Chapter 413: Meeting an Old Acquaintance at the Contact Point

Upon hearing He Yuzhu's words, Wan Ning quickly sat up, still wrapped in the quilt. "Turn your back, you aren't allowed to look!"

"I've already seen everything, what are you still shy about?" He Yuzhu joked.

"You jerk!" Taking advantage of the time He Yuzhu was washing his face, Lin Wanning quickly got out of bed.

Not long after, He Yuzhu raised his eyes to look, and the person before him had already become a stranger, every bit a man in his thirties who had weathered the storms of life.

"Your makeup skills are better than mine!" He Yuzhu praised.

Ten minutes later, the two of them walked out of the East Cross Courtyard together and ran straight into Liu Haizhong.

"Zhuzi!" Liu Haizhong stepped forward enthusiastically to shake hands. "How come I haven't seen you around lately? Have you been away on business?"

"I have indeed been busy lately, leaving early and returning late, so we rarely run into each other," He Yuzhu replied with a smile.

Ever since the people in the courtyard learned that He Yuzhu and He Daqing were both Section Chiefs, the prevailing wind had changed completely.

Except for Jia Zhangshi, who still dared to cause trouble for the He Family despite her lack of self-awareness, all the other families were very polite.

He Yuzhu knew clearly in his heart that it was the same in any era—if you have power and influence, you naturally have many friends; if you have no money and no power, expecting others to respect you is nothing but wishful thinking.

As Liu Haizhong walked outward side-by-side with He Yuzhu, he couldn't help but size up Lin Wanning, his gaze sweeping over her face and figure several times until he finally couldn't hold it in anymore: "Zhuzi, is this a relative of yours?"

He Yuzhu nodded: "A relative from my mother's side, a distant cousin who came from the south and wants to find some work in Si Jiu Cheng. I'm planning to take him to the Military Factory to ask if there are any temporary positions."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the door curtain of the He Family was lifted, and Shen Guizhi walked out. Seeing He Yuzhu with someone, she was just about to open her mouth when He Yuzhu blinked hard at her.

Shen Guizhi understood immediately. Instead of asking who the person beside him was, she changed the subject: "Zhuzi, breakfast is all made, aren't you going to eat?"

"I have something urgent to attend to, there's no time," He Yuzhu said.

Shen Guizhi, however, stared fixedly at Lin Wanning's feet. Those feet were clearly smaller than a man's. These were a woman's feet. She thought to herself, this kid is getting bolder and bolder, actually daring to bring a woman home for the night. This little bastard, when he comes back tonight, let's see if I don't break his legs.

Once they were out of the courtyard gate, He Yuzhu finally breathed a sigh of relief, but for some reason, he still felt as if his mother's eyes were watching him.

He Yuzhu parked the car in front of a breakfast stall on Dian'anmen Neidajie and, imitating the Hong Kong-accented Mandarin of later generations, said: "Miss Lin Fang, buy a few tea eggs!"

"How did you know my name was Lin Fang?" Lin Wanning was startled.

"Because we found your Siqiang's notebook."

Lin Wanning got out of the car, walked to the front of the stall, and turned back to ask: "How many tea eggs should I buy?"

"Buy the whole lot!" He Yuzhu said with a smile.

Lin Wanning looked at him in surprise: "Why buy so many?"

"I'm late, so I'm giving everyone a little perk," He Yuzhu said.

She returned carrying a bamboo basket, which was filled with over fifty tea eggs.

"Where are you going?" He Yuzhu asked.

"Let me help you with the contact! Is that okay? My experience is much better than your disguises." Lin Wanning's tone was light and carried a hint of playfulness.

"You're really bold now," He Yuzhu looked at her with an indescribable expression.

"I believe you can handle everything," Lin Wanning smiled.

He Yuzhu sighed helplessly: "Don't stay in the car later. If they agree, I will come out wearing a blue hat, and you can come find me; if they don't agree, and someone tries to catch you, I will wear a red hat, and you should run as soon as you see it."

Lin Wanning nodded.

Along the way, she would occasionally stuff a peeled tea egg into He Yuzhu's mouth. The car was filled with laughter, like a brief, stolen moment of happiness.

As soon as they arrived at Tian Dan's conference room, He Yuzhu was met with several dissatisfied gazes—clearly, they all thought he had arrived late.

"Leaders, I bought a basket of tea eggs. Those who haven't had breakfast, help yourselves," He Yuzhu said respectfully.

Tian Dan had been about to start scolding him, but upon seeing He Yuzhu's respectful attitude and the basket full of tea eggs, she swallowed her words: "Since this kid bought them, might as well eat them." Only then did the others reach out one after another.

