Chapter 239: Why Are You Provoking Ma Hansan?

Tongyuan Bookstore.

Yu Zecheng walked in with hurried steps.

"Old Luo, what happened?" he asked in a deep voice.

"Our transport line has run into trouble.

"The third batch of goods this morning was intercepted by the Third Section of the Jinhai Secrecy Bureau before it even entered Fangshan."

Luo Anping said anxiously.

"How much?" Yu Zecheng asked.

"All the stock in the warehouse was loaded up," Luo Anping said.

"What?

"Didn't I tell you to transport it in small, separate batches? Why were you in such a hurry?" Yu Zecheng frowned.

"Zecheng, I didn't want to either.

"Hu Zongnan has been winning consecutive victories, and many comrades over in Yancheng can barely afford rice porridge; they are tightening their belts to the breaking point.

"The shortage of medicine, in particular, means that every injury leads to a loss of personnel.

"Right now, the Soviet transport line through Outer Mongolia in the north has been closed.

"The main routes through Shanbei, Huabei, and Northeast are all guarded by Jiang's various armies. They are stepping up efforts to open the pass in the Northeast, but they've attacked several times and failed to take it.

"The Soviets originally planned to air-drop supplies, but the Americans have made it clear: if Soviet planes enter the airspace, the Americans will send fighter jets and the Seventh Fleet to join the battlefield.

"All transport lines have been tied up.

"The entire Yancheng apparatus is counting on our Jinhai transport line.

"I figured that since this line was safe, I might as well rush this batch of supplies through.

"Who knew the previous trips would be fine.

"Qiao Jiacai and Wang Puchen in Beiping didn't make a move, but the Jinhai Station intercepted it instead."

Luo Anping slapped his palm, explaining with great helplessness.

Yu Zecheng stared at him, intending to criticize him, but seeing his bloodshot eyes, he couldn't help but look up, take a breath, and suppress his emotions.

"Let me think," he blinked.

"If the Secrecy Bureau is carrying out an arrest mission, I would definitely have received word as the deputy station chief.

"The people from the Third Section must have been sent by Li Ya.

"The person who set up the checkpoint is Ma Hansan.

"He took Hong Zhiyou's money; he wouldn't do something so self-contradictory.

"Without a joint operation declaration, it is highly likely that information was leaked privately by Ma Hansan's subordinates."

Yu Zecheng analyzed.

"Leader, what should we do now? The headquarters is in a rush," Luo Anping said.

"I will find a way to redeem the supplies.

"I am worried now that Li Ya is coming for me.

"You need to be prepared to evacuate this spot at any time."

Yu Zecheng gave him a cold look, took silver dollars from his bag, and paid the bookstore bill.

He left the bookstore.

He returned to the station.

Yu Zecheng picked up a newspaper and began tearing it up.

After tearing for a while, he picked up the phone and dialed the General Affairs Section: "Hello, Zhiyou, are you in the office?

"Good."

Hanging up the phone, he went to Hong Zhiyou's office.

He told him about the supplies being seized.

"Sigh, haste makes waste.

"The more things are like this, the more cautious you need to be. Old Yu, you..." Hong Zhiyou didn't even know what to say to him.

Yu Zecheng was also helpless.

Old Luo was just that kind of impatient person; his leadership was effectively useless.

"You say Li Ya was fine, so why did he fixate on the supplies, and even rush to Beiping overnight to intercept them?" Yu Zecheng asked, puzzled.

"That's simple.

"He hasn't given up his thieving heart; he wants to be the deputy station chief."

Hong Zhiyou laughed.

"The problem is, when we were drinking together the day before yesterday, Li Ya kept saying he was completely convinced by me and would do his best to assist me.

"If he's coming for me, he's being too impatient.

"He turns his face faster than turning a page."

Yu Zecheng frowned.

"It happened late last night.

"Hmm... then that must be it.

"Last night, Mei Yingxue went to Li Ya's residence and stayed for quite a while.

