Siheyuan: I eat melons while doing scientific research

Chapter 1250 If Only I Had Known This Beforehand (4k)

“Yes, that’s what we think,” the man said.

"But... even so, what can we do?" The intelligence chief in charge of our affairs said, "We must realize that just as we know where their aircraft factories, tank factories, warship shipbuilding bases, and so on are, we cannot take any action. It is meaningless in terms of difficulty, the comparison between benefits and costs, or necessity. In fact, ordinary sabotage has no effect on them, just like a mosquito bite. What good is that?"

At this point, he seemed to remember something: "No, not even as good as mosquitoes, at least mosquitoes can carry infectious diseases."

It is obvious that they simply do not have the capability to launch a devastating attack on these targets without initiating a war. Ordinary explosive destruction is of little use. This is a vast country with ample reserves and strategic depth. Even if the destruction is successful, it would be meaningless.

Even so, this was under the premise of a 100% success rate for the sabotage attack, without considering the possibility of failure at all. In reality, it would be extremely difficult for our side to carry out any sabotage in that Eastern country.

The current situation there is that those willing to betray their country are mostly concentrated in the cesspool, and the few remaining dare not even show their faces and do not listen to their own side, instead sending their own people... Are you kidding me? Their own people are like a searchlight in the dark in that place.

He longed to achieve something, but he wasn't stupid.

“You misunderstood me. My idea is to let the forces that are willing, have a reason to do it, and are also able to do it do it do it. You know, a centralized special materials factory may involve many military equipment companies. Attacking this place may be more efficient than destroying one of their specialized factories, such as an aircraft factory. I don’t mean to stop them from producing altogether. I think that as long as we can disrupt them and delay their aid to Jiaozhi, that will be enough.”

What he said makes a lot of sense. It's like how some of Citibank's car companies had to stop production due to the shortage of rare earth elements.

"Well, what you said isn't entirely unreasonable... I know what you mean, maybe it's possible. I happen to know that they just suffered a huge loss, practically getting slapped in the face, so maybe they're looking to do something."

While the fact that the C-47 and its crew were released together was not particularly damaging—after all, the crew members were alive and in good spirits, and the aircraft was unharmed, with not even a scratch on its skin—it was extremely humiliating.

We don't need this anymore. You can take it anytime you want. Keep it for yourselves.

After all, they are the people in charge of this area, and they have a clear understanding of this matter. Although it is difficult for us to obtain intelligence, the other side is basically transparent to them.

"That's right, you can send this message over; maybe we'll see something that makes us happy."

If taking direct action against that side would require seeking permission from superiors, this level of action doesn't require any reporting; it's simply a normal intelligence exchange.

Danggui Island, Secret Investigation Bureau.

"The Americans have sent us intelligence, sir. What do you think of this?" an officer from the Secret Service asked his superior.

"How do you see it? I see it with my own eyes! These white people don't dare to do anything themselves, so they expect us to stand up for them! They've lost quite a few planes in the North Sea and Cochinchina." The superior sneered twice.

"Should we pretend we can't see it? After all, the other side isn't pushovers either. We can't waste the pieces we've prepared for a counterattack."

"No, no, no, we can try to do something. Don't forget, since we came to this island, we've generally had the upper hand. What's so scary about the other side? We need to maintain this advantage and this spirit for a long time! The other side is really ruthless... They killed someone without a sound. And to make matters worse, they even brazenly sent the plane back. I heard the old man was furious and cursed 'Damn it' all night."

The boss must be in a high position to be able to find out a lot of inside information.

It's unclear who this "old man" refers to, as many people like to use it to refer to an older, senior superior. The phrase "娘希匹" isn't any evidence either, as many people speak this dialect, and "if the superiors have a certain preference, the subordinates will follow suit." Even if someone didn't originally speak this dialect, it's normal for them to pick up a few phrases from their superiors.

