Chapter 27: Abandoned Son

  Lin Xiaotang and Da Toumian stared at each other, confused by Qian Zhanggui's actions. Qian Zhanggui also felt a bit awkward, hastily refilling their tea cups before Lin Xiaotang could speak with a difficult expression.

  The original contact point, Qian Zhanggui, was a grassroots contact point for the Shanghai Military Station. It had never been used before, not because it was highly classified or secretive, but because all the previous station chiefs of the Military Station had never paid attention to this remote and obscure place. Qian Zhanggui was only responsible for some basic contacts with headquarters, and had hardly any dealings with the Shanghai station.

  This time, the Shanghai station of the Military-Uniform broke the precedent and gave an order to Qian Zhanggui. It said that two new people were coming to Shanghai to report for duty, and Qian Zhanggui was in charge of receiving them, but only one action command was given, without mentioning anything else.

  Lin Xiaotang swallowed her saliva, "Boss Qian, how are we supposed to settle in? We just arrived in Shanghai and don't even have a place to stay. Moreover, if you want us to complete the task, shouldn't you provide some equipment and specific instructions? We're empty-handed and know nothing about Shanghai, what can we accomplish?"

  Qian Zhanggui knew in his heart that these two young people must have offended the higher-ups at the station, otherwise, they wouldn't be treated like this. It's clear that they want to use them as cannon fodder. If they can't complete their mission, they will be dealt with by military law; if they want to complete their mission but don't get any assistance, not even a single tool, it's like they're being sent on a path of no return.

  Thinking of this, Qian Zhanggui suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. He had been in Shanghai for over a decade and had seen many internal power struggles, but he had never seen anyone treat their own people with such ruthlessness and without leaving any face. This was the first time he had seen such blatant framing. Now he just wanted to get rid of these two jinxes as soon as possible, lest they bring bad luck upon him.

  Qian Zhanggui smiled and brought out a small package, placing it in front of the two and opening it. Inside were several hundred francs and two daggers, as well as some medicinal herbs and Yunnan Baiyao. "You two, this is just a contact point, I really can't help much. The superior's instructions are like this, I have no way to change them. You two look like young heroes with exceptional skills, you must have a way to complete the task and give a good account to your superiors. This is just my personal intention, consider it a gift for meeting, wishing you both success and fame in Shanghai."

  Dà tóu měng suddenly stood up, looking like he was about to get angry. Lin Xiaotang quickly pulled him back. It seems that Shen Zui and Bai Qi were right, Zheng Jieming still doesn't plan to let himself off the hook. The money master in front of him is old and cunning, clearly unwilling to muddy the waters. Now that things have come to this, he can only rely on himself.

  Lin Xiaotang bowed his head, "Qian Zhanggui, my brother and I have just arrived in Shanghai, thanks to your kindness and help, we are truly grateful. Although the mountain does not move, water flows, we will remember your favor in our hearts. Please also convey our message to those above, if my brother and I can luckily stand firm in Shanghai, everything you have given us today will be repaid tenfold!"

  After finishing speaking, he bowed deeply, grabbed his bundle, picked up his luggage and left with a proud expression.

  Qian Zhanggui followed them to the door of the store, squinting his eyes to see Lin Xiaotang and the young man off into the distance. Suddenly, this young man made a feeling that he couldn't quite put into words rise up in his heart.

  A man wearing a bowler hat and a long gown walked up to Qian Zhanggui, "Are they the two?"

  Boss Qian didn't answer, he just nodded his head.

  The man in a long gown nodded towards the side, and immediately a rickshaw puller and a small vendor carrying a basket followed.

  Lin Xiaotang walked while comforting her swollen head, but out of the corner of her eye she noticed the follower behind her.

  Zhabei is a gathering place for Shanghai's poor people, with alleys and lanes crisscrossing each other. Outsiders who enter this area will soon lose their direction. On both sides of the alleys, windows of houses stretch out bamboo poles of varying lengths, hanging all sorts of clothes that flutter in the wind, like an international flag exhibition.

  Lin Xiaotang quietly bought a basket of buns, big head eyes shining brightly, grabbed the paper bag in one hand, stuffed one into his mouth. Lin Xiaotang carelessly ate the bun while asking the owner of the bun shop about the location, but quickly glanced back over his shoulder, not far away, the rickshaw driver and street vendor were standing by the side of the road with a calm expression.

  Lin Xiaotang and Da Tou walked forward for a while, Lin Xiaotang saw two people who looked like traveling merchants walking into a small inn by the road. He elbowed Da Tou and said in a loud voice, "We've been on the boat for so long and have been walking for half a day, let's stay here tonight and discuss where to go next." Lin Xiaotang spoke loudly, but secretly signaled to Da Tou with his eyes to look behind them.

  Big Head nodded in agreement and immediately let out a cheer, "Alright, we'll stay here. I'm exhausted from the past two days. Tonight, we must get a pot of wine to relieve our fatigue!"

  As Lin Xiaotang and the other person entered the hotel, the rickshaw driver gave a signal to the vendor, then stopped his vehicle at the entrance of the alley opposite the hotel. The vendor walked into the hotel with her basket.

  Lin Xiaotang watched the two traveling merchants register, then went straight up to the second floor, and came with Da Tou to the counter, specifically asking for the room next to the traveling merchant. When they arrived, the Military Commission gave some funds, and Bai Qi also gave some, although not much, it was enough for the expenses of two people in Shanghai for a month, so currently there is no need to worry about money temporarily.

