20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 549: The Great World

French Concession, Edoardo Road.

At the crossroads, luxury cars and beautiful women are like passing clouds, and neon lights are shining like colorful clouds.

The colorful lighted sign of "Shanghai World" was reflected on the black leather shoes. Zhao Guoyan and Yang Lazi stood side by side at the entrance of the entertainment venue. Looking from behind, they looked like two dark silhouettes.

"Ah, so this is called the Big World!"

Yang Lazi sighed a few words as usual, then followed Zhao Guoyan into the entertainment venue.

Passing through the twelve signature funhouse mirrors in the lobby, the two men headed straight for the dance hall on the second floor with a clear purpose.

At the end of the dance floor, a Western music group was playing cheerful dance music.

Under the guidance of the waiter, Zhao Guoyan found a small table and sat down. After ordering two glasses of foreign wine, he suddenly asked, "Do you have a dancer named Cui Yingying here?"

"Yes." The waiter leaned over and asked, "Sir, do you want her to come over and drink with you?"

Zhao Guoyan nodded, stuffed some tips into the other person's hand, and whispered, "I'm a little anxious, please help her and let her come to see me first."

"Okay, okay, sir, please wait a moment, I'll go call her right away."

The waiter was delighted to receive the tip and readily agreed. He then turned around and walked quickly towards the terraced sofa in the corner of the dance floor which was full of dancers.

Zhao Guoyan and Yang Lazi sipped their wine while waiting.

Not long after, Cui Yingzhen was seen walking towards this side, wearing a high-necked cheongsam and modern curly hair, with bright eyes and a beautiful smile.

"Boss, do you want to dance or chat?" She walked to the table and asked with a smile.

"Sit down." Zhao Guoyan pointed to the chair beside him.

Cui Yingzhen sat down obediently, with a faint fragrance on her body, a fake smile on her face, and a thousand professional greetings and courtesies on her lips.

Such as "Where are you from, sir?", "What business do you usually do?", "What kind of wine do you drink?", "Is this your first time in Shanghai?"

All the dancers asked this question, and it didn't seem strange or arouse suspicion.

However, Zhao Guoyan did not answer all these questions. He just looked at the other person silently and suddenly asked, "Your name is Cui Yingzhen?"

"Ah?" Cui Yingzhen was startled and surprised.

"I also know that you have an older brother named Cui Shengbin." Zhao Guoyan lowered his voice, looked around and asked, "Didn't Li Zaichun tell you that I was coming?"

Hearing these two names, Cui Yingzhen felt relieved. She turned her head and looked around the dance floor before asking softly, "Are you from Fengtian?"

"Yes."

"So you are Boss Jiang's friends?"

Zhao Guoyan immediately corrected him: "Boss Jiang is my boss."

Cui Yingzhen finally let down her guard, her eyes flickered, and she asked hurriedly, "How is my brother, and the other members of the Righteous Group?"

Zhao Guoyan took out a letter from his bosom and whispered, "Remember to burn it after reading it."

Cui Yingzhen took the letter in a hurry. Of course, she didn't have time to read it carefully, but when she saw the handwriting on the envelope, it was indeed from her brother. So she looked around, took a few deep breaths, calmed herself down, and put the letter away with trepidation.

"Thank you so much."

"Don't be so quick to thank us." Zhao Guoyan raised his hand to interrupt, "Say something real. You once said that if we can help and protect the people of the Righteous Group, you will repay the Jiang family well. Do you still remember this?"

Cui Yingzhen nodded heavily: "I can do anything you ask me to do."

"Don't be so nervous, it's just a few small things."

As Zhao Guoyan spoke, he took out two photos from the old city apartment from his pocket, put them on the table and said, "Please keep an eye on these two people for me. If they come to the Great World, find a way to keep them stable and notify me in time."

Cui Yingzhen was slightly curious and looked down at the photo. After just one glance, she immediately pointed at A Ming's face.

"I have an impression of this person. He has a good relationship with several dancers, but he seems to have not been here in the past few days."

"What about this person?" Zhao Guoyan pointed at Mr. Mei's face with his finger.

Cui Yingzhen frowned, looked at him carefully for a moment, and shook her head gently, saying, "He looks unfamiliar. I don't have any impression of him."

"It doesn't matter. Just pay more attention to it in the next two days."

"Okay...is there anything else you want to tell me?"

Zhao Guoyan first asked Cui Yingzhen to put the photo away, then called the waiter and asked for a glass of wine for her, and then he continued to instruct:
"My boss heard from someone that there are many secret rooms in the Great World, which are specially used by wealthy guests to smoke opium and play with women. Is this news reliable?"

