The concept of grain reserves is not new, but when there was a grain shortage in Shanghai, the city government actually wanted to withhold rice from the household registration as its own grain reserves, and if this news spread, not only would the common people scold Chen Gongbo's ancestors for 18 generations, but even the Japanese would not sit idly by.

The reason why Mo Guokang put forward such a stupid idea is the result of official-oriented thinking, her first consideration is not the life and death of the common people, but with the help of this resource, to curry favor with the major yamen in Shanghai, those bureaucrats and speculators, and the military and police in Shanghai.

"What nonsense, what bad idea are you up? Wouldn't that be a big hole for me? This batch of grain was withheld by the Japanese gendarmerie, and it was agreed to be transferred to the city government as household rice, especially in order to alleviate the grain crisis in Shanghai, and 6,000 tons were returned, even 6,000 catties could not be withheld! ”

"What time is it now, you are still thinking about giving favors to reap benefits, it's just stupid! If the famine in Shanghai had caused serious social unrest and disrupted the Japanese munitions production mission, I, the mayor, would have come to an end! Chen Gongbo said sternly.

Even if Mo Guokang made a mistake, he rarely reprimanded her with such words and tones, let alone in the presence of outsiders. But when it comes to his own safety, he can't care about any tenderness and sweetness, and this attitude is also for Chen Mingxiang to see.

He even suspected that this woman's cleverness had been deceived by the drunken life in Shanghai, and this kind of behavior was fine before, but couldn't you distinguish between priorities and urgency?

Mo Guokang's face suddenly turned red and he was reprimanded in front of Chen Mingxiang, which damaged the image she had created for the outside, but Chen Mingxiang was surprised that her face calmed down immediately, and she stood aside with a smile and didn't speak, which made Chen Gongbo embarrassed to continue.

"In her position, Secretary Mo is the secretary of His Excellency the Mayor, which is equivalent to the chief steward of the municipal government, her starting point is good, and she also wants to maintain the stability of the yamen at all levels of the municipal government, it is for you to consider, and it is normal to not think of the particularity of this matter for a while."

"You are not only the mayor of the four million people in Shanghai, but also the leader of officials at all levels of the yamen at all levels, and now it seems that the problem of food shortage in Shanghai cannot be solved in a short period of time, everyone is counting on you to come up with a way to alleviate the food shortage, it is estimated that Secretary Mo also feels some pressure." Chen Mingxiang said.

Hearing Chen Mingxiang say good things to herself, Mo Guokang felt very comfortable, but she was still a little hot, and she didn't hear the trap that Chen Mingxiang had ambushed in his words.

But the feeling to Chen Gongbo is that Mo Guokang has overstepped his authority or crossed the line, making decisions for himself in private, and regardless of the overall situation, he may get himself into trouble, and he can't help frowning.

"You're right, if you want to solve this problem, you need to get at least 20,000 tons of rice every month, but our city government hasn't even done half of it, and the Food Administration report says that the average person is only one per day a day, and I can hear the hungry cries of the citizens every day, and I know that sooner or later there will be big things."

"Mingxiang, you are my hand-picked, and the relationship with the grain merchants in various places is also good, I hope you can assist the municipal government to alleviate this situation, you can rest assured, money is definitely not a problem, as long as there is food to buy, I will let the Ministry of Finance prepare enough funds, and I will not forget your credit." Chen Gongbo said.

For the current Jinling government, money is really not a problem, and Japan's banknote printing machine, which specializes in printing the China Reserve Bank, runs 24 hours a day, and at least tens of millions of dollars are printed every day, and then packed and shipped to the Shanghai branch of the China Reserve Bank in Shanghai.

As for the collapse of the financial market caused by the massive printing of banknotes, and the collapse of the value of banknotes, the Jinling government has no way at all, and even the right to issue banknotes is controlled by the Japanese, what else is there to say?

But Chen Gongbo knew in his heart that this phenomenon could never be cured unless the Japanese army withdrew, and it would be very good if it could be alleviated.

"The Japanese don't have to think about it at all, their own army doesn't have enough food to eat, and it is basically impossible to completely alleviate this situation. Both Krabi and Emi are being watched to death, and whoever intervenes will bear the wrath of both the Jinling government and the Japanese army, so they can only operate in secret. ”

"As the saying goes, a small amount adds up, I will use the name of the Southeast Trading Company to buy grain from grain merchants in the northern region of Anhui Province, the northern region of Jiangsu Province, the southern region of Zhejiang Province and the southern region of Jiangxi Province, which may be a few tons or more than a dozen tons each time, but this is a long-term transaction, and sooner or later I can see the benefits." Chen Mingxiang said.

Because of their respective interests, the contradictions between the Japanese and the Wang puppet government in the grain area are becoming more and more serious, and he wants to take advantage of this situation to purchase grain from all parts of the country as much as possible.

There are a large number of refugees who depend on this place to survive, mostly orphans and homeless families, and some elderly people, with the rapid deterioration of the grain market, more and more people come to the relief station for help.

In addition, the foreign expatriates in the concentration camps are also waiting for rescue, which is an important resource that Chen Mingxiang uses to enhance his value and power, and the embassies of the three countries give him dollars every month, and he must not cut off the supply.

Chen Gongbo has no objection to the price of grain, Li Shiqun bought this batch of grain from the Southeast Trading Company and bought it half-bought and half-robbed, even if it is the market price, that is, 900 yuan of central storage bonds per stone.

However, Chen Mingxiang's price to the city government was 2,000 yuan per stone, which was sold entirely at the black market price, and the reason why Chen Gongbo accepted it was because there would naturally be a rebate for this money, and he would never suffer a loss when he did business with Chen Mingxiang.

That night, Chen Mingxiang arrived in Luzhou on a Japanese transport plane, and Sakamoto Nakasa, the captain of the Luzhou Military Police, and the manager of the acquisition station drove him and his bodyguards to the hotel and had dinner together.

"Chen Jun, welcome to Luzhou to inspect the work, the head of Gangcun has sent me a message, I and the local gendarmerie have been taken care of by you in the past few years, and I have no chance to thank you, if there is anything you need help, please just ask, come, let's have a drink first." Nakasa Sakamoto said, raising his glass.

The Luzhou Gendarmerie is a subordinate organization of the Gendarmerie Headquarters in Shanghai, commanding the gendarmerie in all parts of Anhui Province, and is also a direct beneficiary of Chen Mingxiang's various industries.

The large amount of money bought and sold by the Huatong Trading Company must be operated through the headquarters, and other gendarmerie units have such great authority, and when the transaction is completed, the headquarters will take out a part of Chen Mingxiang's dividends and distribute them to the gendarmerie in various localities in the name of various expenditures.

However, the Luzhou Acquisition Station and the Qiaocheng Tobacco Factory are both on the territory of Anhui Province, so Chen Mingxiang asked the person in charge to secretly give Sakamoto Nakazuo a dividend, after all, the county officials are not as good as the current management, and it is necessary to build a good relationship.