Period drama: Old Cao's carefree life

Chapter 176 Life is a Grand Stage
Aside from those officers who would put their arms around each other, other patrol officers at the police station, if not frequently, have all been subjected to humiliation and bullying by those people to varying degrees.

How could I not feel resentful?

They are not saints, taking other people's humiliation as real trials.

Now that they can deal with those people without worrying about retaliation, and even make a fortune on the side, he can imagine how enthusiastic these patrol officers will be.

dong dong dong~~
Cao Weida knocked on Xu Hancheng's office door.

"Who is it!" came Xu Hancheng's angry roar from inside.

Cao Weida's ears twitched, and he guessed what was going on. He smiled mischievously and said, "Director Xu, it's me, Cao Weida. I'm coming in."

"No, wait a minute!"

A flurry of activity followed, and shortly after, a female police officer, her face flushed, opened the door and hurriedly ran out.

Cao Weida glanced at it and exclaimed, "Oh, isn't this Su Meihua, our female patrol officer?"

There were female police officers in this era, but they were very few in number.

For example, in Beiping, there were only about 100 female police officers in the entire police force. Their main duties included assisting the Japanese and puppet troops in checking pedestrians' good citizen certificates and citizen ID cards, preventing women from participating in the illegal transportation of drugs and munitions, conducting household registration investigations, and investigating cases.

During this period, feudal remnants still existed, so female police officers had a much lower status than male police officers, and even their salaries and benefits were about one-third better.

There are about 45 female patrol officers in the five outer district police stations. With so many people, it is natural that someone needs to manage them, so the positions of patrol chief and patrol officer are inevitable.

Generally speaking, a patrol chief manages 7 to 9 people. For 45 people, there would be about five patrol chiefs and at least one patrol officer.

The female patrol officer we just saw was one of the five patrol chiefs.

"Xu Hancheng is pretty adept at using unspoken rules; he started it right there in the office."

He stepped inside, closing the door behind him, and smiled with narrowed eyes, saying, "Director Xu, what a refined taste you have."

"Ahem." Xu Hancheng was extremely embarrassed. He coughed twice tactically and chuckled, "I'm sorry to have made you laugh, brother. We're brothers, so please don't tell anyone."

"Look at what you're saying, bro. Do you think I'm the kind of person who can keep my mouth shut?"

"That's good, then... um?!" Xu Hancheng suddenly froze, and when he realized what was happening, he was on the verge of tears. "Little brother, you can't get your brother into trouble! What if someone tells?"

Tch, keep pretending, keep pretending!
It's just office exercise. You've done it before. Do you really think you can hide something like this?

Besides, even Su Meihua didn't care much, so why shouldn't you, a grown man, care?

In this chaotic and fragmented era, such trivial matters are merely topics of casual conversation, often met with envy, before being forgotten.

Xu Hancheng's antics were merely a pretense to bridge the gap between the two parties.

It's just acting, so just go along with it.

Life is a big stage, and everyone is an actor!

"Haha~~ I was just teasing you, why did you take it seriously? Your brother here keeps his mouth shut the longest, how could I possibly make up stories about you? I would never do such a thing."

Xu Hancheng showed a relieved expression, "Hehehe, I knew my brother was the most reliable."

"Why did you come all of a sudden today? Is there something you need?"

"You know what, there really is something I want to talk to you about."

Cao Wei Da made no attempt to conceal anything and explained the plan in detail.

"Moreover, this is a great opportunity for us to turn our reputation around!" Cao Weida continued, "In the past, the people have always talked behind our backs, calling us black-skinned dogs and stinking street patrolmen. Don't you brothers feel bad about that?"

"If this is handled well, won't the people's perceptions change instantly? Especially you, the head of the police station, won't you be praised by the people for eliminating evil for the people and for upholding justice?"

"Well," Xu Hancheng frowned and remained silent, clearly having something difficult to say.

Cao Wei Da was insightful and quickly understood his concerns.

Despite Xu Hancheng's seemingly high status as the police chief, he actually only received about forty silver dollars a month in Union Bank coupons.

Moreover, prices in Beiping have remained high, especially recently with frequent fluctuations, and the continuous depreciation of the Union Bank Notes has further reduced purchasing power.

To live a better material life and to spend money like water, you need external funds!
Those thugs and gangsters were one of his sources of extra income. If he took care of them, who would still pay him "tribute" in the future?
Without filial piety, how can he live a carefree life?

So, deep down, he was naturally unwilling.

Does the public's opinion matter?
Anyway, even though things are like this, it hasn't stopped him from living a fulfilling life. Being scolded behind his back doesn't hurt him at all.

Cao Wei Da knew that if he didn't persuade Xu Hancheng, although Xu Hancheng would cooperate on the surface, he would definitely be outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant.

Cao Wei had anticipated this, so it wasn't surprising.

