Spy Wars: Red Shopkeeper

Chapter 91 Team formation
After dinner, I returned to the office.

Not long after, Gu Yansheng received a call from the fisherman, and found an excuse to go to Shen's Garment Store.

The shop is located in Zhabei. It has a large space with two rooms in the front and back, and rooms upstairs, which is both residential and commercial.

There are all kinds of suits and cheongsams hanging in the room, and colorful cloths are placed on the table. It seems that the fabrics are indeed mid-to-high-end.

"Boss." Gu Yansheng walked in.

"Hey, I'm here." Shen Linshen opened the curtain and came out from the inner room. Seeing Gu Yansheng, he said, "The assistant is not here. I sent him out to buy something. He will be back in at least an hour. Boss, do you want to make a suit?"

Gu Yansheng took a look and saw that Shen Linshen was now wearing a gown and a pair of glasses. He looked elegant and indeed looked like a master.

"Okay, let's see your craftsmanship."

"Then measure the individual first."

Gu Yansheng obediently opened his hands horizontally and asked, "How do you say reply?"

Shen Linshen took the measuring tape and began to measure. "It seems that the organization really didn't know you had so much money. We communicated three times before we made this clear. I sent a message saying it was enough for 100,000 people, but the reply from the other side was to ask me to double-check whether the number was correct.

Although I was questioned, I can understand the organization's feelings. After all, I experienced it yesterday.

After re-communication, the organization replied that the quantity was too large and did not need to be transported at all. Don’t consider Yan’an, just meet the requirements of the New Fourth Army.

If you have extra money, you can give them some. The amount is up to you. Just give them a reply and they will send someone to pick it up if needed."

"How many people are there in the New Fourth Army?"

"Ten thousand."

"How much is 100 bales of cotton yarn?"

"Correct."

"I see. No wonder when I heard you talk about this method of transportation yesterday, I thought this batch of goods was not what Yan'an wanted and the cost was not worth it. It turns out that it is not."

Gu Yansheng nodded. In fact, this made sense. The original purpose of the organization in assigning these people in Shanghai to this task was just to provide winter clothes for the New Fourth Army.

It was already difficult enough to supply the New Fourth Army with 100 bales, and it was good enough that they could get enough. The organization never thought that they could get more cotton yarn.

It’s just that they didn’t know the destination of this mission, and subconsciously they wanted to move the good things to Yan’an.

"New Fourth Army, 100 men, 100 bales of cotton yarn."

"80 bags, I've already sent 20 bags over."

"Well, let's still calculate it as 10,000 people. Maybe the New Fourth Army has recruited more people, so we have more or less. The plan is to just give the money and let the New Fourth Army buy it themselves. Southern Anhui is not far from here. I think there must be smugglers who will take the initiative to bring cotton yarn over. They are not without it locally. If they really can't buy it, or if we encounter other situations, we can find other ways. What do you think?"

If it really comes to delivering the goods, Gu Yansheng feels that he can definitely think of a way within his power, but if it can be solved with money, then he will solve it with money first, so that everyone can save worry.

"Okay, you pay and I'll make the contact."

"I'll get it and bring it to you later."

"There's one more thing." Shen Linshen said, "The organization said that the situation around Shanghai is changing, and your position is also changing. It is necessary to set up an action team with you as the center. You will be the team leader and responsible for command, and I will be the deputy team leader, responsible for recruiting personnel and operational details.

The action team has the power to make decisions and can make necessary decisions based on the situation and report back later."

"Sure, this is really good."

An action team is exactly what Gu Yansheng needs. The organization is understanding and knows that neither he, Lu Bowen, nor He Yun are suitable for taking action.

"You are my leader now. What do you want to ask?"

“Where will we recruit the manpower?”

"When I was about to contact the New Fourth Army headquarters, I asked them to pick a few people and send them over. We will try to establish an action team in each district. It doesn't need to be a large number of people, just two or three people in each district will be enough to achieve a quick response.

In addition, I plan to apply to the organization to find two female comrades to come over, otherwise it will be inconvenient for men to enter and exit some places.