"Yes, most of them are on the third floor, and there are a few on the second floor... Actually, it can't be called a secret room, but it's in a remote location. Tourists are not allowed in, and you can only go in with the waiter."

"Have you been in there?" Zhao Guoyan asked directly.

"Ah, well...I..."

Cui Yingzhen's cheeks suddenly turned red and her speech became hesitant.

Although she was a dancer, she was still young and had just entered the industry. She was thin-skinned and had not forgotten shame, so it was inevitable that she was a little shy.

Seeing this, Zhao Guoyan quickly waved his hands and explained, "How you choose has nothing to do with me. I'm not curious, and I don't want to comment. I just want to make sure you know where those secret rooms are and who they usually receive."

Cui Yingzhen finally breathed a sigh of relief as if she had escaped trial. She immediately dipped her fingertips in the wine and made a few marks on the table.

Although Zhao Guoyan read it carefully and remembered it clearly, he was still a little worried, so he raised his hand to stop it, took a sip of wine, and said:
"How about this, you draw a good copy for me later and mark a few places for me."

"Okay, what else do you want to mark?" Cui Yingzhen asked.

Zhao Guoyan stretched out his hand and pointed casually at the ceiling of the dance hall, saying, "Which room in the Great World has a telephone, where is the switch, what kind of secret room receives what kind of person, in short, the more detailed the better."

Cui Yingzhen's eyelids twitched, and she suddenly felt that the Jiang family might make a big fuss. She couldn't help feeling a little panic, but she finally nodded without any intention of shirking.

Seeing this, Zhao Guoyan was very satisfied, but not satisfied enough.

He drank the remaining wine in the glass, then patted Cui Yingzhen on the shoulder and said a few words of concern, his tone quite meaningful.

"Thank you very much. Don't worry, your brother and the others are safe in Fengtian and are living quite well. But you also know that the Japanese have great influence outside the Great Wall, so it's best not to act rashly. Let them settle down in Fengtian first, and after a while, you and your sister can be reunited in Shanghai..."

……

……

At the same time, in the British Concession, Hongkou District.

There were gusts of evening breeze at the crossroads, in the alley not far from the Sanyouhui Restaurant, two figures seemed to be ready to move.

After a while, the two of them hurriedly crossed the road.

Under the orange street lights, they saw that the two men were both in their twenties, one with a mark on the left side of his face, and the other with a tuft of hair on the right side. They were the eyes and ears of the Axe Gang, named Zhang Luan and Han Shu. They crossed the street and circled the Sanyouhui Restaurant from a distance. They were surprised to find that there were many more thugs sent by the "Yue Gang" to watch the scene tonight than usual.

As I was wondering, I suddenly saw a black Mercedes-Benz coming from a distance. It was surrounded by a group of guys in front and behind and slowly stopped at the door of the restaurant.

The car door opened, Cheng Maoling got out, and pushed the nose bridge of his gold-rimmed glasses.

Just as he was about to step into the restaurant, Lai Chunbao came hurriedly to greet him with a gloomy face.

"Brother Hei." Cheng Maoling smiled and clasped his hands.

Lai Chunbao just nodded and said in a low voice: "Uncle Kun, you will have to work hard these days."

"It's a small matter. Uncle Kun is a veteran of our 'Yue Gang'. It's only natural for me to help look after the place. Brother Hei, don't worry."

"Don't be careless, the Axe Gang has been keeping an eye on us recently!"

Cheng Maoling pretended to sigh, but said: "Alas, Uncle Kun also means well but does bad things. He is old, so why should he take care of our 'Yue Gang' affairs? Why bother with those outsiders? After this period of limelight is over, I will persuade Uncle Kun to go home and retire."

Although Lai Chunbao did not like what he heard, he could not find any problem with it if he was fair.

If you take advantage of your seniority and seniority, you will get into trouble sooner or later.

"What's the point of talking about this now?" Lai Chunbao waved his hand and said, "It has already happened. You and I have both been taken care of by Uncle Kun before, so just consider it as showing filial piety!"

Cheng Maoling nodded repeatedly in response.

The two of them didn't get along well with each other normally, so naturally there was nothing to talk about at the moment. After a few words, they hurriedly said goodbye to each other.

Cheng Maoling ordered the driver to park the car on the side of the road, and he took a few brothers with him and went upstairs to meet Uncle Kun.

Lai Chunbao was about to leave in a rickshaw, but he was still a little worried before leaving, so he told his brothers: "You two stay nearby, and if anything happens to Uncle Kun, please notify me at any time."

Soon, the rickshaw took advantage of the night and quickly headed west to Hongkou District.

There didn't seem to be anything suspicious about the handover between the two sides.