“These local thugs and bullies have been harassing ordinary people and merchants for a long time, making the merchants in Beiping suffer greatly. If we can get rid of all these people and then collect a security management fee every month based on the size of the shop, so that the merchants can do business in peace, I think those merchants would not object, right?”

Xu Hancheng wasn't stupid. As soon as Cao Weida said that, he immediately understood and his eyes lit up. "You mean, like the method you used in your jurisdiction a few days ago?"

“Yes, that’s right.” Cao Weida said with a smile, “If this matter can be accomplished, it will bring in a considerable amount of revenue every month.”

"In this way, we get the money, we gain public trust, and our brothers don't have to work so hard anymore. It's a win-win-win situation!"

"Great! This is a good idea!" Xu Hancheng became more and more excited as he listened, but then suddenly hesitated for a moment before saying, "Then how about we split the profits?"

"Although this matter falls under the jurisdiction of our police station, it involves many parties. For example, the garrison troops have one side, the military police headquarters has one side, and the officials of the Manchurian government have one side."

Xu Hancheng grew increasingly disheartened as he listened. Well, he couldn't afford to offend any of those people mentioned, and he couldn't afford to lose any of them.

How much money will he get once it's in his hands?
What if he works so hard to get things done, only to end up with a share of the money that isn't even enough for a single visit to a brothel?
Cao Wei glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, secretly smiled to himself, and said while counting on his fingers, "All things considered, I estimate that you can get about seven or eight hundred silver dollars a month."

"How much?!" Xu Hancheng exclaimed in surprise, wondering if he had misheard.

"Seven or eight hundred silver dollars," Cao Weida said apologetically. "I know it's not much, but as police officers, we have to do some practical things for the people under our jurisdiction. A little sacrifice is unavoidable."

"Cough cough~~ cough cough cough~~~" Xu Hancheng coughed violently, his eyes wide open.

Seven or eight hundred dollars is too little?!

This is a silver dollar, not a Union Bank note!
Don't be fooled by Cao Wei Da's casual talk of thousands or tens of thousands of silver dollars. For most people, seven or eight hundred silver dollars a month is already an astronomical figure!

For Xu Hancheng, that was a considerable sum!

Although those gangs also offered "tribute," everyone had connections behind them, and many people didn't take him seriously at all!

So, while it's true that they're "filial piety" in name, the amount they actually give isn't that much.

As for those without any powerful connections, there's no need to even mention them, since they themselves don't earn much money, so where would they get the money to 'pay their respects'?

Therefore, the tribute he received each month was between three or four hundred silver dollars and five or six hundred silver dollars.

Now, Cao Weida actually told him that he could reliably receive 700 to 800 yuan in "dividends" every month, and the key point was that he was on the side of "justice". How could he not be tempted?

One is an unstable 300-500, the other is a relatively stable 700-800. The latter doesn't have any problems to worry about and can win the hearts of the people. Even a fool knows which one is more worthwhile!

Who would complain about having too much money?
"Cao'er, you really are my brother!" Xu Hancheng excitedly hugged Cao Weida, only to be pushed away by Cao Weida in disgust.
"Get out of the way, get out of the way. I'm male, and I like women. My embrace is reserved for beautiful women."

"Go away, go away, stop joking with your brother. It's not like I like men. I was just showing off my virility to us men!" Xu Hancheng said with disdain, but he was secretly overjoyed.

Cao Wei Da wanted to befriend him in order to expand his network after the victory against Japan.

At the same time, how could he not also want to befriend Cao Wei Da?

It goes without saying that Cao Wei Da had a close relationship with Ono Oda and other Japanese military officials; that's a well-worn topic.

Cao Weida was indeed a man of great talent and integrity. He did not act arrogantly or disregard the Japanese high command just because he had connections with them. On the contrary, he was humble and never forgot his share of any benefits he received.

If it were the dead ball, those mourners would be eager to pocket all the money, and their attitude would be extremely arrogant, completely disregarding him, the bureau chief.

It's not that you don't know the value of goods, it's that you're afraid of comparing them. After comparison, even a fool would know which one to be close to.

At this time, Cao Wei Da presented another opportunity to make a fortune, and even more so, a great opportunity to earn a good reputation!
Regardless of whether he had foresight and saw that the Japanese were already on their last legs, who in office would not want to be praised by the people, but rather prefer to be condemned by everyone?

He's not a masochist!
With a good reputation and great wealth, and the problem with the Japanese side also solved by Cao Weida, he had no reason to refuse!
He stood up, exuding righteousness, and declared passionately, "As the police chief, I, Xu Hancheng, am duty-bound to protect the safety of the people and merchants in my jurisdiction. If any bullies oppress the good, I will punish them severely!"

"Don't worry, Cao'er, I'll gather all the officers above the rank of patrol chief and announce this matter immediately."

(End of this chapter)