My spy diary

Chapter 617 Two Gold Bars (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

"Before you resort to torture, give him some water first!"

As soon as Deputy Jia finished speaking, the two men standing behind Yang Neng suddenly pushed him down and pinned him to the ground.

Yang Neng naturally understood what "drinking water" meant and struggled frantically, but two fists were no match for four hands, especially since his hands and feet were cuffed. Soon, he was forced to lie flat on the ground.

After all that commotion, the two plainclothes officers were also panting heavily. Each of them held him down while demanding an explanation of Yang Neng:
"We're on the same side. This is the last time I'll ask: will you tell me or not?"

Yang Neng already knew what he was going to face, which made him feel more at ease. As long as he could get through it, everything would be fine.

As an action team leader, he had interrogated countless prisoners, and his mantra was "Confess and you'll be treated leniently; resist and you'll be punished severely." But there was a half-sentence to that: "Resist and you'll be punished severely, but you'll be sent home for the New Year." Once he confessed, he would be irrevocably charged with treason, and the outcome was self-evident.

But if he could pull through, his fate was still uncertain, so he wanted to take a gamble, and he had to take a gamble.

So, as he struggled, he shouted, "I'm calling Station Chief Tong! I want to see him! Go and call him!"

The plainclothes officer didn't say anything more, but called out towards the door. Soon, two more men came in carrying buckets of water and towels. He waved his hand, and the two men covered Yang Neng's face with the towels, then picked up the buckets and poured water over Yang Neng's face.

The towel was immediately smeared on Yang Neng's face. The water cut off the air, and he began to tremble all over.

On the outskirts of Shancheng County, there is a residential area composed of densely packed, irregularly arranged bungalows. Because it is not in the city center, it appears exceptionally quiet.

Within this residential area, two mud-brick houses and a small courtyard with a low thatched roof are hidden among the buildings and not particularly noticeable.

Inside the house, a light is as bright as a bean.

There was a small table on the bed, with a sewing basket, scraps of cloth, and a screwdriver on it. Behind it sat a village woman in her forties wearing a coarse cloth jacket. Her face was sallow and bloodless, as if covered with a layer of yellowish tinge that could not be washed away, and even her eye sockets were dull.

She is currently sewing shoe soles.

The soles of the shoes, pieced together from old fabric, were covered with a layer of worn-out white cloth, and the words "Peace and Safety" were embroidered on the soles.

Across from her sat a middle-aged man in a greasy coat on a small stool on the ground, puffing away at welding fumes.

The woman glanced outside the door, put down her work, and looked at the man with a resentful expression:

"Spitting, spitting, aren't you afraid of being spitted to death? Can't you hear me talking to you?"

The man asked in a muffled voice, "What did you say?"

The woman rolled her eyes: "Stop pretending you don't know anything about your son and daughter-in-law's affairs!"

The man took a deep drag on his cigarette, looked at her, nodded, and said hesitantly, "You don't really want Xiaoduo to be An'er's child bride, do you? An'er is only six years old; it's too early to talk about this."

Before he could finish speaking, the woman impatiently interrupted him: "You still don't want to? You really want to raise her as your own daughter? Her deadbeat father, Li Yishan, is probably long dead. I heard Liu's wife talking about it and said he was buried a long time ago, but you just won't believe it. Why are you so stubborn? Humph, she's the daughter of a rapist. I'm already being kind by not looking down on her."

It turns out that this family is the Liu family to whom Li Yishan entrusted his daughter.

The man is called Lao Liu, and the woman is called Huang Pozi.

His wife's sudden outburst left Lao Liu somewhat bewildered. He extinguished the welding fumes at his feet and sat on the edge of the bed. Then, trying to use a more tactful tone, he said:
"Old Li was an honest man his whole life. I would never believe he was a rapist. He was just unlucky and took the blame for someone else. Although he's dead, as the old saying goes, a drop of kindness should be repaid with a spring of gratitude. When we fled here, if it weren't for him, we probably would have starved to death on the streets long ago. At least we have an extra pair of chopsticks, and we can get through this. As for what happens next, we'll deal with that later."

"What do you mean 'just one more pair of chopsticks'? You make it sound so easy." Old Mrs. Huang sneered, hands on her hips, spitting as she spoke. "You, surnamed Liu, anyone can talk big! Why don't you check if there's any food left in the rice jar? I remember the favor I owed you. It's only because of my sentimentality that I didn't report her to Blackie, otherwise that little thing would have been kidnapped long ago. I've been living in fear every day because of her, and you're still siding with her? You're unwilling to do this or that, how can we live like this?"

