Spy War: My Cheat Code is a Rat

"Beautiful? I'm a rough old man, I've never smoked such good cigarettes before, I'm wasting them."

Upon seeing the cigarette Lu Chen offered, the older brother quickly waved his hand, refusing to accept it.

Meili brand cigarettes are a local Shanghai brand. They have an exquisite design and are not cheap. Nowadays, most people roll their own cigarettes, so they consider this brand to be very high-end.

Lu Chen said it was okay, it was just a cigarette, how could it be related to anyone?

The elder brother reluctantly accepted the gift, and only after Lu Chen lit it for him did he answer Lu Chen's question.

"Ordinary laborers, these days, those of us without education can only sell our labor."

The man next to me clearly didn't have a local accent; he was probably from out of town, either trying to make a living in Shanghai or fleeing from war.

The accent was a bit heavy, but Lu Chen still understood it.

How much can you earn in a day?

Even if the grain is sold at cost price, Lu Chen is afraid that ordinary people will not be able to afford it.

"When things are busy, I can earn one silver dollar every two days. Today, thanks to the boss, I'll be able to earn two more silver dollars."

The eldest brother showed off a mouthful of yellow teeth, and was missing a front tooth, which made him look quite festive.

Lu Chen nodded, indicating that he understood. He knew that it was difficult for Chinese people to survive, but he did not expect it to be this difficult. He only earned one silver dollar for two days of hard labor.

One silver dollar is only enough for a family to eat for one day now, and even then, they're still not enough to eat. It would take two days to earn one silver dollar, and that's for manual laborers. The wages for rickshaw pullers and ordinary workers would definitely be even lower.

"I knew this period of history was difficult, but I never imagined it would be this difficult. For ordinary people, even survival was a problem."

Upon hearing about his elder brother's predicament, Lu Chen could immediately imagine the plight of other ordinary people, and a sense of worry welled up within him.

The price of grain remained the same as before the war. This price was already very low, and ordinary people could afford it and make a profit.

The group remained silent for the rest of the journey, with only the sounds of footsteps and wooden wheels rolling on the ground.

"arrive."

Upon arriving at Du Yuesheng's mansion, Lu Chen immediately noticed a small mountain of rice and noodles piled up at the entrance, with Du Yuesheng and his two henchmen standing nearby.

"It's all here, would you like to weigh it?"

Seeing Lu Chen and Liu Jie approach, another of Du Yuesheng's henchmen looked at Lu Chen and spoke.

"No need, I trust Boss Du."

Lu Chen waved his hand, and then instructed Liu Jie to direct the laborers to start moving rice and flour.

"You're not planning to sell this rice and noodles in the French Concession?"

Seeing that Lu Chen had invited so many people and a wooden cart, Du Yuesheng asked Lu Chen in a calm tone.

Lu Chen nodded. "I plan to sell them in the Chinese-controlled area."

"The French Concession was relatively stable, while in the Chinese-controlled area, food prices skyrocketed due to the war."

Lu Chen casually explained that Du Yuesheng knew all this, which made Du Yuesheng even more interested in Lu Chen.

Just like Lu Chen said, the French Concession is stable, while the Chinese Concession is chaotic, so why bring them to the Chinese Concession to sell? Isn't it safer here in the French Concession?

"Too young, can't handle these things?"

Du Yuesheng spoke slowly, implying that Lu Chen was too young and couldn't bear to see his fellow Chinese suffer.

Lu Chen nodded, then shook his head, and spoke.

"If I sell it at a low price in the Chinese-controlled area, there will definitely be plenty of buyers, and I can make more money that way. Do you know what the grain price is in the Chinese-controlled area right now?"

"Five yuan for noodles, eight yuan for rice! Ordinary people work hard all day and can't even feed their families. This is not only to help them, but also to earn more money."

He couldn't help but recall his elder brother's words and the scenes he had witnessed since his transmigration, and Lu Chen's voice became excited.

