20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 516 Chaos
More and more onlookers gathered at the crossroads.

Jiang Lianheng mingled in the crowd, standing idly by and watching, expressionless.

It was not until the man in the white suit came into view that he frowned slightly. He was not surprised, but he was a little surprised. What a coincidence.

Li Zhengxi whispered in his ear: "Brother, that person seems to be Mr. Mei."

Jiang Lianheng nodded but didn't say anything. Instead, he signaled Xifeng not to say anything more and to wait and see what happened.

At this time, no one among the onlookers cared about the street fight that had just happened.

Therefore, Jiang Lianheng, Li Zaichun and others, like newly graduated actors, quietly retreated behind the scenes after the warm-up performance, leaving the stage free for the real Da Maner to make her final appearance.

There was a good show to watch.

All eyes were focused on the intersection, broken wooden boxes, scattered local products, and the logo seal of Sanjin Company.

Everyone was whispering and had different opinions. Everyone knew what was going on, but no one dared to stand up and break the window paper in front of them.

The only exception is Mr. Mei.

I don't know if he was really stupid or just pretending to be stupid, but he actually walked straight to the center of the street, squatted down, straightened the wooden box that was about to fall apart, and gathered the local products on the ground. Finally, he clapped his hands, and stood up again on his knees.

"Let's report to the police!" He looked around, with an expression that he was used to seeing the world. "Robbery is a big case. This is the Algerian Concession. Someone has to notify Inspector Huang."

The spectators were afraid to avoid it.

Everyone just came to watch the fun and didn't want to get involved.

If someone reports such a big thing to the police, even if it is obviously unrelated, he will still have to go through a lot of trouble. At least he will have to explain the whole story to the police station, and then make a statement. He will be busy all night long, which is a thankless task and will only make him look bad.

However, the "three tycoons" had spies all over the city, and when several local thugs saw what was happening, they immediately ran out to tip off the gang, eager to seek credit and reward in front of Inspector Huang.

When Mr. Mei saw someone going to report to the police, he pointed to the cargo box on the ground and suggested, "Putting the stuff here affects traffic. Let's move the box to the side of the road before the police come. Does anyone have any objection?"

Everyone looked at each other, but no one answered.

"Then I'll do it!" Mr. Mei volunteered. "If anyone has time, can you please come and be my witness?"

It would have been fine if he hadn't asked, but after he did, the onlookers immediately took a few steps back and waved their hands.

"Sir, can you be my witness?"

"Me? No no no, I have something else to do. I'm leaving now."

"Uncle, you don't look too busy, come over and help me, okay?"

"Who? I can't do that. My eyesight isn't very good. I'm leaving now."

It’s not that everyone is not enthusiastic. It would be fine if it was replaced with other goods, but who would dare to guarantee the opium of Sanjin Company?

Hide if you can. What if it’s a trap?

After seeing the situation clearly, many people did not want to stay any longer and left in a hurry.

Mr. Mei asked around, but no one answered, and everyone stayed away from him. He could not help but sigh coldly, "People's hearts are no longer the same as they used to be." Then he picked up the box by himself, moved it to the street, and waited for the police to send someone to investigate the case.

People didn't quite understand, but they somehow felt that he was very righteous.

At this time, Wen Tingge and Li Zaichun slowly walked to Jiang Lianheng and quietly reminded him, "Boss, the police will send someone to investigate the case later. They will definitely ask about the fight just now. We should leave now while there are so many people around."

Jiang Lianheng nodded, it was time to get out of it.

He glanced at Mr. Mei, then turned around and said to the Koreans next to him, "Thank you for your hard work this time."

"No big deal." Li Zaichun smiled. "Mr. Jiang, if you need anything in the future, please feel free to ask. Don't be polite. After all, our Yilietuan still needs Mr. Jiang's care outside the Great Wall."

"rest assured."

"Okay, then let's not waste any more time and disperse!"

The two sides didn't have time to say goodbye properly. After nodding to each other, they turned around and left at the intersection.

Li Zaichun called a few Koreans and went to the British Concession; Jiang Lianheng took Wen Tingge and Li Zhengxi back to the old city. He did not see Liu Yansheng and Chuanghu, and did not know whether they did not come or had other things to do.

…………

Tonight is the beginning of a night that is destined to be long and full of dreams.

Although it was late in the evening, the rumor that the Sanjin Company's local products had been robbed still spread rapidly throughout the foreign concessions.

