Period drama: Old Cao's carefree life

Chapter 294 It's not about making you admit defeat, it's about making you submit to me!
"Oh? Let me take a look."

Cao Wei Da's interest was piqued. He opened the file bag, took out the documents inside, and flipped through them. Suddenly, he couldn't help but laugh.

"Well, the record is quite detailed, with the time, place, and people all clearly recorded."

"It seems that our deputy director is not very popular. As soon as an opportunity arises, everyone is eager to kick him when he's down."

Put the documents back into the file folder. "Let's go, let's go meet our Deputy Director Ji."

Ji Hongxin was placed under house arrest in a room located in the northwest corner of the district office.

The furnishings inside were fairly complete; everything was there except for the lack of any connection to the outside world.

When Cao Weida entered the room where Ji Hongxin was under house arrest, he saw Ji Hongxin smashing an enamel bowl on the ground.

Half a bowl of brown rice mixed with bits of pickled vegetables splashed onto the blue bricks. The porcelain bowl rolled twice and broke a hole in the wall.

"Oh, it seems that Deputy Director Ji's temper is even fiercer than the summer heat in Beiping."

Cao Weida dusted off the dust from his dark blue police uniform, his tone revealing neither joy nor anger.

Just as the little ear behind him was about to order someone to clean up, he raised his hand to stop him: "If our Deputy Director Ji wants to smash things, then let him smash them. Everyone has their own special hobbies."

"You all go out first, I want to have a heart-to-heart talk with Deputy Director Ji."

Ji Hongxin sat stiffly on the wooden stool, his hair disheveled and his eyes slightly dark, clearly indicating that he hadn't rested well in the past few days.

Even so, he still stood tall, his tone slightly sarcastic: "Is Director Cao here to show off his power, or to urge me to write my resignation?"

"Hey, Deputy Director Ji, what are you saying? Your contributions to the district office are obvious to everyone here. If you resign, it will be a loss for our district office!"

What a joke! How could Cao Wei Da possibly let him leave?
In the district office, he was the boss; he could mold and control anyone.

But if we let him out, it would be like releasing a tiger back into the mountains.

With the help of people from the puppet government, even if Ji Hongxin didn't become the deputy director, he would definitely be placed in another position.

Rather than letting him go and become an uncertain factor, it's better to keep him under our noses and watch him closely.

If you ever feel that the other party is ungrateful, it's easy to find a pretext to kill them.

"Ah."

Ji Hongxin sneered. He had clearly seen through Cao Weida's intentions. He just didn't want to let him out. How disgusting to make it sound so high-sounding!
"Cao Weida, stop pretending! You only became the director by flattering and currying favor with the Japanese. Do you really think you're someone indispensable?!"

His eyes were filled with resentment: "This position of director should have been mine. You climbed up by being a dog for the Japanese. Did you really think you could hold on to it?!"

Cao Weida narrowed his eyes. Anyone would be unhappy to be so bluntly mocked to their face.

But he recovered in an instant, pulled over a stool, sat down, slowly took out a cigarette, lit it, took a puff, and then looked at the other person with a forced smile:

"Whether I can hold onto this position or not is none of Deputy Director Ji's concern. You should worry about yourself."

He emphasized the word "deputy," and before the other person could get angry, he preemptively waved his hand to interrupt, tossing the file bag in his hand around, tapping it lightly with his fingertip, and said meaningfully:

"Deputy Director Ji is truly resourceful; he knows a lot of people from all walks of life."

“Let’s be frank, I already know about the batch of smuggled goods you hid at the Deshengmen Grain Depot.”

Ji Hongxin's shoulders stiffened abruptly, and when he looked up, his eyes were filled with shock and anger.

He had previously withheld that batch of grain under various pretexts, and was just waiting to sell it off in a few days to make a hefty profit.

He did this very discreetly; even his closest confidants only knew the basics.

He thought Cao Wei Da was trying to trick him, so he suppressed his inner panic and forced himself to remain calm, saying, "I don't know what you're talking about. Don't think you can bring me down just by giving me some random title!"

In his view, Cao Wei had only been in the district office for a few days, how could he have found any substantial evidence so quickly?

Moreover, he did it very discreetly, so it wouldn't be so easy to find out.

Unfortunately, he was wrong, terribly wrong.

Cao Weida had only been in office for a few days as director, so it was indeed not easy for him to find out anything. However, Ji Hongxin was not well-liked in the district office.

