binnovel Chapter 142 Deputy Director Zhang, What Do You Think of Me?
Chapter 142 Deputy Director Zhang, What Do You Think of Me?
Zhang Wenwu asked Cao Huaguo and Li Houcai to count the valuables in the safe. He was in a very good mood. The money he had obtained from the safe alone had far exceeded his previous estimate.
"Deputy Director Zhang, we have counted and found a total of 280 gold bars, 21,000 Japanese yen, 58,000 French francs, 5,000 US dollars, 3,400 British pounds, and 5,300 British francs." Cao Huaguo smiled so hard that his mouth reached his ears. He did not expect that there would be so much money in this safe.
Zhang Wenwu was also shocked by the figures reported by Cao Huaguo. Did this Japanese trading company put all its liquid funds in this safe? Didn't they live a good life? This was great. Now it was all his.
Zhang Wenwu also misunderstood this Japanese trading company. Since the Chinese army led the attack in the initial stage of the Shanghai battle, the head of this Japanese trading company was worried that the concession would be occupied by the Chinese army, so he put all the cash in this safe and asked two Chinese subordinates to move it to the warehouse. He felt that it was safest to keep it in the warehouse. No matter which side occupied Shanghai in the end, the money could be safely kept. He did not expect that he would be wiped out by Zhang Wenwu, who did not abide by the wartime rules at all.
Zhang Wenwu immediately waved his hand and gave each soldier who participated in the operation a reward of two silver dollars, which made the soldiers laugh with joy. As for the remaining gold bars and money, Zhang Wenwu ordered Cao Huaguo to keep them in the temporary camp.
Zhang Wenwu also asked Cao Huaguo how he knew how to open the safe and whether he had learned this skill from a master. Later, through Cao Huaguo's explanation, he understood what talent was.
It turned out that Cao Hua's family had a lot of assets in the local area. Later, he did not learn his lesson. He hung out with some local gangsters every day, often gambling and playing with women. So his family cut off his pocket money in the hope that he would learn better.
This trick really worked. When Cao Huaguo lost his source of income, his former cronies realized that they could no longer gain any advantage from him, so they all ignored him.
Cao Huaguo gradually came to his senses. He also wanted to do something to make his family look up to him and prove himself. Once he heard that he could buy an official position with money, he came up with the idea of buying an official position, but he didn't have a penny at the time, so he set his sights on the safe where his family kept their cash.
In order to be able to open the safe, he went to a lock shop to be an apprentice for two months. Maybe he really had some talent in this area, and he learned very quickly in the lock shop. He was able to figure out many things by analogy. Later, on a dark and windy night, Cao Huaguo successfully opened his own safe, took some money out of it, and ran to the security department in the provincial capital to buy a position as the head of the security team.
Zhang Wenwu looked at Cao Huaguo who was smiling happily in front of him. He really didn't expect that such an inconspicuous person before could actually be so talented in this aspect. It really shows that one cannot judge a book by its cover.
At noon the next day, the businessman introduced by Mr. Xu took a train carrying supplies to Nanxiang Station. As soon as he got off the train, he brought his entourage to the platform where Zhang Wenwu was.
When Zhang Wenwu heard the guard soldier come over and say that a man named Fan Xuyuan came from Suzhou to discuss business with him, he immediately straightened his military uniform and walked quickly to the platform entrance to greet him in person.
"Mr. Fan, thank you for coming all the way here in person. Thank you for your hard work." Zhang Wenwu greeted Fan Xuyuan with a smile and clasped his fists.
Fan Xuyuan wore a pair of black-framed glasses and looked gentle and refined. In Zhang Wenwu's opinion, Fan Xuyuan looked more like a scholar or university teacher, and did not look like a businessman at all.
"Oh, Commander Zhang and the brothers are fighting for the country on the front line. I, Fan, am powerless and can do what I can for the officers and soldiers on the front line. I am very grateful to Commander Zhang for giving me this opportunity. Compared with the soldiers on the front line, this little bit of hard work is not worth mentioning, not worth mentioning." After Fan Xuyuan smiled and clasped his fists in return, he began to speak politely. He found that Commander Zhang was quite easy to talk to. Except that he was a bit like a businessman, he was quite good in other aspects.
Zhang Wenwu also laughed as he led Fan Xuyuan to a carriage on the train. He then asked the soldiers to carry down several bales of cotton and several large bales of spindles. Fan Xuyuan also asked his entourage to check the condition of the goods.
"Deputy Director Zhang, the quality of these cottons and spindles are all top-notch. I can purchase them all. However, you see, Nanxiang is full of troops now, and the roads are not safe. Could you trouble Deputy Director Zhang to use this train to transport these goods to Suzhou? Of course, the freight will be calculated separately." Fan Xuyuan was quite satisfied with the quality of the goods, but he was also worried about the safety on the road, so he raised this question to Zhang Wenwu.
