manynovel Chapter 19: Distributing Fruit and Establishing Rules
Chapter 19: Distributing Fruit and Establishing Rules
Back home, Yan Shuo telegraphed headquarters, reporting that he had a batch of seamless steel pipes, gun barrel steel, rebar, pig bristles, Western medicine, sulfonamides, and fabric, along with the quantities, asking how much headquarters needed. He also mentioned some rare equipment and asked for their prices so he could contact someone to transport it out of the city.
Yan Shuo was the only one who dared to seize military intelligence supplies and sell them to headquarters for money.
The people in the mountain city quickly came up with a plan: they would take all the supplies, priced at 20 yuan.
Dai Li took the telegram from Mao Wei, read it, and pondered for a moment. "Deliver it as soon as possible. If there are any more supplies in the future, take them all."
"Yes!" Mao Wei went to make the arrangements.
This 1938 legal tender was still quite valuable. Although it had depreciated, it wasn't drastically so, and could be exchanged for about 20 silver dollars.
Yan Shuo arranged for a stand-in doll to disguise himself as a man and drive over. The brothers helped load the truck. Apart from the expired supplies that Xiao Zhi disposed of, the remaining supplies, except for rice, noodles, guns, and ammunition, were all loaded onto the truck, filling it to the brim and leaving deep ruts.
After the child drove away, Yan Shuo instructed his men to clean up the ruts. He then quickly drove his car to catch up with the truck.
He handed the car to a substitute doll, got into the truck bed, and stored all the supplies in his spatial ring. He changed into some ordinary cloth and left the city.
As soon as the truck reached the city gate checkpoint, two fake policemen stopped it with guns drawn: "Halt! What are you doing?"
The stand-in doll poked its head out, handed over a few silver dollars, and said with a smile, "Boss, take some cloth to the countryside to sell, just to make a living."
The fake policeman weighed the silver dollar in his hand, glanced at it under the canvas, saw it was just ordinary cotton cloth, and waved his hand: "Go on, go on. Remember to give more next time!"
Ten miles outside the city, Yan Shuo had his stand-in stop the car and exchange the supplies. After driving for another half hour, they finally met the Kuomintang contact—three men in Zhongshan suits were guarding a dilapidated temple by the roadside, led by Old Chen, a liaison officer sent by headquarters.
"Lieutenant Yan, where's the goods?" Old Chen glanced around warily.
Yan Shuo pointed to the truck: "They're all inside, let's check them."
Old Chen had the truck bed opened, and his eyes lit up when he saw sulfanilamide and gun barrel steel. He quickly had the supplies moved to another truck and then handed over a heavy wooden box: "20 yuan, not a penny less."
Yan Shuo opened the wooden box, inside which were neatly stacked Chinese currency. He casually handed it to the substitute doll beside him: "Keep it safe, let's go back to the city."
Back in the hidden warehouse, Yan Shuo slammed the money on the table and clapped his hands: "Brothers, come on over here!"
A dozen or so brothers gathered around, their eyes full of anticipation. Yan Shuo opened the wooden box, took out stacks of silver dollars, and stuffed them into each man's hand: "This is your share of the profits this time, 1000 silver dollars each!"
"1000 silver dollars?!" Zheng Fei almost dropped the silver dollars in his hand. "Brother Jie, that's too much! That's half a year's salary for me!"
"Not much." Yan Shuo waved his hand. "Everyone has risked their lives with me, so they deserve this money. Silver dollars hold their value. If you want to exchange them for US dollars or silver dollars, I can do it for you at the same value without any handling fees."
"I'll exchange for US dollars!" Li Gang was the first to raise his hand. "The Chinese yuan is becoming increasingly worthless, while US dollars are more reliable."
"I'll trade for small yellow croakers!" another brother shouted. "They're convenient to carry around and can be used as cash in case of emergency."
Yan Shuo exchanged the money one by one, and the brothers were all beaming with joy as they received the money.
Once everyone's excitement subsided, Yan Shuo's face darkened: "Money can be spent, but rules must be established! Starting tomorrow, there are three ironclad rules: First, no flaunting your wealth in public or dressing too conspicuously; second, no getting drunk and gambling, lest you say something inappropriate while drunk and lose all your family fortune and cause trouble; third, keeping women is allowed, but they must be under our watchful eyes, and you are not allowed to have any entanglements with outsiders."
