Period drama: Old Cao's carefree life

Chapter 52 makes this old Japanese soldier somewhat pitiful.
Mei Hui Restaurant, private room.

Cao Weida clearly hadn't expected that the police chief counselor, Nao Tayuan, would come to see him, and he still had doubts in his mind when he sat down in the private room.

His face, which resembled a pig's head, was so striking that he couldn't help but chuckle and glance at it several times out of the corner of his eye.

"Cao Sang, please have some tea."

"Thank you, sir." With a hint of doubt in his mind, Cao Weida politely expressed his gratitude.

"Isn't it strange that my face looks like this?"

"Ahem... Sir, you jest. I wouldn't dare." You, the chief counselor of the police department, the biggest boss behind the scenes, have been slapped in the face, and instead of hiding to lick your wounds, you invite a mere patrol captain like me. I'm quite uneasy.
Cao Weida grew increasingly curious about the reason why the other party had sought him out, but at least he was certain of one thing: the other party wasn't looking for trouble.

Otherwise, he wouldn't be enjoying tea in a private room, but rather pepper spray in an interrogation room.

Actually, it wouldn't hurt to tell you.

Don't tell me, I'm not interested!

Cao Wei thought to himself, "The more you know, the faster you die, especially when it's the embarrassing stuff about your boss's boss's boss's boss!"
Immediately change course:
"Mmm~~ The tea smells wonderful, initially bitter but with a sweet aftertaste, truly excellent tea. Thank you for the gift, Commander Tianyuan; otherwise, I would rarely have the chance to drink such fine tea."

"Oh? Is that so?" Nao Tazumura smiled faintly, and said meaningfully, "With Cao-san's status and connections, what kind of tea can't he drink?"

"You can get your hands on matcha from the Empire, so what's a little Pu'er tea to you?"

Upon hearing this, Cao Wei Da's heart skipped a beat.

He only ever gave Ono Oda 'matcha', and apart from him and Ono Oda, practically no one else knew about it. What did Nao Tezono mean by saying that?
"Commander Tianyuan is joking."

He wanted to deny it, but was interrupted by Nao Tayuan waving her hand. She chuckled and said, "Don't be nervous, Cao-san, and don't misunderstand. I didn't mean anything by it. I just want to be friends with you."

“I have always heard that Cao Sang likes to make many friends. I think Cao Sang would not mind having another friend like me.”

"Of course, it is my honor to be friends with the Countryside Chief. I am overjoyed and would never mind."

Cao Weida chuckled twice. "You, a dignified Japanese colonel, are talking about being friends with me on our first meeting, without any prior connection or interests, and you want me to not misunderstand?"

Nao Tazono continued, "I know you have some connection with Major Ono, but I want to remind you that those in positions of power should fulfill their responsibilities. Sometimes, many benefits are not something anyone can simply take; there are always costs involved."

Cao Wei Da's heart sank, but he remained calm and said, "What do you mean by that, Magistrate Tian? I'm a little confused."

Is he reminding me to be careful of Ono Oda?
Why did he remind me?
Did he not get along with Ono Oda?

He was unaware of the relationship between Ono Oda and Tagore Nao, and Ono Oda had never mentioned it. Lacking information, he couldn't discern what the other party's true intentions were.

"It seems that Cao Sang still doesn't quite trust me, but that's alright. There's an old Chinese saying that goes, 'Time will tell.' After spending more time together, you'll get to know me."

Who cares about you? I'd be grateful if you just didn't bother me.

So, what exactly are these Japanese devils trying to do?

Why would someone invite me over for tea out of the blue, and then casually make friends?
Why are you so skeptical?

He tentatively said, "Commander, if there is anything you need my help with, I will certainly do my best to help."

"Well, with Cao-san's understanding nature, no wonder Major Ono likes to be friends with you."

Haha, I'll take that as a compliment.

"Commander Tian Yuan is too kind. I am honored that you all think so highly of me, a mere nobody. Please speak, Commander Tian Yuan, and I will do my utmost."

"Cao-san, you must have made a lot of money lately," Nao Tazono said meaningfully, swirling her teacup.

Cao Wei Da's heart skipped a beat. "What does the Chief of the Countryside mean by that?"

“It seems I was too vague. Let me be clearer,” Nao Tayuan said, squinting her eyes and uttering two words that made Cao Weida’s expression change drastically: “Supplies.”

Cao Wei Da's face stiffened, and he said with an awkward smile, "Commander Tian Yuan is really joking. What supplies? I don't know what you mean by that."

Nao Tazono's face darkened. "Cao-san, that's not right of you. What, you don't want to be friends with me, Nao Tazono?"

His eyes were fixed on Cao Weida, and he sneered, "Or do you think this isn't the place to talk and want to find another place?"

The so-called "changing locations" is obviously not a good place, even a fool would know.

Cao Weida pretended to be guilty and quickly waved his hand: "Commander Tianyuan, it's not that bad, it's not that bad. I think it's fine here." Tianyuan Nao seemed quite satisfied with his appearance. Her calm face relaxed and she smiled again: "I was just joking with Cao-san. I hope you don't mind."