Little Ears merely hinted at wanting to investigate, and all sorts of evidence came knocking on his door.

The reason for this was entirely due to Ji Hongxin's previous arrogance. He kept all the "extra income" for himself, leaving no one but his confidants to get a taste.

It's not scarcity that's the problem, but inequality. If everyone were like that, it would be fine, but you're eating your fill while others can only watch enviously. Who wouldn't feel jealous and resentful?

In addition, they were constantly being deliberately suppressed, and there were even attempts to replace them with Ji Hongxin's own people. Naturally, they offended everyone else.

Now that they have the chance to kick someone while they're down, how could they possibly let such an opportunity pass?

"Don't know?" Cao Weida shrugged. You can just deny it?
He pulled a photo out of the file folder and threw it in front of Ji Hongxin: "Take a look for yourself."

Ji Hongxin picked up the photo and looked at it. His heart skipped a beat, and he knew something was wrong.

It turns out that the photo shows the back door of the grain depot. Ji Hongxin, dressed in civilian clothes, is directing people to load grain sacks onto a horse-drawn cart. The locust tree in the background and the address of the grain depot are clearly visible.

"How about it? This photo is clear enough, isn't it?" Cao Weida smiled sarcastically, then took out an account book and waved it in his hand:
"And this too, the grain depot's inbound and outbound records—the numbers you had the accountant change don't even match the notes."

At this point, he leaned forward slightly, a playful look on his face: "Tell me, if these things were delivered to Commander Ono, would he charge you with 'colluding with bandits' or 'embezzling military rations'?"

Upon hearing this, Ji Hongxin's face instantly turned pale. He staggered forward, reaching out to snatch the ledger, but Cao Weida grabbed his wrist.

Are you kidding me? Trying to steal an account book from the hands of a master of Northern Boxing?
If you steal it from me, I'd rather kill myself!
"Don't rush me. If I wanted to send you to your death, I wouldn't have come here in person."

Ji Hongxin's wrist was being squeezed painfully, but he dared not struggle. He was no longer the arrogant man he had been; his eyes were filled with unease, and his voice trembled as he said:

"What exactly do you want? The position of director is already yours, I admit defeat, so stop harping on this!"

"Is admitting defeat enough?" Cao Weida snorted coldly, shoving his hand away and putting the ledger back into the file folder.

"On my very first day as director, you went against me in a meeting and even tried to sabotage me."

"Everyone below is watching. If I just let you go like this, who will listen to me in the future?"

"What if someone who doesn't respect me pulls this stunt on me?"

He exhaled a puff of ash into Ji Hongxin's face expressionlessly, his voice icy: "What I want is not for you to admit defeat, but for you to submit to me!"

The power struggle between the puppet government and the Japanese side never stopped from the beginning, especially in places like the police station where all sorts of people were mixed together, and they were basically intertwined.

If Ji Hongxin were eliminated, it would only incite further hatred among the puppet government officials, offering him no benefit whatsoever. Even without Ji Hongxin, there were still Li Hongxin and Pan Hongxin; to maintain balance, the Japanese would make some compromises, allowing the puppet government to install a new deputy director.

Since it's inevitable that someone from a puppet government will eventually come to power, it's better to keep Ji Hongxin around. At least with leverage over him that can be used to kill him at any time, Ji Hongxin is relatively easier to control.

Ji Hongxin stared at the photo in his hand, his knuckles clenched so tightly they turned white.

He knew Cao Weida was telling the truth. If this matter were to be exposed, not only would he lose his position as deputy director, but he would also lose his life.

But he couldn't swallow his pride and bow down to this newly appointed director.

Because he knew even better that the reason Cao Weida spared him was simply because his life and death were now in Cao Weida's hands.

If the other party uses these weaknesses to get him to do something in the future, should he refuse or cooperate?
"Don't worry," Cao Weida said calmly, as if he had seen through Cao Weida's thoughts.
"I won't ask you to do anything you don't want to do. You just need to cooperate with me obediently in public and behave yourself in private."

"What the Japanese want is superficial peace. We should each do our part and follow the rules I set. Don't cause any trouble."

Patting the file folder in his hand, and looking at Ji Hongxin's ever-changing expression, Cao Weida suddenly smiled:
“You are a smart person, and I hope you can make a wise choice.”

"Your house arrest is over. Go home and get some rest today."

