Period drama: Old Cao's carefree life

Chapter 196 It’s better to come early than to come by chance
"Ahem, well, I have a wife and kids to support, so I might be a little short on cash."

As he said those words, his sense of shame surged.

When he first came to the police station, his goal was to mess with Cao Weida, make him regret what he had done the day before, make him kneel down in front of him and cry his heart out, and then offer his concubine to him.

But now, that damned, lowly Chinese man, Cao Weida, has a very good personal relationship with high-ranking military officials, so he doesn't dare to have any crooked thoughts at all.

Now, having lost face in front of this Chinese man again, he was so embarrassed that he wanted to dig out a three-bedroom apartment with his toes!
Little Ears, seemingly oblivious to his ashamed expression, exclaimed in disbelief, "You beastly lord, you're not kidding me, are you? You're saying you have no money?! How is that possible?!"

Upon hearing this, Kawakita's shame instantly turned into rage. He jumped up and snarled, "You damn bastard, are you mocking me?!"

Mocking you?
Do you deserve it?
Little Ears sneered inwardly, but outwardly wore a wronged expression: "Sir, you can't wrong me. How could I dare to laugh at you? I just felt sorry for you."

"What a pity?" Little Ear's words confused Kawakami Seishu. His anger subsided, and he looked at him suspiciously: "What do you mean by that? What's a pity?"

"Of course it's a pity you missed out on a lot of money!"

"Huh? I missed out on a huge sum of money? What do you mean?" Kawakami Seishu was completely dumbfounded. How come he didn't know?
Seeing Little Ears shaking his head and sighing, he immediately became anxious, "Tell me, how did I miss out on such a large sum of money?"

Only those who have experienced how difficult it is to be broke know how important it is to have money.

Take him for example. Despite his arrogant demeanor in front of Chinese people, his status at home is actually quite precarious.

Don't assume that all women who live simple, ordinary lives are gentle and tender; that's all bullshit!

If a man can earn money, his woman is indeed understanding and devoted to him. Not to mention cooking and washing clothes, it's common for her to prepare bath water before bed and turn the bathroom into a fully automatic system at night.

However, once a man stops earning money, the first thing he experiences is the disdain and contempt in a woman's eyes, as well as endless nagging.

Still want status in the family?
Go wash up and go to bed early; you can dream about anything!

Kawakami Seishu is currently in this stage. His wife finds him displeasing from every angle. Even when he tries to get into bed, he gets kicked a few times, let alone engage in any negative-distance activities.

What is the reason for this?
It's all because I'm broke!
If he had money, would that woman dare treat him like that?!
He dreams of becoming rich overnight!
I'm going crazy thinking about it!
So when he heard that he had missed out on a large sum of money, he immediately became anxious and eagerly pressed for answers.

Seeing that he had taken the bait, a cunning glint flashed in Little Ears' eyes, and he put on a pained expression, saying, "You beastly Japanese lord, if I were a Japanese like you, I would have been rich long ago! How could you say that you're not well-off?"

What does this have to do with whether I'm Japanese or not?
Kawakami Chōshū became even more curious and impatiently said, "Stop keeping me in suspense! Just tell me clearly how we're going to get rich!"

Such a scheme cannot be told too bluntly. If you were to tell someone right away that you want to go to a gambling den, most people would be on guard.

However, is this something that can be prevented simply by taking precautions?

How can it be!

Not to mention now, even decades from now in modern society, these tricks of deception and fraud will still be commonplace, and countless people will fall for them.

Cao Wei Da didn't care how Xiao Erduo set a trap for Chuan Jiaqing; once the order was given, he stopped caring.

He had many other things to do and didn't have time to pay attention to these trivial matters. He just needed to wait for Xiao Erduo's report on the progress of the mission.

Time flies, and five days have passed in the blink of an eye.

Over the past five days, Cao Weida has been busy, and things have been proceeding in an orderly manner.

The Japanese have finalized all the details of their joint business dealings with both land and sea forces. At the same time, the locations for the material transfer stations in Changping, Shahe, and Nankou have been selected, and Nao Tayuan's business network has been incorporated into them.

The profit-sharing ratio was barely satisfactory to all three parties. The next step was to transport and distribute the goods to get the business up and running.

Once the matter was settled, Cao Weida no longer needed to worry about the rest; Lao Luo and the others would naturally handle it.