Zhang Wenwu also felt that what Fan Xuyuan said was indeed a problem, so he thought about it. The one-way train journey from Nanxiang to Suzhou only took about 2 hours. As it was raining heavily, there was no major danger on the road, so he agreed to send someone to escort the goods on this train to Suzhou.
"Mr. Fan, I will send a company of brothers to escort this train to Suzhou with you. You can give me two hundred dollars for the freight. However, I also have something I would like to trouble you with, Mr. Fan." Zhang Wenwu thought for a while, then said to Fan Xuyuan.
When Fan Xuyuan heard that Zhang Wenwu could send a company of soldiers to escort the goods, he was immediately happy. If there were no soldiers to escort them, he would have to pay a lot of money along the way. But Zhang Wenwu said that he had something to ask him to do, which made him a little confused. What could he do to help this deputy director Zhang? But he still asked politely: "I don't know what Deputy Director Zhang needs me to do. As long as I can do it, I will definitely meet Deputy Director Zhang's requirements."
"It's like this. The weather is about to turn cold, and the troops will need a lot of cotton-padded clothes to keep warm. I want to order a batch of cotton-padded clothes from Mr. Fan, and prepare them for the soldiers on the front line in advance. Of course, the price will not be a problem for Mr. Fan, and I can pay according to the normal purchase price." Zhang Wenwu also thought that winter was about to come, so he had to make preparations in advance. If he waited for the military station to send winter supplies, he didn't know how long he would have to wait. Now the supply of these troops has made it impossible for the military station to meet their needs normally. When more and more troops gather here, he can no longer count on the military station to replenish them.
When Fan Xuyuan heard about this, he immediately said that there was no problem. It was not a problem at all for him. His factories were in Suzhou and Wuxi. The current war had basically no significant impact on his factories. He was short of raw materials before, but now Zhang Wenwu has sold him a trainload of raw materials. He can fully meet Zhang Wenwu's needs, and Zhang Wenwu has paid for it.
The two agreed that Fan Xuyuan would provide Zhang Wenwu with 10,000 military cotton-padded jackets within a month. As for the price, Fan Xuyuan insisted on charging 80% off the market price. He said that he also wanted to do his part for the country.
Zhang Wenwu did not say too much. He was very happy to be able to save money, so he went to find Wu Jincheng and got him a pass to Suzhou. At the same time, he asked Wang Mazi to lead a company of brothers to escort the goods to Suzhou. If he had any questions, he could call Wu Jincheng's office at any time.
Seeing Fan Xuyuan leave the station by train, Zhang Wenwu asked Cao Huaguo to find a large sack, put all the money in the safe into it, and let two soldiers carry it back to the temporary camp. He went to find Wu Jincheng with a cloth bag containing 1,000 yuan. He was not short of money now, so he planned to give Wu Jincheng the reward in advance. After all, it was thanks to Wu Jincheng's assistance that he solved the big problem of transportation.
In Wu Jincheng's office, Zhang Wenwu politely handed over the money and thanked him repeatedly, "Deputy Stationmaster Wu, thanks to your help this time. This is the thank-you gift I promised to give to the stationmasters. After everything is done, I will give a thank-you gift to Deputy Stationmaster Wu separately. I hope Deputy Stationmaster Wu will not refuse it. I hope you will take care of me in the future."
Wu Jincheng also took the money, put it away carefully, handed Zhang Wenwu a cigarette and said, "Oh, Deputy Director Zhang, you are too polite. We are all friends. You can't be so polite in the future. It makes everyone feel alienated." He felt that Zhang Wenwu was still a good person. As long as you don't touch on things he cares about, Zhang Wenwu is still easy to talk to, polite, and knows how to respect others. He is much better than those people outside who only come to them with guns to ask for supplies.
After Zhang Wenwu and Wu Jincheng exchanged pleasantries for a while, they started to ask about business: "Deputy Stationmaster Wu, do you have any soldiers that can be assigned?"
Wu Jincheng's mouth twitched when he heard Zhang Wenwu's question. Zhang Wenwu really didn't want to get up early without profit. Every time he came, he basically wanted to take some benefits back. But he really didn't have anything to give him these two days, so he smiled bitterly and said, "Deputy Director Zhang, to be honest, I really don't have anything these days. How do you think I can do? If I can't do anything, you can send me to the 18th Army to make up for it."
Zhang Wenwu heard that the military station was in such a bad state. So he asked curiously, "Deputy Stationmaster Wu, you must be joking. How can we send you to the front line? You are the deputy stationmaster of the military station. It's impossible, it's impossible."