As Jiang Lianheng and others left Edo Road, the spies of the "three tycoons" also spread the news in the French Concession.

Someone went to the police station to tip off, but Inspector Huang was not there; someone else went to Huang's mansion to report what he saw and heard, but Inspector Huang was not at home either.

He said he had something urgent to report, and was then told by the housekeeper: "Mr. Huang has gone to watch an opera at the 'New Stage' east of the Old City."

As a result, the scouts swarmed over like birds returning to their nests, explaining the situation and asking for credit and reward.

……

……

Huang Jinyong is fifty-three years old this year. He is over fifty and has little heart.

Everyone in Shanghai knew that he loved to listen to opera, whether it was Peking opera or Shaoxing opera, but he could not be called an "amateur" and could only be considered a "supporter", all because he had other interests at heart and the worst fall he had ever suffered in his life was at the hands of an opera singer.

But that incident has passed and no one dares to mention it. Huang Jinyong still lingers in various theaters as usual.

Although opera is not a new thing, it is the most fashionable pastime at the moment.

Famous artists were determined to make progress, costumes and props were constantly updated, literati and scholars wrote new plays, and everyone, young and old, men and women, were fascinated by it.

In Shanghai, opera performance venues are not called gardens, buildings, or halls, but are all collectively called "stages", such as New Stage, Public Stage, and Big Stage...

Because it abandoned the old-style square column stage and adopted a Western half-moon shaped stage with sloped seats, spotlights on the stage and replaceable scenery, it was very popular and received a warm response.

Only the old stubborn ones were unhappy. They looked sideways at the new stage, new costumes, new scripts and new singing styles, and shook their heads and sighed, saying that they lacked artistic conception and could not be called a play at all. All the good things passed down by their ancestors were ruined by these young people!

Unfortunately, no one paid attention to them, and the opera industry has never been as prosperous as it is today.

There is a saying among actors: learn skills in Beijing, become famous in Tianjin, and make money in Shanghai.

The New Stage has also invited famous actors from the north to perform tonight, and they will sing a classic Peking Opera piece: "Three Heroes Fighting Lu Bu at Hulao Pass".

Huang Jinyong was born with a fat head, big ears, a flat nose, puffy eyelids, and a big mouth. He did look a bit rich. From a distance, he looked like a giant Buddha wearing gold and silver, very stylish.

At this moment, he was sitting in a private room surrounded by a group of disciples, listening with great interest, his face flushed and his expression proud.

Just then, someone came running over, shouting in panic, "Master, it's bad, it's bad, something terrible has happened!"

"Ok?"

Huang Jinyong responded in a strange tone, without moving his head, but just squinting his eyes slightly and glanced coldly at the visitor's face.

The man was stunned for a moment, and then without saying anything, he slapped himself twice, knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly: "It's my fault, it's my fault, I disturbed Master's opera."

Huang Jinyong stopped looking at him and continued to look at the stage. He snorted and asked, "Tell me, what happened?"

The visitor looked around, not daring to speak loudly, so he leaned over to the master and whispered a few words in a low voice.

Huang Jinyong's face suddenly changed after hearing this. He slammed the table angrily and asked in a stern voice, "Who did it?"

"I don't know. My informant said that he should have fled to Zhabei. I heard from Mr. Du's brothers that it seemed...it seemed to be related to the Axe Gang."

"What the hell is this Axe Gang? What the hell is going on!"

Huang Jinyong's roar was very loud and was particularly harsh in the theater.

For a moment, the audience below dared not applaud anymore, and even the actors on the stage were stunned, mistakenly thinking that they had sung a line poorly and angered Inspector Huang, so they timidly dared not to sing again.

"Ce, you're just singing, what are you looking at?"

Huang Jinyong yelled and cursed a few times, and the New Stage band trembled and started playing the clappers and huqin again, but the lively atmosphere in the theater had long been destroyed by the anger of one person. "Do Du Yong and Zhang Xiaolin know about this?" Huang Jinyong asked.

"You should... know, right?" The visitor was not sure. "Master, I came to tell you first, but I haven't been to the Du Mansion yet."

"What's up with the Axe Gang?"

"This...I'm not sure."

"Hey, you Amulin, you know nothing, why are you here to tell me something? Go and ask me clearly!"

"Yes, yes, Master, calm down. I'll go right away!"