The staffing of the transport station remains unchanged, and their main task is still to be responsible for transfer, but if a major operation requires manpower, they can be deployed as a backup force.

These are the main areas, and I estimate it will take a month to set up.”

Shen Linshen does have experience, and Gu Yansheng has nothing to say.

"Just do as you say."

"Then turn around."

Gu Yansheng turned around and cooperated, and Shen Linshen measured all the dimensions.

Smiling, she said, "Boss, you have a nice figure. The clothes I make will definitely look good on you."

"Looking forward to your results." Gu Yansheng also smiled.

"A ten-dollar deposit."

"Black shop."

Gu Yansheng went home and took out $2500 plus ten silver dollars for him. Before leaving, he reminded him, "Send the money as soon as possible. The Japanese are going to introduce military notes. All other currencies except military notes are not allowed to circulate."

"Is there such a thing?" Shen Linshen frowned suddenly.

"Everyone in Shanghai will know about this in tomorrow's newspapers. If you have a lot of money, remember to release it to the concession today. You'll probably have to queue up at the bank tomorrow, but don't worry too much. The black market will always exist, and scarcity makes things more valuable. Let's go."

There was no need to worry about the transportation of cotton yarn, and Gu Yansheng could also breathe a sigh of relief and start dealing with the drug issue.

Although Lu Ying was reluctant to help, he still made it clear who was the key person in this matter.

The good guy in the French Concession, Huang Jinrong of the Green Gang.

Sassoon in the International Settlement, Japanese ronin in Hongkou,
and Zhang Xiaolin in the greater Shanghai area.

No matter how the matter is handled, Gu Yansheng needs to meet these people.

But before that, I need to find someone to find out the situation so as not to be deceived.

At Caohejing Prison, Gu Yansheng came to visit Jiangbei tycoon Gu Zhuxuan, bringing him a roast chicken. "How have you been lately?" Gu Yansheng leaned back on his desk.

Gu Zhuxuan sat down to eat and joked, "With Director Gu taking care of me, how bad can I be? Aside from not being able to go out and not having women, everything else should be the same as outside. Or is the food you brought delicious? Do you want to talk to me about something? Talk to me now, I won't care after you finish eating."

Gu Yansheng nodded, "Indeed, there is something. You are a tycoon in Jiangbei, and I want to find out about smuggling."

Gu Zhuxuan looked at him in surprise, "Why are you concerned about smuggling? Do you have something to take with you?"

"I'm investigating smuggling."

"Then let me tell you, are my people still in good shape?"

"I'll investigate Huang Jinrong."

Gu Zhuxuan slammed the table. "Why didn't you tell me earlier? I'll tell you everything I know. I'll tell you everything you want to know, but you didn't lie to me? Are you really investigating Huang Jinrong?"

Gu Yansheng nodded. "Absolutely true. He is one of my targets, but I can't guarantee that I will catch him."

"Don't worry, Director Gu, if you take action, he will definitely not have a good ending. I don't expect you to pull that old turtle out of the French Concession. He is very smart and the Japanese can't find any handle on him. You just need to cause him trouble.

What do you want to know?"

“Medicines and drugs.”

Since he asked, Gu Yansheng asked for the medicine as well. He would need it in the future anyway.

"Experts, these are the two most profitable things."

Gu Zhuxuan smiled and said, "I'll tell you about the medicine first. I've already mentioned some of it."

"I have plenty of time, tell me slowly." Gu Yansheng seemed to be listening.

"First, the source of the drugs. They are definitely from abroad, but now that the Japanese have blocked the border, there are only a few ways to get in without being detected.

One is the Burma Road, where smugglers use horse caravans or small carts to transport medicines from Lashio, Myanmar, to Kunming, Yunnan, and then to Chongqing. This is the smuggling route to Chongqing.

In ports like Shanghai, if you want to avoid searches, you cannot unload the goods at the port. Instead, you use a small boat to pick up the goods before the inspection, take them away halfway, and then go directly ashore through the inland via the river.

