Chapter 299: Old Xie

Li Ya is Deep Sea.

The repeated leaks of intelligence from the Jinhai Station, including the sensational murder of Yuan Peilin and Mao Wanli's failed assassination attempt on Lin Tai, could all be explained now.

Shang Bo felt as if he had discovered a new world, his heart filled with wild joy.

Li Ya is a Colonel and the captain of the Jinhai Station's Action Team.

Such news was undoubtedly explosive.

"Good thing I acted in time and bought the intelligence from Old Wolf.

"If it had fallen into the hands of Xie Ruo, I would have lost a massive fortune for nothing."

Thinking of this, Old Shang began to worry again.

How could he sell it for a good price?

Judging from his past dealings with Li Ya, the man wasn't exactly flush with cash, so he probably couldn't pay much.

Then he would sell it to his rival.

For instance, Lu Qiaoshan.

Or perhaps Hong Zhiyou?

"Seeing Hong Zhiyou would likely mean going through Old Xie.

"Better to check the waters with Lu Qiaoshan first.

"See if that guy has plenty of silver in his pockets; if not, it won't be too late to find Hong Zhiyou.

"If no one else wants it, I'll sell it to the Dangtong Bureau.

"One way or another, I have to make a profit."

Shang Bo's mind raced, and he already had a plan.

He was in no rush to contact Sheng Xiang.

With that loose-lipped Old Wolf, he must have sold him out long ago.

Sheng Xiang would come knocking sooner or later.

Good things are worth the wait.

He had to keep his cool and make a damn fortune.

……

Evening.

After returning to his villa and enjoying a refreshing shower, Xie Ruo immediately called Sheng Xiang.

"Old Xie, you're fast," Sheng Xiang laughed.

"It's a must.

"I used a Ministry of National Defense plane to go back and forth.

"When it comes to intelligence, I, I am a professional.

"What I offer is high... high efficiency and integrity; how else would I have built this golden reputation?" Xie Ruo said, shaking his still-damp hair.

"If the Nationalist government used people as diligent as you, there's nothing they couldn't accomplish.

"Of course.

"There was no need to rush like that; two or three days would have been fine."

To drive the price down, Sheng Xiang said with an indifferent expression.

"Fine, then I'll hold onto it for now? I'm sleepy anyway, you can go back." Xie Ruo wasn't going to indulge him.

"You, you're too cunning."

Sheng Xiang pointed at him and laughed:

"Where's the goods?"

Trying to play tricks on me... Xie Ruo took several documents out of his leather bag and handed them over: "Inspect the goods."

Sheng Xiang opened them and couldn't help but frown.

This was an appointment letter signed by He Yingqin, Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Minister of National Defense.

Okamura Yasuji was secretly hired as a senior military advisor to the Ministry of National Defense.

The date... June 13, 1946.

It bore the seals of He Yingqin and the Ministry of National Defense.

No wonder the Far East Military Tribunal had failed to summon him several times; this notorious war criminal had actually become a military advisor to the Nationalist government as early as last June.

Clearly, the Old Man had been preparing for civil war for a long time.

The second document showed that during the Second Battle of Siping, Sakata Hideo, a commander of the former Japanese 26th Division under Okamura Yasuji, had led a prisoner-of-war unit of over three thousand men to participate in the fighting.

The third document detailed Okamura Yasuji traveling to Xuzhou to secretly direct operations.

The fourth consisted of photographs and reports from various gatherings where Okamura had previously visited key officials and generals in Jinling to peddle his "Anti-Communist Guide."

Every single one was extremely important.

Sigh!

"The Nationalist Army is incompetent!"

As an old Juntong agent from Luojiawan, Sheng Xiang felt a brief moment of disgust before returning to his mercenary smile.

"How about it? Are these the real deal? All leaked from the Ministry of National Defense.

"This appointment letter from last year is the original!"

Xie Ruo said, lifting his chin triumphantly.

"You are indeed a professional.

