Period drama: Old Cao's carefree life

Chapter 185 An unexpected surprise
Unlike Ono Oda, Fujita Sosuke did not recuperate at Tzu Chi Hospital. Instead, he went to Beiping Hospital after the successful surgery.

Cao Wei Da didn't know why he was doing this, but who cared? It was his own choice, and he had no interest in guessing.

As for whether there were any hidden secrets, he couldn't be bothered to care, and he had no intention of gathering any intelligence.

That's right, he has to visit Ono Oda and Fujita Sousuke separately in two separate trips, which is too much trouble.

Beiping Hospital was larger than Tzu Chi Hospital, but its inpatient building was only four stories high.

Fujita Sōsuke also stayed in a single room on the fourth floor. Following the same procedure as when he went to see Ono Oda, the guard at the door immediately lowered his guard and greeted him with a smile when he saw that it was Cao Weida. He also received a pack of cigarettes and was able to enter the ward smoothly.

"Fujita-kun, how is your injury?" Cao Weida asked with a smile, putting the fruit basket aside.

"I'm much better now. The arteries weren't damaged. I'll be fine after some rest." Fujita Sousuke had one leg dangling from a strip of cloth hanging from a beam. Although he looked miserable, his complexion was rosy, indicating that he was living quite well here.

"I've already told Ono-kun the purpose of your visit. I've already called the military police, and they will fully cooperate with you."

"This concerns the policies of 'Sino-Japanese Friendship' and 'Central Asian Co-prosperity' designated by the Great Japanese Empire. As a member of the Great Japanese Empire, I naturally have an unshirkable responsibility to cooperate."

Fujita Sousuke was clearly in a good mood; after all, he was getting paid, so he was naturally delighted.

All they need to do is give an account to their superiors; they don't care who the dead Chinese are.

"Then thank you very much, Fujita-kun. You are as righteous as ever." Cao Weida flattered with a smile, his eyes darting around, and continued, "Don't worry, after this is over, I will prepare some local specialties and send them to your residence."

"It's not something from before, Fujita-kun, please don't be disgusted by it."

Having lived in China for so many years, how could Fujita Sosuke not know what the so-called 'local specialties' are?
Then, in an even better mood, he laughed and said, "Cao Sang, you're being too polite. There's a saying in China: 'A small gift carries great meaning.' Given our relationship, saying something like that is too formal."

Ha!
You don't even feel ashamed to say that!

Their skin is thicker than a city wall!

"Yes, yes, Fujita-kun is right. But we Chinese have a saying, 'It's never wrong to be overly polite.' You and Ono-kun are people I respect, so I can't skip showing them courtesy. It's just a small token of my appreciation. I hope you don't mind."

Then, changing the subject, he said:
"Fujita-kun, how do you plan to handle this matter? Will you subject him to severe torture, or simply have him executed?"

"Torture is definitely necessary; otherwise, how will they confess?" Fujita Sōsuke took the cigarette Cao Weida offered, lit it with a flourish, and with just a casual remark, decided the lives of countless people.
"What, does Cao Sang have a problem with this?"

"I wouldn't call it an opinion, I'm just furious!" Cao Weida said indignantly. "To be honest, if those bastards who assassinated others killed someone else, I wouldn't have a single thought about it."

"However, this time you and Ono-kun almost met with disaster, which is something I absolutely cannot tolerate!"

"You and Mr. Ono have been incredibly kind to me! There's an old Chinese saying: 'A debt of gratitude for being recognized and appreciated should be repaid with a spring of gratitude!'"

Fujita Sosuke felt a little touched, but only a little. After all, he wasn't stupid and naturally guessed the bigger reason: if he and Ono Oda were to die, Cao Weida would lose his backing.

However, this did not diminish his satisfaction.

He raised an eyebrow and asked, "So what do you plan to do?"

"I intend to give them some deterrence and ambition!" Cao Weida said firmly. "This is what I think. These people must be executed, but if we kill them all at once, although it may deter them for a while, it will only be temporary."

"My idea is to kill three or two of them every day, and keep doing so until they're all gone, to continuously intimidate them and let them know that the soldiers of the Great Japanese Empire will not tolerate provocation!"

"Moreover, I'm willing to carry it out myself!" His eyes flashed, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "Perfect, my marksmanship isn't good, so I'll use them to practice my marksmanship. If I encounter a similar situation again in the future, I can do my part!"

Fujita Sosuke looked at him in surprise. He never expected that Cao Weida would be so angry because of their injuries, to the point of being this angry!

After a moment of silence, he smiled and said, "Cao Sang, I am very touched by your kindness. However, aren't you afraid of being assassinated by the rebels?"

"You know, although you've only killed some... unstable elements who are disrupting the peace, the people who are resisting don't know that."