"I hope to see you in the Deputy Director's office tomorrow morning."

Ji Hongxin stared at the file folder, then glanced at Cao Weida.

He suddenly felt a pang of disappointment, and a bitter expression appeared on his face.

He understood that once the other side obtained this evidence, he had no other choice.

Either obey me obediently, or you die!

But does he dare to die?

He hasn't lived enough yet!

He stood up shakily, looked at Cao Weida hesitantly, and asked with unease, "Are you sure you won't use these things to threaten me into doing something for you?"

Cao Weida stood up and straightened the collar of his police uniform: "I, Cao Weida, am not exactly a good person, but I always keep my word. But remember, don't even think about going against me again. My patience isn't that great."

"Also, I will put this evidence in a safe place later. Don't worry, as long as we are all safe and sound, this evidence will never end up on the Japanese's desk."

Ji Hongxin nodded bitterly. Since there was no other choice, so be it.

He knew that the moment he let out his anger, he was no longer the Ji Hongxin who wanted to compete for the position of director. He had become a piece of meat on Cao Weida's chopping block, and could only follow the other party's rhythm.

Seeing the other party's expression, Cao Weida knew that the other party had made a choice.

Now that things were settled, there was no need for him to stay any longer.

Suddenly, as if struck by a sudden thought, his heart skipped a beat. Seeing Cao Weida about to walk out the door, he immediately called out, "Wait!"

"What is it, Deputy Director Ji? Is there anything else?"

Ji Hongxin first looked conflicted, then, as if he had made up his mind, he let out a long breath and declared, "Director Cao, thank you for letting me off the hook. Here's some information that might be useful to you."

After a pause, he uttered the news that made Cao Weida's heart skip a beat: "For some reason, someone in the municipal government wants to harm you. Director Cao, you should be extra careful these next few days when you're on duty."

Cao Weida seemed to be thinking, then smiled and nodded at him: "Thank you for your concern, Deputy Director Ji. I will be careful. Is there anything else you would like to say?"

"That's all. That's all I know." Ji Hongxin shook his head. He figured that revealing this secret was a way of giving his all.
It is hoped that Cao Wei Da will keep his word.
"Okay, I understand. Thank you again for your generosity, Deputy Director Ji. As long as we work together, what I just said will not change."

The moment the door was gently closed, Cao Weida's smile vanished instantly, replaced by an extremely gloomy expression.

"Damn it, someone in the city government is trying to assassinate me!"

He could probably guess what it was because of, besides the matter of Guo Dashuai and Hu Zi Liu Changjiang.
"So, who exactly wants to kill me?"

The question only lingered in his mind for a couple of seconds before he immediately dismissed it.

Guo Dashuai's case involves too many government officials. Who knows which one is unhappy with him and wants to kill him?

It's impossible to guess whether there are more than just one or two people who want to kill you.

"Brother Cao." Little Ears walked up quickly, noticing that Cao Weida's expression was off.

"Is that bastard Ji Hongxin being shameless? Should I teach him a lesson for you?"

Cao Weida shook his head: "No need, it's not Ji Hongxin's problem. Arrange for someone to prepare a good meal and wine for him, and let him take a hot bath. Then release him."

Released?

Does this mean Ji Hongxin has already given in?

Why does Brother Cao look so strange?

Little Ears didn't ask any more questions, and after responding, immediately went to make the arrangements.

As a subordinate, you should know the rules, ask the questions you should ask, and never ask questions you shouldn't ask.

He has always done a good job in this regard.

"."

When Xiao Erduo arrived at the director's office after arranging everything, she saw Cao Weida stroking his chin, deep in thought.

"Brother Cao."

"Hmm, everything's arranged?"

"It's all arranged."

After saying that, Xiao Erduo pulled up a chair and sat down quietly, waiting for Cao Weida's instructions.

Sure enough, a short while later, Cao Wei called him: "Little Ears".

Little Ears jumped up with a 'whoosh': "Brother Cao, what are your orders?"

"Speaking of which, it's been a while since I've been to Xiaguangyuan. Your lover must have been nagging you about it quite a bit."

Hearing Cao Weida's slightly teasing words, Xiao Erduo blushed and stammered, "Actually, it's not so bad. It's just that Xie Wanrou and Qiu Shuyi miss you a lot, Brother Cao, but they don't dare to come to you without a reason. They just mentioned it to Han Lu a few times."

(End of this chapter)