"But this stuff is too expensive; I can't make the call. I need to make a phone call."

Sheng Xiang didn't even have to think to know that the silver in his pocket was likely just a drop in the bucket.

Lu Qiaoshan also lived on Guilin Road.

After confirming the price over the phone, Sheng Xiang went to retrieve five gold bars, and the deal was closed on the spot.

"Sheng Xiang.

"I'm curious, why does your Director Lu want intelligence on Okamura?

"This is the kind of thing the Reds are interested in."

After taking the money, Xie Ruo deliberately expressed his confusion.

"I'm just an errand boy. If you ask me, who am I supposed to ask?"

Sheng Xiang, having gained no personal benefit, said unhappily.

He took the intelligence and left in a huff.

Xie Ruo watched him, curled his lip, and shook his head in disdain.

Immediately, he picked up the phone and dialed a number:

"Hello, did the intelligence reach Old Shang?

"I deliberately hid for a day to give him plenty of time; if he still hasn't received it, he's truly useless.

"Old Shang took it, right?

"Good, I understand."

Hanging up the phone, Xie Ruo tapped the gold bars with a clink, lit a cigar, and began to smoke with great satisfaction.

He hadn't even finished the cigar.

The butler walked in: "Sir, a gentleman named Li Ya is here to see you."

"Let him in," Xie Ruo said.

"Old Xie, this villa is quite something.

"The benefits at the Dangtong Bureau really are good."

Li Ya looked around and exclaimed in admiration.

"It has nothing to do with the Dangtong Bureau; it's from... from small business profits," Xie Ruo said.

"These days, there isn't a house you can't buy with a truckload of white sugar.

"If there is, then... then two truckloads.

"Captain Li, don't, don't you think?"

Xie Ruo raised an eyebrow and smiled.

At the mention of white sugar, Li Ya's heart bled.

Back then, Xie Ruo had dumped two truckloads of white sugar on him, but because he couldn't keep his hands out of things and had to meddle in Yu Zecheng's affairs, it all ended up confiscated by the Civil Affairs Bureau.

Otherwise, he wouldn't be in such debt now.

"Let's not talk about the white sugar.

"I came to see you today for something else," Li Ya said.

"If you're asking about the medicine batch numbers, I, I can't help you with that.

"It's the black market, after all; all sorts of people are involved, and some aren't very bright, so mistakes are inevitable.

"If you want to make money without taking any risks, that's... that's impossible."

Xie Ruo explained.

"I know.

"That's why I haven't come to cause you trouble; I can still understand that much.

"I came to see you today about another matter."

"You received a document from Shang Bo, dug out from Ansai by Han Jien, which included an obituary for Chen Qiuping of the Sixth Section of the Border Defense Bureau.

"There was also a top-secret document stating that Chen Qiuping went to Jinhai to provide cover for Emeifeng, working under the guise of being husband and wife.

"You were the one who received it, right?"

Li Ya asked.

"Hey, I bought it from old Shang, and then he turned around and sold it to you; there is simply no integrity to speak of," Xie Ruo said, looking very annoyed.

"So it seems it is in your hands then?" Li Ya asked, overjoyed.

"Sorry, Captain Li, you are a step too late; it has already been bought... bought away," Xie Ruo shook his head and said.

"Bought away? Who by?" Li Ya frowned and asked.

"Apologies.

"Captain Li, doing, doing business requires integrity.

"I cannot betray a client; that, that would be an insult to my profession and my character!"

Xie Ruo sneered.

"But what if I tell you that this very likely involves an important Red Ticket?

"I have reason to suspect you of concealing a ticket or harboring a Red Ticket.

"Old Xie, we are friends; don't force me to do something unfriendly."

Li Ya's face turned cold, and he said with displeasure.

"Stop trying to sc... scare me.

"Do you know how many people eat from this pot?

"Every trade has its own rules.

"If you go around smashing people's rice bowls like this, they will take your life.

