The cabaret was packed, more than usual. Some acts were even double booked and had to be turned away.
“Why are there so many people here?” One patron asked as he sat down at the bar.
“Word on the street is that it’s the last night of operation by this owner. They are going to leave the city soon. Nobody knows where.. Get all the drinks you want now, they may not have them later on.” Replied another over a bottle of baijiu.
Hours earlier at the staff meeting, Liangfeng notified everyone present of the general situation, encouraging workers to get their documents in order before whatever happened came to pass. The reality was that tonight would be the last night of operation. To celebrate, the fox-eared girl wore a tight red dress and black boots, getting her hair done for the first time in a while. She went around to the bar and ordered herself a very stiff drink, eager to get what would be her last night in Shanghai started off with a bang. No one was going on stage that night, indeed Alex had booked a full band and a number of different acts. To Qianlian’s dismay, the foxgirl couldn’t help but play her flute loudly, competing with the brass band until the bartender told her if she didn’t stop she’d be getting no more drinks.
In the office down the hall, the final sale was taking place. Five men from a local ‘shipbuilding company’ alleged to be connected to a triad on one side, Alex and Heinrich on the other as dual owners. They presented themselves as calm and collected businessmen, but the triad boss was clearly both inebriated and eager to get things over with – overlooking obvious flaws in the process.
“So Alex, you are a German. Why in the fuck are you here in Shanghai?”
“I fought with Brother Chiang, then retired. What’s your fucking problem?”
“Well you see, we don’t like to deal with Westerners who can’t recognize they are in China… like your friend here. He’s got a bit of a reputation.” The boss pointed with his cigarette at Heinrich. “He likes to spend time with many of our girls, treats ‘em well, so they say.”
“Lanfang, let’s not talk scores at start talking business, alright? I didn’t call you here to regale my partner here with the details of how many of your girls I’ve taken on dates. Jesus Christ.” Heinrich said, annoyed that it had taken an hour for them to show up, and another hour for them to get drunk enough to talk business.
“Well alright then Herr Heinrich. We will talk business. Listen, we will purchase the building, including all furnishings, in exchange for…”
“500,000,000 gold yuan?” Heinrich grinned, asking after a sip of whiskey.
“No, you mongrel.” One of the underlings piped up. “That’s our entire yearly earnings, this place ain’t worth that much.” The boss proceeded to slap the underling with the back of his hand for revealing that information.
“No, Heinrich, we want you to do us a favor. Rumor has it that there is some elixir of life, somewhere. It’s alleged that a Korean near the northern border has found one way to bring on immortality. We want that information.”
“We are not going to North Korea, if that’s what you’re asking.. Not happening.” Alex laughed at the absurdity. “Yanbian is a possibility but what exactly would we find there? The only reason we’re even leaving is because of Chiang’s idiotic decisions. Name another favor Lanfang.”
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“Gun running.”
“What exactly are we talking?” Alex seemed intrigued. Heinrich was immensely skeptical of this whole arrangement. By this point, the entire team from the triad were drunk out of their seats.
A triad underling pointed to several black briefcases. Stacked row on row, there were about 8 of them.
“These are all pistols, with ammunition included. Ship them to our boys in the Orthodox Church at Harbin, and consider this place sold.” The boss couldn’t help but spill his drink.
Heinrich thought for a minute. If they couldn’t get these guns to the church in Harbin, the place couldn’t be sold. On the other hand, they’d be arming Communist and somehow Church friendly triads, gaining trust from more than a few influential groups.
“To be clear, you want us to help arm a group that is clearly against the Communist cause? As in, you’re playing both sides?” Heinrich asked.
“That is correct.” The boss looked almost proud of himself. “Old Japanese guns are shockingly a hot commodity among those with zero knowledge of weapons. Between us, half of them are broken.”
“Okay… You have had too much to drink, I think. We aren’t going to be gunrunners. Not when there’s a Republican army on our tail, and our integrity is on the line. How you expect us to ship it from Dalian to Harbin, then onto god knows where is beyond me. We can’t casually stroll up with 8 suitcases to a train, much less than 10 we already have…” Heinrich was having none of this.
The triad boss would take a look at Alex, then look to Heinrich. “Alex, buddy. You’ve known me for a few years now. What’s the harm in doing a little job?”
“I may be slightly more drunk than usual, but I’m not an idiot.” Alex scoffed. “With you people, a little job ain’t little after a while. Look, we can see about routing back some information on this alleged elixir in a few months, but there’s not much information to even go on. All we know, like you, is that this thing exists. Somewhere.”
All of them were equally clueless. The bar would be sold, come hell, high water, or artillery fire.
--
Qianlian dyed her hair red in the last week, to match her favorite dress. The bartender noticed.
“So are you going with boss and Heinrich to the north, or what?”
Qianlian didn’t have the funds, the paperwork, or connections.
“Well, I’m not sure. I want to go, but my papers are a few years out of date, I only have a household registry in Shenyang, and my money isn’t exactly in Republican Yuan.” She lamented, holding her drink close like she had a week prior with tea.
“You’re a dancer, go on, get out there and make some money.” The bartender, a former dancer herself, encouraged Qianlian with a smile.
“I can’t, not tonight, too much on my mind.” Qianlian folded her hands onto the mahaogany counterop, feeling dejected and out of place.
“Well look, if you really want to get out of here, I’ve got gig lined up on a luxury liner heading out tomorrow. We could take that and get as far as Dalian. You can be brought on as my assistant or something.. I could use an extra pair of hands, and men do like eye candy.” The bartender teased Qianlian as she cleaned a glass thrown over by a drunken patron. "You are way more attractive than I am, you know that right?"
“It couldn’t hurt.. Do you know if that’s how the boss is leaving?” Qianlian asked.
“Zero clue, honey. All I know is how I’ve managed to get myself out of here. Go ask him. Oh, and your drink is on the house. Fox ears paid for it."
"Fox ears.. She's been nothing but trouble. I mean, she has a nice party trick, but damn does she steal my spotlight. I was the star of this cabaret before last week."
"That happens to all of us, Qianlian. It's life." The bartender mused as she began to make another drink for a waiting customer.
"So, tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow, you and me, we'll get out of here in one piece."
--
“So, we have a deal?” The triad boss knew the answer, he just wanted to hear Alex say it.
“Sure, fine. We have a deal. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a boat to pack for.”
The triad group, after 4 hours, finally left his office. Alex reclined back in his chair and grinned at the absurdity. No way in hell would they get what they wanted, but he had a fair amount of information to pass on to Ma Liu, who would be leaving Shanghai tomorrow on the same boat. No sense in any of them staying if it wasn’t absolutely necessary. A message would be sent out by telegraph to the Communist Youth League in Shanghai to help clean out Alex's apartment and prepare several of his compatriots for leaving the city. They had 12 hours before the ship would disembark.