He paused, his eyes sharp as knives: "If anyone breaks the rules and affects the safety of the team, don't blame me for being ruthless—begging for mercy is useless, pleading is useless! If you can't stand the discipline, you can leave now, I won't stop you."
A moment of silence fell over the crowd. An older team member, nicknamed Lao Zhou, hesitated before speaking, "Brother Jie, Boss Dai doesn't allow agents to keep women..."
"I know," Yan Shuo interrupted him, "but people aren't plants or trees, how can they be without feelings? Sneaking around to patronize prostitutes or keep mistresses will only give enemy agents something to use against us. We can keep them openly in our own territory, and as long as we don't cause trouble, nobody can interfere! But if a woman leaks information and attracts the enemy, then don't blame me for 'cleaning house'—in that case, both of us will be on our way, understand?"
Old Zhou nodded and said nothing more.
Yan Shuo's tone softened somewhat: "Follow me, and I won't let you suffer. This share of the profits is enough for you to live comfortably for a year, with meat at every meal; and there will be many more opportunities in the future. But if anyone ruins everyone's good life, I won't even need to lift a finger, and you yourselves won't let them off the hook, right?"
"Yes!" the brothers shouted in unison, their eyes filled with determination.
"There's one more thing," Yan Shuo said, looking at everyone. "I know the military police prisons often 'sell out' prisoners. If you get arrested, don't try to tough it out. Just give some outdated information, make up some identities, and as long as you're not executed on the spot and thrown into prison, I'll definitely find a way to buy you out!"
"Brother Jie, is this true?" a young brother asked excitedly—one of his comrades had been arrested and never returned, and he had always been haunted by the memory.
"Absolutely true." Yan Shuo patted him on the shoulder. "You're all low-level agents, you don't know much core intelligence. Just say you're errand boys, and if you're clever, you can survive. I'm from the 10th class of the Whampoa Military Academy and the 1st class of the Linyi Military Academy, the most trusted of the headquarters' elite. I have the rank of captain from the Military Commission, valid throughout the entire army. When I'm promoted to major or lieutenant colonel, you'll be my trusted subordinates, and you'll get plenty of benefits!"
These words caused a complete uproar among the brothers.
"Brother Jie, when we followed other team leaders, we were just tools to be sent to our deaths; following you, you not only give us money, but you also care about our lives—from now on, I entrust my life to you!"
"Mine too!"
"Wherever Brother Jie points, we'll attack!"
Yan Shuo looked at his brothers, who were full of enthusiasm, and felt very satisfied.
He waved his hand, waiting for everyone to quiet down: "Also, I plan to recruit the young men introduced by the informant into our team. You should also keep an eye on the people around you. Anyone who has a grudge against enemy agents, wants to make money, and is reliable can be introduced—I'll personally oversee the screening, and then we'll hold a special training course. Within three months, we'll expand to about a hundred people!"
"Alright!" Shen Yanqing happened to come in from outside and immediately agreed upon hearing this. "I know many brothers at the docks who have been bullied by the Japanese. I'll have them come to see you tomorrow!"
Yan Shuo nodded, looking at the determined eyes of his brothers in the room, and thought to himself: With money, people, and rules, plus the help of the system, their team will be able to stir up even bigger waves in Shanghai, this den of dragons and tigers.
These operatives, intelligence officers, and liaison officers were all low-level personnel who had learned some basic espionage skills. They were trained in special training courses for a month or two, and their career advancement was limited. At the junior officer level, they could only get the highest rank, and even then, it depended on luck.
The group leaders and telegraph operators were mostly at the lieutenant rank or higher. After all, their educational backgrounds were vastly different, they lacked the qualifications of the Whampoa Military Academy, and they were not Dai Li's chosen protégés. Without Yan Shuo's protection, they would definitely be assigned some deadly missions. Whether they could survive until the victory of the War of Resistance against Japan was entirely up to fate.
Yan Shuo was extremely satisfied to see that everyone was in good spirits and approved of him. He hadn't used any power tactics to oppress them; instead, he had given them extra benefits and guidance, giving them an extra life and ensuring their prosperity. With shared interests, everyone could work together, pooling their strength and sharing the benefits, making the team much easier to lead.