Period drama: Old Cao's carefree life

Chapter 9 Isn't this interfering with my ability to make money?!

"Yoshi, that's more like it." Ono Oda was clearly very satisfied with the way she was addressed. "So, Cao-san, what I just said..."

You seem to be in a hurry!
They must be really eager to make money.

"Oda-kun, I'll have to go back and inquire about this. However, we need to search for the rebels immediately."

Searching for rebels?!
Isn't this preventing me from making money?!
Ono Oda waved his hand and said, "You don't need to go. I will talk to Oda-kun. From now on, you will be transferred to work under me."

"Cao Sang, you are my friend, and your friend is my friend, Ono Oda. Why don't you think again, are there any other friends who have been taken away to assist in the investigation?"

Who says the Japanese are rigid, inflexible, and speak in a dull manner?

Isn't that pretty smooth?
“Oda-kun, I need to go back and investigate this. As the core of the Co-prosperity Sphere in Central Asia, I believe there must be more than one friend assisting in the investigation.”

"Oh my, that's so heartbreaking, Cao-san. You have to hurry. I'm so worried about the suffering your friend might be going through."

"I'm so sorry to have worried you, Oda-kun."

"Oda-kun, shall I now?"

"Cao-san, you don't need to stay here anymore. Go find your friend's wife and tell her so she can rest assured. I'll talk to Oda-kun and the police station on your behalf."

"Then thank you very much, Oda-kun." Cao Wei Da smiled and cupped his hands in thanks.

Just as he was about to leave, he turned back and said, "Oda-kun."

"Cao Sang, is there anything else?"

“Oda-kun, I have a senior colleague, Tamon, who is also a patrol officer in our police station. He's quite influential in this area. If you want more ‘friends,’ please ask for his help.”

Ono Oda immediately understood what he meant and waved his hand dismissively: "No problem, Cao-san, go ahead."

There were several hundred police officers assembled; one more or one less wouldn't make a difference, it was just a matter of a word.

As he stepped out of the office building, he saw Duomen waving at him.

"Master Duo."

"Hey buddy, I saw you go in with Commander Ono?" Domon asked worriedly.

When you have a guilty conscience, you tend to overthink. Last night, Cao Wei Da killed a Japanese soldier, and today he's going to find Ono Oda. It's hard not to feel a little worried.

"I need to speak with Ono Oda. Oh, and Master, come with me. We don't need to search you."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Domen was a little confused.

"We have more important things to do," Cao Weida whispered to Duomen, who stared in disbelief. "You can do that?"

“Of course.” Cao Wei Da pulled him outside. “The world is bustling with people coming and going for profit. As long as there’s money to be made, what’s wrong with it?”

"So what if they're Japanese devils? They're human too, and no human being can escape this law!"

"Moreover, he is from Daban."

"Do you really think the Japanese are stupid? Any slightly shrewd Japanese soldier knows that everything else is fake, only the real gold and silver in their hands are real."

"Master Duo, no one knows the area better than you. Please help us run around."

He always remembered the kindness shown to him by many people. Now that he had a way to make money, and it was also the kind of business that did good deeds, Cao Weida naturally wouldn't keep it all to himself.

Duomen took a deep breath and patted him on the shoulder: "Thank you for your thoughtfulness."

Cao Wei Da grinned, "Master Duo, look at what you're saying. We're like family, don't be so formal."

"Come on, we haven't had breakfast yet. Let me treat you to breakfast."

"You've already introduced me to such a great business opportunity that makes a lot of money, and you're still going to try and take it from me? I'll treat you, I absolutely have to treat you!" Without giving him a chance to speak, Duomen pulled him away.

Cao Wei Da grinned and said, "Alright, then I'll treat you to a meal today, you future tycoon."

Just as they were about to leave, someone blocked their way.

"What's wrong with you? Can't you see the director's about to give a speech? How can you be so disrespectful?!"

