Chapter 186: The Deaf Old Lady's Life Story 2.0

Zhang Ping'an opened the boxes one by one in the space; among the thirty boxes, most contained silver dollars and silver ingots, while a small portion held antique Yellow Fish.

Two small boxes among them were particularly eye-catching. Zhang Ping'an opened one of them, and—damn, it was actually a transmitter and a small radio set.

"Could this old woman be an Agent?"

Zhang Ping'an flipped through the other box and only then discovered it was filled with photographs and transcripts of radio transmissions.

In the photos, a young version of the Deaf Old Lady stood beside men wearing bald-headed military uniforms; they looked somewhat similar to her, and Zhang Ping'an guessed they were her sons.

There were also many photos of the Deaf Old Lady in her youth wearing a qipao, with a wealthy-looking man by her side. The background was this very Siheyuan, along with a lotus pond; that man was likely the Deaf Old Lady's husband.

At that time, the Deaf Old Lady looked to be no more than thirty, yet she was an exquisite woman; just looking at the photos, one felt she was indescribably noble.

Only then did Zhang Ping'an pick up the translated letters and papers; most were daily correspondence between the Deaf Old Lady and her two sons, and surprisingly, there were also records of the Deaf Old Lady investigating the Yi siblings.

No wonder the Deaf Old Lady could know so many things without ever stepping out of her door. Thinking about it, something felt wrong; these boxes were buried at a depth of at least one meter. Seeing the dates, Zhang Ping'an suddenly realized: the latest ones were all from '53.

There must be a hidden compartment in the Deaf Old Lady's room for storing boxes. Zhang Ping'an had only scanned the floor just now, but this time, scanning the walls, he immediately understood. Sure enough, there was a gap in the wall corner by the head of the bed, covered only by blue bricks, and inside was actually another box.

Zhang Ping'an checked the time; it was already nearly four o'clock. He could only come back tomorrow night, and by the way, make the knockout smoke, which would make searching more convenient then.

Returning home, Zhang Ping'an took a nap, and the day was spent in a state of restless agitation; he was simply too curious.

It was one o'clock in the morning again. Zhang Ping'an provided the Deaf Old Lady with the knockout smoke service, and only ten minutes later did Zhang Ping'an enter the Deaf Old Lady's home.

He poked the Deaf Old Lady with a wooden stick, and seeing no reaction, he carefully took out the box. Opening it, he found Small and Large Yellow Fish, silver dollars, paper currency, and ration coupons, followed by a thick stack of photo albums and yellowed paper.

They were all of the Deaf Old Lady's two sons, from childhood to adulthood. Looking at the degree of wear, it was certain that the Deaf Old Lady often took them out to look at them; there were even water-drop marks on them, presumably from the Deaf Old Lady often crying in secret.

This actually made Zhang Ping'an feel a bit of pity; after all, she was just a mother who had lost her children, though those who are pitiable must have their hateful aspects.

The yellowed papers recorded her sons' network of connections, which included Director Wang from the Street Office and Yang Zhiguo, the Deputy Factory Director of the Rolling Mill; both men had had their lives saved by the Deaf Old Lady's sons.

There were also property deeds and the Deaf Old Lady's own identity information. The Deaf Old Lady's original name was Helongni, born in...

"Forget it, I'll just report her. As for the outcome, it depends on her own fate."

Zhang Ping'an did not frame her. He put the transmitter and radio back in their original places, returned the box to the head of the bed, and didn't touch the contents, taking only all the wealth from the floor as compensation.

The next day, when the Public Security at the Xicheng Branch Bureau were starting their morning shift, they saw a Report Letter on the ground. It detailed the matter of the radio in the Deaf Old Lady's home. No one dared to be negligent; two teams grabbed their gear and headed straight for the Siheyuan.

"Team One, seal off this place; no one is allowed to leave. Team Two, go in and make the arrest."

It was already past eight o'clock. There were only some women chatting in the Siheyuan, as everyone else had gone to work, and they were all stunned by this formation.