"Li Ya was already unconvinced by you, plus there's the matter of Liu Xiong.

"Once Mei Yingxue whispers in his ear, wanting to be the station chief's niece-in-law and become the station chief's confidante, you, the deputy station chief, or even I, become a stumbling block.

"Of course, it's also highly likely she's coming for me.

"I got rid of her own younger brother in Yuezhou.

"Since she can't touch me openly, she's using you as a target to try and drag me into the water,"

Hong Zhiyou poured some fragrant tea and said calmly.

"This woman is truly a Su Daji. The station has only been peaceful for two days, and she's already stirring up trouble!

"If it really comes to it.

"Should I have the elimination squad take action?"

Yu Zecheng frowned.

"Take action?

"Li Ya is madly in love with her right now. If Mei Yingxue is killed right after she advises him to make a move against you, he could figure out it was you with his toes.

"By then, add in the old grudge over Liu Xiong.

"That would be the hatred of killing his wife and father; it's entirely possible he'd rush into your office and shoot you dead."

Hong Zhiyou waved his hand.

"This woman is, after all, the station chief's niece.

"Furthermore, she is a secret contact for the Intelligence Service. Her boyfriend is currently in the International Observation Group. If she dies in Jinhai, at your hands, it will be very troublesome if it's investigated.

"Right now, the Generalissimo is looking everywhere for the foreigners to ask for money.

"If you kill her, the station chief might even be implicated.

"Is it worth it to sacrifice the deputy station chief position you climbed so hard to get because of a woman?"

After a pause, Hong Zhiyou whispered Mei Yingxue's identity.

"Hiss!"

Yu Zecheng gasped: "That is indeed a troublesome matter.

"But if we let her keep stirring things up inside, Li Ya will eventually go blood-blind."

"What are you panicking about?

"She's just a woman; I can handle her!

"Why is she jumping around?

"Isn't it just relying on those hundred pounds of delicate flesh?

"The station chief has always wanted to root out Mei Shao.

"He only spared him because of the Lady's face.

"If Mei Shao had just honestly managed the little business he had, the station chief might have turned a blind eye.

"But now he's jumping around too much.

"The station chief will never tolerate him.

"Moreover, he would never let Li Ya be his niece-in-law.

"When Yuan Peilin was killed, why did he try so hard to protect Li Ya?

"Wasn't it because of the suspicion of a superior, keeping this nail to reassure Jianfeng?

"If Li Ya became his niece-in-law.

"Think about what the Jinhai Station would become?

"A student, a son-in-law, a niece-in-law.

"The Jinhai Station would no longer belong to the Party and State, but would become Old Wu's private property.

"Could Jianfeng, the Ministry of National Defense, and Mao Renfeng allow him to monopolize Jinhai and deceive those above and below?

"So, Li Ya is purely daydreaming.

"Actually, it's not hard to see this clearly."

"It is just that Li Ya is trapped within the situation, and with a beauty bewitching his soul, he cannot see the reality clearly."

Hong Zhiyou analyzed calmly and unhurriedly.

Yu Zecheng nodded repeatedly after hearing this: "Once you put it that way, I see it clearly."

"Why do you think the Station Chief doesn't give Li Ya a hint?"

"Why would he want to? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

"Li Ya's wife is a British spy who stole important Nationalist Army secrets and sabotaged American and British military aid to Jiang; any one of these charges is a capital offense."

"When the time comes, the Station Chief can cut off all ties and hold this leverage over Li Ya."

"Even Jiang Jianfeng won't be able to protect him."

"He will be forced to be the Station Chief's dog for the rest of his life."

"Moreover, he will have to personally eliminate Mei Yingxue."

"What we need to do now is add a little fuel to the fire, making Li Ya start to suspect and deeply hate this woman, so that he will take ruthless action."

"Do you understand?"

Hong Zhiyou guided him.

In the original story, the leverage the Station Chief held over Li Ya was the case of Yuan Peilin's murder.

