HCB Chapter 111 Everything goes well
Chapter 111 Everything goes well
After friendly but intense negotiations among the three, it was finally decided that Zhang Wenwu would have to pay 3,300 pounds to buy a Bofors 75mm mountain cannon, with a shell costing 3 pounds. There were a total of 3 million Chinese-made bullets and 600 Chinese-made rifles in the British military warehouse in Shanghai, which Zhang Wenwu could buy in a package for 50,000 French francs. As for the 200,000 German-made bullets, at Zhang Wenwu's insistence, they would be given away for free as a symbol of friendship between friends.
As for the military canned food, Smith said that he needed to check the quantity and would inform Zhang Wenwu after the check, but he guaranteed that the price would definitely satisfy Zhang Wenwu.
The three chatted all night, and Zhang Wenwu, invited by Smith and Rick, had dinner in the consulate before leaving. As soon as he returned to Xue Siye's residence, Zhang Wenwu told Xue Siye about today's situation and called Xu Lao and others, asking them to take out the previous high-quality stocks as soon as possible in the next three days. Then Xue Siye would send people to load them and transport them to the consulate in the British Concession.
When Zhang Wenwu called the 102nd Division Headquarters and reported the situation to Chief of Staff Zhao Dong, and when he heard that Zhang Wenwu had obtained new Chinese-made rifles, million rounds of ammunition, and German-made bullets for only French francs, Chief of Staff Zhao Dong was ecstatic and said that he would immediately arrange for someone to bring more money to Shanghai as requested by Zhang Wenwu.
Three days later, Zhang Wenwu rode in a truck sent by Mr. Xue Siye and, holding a pass issued by Smith, he successfully entered the compound of the British Consulate in Shanghai.
As soon as Zhang Wenwu got off the car, Smith and Rick, who had been waiting here for a long time, came up with two Chinese people. When they arrived in front of Zhang Wenwu, they gave him a big hug. Smith said happily: "Captain Zhang, you are really on time. How much goods did they provide this time?"
Zhang Wenwu also said very happily: "Major Smith, this time they provided 120 pieces of high-quality goods from different periods."
"Oh, God, that's great, Captain Zhang, you are such a powerful man. You can get those gangsters to cooperate so well and provide so many goods at one time. It's great. We are going to get rich, hahaha." Smith said excitedly to Zhang Wenwu. Rick next to him was also so excited that his face flushed, and he even forgot to pick up the cigar in his hand and take a puff.
Seeing that the two were almost happy, Zhang Wenwu said to Smith, "Major Smith, let the appraisal expert you called do the appraisal as soon as possible." Zhang Wenwu had to remind the two of them that it was winter and the important thing to do was to get the job done quickly.
When Smith heard Zhang Wenwu's reminder, he hurriedly said to the two Chinese people behind him in his half-familiar Chinese: "Gentlemen, please take a look at these antiques." The two Chinese people obviously did not understand what the British man said, but they could guess that he wanted them to identify the antiques, so they didn't waste any words and went straight to the side of the truck, asking the people on it to unload the goods one by one. They put on white gloves, took the goods out of the boxes one by one, and identified them themselves.
Smith also called an interpreter and asked him to take a notebook and record the appraisal results of all items beside the appraiser. This would facilitate the statistical results and price discussion later.
The three did not wait in the yard. Instead, under the leadership of Smith, they came to the reception area of the consulate, where they sat down to smoke, drink coffee and chat.
"Captain Zhang, I have had someone count the canned food you mentioned last time. I can provide you with 3,500 cans, and I guarantee they are all fresh. You only need to pay 3,000 French francs. How about it?" Smith said to Zhang Wenwu with a look of pride on his face.
Zhang Wenwu heard that the price was indeed very favorable, so he immediately said that it was no problem and he would hand it over together with the weapons and ammunition. He also agreed and made a request: "Major Smith, regarding the weapons, can you send a vehicle to transport them to the place I specify? The freight will be charged separately."
"Of course, there will be no problem if it's not far." Smith answered indifferently. He also knew that Zhang Wenwu would definitely make such a request. After all, it would be rather troublesome to transport those weapons and ammunition out of Shanghai.
"That's great, Smith. How about you help me transport it to Zhenjiang City? It's not far." When Zhang Wenwu heard Smith's agreement, he quickly told him the destination.
Smith thought for a moment and said, "Okay. I will arrange for it to be transported to the train station in Zhenjiang City by train. It's just a matter of adding a few carriages. When we get there, you can arrange for people to move it. For the train freight, you just need to pay 2,000 yuan in French currency."