So, before nightfall that day, having had some free time, he quietly went to a two-story house near No. 6 Yanglian Hutong, Nanchang Street, Xicheng District.

This house was only about 30 meters away from No. 6 Yanglian Hutong. After Cao Weida knocked on the door, a man in his thirties respectfully invited him in.

"Master Cao." The man's name was Yan San, one of Xiao Erduo's most trusted brothers.

Ever since Xiao Erduo joined the police station as a patrol officer, the gang has been under the leadership of Yan San. Only when there are things that he is unsure about will he report to Xiao Erduo.

Yan San wasn't the only one in the room; several of his brothers were also there, and they all respectfully stepped forward and greeted him as "Master Cao."

"We're all brothers, no need to be so polite." Little Ear was his brother, a brother he trusted, so Cao Weida naturally gave him face, patting his shoulder with a smile and handing him a cigarette tucked under his arm.
"Brothers, you've all worked hard. Here, share this with yourselves."

"Thank you, Master Cao!"

"Master Cao is so generous!"

Yan San and the others accepted the gifts with beaming smiles. This wasn't their first time meeting Cao Weida, and they knew his character, his generosity, and his loyalty to his brothers.

They seemed quite willing to work under such a powerful leader.

Ever since Little Ears started following Master Cao, their lives have become much better than before, and their wallets have become much fuller.

If they're still not satisfied with a leader like this, then they're really heartless.

"Haha, we're all brothers, let's all do our own thing."

After dismissing the men, Cao Wei Da led Yan San to a room on the second floor.

Two brothers were hiding by the window, peeking out through the gaps in the curtains.

Upon seeing Cao Wei Da and Yan San enter, they quickly stood up to greet them.

Cao Weida gestured for them not to stand on ceremony, then went to the window and secretly observed them by lifting a corner of the curtain.

It must be said that Yan Sanxuan's choice of this place was indeed excellent. Hiding here, one could clearly see the situation at No. 6 Yanglian Hutong.

"Any new developments in the last couple of days?"

No. 6 Yanglian Hutong was the residence of Liu Xiangting, the Northern Overlord. Ever since Cao Weida saw Liu Xiangting and Wang Kemin enter a private room at Dongshengping, he had Xiao Erduo arrange for people to secretly monitor Liu Xiangting.

He was certain that the two of them were plotting something.

Wang Kemin couldn't monitor him, since he had countless professionals at his disposal, but monitoring Liu Xiangting was still very easy for him.

“The people in house number 6 have been mostly quiet these past few days, except for sending their subordinates out to buy things. I’ve had people follow those who went out to buy things, but I haven’t found anything unusual.”

Cao Wei Da nodded, but he wasn't too worried.

Being a hunter always requires patience.

Besides, it doesn't matter if nothing is found in the end; he just wants to try his luck, even if it's risky. If it turns out, great; if not, he won't lose anything.

Just as Cao Wei Da thought he had gained nothing today and was about to leave, one of his subordinates suddenly ran up to him.

"Master Cao, Third Master, something's up!"

"explain."

"The brothers guarding the back door reported that Liu Xiangting disguised himself and sneaked out through the back door."

"Oh?" Cao Weida couldn't help but laugh. It really is better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early.

"Come on, take me over there to have a look."

As night fell, the number of pedestrians on the road gradually decreased. Due to the curfew, the people of Beiping would hurry home before dark.

If there's really no time left, I'll find a place to spend the night and come out again during the day.

At this moment, Liu Xiangting, who was disguised, was also in a hurry, but showed no intention of returning.

We entered the Six Nations Hotel located on Dongjiaomin Lane just before it got completely dark.

Like the Beiping Hotel, this Six Nations Hotel was fully equipped with a variety of facilities, including dining, accommodation, and a dance hall.

The dance hall, in particular, was famous for a time and was the premier social venue in Beiping during the Republic of China era, even surpassing the Beiping Hotel.

For example, the traitor Jin Bihui once met Zhang Zuolin's adjutant at the Six Nations Hotel dance hall and obtained intelligence about Zhang Zuolin's return to Northeast China.

There was no shortage of dancers in the dance hall; although not all of them were stunning beauties, they were all gentle and charming.

Cao Wei Da pondered for a moment, then had Yan San keep watch outside while he himself went into the Six Nations Restaurant.

Upon entering the hotel, I saw that Liu Xiangting did not linger on the first floor at all, but quickly went to the elevator. After thinking for a moment, I quickly went to the elevator.

