"That's so thoughtful," Ji Xin looked at the room and praised, "Old Jie, you really have a taste for life."
This was originally a casual compliment, but Xie Erren, who had ulterior motives, had an unpleasant meaning. He laughed a few times and said, "This courtyard was originally a place where I would stay and relax from time to time.
We also receive the veteran comrades. Of course we have to make it more comfortable. There are servants here - they are all transferred from the army. They are very reliable. If you need anything, just ask them."
He said hello, and four strong young men came, all wearing National Army uniforms and armed with pistols.
"This is a chief from the central government. From now on, you must follow the instructions of the two chiefs and take care of your daily life. You will be responsible for guarding when you go out. Do you understand?"
The four of them stood at attention together and gave a resounding "yes".
"You guys should rest first and I won't disturb you any more. Let me know when the investigation will begin and I will fully cooperate."
Chen Baibin felt that Xie Erren was calm in conversation and attentive in his hospitality. He did not have the worry and hasty response of Zhao Yingong when the Hangzhou station was under investigation. He felt that he had a good impression of him.
Ji Xin nodded and said, "Don't worry, let's officially start working tomorrow."
The three words "don't be in a hurry" made Xie Erren's heart jump again, and he couldn't help but wonder what this word meant. He agreed perfunctorily: "Okay, then I'll go to work first."
Watching Xie Erren leave in a hurry, Chen Baibin whispered: "This elder Xie seems to be quite capable."
"To be the chief official in Wuzhou area, you must have some ability," Ji Xin said.
The orderly came in and brought the two people's luggage in. According to the rules, only his maid could open the Senate's daily luggage. The orderly only sent the box in and then left. The two of them packed the luggage themselves. There were three main rooms, among which
Even if it is an office, the east and west rooms are their bedrooms.
The orderly brought tea in: "Report! The water in the bathroom is ready."
After saying that, he turned around and was about to leave. Ji Xin stopped him and took out a piece of white paper.
"Write down the names and brief resumes of your entire service team."
"Yes, Chief!" The orderly was a little confused, but the Chief's order was so overwhelming that he immediately took the pen and started writing crookedly on the white paper.
Ji Xin took the paper, read it over, put it in his folder, and asked, "Are you the squad leader Zhou Chuyi?"
"Report to the chief! Yes."
"When did you arrive in Wuzhou?"
"A week ago, Chief!"
"Why are you sent here?"
"The superiors said that Wuzhou applied to transfer us to serve the chief."
"What was the specific situation in the yard when you came here? I mean, the furnishings and layout of the house."
"Same as today!" Zhou Chuyi answered simply and neatly, "After we arrived, we cleaned every day and waited for the arrival of the leader."
"Okay, you can go."
The orderly left, and Ji Xin stood up and said, "I'll go over and wash it first."
"Okay, I just have to pack my luggage."
Chen Baibin lives in a room on the east side. It can be seen that the furniture in the room has been rearranged, because there are still traces of past furniture on the walls. From the traces, it can be seen that the arrangement here was not as simple as it is now.
It is not a single bed, but a medium-sized bed.
He opened the suitcase next to the bed, and a faint fragrance immediately emitted from it. Chen Baibin had received relevant training in Lingao, and he immediately smelled the scent of the spices used by women to diffuse their clothes.
Has a woman lived here? He was a little confused.
After packing up the luggage and returning to the main hall, Ji Xin had already put on his pajamas and slippers and was wiping his hair with a towel.
"Go quickly, the bathroom here is really nice." Ji Xin said, "Not only does it have a bathtub, but it also has a Japanese-style courtyard! This old man really enjoys life."
Chen Baibin came back from the shower and saw that Ji Xin had already begun to look through a pile of documents.
"What's this?"
"It's the documents related to the Wuzhou Incident that Xie Erren just asked people to send over. There are also materials on several cases they are currently investigating."
"There are quite a lot of documents." Chen Baibin flipped through a few of them, "But these documents are very well done and very detailed. I just don't know how reliable they are..." He lowered his voice.
"It's up to us to discover it." Ji Xin said, "Until the problem is discovered, let's consider it reliable."
“Where to start?”
"First of all, we need to sort out what happened. How the enemy came in, how they broke into Elder Xie's office, and how they kidnapped him and then rescued him on the city wall. This process must be investigated and understood, and every detail must be reported.
If we can match the number, we will record it if we can’t. Let’s start with written materials first, so that we can have a clear target when talking to the relevant people in the next step, and we can also know whether they are lying.”
"clear."