After saying this, the disciple who came to report the news ran out of the new stage with a "thump thump thump".

Huang Jinyong's face turned livid and he was extremely annoyed, not only because there was a problem with the local products of Sanjin Company, but he was also dissatisfied that Du and Zhang knew that an "Axe Gang" had recently emerged but did not come to discuss it with him.

Among the "three big bosses" of the Green Gang, Huang Jinyong was 53 years old, Zhang Xiaolin was 44 years old, and Du Yong was 33 years old.

Although they are often listed together, there is actually a big age gap between them. Moreover, Zhang and Du are brothers, so there is always some distance between them and Inspector Huang.

Ever since Huang Jinyong was kidnapped by Mr. Lu, his prestige has declined significantly.

Zhang and Du also had complaints about offending the warlords for the sake of actors.

Now that Huang Jinyong is getting older, his prestige has been damaged, while Du Yong's achievements have overtaken his boss and he has a tendency to overtake him. Huang Jinyong respects this young man but is also a little wary of him, so even if he is dissatisfied, he does not get angry easily.

After thinking it over, he suddenly stood up and ordered the students around him, "Go to the police station and investigate the case!"

Everyone stood up and followed, causing a commotion in the theater.

When he reached the gate, Huang Jinyong suddenly stopped, called a disciple and instructed: "Go to Du Yong's house and make it clear that if he doesn't find the company's goods by tonight, ask him to come see me tomorrow!"

The disciple nodded and ran away.

……

……

French Concession, Du Mansion.

Zhang Xiaolin and Du Yong also did not sleep, waiting for news from the company picking up the goods at the beach.

This was normal, regardless of whether the Axe Gang was causing trouble or not, whenever Sanjin Company purchased goods, they would have to wait until the news was confirmed before they could feel at ease. However, the atmosphere tonight seemed a little tense.

Surprisingly, the first person to come and tip off was actually Huang Jinyong's spy planted near the Great World.

Immediately afterwards, an absurd and hilarious drama of truth and falsehood began to unfold in the Du Mansion.

Inspector Huang's spy arrived first. As soon as he entered the door, he said hurriedly, "Boss Du, Boss Zhang, I just got the news that the company's local products are missing!"

"Say it again!" Zhang Xiaolin immediately flew into a rage, "Damn it! I'm going to kill that Wang Laojiu right now!"

Although Du Yong was surprised, he still remained calm and asked the visitor, "Ye Chuosan and Rong Qingrui haven't come back yet. Where did you get the news?"

"It's not news, Boss Du. I saw it with my own eyes at the Great World!" The visitor described what he had just seen. "Then a carriage rushed over. There were at least a dozen or twenty boxes on it. They were all the goods of the Ala Company!"

"Are the gunshots loud?"

"Not big, but very frequent. At least twice on the Bund side, and we could hear it on the Great World side!"

Du Yong immediately changed his expression to one of worry, muttering to himself: "Why haven't Ye Chaosan and Rong Qingrui come back yet..."

"Did something unexpected happen?" Zhang Xiaolin's eyelids jumped. "Ah Yong, I told you a long time ago that we should take the initiative instead of waiting here foolishly. The sooner we strike, the better!"

Du Yong said nothing, sitting alone on the sofa, looking depressed, as if he was reflecting on his previous response strategy.

At this moment, the housekeeper came into the living room again and reported: "Master, Ye Chaosan is back."

Du Yong looked serious, but his eyes lit up. He said quickly, "Hurry up and ask him to come in and tell us what's going on."

After a moment, Ye Chaosan walked into the living room.

His clothes were disheveled and he was sweating profusely, but his expression was firm and he did not look depressed at all.

Zhang Xiaolin had a hot temper. He walked over and pointed at Ye Chaosan's nose and cursed: "You are a freeloader, aren't you? You lost the goods, and you dare to come back? I used all my connections to find Chief He and asked him to help with the transportation. We had four trucks, more than 30 marine police, and patrol officers to take care of us. And you still lost the goods? Why don't you just die?"

Ye Chaosan was a subordinate of the Du family and a backbone of the "Little Eight-Legged Essay Party". When Zhang Xiaolin scolded him, he was furious, but he endured it reluctantly for the sake of Du Yong's face. However, he refused to accept this groundless accusation.