However, these personnel changes at the Sanyouhui Restaurant were noticed by two Axe Gang members.

Zhang Luan and Han Shu naturally did not dare to stop and watch. They walked around the opposite side of the restaurant and then pretended nothing had happened as they walked along the Bund Road towards the south.

"It seems that someone has changed in the Sanyouhui Restaurant." Zhang Luan said as he walked, "Hurry back and inform Master Jiu."

Han Shu shook his head and said, "It would be better if this person was not replaced. Do you know who the new person is? It's Cheng Maoling! He is the most powerful person in the Guangdong Gang now. Those who are richer than him are not veterans; those who are older than him are not as rich as him."

"It doesn't matter if he's rich or poor. If I chop him down with an axe, he'll be dead anyway!"

"That's true, but Hongkou District is different from other places. It's too far from the French Concession and the Chinese Concession. If a fight really breaks out, I'm afraid we won't have enough time to escape."

Zhang Luan did not comment, and hurriedly urged: "We don't need to worry about this matter, just listen to Master Jiu's instructions."

As they talked, the two of them walked away closely.

……

……

The next morning, the sky was just beginning to brighten.

Zhao Guoyan rushed back to the German trading company in the American Concession alone to report.

Everyone had breakfast together and talked about the tasks that Jiang Lianheng had assigned them last night.

The decision to kill Shen Shili was of course arranged by Jiang Lianheng.

Jiang Lianheng had no intention of investigating whether Shen Shili was innocent or whether she accidentally leaked the Jiang family's information just to make money.

He only knew that a war was about to break out, and if he left Shen Shili with that big mouth talking nonsense at the Shilipu Wharf all day, he would cause trouble sooner or later. In order to protect the safety of his brothers, he might as well go all out and get rid of him.

However, Mr. Mei's true identity surprised Jiang Lianheng and others.

"It turns out that the one who is eating for free is Lao Chai!" Chuang Hu learned new "knowledge" and quickly took out his notebook to write it down.

Zhao Guoyan emphatically corrected: "Those who eat free meals are not necessarily old Chai; but the vast majority of old Chai in Shanghai eat free meals."

"That means the police got the information and passed it on to Du Yong and Zhang Xiaolin?" Li Zhengxi muttered to himself, "But, Huang Jinyong hasn't made any move yet?"

Xifeng’s confusion is not without reason.

At that time, Huang Jinyong was busy dealing with the accountability of the Chief Police Officer of the Judicial Police Department.

After the robbery of the Sanjin Company, the Shilipu Wharf was immediately under siege. Most of the police officers in the French Concession were maintaining order at the various ferry crossings. If they wanted to quell the riots, they should have focused on the Axe Gang, not Jiang Lianheng and other people who were drifting in Shanghai.

After all, although Jiang Lianheng is responsible for making plans, the Axe Gang responsible for execution is the top priority, otherwise everything is empty talk.

Moreover, according to Mrs. Mei, not long after the Sanjin Company case occurred, the Old Town Apartment had already attracted the attention of the police.

This is earlier than anyone expected.

"Who did I forget?"

Jiang Lianheng muttered to himself, thinking over and over, but still couldn't figure it out.

Everyone was silent for a moment, and Li Zhengxi asked, "What about Mrs. Mei?"

"I didn't touch him." Zhao Guoyan turned to look at Jiang Lianheng and asked, "Boss, I made a deal with her and promised not to pursue her anymore. What do you think..."

The two have worked together for more than ten years and are friends for life and death, so naturally they understand each other tacitly.

Jiang Lianheng listened and nodded in understanding: "Guo Yan, needless to say, I trust you to do the job, and I can roughly guess what kind of deal you are talking about."

Chuang Hu didn't understand what was going on. He stood between the two of them, blinking left and right, and said seriously, "Can it work? Is it reliable? I think that woman is very vicious. You should think twice before you act!"

"That's enough, that's enough!" Jiang Lianheng waved his hands impatiently, "She just said you were short, how long are you going to hold a grudge against her?"

Zhao Guoyan patted Chuanghu on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry, someone is watching her in the old city, and she is willing to make this deal with us."

After breakfast, everyone went to rest.

For two or three days, Jiang Lianheng looked serious, as if he was thinking hard or waiting for some news.

On the evening of the third day, the nanny of the German businessman Remarque suddenly knocked on the door and said that there was a call from downstairs looking for Boss Jiang.

Jiang Lianheng went downstairs to inquire, answered the phone, and quickly hung up after a few words. He then returned to the second floor and instructed Zhao Guoyan:

"That pretty boy has shown up in the big world. Take some people to pry his mouth open and get to the bottom of it."

(End of this chapter)