"Besides, you are from the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, and I am from the Party Investigation Bureau; if you want to say I am trafficking tickets, unless you bring out ironclad evidence, even if Mao Renfeng were to point the finger himself, our Director Ye would not acknowledge it.

"Or, you can go to the Second Department of the Ministry of National Defense or a military tribunal to sue me.

"I, I am easy; I will accept either.

"But the customer is paramount; betraying them... is absolutely impossible."

Xie Ruo waved his finger with utter disdain.

"You!" Li Ya's hand, hidden in his pocket, tightened; he wanted to hit someone.

"Captain Li.

"Think about it, if you bought something from me, and I turned around and told someone else, would, would you be happy?

"Put yourself in my shoes; it's a small business.

"I ask for your understanding."

Xie Ruo smiled.

"Hmph!

"Is it Yu Zecheng?" he asked.

"No, no comment; Chen Zhangjie, Commander Fang, Sun Chuanzhi, feel free to guess," Xie Ruo said.

"I am very curious.

"How did you determine it was Yu Zecheng?

"Was, was his name found on it?"

Xie Ruo asked again.

"I know you are very close to him; let me give you a word of advice: you had better be careful," Li Ya pointed at him and said.

"Don't say it like that.

"As long as there is business, I am close to everyone.

"That includes Red Tickets too.

"I'll say it again: if you want to report me, feel free.

"As long as you still need intelligence and are willing to trade with me, we are still good friends, we are... we are brothers."

Xie Ruo laughed dryly.

"You really have eyes only for money."

Li Ya found such a scoundrel incomprehensible and stood up in frustration.

"I have two truckloads of white sugar here; do you want them?" Xie Ruo shouted.

Li Ya stopped abruptly: "What is the price?"

"Tch!

"Look, aren't we the same kind of people after all?

"Why the pretense?"

Xie Ruo waved his hand and smiled contemptuously.

"You!" Li Ya only then realized he had been played; he was so angry his eyes widened and his jaw tightened.

"In a couple of days, the American military is shipping a batch of white sugar from Southeast Asia.

"The price isn't cheap.

"But I suggest you don't buy it; first, the price is high, and second, the situation is unstable.

"Many wealthy people have already run away.

"This stuff is easy to buy but hard to offload.

"Right, for the common people, salt is a necessity; as for sugar, it's not necessarily easy to sell."

After disgusting him, Xie Ruo returned to the main topic.

"Can't we use the old rules?

"Pay a deposit first, and split the money after it's sold," Li Ya said.

"Heh, Captain Li, things aren't like they used to be; everyone is scrambling for white sugar.

"With that little deposit of yours, who takes the loss if it goes south?

"White sugar is hard to store; if it gets rained on or baked by the sun, it could be ruined.

"If you want to buy, you have to pay at least seventy percent upfront.

"The only thing I can do is sell it to you as cheaply as possible."

Xie Ruo said.

"I'll think about it.

"About the intelligence..."

Li Ya was still not giving up.

"No... no deal," Xie Ruo smiled.

Li Ya's face darkened, and he walked out.

Returning home.

Li Ya sat by the bed and began to ponder.

Without the original document, he had no concrete evidence to arrest Yu Zecheng.

It seemed he would still have to start with that stupid wife of Yu's.

He counted his money again.

There wasn't much left.

The investigation was not going smoothly.

He couldn't buy the white sugar either.

So annoying!

In his irritation, he took a stack of photos from under his pillow.

These were taken with Mei Yingxue before.

There were many styles.

Very charming.

This woman was certainly hateful.

But it had to be said that in some aspects, she had given him an unforgettable experience.

Even though he had found various girls outside later, none were ever like Miss Mei.

Thinking of this, he opened the cabinet and took out the clothes Yingxue had left behind...

In the evening.

Yu Zecheng returned home, exhausted.

Cuiping had made something very simple.

A plate of stir-fried green peppers with eggs, a plate of sausage, and a dish of pickled vegetables.