The elevator was ascending until it stopped on the fifth floor.

The Six Nations Hotel was originally four stories, but it was expanded to five stories in 1925.

Cao Wei Da often frequented various high-end venues with Ono Oda and his entourage. This was not his first time visiting the Six Nations Hotel, so although he wasn't very familiar with it, he did have some knowledge of it.

The fifth floor houses the ballroom of the Six Nations Hotel.

He smiled slightly, pressed the button for another elevator next to him, and followed them up to the fifth floor.

With a 'ding', the elevator doors opened.

The nightclub was brightly lit and bustling with activity, and people on the dance floor swayed wildly.

However, compared to before, the number of people in the Six Nations Hotel's dance hall has decreased significantly.

Cao Weida grabbed a drink from the bar and strolled around the various corners of the dance hall, searching for his target.

Soon, Liu Xiangting's back came into view.

Now that the person had been found, Cao Weida was no longer in a hurry. He found a corner booth near the window and sat down, his eyes seemingly casually looking around, but in reality, his peripheral vision never left Liu Xiangting's back.

Just then, he saw Liu Xiangting walk over and sit down next to a woman dressed in men's clothing who exuded a cold aura.

Cao Wei Da was certain that the person was a woman because she did not have an Adam's apple at all, and although her behavior was quite generous, it was also full of feminine softness.

And, those exceptionally well-developed pectoral muscles on his chest.
After the two spoke in hushed tones for a while, Liu Xiangting walked toward the elevator, clearly intending to go down.

Cao Weida tapped the wine cup in his hand, rolled his eyes, and gestured to the outside by pulling open the window curtain.

Upon seeing this, Yan San, who was waiting at the door, silently retreated into the darkness until he saw a familiar person walking out of the Six Nations Hotel. Without hesitation, he followed far behind.

Just as Cao Wei Da lowered the curtain, a figure sat down next to him.

"Inspector Cao, is this place empty? May I sit down?"

Cao Weida raised his eyelids and looked at her in surprise. "Miss, do you know me?"

The woman disguised as a man who had just whispered to Liu Xiangting appeared next to him.

“Of course, Inspector Cao, you are a very important figure in Beiping these days, how could I not know you?” She covered her mouth and smiled, but there was no smile in her eyes. “Let me introduce myself, I am Yoshiko Kawashima, nice to meet you.”

"So you are the famous Ms. Yoshiko Kawashima. It's a pleasure to meet you." Cao Weida's attitude was indifferent, but he was inwardly surprised.

He never expected that the person who contacted Liu Xiangting would be Yoshiko Kawashima, the Eastern female devil!
Based on that reputation alone, he couldn't help but take a closer look at the other person's appearance.

Because the lighting was dim and Yoshiko Kawashima was wearing a bowler hat, her true appearance was not visible.

Looking at it up close now, Kawashima Yoshiko's lineup was revealed to Cao Wei Da.

Well, to put it simply, it was quite disappointing for him.

Contrary to the legendary descriptions of her as having a dignified appearance, an oval face, and large eyes, the real Yoshiko Kawashima had a square face, thick and short eyebrows, a low nose bridge, somewhat thick lips, and rough, not fair skin.

When he opened his mouth to speak, his buck teeth were clearly visible and uneven.

Such an appearance, while not extremely ugly, can be considered quite ordinary.

Judging by her age, she's in her late thirties, almost forty, long past the prime of a woman's life.

In addition, he was dressed in men's clothing, which looked quite awkward, and he was no different from an ordinary-looking tomboy.

In other words, the two well-developed pectoral muscles on her chest are a reminder to outsiders that she is still a woman.
'What a disappointment. I thought she was going to be a beautiful woman, but it turns out she's just like that?'

Seeing Cao Weida's cold attitude, Kawashima Yoshiko didn't mind at all. Instead, she sat down with a smile and said:
"They're all just empty titles, not worth mentioning."

"Inspector Cao, it is truly fate that we meet you here today. Come, let me toast you."

Cao Weida raised an eyebrow, looking at her with a puzzled expression. He had a feeling that Kawashima Yoshiko was trying to make amends to him.
That can't be right. This guy helped the Japanese army commit numerous crimes on Chinese soil, and he was awarded the rank of Major in the Army after the "September 18 Incident" in 1931.

Would such a 'big shot' curry favor with a lowly police inspector like him?

Am I feeling wrong?

(End of this chapter)