Ning Zhiheng knew, of course, that this was a rare opportunity for him. If he was lucky enough to gain Fujiwara Hirofumi's appreciation, his status as a noble scion of the Fujiwara family would be confirmed, and no one would dare to question him on this issue again.
Even if someone knew that Ning Zhiheng, the head of the Military Intelligence Bureau's Action Department, who was far away in Chongqing, looked exactly like Fujiwara Tomohito, a member of the Fujiwara family, with Fujiwara Hirofumi's endorsement, Ning Zhiheng could still loudly denounce and question the man's sinister intentions.
More importantly, with Fujiwara Hirofumi's endorsement, he could further gain Uehara Junpei's trust and expand his smuggling empire without any scruples. The benefits were numerous, so some risks had to be taken!
The problem now is how to please Fujiwara Hirofumi and gain his trust and appreciation.
In fact, high-ranking officials with prominent positions usually have one or two refined hobbies, because they know how to relieve their inner troubles without lowering their status.
Some people enjoy calligraphy and painting, others enjoy chess and opera, or like Kawamoto Kuraji and Hwang Hyun-jung, they enjoy antiques and cultural relics. In short, most people of status are like this, and they will consciously learn and enhance their hobbies in this area.
Just like Hirofumi Fujiwara's fondness for painting and kendo.
Fortunately, Ning Zhiheng had some knowledge of both, especially painting. He had a solid foundation and was quite accomplished in both sketching and traditional Chinese painting. His sketching skills were particularly superb, which greatly helped his intelligence career.
During his time at the Mulan Academy, he had met several Japanese painters and was familiar with the techniques of Japanese painting, which were actually quite similar to those of Chinese painting. He believed that dealing with Fujiwara no Hirofumi would not be a problem.
However, after much consideration, Ning Zhiheng gave up the idea. Fujiwara Tomohito grew up in a rural village in Kyoto and did not have good learning conditions. If he was good at calligraphy, it would be hard to explain, but if he was also very good at painting, it would be hard to justify. After all, painting requires much more effort than calligraphy and cannot be covered up by talent. It requires a long period of practice to reach a certain level.
However, I can prepare a few precious ancient Chinese paintings as a gift, which will surely please Fujiwara Hirofumi.
As for Japanese Kendo, given Ning Zhiheng's skill level, it's all minor. Even a true master of Japanese Kendo wouldn't last more than a few moves against him.
However, Japanese Kendo has many rules, so if he wants to learn it, he should find a real Kendo master and formally learn from him. With his foundation and superb learning ability, I believe this little thing won't be difficult for him.
Fortunately, Uehara Junpei didn't know much about Fujiwara Tomohito's past, because he never suspected him from the beginning and didn't investigate much. Ning Zhiheng only needed to show some strength, pretend to be a kendo enthusiast, and win Fujiwara Hirofumi's appreciation.
The most important point is profit! Ning Zhiheng's biggest advantage is that he's rich, and incredibly rich!
As he said before, who in this world doesn't like money? Even if he's a top aristocrat, there's a saying: "You can't hit a smiling face, and you can't curse a gift-giver!"
If I just bring him loads of cash, do you think Fujiwara Hirofumi would throw me out the door?
There's no problem that $10,000 can't solve! If there is, then $100,000 will do! If there's still more, then $1 million will be the solution!
Ning Zhiheng has the courage and financial resources; I believe he will eventually satisfy Fujiwara Hirofumi!
That very day, Ning Zhiheng returned to the Tan Mansion in the concession. He went into the basement, where a considerable number of antique treasures were stored. Picking out a few fine ancient paintings would not be a problem.
After careful selection, he chose three ancient paintings and then left the basement.
"Tell Yue Ze to come see me immediately!" Ning Zhiheng instructed Zuo Rou.
"Yes!" Zuo Rou nodded in agreement.
Before long, Huo Yueze rushed to the Tan Mansion.
Ning Zhiheng had been tasked with training the monkeys for half a month and needed to check on the progress of the work.
"Chief, I have found a building similar to the banknote printing base. It is located at the easternmost part of the International Settlement. It is a dilapidated office building that we bought at a high price. It has been renovated according to the blueprints and formal training began three days ago."
"Take me to see it!" Ning Zhiheng ordered.
"yes!"
Huo Yueze drove Ning Zhiheng to an old office building on the east side of the International Settlement.
The entire office building was surrounded by barriers, and signs indicating "Construction Site" were hung outside to prevent unauthorized personnel from entering. From the outside, it looked like it was under renovation.
Upon entering, Ji Hongyi was leading his team on guard duty. Seeing Ning Zhiheng arrive in person, he quickly came over to greet him.
"Chief, you've come in person!"
Ning Zhiheng nodded. He looked up at the building's walls and saw that the entire building was also four stories high. On the east-facing exterior wall of the fourth floor, a drainpipe was hanging from top to bottom. Two meters to the right of the drainpipe on the fourth floor, a new ventilation opening was opened, with the same location and size as the ventilation opening in the library building.
Huo Yueze pointed to the drainpipes and ventilation openings and said, "We not only imitated the library building on the exterior walls, but we also set up an identical warehouse inside the building according to the blueprints you gave me. Please follow me!"
Huo Yueze and Ji Hongyi led the way, guiding Ning Zhiheng into the building.
The interior of this building is different from that of the library building, but that doesn't matter. Ning Zhiheng had no intention of entering from inside the library building; he only needed to go directly to the fourth-floor warehouse where the legal tender was stored through the ventilation shaft.
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
