"The mutton today is good." Cheng Qianfan picked up the handkerchief and wiped the corners of his mouth. The white handkerchief was stained with oil and was thrown on the table by Xiao Cheng.
"It's indeed delicious." Hao Zai put down the big bone that he had chewed cleanly, wiped his mouth, and said with a smile.
Then he opened the door of the private room and walked out.
After a while, Hao Zai's voice came from downstairs, "Where are you, go and clean up yourself and serve a pot of good tea."
"Okay, let's go now." The waiter downstairs agreed quickly.
Xiao Cheng always wanted to serve the distinguished guests who could not afford to offend him, so he had to serve him well. However, Xiao Cheng always didn't like people waiting outside the private room, so the owner arranged for a smart boy to be on the ground floor at all times.
Soon, a pot of fine West Lake Longjing was brought up.
"Go down." Hao Zai took the teapot and waved his hand to drive the young man away.
After the footsteps went away, Hao Zai gently opened the door and took a look to make sure no one was eavesdropping outside, and then closed the door.
…
"Brother Fan, there is no one here." Hao Zai said. He just went out, ostensibly to call for tea, but in fact he carefully checked the surroundings to make sure there was no suspicious person.
"What did you find?" Cheng Qianfan asked.
"Zhao Changgeng is a native of Wenzhou, Zhejiang. He came to Shanghai three years ago and is the deputy manager of Pison & Company. He has two sons and a daughter at home," Hao Tsai said.
"What else?" Cheng Qianfan nodded, took a sip of tea and asked.
What Hao Zai said are superficial facts that are easy to check. If Hao Zai only found these, he would be disappointed.
"My subordinates also discovered something very interesting." Hao Zai said.
"Tell me about it." Cheng Qianfan glanced at the street downstairs and saw Yuan Kaizhou's car passing by with its horn honking. The window of the car was lowered and Yuan Kaizhou made an irregular salute gesture to him.
Cheng Qianfan smiled and returned the favor.
"My subordinates found out that Zhao Changgeng had been to Shopee Lane in Beitang District a few days ago." Hao Zai said.
"Oh? Confirmed?" Cheng Qianfan, who was leaning on the chair, straightened up and asked with a serious expression.
Because Xia Houyuan lived in Shopee Lane, Beitang District.
"Confirmed." Hao Zai nodded, "Brothers secretly found out a detail. Zhao Changgeng bought cigarettes in Shopee Lane that day. He seemed to have bought fake cigarettes. In the blink of an eye, the cigarette vendor disappeared. Zhao Changgeng stamped his feet angrily.
scold."
"Zhao Changgeng appeared in Shopee Lane." Cheng Qianfan said in a deep voice. Holding a teacup in his hand, he suddenly asked, "Have you heard about any contact between Zhao Changgeng and Xia Houyuan?"
"I haven't inquired about it." Hao Zai shook his head and then explained, "It's not that the two of them haven't been in contact, it's that the brothers haven't inquired about this situation."
Cheng Qianfan nodded. Hao Zai's explanation is very necessary. The same sentence may have two meanings. It must be explained clearly. This is especially important in agent work.
…
Zhao Changgeng, a Shanghai station agent suspected of being under house arrest.
Xia Houyuan, an agent of the Nishimura Squad of the Japanese Army's Secret Service.
Cheng Qianfan was wondering, what kind of connection will there be between these two people, who can even be said to be completely hostile?
Although Hao Zai reported that he did not know whether there was any contact between Zhao Changgeng and Xia Houyuan, when two people with such special identities appeared in the same place, this in itself was enough to arouse vigilance and various speculations.
Cheng Qianfan picked up the cigarette box on the table and took out a cigarette.
Hao Zai drew a match and helped Cheng Qianfan light it.
Cheng Qianfan took a puff of cigarette, leaned back, raised one foot, looked at the bustling crowd downstairs, and fell into deep thought.
He didn't know much about Zhao Changgeng's situation.
On the contrary, he had more control over Xia Houyuan's situation.
Assuming that there was some connection between the two people, and unable to make further breakthroughs from Zhao Changgeng, Cheng Qianfan chose to study Xia Houyuan, who had more information.
Xia Houyuan is an agent of Nishimura Squad.
Cheng Qianfan didn't know the rank and status of this person in Nishimura's class. However, judging from Nishimura Ozo's attitude after Xia Houyuan's death, Xia Houyuan himself was not important. What was important was the jewelry box in Xia Houyuan's hand.
What does this mean?
This shows that Xia Houyuan was participating in a secret operation before he was killed by the Shanghai Special Intelligence Team!
No, judging from the importance Nishimura Ozo attached to this matter, Xia Houyuan should have a special or important role in this secret operation, rather than being an insignificant participant.