Served with steamed buns and millet porridge.

"Good things on the market are hard to grab now.

"I went for grain today; many women were dragging their families along, and they were all crying because they couldn't buy any.

"Do you know how they are selling it?"

"Those with US dollars or gold get priority; they can buy ready-made goods without waiting in line.

"If you don't have gold, silver dollars work too.

"As for those carrying sacks of fiat currency, they don't chase you away, they just let you stand in line.

"That line can stretch for two miles.

"And that's not even the worst of it; they constantly shout that they're out of grain, just to wear people down on purpose.

"Some people have waited for three days and still haven't bought any grain.

"Sigh, if things go on like this, the common folk won't even have thin gruel to drink, yet we have steamed buns at every meal and several bags of flour stored at home; just thinking about it makes me feel terrible."

Wang Cuiping handed him the chopsticks, sat down, and said.

"They are grabbing able-bodied men everywhere in the country, and there's no one left to farm the fields.

"So many people need to eat.

"Right now, grain relies entirely on aid and imports, and the Nationalist Government prioritizes supplies for the troops and the government; it's hard for the common people.

"But this isn't something you or I can change.

"Don't feel bad either.

"Once we finish our mission and the red flag is planted all over the country, everyone will live in peace and work in contentment, the common people will all have land to farm, and once we get industry going, things will slowly get better."

Yu Zecheng looked at her with a gentle gaze to comfort her.

"Can I take two bags of flour to the orphanage tomorrow?

"Yesterday, I saw the female director over on Kunlun Road leading the children in a charity performance to raise grain and clothing donations for the kids, and I noticed the little ones were terribly thin.

"How about..."

Wang Cuiping said.

Yu Zecheng rolled up his sleeves and watched her without blinking.

Wang Cuiping was kind-hearted and had many shining qualities.

But she didn't know that the female orphanage director had two luxury mansions on Changde Road and frequently frequented clubs, where she could lose thousands of US dollars in a single card game.

If this grain were thrown her way, who knows where she would end up dumping it.

"Fine, take two more bags.

"When it comes to seizing things, no one can outdo the Secret Service Bureau.

"The warehouse at the station has so much rice and wheat that it's almost molding; send it over, and I'll requisition more later."

Yu Zecheng didn't want to tell her too much about the sordid details.

According to what Hong Zhiyou said, if things keep going like this, it should be liberated in another year or two.

Since Wang Cuiping's kindness didn't fit in with this old society, let it be saved for the new era to shine.

"Thank you." Wang Cuiping was overjoyed.

"Old Yu, you say my junior fellow apprentice is so capable, why not have him get some grain to relieve those commoners? Even selling it cheaper would be fine."

While eating, she asked again.

"If Hong Zhiyou really did that, he wouldn't be far from death.

"No one could protect him, including the Station Chief and the Americans."

Yu Zecheng stopped his chopsticks and answered very seriously.

"Why?" Wang Cuiping was puzzled.

"It's not just as simple as providing relief.

"There is business involved.

"Many people are counting on this to get rich.

"Hong Zhiyou can be like a fish in water not because his background is strong, but because these people get a slice of the cake from him, so they don't touch him.

"But when it involves people's livelihoods, even Jiang Jianfeng can't handle it.

"If he gets dragged into that, it's a 'death' sentence.

"Just wait, everything will get better, soon."

Yu Zecheng couldn't explain it too deeply and could only say it this way.

"Alright.

"So having money doesn't necessarily mean you can get things done." Wang Cuiping lowered her head and muttered.

After Yu Zecheng finished eating, he brought over a bowl.

Then he took out the materials bought from Xie Ruo and lit a match to burn them.

"What is written on this?" Wang Cuiping asked.

"It's about the transportation lines," Yu Zecheng said.

"Do you have a younger sister?" he turned and asked.

"Yes.

"My sister is almost a carbon copy of me, she's very pretty, a good shot, and educated; she's very capable as a cadre in the Border Region Security, and just like you, she can write reports and send telegrams.

