RNP Chapter 188 Xiao Jingshan's Extortion
Chapter 188 Xiao Jingshan's Extortion
Yan Shuo waved his hand, his tone crisp and decisive, full of confidence, without the slightest hesitation: "Yes, it's a small matter. I'll have someone handle it later. I guarantee that Xiao Jingshan will never dare to cause trouble for Boss Su again. If he still dares to be arrogant, I'll cripple him."
Seeing that Yan Shuo agreed so readily, Li Zhong breathed a sigh of relief. Then, as if he suddenly remembered something, he quickly took out a neatly folded piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Yan Shuo: "Oh right, I almost forgot the important matter! This is the order form that Brother Zhixing asked me to bring to you. Take a look and see if you can get the things on it."
Yan Shuo took the order form, slowly unfolded it, and examined it carefully. The more he looked, the more his brows furrowed. In the end, he simply chuckled.
He knew very well that the Fifth War Zone had hundreds of thousands of troops, and the supplies allocated to Li Zongren by the Kuomintang were simply not enough to support the daily needs of the troops. After all, most of the troops in the Fifth War Zone were not direct troops and had never received sufficient supplies. He had heard about this before.
But the items on this order were so meager, not even enough to fill a tooth gap.
"100 boxes of sulfonamides, 100 boxes of surgical anesthetics, 500 boxes of saline solution, 100 sets of surgical instruments, 200 oxygen cylinders, 10 oxygen generators..."
As Yan Shuo read the contents of the order form, he glanced at Li Zhong, his tone full of teasing and dissatisfaction, "Hey, wait, this is a huge war zone, and you only want this little bit of odds and ends? Are you kidding me?"
Li Zhong paused for a moment, a look of confusion on his face, and asked uncertainly, "What? Is this still too little? I thought this was already quite a lot."
"Of course it's too little!" Yan Shuo put down the order form, his tone tinged with disdain. "Supplies for hundreds of thousands of people, and this is all you have? It's not even enough to cover the travel expenses for me to send someone on a trip. If this is all you have, why would you bother making a special trip to Shanghai? I wouldn't even bother sending someone to deliver it; it's a waste of time."
Li Zhong's eyes lit up, and he quickly leaned forward, his body slightly tilted forward, his tone full of surprise and doubt: "Um, Yan Shuo, what do you mean by that? Could it be that you can really get your hands on a large amount of supplies?"
"Go ask around and you'll find out," Yan Shuo leaned back in his chair, his posture languid yet exuding confidence. "Third War Zone, First War Zone, Seventh War Zone—which one hasn't done business with me? Why don't you have Commander Li Zongren ask around? Why doesn't he check with his own people instead of sending you here to mess with me? Every time I, Yan Shuo, make a move, it's always a million-dollar order! You dare ask me to deliver these measly tens of thousands of dollars worth of odds and ends? Quickly produce the invoice for the genuine goods, or I'll make trouble for you!"
Li Zhong was embarrassed by what he was said. He scratched his head, chuckled, and said apologetically, "Hehe, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I was just afraid you wouldn't be able to get such a large quantity of supplies, so I didn't dare to show you the real invoice directly. I was afraid of causing you trouble. Wait a minute, wait a minute, I hid the real invoice a bit deep. Let me find it."
As he spoke, Li Zhong began searching his body, his hands fumbling around his collar, cuffs, and waist. After a while, he finally pulled out a neatly folded order form with slightly worn edges from his inner pocket and carefully handed it to Yan Shuo, afraid that something might go wrong.
Meanwhile, inside the Yueqing Silk Shop in the concession, the atmosphere was strangely tense.
Xiao Jingshan was wearing an ill-fitting Zhongshan suit, with the collar buttoned up tightly, making him look somewhat comical. He sat on the sofa in the living room with his legs crossed, playing with an enamel teacup in his hand, and boasting to Su Yueqing who was standing next to him. His tone was full of arrogance and showing off, and he looked like a petty person who had achieved success.
"Boss Su, you have no idea," Xiao Jingshan said smugly, his tone full of boasting, "Captain Wu Sibao of No. 76 is like a brother to me. We drink and chat all the time and talk about everything. I also often have tea and discuss matters with Section Chief Takagi of the Kodama Agency. In front of him, my words still carry some weight, and I have a lot of face."
He paused, then changed the subject, his eyes carrying a hint of coercion and enticement: "If you want your silk shop to avoid having its fabric requisitioned by the Kodama Agency for military uniforms, just pay five thousand silver dollars, and with one word from me, I guarantee no one will dare to cause you any more trouble. From now on, your silk shop can do business peacefully in the concession, and no one will dare to lay a finger on you."
Su Yueqing emerged slowly from the inner room, carrying an exquisite wooden fruit platter. A gentle, refined smile remained on her face. She lightly placed the platter on the table, her tone soft yet firm: "Xiao Shenmou is incredibly capable, and I naturally trust him. However, five thousand silver dollars is no small sum, and I can't raise it all at once. I need to see Xiao Shenmou's abilities first. How about you help me get a pass from the Kodama Agency so I can smoothly transport the silk fabrics from the shop to the concession? Once the goods are safely delivered, I'll give you the silver dollars, how about that?"
Xiao Jingshan's eyes flickered, a hint of barely perceptible panic flashing in them, but he quickly regained his composure, patting his chest as he assured him, "It's a piece of cake! It's just a pass, right? I'll bring it to you tomorrow. I guarantee it's a genuine Kodama Agency pass, absolutely no fakes. With it, you can move freely inside and outside the concession, and no one will dare stop you."
Su Yueqing smiled and didn't say anything more. She simply picked up the teacup on the table, took a small sip, and a hint of coldness flashed in her eyes. The smile never reached her eyes.
The next morning, Xiao Jingshan arrived on time as expected, holding a black plaque in his hand. He walked into the silk shop triumphantly, went straight to Su Yueqing, handed her the plaque, and said with a tone full of boasting: "Boss Su, look, I told you, this is a genuine Kodama access token. Feel the quality, it can't be wrong! With this, you can move freely inside and outside the concession, no one will dare to stop you."
Su Yueqing took the plaque, pretended to examine it carefully, and gently stroked the patterns on the plaque with her fingertips. A cold smile slowly curled up at the corner of her mouth, and her eyes were full of disdain.
Immediately, she called out to the door, "Someone, bring in Detective Wang from the concession police station."
Xiao Jingshan's expression changed drastically. He stood up abruptly, his body trembling slightly. His voice was filled with panic and confusion, his tone distorted: "What...what are you doing? Su Yueqing, don't try anything funny! I'm warning you, I work for Section Chief Takagi. You dare touch me?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Detective Wang led two uniformed police officers into the silk shop, his expression serious and exuding an air of authority.
Su Yueqing handed over the plaque in her hand, her tone calm but carrying an undeniable force: "Detective Wang, this man is impersonating a staff officer of the 76th Division, forging a pass from the Kodama Agency, swindling money from merchants in the concession, and disrupting the order of the concession. We request that you handle this matter impartially and give us merchants justice."