Period drama: Old Cao's carefree life

Chapter 246 To make money, they'll do anything!

If he remembered correctly, the initial lottery draw only yielded twenty dollars, and penicillin was also sold by the box, with a total of twenty boxes.

Later, it was fifty silver dollars and fifty boxes of penicillin.

But nowadays, silver dollars are sold in thousands, and penicillin is sold by the case!
He looked at it and saw that there were fifty boxes of penicillin in a box, and each box contained twenty standard-sized vials, which meant that there were a full thousand vials in a box!

Twenty boxes, that's twenty thousand sticks!

In this day and age, this is an absolutely terrifying number.

"So, the quantity of items the system draws might be calculated based on the items I already own?"

This is not impossible; otherwise, it would be inexplicable why this would happen.

"Never mind, it's not important."

For him, skills are still the most important thing!
This is what he cares about most, and it is the source of his confidence that allows him to live a secure life and not be afraid of any situation!

Everything else is just material possessions.

"But then again, it's not good to leave so many medicines gathering dust in the space, and they also take up space."

"Also, send some of those weapons and ammunition, except for the ones that are too heavy and inconvenient to transport, so that we can make room."

Previously, he had stolen a thousand penicillin from the Japanese army's warehouse. After rescuing Li Huaide, he gave them five hundred, and still had five hundred left in his storage space.

Adding these 20,000, the total is 20,500.

With so many medicines that are neither edible nor drinkable, we dare not release them on the black market in large quantities, as it would easily attract attention.

He's not short of money, so there's no need for him to take this risk.

But keeping it in his spatial storage would be such a waste, he thought for a moment,

"The base area is currently in dire need of all kinds of supplies, especially medicines, which are life-saving. Let's send them to the base area; this will further enhance our friendship."

Without hesitation, Cao Weida flagged down a rickshaw and headed to Ruixin Grocery Store.

Inside Ruixin Grocery Store.

The previous ten-day lockdown inevitably had a huge impact on Ruixin Grocery Store; business almost came to a standstill during those ten days.

But as the city gates reopened, business gradually recovered.

Although Cao Weida wreaked havoc on the Japanese every night, making all the Japanese in Beiping grit their teeth in hatred and take the martial law in the city even more seriously, the city gates were no longer closed.

Therefore, although there was still some impact, since the checks at the entrance and exit were strict, Ruixin Grocery Store's business gradually improved.

As business improved, Lao Luo naturally became busier.

As he watched batches of various supplies being sent out, Lao Luo's smile never stopped.

The vast majority of these supplies are destined for the base area!

He was overjoyed to be able to transport all kinds of scarce supplies to the base area.

Looking at the present and then back to the past, he felt a sense of unreality when he realized that in order to prepare even a little bit of supplies, he had to take on the enormous risk of being exposed, or even sacrifice the lives of his comrades.

He and his fellow underground party members in the shop were all well-fed, well-clothed, well-slept, and even received wages.

Many times he was in a daze, wondering if underground work could be so easy and carefree.
Just then, a voice rang in his ear: "Old Luo, busy, huh?"

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Lao Luo immediately looked up, and when he saw that it was indeed Cao Weida, his smile broadened even further.

"Oh, it's the boss! What can I do for you?"

"I didn't have anything to do today, and I was just killing time anyway, so I thought I'd come and go through the accounts."

"I was just planning to give you a report in the next couple of days. The account books are in my room, and it's not very clean outside with people coming and going. Why don't you come in and have a cup of tea, sir? I'll get you the account books and you can sit down and look at them at your leisure."

"Okay, let's drink the pre-rain Longjing tea I brought earlier. I like that."

This tea was something he got from that sucker Liu Huai at the teahouse opposite the Mingyue Dance Hall; it was a whole pound of it.

He couldn't finish it himself, so he sent two ounces over here for Lao Luo to use to entertain those important figures.

The two entered the room on the second floor. After closing the door, Lao Luo said with a serious expression, "Comrade Cao Weida, it's very safe here. Is there something you need?"

He knew that what was said outside was meant for others to hear. He knew that Cao Weida couldn't have come to see him just to check the accounts; there must be something else going on.

“There is something, but it’s nothing important, no need to be so serious.” Cao Weida smiled and pointed to the table and chairs in the room: “Come, let’s sit down and talk about it.”

Hearing that it wasn't anything important, Lao Luo's expression relaxed, and he smiled and said, "Then I'll go make you a pot of tea first."

A moment later, Lao Luo, who had prepared the tea, poured a cup for Cao Weida. Cao Weida picked it up, took a sip, and exclaimed, "I never expected Lao Luo to have such a skill!"

"Hey, it's all thanks to you. It's been years since I've had such a leisurely time," Old Luo said with a chuckle.

"Nowadays, we have no worries about food and drink, and we don't have to rack our brains to gather intelligence. After we finish our shifts, there's nothing to do, so we have to find something to do to pass the time. That's why I've started learning how to make tea."

Cao Wei Da smiled, but didn't say anything humble.

