Period drama: Old Cao's carefree life

Chapter 65 Is it okay, little brother?
Inside a private room at Dongxinglou Restaurant.

"Captain Cao, this is the reward I promised you." 'Wang Fugui' pushed a small bag in front of Cao Weida.

"Thanks." Cao Weida didn't even look at it and put it directly into his pocket. "You didn't call me over today just to give me payment, did you?"

"Captain Cao has a keen eye," 'Wang Fugui' said with a forced smile. "Our boss is very satisfied with the information you provided."

"Wait a minute," Cao Weida interrupted him, his brows furrowed and his displeasure visibly evident on his face: "You mean, you told your superiors about my affairs?"

"Mr. Xu, isn't what you're doing a bit unfair?"

"Captain Cao, oh no, I... wait, what did you call me?"

"Xu Jingge, Mr. Xu, do I need to make myself clearer?" Cao Weida said sternly, his heart filled with dissatisfaction. He was too lazy to pretend he didn't know him anymore. Was Xu Jingge really planning to take him for granted?!

Xu Jingge opened his mouth, but finally shook his head with a wry smile. "I thought I had disguised myself perfectly, but I didn't expect Captain Cao already knew my background."

"Please forgive me, this was a last resort, please understand."

"Let me reintroduce myself. I am Xu Jingge, a major in the Kuomintang Military Intelligence Bureau, and the head of the Operations Division of the Beiping Special Service Department of the Military Intelligence Bureau."

“I know that your name and portrait are in the police station’s archives. Your story of assassinating Chief Shen Wansan at Wanhua Tower has been passed down to this day.”

Cao Wei Da waved his hand impatiently and said, "I admire your actions that risk your lives, but isn't it inappropriate for you to report my affairs without my consent?"

"I'm just a lowly patrolman, cowardly and afraid of trouble, and I don't want to get involved with you spies."

"Pretend I was never here today, and we've never met before. Goodbye."

After saying that, he got up to leave.

"Captain Cao, please wait," Xu Jingge quickly stopped him, and said with a wry smile, "I didn't explain myself clearly, please forgive me."

"Things aren't what you think. After Captain Cao rejected Xu last time, I knew that Captain Cao's ambitions lay elsewhere."

"This intelligence, I told my superiors that I bought it from an information broker and did not reveal any information about you."

"Oh? Really?" Cao Weida was skeptical, but he didn't insist on leaving and sat back down.

"Of course it's true, I, Xu Jingge, wouldn't stoop to lying." Seeing Cao Weida sit down again, Xu Jingge finally relaxed and bowed slightly in apology.
"Thank you for the intelligence. The operation was a great success. We eliminated the traitor in the station, and the boss is very pleased. I should be able to get a lot of benefits after this."

At this point, he continued with a regretful expression, "If you were one of our people, this merit alone would have earned you at least a promotion, and you might even have received the Cloud Banner Medal."

"No way, I think it's fine as it is," Cao Weida patted his slightly bulging chest.

“I didn’t help for free; you’ve already paid me, so I’m very satisfied with this collaboration.”

"Alright, everyone has their own ambitions." Xu Jingge smiled and didn't dwell on the topic any further.

He had a good impression of Cao Wei Da. The things Cao Wei Da did after becoming a patrolman (that could be found on the surface) made him quite fond of him, especially since Cao Wei Da had helped him so much this time. He felt he had gotten a great deal.

He is a grateful person, as can be seen from his attitude and behavior towards Wen San in the original work.

"Besides bringing you payment, I also want to discuss a business deal with you this time."

"Oh? Tell me."

"I want you to help me find a Japanese woman."

"Japanese woman?"

Cao Wei Da paused, narrowed his eyes, and said unhappily:
"Hey, Officer Xu, I, Cao Weida, am a dignified patrol captain, responsible for maintaining the security and stability of a large area. You actually want me to find you a woman? What do you take me for, Cao? A pimp?"

His voice was filled with strong dissatisfaction, and his gaze was fixed on the other person. There was no displeasure in his eyes, but they were full of gossip.

Xu Jingge clearly understood, and because he understood, the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily a few times.

"Who do you take me for, Xu Jingge? Would I ask you for help just to find a woman?"

Xu Jingge was speechless. He had to explain himself clearly, otherwise, wouldn't his lifelong reputation be ruined?!

Before he could explain, Cao Weida leaned forward slightly, a mocking smile on his face.

"No need for explanation, I understand."

"Men can't control their lower bodies. If you want Japanese women, you're doing your country a favor. It's not shameful."

His fingers stroked his chin, and his narrowed eyes conveyed the message, 'I understand.'

"If you really want to find Japanese women, there's really no need to go through all that trouble. Those Japanese restaurants run by the Japanese themselves almost always have hostesses. They're a bit pricey, but the service is top-notch. They'll give you everything you need, and you'll be guaranteed a comfortable experience." "If you want something even more exciting, go to one of the big nightclubs in Beiping. They have all kinds of women—yellow, white, black—they're good at what they do and not clingy. You deserve it!"