He Yuzhu leaned in close to Tian Dan and lowered his voice: "Sister, come out for a moment, I have something to discuss."

Tian Dan glared at him, but followed him out anyway.

"If you let me and Lin Wanning go to the contact, wouldn't the success rate be higher?" He Yuzhu said straight to the point.

Tian Dan raised her foot to kick him: "Are you looking to die? I just submitted Lin Wanning's death report!"

"If you hadn't submitted it, I wouldn't have felt safe bringing her out," He Yuzhu smiled.

Tian Dan was silent for a moment, then said: "With the two of you there, there's no need to send anyone else into the railway station."

"That's exactly what I meant," He Yuzhu said.

After Tian Dan finished relaying the code, He Yuzhu took a blue knit cap out of his bag and put it on his head.

Qianmen Railway Station.

At five o'clock in the afternoon, the setting sun sank to the west, leaving only a streak of dark red clinging to the horizon.

The steam locomotive puffed out white mist, and the iron wheels clattered against the tracks.

Lin Wanning was still in men's clothing, holding a copy of *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, appearing to flip through it casually, but her eyes were constantly scanning the crowd getting off the train.

He Yuzhu lowered his head to smoke, the smoke obscuring half his face.

The flow of people gradually dispersed, yet no one had approached.

He Yuzhu felt a tightness in his chest and asked in a low voice: "What's going on?"

"An old hand," Lin Wanning cursed under her breath, "checking to see if there's an ambush."

Just as they were speaking, a person dressed as a Daoist priest came running back in a hurry from outside the station, wanting to board the train, but was stopped by a middle-aged man: "Comrade, you've already gotten off, you can't get back on!"

"My bag of dry rations fell on the train!" the Daoist said urgently.

The middle-aged conductor shouted into the train: "Xiao Wang, check if there's a bag of dry rations in carriage number six?"

Before long, a female conductor in her thirties came out carrying a cloth bag.

The Daoist thanked her repeatedly and took the bag.

He Yuzhu and Lin Wanning were walking toward the station exit when the Daoist chased after them from behind: "Sir, you dropped your matches."

Lin Wanning immediately replied: "They are empty."

The three of them slowed their pace, and Lin Wanning began to converse with the Daoist in an extremely low voice.

He Yuzhu followed at a distance, neither too far nor too close, guarding the two of them.

After exiting the station, He Yuzhu scanned the surroundings secretly and discovered that Tian Dan had arranged for over twenty people.

Fortunately, these people had learned from previous lessons and were hiding very discreetly.

Lin Wanning suddenly said to He Yuzhu, "We are going to Baiyun Temple. Bring the car over."

He Yuzhu nodded and quickly drove the car in front of the two of them.

After getting into the car, Lin Wanning questioned, "Zhao Yichen, the telegram said there were two people, why is it just you?"

Zhao Yichen replied, "We haven't been able to contact Major General Hu, so we have to be careful. My senior fellow apprentice got off the train at Fengtai, fearing an ambush." He paused, "Where is Major General Hu now?"

"We just blew up the Power Plant recently, and the Communist Party is searching very strictly. We've also run out of funds, so we can only hide in the mountains," Lin Wanning complained.

"Please arrange for me to meet Major General Hu as soon as possible," Zhao Yichen said.

"Shall I take you to Xishan tomorrow? It's safe there. It's very improper in the city right now," Lin Wanning said.

The two began to chat slowly.

It must be said that if someone else had been the one to make contact today, it would certainly have failed.

This Zhao Yichen was extremely cunning; many of the questions he asked were things even He Yuzhu couldn't answer, but Lin Wanning was too clever and reacted extremely quickly, leaving absolutely no flaws.

As they neared Baiyun Temple, Zhao Yichen said, "My senior fellow apprentice might not return tonight; he may have gone to contact the followers. Let's set a place to meet tomorrow."

"Then what time shall we meet tomorrow?" Lin Wanning asked.

"Ten o'clock in the morning, at the mountain gate of Baiyun Temple," Zhao Yichen said.

He Yuzhu quickly drove the car to the entrance of Baiyun Temple.

Lin Wanning said, "Then we'll head back first, see you tomorrow."

After getting out of the car, Zhao Yichen waved at the two of them and strolled up the steps.

Just as He Yuzhu was about to turn the car around, he felt himself firmly locked onto by a gaze.

He looked up and saw a Daoist in a green robe standing at the temple entrance, his sleeves fluttering slightly in the wind—it was actually the highly skilled Daoist who had urged him "not to commit the sin of killing" at the Niangniang Temple back then.

Why would he be at Baiyun Temple?

The green-robed Daoist must have recognized him; if he were to intervene, this operation would likely go wrong.