Old Liu remained silent with a sullen face until Granny Huang became dejected, then he said in a low voice:

"That's one thing. If we're out of rice at home, I'll just go out and earn some. Why are you saying things like that?"

"What did I do wrong? Wasn't I doing all this for the family?" Old Mrs. Huang jumped up from the bed, pointing at Old Liu's face and scolding, "You, Liu, do you think it's been easy for me all these years? If it weren't for your honest nature back then, would my father have let me marry a pig butcher like you? Now that I'm sick, you think you're all grown up? You don't even listen to your old mother anymore?"

After speaking just a few words, Granny Huang was panting and trembling. Her legs gave way, and she almost slipped to the ground. Old Liu quickly went over to support her, pulled her down to lie down, and sighed, saying:
"It's almost dawn, I'll go get your medicine now."

"An'er, your mother is dying, it's a pity I won't be able to see you get married." Old Mrs. Huang lay on the bed, wailing loudly.

In an instant, the dilapidated house was filled with cries.
Old Liu was helpless and stamped his feet in frustration: "Tell me, what exactly do you want?"

After crying for a while, Granny Huang began to gasp for breath, her eyes glazed over as she said, "I can't take it anymore. No amount of medicine can help with this consumption, cough cough."

"Speak slowly."

Old Mrs. Huang clutched her chest and gasped for breath before continuing, "Before I close my eyes, my biggest worry is An'er. He's only six years old. If his mother dies, how will he live?"

"Say it directly!"

"Let Xiaoduo become An'er's child bride. Let's settle this today, or else..."

"what?"

"They'll sell her to a brothel to get An'er a wife."

"You're so cruel!"

Just then, the door opened, and a five or six-year-old boy, with a runny nose and wearing open-crotch pants, sleepily pushed the door open and came in. Seeing his father supporting his pale-faced, coughing mother, he rushed over: "Mom, what's wrong?"

Behind the little boy was a timid little girl, Li Yishan's daughter, Li Xiaoduo.

"Your mother is fine, she's just having a relapse." In front of the child, Old Liu didn't know what to say. He patted his wife on the back, glanced at Xiao Duo, sighed, and left with a somber expression.

As soon as he left, Granny Huang jumped up and glared at Xiao Duo, saying, "You little bastard without a father, who let you in? Get out!"

Xiao Duo trembled at the shout and hurriedly ran away.

"Without a father to protect you, you're just a spineless coward. You don't even dare to utter a sound when you're scolded. You're just a burden to others!" Old Mrs. Huang muttered under her breath. She carefully opened the door a crack, peeked outside, and, making sure the man and Xiao Duo weren't there, quickly wiped away her tears. With a composed expression, she stroked her son's head and said:
"An'er, what do you want to eat for breakfast? Mom will make you something delicious."

While the Liu family was in turmoil, another meeting was quietly taking place in Dai Chunfeng's room.

The intelligence and documents seized from Yang Neng's house were all laid out on the table in front of Dai Chunfeng.

Station Chief Tong solemnly reported how he had become suspicious of Yang Neng during the raid on the brothel, how he had kept him calm and entrusted him with important tasks, and how he had secretly launched an investigation into him. After a long and meticulous investigation, he finally determined that Yang Neng was a prime suspect. He then searched Yang Neng's home and, through the intelligence, letters and other clues he had seized, pieced them together and finally identified him.

Dai Chunfeng smiled teasingly: "You already knew he had a problem?"

Station Chief Tong, who had been quite pleased with his "resourcefulness," felt as if he'd been slapped in the face after hearing Boss Dai's words, and immediately lowered his head in silence. Dai Chunfeng, reviewing the intelligence reports, his face grim, continued:
"Was Yang Neng a Japanese spy, or a traitor?"

Station Chief Tong: "He was just a traitor. He used his position as the action team leader to conduct intelligence trading, and the Japanese invaders were only a part of it."

"for money?"

"Yes, his son has tuberculosis and is said to be in dire need of money. But even so, he can't betray the Party and the country. If he just asks, the station can't just stand by and watch him die. It can only be said that he is heartless and insane."

Dai Chunfeng was skeptical. He put down the intelligence and said with a stern face, "This Yang Neng is hiding so well, which means he is a very cautious and cunning person. Why would he keep so much evidence against him?"

“Even the most meticulous plans can have flaws. Besides, in my opinion, this evidence might have been deliberately left behind by him as a way to protect himself. If his misdeeds come to light one day and he wants to defect to the Japanese, this evidence could serve as a stepping stone to prove that he has worked for the Japanese.”

Dai Chunfeng felt these words sounded familiar, as if he had heard them before, but couldn't quite place them. He snorted coldly and picked up a few blank ID cards from the table, flipping through them:
"It looks like we have quite a few rats around us."

