Chapter 86: Explosion Case Appears Again

Inside the gatehouse of the Military Statistics Bureau Beiping Station, Ma San was lying on the windowsill, bored, peering through the frost-covered glass at the pedestrians coming and going in the hutong.

The cold wind whipped up snow flurries that "patted" against the window, making the stuffiness inside feel even heavier, until a hunched figure leading a camel entered his line of sight again, and he suddenly perked up—this person had actually come back!

Ma San's heart skipped a beat, his nerves tightened instantly, and he immediately drew the Box Cannon at his waist, pushed the door open with a "clatter," and rushed out, striding to block the old man's path.

"Hey, you country bumpkin! You've circled this hutong twice now, what exactly are you trying to do?" His tone was sharp, his eyes full of vigilance.

The old man's face was covered in deep wrinkles, his eyes looked somewhat dull, and his voice was as hoarse as if it were covered in a layer of dust: "I am Feng Guoquan's third uncle. His mother said he works at 5 Gongxian Hutong in Si Jiu Cheng, but I've been looking for a long time and haven't found it. Can you help me point the way? His mother sent some local specialties from home and asked me to bring them to him."

Hearing him speak so convincingly, and even getting the Station Chief's name right, Ma San's tone softened slightly, though it still carried suspicion: "Someone like you knows our Station Chief? Where are the things you're bringing? Take them out and let me see."

"They're just some worthless local specialties." The old man said, slowly bending down to unload the large cloth bag tied to the camel's back.

When the bag hit the ground, it made a dull "thud," looking quite heavy.

He added: "Please tell Feng Guoquan that I'm staying at Shili Xiang in Qianmen, my name is Feng Mantang. If there's anything, or anything to send back, just go there and find me. I'll be leaving in three days."

Ma San didn't dare to be negligent now, and hurriedly put on a smiling face: "Just now was for the sake of the station's security, please don't take offense. Rest assured, I will definitely pass on the message. As for the things! I'll take them for now, and when the Station Chief returns, I'll hand them over immediately."

"Good, then thank you." The old man nodded, turned around, and led the camel away, step by step, slowly.

The setting sun stretched his shadow long, disappearing at the end of the hutong.

Ma San carried the cloth bag back into the room, but his heart was pounding: what if this old man really was related to the Station Chief, and later reported him to the Station Chief? His job would be gone.

He couldn't help but untie the bag and peek inside; it was indeed full of local specialties—bright red dates, golden yellow steamed buns, and a large, hard piece of sliced rice cake; it looked perfectly normal.

He casually took a date and popped it into his mouth, grabbed two more and put them in his pocket, and just as he was about to tie the bag back up, he heard hurried footsteps outside the door.

Station Chief Feng walked in, looking travel-worn. Ma San was instantly flustered, hurriedly swallowed the half-chewed date in his mouth, and stepped forward to greet him: "Station Chief! Just now, someone claiming to be your relative came to deliver some things, and said you should go to Shili Xiang in Qianmen to find him when you have time."

Station Chief Feng furrowed his brows and said in a low voice: "Who did he say he was to me?"

"Said he was your second uncle, no! Your third uncle!"

Station Chief Feng's heart gave a violent jolt, his expression changed slightly, and he pressed: "How old did the man look?"

"Looked about fifty!"

"Damn it! This is definitely not good!" Station Chief Feng's heart sank, but he didn't show it on his face, only saying indifferently: "Take the bag to the Technical Division and have them check it. I have something else to do."

Having said that, he didn't wait for Ma San's response, and had already rushed out the door like a rabbit, running toward the entrance of the hutong.

Ma San held the bag, stunned for a few seconds, muttering to himself: "Just a few local specialties, does it really need checking? What a waste of effort!" He walked out of the gatehouse grumpily, heading toward the Technical Division.

But he hadn't taken more than a few steps when a loud noise suddenly tore through the sky—

"Boom!"

Amidst the deafening explosion, flames and thick smoke shot into the sky, and half of the Military Statistics Bureau Beiping Station was instantly blown away.

Brick and tile fragments splattered everywhere like raindrops.

From the ruins, screams began to rise one after another.

In a dilapidated courtyard not far away, a middle-aged man stuffed one hundred Big Ocean into the hands of the old man who had been driving the camel, speaking rapidly: "Forget about your camel, get out of the city immediately; it'll be too late if you're late."

The old man clutched the Big Ocean, his hands trembling. He quickly tucked the money into his chest and took off running, his steps so light that he didn't look at all like the "dull" old man from before.

Seeing the old man run far away, the middle-aged man walked in the opposite direction and soon blended into the crowd.

On the other side, He Yuzhu had suffered quite a bit these past few days.

The truck bumped along the uneven dirt road, and he felt as if his intestines were about to be shaken out of place.

The cold was even more pervasive; the cold wind drilled in through the gaps in the truck cover, piercing his body like fine needles, freezing him until even the joints of his bones ached.

He kept changing his sitting posture, curling into a ball one moment and stretching his legs the next. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, he simply jumped off the truck and ran behind it for a while to get his frozen muscles and bones moving.

Battalion Commander Liu, who was driving, couldn't help but laugh out loud: "If you can't even take this little bit of hardship, what will you do if you become a soldier? When we were fighting back then, we would lie in the snow for hours at a time, unable to move at all. You even have a 'soft seat' to sit on!"

He Yuzhu climbed back onto the truck, panting, rubbing his frozen red hands, and asked with a bitter face: "Battalion Commander Liu, how come this piece-of-junk truck doesn't even have a heater?"

"Since when do military trucks have heaters? Only the sedans the big shots ride in have heaters." Battalion Commander Liu clearly took He Yuzhu for a country bumpkin who didn't know anything.

"Alright! Then where is the next stop? If we keep going like this, my small frame is going to be shaken to pieces."

Battalion Commander Liu smiled mysteriously: "In one more day, our convoy will reach my hometown, Huaian. We'll rest there for a day, and I'll treat you to the most authentic Huaiyang cuisine."

"Rest at your place for a day? That's great!" He Yuzhu instantly perked up, his eyes brightening, "What's good to eat in Huaian? I'm a real foodie."

Battalion Commander Liu counted on his fingers, as if reciting a family treasure: "Huaiyang cuisine is one of the four great culinary traditions. Soft-stewed eel, Pingqiao tofu, crab roe lion's head meatballs, braised dried tofu shreds... I guarantee you'll eat until you want to swallow your own tongue!"

He Yuzhu curled his lip, muttering to himself: the lion's head meatballs might be passable, but the rest are too bland and don't suit his taste. He changed the subject and asked: "Battalion Commander Liu, is your family a big landlord in the local area?"

Battalion Commander Liu shook his head with a smile: "Can't say that. Back when the little devils were causing trouble, the money the family had saved was all looted, leaving only some farmland."

"Besides you, are there any officials in your family?" He Yuzhu asked again.

"I have an older brother who works at the Nanjing Ministry of National Defense. There's also a younger brother at home, about your age, very mischievous; no one can keep him in line."

He Yuzhu endured for another day, until two o'clock in the afternoon, when the truck finally drove into a typical Jiangnan water village.

Residences with white walls and black tiles were lined up along the riverbank, and small stone bridges spanned the flowing water, exuding a simple and elegant charm.

The village was quite large, situated right by the main road.

The group drove the vehicles into the ancestral home of Battalion Commander Liu's family, and as soon as they got off, they were warmly welcomed by the entire Liu family.