As long as you are willing to make the trip, goods from Shanghai can still be delivered to the Kuomintang-controlled areas via the Suzhou River.

Another way is to go from Hong Kong, take a small boat and find a coastline in Guangdong and go ashore.

These are used by small businessmen. The method is to save money and not have to pay protection fees. The disadvantage is that there are few of them and you can't carry much at a time.

Big businessmen usually use the smuggling method.

Have you ever seen an oil drum? Just tie something heavy to medicine and it will sink. So how much oil can you carry in a shipload?
There are also tires. Tires are good things. Before installing the wheels, fill them with medicines. The space is very large and can hold a lot of things.

As long as you give the inspector a little money and make an appointment with him to check again when he is on duty, it will be easy to pass.

However, these two types of people are still far inferior to those wearing hats.

In fact, if you are like Director Gu who is willing to engage in smuggling, you can just write a note and the stuff will be out directly, right? "

Gu Yansheng smiled: "Anything else?"

"Yes, there are so many little tricks. I could talk about them for three days and three nights."

It seems that Gu Zhuxuan is really bored in prison. He usually maintains the status of a big boss and can't chat with ordinary people, but when he meets someone of Gu Yansheng's status, he can talk a lot.

"Like this sulfa pill, you know where to put it? Soap.

When making it, use a mold to place the sulfonamide first, then apply soapy water to let it solidify, and then transport it casually without breaking it. Wouldn't it be impossible to see it at all?

By the same token, if you stuff a pill into a cotton ball, even though the cotton ball may seem light, it is actually quite heavy when pressed. If you try to check it inside the cotton ball, you will never find it even if you work yourself to death.

And rice, can it be put in rice?"

"Okay, I get it." Gu Yansheng had heard enough. The basic routine was to hide it in common items. It was nothing new.

"Which of the drugs you're smuggling now have the highest profits?"

"Sulfa, quinine, anesthetics like morphine, hemostatic bandages, disinfectants—all Western medicines, which are expensive. And then there's potassium cyanide."

"Potassium cyanide too?" Gu Yansheng heard something unexpected.

"Of course, they are very expensive." Gu Zhuxuan said with a playful smile: "Some people always like to have some of these deadly weapons. Half a gram can kill people quickly. A pill costs 40 yuan. Just imagine how much it's worth to bring it with you. It's because there are not many buyers, otherwise drugs would not be as valuable as this."

It is indeed expensive, 40 dollars for half a gram of medicine, which is equivalent to 20 US dollars per gram of medicine, and 20 grams of gold for one gram of medicine. Most people do not deserve to die from taking this medicine.

"What about drugs?"

"The distribution channels for drugs are different from these drugs. They are more regional."

Gu Zhuxuan took a sip of wine and said, "Drugs in Shanghai are now controlled by several major forces, and each force basically focuses on different things.

For example, the Japanese and Koreans like to sell longevity paste and morphine, Zhang Xiaolin likes to sell longevity paste and cocaine, the Jews like to sell morphine injections, which are high-end products, and the Chaozhou gang likes to sell Yunnan soil, which is shipped from Yunnan.

Huang Jinrong's main product was still the Fu Shou Gao. He was used to selling it in the same old way and had a stable customer base so he didn't want to change.

If you want to attack Huang Jinrong, go to Xiafei Road in the French Concession and you will find many shops where he sells opium.

We have to stock up, right?
Then we can find his warehouse. Once we find the warehouse, we can figure out how the smuggled goods were taken out and how they were brought in, right? "

"Yeah, that makes sense." Gu Yansheng nodded, thought for a moment, and then asked, "If I were to target one of these companies, which one do you think is the weakest?"

"The Chaozhou Gang is from outside and doesn't have much influence."

"Which one is the most ruthless?"

"It's still the Chaozhou gang. As the saying goes, a fierce dragon crossing the river, how dare they come to Shanghai without any tricks? They are the ones who fight the most fiercely."

"okay, I get it."

(End of this chapter)