But now that Li Ya has Jiang Jianfeng as his backer, let alone Yuan Peilin, even if ten Yuan Peilins were dumped in his lap, it wouldn't be Wu Jingzhong's turn to hold leverage over Li Ya.

Things are different now.

A woman like Mei Yingxue, who is stupid enough to wear it on her face, has appeared.

She is both incompetent and loves to show off.

It just happens to play right into Wu Jingzhong's hands.

"Understood, understood." Yu Zecheng sighed with delight.

"Zhiyou, you really are the tapeworm in the Station Chief's belly; everything is crystal clear to you."

He shook his head and laughed.

You think those thirteen playthroughs were for nothing... Hong Zhiyou smiled and raised his cup in a gesture.

Yu Zecheng also raised his cup and took a sip of tea:

"How do you intend to add this fire?"

"Such a fun matter must be played out slowly to be interesting; just wait, Li Ya will be grateful to me sooner or later." Hong Zhiyou blinked and smiled.

"Alright, enough about Li Ya."

"Do me a favor and find Ma Hansan to get the supplies back first," Yu Zecheng said.

"Easy."

Hong Zhiyou snapped his fingers, stood up, and dialed Ma Hansan's number:

"Director Ma, it's me, Zhiyou."

"My cargo had just entered Fangshan when it was hijacked by people from the Third Section of the Jinhai Station. Old brother, I have shown you nothing but sincerity, so you really must put in some effort for this little matter."

"How can you say it has nothing to do with you?"

"The ones who made the arrests were from the Jinhai Station; if it weren't for a leak on your end, they wouldn't have been able to act, and they wouldn't have had to run all the way to Beiping, would they?"

"It is quite obvious that someone at your checkpoint in Fangshan is playing both sides."

"If you don't resolve this, how are we supposed to do business in the future?"

"Yes."

"I trouble you, Lord Ma, to wipe your three eyes clean and see things a bit more clearly."

"I will still be shipping my goods through you."

"This batch of supplies should still be in Beiping; people, supplies, no matter what methods you use, they must be sent out from Fangshan today."

"Good, that is all."

Snap!

Hong Zhiyou hung up the phone.

Yu Zecheng was stunned listening from the side: "No way, brother, that is Ma Hansan; you talk to him like that?"

"W-what if he flies into a rage and turns against you?"

Hong Zhiyou sneered: "No one turns against money."

"Do you know how many benefits I have given Ma Hansan?"

"If he cannot even handle a small matter like this after taking 'nine' and doing 'one' bit of work, he is definitely not a friend of mine, Hong, nor is he someone who truly loves and understands money."

"Since we are not of the same path, there is no need to associate."

"Besides, when I got angry, I was speaking to him from the perspective of money, not official rank."

"That is fair."

"People, sometimes you cannot be too kind, or others will really think you are a fool."

"Just wait."

"In ten minutes at most, your matter will be resolved."

Yu Zecheng nodded: "Fortunately, I am the one who gets things done."

You are the one who causes trouble... Hong Zhiyou stared at him, saying nothing.

Yu Zecheng blinked his eyes, feigning innocence, and found a high-sounding excuse: "My Cuiping is teaching you kung fu, that is true, right?"

"Senior Sister is my Senior Sister; Cuiping is not 'yours'." Hong Zhiyou poked his chest.

Yu Zecheng curled his lips and fell silent.

"Ring-a-ling."

Two minutes later, the phone rang.

"It's me," Hong Zhiyou answered.

"Good, good!"

"Thanks, Director Ma."

"From now on, I won't ship my goods through anyone else; I will only go through you."

"Yes."

"Who else but you is the King of Beiping."

"Let Secretary Liu come over? No need for that."

"Fine, fine."

"Sorry to trouble you, old brother; I will definitely pay a visit another day."

"Goodbye."

Hong Zhiyou hung up the phone with a beaming smile.

