Lianheng stopped him and then instructed, "Since the old lady's body has been lying in state for so many days, Manager Xue has not come to pay her respects. I know she is feeling bad, and I haven't gone to see her recently either. But now that the old lady is leaving, since they are like sisters, you should go and inform her personally so that she can come and see her one last time!"

He silently agreed in dialect.

Then, Jiang Lianheng suddenly changed the subject: "Also, on your way later, send a telegram to Isaac Pusheng."

IELTS generalist?
That was Fang Yan's old employer. He used to run a foreign firm in southern Liaoning and occasionally did some arms smuggling business.

Although the Jiang family maintained contact with him, German goods were too expensive, and not many people could afford them, so business dealings were not particularly close.

Fang Yan thought for a moment and then asked, "Boss, do you want weapons?"

Jiang Lianheng nodded and said, "Yes, and the more the better."

"But we still have quite a few guns in our warehouse. We have enough large mirror-type and Hanyang-type guns. It will take at least a day for Yaspsson to transport the goods from southern Liaoning. If there are too many, he may not be able to gather them all in a short time. If you want new guns, you might as well contact the quartermaster department and try to smuggle a batch from the military factory!"

The dialect is correct.

The bulk of the Jiang family's arms business actually came from old guns discarded by the Fengtian Army or defective products produced by military factories. There were enough of them, and they were readily available. As long as they used their connections, it wouldn't be difficult to acquire brand-new standard equipment.

Why sacrifice the near for the far?
In fact, Jiang Lianheng had not originally planned to buy German goods, but Meng Duo's intelligence gave him a heads-up.

Takeda Shin has decided to help Qin Huaimeng. With his intelligence capabilities, if the Jiang family contacts the military supply department to purchase new guns at this time, Qin Huaimeng will definitely be on guard.

Although the Jiang family's warehouse contained guns, the quantity and quality were not as exaggerated as one might imagine.

After all, the arms business is different from other businesses; there has to be a limit to stockpiling. I've never heard of anyone hoarding hundreds of guns, and the provincial government would never allow that to happen.

Jiang Lianheng didn't explain much to Fang Yan, only saying, "If you want to do a good job, you must first have the right tools. When it comes to fighting tough battles, German products are more reliable. If we could get a couple of fancy weapons, that would be even better."

Fang Yan listened, and although he was a little puzzled, he nodded and said, "Okay, then I'll go and send him a telegram. Is there anything else?"

Jiang Lianheng shook his head and waved for him to leave.

The door closed, and the office fell silent once more.

Not long after Fang Yan left, Jiang Lianheng picked up a half-burnt cigar, puffing away as he secretly plotted his plan to smash the kiln and start a fight.

Unexpectedly, at that moment, a muffled "thump" suddenly came from the window frame diagonally behind!
The sound wasn't loud, but it shook the glass window slightly, causing the snow on the eaves to fall in a soft rustling sound, and the light and shadow immediately shifted on the office bookshelves.

Jiang Lianheng was startled and almost instinctively jumped up from his chair, quickly pressing his back against the wall by the window.

Right now, the Jiang and Qin families are preparing for a showdown, and anything can happen. The leaders of both sides are naturally on high alert and will never show themselves easily in order to prevent being beheaded or assassinated by the other side.

However, the noise just now was really strange. It was definitely not a gunshot; it sounded more like someone tapped on the window frame.

The problem is that Jiang Lianheng's office is on the top floor, so it's impossible for someone to knock on the window.

He leaned against the wall, held his breath and remained still for a while. Seeing that there were no other sounds, he gently lifted the gauze curtain, revealing a crack.

The streets were bustling with traffic and people. The common people seemed to be still immersed in the joy of the end of the war and did not notice anything unusual. On both sides of the road downstairs, the bodyguards sent by the Jiang family were vigilantly looking around, but they also did not seem to notice any danger.

The other bodyguards in the office building also remained silent.

Could it be some blind sparrow?

Jiang Lianheng frowned, wondering if he was overthinking things.

Just as I was about to sit down again, a glance out of the corner of my eye made me freeze. I saw a thick iron skewer sticking out of the wooden window frame, with a small piece of paper tied to it...

(End of this chapter)