Chapter 166: Welcome to Shanghai to Choose a Cemetery

After buying the groceries and returning home, Li Wensheng acted as the assistant while Chen Wenqi took charge as the head chef.

After finishing breakfast, Li Wensheng read the newspaper while eating. Quickly finishing it, he handed the newspaper over to Chen Wenqi.

Chen Wenqi glanced at it twice and let out a sneer of disdain.

"Hmph, 'All for Jinling,' how does Wang Ji even have the face to say such things to reporters? Who doesn't know that the puppet government's true master is the Japanese."

"Ordinary people at the bottom truly don't know. Such words are very useful for deceiving the ignorant masses at the bottom. A 'new government' ruling China through the Chinese—that way, the people's rebellious spirit won't be so strong," Li Wensheng chimed in.

Chen Wenqi glanced at the newspaper again and exclaimed in shock, "Wang Ji is coming to Shanghai next month to establish the Economic and Material Coordination Committee."

"Normal. Shanghai has many wealthy people and a developed financial industry. Establishing the Economic and Material Coordination Committee in Shanghai makes it easier to rake in money," Li Wensheng remarked.

Just as Chen Wenqi was about to continue reading, Li Wensheng suddenly said, "I'm planning to write a letter to the newspaper."

Chen Wenqi immediately put down the newspaper and looked at Li Wensheng nervously. "What do you want to write?"

"'Wang Ji, welcome to Shanghai to choose your graveyard!'"

"No way! He is very important to the Japanese right now, so they will definitely protect him closely. Didn't you say the drugs developed by the Japanese have become even more potent? What if the people who come next time are even more formidable than last time?"

Chen Wenqi was extremely agitated, growing so excited that she stood up as she spoke.

"Don't be so worked up. I killed Showa Hirohito; Wang Ji must be terrified of me. Once the newspaper publishes my letter, he will definitely change his itinerary and not dare to come to Shanghai in person."

"And what if he still comes?" Chen Wenqi asked anxiously.

"If he comes, he comes. I just won't go kill him. Afterward, I'll go to Hong Kong and write a letter to a Hong Kong newspaper, claiming that the previous letter from Shanghai wasn't written by me and that I've been in Hong Kong all along. With my current reputation, the people won't believe I'm lying."

This shameless maneuver left Chen Wenqi utterly speechless.

"You're not tricking me, are you?"

Chen Wenqi suspected that Li Wensheng was lying to comfort her, and that once Wang Ji actually arrived, Li Wensheng would secretly slip away to assassinate him.

"No. When you agreed to stay with me back then, I already decided not to take any more high-risk actions. Otherwise, when the instructor asked me to assassinate Koichi Yamadera earlier, I wouldn't have refused."

Li Wensheng wore a sincere expression. Chen Wenqi believed him a little, sat down, pondered for a few seconds, and said, "I'll write the letter. I can forge your handwriting. Also, for the next month, no matter where you go, you must tell me in advance."

"Yes, officer," Li Wensheng said, raising his hand in a salute.

"Pfft!" Chen Wenqi instantly burst into laughter. "Come to think of it, I really am your superior officer. Although we are both section chiefs, I am a lieutenant colonel, and you are only a major."

"In the Military Statistics, a middle-ranking officer holds a rank two levels higher than those in other departments. A major has the authority to arrest a colonel, so I can certainly arrest you, a lieutenant colonel," Li Wensheng joked.

"In terms of official authority, middle-ranking officers in the Military Statistics do outrank many departments by two levels. But the Political Department is different. If anyone from your Military Statistics breaks the rule, our Political Department has the authority to arrest them. However, you Military Statistics folks have no authority to arrest anyone from our Political Department."

"Who says so? The First Branch has arrested several people from the Political Department before."

"Those were sneaky, under-the-table arrests. Let the Military Statistics First Branch try arresting people openly and aboveboard the way our Political Department does, and let's see if the First Branch has the guts."

After trading barbs praising their respective former departments, they finished breakfast, left the dishes unwashed, and went straight to the study.

"'Wang Ji, welcome to Shanghai to choose your graveyard!' Signature: Li Wensheng!"

After Li Wensheng finished writing, Chen Wenqi began copying his handwriting.

Chen Wenqi was exceptionally skilled at imitating handwriting. After glancing at it twice, she duplicated it on the very first try, producing a handwriting so similar that even Li Wensheng, the original writer, could hardly tell the difference.

Once finished, Li Wensheng burned his own draft, slipped the paper written by Chen Wenqi into an envelope, and placed it in his briefcase.

In the French Concession, there were over a hundred newspapers of all sizes. Along the route from Li Wensheng's home to the Stone Newspaper office, there were two small newspapers.

At 8:46 in the morning, one of those two small newspaper offices had not yet opened. As Li Wensheng passed by the entrance, he took the envelope from his briefcase and gave it a gentle flick, sending it flying through the door crack like a playing card straight into the building.

Over the past half month, the Stone Company had undergone a radical transformation, becoming much neater and infusing its staff with vibrant energy.

