Period drama: Old Cao's carefree life

Chapter 101 Turning a blind eye to a mountain of gold

Bai Lianqi inwardly groaned. What did he know? He not only didn't know who the two authors were, but if Cao Weida hadn't mentioned their names, he wouldn't even recognize them.

Who knows if it was drawn casually by one of my ancestors' concubines?

Dezi, who was standing to the side, tugged at his sleeve and muttered, "Master, why don't we go ask around the Liulichang area?"

Liulichang was an important cultural and commercial district during the Republic of China era, holding a very important position in the book industry, antique industry, and cultural exchange.

As more and more impoverished Manchu bannermen descended from their families, the number of people selling antiques and calligraphy in Liulichang also increased, leading to an unprecedented boom in the antique industry in Liulichang.

This has attracted many collectors to the area, further boosting the prosperity of Liulichang.

After the fall of Beiping, business in Liulichang was greatly affected. Many antique bookstores and antique shops went out of business, presenting a desolate and quiet scene. However, a few shops managed to make ends meet.

Dezi meant to ask around at the antique shops near Liulichang, since it's good to compare prices.

"Go away, go away, don't interrupt when the master is speaking." Bai Lianqi glared at Dezi back. These descendants of the Eight Banners were very concerned about their reputation!
All he knew was eating, drinking, and having fun. The seal script on his paintings looked like a spider crawling; nobody knew what he was writing.

As for paintings, he understood even less; he simply didn't find any painting particularly beautiful.

He doesn't even know who Ma Xianglan is. If he were to actually treat it as a famous painting and have it appraised, people would laugh their heads off!
He, Bai Ye, can't afford to lose face like that!
Besides, what if it's not a famous painting, but just some random scribble by one of my ancestors' concubines? And what if it's been appraised and found to be worthless, not even worth sixty silver dollars?
Turning back, he shamelessly said, "Master Cao, I dare not lie to you. I really don't know who this horse is. It's mainly because I'm ignorant. But as you said, this painting is beautiful!"

Just based on how beautifully she draws, she must have been quite famous before.

As you know, my family used to be quite wealthy. If it weren't for our somewhat famous paintings, even my ancestor wouldn't have been interested.

If you really think it's too expensive, I'll lower the price a bit more, ninety, ninety should be fine.

"It can't be any less! Any less, and I'll be letting my ancestors down!"

He did consider making up a story to fool Cao Wei Da, but he only thought about it and then gave up.

It's not that I can't, it's just that I don't dare.

This guy is a government official, while he's just a nobody. If people find out he's lying, they might come knocking on his door to settle scores.

Ha, you're making it sound like you'd be doing right by your ancestors if you sold it for ninety.

Let alone ninety, even if it's nine hundred or nine thousand, you're still a spendthrift who disgraces your ancestors!

Cao Wei Da sneered inwardly, but after a moment of contemplation, he said with difficulty:

"That's true, but who knows if it'll be worth anything? I don't understand these things, and besides, you can't really explain it either."
I wasn't doing this to make money; I only bought it because the painting was beautiful.

Okay, I'll compromise. Eighty, I'll take it. If it works out, great; if not, forget it. You can take another look.

After saying that, he was about to get up, as if he was about to leave.

Seeing that Cao Weida was about to leave, Bai Lianqi immediately became anxious, "Wait, Master Cao, just because you treated me to dinner today, I have to give you face! Eighty it is! I'll give it to you!"

Pshaw, you talk like you're so generous. You were originally only going to sell for fifty dollars, but I'm giving you eighty dollars now. You should be happy about that.

Cao Wei Da felt no remorse for cheating anyone; he simply pulled out fifty silver dollars and 3800 silver certificates and handed them over.
“I left in a hurry and only brought fifty silver dollars with me. Thirty silver dollars is worth 3720 now. I’ll round it up to 3800 for you. Is that alright?”

"Great! That would be fantastic!" Bai Lianqi beamed. The Lianyin coupons still had some purchasing power, even though they were depreciating. They were still usable when needed.

Moreover, he had an extra 80 yuan, which made him very happy.

As if afraid that Cao Weida would change his mind, he stuffed the money into his pocket as much as he could, saying, "Master Cao, we've settled our debts now, are you sure you don't want to go back on your word?"

"Don't worry about that. I, Cao Weida, am a man of my word. Once I make a decision, I have no intention of going back on it." He rolled up the orchid and bamboo painting and put it into the box.
"That's all for now. I have something to do, so I'll be leaving now."

"Alright, Mr. Cao, take care!"

"Tsk, this can be considered a lucky break." Cao Weida was in a good mood. Not only did he earn nearly three thousand silver dollars, but most importantly, he protected an ancestral painting from falling into the hands of the Japanese.

"Sir, we've arrived."

The car slowly stopped not far from the military police headquarters. After paying the fare, Cao Weida greeted the guards with a smile and handed them a few packs of cigarettes.

The guards happily accepted the money. This guy was a regular here, and he always managed to get something out of him every time he came. They wished Cao Wei Da would come every few days.

"Mr. Cao, Commander Fujita is already waiting for you. Please go straight in."