"Yes, when we received the notification from the other side, many of my colleagues in this line of work turned pale. Everyone was on edge. Especially..." The subordinate also felt lingering fear.

The superior shook his head: "Forget it, let's not talk about such discouraging things. It's good that this intelligence from the US came at the right time. Although the enemy's coastal base has been exposed in name, the flat sea is not suitable for our operations. The navy is not even daring to go out to sea on the west coast, let alone the air force. Their speed is only used for escaping. Not to mention, the air force is the one that suffered this time."

"But sir, this location is not simple. It's the capital city on the other side. It's not so easy to make any moves, is it?" As everyone knows, the capital region is a strategic location, and it's not easy to cause trouble here.

"I know, you're talking about those brothers who failed in the Bohai Sea last time, right? We're not going to do this kind of long-distance raid this time. I've realized now that the air force, navy, US Navy, submarines—none of them are reliable! We have to handle things ourselves! The spies we plant ourselves are the most effective!" The superior's expression was somewhat fierce, after all, the people who had this accident were actually a direct slap in his face.

"But... back in Bo Hai's case, didn't we also ask the other side's hidden agents to activate their forces at the same time? And didn't they also fail to make a ripple?" Since these hidden agents were able to remain inactive last time, it seems unlikely that things will be much different this time.

The boss shook his head: "No, last time we were too lenient! We still have ways to control some people. Let alone getting them to act, even getting them to act in a suicidal manner is not impossible!"

"You can do that?" Why didn't you use it last time? Of course, the subordinate could only think it to himself; he dared not say it aloud.

"Of course, alright, I'll arrange it. Just leave the intelligence with me, and I'll handle it." The superior's expression was sinister.
-
February 12th, the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, Lunar New Year's Eve.

In a hutong in Beijing, a middle-aged man got up, ate a hot breakfast, and walked out with something in his pocket.

He's a lone wolf, so he's not going out to buy any more New Year's goods this morning. He's already prepared everything he needs to, so there's nothing to buy.

He simply enjoys the lively atmosphere on the streets during the Chinese New Year.

In the alley, someone was playing a New Year's song on a radio or something; the cheerful melody echoed all around.

Many children were dressed like cotton balls early in the morning, setting off firecrackers in the alley. Their clothes were bulging with cotton stuffing. When they saw the man, they raised their rosy little faces and greeted him with "Hello, Uncle," before happily reaching out to light the firecrackers.

The middle-aged man chuckled and agreed while listening to the voice in his earphones.

This thing is so convenient. The radio is small and the reception is much better than the old radio. It also comes with earphones that you can wear on your ears. They're not cold and they won't let you hear what you're listening to.

A female neighbor in the alley greeted him: "Master Zhao, it's Chinese New Year today, would you like to come to my house to celebrate together? You seem to be all alone."

Mr. Zhao smiled and politely declined her offer, then continued his stroll.

The other neighbors laughed when they saw this. "Hey, Widow Zhang still has her eye on Master Zhao, but unfortunately, Master Zhao just won't take the bait and is only interested in listening to his radio."

"What radio? A tape recorder! It's more advanced than ours! What's so strange about that? It's a new society now. Widow Zhang has been a widow for so many years. It's not unreasonable for her to want to find a man and start a family. Besides, this Master Zhao is a driver, a high-ranking official. He's such a good catch. It's normal for Widow Zhang to be interested in him."

"Hey, you know, this Master Zhao is strange. The two of them are quite a good match in terms of their circumstances. He's not young anymore, and Widow Zhang isn't bad-looking or in bad shape. She looks like she's fertile and can have children. Why doesn't he like her?"

"Who knows? I heard that before liberation, my family suffered a terrible loss, so I probably didn't have the mind for that."

"Died tragically" doesn't sound like a good thing.

Wearing headphones, Mr. Zhao ignored the neighbors' gossip and listened intently to the radio.

The festive atmosphere of the Lunar New Year is so comforting... Life here is getting better and better, it's a pity...