After all, it is indeed the truth. If it weren't for him, Lao Luo would still be living in constant fear and hiding his true identity.

The two chatted idly for a bit before Cao Weida got down to business.

"I've come to you with a few things. First, as you know, I was forced to join the Military Intelligence Bureau. That old devil Dai Li found out that I had connections with Japanese officers in Beiping, so he plans to have me establish a covert transportation line."

Luo remained silent, not in a hurry, quietly waiting for Cao Weida to continue.

Both the Military Intelligence Bureau and the underground Communist Party were secretly establishing transportation lines, but there were slight differences between the two.

The underground Communist Party's transportation lines played a crucial role, with intelligence transmission being only a small part of their operation. Their greater function was to secretly transport supplies to the anti-Japanese base areas.

There was no other way; the base was simply too poor.

The problem isn't a lack of money, but a lack of resources.

The Military Intelligence Bureau's transportation lines were primarily for inbound transport. Besides intelligence transmission and personnel delivery, they also transported items such as radios, cipher machines, weapons, ammunition, medicines, and communication equipment to enemy-occupied areas in order to better obtain intelligence and create sabotage and chaos in enemy-occupied territories.

Therefore, there is no fundamental conflict of interest between the two, and it does not have a significant impact on their transportation of goods.

Cao Wei Da worriedly said, "I'm afraid this transport line wasn't built for the war effort, but rather for some people's get-rich-quick schemes!"

This is not Cao Wei Da being overly pessimistic; the Military Intelligence Bureau did indeed engage in such activities!
Some corrupt officials have turned the transportation lines built by countless heroic martyrs who sacrificed their lives in the War of Resistance against Japan into tools for their own personal gain!
Red wine, cigars, cigarettes, even opium—whatever has the highest profit margin, we do it!
They'll do anything to make money!

Completely disregarding the safety of the nation and its people!!
Luo fell silent for a moment. As the saying goes, the one who understands you best is not your friend, but your enemy!

After so many years of open and covert struggles between the underground Communist Party and the Military Intelligence Bureau, how could they not know what kind of people the Military Intelligence Bureau was?
He knew that Cao Weida's worries were likely to come true!
But he didn't know what to say.

How could Cao Wei Da be advised against establishing transportation insurance?
Putting aside the fact that they might not actually be transporting these things, even if they were, if Cao Weida dared to stop them, would those high-ranking members of the Military Intelligence Bureau, whose minds were filled with dreams of making a fortune, let Cao Weida off the hook?

Let's establish it?
If we can only transport these, wouldn't that be aiding and abetting evil?

So he fell silent.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Cao Weida urged, "Old Luo, you're a senior, you've been in this business for so long, you must be much more thoughtful than me, can you give me some advice?"

"..." Lao Luo smiled bitterly. "How am I supposed to explain this?"
Everything I say is wrong!

After a long while, he reluctantly said, "Comrade Cao Weida, the transport line still needs to be built, but you can find a way to hand over the authority to someone else to manage it after it is built."

"In this way, you can also distance yourself from the situation as much as possible."

Don't assume that just because you took the blame for your boss, your boss will remember your kindness.

On the surface, it might seem so, but if things were to come to light, someone would definitely have to take the blame. Cao Wei Da had no connections or background with the Kuomintang, so he was the perfect scapegoat.

The Military Intelligence Bureau (MIB) has absolutely no human touch!
"Alright, I'll listen to you." Cao Weida smiled inwardly. His intention in saying this was not really to ask the other party for advice.

His original intention was to inform the Red Party in advance that I was going to establish transportation insurance for the Military Intelligence Bureau, but I was unwilling to do so and was forced to agree.

Now that his goal had been achieved, he began to discuss the second matter:

"I discussed something with Ono Oda, that little devil, a few days ago. There's been a persistent food shortage in Beiping."

Upon hearing Cao Weida's words, Lao Luo couldn't help but gasp, his face filled with shock:

"That little devil Ono actually agreed to this?!?"

He found it absurd and even wondered if there was something wrong with his ears.

That's the grain and fodder being transported forward!
“What’s impossible?” Cao Weida chuckled. “Since the defeat in the Solomon Islands campaign, the Japanese army has completely lost control of the islands in the Southwest Pacific. Their sea transport lines have been cut off by the US military, and their strategic resource supply is in dire straits.”

"The Japanese were small and had few resources, so they relied entirely on invading other countries to plunder and sustain their war effort through war."

"Now that the Japanese have lost control of the sea, they have completely lost the ability to sustain their war effort through war, and their logistics have been paralyzed."

"Without logistical support, the Japanese are like tigers with their teeth pulled. Even if they can still be fierce at first, they will definitely not be able to hold out in the long run."

"Even if the battle in central Henan is in dire straits and there are signs of its fall, so what? The national fervor for resisting Japan is high right now, and the gain or loss of a single city or place will not have a significant impact on the overall war situation!"

"Anyone with a brain knows that the Japanese devils are like rabbits, their tails won't last long. So why don't they hurry up and grab some benefits for themselves and their families?"

(End of this chapter)