When Zhang Wenwu heard that Smith was going to transport weapons and ammunition to him by train, he immediately said that it was no problem and that as long as they reached Zhenjiang, he could safely transport the weapons and ammunition back to the troops.
"Lieutenant Colonel Rick, have you made any progress on the artillery issue we talked about last time?" Seeing that Smith had made things clear, Zhang Wenwu changed his target and started asking Rick about the artillery issue.
Rick took a puff of his cigar. He had been listening to Zhang Wenwu and Smith chatting, and he hadn't reacted yet when he was suddenly asked this question.
"Oh, Captain Zhang, I have asked someone to collect the artillery you mentioned. It will probably take about a week. It doesn't matter. We can transport it directly to Zhenjiang by train for handover." Rick answered absentmindedly. His mind was now on the goods in the yard, which were the big part.
Zhang Wenwu felt relieved when he heard that it would take at least a week. He needed to make money from the British during this period, otherwise he would not have enough money to buy artillery. It seemed that he would have to make up a story in a few days and sell a batch of high-quality imitations to the British.
The three of them waited all afternoon until 5:30 pm, when the appraisal in the yard was finally completed. The translator came in and found Smith, telling him that the goods had been appraised, and handed him the record book.
Smith flipped through the records in the notebook, his face becoming more excited as he continued to flip through the records. "My God, Captain Zhang, how did your gangster friend get so many good things? Did they empty the tomb of an emperor? The quality of these items is too good."
After hearing what Smith said, Rick came over excitedly and checked the records in the notebook with Smith.
Zhang Wenwu appeared very excited, but he was complaining in his heart: Of course, don't you see who I'm looking for? They are all seniors in the antique industry. Appraisers have to give them face. How can they not say that these are top-quality genuine goods? Even if they are in the UK, they are not afraid of appraisal, because the British have never seen the real ones and can only judge based on experience. What's more, it is enough to have these Chinese appraisers provide written certificates. They will be auctioned in the UK to people who are interested in collecting.
"Okay, I can offer you a price of 35,000 pounds for these goods, Captain Zhang, you can talk to those gangsters." Smith weighed the situation and gave a relatively high price. He felt that the quality of the goods in this transaction was indeed very good, and these gangsters could have long-term and stable cooperation. He could give more, so that in the next transaction, those gangsters would definitely give him such high-quality goods again, and once these goods returned to the UK, the price would at least triple. As long as he could ensure that there were such good goods for a long time, he could make more money.
As soon as Zhang Wenwu heard the price Smith said, he knew what the other party was up to, but he didn't care. The more you give, the happier he is. So, Zhang Wenwu pretended to walk to the truck and handed a cigarette to the five men of Xue Siye who had been guarding there and the responsible Hu Sanliu. After smoking a cigarette with everyone and chatting for a few words, he came back to tell Smith that the gang agreed to his price and they could do the deal now.
When Smith heard Zhang Wenwu say that the gang agreed to the deal, he got up and went to his room without any further ado. He took out the money that he had taken out from the bank specifically for this deal from the safe in the room. After counting out 35,000 pounds, he put it in a briefcase and walked out.
After Hu Sanqing counted the money and found no problem, he drove away with his men in a truck. Smith asked the captain of the consulate guard to call a team of Indian soldiers to carefully carry the boxes in the yard to the prepared warehouse.
Rick did not stay in the yard and watch. Instead, after the transaction was completed, he took Zhang Wenwu back to the consulate, and the two went to the consulate's restaurant to eat.
In the restaurant of the consulate, a buffet was provided for the consulate staff. Rick and Zhang Wenwu took some food and sat at a table by the window to eat and chat. Moreover, they could see the soldiers carrying items in the yard through the window.
"Captain Zhang, I'm very glad to have you join us. This makes our business go very smoothly. I just saw that the quality of the goods is very good. We conservatively estimate that we can make a profit of 30,000 pounds this time. It's great." Rick said to Zhang Wenwu with a happy face. He was really excited. It has only been a short time and Zhang Wenwu has done a good job in business, and the goods are of such good quality. This made him very happy.
"Lieutenant Colonel Rick, maybe I am lucky to have received your invitation at the right time. Maybe it is God's guidance." Zhang Wenwu dealt with the somewhat excited Lieutenant Colonel Rick, but in his mind he was calculating how many cannons and shells he could buy with his current money.