Spy Wars: Red Shopkeeper

Chapter 54 Tricky
The office is so quiet that it could scare mosquitoes to death.

It's much the same outside the office.

The soundproofing in the office was not that good, and the arrival of Deputy Director Gu had already attracted the attention of everyone in the department. The sounds from slamming tables to yelling and scolding were even louder for the staff outside the door who were already listening attentively, and it was impossible for them not to hear them.

A group of people were tiptoeing close to the wall with tense expressions.

As Liu Xiaolou came out, everyone immediately scattered, but after a while, they gathered together again and whispered to each other.

The section chief is going to be finished, and the situation in the section is going to change. If things go wrong, all of them will be in trouble. From top to bottom, they will be shot one by one. I'm afraid there won't be a single innocent person in the General Affairs Section.

As Liu Xiaolou came back with a cup of coffee, everyone scattered again. When Liu Xiaolou entered the room, they immediately came over and lay down against the wall.

Nothing else will be more important today than what happens inside. Everyone's future will be decided the moment Deputy Director Gu leaves.

However, their hearts were in turmoil, but not as bad as the mood of the people in the room. Deputy Director Gu had not spoken since he left Liu Xiaolou, and he was quietly waiting for the trial in great agony.

Fortunately, Liu Xiaolou's arrival broke the atmosphere. He handed the coffee to Gu Yansheng and quietly mentioned, "Director, everyone in the General Affairs Department is gathered at the door listening."

"Let them listen if they want to. Do you think these people don't know?"

Gu Yansheng didn't care about this kind of thing spreading at all, so as to avoid some people in the department being like the two people in front of him, who really thought he was a greenhorn who knew nothing and wasted his time fooling around.

I’m afraid they won’t dare to speak out.

He glanced at the two men and shouted at Lin Dechang, "You're boneless, aren't you? You kneel down at the slightest provocation. Do you think this is the Qing Dynasty? Do you want me to arrange a plane to fly you to Manchuria and make you kneel before Puyi?"

"It's grown longer." Lin Dechang quickly got up and stood up with his head down.

"go out!"

"Yes."

"Xiaolou, you go out first."

"Ok."

Gu Yansheng and Liao Litang were the only ones left in the room, and Liu Xiaolou even considerately closed the door.

Gu Yansheng glanced at Liao Litang who was standing with his head bowed, and picked up the unfinished document on the table.

Basic medical care costs 50 yuan per day.

Equipment maintenance, such as cell repairs and replacement of torture instruments, costs 50 yuan per day.

Administrative expenses, such as paperwork, water and electricity bills, prisoner transfer fees, gasoline, garbage disposal fees, and other miscellaneous expenses, add up to 100 yuan per day.

These two expenses cost 6000 yuan a month.

The last and largest expense is the food expenses for the prisoners.

There are 2578 prisoners, with a daily allowance of 0.15 yuan per person, and a total of 11600 yuan per month.

There were some complaints and explanations about the amount in the report, but Gu Yansheng was too lazy to read them. He threw the document back on the table and said to Liao Litang.

"They told me that the medical care was bad and there were no doctors, but they also claimed that I spent 1500 yuan every month. That's fine, because prison guards need medical treatment when they're sick, so it's human nature to take advantage of it.

But if you say that the Japanese are willing to spend 10,000 yuan a month to support a group of prisoners who are worthless to them, no one will believe it!

Tell me, what happened with the breakout at the Second Prison?

At this point, Liao Litang has nothing to hide.

He coughed and cleared his throat, then spoke in a low voice, "Director, the accounts at the Second Prison are so messed up, and I'm afraid you'll have to check them, so I've suggested burning the books. The warden said that if the books are gone, they become a mess, and even if we check them again, it's normal for some numbers to not match, so we can avoid punishment."

"That's all? You're saying it's just a fire, not a prison break, right?"

“.Yes, and you said at the meeting that you wanted to release those prisoners. The prisons don’t want to release them because these people can bring in income.

So they staged a prison break to prove that these people were not just ordinary people who were arrested by mistake, but there were hidden agents or important figures among them, so that the other party would send people to rescue them.

As a rule, the prison is responsible for identifying hidden agents among these people. Once the investigation begins, it's hard to say how long it will take. It's not unusual for it to take a year or two, and these people will be left behind."

"Who can I prove it to?"

"I'll tell you first, then tell the Military Police Headquarters, because I'm afraid you'll decide to release them after you find out, and I'm afraid it won't be effective. But the Japanese will definitely take it seriously."

"I guess so."

Gu Yansheng smiled after hearing this. "That's a good idea, quite thoughtful. But being a prison warden is a waste of talent. What's this guy's background?"

Liao Litang said bluntly: "The relationship between the presidents of the Suzhou Maintenance Association is that they are relatives by marriage."

Gu Yansheng nodded without saying anything more. In this day and age, it is impossible to become a prison warden, a lucrative position, without someone behind you.