"Tsk, to be honest, I'm still a little scared." Cao Weida chuckled and shrank back. "But it's alright, I've already planned to bring all my concubines to live together, and then arrange some guards to watch over them."

"Besides, if I don't tell anyone, and your people don't tell anyone, they won't know that I was the one who did it."

Fujita Sousuke was taken aback, then chuckled, "Alright, if you're willing to stand up for us, then I'll naturally accept your kindness."

"Also, when I get back, I'll issue you a note approving your gun licenses to form a team of ten." Although those people are not considered good by the Chinese, as the saying goes, those Chinese spies don't know.

If Cao Wei Da were to kill so many people, and the photos were to end up in his hands, it would be a significant piece of leverage, which would be a good thing. So why would he refuse?

"Then thank you very much, Fujita-kun!" Cao Weida's face lit up with joy; he hadn't expected such an unexpected surprise!
Under Japanese rule, Beijing had strict gun control, and Chinese citizens were strictly prohibited from owning firearms. Those found in possession of firearms without authorization would face severe punishment.

After all, the Japanese devils were running rampant in the city, and nobody wanted to provoke any reckless fool who might get shot dead.

With a gun permit issued by the military police, one can openly possess firearms, including rifles!
Don't be fooled by the fact that pistols are intimidating at close range; in terms of sheer power, they are nowhere near the level of rifles.

Having achieved his goal and received an unexpected bonus, Cao Wei Da left satisfied.

After leaving the hospital, he neither returned to the police station nor went home, but went straight to Xuanwumen.

Longquan Orphanage, located south of Xuanwumen and east of Longquan Temple, was the only orphanage in Beiping (Beijing). It was established by donations from Longquan Temple based on Buddhist compassion.

Upon arriving at their destination, Cao Weida stepped forward and knocked on the door.

A short while later, an elderly woman came out and looked at Cao Weida with a hint of wariness in her eyes: "Boss, who are you looking for?"

Cao Weida sighed inwardly. The image of the police in the minds of the people during this period, with the exception of a small minority, was truly indescribable.

"Grandma, I'm a patrol officer from the police station. My name is Cao Weida. I need to speak with your director and ask for her help. Could you please announce my presence?"

The old woman's eyes became even more wary. "Sir, this is an orphanage. There are only women and children inside. I'm afraid we can't be of any help to you."

Cao Wei sighed inwardly again, and said earnestly, "It's like this, we've captured a group of human traffickers and rescued some children, but we have no way to house them, so we wanted to send them here."

"Oh, I see." The old woman's expression relaxed slightly, but then she hesitated, a look of unease flashing across her face. In the end, however, she gritted her teeth and stamped her foot, saying, "Please come in."

The old woman did not take him into the backyard, but instead led him to a room on the left.

While the old woman was pouring tea, Cao Weida said, "Grandma, I noticed you looked a little off just now. Is something wrong?"

The old woman paused for a moment, then sighed deeply and said bitterly, "To be honest, boss, there are indeed some difficulties, but it's alright, we'll try our best to overcome them. Supporting the government's work is our duty."

"I am the director of this facility. Rest assured, now that the children have been sent here, we will do our best to take care of them."

Cao Weida glanced at the old woman's clothes and the furnishings in the room, and immediately knew what kind of difficulty she was facing.

In principle, orphanages are funded and maintained by the government, and all expenses are covered by government appropriations.

But now that the Japanese have occupied Beiping, the officials in the municipal government are also puppets supported by the Japanese. They are too busy embezzling their own money to even deduct the salaries of their subordinates, yet they still want to allocate funds to the orphanage.

There are no doors.

And that is indeed the case. The Longquan Orphanage has always been supported and cared for by the Longquan Temple. But in this day and age, how many people spend all their time worshipping Buddha?

I can barely support myself anymore.

Those in the middle and upper classes have very little reverence for so-called gods and Buddhas; otherwise, they wouldn't dare to become traitors.

On the contrary, they are more popular with those Western sects.

Therefore, Longquan Temple is also short of funds and simply does not have the capacity to provide much assistance to Longquan Orphanage.

What kind of income can the elderly people in the orphanage have?
It's easy to imagine that life in the orphanage was not easy.

Cao Wei Da, filled with resentment at the fall of his country, took out a check for five hundred silver dollars from his pocket and handed it over, saying, "Grandma, I can rescue them from those scoundrels, but I can't do anything about it afterward. I can only trouble you."

"They suffered hardships that were not theirs to bear, and their young hearts were wounded by traumas that were not theirs to suffer. Please use your kindness to heal the wounds in their hearts."

"This is just a small token of my appreciation. You can exchange it at the bank. I will send you one hundred silver dollars and some money and food every month from now on, as a small contribution. Please don't refuse."

(End of this chapter)