What kind of connection will there be between such an important participant in the "secret operations" of the Japanese special agencies and a secret agent at the Shanghai Station?
There was too little information at hand, and it was difficult for Cheng Qianfan to conduct further analysis at the moment.
However, the identity of these two people alone means that this matter is definitely not simple.
…
"Brother Fan, could it be that Zhao Changgeng secretly defected to Japan?" Hao Zai asked.
"It's unlikely." Cheng Qianfan shook his head. Judging from his secret observation that day, it was unlikely that Zhao Changgeng had defected to the Japanese.
Cheng Qianfan knew the Japanese secret service. If Zhao Changgeng really surrendered to them, they would not be indifferent to Lu Xingge, the fat fish that came to his door. Even if they did not arrest him secretly, they would secretly follow him.
Lu Xingge was not followed. This detail shows that Zhao Changgeng did not defect to the Japanese.
Of course, it is also possible that Zhao Changgeng did defect to the Japanese. However, the Japanese decided to take a long-term approach to catch the big fish. In order to avoid alerting the enemy, they did not send anyone to follow Lu Xingge.
There was another detail that caught his attention.
According to his observations and the information provided by Pi Dan at the time, Zhao Changgeng did indeed pass on the information.
Lu Xinge also successfully obtained the information.
This seems to prove that Zhao Changgeng did not commit treason.
Cheng Qianfan flicked the ashes of his cigarette, took another drag, and then put out the cigarette butt in the ashtray.
"Brother Fan, little Taoist priest." Hao Zai reminded him softly.
Cheng Qianfan turned around and looked down, and saw a figure disappearing into the crowd. From the back, he looked like a little Taoist priest.
"Let's go." Xiao Cheng always grabbed a handful of melon seeds and ate them while walking.
"Yes!" Hao Zai took off his hat and swept the melon seeds and peanuts out of the hat with a skillful sweep.
…
About twenty minutes later, Mr. Xiao Cheng and Hao Zai wandered around to a storytelling place.
Among the storytelling centers in Shanghai, Chenghuang Temple is the most numerous, because this is the birthplace of the storytelling theater in Shanghai. It can be said that most of the good storytellers in the early years were concentrated here.
The storytelling shop that Xiao Cheng always comes to is called Qun Yulou.
In the lobby on the first floor, many listeners were listening intoxicatedly, and some seemed to be dozing off. However, when someone clapped their hands and applauded something wonderful, that person would definitely be able to follow in time.
There are also subtle people who listen carefully and will not hesitate to applaud when they hear something wonderful, but will rarely reward them with a few nickels.
Xiao Cheng always went up the stairs, and there was an endless stream of people standing up and bowing their hands along the way.
Cheng Qianfan always smiled at him, and when he met a familiar "helping old man", he went up to say hello and said that he would pay for this person's purchase, which earned him a burst of admiration and a neat thumbs up.
When we arrived on the second floor, the owner had prepared the private room early.
Mr. Cheng Xiao had just sat down here, and good tea and exquisite snacks were placed.
Licorice plum, golden flower tea, Ci Gu slice, glutinous rice cake, Jiaxing rice dumpling, smoked frog, smoked egg, lotus root starch, unique flavor, you can get whatever you want.
The clever boy asked if he wanted to find a girl to accompany him to listen to books.
Seeing Mr. Cheng subconsciously holding his waist and saying that he would be exempted from the charge today, the boy nodded and stepped back, showing a strange smile.
…
The elegant rooms in Qunyulou are very private. If distinguished guests want to watch the storyteller's ups and downs performance, they can open the curtains and have an unobstructed view.
If you just want to listen to books and don't want to be spied on by idlers, you can draw the curtains and put down a row of wooden boards hanging from the beams, which can be completely covered and form a private room with good privacy.
Then I pressed the button, and the speaker on the wall could hear the voice of the storyteller downstairs.
Although most of the time, the sound is a little distorted, the tone of this picture of listening to a book with closed door is really good, so many wealthy people like it quite a lot.
About half an hour later, Hao Zai went out for a walk. When he came back, the door was ajar.
After a while, a figure opened the door, stepped in, and closed the door behind him.
The little Taoist priest came in.
…
The little Taoist priest was dressed in a short jacket, wearing a top hat, with his coat open and a toothpick in his mouth, looking like a gangster who was slashing and killing.
"Wipe it off." Cheng Qianfan raised his eyes, pointed at the little Taoist priest's neck and said.
"Ah?" The little Taoist priest was stunned.
"Lipstick mark." Cheng Qianfan shook his head and said with a smile.
Then he saw the little Taoist priest blushing and said something like, 'He didn't do anything', 'This was accidentally rubbed on', 'It wasn't a woman who chewed it'.
