Chapter 429: The Stubborn Donkey He Yuzhu

Late at night, the Municipal Bureau Telecommunications Division was brightly lit, the dim, yellow light shining on everyone's weary faces.

Zhou Hao was indeed a very good overseer, looking at this person for a moment and that person for a moment, terrified that someone might be slacking off.

Zhai Tao was repeatedly comparing and marking up a draft paper filled with numbers.

Among the 432 sets of numbers Zhai Tao had planned, they had only managed to arduously match fewer than 100 sets.

One comrade truly could not hold on any longer, their head hitting the desk with a "thud," only to lift it up immediately and continue working.

Zhai Tao took off his glasses, rubbed his sore, red eyes hard, and said, "Comrade Xiao Zhou, you see it too; to fully decipher this, we need at least another thirty hours—and that is assuming the time and location have no special encryption. Considering all factors, it will take at least three days. Actually, Section Chief Tian consulted me about this before, and I support her going out to find someone."

Zhou Hao felt bitter inside, as if a ball of cotton were stuffed in his chest, and he could not speak for a long time.

He had originally thought Tian Dan was only bypassing the Telecommunications Division to find He Yuzhu; now it seemed this woman's connections within the bureau were far deeper than he had imagined.

Relying on Deputy Bureau Chief Zuo, he might not truly be able to topple her. What to do? He could only think of underhanded tricks.

Thinking of this, he simply decided to do a favor, his voice softening a bit: "Since everyone is exhausted, let's sleep for a few hours first. Sharpening the axe will not delay the woodcutting."

Zhai Tao could not fathom what this moody young man was thinking, but he was happy to go along with the suggestion, "Thank you for your consideration, Comrade Xiao Zhou. Let's rest for a while, then continue when we wake up..."

Zhou Hao also returned to his office; he did not turn on the light, quickly pushing several wooden chairs together to hastily rig up a temporary bed, lying down fully clothed, his eyes staring fixedly at the ceiling, his gaze flickering in the dimness.

Early morning, No. 95 Siheyuan.

The fragrance of food wafted from the East Cross Courtyard.

He Yuzhu had been busy in the kitchen for a long time, simmering century egg and lean meat porridge, pan-frying zucchini pancakes, and slicing some homemade braised meat, before going to wake up Tian Dan and Lin Wanning, who were sleeping in the guest room.

Tian Dan walked out rubbing her eyes, and upon seeing the sumptuous breakfast on the table, her eyes lit up: "I just love century egg porridge, thank you!"

As He Yuzhu ladled porridge for her, he asked, "Dan, what are the plans for today?"

"I must return to the bureau to preside over a meeting." Tian Dan took the porridge bowl, the steam misting her face.

He Yuzhu smiled, picked up a piece of pancake for his own bowl, and said, "Then I'll wait for your news. You don't need to worry; even if it's just me alone, I can catch those people."

Tian Dan nodded without saying more, finished her meal, grabbed her coat, and hurried away.

About two hours later, the telephone in the room rang abruptly.

He Yuzhu picked it up: "Dan, when do we start the operation!"

On the other end of the line, Tian Dan was silent for a few seconds before speaking somewhat apologetically: "Zhuzi, the situation has changed. Deputy Bureau Chief Zuo suddenly took personal command, ordering me to supervise the work of the Telecommunications Division... and letting Zhou Hao be responsible for directing the arrest operation."

He Yuzhu's mouth twitched, and he let out a long sigh: "This is the moment when the map is unrolled and the Dagger is revealed; you might not last long in this position!"

"What do you suggest?" A rare hesitation showed in Tian Dan's voice.

He Yuzhu gritted his teeth and said decisively: "Dan, I want to give this credit to Li Xiangxiu. She was transferred to the Dewai Police Station a few days ago; I will use the station's people to arrest these individuals. You just don't mention that we have already deciphered the code."

"The police station has no authority to arrest enemy agents!" Tian Dan said hurriedly.

"Then arrest them as a theft case; in any case, I just don't want those people who are eager for quick success to get the benefits!" He Yuzhu became stubborn, his tone carrying a sense of not caring about the consequences.