Du Yuesheng simply looked at him calmly without saying a word. Who at this age wasn't a passionate young man? He understood.

However, he did not expect that the price of grain in the Chinese-controlled area was so high. He had never known that it was several times higher than that in the French Concession.

"As far as I know, the grain business in the Chinese-controlled area is controlled by that guy Zhang Rongshan. You're just going to sell it like this, aren't you afraid he'll come after you?"

Lu Chen looked at Du Yuesheng. Liu Jie had told him before that the Green Gang was now very concerned about its reputation in order to whitewash itself, especially Du Yuesheng, who was still an anti-Japanese activist on the surface.

"Du Laoda also contributed to this grain sale. If Du Laoda hadn't been willing to trade with me, I wouldn't have been able to get so much grain."

The implication is that Du Yuesheng also played a role in Lu Chen selling these grains at low prices in the Chinese-controlled area.

Du Yuesheng glanced at Lu Chen, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.

Ever since he expressed his resistance against Japan, the Japanese have wanted to arrest him, but they have never had the opportunity due to the obstruction of the French Concession.

If I can gain some fame through this opportunity, that would be great; I'd get both morphine and fame.

"Xiao Dao, you stay with him for now."

Du Yuesheng turned to his henchman, Xiao Dao, and said something. Xiao Dao was taken aback for a moment, then nodded and stood next to Lu Chen.

Having considered the pros and cons for himself, Du Yuesheng immediately declared that as long as Xiao Dao followed Lu Chen, even if Zhang Rongshan wanted to cause trouble, he would give Du Yuesheng face.

He was unaware that Lu Chen had already won over Zhang Rongshan, and Lu Chen had no intention of telling him about it.

With his back to Du Yuesheng, Lu Chen turned his head slightly and saw Xiao Dao standing next to him. The corners of his mouth involuntarily turned up.

"Just as I expected, everything went too smoothly."

Thinking to myself, I tried my best to keep my expression unchanged.

As long as Xiao Dao is by his side, it will show Du Yuesheng's attitude, and his idea of ​​expanding his power can proceed smoothly.

Although they pose no threat to Green Gang bosses like Zhang Rongshan and Huang Jinrong, they can certainly easily manipulate the other small fry.

Using Du Yuesheng's reputation to expand his own influence!

"Brother Chen, everything's moved."

Liu Jie ran to Lu Chen's side, glanced at Xiao Dao strangely, and didn't say anything.

Lu Chen glanced in the direction of the laborers; the rice and noodles had already been loaded onto the wooden carts.

"Let's go back to the Chinese territory."

Lu Chen waved goodbye to Du Yuesheng and then led Liu Jie, Xiao Dao, and a group of laborers toward the Chinese-controlled area.

After leaving the French Concession, Lu Chen got into the car, Liu Jie took the driver's seat, while Xiao Dao remained inside.

"Xiao Dao, have them transport the grain back to the military police headquarters. You should know where the military police headquarters is, right? If not, ask these guys. They all live in the Chinese-controlled area, they should know. Xiao Jie, settle your wages first."

After saying that, Lu Chen sat back in the car and didn't say anything more.

Liu Jie nodded, got out of the car, settled his wages, and then drove into the French Concession, heading towards Lu Chen's house.

Watching the Lincoln drive away, Xiao Dao frowned. Du Yuesheng had only asked him to follow Lu Chen, but this guy immediately made him do things. Was it because of yesterday's incident and was he deliberately retaliating against him?

"lead the way."

Xiao Dao gritted his teeth. Du Yuesheng had ordered him to follow Lu Chen, so he had no choice but to obey Lu Chen. He didn't want these trivial matters to displease Du Yuesheng later.

He didn't understand what value Lu Chen had to Du Yuesheng, but since Du Yuesheng was doing this, he must have his own plans. Xiao Dao just needed to be obedient.