"The Wuzhou Incident also involved a riot in a Sanhezui labor camp. This matter is still under investigation by Wuzhou itself. We will not get involved in the specific investigation for the time being. We will see what conclusions they come up with and then we will conduct a review.
.”
"Looking at what the secret report says, things at Sanhezui are not simple."
"The Sanhezui case involves a lot of things, but I personally don't think it necessarily involves Xie Erren. The focus of the investigation is still in the city." Ji Xin looked around and asked, "What do you think of this yard?
Sample?"
“The layout is very comfortable.”
"anything else?"
“More refined.”
"Don't you think there's a powdery smell here?"
Chen Baibin's eyes widened: "Do you feel the same way?" He immediately mentioned the scent of incense he smelled when he was putting away the clothes.
"If you guessed it right, a woman lived here, and her status was not low." Ji Xin said, "In addition to the exquisite furniture and furnishings, what do you think this 'conference table' in front of us is?"
Chen Baibin looked at the table and saw that it was high-end furniture made in this time and space, with simple decoration and large size.
"This is called a painting desk. Most people don't have it in their homes. Only those with money and leisure will have it. It's used for writing calligraphy and painting."
Xie Erren did not know how to paint, so he specially prepared such a painting table. This person's status is self-evident.
There are no female senators in Wuzhou. Only the maid Xie Erren is qualified to live in a key place like the Third General Mansion and have a high status.
But before Xie Erren set out, it was said that he did not bring a maid to take office because Wuzhou was close to the front line. So who was this woman?
They all knew the answer in their minds, and that was Cai Lan, the "retained personnel" mentioned in Xie Erren's report and the "mistress" in Luo Yangming's report.
"It should be that Cai Lan." Chen Baibin lowered his voice and said.
Ji Xin nodded: "However, this place is so big, it's impossible for her to live alone. Have you seen all the houses in this yard?"
"I haven't seen the east wing yet."
"I just came out of the bathroom in the west wing and took a look. There were several camp beds and simple furniture inside. It looked like a dormitory for our four orderlies. However, this room was obviously not originally used as a dormitory.
.Because there is soot accumulated from kerosene lamps burning for a long time on the ceiling.”
Kerosene lamps were relatively rare items under the Senate, and were generally only used by senators and senior naturalized cadres. The four orderlies who came a week ago had neither the qualifications nor the time to leave these marks on the ceiling. Here.
In Wuzhou City, the number of kerosene lamps can be counted on one hand, and only three or four people can use them.
"You mean Xie Erren did business in the east wing."
"Yes. Such thick black smoke traces cannot be naturalized civilian cadres. Only us veterans who like to work at night have such a habit."
Chen Baibin understood what he meant. Not only did Xie Erren adopt "Cai Lan", he also lived with her here for a long time.
This point was not mentioned even in the top-secret report of the Political Security Bureau - naturally, Luo Yangming, who wrote the report, could not possibly know the details of the private lives of these elders.
If this is the case, then Xie Erren's matter will be serious. From the perspective of protecting the personal safety and confidentiality of the elders, living with an unexamined, unrated, and not even naturalized native is a serious violation of discipline. Not to mention
It is said that such a person is within easy reach of the Senate's confidential information.
"It seems that Cai Lan, who was mentioned briefly, is an important breakthrough." Chen Baibin said with some regret, "It's a pity that she has committed suicide - what a coincidence!"
Ji Xin nodded and said nothing. He did not believe that Cai Lan committed suicide. But now that the person was dead, there was no need to dwell on it. He said: "How Cai Lan died is not important now. But this
This incident has pointed us in the right direction. We should investigate more from the perspective of naturalized people."
Naturalized citizens were only one aspect. He thought that such a large courtyard with such exquisite furnishings would definitely require a lot of service staff. There is a high probability that these service staff are not naturalized citizens, but indigenous people. The testimonies of these people are actually more
True. But where are they?
Suddenly a chill ran down his spine: These people may never be found again.
"Then let's talk to Luo Yangming first tomorrow. He is from the Political Security Bureau and he wrote the report. It is easier to talk and there won't be too much whitewashing." Chen Baibin suggested.
"Luo Yangming is Wang Zha now. It would be too direct for us to talk to him immediately. It might cause an overreaction - not only bad for Luo Yangming, but also bad for himself." Ji Xin opened his notebook, "Let me see, let's start with
The captured enemy prisoners began to talk. According to the report, there are two prisoners who are more important, one is named Jiang Suo and the other is named Yi Haoran. They are the enemy's commanders and organizers, and they will comply with the rules."