Period drama: Old Cao's carefree life

Chapter 308 is truly a role model for us all!
He suddenly remembered that there was someone in the district jail who might be able to help.

"A couple of days ago, we caught a petty thief who stole Japanese supplies. His name is Liu Er. He used to work as a handyman in a foreign firm in the embassy district. He might have seen some of the commotion."

“Even if we haven’t met him, he’s more familiar with the embassy district than we are. It’s much more appropriate for him to look for the person than for you to do it.”

Xu Jingge hesitated: "Can we trust someone like Liu Er?"

"If they turn against you, you'll be in great danger."

In his view, if they all became thieves, how could they be credible?

If he couldn't be trusted, and the Japanese found out that Cao Weida had sent him to gather information about Fang Jiamou, then it would be dangerous.

"Don't worry, Liu Er is still somewhat trustworthy." Judging from what Liu Er said when he was arrested and brought to the district office, it's clear that Liu Er harbors genuine hatred for the Japanese.

In addition, he was a filial son, with an elderly mother who was bedridden and a younger sister at home, who could not escape his grasp.

People with weaknesses are the easiest to control.

Otherwise, how could there be a saying like "a gentleman can be deceived by his principles"?

"Don't worry, wait for my news. I'll let you know as soon as I have any news."

While saying this aloud, they were already complaining in their hearts.

Damn it, if he wasn't worried about his own safety, he really wouldn't want to get involved in this mess.

The Japanese army would definitely take Fang Jiamao very seriously. If anything happened to Fang Jiamao, who knows how crazy the Japanese would become.

If even the slightest bit of it gets on your skin and the Japanese notice, it will be a very troublesome matter.

He really didn't want to get involved in anything, even the slightest thing, and wished he could hide a hundred thousand miles away.

Xu Jingge nodded. If there were a safer and more effective method, he would naturally not be so stubborn as to take the risk of doing it himself.

"But we have to do it quickly. Fang Jiamou could reveal the information at any time. Once he does, there's not much point in assassinating him."

"Don't worry, I'll do it as soon as possible. Did you bring Fang Jiamao's photo? Give me one."

"Yes, I have it with me. I always keep his photo with me."

After taking the photos, Cao Weida left the safe house and went directly to the district office.

On the way to the detention cell, Cao Weida asked:
"Little Ear, how did it go with the mother and daughter I asked you to look after in the dilapidated temple a couple of days ago?"

"Brother Cao, don't worry, she's been taken to the hospital and given two doses of penicillin. Her condition is now under control, and the young lady has been placed in the courtyard at No. 97 Nanluoguxiang for Miss Tian Zao to look after."

"That's fine."

Upon entering the detention cell, they tossed two packs of cigarettes to the guards and told them to smoke them. The guards, beaming with joy, thanked them and left.

In the detention cell, Liu Er lay on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. He smelled rather unpleasant because he hadn't showered for several days.

Upon seeing Cao Weida enter, he immediately scrambled to his feet and rushed to the railing: "Boss, how are my mother and Xiaomei?"

His voice was hoarse, and his tone was urgent.

"Don't worry, I've already made arrangements for your mother and younger sister, and they're doing well so far."

Cao Weida told Xiao Erduo to bring him some food and said, "Eat up. After you finish eating, I have something to ask of you."

If you want a horse to run, you have to make sure it's well-fed.

Cao Wei Da was never a stingy person; the meals he had prepared were all hearty dishes, including a whole Songhua chicken.

Upon hearing this, Liu Er sat down without saying a word and began to wolf down his food.

He had never eaten such a good meal in his life, with so much meat.

"Wait a minute, no one's going to take it from you." Cao Weida smiled and asked with interest, "Aren't you going to ask me what I need you to do?"

"No need to ask." Liu Er, his mouth greasy from eating, didn't seem to mind the mess. He wiped his greasy mouth with his sleeve, which was covered in oil from eating the preserved chicken.
“I, Liu Er, have no other skills and have never been to school, but I know what it means to repay a drop of kindness with a spring of gratitude.”

"If it weren't for you, Boss, I might already be suffering in the Japanese dungeon, or perhaps I'd be a pile of corpses in a mass grave. My mother and younger sister would have a hard time surviving without me."

"You have done me and my family a great favor. No matter what you ask me to do, whether it's climbing mountains of knives or boiling oil, I will do it without hesitation!"

