Period drama: Old Cao's carefree life

Chapter 197 The Street of Love and Lust, The Hidden Door

"Miss Fangzi is too modest. It should be me who is fortunate to have met Miss Fangzi."

"You have made countless contributions to the Great Japanese Empire and are a big shot in the eyes of the Japanese. I am just a nobody and cannot compare to you."

With some doubt in his heart, Cao Weida clinked glasses with her, took a sip, and said with a smile:

"I wonder what business Miss Fangzi has with me?"

He really didn't have a good impression of such a female devil.

The problem is that he's not good-looking, he's old, and he's been ridden by countless men. He really has no interest in pretending to be a snake with him.

He wasn't involved in intelligence work, so he had no interest in having too much contact with a traitorous spy who had caused countless bloodshed for China.

As for Yoshiko Kawashima seeing him deliver the message, that's unlikely. With the curtains in the way, and without him making any unusual movements, it wouldn't arouse suspicion.

Moreover, if she were to arouse suspicion, Yoshiko Kawashima's first reaction would not be to strike up a conversation with him, but to immediately notify Liu Xiangting.

Yoshiko Kawashima smiled, raised her glass and said, "Inspector Cao is too kind. I have no other business with you. I just wanted to get to know a talented young man like you."

As she raised her glass, he noticed the numerous needle marks on her arm through her cuff.

Tsk, turns out the other person is not only a lunatic, but also a drug addict!
"Miss Fangzi, you flatter me. I'm hardly a promising young talent; you flatter me." Cao Weida's attitude remained indifferent.

"I'm a straightforward person, so let's speak frankly and openly."

He was self-aware enough not to believe the other party was really just there to get to know him; that was utter nonsense.

Young talents?
Instead of wasting time like this, you'd be better off making friends with a few more Japanese officers.

The saying goes, "Those who offer unsolicited kindness are either up to no good or are thieves!"

"Mr. Cao's guard is a bit too strong." Seeing Cao Weida's noncommittal expression, Kawashima Yoshiko paused, feeling a tightness in her chest.

Well, it seems the other party is not someone who can be easily fooled.

I wanted to get angry, but considering my current situation, I could only suppress my dissatisfaction.

If you don't show some sincerity, the other party will never trust you.

"Alright, I'll tell you the truth."

The wine glass was placed on the table with a 'clink'.

"I would like to ask Mr. Cao for a small favor."

"Tell me," Cao Weida said, looking at her indifferently, his attitude rather cold.

Despite the fact that the other party was a major, a rank bestowed by the Japanese army, he didn't give him any respect.

Although Yoshiko Kawashima, that wretched woman, helped the Japanese devils accomplish many bloody "merits," such as the Huanggutun Incident, the September 18 Incident, the planning of the kidnapping of Empress Puyi, the planning of the January 28 Incident, and other heinous crimes, she was awarded the rank of major.

However, not being Japanese ultimately means not being Japanese. Due to her relapse into illness, her eccentric personality, and her advanced age, she had lost her usefulness and had long been sidelined by the Japanese military.

"Damn bastard! If it were before, how dare a lowly police inspector treat me so disrespectfully!!" Yoshiko Kawashima felt even more aggrieved and longed to be taken seriously again.

If the Japanese were facing dire straits on the international battlefield, with their fortunes already declining, then Yoshiko Kawashima was in an even more desperate situation with the Japanese.

Having enjoyed being treated as a superior person, she was naturally unwilling to continue like that; she wanted to be even more superior.

Therefore, she frequently maneuvered among the Japanese high command and always wanted to make a great contribution to the Japanese army, attempting to make the Japanese high command see her value and try to make a comeback.

For her own purposes, Yoshiko Kawashima took a deep breath, sat up straight, and said seriously, "I would like to ask Mr. Cao to help me arrange a meeting and introduce me to Major Ono and Major Fujita."

Cao Wei Da couldn't help but laugh, swirling the red wine in his glass. The wine sloshed along the sides of the glass, leaving streaks of wine residue on the inside.

"Miss Fangzi is joking. I don't have that kind of ability. Even if I did, I wouldn't dare to make decisions for my superiors on my own."

"If you want to get to know Ono-kun and his ilk, you'd better figure it out yourself. I can't help you."

Yoshiko Kawashima gritted her teeth inwardly. If I had any other way, would I have needed to come to you?!

