Fujita rubbed the bridge of his nose, straightened in his seat, swept his gaze over everyone present, and coughed softly.
"Gentlemen, I assume you all know the purpose of today's meeting."
"As part of headquarters' plans for the future development of the Shanghai Joint Special Higher Police, the following personnel adjustments have been made."
"Major Fukugen."
Fukugen Hirao rose and bowed slightly. "Yes, sir."
"In consideration of your professional expertise, headquarters has noted that the coded telegram unit in Fujian Province currently lacks a qualified commanding officer."
"By special order, Major Fukugen Hirao is to report to Quanzhou, Fujian Province, before February to serve as chief of the Tokkō's Cipher Section."
"Yes, sir." Fukugen Hirao offered no objection and sat straight down.
Yet an inexplicable trace of melancholy appeared in his eyes.
Next, Fujita Susumu turned his gaze toward Takahashi Naoki.
"Major Takahashi."
"Yes, sir." Takahashi rose and bowed slightly.
"Headquarters orders you to proceed immediately to Jinling and assume the position of captain of the Jinling Tokkō's Action Team."
Transferred to Jinling? Takahashi Naoki frowned.
Jinling was still undergoing reconstruction after the destruction.
Beginning on December 13 last year, Jinling had suffered an inhuman massacre.
The death toll was already beyond calculation. It could be said that hatred of Japan among the people there had reached its utmost intensity.
The Special Higher Police had difficulty carrying out its work there.
The Action Team had already gone through several rounds of leadership changes, yet its results still showed little progress.
Moreover, among those now entering Jinling, undercover agents and anti-Japanese elements were everywhere.
Fujita seemed to see through Takahashi's concerns. "Takahashi, these are orders from above. You can only do your utmost to carry them out."
"You are a soldier. A soldier's duty is to obey orders."
Takahashi Naoki stood at attention. "Yes, sir."
But he could not help asking another question. "Sir, I would like to know what will happen to our work after we leave."
"You need not concern yourselves with that. Others will take over." As Fujita said this, he felt a pang of wistfulness for no apparent reason.
An Action Team captain transferred from Jinling, and a Cipher Section chief transferred from the Kwantung Army.
No matter how he looked at it, these arrangements were inappropriate.
But he had no authority to refuse, either, because these were those damned orders from above.
"That concludes today's meeting. Dismissed." Fujita stood, put away the telegram, and turned to leave the conference room.
Inside the conference room, Inoue and Ono remained composed, as though none of this had anything to do with them.
The others, however, wore complicated expressions. Takahashi and Fukugen looked somewhat melancholy, while Lieutenant Colonel Fukuda of the Internal Affairs Department and Lieutenant Colonel Watanabe of the Special Services Section could not help feeling wistful as well...
They had been colleagues, yet they would be going their separate ways so soon...
Chen Trading Company, Wusong Road, Hongkou.
That afternoon, Chen Fan stayed in the shop alone, taking stock of the supplies that had just arrived.
With the New Year approaching, hiring was particularly difficult. Chen Fan had interviewed several people, but none had been quite satisfactory.
Of course, part of the reason was that he really was picky.
He had abolished all the distinctions between shop hands, clerks, and the like, calling them all sales assistants.
Each shop would have a store manager in charge.
He was recruiting salespeople for the second floor. The requirements for them were higher: they needed a certain level of communication skills, preferably with similar experience.
As for the rest-managers, accountants, and sales team leaders-each level had its own duties.
These modern practices were entirely new to people of this era.
So there were indeed very few candidates who met his standards.
But Chen Fan was not worried, because the wages he offered were high enough.
There was nothing in this world that money could not solve. If there was, it only meant that not enough money had been offered.
Chen Fan had someone set the delivered supplies to one side. He was lost in thought when heavy footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door.
He straightened and looked back. Brother Bao was already standing in the doorway.
Brother Bao had brought no weapon today and was dressed casually, still wearing that gray cloth short jacket, with an old blue cloth padded coat over it. He looked as though he had just finished unloading a ship at the wharf.
"Boss Chen." Brother Bao cautiously glanced both ways along the street before stepping inside.
Chen Fan shook his head repeatedly at his behavior. "Brother Bao, there's no need for that. I run a legitimate business. You're making it look as though I'm dealing in something illegal."
"Have a seat. We haven't officially started work here yet, so everything's a mess. I don't even have any hot tea."
Brother Bao hurriedly waved his hands. "Boss Chen, I didn't come for tea."
"I heard about you from Brother Cao. I came today because I wanted... wanted..."
After struggling for a long while, Brother Bao still hemmed and hawed, unwilling to go on.
Chen Fan frowned. He knew Brother Bao's temperament. The man was blunt and easygoing, utterly incapable of keeping things to himself.
For him to be so hesitant now, he must have run into trouble.
"Brother Bao, we've known each other for a while now. Whatever it is, just say it. I consider you a friend. If I can help, I certainly will."
"No, no, no." Brother Bao waved his hands, then seemed to summon his courage and cupped his fist. "Boss Chen, I'll be straight with you."
"I want to bring my brothers over to work under you. I know you're a man who does big things."
"My brothers and I know the rules. Just say the word, and we'll go through fire and water for you, Boss Chen."
Chen Fan was taken aback. Brother Bao had been doing fairly well on Old Qiu's turf. Why did he suddenly want to come to Hongkou?
After pondering for a while, Chen Fan asked, "What exactly happened?"
"Nothing much. I took my men and had a fight with Old Qiu." Brother Bao looked unconcerned.
"Isn't Old Qiu your boss? How did you get on his bad side?"
"Ah, it's a long story. To keep it short, Old Qiu and I already had a grudge."
"Last time, when your shipment went through Shiliupu Wharf, someone leaked the news."
"Old Qiu asked me where those three thousand bolts of cloth came from."
"I wouldn't tell him, so he grabbed my brothers to force me to talk."
"In our line of work, loyalty is what counts. I couldn't hold back, so I fought him."
"About twenty of his men were killed or wounded. My side suffered some losses too."
"With blood spilled and lives lost, even Chen Fusheng couldn't settle this feud if he came again."
"He's joined forces with the Black Tiger Gang to poach my men. I have no choice. I'm planning to pull out of the French Concession, so I thought I'd try my luck with you."
After hearing him out, Chen Fan opened his wallet, took out a stack of fabi notes, and handed them over.
Brother Bao paused, but did not refuse. Now that they had left Shiliupu Wharf, he could go without money, but the dozen or so brothers under him still needed to eat.
Wasn't this when a big brother had to step up...?
"Thank you, Boss Chen. I understand." Brother Bao cupped his hands. "I'll take my leave."
"Wait. What do you understand?" Chen Fan looked baffled.
Brother Bao gave a faint smile. "I'm very grateful that you're willing to give me some traveling money for the sake of our past friendship, Boss Chen."
"What traveling money?" Chen Fan did not know whether to laugh or cry. "I'm giving you money so you can get your brothers settled first."
"What are you thinking?"
"Brother Bao, since you've come to me, how could I possibly turn you down?"
"Of course, having you and your brothers work in the shop isn't really possible. I have requirements for appearance, speech, and dress when hiring people here."
"But I need people to guard my warehouse. You've all worked on the docks. Looking after a warehouse shouldn't be difficult for you, should it?"