I just guessed at the beginning that it might be the relationship between the former director and deputy director, but I didn’t expect that it turned out to be related to Suzhou.

Gu Yansheng continued, "I saw in the report just now that this Shanghai prison holds about 1200 people who were accidentally arrested. Excluding the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the disabled, there are still more than 700 people who can be released and work. The average income per person is 6 yuan per month, which means that the prison generates 4200 yuan in revenue, which to some extent makes up for the prison's funding shortage. How much of these figures are inflated?"

Liao Litang said, "The number of people arrested accidentally is probably a little less than the 1200 registered people, because some of them may have been bought out by wealthy families. I don't know the exact number.

However, among the remaining people, the number of people who actually started working should be more than 1500.

Among them, more than 1000 people fall into the category of the 1200 people who were arrested accidentally, and more than 500 people are minor criminals who have been sentenced but have behaved well.

The specific income of these people will be suppressed because they are criminals after all, but in general, the average income is 8 yuan per month, this is what I know.

As for whether the employers give kickbacks to the prison warden, I don't know, but they probably do."

"No wonder they tried every means to prevent me from letting him go."

Gu Yansheng now understood everything. It turned out that he was blocking someone's path to wealth, and a huge one at that.

The difference between the numbers in the report and the numbers Liao Litang said is 7800 yuan a month.

7800 oceans!

I could buy two small houses in the French Concession in a month.

No wonder Ma Sihai, the head of the prison management department, stated at the meeting that releasing the prisoners would result in greater losses.

1500 people worked for them for nothing, and now they are released and their source of income is gone. It would be strange if they are not anxious.

"Whose idea was it? Ma Sihai's? Or yours?"

"No, it was the warden. The prison is really short of funds. His in-laws, who are the president of the Suzhou Maintenance Association, have extensive connections and know many businessmen. So he came up with this idea: to use prisoners to work. The Chamber of Commerce would benefit from cheaper labor costs, and the prison would also have money to operate."

"It's a great idea that both families can benefit." Gu Yansheng said this, but there was no praise in his tone.

In fact, Gu Yansheng knew that corruption definitely existed, but he didn't intend to deal with it, and there was nothing to deal with.

If a person is capable enough, he can embezzle some medical expenses and food expenses. Even if the city government’s warehouse is emptied, it will have nothing to do with him.

He is not here to manage money for the Japanese. If he is corrupt, then he is corrupt. He was corrupt when he was an official in the National Government. Now he is not corrupt while serving the Japanese. Is this acceptable?

If they are not greedy, Gu Yansheng will call them trash if he finds out.

To put it bluntly, all the funds in this government are used to deal with anti-Japanese elements. If someone can grab an extra penny, that is a great thing.

However, if you don't take the Japanese money and only take the Chinese money, you are so useless and a complete waste.

"You are quite honest."

Gu Yansheng stood up, tapping his legs with the report in his hand, and looked at him and said, "Do you want to live or die?"

"I want to live." Liao Litang looked into Gu Yansheng's eyes honestly and sincerely without any hesitation.

They are all smart people. After saying so much, Gu Yansheng still didn't hand him over to the law enforcement department. Liao Litang knew there was hope.

Gu Yansheng said bluntly: "I must release the person. This is related to the reform of the Judicial Department. I want to reform externally, but I don't want any changes internally.

Things need people to do the work, and the reform measures cannot be carried out without the close cooperation of the staff in the department. The director and deputy director have just been removed, and you section chiefs are now the few main forces in the department.

In view of this, I can protect you this time and let you make amends for your crime.

Remember this: if someone were to spill the beans one day and the Japanese learn of your affairs, this will be the reason I'm protecting you today, and it will also be the reason I'll be able to protect your life from the Japanese in the future."

"Understood." Liao Litang immediately bowed his head and said solemnly, "Thank you, Director. I will do my utmost to promote your reforms, and I promise that everything from now on will be under your guidance."

Gu Yansheng waved his hand. "I won't listen to any more empty talk. Let's see how you perform in the future. You can contact Ma Sihai later. The General Affairs Department and the Prison Management Department should make all the preparations before releasing the prisoners. Clean the prison and make sure there's no dirt or mess. We might have people from the public and high-level Japanese officials inspecting the prison. Do you understand?"

"remember."

"Well, I don't like that warden. After the prison is released, won't your prison be short of funds? Then you and Ma Sihai can figure out a way to set up a trap and make him spit out the money. Once the deficit is made up, your problem won't be that big.

As for whether this person will start to blame you after being wronged, you can handle it yourself, okay?"

Liao Litang thought for a moment and nodded: "Don't worry, Director, I will take care of it when the time comes."

Gu Yansheng patted his shoulder and said, "That's all I have to say. Let's go."

"Um, by the way, don't clean the prison too clean, otherwise it will look too fake."

Receiving this reassuring pat on the shoulder, Liao Litang bowed deeply and said, "Yes, Director, take care."

"Xiaolou, let's go."

"Hey." Liu Xiaolou quickly took the cup.

(End of this chapter)