"See? Old Ma still loves money and knows how to make friends; he got it done in less than five minutes."

"He has already ordered the goods intercepted by the Third Section to be stopped."

"They are loading them back up to be transported to Fangshan."

"He also arrested everyone at the Fangshan checkpoint and said he would interrogate them one by one; he must ferret out the person who leaked the information to give me an explanation."

"He even sent Liu Yuzhu over to explain in person."

Hong Zhiyou pointed at the telephone.

"Sure enough, there is nothing in this world that money cannot handle," Yu Zecheng smiled, convinced.

"Not exactly."

"The only thing that can defeat money is faith."

"True faith."

"Like my Senior Sister and Zuo Lan; even if you gave her a trainload of greenbacks, she wouldn't sell you out."

Hong Zhiyou still had some self-awareness.

Money can defeat ninety-nine percent of people.

There is one percent that cannot be handled.

"That is true," Yu Zecheng nodded.

Inside the office.

Li Ya's mind was filled with the kiss from last night.

How should he describe that taste?

It was somewhat familiar!

This matter made him feel as if he had swallowed a dead fly.

It was intensely disgusting.

Yet he could not spit it out.

He crossed his legs, his trouser leg lifting to reveal the green cotton socks Mei Yingxue had given him.

Forget it, perhaps he was just overthinking.

Yingxue believes in God.

She wouldn't even let him touch her body, and she had no friends in Jinhai, so where would all these sordid things come from?

It is also possible that he had just been looking at her photo earlier.

During the cleaning, the hands were not handled cleanly.

Therefore, residual odors dispersed.

Hmm, it must be like this.

Having persuaded himself, Li Ya felt a bit better, opened the thick booklet, and picked out a Western-style suit for the wedding.

The suit was picked out.

He had just intended to go to the Station Master's office to talk to Old Wu about this matter when Gao Yuan walked in:

"Captain, it's bad."

"What's wrong?" Li Ya asked.

"That batch of supplies detained by the Third Section in Beiping was snatched away by Ma Hansan's people," Gao Yuan said.

"What?

"Ma Hansan, his dog guts are really too big.

"Did Song Fei and the others reveal their identities?"

Li Ya was so angry that he slammed the booklet hard onto the table.

"They revealed them.

"It would have been better if they hadn't; once they did, they even got slapped a few times.

"Ma Hansan detained the people.

"Now he is naming the Station Master to go and collect the people in person."

Gao Yuan said.

"A bucket of rice who fails more than he succeeds!"

Li Ya felt his teeth itching with hatred.

He had strictly ordered Song Fei last night to escort them back as soon as possible.

This bunch of goods dragged their feet, sometimes saying the car was out of gas, sometimes saying it was foggy and the car couldn't move.

They actually dragged it out until now without even leaving Beiping.

Now it's fine, they've fallen into the hands of the King of Horses.

Never mind him, even if Jiang Jianfeng went to ask for them, he might not be able to get them back!

Ma Hansan would have a hundred legitimate reasons to refuse.

"Captain Li, the Station Master wants you to go to the office," Xiao Guohua walked in and said.

"Alright, Section Chief Xiao," Li Ya squeezed out a smile and said.

He bit the bullet and arrived at the Station Master's office.

Wu Jingzhong was standing with his hands behind his back, waiting with a face full of frost.

As soon as they met, he pointed at Li Ya's nose and demanded:

"Li Ya, what kind of ghost tricks are you playing?

"First thing in the morning, Ma Hansan called, wanting me to compensate him for nearly ten thousand US dollars in supplies.

"Is your brain flooded with water?

"Running to Beiping for no reason to check Ma Hansan's cargo.

"Your hand is stretched too far, isn't it?

"If you want to manage Beiping's affairs so much, I will write a report right now and transfer you to Beiping to serve under Qiao Jiacai and Wang Puchen."

Wu Jingzhong pointed at the telephone, furious.

