Penicillin

As expected, as time passed, this farcical incident spread. Wang Yan became a topic of conversation among Shanghai Bund's social elite after dinner, the unlucky fool in their stories.

The Japanese kept their mouths shut, and no one dared ask Wang Yan about it. But when Wang Yan had dined with Zhang Xiaolin, there had been seven or eight people present. Then there was the even more unfortunate Gao Yunchang—one wife, two concubines, and not a single woman among them who could keep her mouth shut. The fact that they had paid out 350,000 U.S. dollars was basically known to everyone.

Putting it all together, it was not hard for people to guess just how much money Wang Yan had given the Japanese.

Wang Yan had anticipated this long ago. At the same time, he had heard no news of Omura Akihiro and Muramoto Ichiro being disciplined, nor had those two Japanese come looking for him. That meant Omura Akihiro had distributed the 200,000 U.S. dollars well, taking care of everyone from top to bottom. It also meant Wang Yan was completely safe.

After all, everyone on the Shanghai Bund, including people from both parties, now knew the full story. If the Japanese reneged on their word, it would have a major impact on their future work. Wang Yan held a high position, wielded considerable influence, and had given the Japanese a substantial sum of money. If even he could still be killed by the Japanese, how could anyone else hope to rise through the ranks and make a fortune by relying on them?

Still, Wang Yan had set a bad precedent. He had put the matter of bribing the Japanese out in the open, and that was not a good thing. But it was not too serious a problem