Station Chief Tong seized the opportunity and said, "It's time to thoroughly clean up the ranks. I have already prepared a list, please review it, Director."

He immediately and respectfully handed over a list.

Dai Chunfeng took the papers and glanced at them, noticing that most of the people were key members of the Military Intelligence Bureau he had met before. Whether there were any ulterior motives among them was irrelevant. He gave Station Chief Tong a meaningful look:

"Yang Neng hasn't made a move yet?"

"When I arrived just now, I specifically asked Deputy Officer Jia, and he's still struggling. Chief, should we intensify the interrogation?"

Dai Chunfeng did not answer his question. He folded the list and put it in his pocket, saying something unrelated to the question:
"How's the task I assigned you going?"

"already solved."

"Is the person handling this reliable?"

“They are all our own people, very reliable, and they have complete testimonies, so no one can find any fault with them.”

Dai Chunfeng nodded approvingly: "Then let's do it that way. As for that person, deal with him according to family rules."

After saying this, he seemed a little tired and leaned heavily against the sofa.

Station Master Tong knew it was time to take his leave, so he stood up, bowed, and tiptoed out.

Dai Chunfeng was indeed working very hard. Under immense pressure, he hadn't slept well for several nights. Leaning back on the sofa, he unconsciously started snoring.

The interrogation room door opened, and Station Chief Tong walked in, nodding to Zhang Yi and Deputy Jia, looking more troubled than anyone else.
"I failed to discipline Tong properly, please forgive me for making this a laughing stock."

Zhang Yi glanced at him calmly: "What did the Director say?"

Station Chief Tong didn't speak, but simply made a slashing motion with his hand.

Zhang Yi and his adjutant Jia exchanged a glance, nodded, and, not caring about what happened next, turned and left.

After the two left, Station Chief Tong walked up to Yang Neng, looked at his barely conscious state, and gave him instructions:

“Pull him up.”

The plainclothes officer walked over, lifted the towel off Yang Neng's face, and was about to help him up when he touched Yang Neng, who had been motionless, suddenly jumped up and bumped into the officer, causing him to stumble.

"Yang Neng!" Station Chief Tong shouted immediately, trying to stop him.

Yang Neng stared like a madman, his eyes bloodshot: "Stationmaster, you know..."

Before he could finish speaking, a gun was already pointed at his head.

Yang Neng, his face filled with disbelief and panic, said, "Station Chief, I..."

"What do I know? Captain Yang, how did our station produce such a traitorous scoundrel like you? You're about to die, and you still dare to argue?"

Looking at the "heartbroken" stationmaster, Yang Neng felt a chill run down his spine: "Stationmaster, you clearly answered..."

Before he could finish speaking, with a "thud," Yang Neng fell straight to the ground.

The plainclothes officer ran up and checked his pulse: "He's dead!"

Station Chief Tong: "Find a place in the backyard to bury him."

On the other side, not long after Zhang Yi returned to his room, there was a knock on the door. It was Station Chief Tong.

He walked in with a smile:
"Director Zhang, did I disturb your rest?"

"What happened?" Zhang Yi glanced at the door, closed it, and invited him to sit down.

"I came here specifically to thank Director Zhang." Station Chief Tong smiled, took out two gold bars from his pocket, and placed them in front of him. "I won't say any more polite words. This is just a small token of my appreciation, please accept it."

"Isn't that a bit inappropriate?" Zhang Yi looked at the two gold bars and said hesitantly, "It's all for the Party and the country, for Director Dai. I haven't done anything."

Station Master Tong pushed the gold bars forward without giving him a chance to refuse:

"Director Zhang is a high-ranking and powerful bodyguard to Boss Dai. We will rely on you a lot in the future, so please take good care of us."

"Haha, you're too kind."

"No, these are my heartfelt words." Station Chief Tong said sincerely, "Brother Yunyi, although we haven't known each other for long, I greatly admire your character and professionalism. Putting everything else aside, just the help you gave me this time is beyond words, so I won't bother with polite phrases."

"To be honest, I've only been in officialdom for a few years, but you have a long road ahead of you. While I can't offer you any real assistance, I can guarantee one thing: no matter what difficulties you encounter, as long as you trust me, I'll be there for you at any time, ready to stand by you and support you. Consider this our agreement, how about it?"

Zhang Yi inwardly sneered at these words, but outwardly he feigned gratitude and sincerely grasped Station Chief Tong's hand tightly.

"It's a word."

After Station Chief Tong left, Zhang Yi sat upright, staring at the gold bars on the table, lost in thought.

At that moment, he thought of Li Yishan's daughter, wondering how that lonely little girl was doing.

(End of this chapter)