wind in the dark night

Chapter 300 Belt
"Strange, there's smoke coming out of the chimney, but no one's home..."

Chief Inspector Liu muttered to himself.

Qi Yue opened the tea bag, sniffed it, and said calmly, "This means that the people had left before you came. There is coal in the stove, so of course there will be smoke... Judging from the number of bedding, bowls and chopsticks, there are at least four or five people."

Wang Peng came in and put a pile of flyers on the table: "I found it in the hole of the kang."

Before he finished speaking, Zhao Zhenhai brought out a wooden box, which was almost as big as a suitcase. This was a mimeograph box specially used for printing flyers. This equipment was easy to operate. Just put the plywood mold on it and apply ink, and you would get a flyer.

Qi Yue said, "Captain Liu, take these things back and ask for credit and reward. Just say you found them yourself and destroyed the anti-bandit team's hideout. This is a great achievement."

"Thank you Captain Qi for your help!"

Chief Inspector Liu was very happy. With this achievement, even without Xu Tao's help, it would be a natural thing for him to be transferred to Guxiangtun Police Station.

Seeing that there was no one around, Chief Inspector Liu moved closer and whispered, "Captain Qi, to be honest, it was actually Team Leader Xu's idea to arrest Ma Kai this time... I'm just wondering, one moment you're saving someone, the next moment you're arresting someone, what's going on?"

Qi Yue said: "You didn't say anything, and I didn't hear anything, understand?"

"I see."

Chief Inspector Liu nodded repeatedly.

……

at this time.

Shiqiao Village.

In the room, the charcoal brazier was burning red. Zhou Yi smoked silently, and from time to time he picked up an iron tongs and added a few pieces of charcoal to the brazier.

Ma Kai sat on the kang, looking a little uneasy. While putting bullets into the magazine, he peered out of the window.

Secretary Zhao pushed the door open and came in, warming his cold ears with his hands, and said with a hissing laugh: "It's too cold today, my ears are about to freeze off..."

"Have you seen Li Yongxin?"

Zhou Yi threw him a cigarette.

Officer Zhao took it, lit it in the charcoal brazier, and then said, "I saw it."

Zhou Yi asked: "How do you feel?"

Secretary Zhao thought for a while and said, "In my opinion, we have found the right person, Li Yongxin. Just look at the way he writes characters. The left stroke is right and the right right stroke is right. The work team is in need of such a person..."

"Xiao Wang is back!"

Ma Kai looked out the window.

After a while, Xiao Wang walked in quickly and immediately squatted down to warm himself by the fire.

Officer Zhao asked, "What's the situation?"

Xiao Wang was still terrified: "I just went to check, the alley was full of police, and the three guys from the secret service department were there too. Luckily we left early, otherwise we would have been blocked. It was too dangerous!"

Zhou Yi asked Ma Kai: "Didn't you say before that that wasn't your home?"

Ma Kai said, "Yes, it's not my house. It's the house of a friend of mine. He went to the city to do business and asked me to look after the house."

Zhou Yi frowned: "It's not your house, how come the police came so quickly?"

Secretary Zhao took over the conversation and explained, "In a small place like Lianhua Town, you can get a pretty good idea by just asking around. Ma Kai is a local, and there are many people who know him."

Zhou Yi asked again: "Is it safe here?"

Officer Zhao said, "It's absolutely safe. The old couple and their two sons were soldiers under Ma Zhanshan. They all died in the battle of Hargo River Bridge. They hate the Japanese and even though they know what we do, they won't tell anyone."

Zhou Yi nodded: "The night before last, when I was staying at their house, the old couple secretly wiped their tears in the kitchen. At first, I thought it was smoke. Now I understand and know what we do. The old couple missed their son..."

Ma Kai slapped his thigh and said, "It's broken! I forgot to take the printing press and the flyers!"

Secretary Zhao said: "Just forget it, and let Dachun make another one later..."

The snow has long since stopped.

The sun is shining brightly.

……

at this time.

In Ping An Inn, Qi Yue stood in front of the window, deep in thought.

Wang Peng opened the door and came in, saying excitedly, "Captain Qi, the police brigade is here."

"How many people came?"

"Two squadrons, plus the local militia, there are about three hundred people."

"Who is the leader of the team?"

"Captain Huang Youwei."

Qi Yue glanced at his watch: "It's almost ten o'clock, why are you here so late?"

Wang Peng said: "I asked, they said they were worried that the roads would be blocked due to snow, so they waited until the snow stopped before leaving the city. In addition, the artillery reinforcements from the Kwantung Army arrived late, which delayed them."

"artillery?"

Qi Yue was surprised.

Wang Peng said: "During this bandit suppression operation, the police department was worried that the offensive would not be effective, so they temporarily negotiated with the Kwantung Army and borrowed two Type 92 infantry guns. The Kwantung Army sent two artillery groups."

Qi Yue said: "No wonder Huang Youwei personally went out to fight. With more than 300 people and artillery, it would be hard not to win against 180 bandits."

Wang Peng laughed and said, "Huang Youwei is very smart. He even has eyes on the back of his head."

Qi Yue asked, "Where is Zhao Zhenhai?"

Wang Peng said: "I met an acquaintance and chatted for a while. He asked me to come back first."

Qi Yue asked: "From the police brigade?"

Wang Peng said: "The one in the second squadron is his cousin."

As soon as the door opened, Li Yongxin looked out, saw Qi Yue, and hurried in.

"You go out first."

Qi Yue said to Wang Peng.

Wang Peng glanced at Li Yongxin, walked out and closed the door.

Li Yongxin came closer and said, "Officer Qi, the leader of the anti-bandit task force, I just met him. His last name is Zhao, but he didn't tell me his name."

Qi Yue asked: "What did he say?"

Li Yongxin said: "He just talked about fighting against the Japanese and saving the nation, and asked me to write a few words. He praised my writing and encouraged me to do a good job... When I was leaving, he said he was in a hurry to go to the Dragon King Temple."

Qi Yue asked, "Where is the Dragon King Temple?"

Li Yongxin said: "It is about five miles from here, walking north from Shiqiao Village, there is a small dilapidated temple. People only go there to pray for rain during years of drought. Normally no one goes there."

Qi Yue asked: "Is there no one in the temple?"

Li Yongxin said: "There were a few Taoist priests in the past, but the place was too remote and they were short of food, clothing and other necessities, so they all left. Recently, a wandering Taoist priest came and stayed in the temple."

Qi Yue said: "The information you provided is very important. I will give you credit for it."

"Thank you, Officer Qi."

"Nothing else, you can go back first."

"And one more thing……"

As he spoke, Li Yongxin reached into his bosom and pulled out a crumpled belt, khaki in color, about the width of a palm, and folded into three layers.

Qi Yue asked: "What is this?"

Li Yongxin said: "The man surnamed Zhao gave it to me, saying that if anything happened to him, I should be sent to Kaoshantun and handed over to the political commissar who was fighting against the bandits."

Qi Yue unfolded the belt. Apart from the wrinkles that were difficult to smooth out and the pungent smell of sweat, there was nothing special about it. So he asked, "Didn't he tell you why he gave it to you?"

"No. I find it strange too..."

Li Yongxin was puzzled.

(End of this chapter)