novelslam Chapter 54 Explosive News!
Chapter 54 Explosive News!
The next day was the weekend, the only day off during the week.
Everyone else was resting, except for Second Uncle. While Zhang Chengfei was washing up in front of the pool, Second Uncle was already practicing again in the backyard.
Zhang Chengfei listened intently to the commotion. It turned to Liu Guangqi, who was brushing his teeth beside him, and asked, "Guangqi, your father is beating your brother, why didn't you stop him?"
Liu Guangqi's eyes were sinister: "I tried to persuade him, but it was no use..."
Sha Zhu sat on his doorstep, looking dazed, and asked, "Guang Qi, there are three brothers in your family, why does your father only beat your two younger brothers and not you?"
Zhang Erya, who was reciting her lessons, chimed in, "Because Liu Guangqi is a good student, his father thinks he can become a cadre."
Sha Zhu shook his head: "But he wasn't beaten when he was a child."
"That's true..." Zhang Erya also began to think.
Before she could say anything, Yan Bugui rushed into the courtyard with a newspaper in hand: "Neighbors, neighbors, big news, big news!!"
Everyone immediately crowded around, asking what was written in the newspaper that could make him so excited.
Seeing that he had aroused everyone's curiosity, Yan Bugui became mysterious again, swaying as he walked towards the stone table, newspaper in hand.
Halfway there, Er Ya snatched the newspaper from my hand. Er Ya stared at the headline and read: "The mother insect of the major fire that occurred on September 25, 949, is on the run. We are now appealing to the public for clues."
Anyone who provides information leading to the intersection of lines, etc., will receive a reward of 50. Those who make significant contributions in capturing the female insect, etc., will receive a reward of 200.
He pronounced the few dozen words in a jumbled mess, but everyone still understood him.
The reason is simple: since the founding of the People's Republic of China, there have been too many spies in Beijing.
According to available data, there were over 16,000 spies in Beijing before 1953. Most of these spies were left behind by the CCP, while a small number were sent by Japan, the United States, and other countries.
In the years when everything was in ruins and needed rebuilding, these spies were incredibly arrogant. They were willing to do anything, from bombings to assassinating heads of state.
In response to this situation, the state launched a "suppression of counter-revolutionaries" campaign. Not only were the police mobilized, but also a team of community activists was established at the grassroots level to assist the police in maintaining order and reporting suspicious persons.
Most of these people were women, and they all had bound feet, so they were jokingly called the "Bound Feet Inspection Team." This was the prototype of the later Chaoyang Masses.
Through the combined efforts of the police and the public, a large number of spies were captured. In recent years, most of these spies have gone underground. The police's work against enemy agents has also shifted to in-depth investigation of hidden agents, clearing out remaining ones, and dismantling their networks and intelligence networks.
After Zhang Erya finished reading the newspaper headline, Xu Damao smacked his lips and said, "This spy's name is really interesting."
Yan Bugui's face darkened: "What 'mother worm'? People call it a poisonous scorpion!"
Zhang Erya waved her hand dismissively: "Whether it's a mother worm or a scorpion, they're both bad guys and will be brought to justice!"
That means bringing her to justice... Yan Bugui was about to correct it, but then swallowed it back. Oh well, let her be.
Apart from him, no one else cared whether Zhang Erya was saying "bring them to justice" or "bring them away"; everyone's attention was on the two hundred yuan, no, on the enemy agent.
The crowd huddled around the newspaper, studying it meticulously, afraid of missing a single detail. They were even discussing how to capture the spy.
Just as the discussion was in full swing, Liu Haizhong finished his "workout," tied his belt, and strode in with his feet turned out.
Seeing everyone gathered around Yan Bugui, he asked curiously, "Hey, why are you all surrounding your third uncle? Could it be that your third uncle has become so ruthless that he's forgotten all about our past and is going to treat everyone to a meal?"
Xu Damao chuckled: "Inviting the whole hospital to dinner? You might as well just kill my third uncle."
Yan Jiecheng glared at Xu Damao, then looked at Liu Haizhong and explained that the police had recently solved a major case, but the head of the secret service had fled.
"The newspapers have published arrest warrants and portraits of the secret service chief, calling on everyone to take action!"
Liu Haizhong, who had always been most interested in things that could bring him merit, immediately came over upon hearing this and snatched the newspaper from Yan Bugui's hand to study it:
"Slender build, medium height, sallow complexion, no beard, thin lips, triangular eyes..." He smacked his lips. "These are common features. How can you find someone in a sea of people?"
Zhang Chengfei interjected, "Nephew, you don't understand. Spies need to have an ordinary face so they can better infiltrate the masses."
Sha Zhu nodded: "That makes sense. If a spy is too handsome, like Da Fei, or too ugly, like Zhang Er Ya, then he'll be too conspicuous and easily discovered."
Zhang Erya lunged at him: "You bastard, what did you say? I'll tear your mouth apart!"
After the last battle, Sha Zhu didn't dare to confront Zhang Er Ya head-on. He turned and ran away, shouting as he ran, "Once I catch the spy and make a contribution, I'll report to the organization and have you executed, you old hag."
Zhang Erya was fat and couldn't catch him. Hands on her hips, panting, she said, "You think you can catch spies? Pah!"
While the two of them were chasing and fighting, the other residents of the courtyard had already gathered together to discuss going out into the streets to look for enemy agents, especially a few older women who were particularly enthusiastic.
To be honest, no auntie in their compound has ever been selected for the foot-binding inspection team before. This time, the aunties are really going all out to bring honor to the compound.
But Xu Damao wanted to pour cold water on their enthusiasm: "Catch spies? With your abilities? I'm telling you, if you were so capable, our compound wouldn't have been failing so many times back when spies were rampant."
Auntie Er was displeased: "Xu Damao, who do you think you are? Just wait and see, fortunes change every thirty years."
The three aunties also chimed in, saying that maybe this was the time for their No. 95 courtyard to make its move.
The neighbors were arguing heatedly, but Zhang Chengfei didn't join their discussion. He had important business to attend to today and didn't want to waste time in the yard.
After washing up and carrying his things home, he combed his hair into a handsome style, turned around and left the courtyard, took a bus straight to Wangfujing.
He had been carrying the bicycle ticket in his pocket for a few days, planning to buy a bike over the weekend, partly for convenience in commuting, and partly to boost his mood in the compound.
After buying the car, installing the license plate, and getting the official stamp at the nearby police station, it was already past 11 a.m.
After thinking it over, Zhang Chengfei decided to eat out.
He rode his bicycle back to the restaurant he had been to twice before, located at the intersection of Gulou East Street and Nanluoguxiang. He ordered a large bowl of meat noodles. It was crowded on the weekend, so he shared a table with someone who had ordered rice.
While waiting for the noodles to be served, Zhang Chengfei looked around listlessly, then turned to the man opposite him with interest.
But the man only ordered a bowl of white rice, which is actually quite common. In those days when life was hard, many people would only order a bowl of rice when eating out.
What's strange is that after receiving the rice, this person took out a kettle, poured in light yellow tea, took out some kind of fruit from his pocket, put it in the kettle, and then began to wolf it down.
This is... tea-soaked rice? Zhang Chengfei squinted.