Amidst the piercing sound of the whistle, the freighter "Shunhe" loaded with cargo slowly left Shiliupu Pier.
Ito Masahiro just raised his eyes and looked into the distance, looking at the "Shunhe" gradually disappearing. He took a long breath, and a stone in his heart finally fell to the ground.
This is a concession after all. During the routine inspection just now, Masago Ito was very nervous, but fortunately he passed the inspection without any danger.
Surrounded by four bodyguards, a middle-aged man wearing a gold-embroidered brocade mandarin jacket and a light gray top hat walked over.
"President, Zhang Xiaolin is here." Kobayashi Hikoro said in a low voice.
Ito Masako stood still, still maintaining his posture facing the sea.
Zhang Xiaolin came closer and said to Masahiro Ito: "President Ito, I'm really sorry. The road at Xiaodongmen is being built. I went around from Yuxing Street... Didn't it delay the business?"
Ito Masa just turned around, stared at Zhang Xiaolin for a while, and said: "Mr. Zhang, I hope that our cooperation can always be carried out in an orderly manner, rather than in an unorganized manner!"
"President Ito, the Shunwa has left the port safely..."
"A team of patrolmen suddenly came and raided all the cargo ships. Fortunately, we were lucky, otherwise something would have almost happened!"
Zhang Xiaolin was stunned for a few seconds, then laughed loudly and said: "President Ito, it turns out you are angry because of this..."
Ito Masahiro said with a straight face: "Mr. Zhang, I don't think this is funny."
Zhang Xiaolin made an apologetic gesture, and then whispered: "Inspector Li, who is leading the team, is my disciple. I have already said hello to him. They are just going through the motions and showing it to outsiders."
Ito Masahiro pondered for a moment, then glanced at Zhang Xiaolin and walked slowly along the river embankment.
Zhang Xiaolin understood and signaled to the bodyguards that they did not need to follow him. He took a few steps to catch up with Masago Ito.
After walking more than ten meters, Ito Masahiro stopped, looked at the surging river at his feet, and said: "The operation at the Golden Theater is temporarily suspended."
Zhang Xiaolin hurriedly said: "President Ito, last time was just an accident. Don't worry, I will arrange capable people this time..."
Ito Masako shook his head: "The patrol house is already on guard. There are plainclothes everywhere near Foch Road. We have no chance."
Zhang Xiaolin was silent for a moment, and said in a hateful voice: "It's all the fault of that boy named Xu, a dog meddling in other people's business like a mouse..."
"By the way, what is the relationship between Xu Siqi and Inspector Zonghua?"
"They didn't know each other at all. I don't know why, but Gu Gongguan came forward to speak for Xu Siqi, so Detective Zonghua ordered his release."
"Oh, I see……"
"President Ito, do you want me to send someone to kill him?"
"Forget it, Xu Siqi is not that important. We have more important things to do. Try to avoid unnecessary complications."
"Understood."
The four bodyguards followed Zhang Xiaolin at a close distance, vigilantly patrolling the surroundings. They all had short guns hidden on their bodies.
Ito Zhengang looked at it for a while, then smiled and said to Zhang Xiaolin: "Mr. Zhang, I don't quite understand. The security in the concession is pretty good, so why do you bring a bodyguard with you every time you go out?"
Zhang Xiaolin said: "It's mainly because I'm used to it. That Madman Wang is carrying out assassinations everywhere, which makes me frightened. If I don't have a few people around me, I always feel uneasy."
"Who is Madman Wang?"
"Oh, he's Wang Guanqiao from the Ax Gang. We call him Madman Wang in private. That guy kills anyone he dislikes. He's almost like a madman."
"Can you find him?"
Zhang Xiaolin shook his head: "I guess Madman Wang may have left Shanghai."
Ito Masahiro's eyes flashed: "Do you have any basis for saying that?"
Zhang Xiaolin said: "Wang Guanqiao was against the imperial army and the National Government. The Secret Service wanted his life and the imperial army also wanted his life. Unless he was really crazy, why would he stay here?
Waiting to die in Shanghai?”
Ito Masahiro thought for a while and felt that Zhang Xiaolin's analysis was reasonable and said: "No wonder we haven't been able to find him..."
Zhang Xiaolin hesitated for a moment and said: "President Ito, the conditions I proposed last time..."
Masahiro Ito smiled slightly: "I am here today to formally inform you that we will fully support you in taking the position of Director Hua of the Ministry of Industry!"
"Thank you so much! President Ito, if I can be elected as Director of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, I promise to provide you with convenience as much as possible!" Zhang Xiaolin was so excited that he made a 90-degree Japanese bow.
Masago Ito said: "Mr. Zhang, you are a friend of the empire. Frankly speaking, if you can be elected as Director Hua, it will not only be in the interests of the empire, but also in your personal interests. So, from now on, we will
Partners in the same boat!"
Zhang Xiaolin smiled broadly and said repeatedly: "Yes, yes, I completely agree with what you said..."
In order to better manage the concession, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce Bureau of the concession established a board of directors system, with the board of directors leading the Ministry of Industry and Commerce Bureau.
In addition to the general director, the board of directors has a total of 13 directors. The board of directors has considerable power, and they are equivalent to the "official government" of the concession.
Among the 13 directors, the British naturally occupy the majority of seats, followed by Director Hua, with a total of 5 seats.
Director Hua is a very important figure in Shanghai, and Du Wenlong is also one of the directors.
With the arrival of a large number of Japanese overseas Chinese, the Hongkou area has become a "Japanese Concession". The Board of Directors of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce has added a Japanese director seat, which can be regarded as balancing the interests of all parties as much as possible.
Zhang Xiaolin used some unusual means to get nominated as Director Hua once or twice, but because of his poor reputation, he fell short at the last moment.
Mei's agency had just set up an intelligence point and did not yet know much about the situation in the concession. It still had to rely on the Chinese for many things.
Therefore, the first thing Ito Masaru did when he arrived in Shanghai was to actively look for suitable candidates to help him carry out intelligence work smoothly in the future.
Soon, Zhang Xiaolin came into their sight.
After a period of secret investigation, Masahiro Ito made the decision to give Zhang Xiaolin the bait of Director Hua of the Ministry of Industry Bureau, so that he could work for the Mei Agency wholeheartedly.
Regarding the matter of committing himself to being a traitor, Zhang Xiaolin readily agreed. He was a person with a weak sense of the country and the nation. As long as it was profitable, he would do anything.
The first thing the two parties did when they cooperated was to try to disrupt the drama performance at the Golden Grand Theater. Masago Ito had only one purpose, and that was to let Chang Hsiao-lin risk his life to show his loyalty!
Zhang Xiaolin knew very well that if he did not submit a petition, how could the Japanese completely trust him?
Zhang Xiaolin had the opportunity to turn back, but driven by greed, he chose to go with the devil.