  The hawker stood at the entrance of the inn, shouting and watching Lin Xiaotang enter a room on the second floor with someone, before leaving under the urging of the inn owner.

  As soon as they entered the room, Da Tou buried his head in the bed and let out a comfortable moan, while Lin Xiaotang walked to the window, opened a gap, and looked at the movement in the alley downstairs.

  The hawker walked to the side of the rickshaw puller, squatted down, and the two people seemed not to know each other, but they were both saying something. After a while, the rickshaw puller pulled up the cart, turned around and left, while the hawker set up shop across from the hotel, calling out inattentively, his eyes fixed intently on the hotel's entrance.

  The first floor of the hotel is a tavern that serves not only guests but also local residents. In the evening, it's packed and very lively.

  Lin Xiaotang and Da Tou sat at a table outside the tavern, which was simple but served authentic local dishes. Da Tou was eating with gusto, his mouth full of oil, while Lin Xiaotang sipped warm huangjiu wine and ate slowly, her eyes scanning the surrounding crowd out of the corner of her eye.

  The peddler at the door has disappeared, indicating that the person on duty has changed shifts. Lin Xiaotang was chatting with Da Tou while secretly observing his surroundings, and finally caught a glimpse of something unusual.

  At the table beside the stairs of the tavern, a familiar figure sat, although dressed in different clothes, Lin Xiaotang recognized him at a glance. It was that rickshaw driver, now wearing glasses and a long gown instead of his previous short jacket, looking like a scholar.

  There were also two other diners who caught Lin Xiaotang's attention, they were eating too, but the corners of their eyes kept glancing at Lin Xiaotang and his group from time to time. However, judging from their appearance, it seemed that they were not with the rickshaw driver Huang, which made Lin Xiaotang secretly more cautious.

  At dawn, there was a commotion in the next room. Lin Xiaotang jumped out of bed and crept to the door to peek outside. The door to the next room was open, and two traveling merchants had already gotten up. One was packing his luggage, while the other went downstairs to settle the bill.

  Lin Xiaotang hurriedly woke up Da Tou, who rubbed his eyes and was about to complain when Lin Xiaotang covered his mouth. "Don't make a sound, just do what we said last night!"

  Before long, the merchant who had gone to settle the bill came upstairs and walked into the next room. Lin Xiaotang pushed open the door, looked around to make sure no one was there, nodded slightly towards the back of Da Tou's head, and slipped out quietly, walking straight into the room where the two merchants were staying.

  The two peddlers were taken aback, but Lin Xiaotang raised her index finger, closed the door, and smiled at the two men: "Gentlemen, shall we discuss a business deal?"

  In front of the hotel, yesterday's street vendor had transformed into a small food stall owner, accompanied by an apprentice selling soy milk and fried dough sticks. He had just taken over from the rickshaw driver, yawning and carelessly monitoring his target.

  Two peddlers came out of the inn, and it was early summer. The two men were still wearing tattered cotton robes, with beards on their faces. As soon as they arrived at the snack stall, a sour smell of sweat hit them in the face. The vendor couldn't help but wrinkle his brow, pinched his nose, and served them bean milk. He looked down on them as they wolfed down the food, and even when they handed over their dirty change, the vendor didn't dare take it, letting them throw it directly into the cash box.

  Looking at the backs of the two people, the street vendor muttered a sentence, "It's better to be a rustic fool!"

  After walking through two alleys, Lin Xiaotang felt that no one was following him anymore, so he let out a long sigh, took off the leather hat on his head, and Da Tou simply tore off the cotton robe on his body. "Damn, this smell almost suffocated me to death! Is it worth ten bucks for this?"

  Lin Xiaotang nodded and smiled, "Shaking off the tail behind is absolutely worth it!"

  "What's next?"

  Lin Xiaotang raised an eyebrow, "Needless to say, let's head straight to the concession and start our legendary battle for Shanghai!"

  It was still that Western-style house, and the young man known as Huan Ge stood in front of two elderly men with a face full of embarrassment.

  The old man sitting in the rattan chair looked surprised, "What? Lost?"

  Huan Ge nodded with a bitter face. "The people from the Military Commission were also deceived by those two kids, and they slipped away with a clever trick!" Then, he recounted what had happened that morning.

  The old man in a long gown with a shrill voice bent down and said, "Sir, look..."?

  The old man sitting in the rattan chair seemed to be thinking, his furrowed brow slowly relaxing. "This young fellow has some potential. I had heard about him from Yuehua's letters before, saying that he was refined and courteous, but a bit weak-willed. At the time, Yuehua even asked me if it would be possible to arrange for him to gain some experience in our organization. But judging from his performance today, this young fellow has really opened my eyes."

  The old man fell into thought for a moment, "Shanghai is too big, it's not easy to find two people in the vast sea of people. Alright, Ah Huan, notify the informants within the concession to pay attention to them. The environment here is relatively better, I guess they will come here."

  Huan Ge nodded in agreement.

  The old man waved his hand, "Also, arrange for someone to pay attention to the movements at Shanghai Station. In a few days, there may be an important figure coming to Shanghai. The Chongqing side has asked us to be extra vigilant and prepare to take action at any time!"