"Don't worry, since I said I wanted to be friends with you, I would never do anything to harm my friends."

"You don't need to be afraid. I just want to do the same thing as Major Ono."

"You mean..." Cao Weida asked cautiously, which made Tianyuan Nao chuckle. "I sincerely want to be friends with Cao-san. Let's speak frankly."

“I know about Major Ono and his men’s business dealings with you, so you don’t need to cover it up for them.”

"Perfect timing, I also have a batch of supplies that I want to sell. If possible, I would appreciate it if you could help me sell them as well, Mr. Cao."

Cao Weida was silent for a moment, then nodded and smiled, "Of course, no problem. Others who want to help the Chief of the Countryside don't even have the connections. Since the Chief of the Countryside thinks highly of me, I will do my best."

There are some questions you can ask, and some you should never ask, even if it means being beaten to death. Cao Wei Da understood this principle.

Once you ask, either the other person is lying, or you simply won't answer, and you might even make them dislike you.

He already had a general idea in his mind: this Nao Tani, even if she wasn't on good terms with Ono Oda, was at least not of the same mind.

If you really get along well, why would you need to arrange a meeting with me alone?
Doppen and Matsui Koji were brought over directly by Ono Oda and his group.

Furthermore, although Nao Tazono holds the title of chief advisor, her actual status is probably far inferior to that of Oda Ono.

Otherwise, why would they choose me to help with the shipment?
He wasn't so arrogant as to think that among so many people in Beiping, and so many who wanted to curry favor with the Japanese, only he could help sell goods.

If he really thinks like that, then he's not far from death. He'll probably be happily counting the money for someone who's been bought off.

The only possibility he could think of was that the other party didn't dare to give anyone leverage, and that by using his own channels, or indirectly, Ono Oda's channels, they could avoid being discovered to the greatest extent possible, without having to build their own network of channels, since Ono Oda and his group had already built it up.

This Japanese soldier is a shrewd man, and also a capable one.

Cao Weida's vigilance deepened. He missed the novels he read before his transmigration; the supporting characters were all incredibly stupid. Why couldn't he encounter them?
"Yoshi, Cao-san, we're friends now, the closest of friends." Nao Tazono gasped, her face contorted with laughter.

"It is my honor to be friends with Nao Denzono."

"Haha~~ Cao-san is so good at talking. By the way, I heard that Ono Oda and Fujita recently borrowed a lot of money from the bank. Cao-san, as a friend, you should know why they borrowed the money, right? Would you mind sharing it?"

Cao Wei Da hesitated, while Tian Yuan Nao chuckled as she looked at him. Cao Wei Da felt a chill run down his spine under her gaze, but ultimately couldn't withstand her stare and forced a wry smile:
"Commander, I'm so sorry, I really can't say this. If Commander Ono finds out, he'll kill me. Please don't make things difficult for me."

Although he had some suspicions, he still wanted to test the waters.
"You are Commander Ono's superior, why don't you ask Commander Ono directly?"

"I'm just a nobody, I can't afford to offend either of you, so please don't make things difficult for me."

As if remembering something, Cao Wei Da clearly saw the other man's jaw tighten when Ono Oda was mentioned.
"Haha, I was presumptuous. I suppose Major Ono has encountered some difficulties and is in urgent need of money."

Without dwelling on the matter any longer, Nao Tamago pulled a list from her pocket and handed it over, smoothly changing the subject:

"Here is the list of goods, please take a look."

Cao Weida glanced at the results list and couldn't help but twitch his lips.

Good grief, you're the chief counselor of the police department, why are you being so stingy!

He became even more certain of his guess, and even added another point: this old Japanese devil was not only shrewd and capable, but also a coward!

You've already embezzled, and you've only embezzled this little bit? Does that do justice to your position as the chief counselor of the police department?
Putting the list away, Cao Weida said confidently, "Tonight, give me an address and I'll send someone to pick up the goods."

Nao Tani's face lit up with barely suppressed joy, her swollen, round face almost squeezing out wrinkles. "Yoshi, it's a pleasure working with you!"

"It's a pleasure to cooperate." Cao Weida raised his glass, feeling a little sorry for the old Japanese devil. He was so happy over such a small thing; how unsophisticated he must be.

After leaving the restaurant, Cao Weida went straight back to the police station, found Xiao Erduo, and handed him the list.
"Here's a shipment; you can take it."

Although Little Ears is now a patrolman, the black market business has not been shut down, and his identity as the boss has not changed; he's just now wearing the skin of a patrolman.

Little Ears took the list: "42 Hanyang rifles, 15 melon grenades, 900 jin of rice, 700 jin of flour, 800 jin of cotton, 400 jin of pork. That's all?"

Little Ears was taken aback. "Brother Cao, whose supplies are these? The quantity is way too small!"

After two transactions involving tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, Xiao Erduo's horizons have clearly broadened. Compared to the previous two transactions, this amount of supplies is really insignificant.

(End of this chapter)