Spy Wars: I can get rewards by being a bully!

Chapter 1059 There is no road to fall in Tianjin

The office building of the North China Governing Committee.

Wang Mengqun was caught in a state of both confidence and timidity.

His confidence stemmed from the fact that he had never fought such a lucrative battle before. With Master Lin standing behind him, it was as if all the powerful figures in North China, from the Beijing Police Department to the North China Area Army Special Service Department, and even the wealthy Miyamoto, were standing behind him.

The reason he was both confident and somewhat timid was that he had to face not only the Nanjing Reform Government, but also the Japanese who supported it.

Wang Mengqun tried hard to recall how Tanabe Kenji and the others had been greeting them yesterday, and how Tanabe Kenji would occasionally squint his eyes.

This bastard doesn't seem like a good person!

"Boom boom boom!"

"Come in!"

The secretary came in, approached the desk, and whispered, "President, they sent someone over to invite you to the small conference room at the Six Nations Hotel to discuss some matters."

Wang Mengqun coughed and said calmly, "I understand. Go and prepare the car."

The secretary admired him, thinking, "The president is indeed the president; he's so composed!"

After the secretary left, Wang Mengqun frantically dialed the phone.

"Hey, I want the Lin family mansion! I want the Lin family mansion!"

After a while, the call was connected.

"Hello! This is Wang Mengqun, this is Wang Mengqun!"

A slightly distorted voice came from the other end of the phone, "Chairman Wang? What are your orders?"

"Director Niu, Tanabe Kenzai sent someone to invite me to discuss something. It must be about the grain. I..."

Director Niu's voice was flat and monotone. "Chairman Wang, haven't we discussed how to handle these kinds of situations before?"

"We've talked, Director Niu, but if I may be so bold as to say it, in all my years of ups and downs, I've never been in a situation like this before. These are people from the General Headquarters of the Expeditionary Army and the Nanjing Military Police Headquarters..."

"Haha, Chairman Wang, this is North China. What more does the Nanjing Military Police Headquarters have? Hey, Boss Lin is here. He wants to talk to you."

Lin Ze hadn't had breakfast yet. He went to the study to check on things when he heard Niu San'er answering the phone in the suite. He immediately knew what was going on.

He picked up the phone. "Hey, Lao Wang, have you eaten yet?"

Wang Mengqun almost choked. "I've eaten. What about you, Master Lin?"

"I haven't yet, so to make a long story short, I'm asking you, do you know where the grain went?"

"I, I don't know."

Why don't you know?

"Huh? Why would I?"

"Because the contract was signed between Gu Baoheng and Miyamoto Trading Company, what does it have to do with you? After the contract was signed and the payment was made, Miyamoto Trading Company executed the contract according to its terms. The grain was transported away, but you don't know where it went. Perhaps it was transported to disaster relief, or perhaps a portion was allocated to the troops stationed in various places. With the poor harvest, the troops stationed there are also having a hard time!"

At this point, Lin Ze asked again, "But no matter what, Jinling paid money but didn't receive a single grain of food. What do you think?"

"Huh? How should I see it?"

Lin Ze curled his lip. This Wang Mengqun is just average and has limited ability!

However, there are advantages to being of average ability. Compared to Wang Kemin, this Wang Mengqun is much more obedient and easier to use.

“Listen, Lao Wang, Nanjing paid the money, but it wasn’t given to the North China Governance Committee; it went to Miyamoto Trading Company. Whether Nanjing received the grain or not has nothing to do with you or the North China Governance Committee. This is purely a commercial matter. The North China Governance Committee has always protected and respected the commercial activities of Japanese merchants in North China. Both parties should abide by the contract! Of course, the North China Governance Committee’s concern about Nanjing is not something to be ignored. Rather, it should be addressed selectively, systematically, and methodically. You should suggest that they hold a negotiation meeting with Miyamoto Trading Company first to clarify the contract terms.”

"Should I call Mr. Miyamoto?"

"Miyamoto went to Tokyo because of a military supplies procurement matter. He's a big shot at headquarters now and he's very busy."

Wang Mengqun beamed with joy, "I understand!"

Lin Ze hung up the phone, and Niu San'er hurriedly said, "Sir, should we have the kitchen send breakfast here?"

"Alright, I'll eat in the outer room and listen to you read the briefing."

It will be served soon.

A basket of soup dumplings, filled with beef, served with vinegar and chili sauce.

A bowl of plain congee, paired with a dish of red fermented bean curd—this stuff has a unique flavor when you drink it occasionally.

The Lin family's small kitchen has been making tofu these past two days, so there's a separate bowl of fresh soy milk, served with two large, dark red fried dough sticks.

Finally, add three hard-boiled eggs, and you're all set.

Lin Ze ate slowly, while Niu San'er began reading a briefing to him.

"Master Lin, everything is normal in Tianjin. It's just that the weather has been getting colder and colder lately. People who have been coming to the city to make a living before are fine, but those who have recently come from the countryside are having a hard time. Although we haven't found anyone lying on the road, some people are quite cold."

This statement carries significant weight.

The phrase "no road collapses found" is enough to prove that the living standards of Tianjin residents far exceeded those of other places. Perhaps there were still many large mansions in Beijing, or many comprador families in Shanghai, or perhaps Qingdao, with its booming textile and shipping industries, was poised to surpass Tianjin.

But there is no road collapse in Tianjin.

Lin Ze put down the fried dough stick in his hand and said, "Tell Wang Zhulin that at this time, the Tianjin Chamber of Commerce should take the initiative to play a role. In winter, road maintenance is even more important. We can temporarily hire people to patrol and maintain the roads every day. The main thing is to give them a living, and we can pay them less."

At that time, there were hardly any cement roads. The newly built port in Tianjin had some, but there were almost none in the city. The roads were either stone slab roads, rammed earth roads, or simply dirt roads.

When Lin Ze was in Tianjin, he arranged for many road repairs. For example, he quarried stones from the northern mountains to replace the main roads in the city with stone slabs. He also had most of the dirt roads compacted and paved with gravel to become rammed earth and gravel roads.

But these roads are still vulnerable to winter, as Tianjin is located by the sea, with high humidity and frequent rain and snow.

Once it rains or snows, even rammed earth roads inevitably become muddy after the snow melts.

Of course, muddy is muddy, and everyone is used to it. Having the Tianjin Chamber of Commerce hire people to maintain the roads is still a work-for-relief method.

"In Chongqing, the shortage of supplies has eased somewhat, mainly because the Hump airlift route has seen a significant increase in transport capacity after a period of trial flights. However, the accident rate of transport planes remains high..."

"It is believed that Wang Jingwei is planning to visit Japan, but the General Headquarters has not yet finalized the matter. At the same time, according to the public intelligence sent back from Tokyo, the Japanese General Headquarters has not given up its attempt to negotiate with the Yamashiro side. Wang Jingwei is eager for the General Headquarters to abandon Yamashiro as a negotiating partner and instead have the Nanjing side handle all affairs in China."

"Internationally, the combined American and British forces have already landed in North Africa..."