He took a big bite of chicken and mumbled, "But even if I might die on this mission, I have to die with a full stomach. I've never eaten such good food in my life, I have to eat my fill before I die!"

Cao Wei Da chuckled to himself, "You know what, this is the petty-bourgeois mentality of the Chinese people."

They may lack knowledge, they may not have read many books, and they may be just an insignificant speck of dust among the masses, but you cannot regard them as ignorant; they have their own wisdom.

"Don't worry, it's not as serious as you think."

He winked at Little Ears, who understood and went out to close the door and guard it, not letting anyone near.

Cao Weida took out a photo and handed it over: "I'm asking you, in the past few days, when you were in the embassy district, did you see this person? He has a black mole on his left eyebrow."

Liu Er stopped chewing and stared intently at the photo, lost in thought.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up: "I've seen him before! That day I was scouting the street behind the warehouse, and I saw two military police escort this man out of the car and into a courtyard."

“I noticed that small courtyard. A Japanese officer used to live there, but I don’t know his name. After he left, the courtyard has been empty ever since. The other day I saw two military police officers with guns on their shoulders guarding the gate. They must be important people!”

He swallowed the meat in his mouth and added, "But this man isn't Japanese. He seems to have some kind of deal with the Japanese. I vaguely heard him arguing with the military police, saying he wanted to see the Japanese officer and bring his family over, or he wouldn't work."

Upon hearing this, Cao Weida couldn't help but laugh.

Damn it, how could I be so lucky?!

I just took a good deed and saved a petty thief who seemed somewhat agreeable, but I never expected him to reveal such important information!
He suddenly thought of a saying: Sometimes, a single sentence from an insignificant person can determine the success or failure of a great undertaking.

That's exactly how he felt. Information that Xu Jingge and even the Military Intelligence Bureau found incredibly difficult to obtain, even at great risk, was now being blatantly revealed by this nobody, Liu Er.
"Liu Er, do you remember the terrain around that small courtyard? Can you draw it?"

"Yes! I worked in a foreign firm for five years. I can walk around the surrounding buildings and environment with my eyes closed!"

"Very good, then draw the map now." Cao Weida was even happier, saving him the trouble of even scouting the location. Ten minutes later, Cao Weida put the map away with satisfaction.

With this map, Liu Er no longer needs to go out on adventures.

"Stay here for a few more days. Once your mother's condition improves a bit, I'll let you out."

"Also, I didn't ask you anything today, and you didn't say anything."

Liu Er's heart tightened, and he nodded hastily.

In fact, when Cao Weida took out the photos, he knew that this matter was not simple, and that it actually involved the Japanese!
He had considered the possibility of being silenced by Cao Wei Da afterward, but he still spoke up.

Anyway, Cao Wei Da would have died long ago, so why not take advantage of the opportunity to trick the Japanese?

After leaving the district office, Cao Weida met with Xu Jingge again.

Xu Jingge was shocked when he heard that Cao Weida had obtained Fang Jiamao's exact location.

Upon hearing the entire story, Xu Jingge was speechless.

What incredible luck! He did a good deed and saved a petty thief, and somehow he knew the exact location of their mission target?!
Without risking infiltration, without disguising oneself, and in less than an hour, such crucial intelligence was obtained.
Think back to the two previous intelligence reports provided by Cao Wei Da; each time they were accurate and fast, and crucially, they were obtained by chance.
EMM knows that luck is part of skill, but isn't your skill factor making up too much of it?!
The way you're doing it, it's hard not to make us envious and jealous!

Cao Wei Da didn't care whether he was envious or jealous; he just wanted this matter to end as soon as possible. He wanted to be a lazy bum and didn't have much time to waste on them.

"This courtyard is not big. It is a single-entrance courtyard with a narrow alley at the back, which can only accommodate one rickshaw."

"The Japanese army set up a fixed sentry post at the entrance of the alley. Across from the small courtyard was a tailor shop, and the owner was an old Beijinger."

He pointed to the location of the tailor shop on the hand-drawn map: "There is a small window on the second floor of the tailor shop, facing the small courtyard. If we could set up a telescope there, we could find out what's going on inside."

Xu Jingge stared at the map, drew a line between the tailor shop and the courtyard with his fingertip, and pondered, "I need an opportunity to get close to the courtyard without arousing the suspicion of the Japanese army. When is the tailor shop usually crowded?"

“Every morning at nine o’clock, foreigners and expatriates in the neighborhood would go to the shops to pick up their clothes. The Japanese soldiers would relax their guards a little at that time, for fear of blocking the foreigners’ way.”

