Upon hearing this, Song Wenhua was too frightened to utter a sound. He was just an ordinary merchant, and how could he possibly curry favor with a big shot like Cheng Xucai? He was so frightened by Cheng Xucai's cold glance that he couldn't speak.
Pan Xing, who was standing to the side, was immediately displeased. He had some prior acquaintance with Cheng Xucai and knew his character well. He never expected that when he came to ask for help, this guy would start talking in official jargon.
He said in a deep voice, "Old Cheng, we've known each other for years, there's no point in talking about this. I invited you here just to get his family's mansion. As for what excuse you use, it's all up to you. Song Wenhua is my cousin and is willing to report this. Just make up a charge against Jiang Bo'an and throw him in jail. That'll settle things!"
Upon hearing this, Cheng Xucai couldn't help but curse these idiots in his heart. They were used to being domineering in their local areas, only knowing how to use knives and thieves without any scruples. They should know that this was Wuhan.
However, given the current power of the soldiers and the fact that they are old acquaintances, I should still be tolerant.
He turned to Pan Xing and smiled, saying, "Old Pan, Jiang Bo'an is just a merchant. Even if we take him down, it's not a big deal. But things can't be done that way. You're just passing through. How long can you stay in Wuhan? You'll all leave after the war. I still have to stay here to make a living, so I have to be careful. You should give me the real story so I have a better understanding. If you just want that house, I'm willing to step in and get it for you. Does Jiang Bo'an dare to disrespect me, the director of the Wuhan Police Bureau? There's no need to go to such lengths and throw everyone in jail. This is a huge grudge that ruins someone's business. I need to get to the bottom of things first!"
Pan Xing and Song Wenhua exchanged a glance. It seemed that Cheng Xucai was very shrewd, and it would be difficult to hide these things from him.
Pan Xing gave Song Wenhua a wink. Song Wenhua was the one who started this whole thing; he was just going with the flow, helping his cousin and currying favor with his superior.
It turns out that Song Wenhua was the owner of a business in the south of Wuhan, but his reputation for doing business was so bad that the bullying, cheating and swindling he mentioned were referring to himself.
Jiang Bo'an, whom he mentioned, is a veteran businessman in Wuhan's business community. His family has been doing business locally for generations, has an excellent reputation, and is quite wealthy.
Song Wenhua then set his sights on Jiang Bo'an. Once, he set a trap to swindle a batch of heavy goods from Jiang Bo'an, but he didn't expect to fail. Jiang Bo'an saw through his scheme and exposed the matter, causing a great uproar.
Song Wenhua's attempt to steal a chicken backfired spectacularly, resulting in heavy losses and further tarnishing his already bad reputation. He became infamous in Wuhan's business circles, thus creating a feud between the two men.
There are such people in the world. They are self-righteous and narrow-minded. They do not think that it is wrong for them to cheat and swindle others out of their money. Instead, they think that the other party has ruined their reputation and made it impossible for them to stand in the business world. This is the biggest mistake. From then on, Song Wenhua hated Jiang Bo'an to the bone.
Later, Song Wenhua's business plummeted, and his own trading company could no longer survive. Just when he was at his wit's end, his distant cousin Pan Xing came to visit him.
It turns out that after the Battle of Wuhan began, the 23rd Army, stationed in northern Jiangxi, suffered heavy losses and was forced to withdraw. The troops returned to Wuhan to rest and reorganize in preparation for another battle.
With the fall of northern Jiangxi, the Japanese army burned, killed, and looted wherever they went. The garrisoned personnel and civilians fled, and many high-ranking officials' families also retreated to Wuhan with the army.
However, at this time, Wuhan was already overcrowded due to the continuous influx of refugees. The families of these officers could only live in the military camps. They were used to living in luxury and mansions, so how could they endure this hardship? Therefore, they wanted to find a suitable house in Wuhan to live in.
However, this was the location of the Wuhan Military Government, and the security management was extremely strict. These visiting military officers still dared not recklessly seize civilian houses. So Pan Xing thought of finding a good house for his superior, Division Commander Zhang. He just remembered that one of his distant cousins was doing business in Wuhan and might have some connections. That's how he found Song Wenhua's door.
Upon hearing Pan Xing's purpose, Song Wenhua immediately came up with an idea. He explained his grudge against Jiang Bo'an and told Pan Xing that such residences were impossible to find in Wuhan. Even if they existed, they belonged to high-ranking officials with powerful connections and backers, and were therefore untouchable. The only solution was to seize private residences. Jiang Bo'an lacked strong backing, but his house was grand and spacious, and he had a large fortune to plunder, which perfectly suited Pan Xing's needs.
So the two hit it off and decided to take action against Jiang Bo'an. One wanted to seize Jiang Bo'an's house to curry favor with his superior, while the other was determined to avenge past grievances and kill him.
Pan Xing was merely a colonel in a visiting army, so he naturally dared not act recklessly in Wuhan. Therefore, he sought out Cheng Xucai, the police chief of Wuhan, with whom he had some prior acquaintance.
After listening to Song Wenhua's account, Cheng Xucai finally understood the reason. However, he was no saint either, and he had no intention of upholding justice for Jiang Bo'an. He had done this kind of extortion and plunder before, only his methods were much more sophisticated.
He glanced at the two men in front of him and said coldly, "So you two want both people and a house? What's in it for me? I can't just talk the talk and walk the walk, can I?"
Upon hearing this, Pan Xing and Song Wenhua's expressions immediately relaxed. They had already agreed, and all that remained was to negotiate the price. Pan Xing knew Cheng Xucai's character; how many of these men dressed in black were clean? Otherwise, Pan Xing wouldn't have come knocking on their door.
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