"If you were to work with her, you'd definitely like her."

At the mention of her sister, Wang Cuiping's face was full of joy.

Looking at Wang Cuiping's proud smile, Yu Zecheng felt an inexplicable pain in his heart.

He wanted to tell her about Chen Cuiping's accident.

But the words reached his lips and he forcibly swallowed them back.

Wang Cuiping was not good at hiding her emotions; according to Hong Zhiyou's speculation, it was highly likely that Li Ya knew the contents of this intelligence from Shang Bo, and in the future, Wang Cuiping would very likely be Li Ya's breakthrough point.

Telling her now, once Wang Cuiping's emotions became unstable, it was highly likely that Li Ya would see through the clues.

"A carbon copy of you, hmm, then she must be pretty." Yu Zecheng took a slight breath and smiled.

"Annoying.

"My sister is really pretty; her mouth is smaller than mine, and her eyes are bigger than mine.

"Just like Zuo Lan..."

As Wang Cuiping spoke, she subconsciously pursed her lips and swallowed the rest of her words.

This one sentence instantly made Yu Zecheng worried.

That's right.

Zuo Lan was also in the Border Region.

These past few days, he had been trying to find out about Zuo Lan through Old Luo.

It's just a pity that there has been no news at all.

He didn't know if she had safely evacuated Yancheng with the organization's organs during Hu Zongnan's carpet bombing.

Guilin Road, Lu Residence.

Sheng Xiang handed the document to Lu Qiaoshan.

Lu Qiaoshan flipped through it, a sneer appearing at the corner of his mouth:

"Li Ya really did get on the train to meet Okamura Yasuji.

"Meeting the Japanese devils.

"Even General Zheng has to steer clear of them, yet he has quite the nerve."

This time coming to Jinhai, Zheng Jiemin had originally given him a secret mission, but he hadn't gone into detail until he left.

Thinking about it now, it was highly likely to be accompanying the meeting with Okamura.

But obviously, to avoid suspicion, General Zheng abandoned this idea.

Li Ya dared to defy the world.

Very good.

Let's see how Jiang Jianfeng protects him this time!

"Good work, go back and get some rest." Lu Qiaoshan fished fifty US dollars out of his pocket as a tip and handed it to him.

Even a mosquito's leg is meat... Sheng Xiang took it and stuffed it into his pocket.

"Brother Shan.

"I heard some important intelligence on the black market today.

"Deep Sea has been exposed.

"Someone in Yancheng dug up materials that the Red Party headquarters' confidential organ didn't have time to destroy.

"Among them was a telegram sent by Line One to Deep Sea."

Sheng Xiang said.

"Deep Sea?" Lu Qiaoshan immediately perked up.

This person was very mysterious.

Some said he was hidden in the Secret Service Bureau, others said he was in the Party Affairs Investigation Bureau; opinions varied.

But what was certain was that this person must be in Jinhai.

He was an underground spy that the headquarters' various organs were focusing on capturing.

If he could catch him, General Zheng would surely be overjoyed.

"Are you sure?" Lu Qiaoshan asked.

"Sure."

Sheng Xiang nodded.

"Shang Bo spent ten gold bars to buy it; for a wily old fox like him, he wouldn't place such a heavy bet unless it were important intelligence," he added.

"Bought for ten gold bars.

"According to market rates, it should be worth at least fifteen gold bars.

"The Station Chief refuses to sponsor it, so this money is hard to come by."

Lu Qiao frowned.

"How about we borrow it from Secretary Hong first?

"Once we shake down a few wealthy households later, won't it all come back?"

Sheng Xiang suggested.

"Hmm.

"I will call Hong Zhiyou right now; no matter what, we must obtain the intelligence on Deep Sea."

Lu Qiao said.

"Hello, Zhiyou, are you free right now?

"If it's convenient, come over to my place.

"Yes, right now.

"Alright, goodbye."

(End of chapter)