"Why don't we just hand the intelligence over to the bureau! At least you would still have the credit for the deciphering!" Tian Dan still wanted to persuade him.

He Yuzhu mocked: "I am a person who can do everything, except compromise—especially the kind of compromise where someone attacks my door and I still have to greet them with a smiling face."

Tian Dan sighed and said, "Fine, I'm coming to find you now."

"Don't come find me, go straight to the Dewai Police Station!" He Yuzhu said.

"You really are a stubborn donkey!" Tian Dan scolded on the other end of the line.

"That's just how I am. Whoever makes me uncomfortable, I make them even more uncomfortable." He Yuzhu hung up the phone, feeling somewhat unhappy, pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and smoked in silence.

Lin Wanning walked out from the inner room, looked at his smoke-shrouded silhouette, and laughed, scolding: "You, sometimes your heart is very big, and sometimes you are incredibly petty!"

He Yuzhu exhaled a smoke ring and said, "You don't understand; there are people in the bureau who want to scheme against her, and they also want to scheme against me."

Dewai Police Station, Deputy Station Chief's office.

The office was not large, but it was kept very tidy.

Li Xiangxiu handed a cup of freshly brewed hot tea to He Yuzhu, the tea leaves slowly unfurling in the cup: "Busy man He, coming over early in the morning, there must be some urgent matter!"

"Can't I just come to chat with you?" He Yuzhu took the teacup and joked.

"With so many female confidantes around you, when would you have time to chat with me?" Li Xiangxiu laughed and sat down behind the desk.

He Yuzhu only then realized that Li Xiangxiu had long since shed the naivety of the past; in her speech and manner, although peaceful, there was a dignity that could not be ignored.

"Xiangxiu has grown up!" He Yuzhu praised sincerely.

"I was already three years older than you; I just looked young because I was too thin in my early years." Li Xiangxiu smiled slightly and went straight to the point, "Tell me, what is it exactly?"

He Yuzhu told the whole story from beginning to end, his words full of anger and indignation.

After listening, Li Xiangxiu's expression showed no great ripples.

She pulled open a drawer, took out a notebook, unscrewed her fountain pen, and said while writing: "This matter can be handled this way: the place you mentioned earlier did indeed have people report that suspicious individuals were frequently entering and exiting that warehouse... I will write a report to Section Chief Tian now... You have Section Chief Tian give me a receipt... If possible, it would be best to send a few people over, and I will have a word with Lao Zhou... This way, the procedure will be smooth, no one will be able to pick out any faults, and those who want to snatch the credit won't have a way to bite."

He Yuzhu listened and felt secretly impressed.

This Li Xiangxiu was only twenty years old, yet she could handle matters so thoroughly, taking care of every aspect.

"Can your station chief agree? Lao Zhou over there also needs to be notified, right!" He Yuzhu still had some concerns.

"Don't worry, I've worked in this system for a few years now; I will arrange this matter so that no one can find fault with it. You hurry and take the report to Section Chief Tian, then bring the receipt back to me."

"No need to go find her, she's coming over right away." No sooner had He Yuzhu finished speaking than he heard footsteps outside.

Tian Dan pushed the door open, covered in sweat; Li Xiangxiu stood up to greet her, sat her down, poured her a glass of water, and then clearly explained her method for handling the matter.

After listening, Tian Dan was silent for a long while, then smiled bitterly: "Xiangxiu, how about I give you this position and I'll be your assistant instead."

Li Xiangxiu smiled and waved her hand: "Our environments for growing up were different; if I didn't have some wits, I would be eaten without a scrap left by others."

The two of them huddled together, whispering about many detailed issues, and also notified Lao Zhou about the matter.

Tian Dan walked to a corner of the office, dialed the phone, and summoned her three trusted subordinates.

Evening, outside Deshengmen, Fengyi Warehouse.

He Yuzhu led ten plainclothes officers, already lying in ambush in the weeds near the warehouse.

Everyone's gaze was firmly locked onto that closed, mottled iron door.