"Uh..." Xu Jingge not only twitched, but the corners of his eyes also trembled. What is all this about? Are you sure I'm talking to you about the same thing?!
What was supposed to be a serious matter came out of this guy's mouth in such a cool way—oops, something's not right!

Xu Jingge remained silent for a long time before raising his head and saying righteously, "You've misunderstood. I'm a rather conservative person and I'm not interested in those foreign women!"

"Come on, we're all men, you think you can fool me?" Cao Weida rolled his eyes. Did he really think he was blind? Didn't he see the restless look on Cao Weida's face just now?

"Cough cough~~"

Xu Jingge coughed twice, trying to cover up his filthy thoughts. Seeing Cao Weida looking at him with disdain, he said with some annoyance:

"I'm a graduate of the Whampoa Military Academy, what do you take me for? Would I do something like seeking out Japanese women just for my lust?!"

Cao Wei Da remained silent, but the contempt in his eyes deepened.

Xu Jingge felt extremely uncomfortable under his gaze. "What do you mean! You don't believe me?!"

"What do you think?" Cao Weida chuckled. "As far as I know, quite a few of your Kuomintang's Whampoa Military Academy graduates are fashion-conscious and have taken more and more concubines than ever before."

"Everyone outwardly appears benevolent and righteous, but behind the scenes, aren't they all shrewd at making money? Go ask around, how many of them don't have a harem of concubines? Trying to act high and mighty here, burning paper horses on Qingming Festival, you're just fooling ghosts."

Xu Jingge was speechless, he really didn't know how to respond, because what the other person said was true.

Leaving aside others, just take their Military Intelligence Bureau chief Dai Chunfeng, whose chaotic private life is already common knowledge.

If even the leader cannot set a good example, those below will naturally follow suit, causing great suffering to the staunch anti-Japanese resistance fighters.

On many occasions, he also felt ashamed of the actions of certain individuals within the Kuomintang.

Taking a deep breath to suppress his agitation, he knew it wasn't appropriate to discuss the private lives of his party and state officers with an outsider; he was a subordinate. So he changed the subject:

“We received intelligence that a Japanese woman came from Nanjing last night. Her right arm was pierced by a bullet. She escaped to Beiping and is likely to hide in the Second Outer District.”

"You have a wide network of contacts, so could you help me keep an eye out for hospitals and shady clinics and try to find out if we can find any information about her?"

Upon hearing this, Cao Wei Da's face immediately turned to displeasure.
"Hey, are you kidding me? So this is the business you were talking about?"

"Do you really think I'm one of your spies? I don't have that kind of ability."

"Don't worry, I'm asking for your help. The reward is negotiable." Xu Jingge held up one finger. "This time, the reward is ten big yellow croakers. If you can find any clues about her, I'll gladly offer you ten big yellow croakers!"

Cao Weida looked at him with a face full of surprise, propping his chin up and staring straight at him.

Xu Jingge felt uneasy under his gaze. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I say, you Beiping spies are pretty rich, aren't you? This is Japanese-occupied territory, yet you're always throwing around ten small croakers or ten big croakers. Do you own a gold mine?"

Goodness, I remember in the TV series "Penetration", before the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan, Chen Ming and his wife were so poor that even their underwear was torn, and they couldn't even afford to buy torn underwear.

Beiping was also occupied territory, so why were they spending so lavishly?!
Xu Jingge smiled bitterly: "If there are gold mines, they belong to the Party and the State. What do they have to do with us lowly soldiers?"

"These two funds were specially allocated from above and are for specific purposes only. They have nothing to do with our Beiping Station and are not included in the public accounts."

Cao Wei Da understood: "I see. So this money was specially approved by Nanjing, right? It seems this woman is no ordinary person, managing to make some people go to such lengths."

Xu Jingge remained silent. Wasn't that obvious? If it were simple, why would he need ten large yellow croakers to buy information?
I cannot tell you the specifics.

Forget it, if you don't want to talk about it, I don't want to hear it either.

Cao Weida rolled his eyes: "Since the other party is a Japanese woman, she must have gone to the Japanese camp after she came back. What am I supposed to investigate? Where am I supposed to find out?"

"So what if you find out? Are you planning to rob us? Even if you have that idea, you need to have the ability to do it."

Although the Japanese are now in decline, they are still in occupied territory. It's not that Cao Weida looks down on them, but even if they had a hundred men infiltrating, they wouldn't be able to kill anyone from the Japanese camp; most of them would just be easy prey.

"That's beyond my control. I'm only responsible for finding her whereabouts."

Cao Weida was surprised. "Didn't you say you were in the Operations Department? What, you're not in charge of operations? Are you alright, little brother? Or have you been sidelined?"

"I," Xu Jingge said angrily, "who are you calling 'little brother'? I'm older than you!"
Talking to him can drive you crazy in just a few words.

Forget it, it's not worth getting angry with him.

"I can't tell you the specifics, but could you please help me out since we're both Chinese?"

(End of this chapter)