usatvline Chapter 1005 Preparing to Leave Again
Chapter 1005 Preparing to Leave Again
Not long after Liu Changhe left, Ma Dazhi went upstairs to the study and closed the door.
He picked up the phone on his desk and dialed Zhang Yunhe's number.
He felt safe making calls here, as he didn't need to worry about being eavesdropped on. This was partly because the study had three layers of security, allowing him to detect anyone who had entered immediately, and partly because Zhang Yunhe had told him that all calls to that number would bypass the telephone exchange's switchboard.
Even if someone is monitoring the telephone exchange 24 hours a day, they can't find out where the call came from or where it went, unless someone has installed a bug in the phone or the room where the call was made.
"Beep—beep—hello?" That familiar metallic scraping sound came from the microphone.
It's the sound of the red spider lily!
Ma Dazhi quickly replied, "It's me! I've already come up with a way to procure 100 million shi of rice. Although there are risks, I think the chances of success are very high!"
Zhang Yunhe's voice came through: "Tell me!"
"The grain has just been harvested from the fields, and most of it has been looted by the puppet troops and the Japanese devils. Farmers and landlords don't have much grain stored up, and there isn't a large amount of grain for sale on the market. I've thought about it for a long time, and the only ones with large quantities of grain at present are the government and the Japanese military supply depots!"
"The government's grain is in the hands of the grain bureau. I plan to send a reliable person to contact people in the grain bureau, drag them into the mess, and work together to resell the grain from the government granaries. This is one way!"
"Another way is to directly bribe the person in charge of the Japanese military's supply and logistics depot. This method seems to be much riskier than the first one, but as long as the person in charge of the Japanese depot is greedy, there is a possibility of being bribed. Once this connection is established, the security of this matter is even higher than the first method, because no one dares to inspect the Japanese military's warehouses!"
On the other end of the phone, Zhang Yunhe was holding Ai Cao, who had just given birth not long ago. The baby was only a month old and was a chubby little boy.
After listening to Ma Dazhi's account, Zhang Yunhe asked, "If you can't come forward yourself, who do you plan to send to take the lead and do this?"
Ma Dazhi said, "It was a Green Gang leader named Liu Changhe, he..."
Next, Ma Dazhi recounted Liu Changhe's situation, saying, "I believe it's feasible to control Liu Changhe by threatening Liu Guowu's life. As long as Liu Changhe wants his son to live, he won't be able to disobey my arrangements. Even if he's accidentally arrested, he won't dare to implicate me."
"And the police department, even the 76th Division and the Special Higher Police, will only think that Liu Changhe just wants to resell grain to make huge profits, and will not think of anything else!"
On the other end of the phone, after listening to Ma Dazhi's explanation, Zhang Yunhe considered it for a moment and said, "Okay, let's proceed along this line of thought. There's no need to rush this. Safety is the priority. If one month isn't enough, then three months; if three months isn't enough, then six months!"
"understand!"
The backyard of Hongyun Tea House.
In the left wing, Zhang Yunhe hung up the phone, and Ai Cao leaned over and hugged him, asking, "What's wrong?"
“It’s nothing. We won’t be staying here for long. I plan to take you and the two of you to Hong Kong before the end of the year!” Zhang Yunhe said.
Ai Cao was taken aback: "Why do you suddenly want to go to Hong Kong? I heard it's not very safe there either. The Japanese have surrounded it, and we can't get in or out!"
Zhang Yunhe said, "It's true that we're surrounded, but it's very safe. Although the Japanese have surrounded us, it's not easy for them to get in, so it's still very safe over there, much safer than here!"
"And haven't you noticed that the French Concession is becoming increasingly unsafe? I've noticed a significant drop in security these past few days. I feel that the Japanese army will inevitably march in sooner or later, so we need to leave here and head to Hong Kong before they arrive!"
Ai Cao looked bewildered, filled with uncertainty about the future and the unfamiliar place. She asked, "Are you just taking my daughter and me? What about the other sisters?"
Zhang Yunhe said, "If they want to go with me, I'll take them; if they don't want to go and want to stay, I won't force them. This shop will be their place to stay. With this teahouse, at least they'll have something to eat. But who knows what will happen after the Japanese take over this place?"
Zhang Yunhe knew that the Japanese would definitely take over the French Concession soon. In name, it would be the puppet government taking over, but in reality, the Japanese would still be in charge.
Ai Cao asked, "How will we get there? The Japanese control all the transportation, whether it's land, water, or sea. With so many of us, it's no wonder they'll notice something's wrong and detain us!"
"And how do we get ashore after we reach the port? The sea is full of Japanese ships, there's no way we can get in, right?"
Zhang Yunhe, shirtless, sat up against the headboard, lit a cigarette, and said while smoking, "I've thought it over. The only way to get you out of here and safely to Ganggang is to take a French cruise ship or cargo ship!"
"Now Vichy Franchise is in league with the Japanese. The Japanese won't risk offending the French by boarding the ship for inspection. This is our opportunity. I will find a good time to take you away!"
Seeing that Zhang Yunhe had made up his mind, Ai Cao said, "Alright, but we need to hurry, there aren't many days left until the New Year!"
"Ok, I know!"
If Zhang Yunhe were only carrying Ai Cao and her child, he wouldn't have needed to go through all that trouble. He could have simply put them into a deep sleep and taken them directly into the spaceship's landing craft to return to port.
However, this time they took away not only Ai Cao and her son, but also 16 of Ai Cao's sisters. The spaceship landing craft could not hold so many people, so they had to find a French cargo ship or cruise ship.
In fact, during this period, the global cruise industry ceased operations, and the ships sailing on the seas were mostly warships and cargo ships. No one would be foolish enough to take a cruise for sightseeing during a world war, and even ships from neutral countries were extremely unsafe at sea.
A few days later, Zhang Yunhe received news that five ocean-going cargo ships anchored at Fran Creek would be leaving port and returning to Fran Creek in a week.
More than 100 French people will return to France on the cargo ship. Among them are directors of the concession, employees of the municipal council, as well as French merchants and priests.
Upon receiving this news, Zhang Yunhe immediately returned to the teahouse. After closing that night, he locked the teahouse doors and sent someone to call over several women from another teahouse.
In the teahouse lobby, Zhang Yunhe said to the women, "The situation is getting increasingly serious, and the French Concession is not very safe anymore. I plan to take you to live in Hong Kong. Once we arrive, I will arrange jobs for you according to your wishes."
"Of course, all of this is based on the premise that you are willing to come with me; if you are not willing, I will not force you. Considering our past relationship, I will leave these two teahouses to those who want to stay. As for those who stay in the future, your life and death are none of my concern!"
"Now, those who are willing to follow me, please go to the left; those who want to stay, please go to the right. This is the most important choice you will ever make in your lives, and I hope you will consider it carefully!"