Liu Er lived near the foreign firm for five years and knew the surrounding area like the back of his hand.

Liu Er had told Cao Weida all the details, so Cao Weida's response was naturally very quick.

Although there were far fewer foreigners in Beiping during this period compared to bustling metropolises like Shanghai, there were still quite a few foreigners looking for opportunities to make money there.

After all, it was the capital of countless dynasties, and the capital of the Qing Dynasty, which is very attractive, as it has a rich history and culture.

"Okay, I understand." Xu Jingge breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Ever since the task was assigned, he had been feeling heavy-hearted and under a lot of pressure.

This was a large-scale battle involving hundreds of thousands of people, and the immense pressure kept him from eating and sleeping well.

Now, finally, some great news has arrived, and he can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

After handing the intelligence to Xu Jingge, Cao Weida left immediately.

Now everything is ready, all that's left is for Xu Jingge to gather the specific intelligence.

He'll see what happens once the mission plan is finalized; he needs to move on to another location. Those little devils, Ono Oda and Fujita Sousuke, are waiting for him to treat them to a meal.

Unfortunately, organizing group activities regularly is essential for maintaining good relationships.

"."

Cao Weida arrived at the Six Nations Hotel early and was sitting in the VIP area smoking while waiting, his eyes occasionally scanning the female waitresses coming and going.

You asked him what he was looking at?
It's very simple; he's looking for a familiar yet unfamiliar figure.

Since the Yan family and Yan Zhensheng exist in this world, there's no reason why Mu Chunhua shouldn't exist as well.

Regardless of the real-life celebrities, he still greatly admires Mu Chunhua from the TV series.

In the TV series, Mu Chunhua is a woman of resilience and courage, devoted to her feelings, filial to her father, and uncompromising in the face of evil forces. She is a woman of both courage and wisdom.

In the drama, she works as a waitress at the Six Nations Hotel in order to pay for her seriously ill father's treatment, and there she meets Yan Zhensheng, the owner of Qinfangju pickle shop.

Meanwhile, seeing her father seriously ill, in order to obtain penicillin to treat him, she did not hesitate to spread the word that she would become someone else's concubine.

This filial piety alone is enough to win people's favor.

Penicillin, which is hard to come by for others, is as good as bathwater for him.

Trading a box of penicillin for a beautiful, well-educated, and discerning concubine is a win-win situation!
Unfortunately, he had been to the Six Nations Hotel several times, but he had never seen Mu Chunhua.

So, when did Mu Chunhua start working as a waitress at the Six Nations Hotel?
It wasn't explained in the TV series either.
Just then, a doorman ran over and whispered, "Master Cao, the distinguished guests you've been waiting for have arrived."

"Alright, thank you for your hard work." Cao Weida stood up, took out a fifty-yuan banknote and handed it over, then left amidst the doorman's profuse thanks.

Sure enough, as soon as he got outside, he saw a military vehicle parked in front of the Six Nations Hotel.

Afterwards, Ono Oda, Fujita Sousuke, and others got out of the car.

"Ono-kun, Fujita-kun, you've finally arrived!" Cao Weida strode forward and said with a smile.

"Haha~~ Cao-san, I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you to spend money again today." Ono Oda and the others greeted him with smiles. "By the way, I also brought Kato-kun today. You don't mind, do you?"

Cao Weida followed his gaze and exclaimed, "Oh, an old acquaintance!"

This is Kato Chizuru, the little Japanese devil who coveted the Bai family's medicinal formula.

"Ono-kun, isn't this a slap in my face? Kato-kun's presence is a favor to me, how could I mind!" Cao Weida approached with a smile, "Kato-kun, it's been a long time. Thank you for what happened last time."

"Hello, Mr. Cao. I apologize for the intrusion." Kato, the Japanese boy, was quite polite, bowing slightly as he spoke.

"Kato-kun, you're too kind. You must have a good time today. Please come inside."

After inviting them into the private room and instructing the waiter to serve tea, Ono Oda, already familiar with the place, didn't know anything about politeness. As soon as he sat down, he impatiently shouted, "Cao-san, beautiful girls, girls to accompany us, American girls, please!"

"Even at a time like this, Ono-kun doesn't forget to 'bring glory to the country,' he's truly a role model for us all!" Cao Weida leered and gave a thumbs up.

(End of this chapter)