"Brother Xiaolin, can you please explain yourself clearly?" He argued indignantly, "Who lost the goods? It's totally inexplicable. All the goods in our company are safe and sound. I just delivered them to the warehouse and came back!"

"The goods are not lost?" Du Yong was surprised, and then turned to look at Inspector Huang's spy.

The man was startled and said quickly, "How could it not be lost? I just saw it with my own eyes at the entrance of the Great World!"

"You saw nothing, stop talking nonsense!" Ye Chaosan cursed, "Who the hell do you think you are? I was just unloading the cargo at the beach, do you know more about the situation than I do?"

"Then there was no gunfire?" Inspector Huang's spy asked in confusion, "I clearly heard gunfire over on the Bund!"

"Does the sound of gunfire mean the goods are lost?" Ye Chuosan glared at him fiercely, then turned to face Du Yong, "Brother, we did encounter a small incident on the beach just now, but it doesn't matter. The Axe Gang was driven away by Ala, and the goods were not lost. I checked it myself."

Hearing this, Du Yong finally breathed a sigh of relief, but then became suspicious again.

Zhang Xiaolin couldn't help but feel happy, but he also felt a little scared, and then became even more angry.

"Damn it! That Wang Laojiu dared to attack me. Even if the goods weren't lost this time, I'll still settle the score with him!"

Soon, the housekeeper of the Du Mansion came in hurriedly, bowed and said, "Master, Rong Qingrui is back."

Du Yong didn't know what he was thinking, but his thoughts were interrupted unexpectedly. He came to his senses and said blankly: "Oh, let him in."

Soon, Rong Qingrui walked in quickly.

He stood in the living room, breathing heavily, his whole body wet with mud and sweat. Although it was gradually drying in the shade, it still gave off a disgusting stench.

Ye Chuosan came closer, and asked with a bit of complaint in his tone: "Brother Rui, where were you just now? Didn't I ask you to wait for me at the pier approach bridge? How come you disappeared for no apparent reason?"

"Xiao Ye, are you kidding me? You're asking me this question?" Rong Qingrui said even more angrily, "Just now on the river, someone fired a gun. Didn't you know about it?"

"Of course I know that. I was just asking you what you were doing just now."

"Nonsense, the company's goods fell into the river. Can I just stand there and watch? Of course I have to take people to the downstream to retrieve the boxes!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's heart immediately rose to their throat.

"Hey, what's going on with these two?" Zhang Xiaolin was confused and asked anxiously, "Damn it, are the local products of Ala Company lost or not?"

"It's not lost!" Ye Chaosan replied loudly with full confidence.

"It's lost!" Inspector Huang's spy spoke with certainty and did not give in.

"A few boxes were lost, but I have recovered most of them." Rong Qingrui's answer was sandwiched in the middle, so it seemed the most credible, otherwise it would be impossible to explain the current disagreement among the three.

"Damn it, is there no one who can explain this clearly?" No matter how good-tempered Du Yong was, he couldn't sit still at this moment, "A Rong, come and tell us!"

Rong Qingrui nodded and gave a brief summary of the unloading of the probe - until the first gunshot on the river, his statement was exactly the same as Ye Chaosan's, but after the gunshot, the two began to have different observations.

"Brother, the river was pitch black at the time. The steamer didn't have its headlights on and was in the middle of the river, too far away. I didn't dare to shoot for fear of hitting one of our own. So I thought about taking the brothers over for support. But before I got into the water, I saw a few cargo boxes floating by the river. From what Xiaoye said, it seemed someone had fallen into the water. What could I do? I could only go and salvage the cargo!"

"There was no cargo box falling into the river at all!" Ye Chaosan insisted.

"Are you sure?" Rong Qingrui said, "I fished up a lot downstream and just sent it to the warehouse. If you don't believe me, let's go and take a look now!"

Inspector Huang's spy saw that Ye Chuo-san and Rong Qing-rui were arguing endlessly, which showed that the situation must have been quite chaotic at the time. So he became more resolute in his opinion and followed suit, saying:
"Don't argue anymore. I've seen it all. It's definitely lost. At least a dozen or twenty boxes are lost!"

Zhang Xiaolin and Du Yong looked at each other, now they didn't know where to vent their anger.

No matter how much you argue, you can't get to the bottom of it.

Finally, Du Yong simply stood up and said bluntly: "You all don't need to say anything more. Go to the warehouse now to check the goods. Once you check them, you will know what the situation is!"

(End of this chapter)