Those damned guys, now that I'm no longer of any use to them, they don't even respect me!

No, I must change everything!
He forced a smile: "Mr. Cao is joking. Everyone in Beiping knows that you have a very good relationship with Major Ono and his men."

He pulled a check out of his pocket and pushed it over, saying, "This is just a small token of my appreciation. Please don't refuse. If things work out, I'll reward you handsomely."

Cao Weida glanced at it and exclaimed, "Wow, that's really generous! A whopping five thousand silver dollars!"

That woman is quite generous!
Looks like they're really in a hurry.

He slowly put the check away, a smile appearing on his face. "Miss Fangzi, you're too kind. Alright, since you're so sincere, I'll give it a try. But I can't guarantee whether it will work or not."

Why not make money if you can? It's just a dinner party, something I'll mention casually.

Cao Weida glanced at Yoshiko Kawashima and sneered inwardly.

This woman still tried to regain the trust of the Japanese army, but he knew that no matter how much Yoshiko Kawashima danced, it would be difficult to regain their trust.

Did the Japanese really think that Yoshiko Kawashima was so capable that they heavily relied on her in the early stages?
Shit!

It's entirely because of her status and connections in North China! They need her status to maintain their rule in the occupied territories of China!

After 1940, when the Japanese occupation of China became relatively stable, her role diminished considerably.

In addition, she was selfish and stupid. She not only often used her status as a Japanese soldier to seek personal gain, but also planned some actions without the approval of the Japanese high command, disrupting the Japanese army's established plans.

He also frequently wavered in his stance during factional struggles within the Japanese army, switching sides frequently.

Such a stupid and wicked person, with no usefulness whatsoever, would have been dealt with long ago if it weren't for her past 'contributions' and if she weren't there to show those traitors and lackeys.

Even after all this, she still dares to try to regain the attention of the Japanese and make a comeback. Isn't that just wishful thinking?
But that's none of his business. Let that bitch Yoshiko Kawashima have her delusions; it's not like he's not going to pay her.

"Don't worry, Mr. Cao, I will remember this kindness whether it works out or not." Kawashima Yoshiko was overjoyed to see Cao Weida agree.

She believed she had a chance to rise again, but little did she know that in other people's eyes, she was nothing more than a clown jumping around.

Meanwhile, just as Cao Wei Da made a small fortune, Xiao Erduo was also methodically dragging the Chuan family into the abyss. Brothels during this period could be broadly divided into the Yangzhou group in the south and the Tianjin group in the north.

Most of the prostitutes in the Yangzhou Gang were women from Suzhou, Hangzhou, and the Yangtze River basin.

The Tianjin Gang mainly consisted of women from Tianjin, Beijing, and other provinces north of the Yellow River and Northeast China.

Even brothels are divided into four classes.

The first and second class mostly served military and political figures, bureaucrats, wealthy merchants, nouveau riche, and rich young masters; the overnight fee was not cheap.

The third and fourth tiers focus on high quality at low prices.

At this moment, Xiao Erduo, along with Kawakami Seishu, stopped at the entrance of Cherry Blossom Street, a famous fourth-class red-light district.

Little Ears pointed inside and said with a grin, "You beast, enjoy yourself tonight, all the expenses are on me!"

Third- or fourth-class brothels are frequented by the largest number of people, mostly from the lower classes.

Therefore, the women here are also the most susceptible to disease.

Little Ears brought him here tonight for a simple reason: to get that damn Japanese devil infected with the disease!

"Yoshi, Ren-san, you're a really good person! You're the most loyal friend of our Great Japanese Empire!" Looking at the dark street with indistinct figures standing on the side, Kawakami Kyosuke's eyes began to gleam with greed.

He doesn't earn much money on a regular basis, and his wife is very controlling of the money, so he's always been short of cash.

Although he knew that the Eight Great Hutongs had always been a den of iniquity, he didn't have the money to come here to find girls; he was already desperately craving them.

Upon hearing that Little Ears was going to treat everyone, his restless heart immediately began to stir.

Seeing that he had taken the bait, Xiao Erduo smiled coldly to himself and led Chuanjia Qingshou out through a secret door.

Little Ears wasn't familiar with this place before, but in the past few days, he had made a point of getting acquainted with the madam inside. With a clear purpose in mind, he went straight there.