"Teacher, how did I owe Ma Hansan ten thousand US dollars in supplies?" Li Ya raised his eyebrows and asked with a sidelong glance.

"I'm asking you, did you have the Third Section hijack a batch of supplies in Fangshan?" Wu Jingzhong said.

"Yes.

"But those were supplies being transported to the Red Tickets by someone.

"The cargo was shipped from Jinhai.

"What does it have to do with Ma Hansan?"

Li Ya said unhappily.

"Do you have evidence?

"Who is it?

"Which company shipped it, and who is colluding with the Red Tickets to smuggle?

"You find the people, and I will go to Beiping right now to confront Ma Hansan."

Wu Jingzhong kept one hand behind his back and pointed at him.

"Evidence... I haven't found it yet.

"Originally, by detaining this batch of supplies and the people transporting them, and bringing them back to investigate and interrogate, it was possible to find a lead.

"But that damn Ma Hansan ruined my big plan."

Li Ya said with dissatisfaction.

"The problem lies right here.

"You have no evidence.

"But Ma Hansan listed a pile of evidence, saying it was military supplies he purchased from Jinhai to transport to Sun Lianzhong, and now he seriously suspects you are a Red Ticket element, deliberately sabotaging the supplies of the Eleventh Group Army.

"How do you expect me to answer?"

Wu Jingzhong said, annoyed.

"That son of a bitch Ma Hansan!

"His military supplies purchased in Jinhai, instead of being shipped directly from Jinhai to Baoding, were specially taken on a detour through Beiping, out of Fangshan, and then to Baoding; this is three or four times the transport distance, and it even has to pass through some Red Ticket defense zones.

"Isn't he sick?"

Li Ya felt it was absurd.

"I don't know if Ma Hansan is sick, but you are definitely sick.

"Running to Beiping to check supplies, why didn't you report it?

"Who is bad to provoke, you just had to go and provoke that old rascal of the Juntong Bureau.

"Ma Hansan doesn't care if you are reasonable; can you reason with him?

"Now he insists that the date was delayed, and because of the heavy fog last night, a lot of the grain and rice got damp and no longer meets the requirements for military supplies, so it must be repurchased.

"He is naming you to pay this money; what do you say we should do?

"Why don't you go ask Jiang Jianfeng for it?"

Wu Jingzhong directly pointed out a "bright path" for him.

I'll be damned... Li Ya really had reason but couldn't explain it clearly; he even had the thought of shooting a sneak attack.

Last time, when Hong Zhiyou was transporting grain to the Zhangyuan Pacification Office for Fu Zuoyi, he hijacked a batch, and Zhang Qun pointed at his nose and called him a Red Ticket.

That was the strategist most trusted by the Chairman.

Because of this, Jiang Jianfeng ignored him for a long time.

Now it's hijacking military supplies again.

If not resolved properly, even if he isn't a Red Ticket, he will become one.

Damn it.

When a person is down on their luck, even drinking cold water makes their teeth ache.

A perfectly good matter has been botched again.

Ten thousand US dollars.

He just bought a house; where is he going to scrape together so much money?

"Teacher.

"You have to help me." Li Ya looked at Wu Jingzhong for help.

"How can I help you?

"Who in the entire Secret Service Bureau doesn't know that I am at odds with Ma Hansan?

"Back then, regarding the Beiping Chamber of Commerce matter, I intercepted his deal from Boss Dai, and Ma Hansan ran straight to Jinhai to settle the score with me.

"And the Double Tenth matter, I ruined his plan with Li Zongren.

"Ma Hansan has secretly made harsh threats: either he goes or I go.

"How do you expect me to open my mouth?

"You solve the mess you created yourself.

"I warn you, it's not about the ten thousand US dollars now; you had better think carefully about how to make Ma Hansan comfortably accept this ten thousand US dollars so he doesn't go to the Ministry of National Defense to report you."

Wu Jingzhong flicked his hand, turned around, and stopped paying attention to him.

(End of chapter)