"Dong Dong Dong~"

"Cluck cluck cluck~~"

"Ok?"

Standing outside the door, still in a knocking motion, Cao Weida looked puzzled at the Japanese translator who had led him there. The translator kindly explained, "Mr. Cao, Commander Fujita invites you in."

"Oh, thank you."

Once inside, Cao Weida made an awkward salute. "Reporting, Police Station Patrol Captain Cao Weida greets Commander Fujita!"

"Hahaha~~ Cao Sang, don't salute, that's not proper at all. Sit down, why are you being so polite with me?"

"Ono-kun has already told me everything. Don't worry, as long as it helps to trick those Navy guys, I'll definitely cooperate with you!"

He took a file folder out of the locked drawer. "These are the names of underground party members and die-hard members of the Military Intelligence Bureau and the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics who have already been arrested. You can choose any of them!"

He then took out another file folder. "This is a list of suspected underground party and Kuomintang agents. Those marked with red circles have already been interrogated, and those not marked have not yet been interrogated."

“Some of these people are in the dungeon of the East Asian Academic Research Association, a small number are in our military police headquarters, and some are in the Special Higher Police and Matsui Special Service Agency.”

"Don't worry, as long as it's what you need, just say the word, and I'll issue a note from the Military Police Headquarters and the East Asian Academic Research Association, and you can go directly to get the person!"

"For Matsui's special agency, you can just go directly to Matsui-kun. As for the Special Higher Police, it might be a bit more troublesome, but I think finding people in the first three places should be enough."

Tsk, these Japanese army bastards really went all out to trick the navy.

Cao Weida was practically bursting with laughter. He took the two file folders and, without any hesitation, opened and began to read them.

His gaze swept across the page quickly, and a sense of heaviness settled in his heart.

The two file folders contained a total of seventy-six people!

The group included both men and women, and the duration of their relationships did not exceed six months.

As for those who were more than six months old, it's obvious they either betrayed the cause or were murdered.

He suppressed his anger and exclaimed in surprise, "Fujita-kun, you've arrested quite a few people!"

"Our Japanese Empire's spies are quite capable, but when it comes to dealing with your Chinese spies, the people from the East Asian Academic Research Association are much more effective."

Hearing this, Cao Weida gritted his teeth. These traitors who betrayed their own people were even more hateful than the Japanese devils!

In fact, at the beginning, the Japanese spies often did not achieve significant results when dealing with Chinese agents.

As outsiders, they faced difficulties in penetrating the civilian population and anti-Japanese organizations due to language barriers and unfamiliarity with Chinese society and customs.

It wasn't until the establishment of infamous traitorous intelligence agencies such as the 76th Division and the East Asian Academic Research Association that the Japanese spy capabilities were rapidly 'localized'.

In particular, many of the people in these intelligence agencies came from the Military Intelligence Bureau and the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, and they had a deep understanding of the Kuomintang's intelligence agents, which led to remarkable results as soon as they were established.

Then, more traitors emerged.

These traitors were well aware of the anti-Japanese organizations' operating methods, codes, and weaknesses, as well as the beliefs and vulnerabilities of their compatriots.

They understood that only by destroying the will of these anti-Japanese forces could they completely eliminate their threat.

Therefore, this resulted in the anti-Japanese organization's spies suffering heavy losses for a time.

In fact, these traitors and spies were even more cruel and extreme in their treatment of Chinese spies than the Japanese spies.

One reason was to demonstrate loyalty to the new master, thereby clearing himself of suspicion as a traitor and gaining the trust of the Japanese puppet regime.

In their view, only by being ruthless towards their fellow countrymen who resisted the Japanese could they demonstrate a "complete surrender" to the Japanese army and the puppet regime, thereby gaining trust, status, and living space—essentially a pledge of allegiance.

Secondly, it's to cover up inner fear and guilt, which is actually quite pathological.

Betrayal itself means betraying one's beliefs, or even one's nation and compatriots; traitors are often filled with guilt and fear.

Fearing both being purged by their former organization and being suspected by their new masters, they try to mask their inner turmoil and unease by treating their former comrades with even greater cruelty, or perhaps they interpret it as numbing their conscience by harming others.

Cao Wei Da didn't want to dwell on this issue any longer. He was afraid that he might not be able to resist revealing his murderous intent, and if Fujita sensed it, things would not go well.

He immediately changed the subject, saying with exasperation, "Fujita-kun, you have a mountain of gold right in front of you, why do you turn a blind eye to it?"

"Huh? What Kingsoft?"

Fujita Sosuke was a little confused, but after seeing the documents in Cao Weida's hand, he realized, "You mean... these personnel?"

"Otherwise what?" Cao Weida slapped his forehead in frustration.
"It's also my fault. I was so focused on clearing up misunderstandings for those 'friends' that I forgot that there are so many friendships that can be developed!"

"Fujita-kun, think about it. These people all have parents, and their 'misunderstandings' with you are even deeper. Do you think their 'parents' would be willing to spend even more money to 'clear up the misunderstandings'?"

(End of this chapter)