"Oh my, isn't this Master Lian? Why are you so late? Please come in, sir." The madam was a man in his fifties with a black mole the size of a thumbtack on the right side of his chin. Two hairs grew out of the mole, and the two hairs trembled as his mouth moved.

"Let me introduce you to a very important person!" Little Ears played the perfect straight man, and with a hint of pride, he cheerfully introduced, "This is the Japanese lord of the Great Japanese Empire! It's your honor that he's spending money here today, so you'd better treat him well!"

Upon hearing this, Kawakami Kōshū couldn't help but puff out his chest, striking an arrogant pose, while his eyes darted around.

"Oh my, it's you, sir! No wonder you look so dashing and imposing!" The madam's exaggerated expression and respectful attitude pleased Kawaie Chōshū quite a bit, causing him to puff out his already thin chest even more, as if he wanted to stick out his ribs.

"Yoshi, haha, my noble aura is just too dazzling. I want to keep a low profile, but I just can't hide it!" Kawake Chōshō chuckled smugly. Anyone who didn't know better would think he was upstairs at night.

A whole family of beasts?

The madam was taken aback, clearly not expecting this little Japanese devil to so arrogantly reveal his true nature.

But you know what, they're actually quite honest. Aren't those Japanese devils all beasts in their entire family?

She secretly scoffed at him, thinking, "You have no noble airs whatsoever, but you're certainly not lacking in sleazy and vulgarity."

He continued to flatter her, saying, "Please go to your room and wait. I'll arrange for two nice girls to serve you!"

After settling Kawaya Seishu into the room, Xiao Erduo pulled the madam outside and whispered, "Have you arranged the two sick men I asked you to find, preferably the kind with syphilis sores?"

"Don't worry, Uncle Lian. Here, we might have to search around to find healthy people, but for those who are sick, we can find a few in any household. It's simple!"

The madam glanced back at the closed door, spat under her breath, and said with a look of satisfaction, "These damned Japanese devils, they bully and oppress our Chinese people all day long, they should all get sick!"

Clearly, this madam was also a radical youth, a radical old man.

If those traitors who aided and abetted the tyrants were to see this, knowing that even a brothel madam who opened a secret door had such passionate blood, I wonder if they would die of shame.

Hearing that everything was arranged, Little Ears felt relieved and said with a smile, "Alright, don't say such things carelessly in the future. Don't worry, you'll get your share of the benefits if this matter is handled well."

"Then thank you very much, Master Lian!" The madam beamed. For those of them who worked in the underworld, the thing they feared most was getting gynecological diseases.

These days, there are basically two types of gynecological diseases: gonorrhea and syphilis.

For both of these diseases, penicillin is a very effective treatment.

Knowing something is one thing, but actually being able to buy it is another.

The benefits promised by Little Ears this time include not only a portion of money, but also a promise to help purchase a small amount of penicillin.

As long as they can afford the price, we can help them purchase a small amount of penicillin.

In an era where such a bottle is hard to come by, this is a very substantial reward!

It can save your life in a critical moment!
Ignoring the beaming madam, Little Ears pushed open the door and went inside, walking to Chuanjia Qing Shou's side.

"Mr. Beast, would you like one, or two at once?"

You can have two at the same time?!

Hearing this, Kawakita Seishu became even more excited and exclaimed impatiently, "Two! I want two!"

Tell me, which man doesn't dream of having multiple wives? He, Kawakita Horishō, is a man too, and he has the same thoughts!
I never expected that this Chinese guy, Little Ears, would be so generous!
Since they dared to invite him, he dared to accept!

Since it's not his money, he doesn't care!

"No problem!" Little Ears agreed without hesitation and called over the madam to say something.

Soon, the madam entered with two women dressed in their finest attire.

"Qiuyue, Hanmei, you two take good care of this lady and make sure she is satisfied, do you hear me!"

The two women, called Qiuyue and Hanmei, exchanged a glance, then swayed their hips, revealing flirtatious smiles, and gracefully sat down on either side of Chuan Jiaqing. "Master, tonight, we two will definitely serve you to your heart's content."

The madam specifically requested that the two women be paired together to serve the men, and they didn't know why beforehand.

After all, the madam knew their situation, but she did it on purpose, which is obviously abnormal.

The only possibility is that they wanted to infect some man with their disease.

(End of this chapter)