The Deaf Old Lady was also caught off guard by this sudden formation, and she felt inexplicably nervous in her heart.

"You, what are you doing? What are you doing?"

"Helongni?"

The Deaf Old Lady's heart jolted. It had been a long time since anyone had called her that, and the sense of unease in her heart grew stronger and stronger.

"Search."

They naturally focused on the places mentioned in the Report Letter. A few gun-butt strikes broke open the blue brick wall, and they took out the box inside, then dug up the radio box.

The Deaf Old Lady's face turned ashen. Although there were no confidential documents regarding the state, the mere possession of a radio and transmitter was impossible to explain.

"Take her away."

"Seal this room. Additionally, conduct a simple investigation of everyone in the courtyard."

"Yes."

The Deaf Old Lady was taken away, and everyone was shocked. Then, the Public Security began questioning the group of women, and everyone pointed to the Yi Zhonghai couple.

"Two of you, go bring Yi Zhonghai and his wife over for questioning. The others, finish taking statements."

"Yes."

After the Public Security dispersed, everyone began to discuss it in a hubbub.

"What's the situation?"

"I don't know." Everyone was completely confused.

"I never thought that Deaf Old Lady was a good person; otherwise, why would the Public Security arrest her? It's just that the Lao Yi family is going to be implicated."

At the Rolling Mill, Yi Zhonghai was taken away directly by two Public Security officers, also looking completely bewildered. He had no idea what was going on.

"What did Lao Yi commit?"

"It shouldn't be a crime. I saw Lao Yi looking completely bewildered when he was taken away."

"Right, Lao Yi is a warm-hearted person; what could he have committed?"

"Lao Jia, you're in the same courtyard as Lao Yi. Lao Yi, he..."

"I don't know either. It's probably just that there's some matter that requires his assistance in the investigation."

Lao Jia also didn't believe Yi Zhonghai could commit a crime; after all, Yi Zhonghai's current life was exactly what he himself dreamed of, so how could he possibly commit a crime?

"Zhang Shu, Zhang Shu, Uncle Yi was taken away, do you know?" Xu Damao ran over in a great hurry.

"What's going on?" Zhang Ping'an asked, knowing the answer.

"I don't know either."

"..."

After getting off work in the evening, everyone was discussing this matter, and Zhang Ping'an was also impatient to know the truth.

Only the two children, Yi Jiabao and Yi Jiabei, looked panicked. Zhang Xiaohua brought the two of them back to the Jia Family.

"It seems it was the Public Security comrades from Xicheng who took the Deaf Old Lady away."

"What kind of crime did this old lady commit that they even had to call the Yi couple over for questioning?"

"San Jie Fu, I'll go over and take a look." Zhang Ping'an couldn't bear to see the pleading look in the two children's eyes, and he himself wanted to know the result.

"Call Lao Liu and Lao Yan to go with you."

"That works too." These two old fogies are, after all, the Managing Officials of the courtyard.

Zhang Ping'an carried the two of them on his bike, speeding all the way, and arrived at the Xicheng Branch Bureau in less than twenty minutes.

"Two brothers, I'll go ask first; you two wait for me here."

"Done." Both of them also knew that Zhang Ping'an's fourth brother-in-law was here.

"Li Ge?"

"You're here to ask about that old woman in your courtyard, right?"

A day's time was enough for Public Security to get to the bottom of everyone in this courtyard; as soon as Zhang Ping'an arrived, he understood.

"Yes, and her godson Yi Zhonghai and his wife; the children in their family were scared quite badly in the courtyard."

"Normally I shouldn't be telling you this, but since you count as one of our own, I'll reveal a little to you: that old woman has a very stubborn mouth and won't admit she's an Agent. Yi Zhonghai and his wife should be fine; once the investigation is clear tomorrow, they'll likely go back."

"Director Wang from your Street Office and Factory Director Yang from your factory are both involved in the case; we still need to interrogate them further to get the specifics," Li Aiguo said in a low voice.

"Alright, I understand. Thanks, Li Ge."

"No problem."