From stepping through the front door all the way to the deputy manager's office on the second floor, everyone he met along the way gave off an enterprising, go-getting vibe.

"What kind of drug did Boyin feed these people to make them change so drastically?"

When Li Wensheng arrived at the company half a month ago, the people he encountered—if not exactly lifeless—all had that "drift along, striking the clock for each day served" kind of attitude.

The deputy manager's office was very spacious, measuring forty to fifty square meters with excellent lighting. Two windows on the east wall allowed the sunlight to stream directly in.

After entering, Li Wensheng tidied up the desk and pulled the wooden louvers of the two windows closed to block out the glaring sunlight.

Just as he sat down behind the desk, a knock sounded: "Tap, tap!"

"Please come in."

The door pushed open, and Boyin walked in accompanied by a foreign woman in her twenties.

"Mr. Halling, this is your secretary."

"Hello, Mr. Halling. My name is Davila Yulin, you can call me Yulin," the woman said with a smile, extending her right hand.

"Hello, Miss Yulin."

As the two of them released their handshakes, Boyin spoke up, "Mr. Halling, the company's salary structure has been slightly adjusted. Your monthly salary of one thousand fiat currency remains unchanged, but a bonus has been added. The bonus depends on the profits you generate for the company; whatever amount you earn for the company, the company will allocate one percent as your reward."

"No wonder everyone in the company changed completely; it turns out they were dangling money to drive their ambition." Muttering this to himself inwardly, Li Wensheng smiled and said, "Thank you, Manager. Rest assured, I will wholeheartedly work to make money for the company."

"When the company makes money, you make money too."

Boyin had no desire to chat further with Li Wensheng and quickly got down to business. "Tonight at eight o'clock, come to the Ciro's Dance Hall to find me. I will introduce you to the owners of three newspaper offices and two well-known financial scholars. From then on, you will liaise with them and use your market-manipulation methods to make money for the company."

"Hold on, Manager. I am the deputy manager, but what you're describing sounds like the job of a trader."

Market manipulation required active trading. Was the deputy manager being turned into a mere stock trader?

"The company currently allows only two people to trade: you and the company consultant. Since it's your market-manipulation method, naturally you must take charge of it. Don't worry, I've already selected ten experienced people from the company to assist you, and they will come to see you shortly."

Li Wensheng frowned inwardly. If he was a trader, his working hours would become fixed, and he would have to be present whenever the stock market opened.

However, since Boyin had arranged it this way, he had no choice but to go along with it for now and find an opportunity later to adjust his working hours.

"Manager, thank you for your trust. I will work hard to make money for the company. By the way, how much capital can the company authorize me to mobilize?"

"Three hundred thousand US dollars. Any other questions?"

"None."

The moment Li Wensheng finished speaking, Boyin turned around and walked toward the door.

With the deputy manager performing the duties of a trader, all the duties that should have belonged to the deputy manager now fell entirely upon Boyin as the manager.

Throughout the entire day, aside from meeting the ten people sent by Boyin, Li Wensheng had nothing else to do.

Even though he had nothing to do, Li Wensheng did not leave the company early.

He had long since realized that Boyin was dissatisfied with him. If he skipped work on his very first day, Boyin would surely find fault with him, and might even fire him.

When work ended at five in the afternoon, Li Wensheng returned home, and Chen Wenqi excitedly asked, "What do you think of me opening a cake shop?"

"Uh, whatever you like."

Chen Wenqi's culinary skills were neither terrible nor particularly good. At least in Li Wensheng's view, the things Chen Wenqi cooked were quite ordinary.

Dropping his briefcase onto the sofa, Li Wensheng sat down and asked with curiosity, "Didn't you say you were going to interview for a bank clerk position? How did you suddenly think of opening a cake shop?"

"When I went for the interview, I walked past a cake shop, and it reminded me of my childhood."

Chen Wenqi sat down beside him, a nostalgic smile on her face. "When I was little, I only ate cake once, and it was a very small one shared by the whole family. The portion that came down to me was just a tiny bite. Just that tiny bite made me feel at the time that cake was the most delicious thing in the world. I thought to myself back then that when I grew up, I would open my own cake shop so I could eat as much as I wanted."

"You were just a greedy kid back then. But do you even know how to bake cakes?" Li Wensheng chuckled.

"I do. When I was studying abroad, I met a friend who knew how to bake, and I learned from her," Chen Wenqi said excitedly.

"Then open one."

Then, Li Wensheng paused for a second, looking at Chen Wenqi, who had extended her right hand toward him. "What is this for?"

"Give me money, of course. I don't have the funds to open a cake shop."

Li Wensheng instantly burst into laughter. "You're acting like the lady of the house, yet you don't even know where the household money is kept."

Chen Wenqi instantly pulled back her hand, stood up, and asked, "Where do you keep the money?"

"In the small box underneath the dressing table."

Before his voice had even faded away, Chen Wenqi was already hurrying upstairs.