Duomen frowned for a moment, then relaxed and smiled, saying, "So it's Captain Sang. Cao'er and I received orders from Commander Ono to go out and take care of some business. Please make way for us."

“Commander Ono?” Sang Liuji’s eyes flashed with jealousy.

Normally, there were no Japanese soldiers stationed in the police station, but they would supervise and control the police station under the title of advisor.

For example, Ono Oda has no official connection with the police station, but even the chief of the station, Xu Hancheng, has to obey Ono Oda's orders.

Despite his wicked and somewhat heartless nature, Sang Liuji is not stupid.

He also wanted to advance his career and get promoted, and he had always wanted to curry favor with Ono Oda, but he had no way to do so.

Now that he heard that Duomen had quietly started currying favor with him, he was naturally jealous.

But no matter how jealous he was, he wouldn't show it. Sang Liuji forced a smile and said, "Master Duo, you really have a tight tongue. You've gotten on the good side of Commander Ono, but you didn't even tell your brother."

"What, are you afraid I might need your help?"

"What are you saying, Captain Sang? I don't deserve that honor," Duomen naturally wouldn't tell him the truth. To put it bluntly, he hated scum like Sang Liuji from the bottom of his heart.

Even if he hadn't gotten involved through connections, he would never have included Sang Liuji.

"I just went out to run errands for Commander Ono and do some hard work. I did try to curry favor with him, but he doesn't know me or who I am."

"Oh, I see." Sang Liuji felt relieved. He thought to himself, "I didn't even manage to curry favor with him, how could he possibly do so?"

His attitude immediately changed. He waved his hand, pursed his lips, and turned his head: "Then, Master, you're busy, I won't bother you." Cao Weida had been watching coldly from the sidelines, too lazy to pay attention to Sang Liuji.

As Sang Liuji passed by Cao Weida, he glared at him fiercely: "You little bastard, what are you looking at! Want me to loosen your muscles for you?"

Cao Wei Da's face darkened. Perhaps it was because he had killed three people the night before, but his initial cautious and prudent attitude had subtly changed.

When he saw Sang Liuji, that clown, barking and howling, he had an urge to punch his disgusting face.

Duomen noticed this and quickly stepped forward to block Cao Weida behind him. "Captain Sang, Captain Sang, Cao'er is young and doesn't know any better. Please give me some face and don't take it personally."

"Hmph, fine, I'll give you face, Master Duo." Sang Liuji was arrogant and snorted coldly, "Kid, next time keep your eyes open and learn to be more discreet."

Cao Wei Da chuckled in exasperation. "When a petty person gains power, he becomes arrogant," and Sang Liuji was a perfect example of that.

They don't have much power, but they're incredibly arrogant.

He gazed intently at Sang Liuji's retreating figure, etching his image deeply into his mind.

"Alright, Cao'er, let's go."

Pulling Cao Wei Da out onto the street, Duo Men patted him on the shoulder and comforted him, "Don't bother with him. He's like a mad dog, biting anyone he sees."

"As the saying goes, it's better to offend a gentleman than a petty person. He's a typical petty person, his stench travels ten miles in the wind. If you lower yourself to his level, you'll only get yourself into trouble."

"We'll only see each other twice a day anyway, so just treat him like a nobody. Let's keep our distance."

"Come on, let's go eat at Du Yi Chu and turn our anger into appetite!"

Upon hearing this, Cao Wei Da chuckled and said, "Master, I'm not that narrow-minded. It's fine if we're all in the same place. We can just find a roadside stall and have a simple meal."

The two usually went out together to explore the streets. The area from Shuimo Hutong to Guanyintang was their previous patrol area, and most of the small vendors there knew them.

In front of a wonton stall.

As soon as the two sat down at his stall, the wonton stall owner cheerfully draped a towel over his shoulder and quickly ran over to wipe the table again and again, almost wearing out the tabletop.
"Master Duo, Master Cao, greetings! We just got some wontons made from the flour we were given out, would you like some?"

