Two days later, in the evening, in room number six of the Yali Western Restaurant in the Shanghai International Settlement, Chai Liang sat facing a man in his thirties.
Chai Liang spoke first, asking, "What is your surname, sir?"
"My surname is Zhang, the Zhang of 'exquisite writing'."
"Mr. Zhang is in the silk and cloth business?"
"No, I deal in cotton and also do some paper business. My business is not doing well, so I asked Mr. Dai to act as guarantor to raise some funds."
After confirming the code words were correct, Chai Liang placed a small leather suitcase on the dining table and pushed it over.
The man took the box, gently opened the lid, inspected it, and nodded. The two did not exchange any further words. The man nodded in acknowledgment, turned around, opened the door, and quickly left.
The man was Lu Jian, the head of the intelligence department at the Shanghai station, who was here today on orders to receive a sum of money for an operation.
The Shanghai station is currently facing a severe financial crisis, lacking funds and weapons. Chen Hongchi has repeatedly requested assistance from headquarters, and was only notified today to come here to collect the funds.
Chai Liang came today on Wan Mulin's instructions. It turns out that in order to solve the funding problem of the Shanghai station, the director asked Yue Sheng to have Wan Mulin transfer the funds from this real estate sale to the Shanghai station.
Neither he nor Chai Liang knew the other's identity. They exchanged code words and quickly completed the handover.
Lu Jian walked down the street under the cover of night. On his way back, he performed anti-following maneuvers and, after confirming that no one was following him, returned to the Shanghai Railway Station headquarters.
After the first batch of personnel arrived, the Shanghai station quickly resumed its work. Their intelligence headquarters was not located in the French Concession, but in the International Settlement.
Learning from the lessons of the previous Shanghai station, Chen Hongchi believed that the Green Gang's influence was pervasive in every corner of the French Concession, and that Green Gang members were very unreliable and easily bribed and used, posing a great threat to the existence of the intelligence station. Therefore, he finally decided to select a suitable location in the International Settlement.
Seeing Lu Jian rush back, Chen Hongchi quickly asked, "How did it go? Was everything alright?"
Lu Jian chuckled, patted the briefcase, handed it to Chen Hongchi, and nodded, saying, "Don't worry, stationmaster, there's no problem. I've checked everything, and the quantity is correct!"
Chen Hongchi took the document, opened it, and his brows immediately relaxed. He smiled and said, "Now all the problems are solved. Yesterday, Wenbo brought back a large amount of weapons from the intelligence department, and the funds are in place now. Headquarters has spared no effort in supporting us this time. Now we have men and guns, it's time to teach the Japanese and the puppet government a lesson."
Just last night, the action team leader, Yang Wenbo, retrieved a large quantity of weapons from a warehouse at an address provided by headquarters. Surprisingly, the quantity of weapons far exceeded their expectations, enough to equip the action team members at the Shanghai station, much to everyone's delight.
Compared to Chen Hongchi's confidence, Lu Jian hesitated. He knew that the Shanghai station was still in its infancy and all preparations were not yet complete. Launching an attack hastily could easily lead to problems. He looked at Chen Hongchi and finally advised, "Station Chief, we are still establishing ourselves. Our identities have not been resolved, and we do not have a suitable place to stay or a safe house in the city. It may be a bit too early to enter the city."
Chen Hongchi said with a smile, "As for a place to stay, we have money, so it's not a big problem. The issue of identity is also easy to solve. Although we don't have the ability to forge good citizen certificates in the city for the time being, I have already sent people to secretly purchase a lot from the refugees who have just entered the concession. We can use them for now, so we won't have any problems moving around in the city."
It's not that I'm in a hurry, it's just that New Year's Day is only a few days away, and I heard that the puppet government is going to hold a grand banquet this time. All government departments in Shanghai, including various Japanese departments, are going to attend. The scale is set very high, and it's a rare opportunity. I want to go and join in the fun!
The puppet government made a big fuss this time, not only inviting dignitaries and celebrities from all walks of life, but also inviting many people from Shanghai's entertainment industry, such as movie stars and socialites, to rehearse performances for the banquet. So these news could not be kept from the eyes and ears of the Shanghai station.
Chen Hongchi felt that if he could disrupt this banquet, even if he couldn't kill the main figures, just causing some trouble would be enough to make the puppet government lose face in the eyes of the Japanese and the world. This was indeed a rare opportunity.
Chen Hongchi has always been decisive in his actions, which is why he decided to enter the city ahead of schedule, ready to make a big splash and achieve some results.
Seeing that Chen Hongchi was determined, Lu Jian, as his subordinate, naturally had to obey. He nodded and agreed, "Then I will take some men into the city as soon as possible to investigate the specific situation and see if there is an opportunity."
Chen Hongchi waved his hand and said decisively, "I'll go with you. Don't worry, I won't act rashly without understanding the situation. We can't back down, but we won't act recklessly either. This is the first step in the reconstruction of our Shanghai station, and we absolutely cannot afford any problems."
After handing over the funds, Chai Liang rushed back to Wanmulin's villa to report. The car stopped at the gate, and Chai Liang got out. Just as he was about to enter the gate, he heard a soft call: "A-Si!"
The voice was very familiar, and Chai Liang immediately tensed up. He turned around and saw a figure slowly walking into the light of a streetlamp in the dim light not far away. Chai Liang was startled and ran forward a few steps to the person, exclaiming in a low voice, "Brother Chang!"
The visitor was none other than his long-lost fellow disciple and comrade-in-arms, Xu Yongchang.
Xu Yongchang was also excited to see Chai Liang. He patted Chai Liang's arm and said in a low voice, "Come on, let's find a place to talk slowly!"
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