Hao Zai covered his mouth and held back his laughter. In the end, he couldn't hold it back and burst into laughter. After being glared at by Cheng Qianfan, he turned around and covered his mouth.
"Tell me, what did you find out?" Cheng Qianfan threw a cigarette to the little Taoist priest and asked.
He also found it quite interesting that the Shanghai special situation team arranged for a young Taoist priest to pretend to be a blind fortune teller and go to Mrs. Hong's house next door to Xia Houyuan to inquire about the situation.
Lu Dazhang formulated a plan to obtain the jewelry box, which was also carried out in the manner of blind fortune telling.
But unexpectedly, both of them thought of going together.
Lu Dazhang's actions were based on Tian Dai's mother-in-law's belief in numerology.
The situation with the little Taoist priest is slightly different. Mrs. Hong, who had an affair with Xia Houyuan, also believes in fortune telling, but she only believes in good-looking blind men.
…
"That lady is indeed having an affair with A Yuan," the little Taoist said.
A Yuan is Xia Houyuan, and the little Taoist priest is very cautious.
Cheng Qianfan nodded. He could see that the little Taoist priest had a flash of shame. He did not ask the little Taoist priest how he found out the situation. What he wanted was the result.
"The wife said that A Yuan once told her that he had a big thing to do recently. After it was completed, he would let his wife and husband divorce, and A Yuan would marry her," the little Taoist said.
"Big deal?" Cheng Qianfan's heart moved.
After thinking for a moment, he asked, "A-Yuan said he would marry her. How credible do you think this is?"
"It's false," said the little Taoist priest. "This lady herself knows it's false. She also said it. She knows it's false, but she just likes to hear it."
"Do you know what the 'big event' is?" Cheng Qianfan asked.
"I don't know the details. I only have sporadic information. I don't know if it is valuable." The little Taoist shook his head. "I judge that A Yuan was very cautious and did not disclose more information."
Cheng Qianfan glanced at the little Taoist priest. It seemed that this boy had devoured Mrs. Hong to death. There was another implication in his words that Mrs. Hong would not hide anything.
"What bits of information?" Cheng Qianfan asked.
"My subordinates listened in and secretly inquired about the 'big event' Xia Houyuan mentioned. It seems to be related to a visitor," the little Taoist priest said.
"Visitor?" Cheng Qianfan's eyes lit up and he asked, "Be specific."
"According to what the lady said, one day a guest came to A Yuan's house. After the guest left, the two had a tryst that night. A Yuan said, 'Good things come to you,' and said he wanted to do something big to get ahead.
Already."
'To succeed'?
Cheng Qianfan tapped his fingers lightly on the table.
Considering Xia Houyuan's identity as a traitor agent, he thought for a moment and automatically translated the word 'get ahead' into 'receive a reward for meritorious service'.
Visitor.
Good things come to your doorstep.
Receive awards for meritorious service.
Cheng Qianfan lit a cigarette, took a puff, and then stopped smoking. He was trying to control his smoking now. Ruolan was pregnant and felt uncomfortable after smelling the smoke. He didn't want to go home covered in smoke.
…
"On what day did A Yuan come to visit?" Cheng Qianfan thought of a key question and asked.
"The first day of July." The little Taoist thought for a while, counted on his fingers, and said.
"Are you sure?" Cheng Qianfan asked with a serious expression.
"That's right, it's the first day of July." The little Taoist priest said, "The lady remembers clearly what happened on the first day of July, when the gate of hell opened."
When the little Taoist priest spoke, he snorted in his heart: Rape the silver woman.
At that time, he pretended that someone must have done something inappropriate, which would lead to the marriage being severed.
Mrs. Hong turned pale and stammered about the fact that their tryst that day coincided with the opening of the gate of hell.
Cheng Qianfan turned to look at Hao Zai, "Do you remember when that gentleman bought the fake cigarettes?"
"Let me think about it." Hao Zai said quickly, he frowned and thought, "It should be the first day of July, but to be on the safe side, I have to go check it out."
"The faster, the better!" Cheng Qianfan said with a serious expression.
"Yes!" Hao Zai nodded respectfully, "It was my subordinate who neglected his duty."
Strictly speaking, this incident was just one of many intelligence clues. It wasn't that he didn't remember the time, but that his subordinates were not so precise when gathering information.
However, Hao Zai knew the temper and character of the team leader. The team leader treated them very well, like brothers. This was the best leader Hao Zai had ever seen and heard of. However, the team leader also had extremely high demands on them. Strictly speaking, if you don't do it well, you haven't done it well. It's best not to quibble.
Cheng Qianfan put out the still burning cigarette butt, with a confident smile on his face.
Although there is still a specific time that needs further verification, he is already almost certain in his heart:
His previous speculation was confirmed——
The connection point between Zhao Changgeng and Xia Houyuan was found!
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