"Two bowls, with extra sesame oil, and a plate of garlic."

"Alright, you can sit down, it'll be ready soon."

At the wonton stand, the owner asked, "Cao'er, is Xiao Ye's place reliable? I don't want any problems to arise later."

“Those Japanese devils are ruthless killers. If something really goes wrong, I’m afraid they’ll use us as scapegoats.”

Cao Wei understood his concerns, but he dared to do it because he was confident in his abilities.

"Don't worry, Master Duo, I know what I'm doing. Besides, we just need to pay the money; he'll make it clear beforehand whether it can be done or not."

Looking around, he whispered, "Master Duo, you should know that I like to read the newspaper when I have nothing to do. Don't be fooled by how arrogant the Japanese are in our occupied territories. They're like grasshoppers in autumn, they won't be able to keep jumping around for much longer."

"Oh? How so?" Domenton was interested. He had always lived in the city, shrouded in the shadow of the Japanese devils. He had always thought that the Japanese devils were as domineering and powerful as ever.

It's not fair to blame people of this era for being shallow and narrow-minded.

Unlike later generations with their information explosion, the information available in this era is extremely limited, with ordinary people only having access to a few scattered bits of information.

Without great wisdom, a broad perspective, and a vision that transcends conventional thinking, how can one unravel the complexities and see the big picture?

"Well, I won't go into specifics; it's not something that can be explained in a few words. Let's just talk about what we can see around here," Cao Wei Da said after a moment's thought.
"When the Japanese first invaded China, their soldiers were all elite, and they advanced with unstoppable momentum, driving our Chinese army into retreat."

"Looking back now, let alone expanding the territory again, whether we can even guarantee the existing territory is an unknown."

"Haven't you noticed that since last year, the number of soldiers guarding this place has been decreasing?"

Domon thought about it and realized it was true. In the past, when the Japanese were rampant, there were many military police and garrison troops patrolling the streets to prevent resistance from causing trouble.

Looking at it now, there are indeed far fewer than before.

"Furthermore, regarding the enlistment requirements for Japanese soldiers, they used to be between 20 and 40 years old. Now, the old are old and the young are young, and the quality of the soldiers is incomparable to that of the original soldiers. What does this mean? It means that the Japanese mainland's manpower resources are about to dry up!"

"And the Japanese canned beef. I noticed that at first the Japanese canned beef was all American beef, which was not only well made, but also of high quality and tasted good."

"Nowadays, the amount of beef in canned beef has decreased dramatically, and it has started to be mixed with cow's blood and starch, as well as a lot of coarse grains such as cabbage and potatoes."

"What does this mean? It means that even the Japanese are experiencing a severe shortage of supplies on their own soil!"

"The decline in the quality and quantity of soldiers, and the reduction in individual rations, all prove that the Japanese are on their last legs and are no longer what they used to be!"

"Therefore, I assert that the Japanese devils' good days are numbered, and we will surely achieve final victory!"

Many were astonished, "You analyzed so much based on just these?!"

"Cao'er, to be honest, it's such a waste of your talents for you to be a lowly patrolman in our small police station. You should be working in the General Staff!"

"If you're given a good enough platform, you'll make it big sooner or later!"

Cao Wei Da quickly waved his hand, "Forget it, I don't have that ability. I just picked up bits and pieces from newspaper articles and made things up."

"If I were really asked to be an advisor, wouldn't that be just holding a position without doing any work?"

He knew his own situation best. He used to be just an ordinary citizen. The highest official he ever held was the class representative for Chinese language in elementary school. Asking him to be an advisor was something he really couldn't do.

He was able to have such insight because, firstly, there were few entertainment options in that era, and he gleaned information from reading newspapers.

Of course, that's secondary. The main thing is that the knowledge from later generations allowed him to stand on the shoulders of giants and broaden his horizons.

He's fine with bragging, but when it comes to serious matters, he's definitely a goner.

(End of this chapter)