Mr. Zhao, who had been smiling, suddenly changed his expression as he walked.

He heard that familiar yet unfamiliar caller ID on the radio, a call he wanted to hear but dared not.

He wanted to hear it because he had something to worry about; he dared not listen because once he heard it, it would most likely mean that he would never see the increasingly beautiful world before him again.

"Special Envoy XXXXXXX, please copy this message..."

He didn't need to copy the recordings; with conflicted feelings, he simply pressed the recording transcription button on his portable tape recorder. Thanks to the increasingly better conditions here, even being a spy had become much more convenient for him; he could simply listen to the recordings and transcribe them later.

He didn't stop, but continued walking forward, looking around at everything with a greedy gaze.

He knew that if he didn't look at all this now, he might never see it again.

After a long while, he dragged his somewhat unsteady steps back to his room and began to copy and translate the recorded instructions.

After a while, Mr. Zhao slumped into his chair in despair.

He wanted to disobey orders, but he knew the consequences. He had gone to great lengths and spent almost all the profits he had amassed when the Japanese surrendered, as well as fifteen large yellow croakers, to get his wife and children onto the ship to evacuate to the island.

Little did I know that from then on, it would become a noose around my own neck.

The noose had never moved before, so quiet that he had almost forgotten its existence. But now, it suddenly moved, and it was about to strangle him.

If I had known this would happen, why did I leave my wife and children here? I could have relied on my hidden identity and those fifteen large yellow croakers to make a living, and at least my family could have been reunited and lived a decent life.

But now it's too late for regrets. He knows very well that if he doesn't obey, the island will really take action.

Who knows if there's someone in the same situation as me in that alley next door, whose orders were to monitor me?

He couldn't afford to gamble, and he dared not gamble.

The only thing that reassured him was that the instruction contained one of the coded messages he and his wife had agreed upon, indicating that his wife and children should at least still be alive. But now, it seemed unlikely that these coded messages would ever be needed again.

Weakly, Master Zhao groped his way into a side room separated from his main house by a door. The side room was dark, windowless, and cluttered with debris. He cleared away some of the clutter, took a car repair crowbar, and quietly began to pry open a section of the floor amidst the joyful sounds of firecrackers from the children outside.
-
At this moment, Gao Zhendong, along with Lou Xiao'e and Lou Shouxing, who was with He Wu, were watching the dragon lantern dance on the street.

He Wu looked on with curiosity and excitement; she had never seen anything like it before.

After all, we are a vast country with diverse customs. Generally speaking, the north is associated with dragons and the south with lions. The southwestern brothers may be associated with dragons or lions. In terms of customs, the southwestern F4 (or F3 at this time) are inclusive and open to everything. They have no objections and are not picky about noodles, rice, dumplings, rice noodles, glutinous rice balls, or glutinous rice balls.

Of course, some people eat tofu pudding in both savory and sweet flavors, but most people prefer it spicy.

He Wu had seen lion dances more often in Hong Kong, but never dragon dances. So, seeing the dragon dance troupe in front of him, he was very excited and eager to try it himself.

"Xiao'e, you don't know, I also do lion dancing on Hong Kong Island. I have to go up and perform during festivals."

No wonder, it turns out she was already doing this. She was just eager to try it out. After all, dragon dance and lion dance are the same thing, just with slightly different forms of expression.

Lou Xiao'e smiled without saying a word, watching Gao Zhendong and Lou Shouxing set off fireworks without warning. The colorful flames reflected on the two little ones' rosy faces, creating a dazzling display. The two little ones clapped their hands and jumped happily on the snow, about half a matchbox high off the ground.

For Lou Shouxing, since he had nothing to do at home for the time being, his sister's two nephews were quite fun to entertain him.

When some children came over asking for candy, Lou Xiao'e and He Wu happily grabbed a handful and gave it to them. The children bowed and thanked the aunties, while running over to the uncles hoping to get a few candies.

Gao Zhendong and Lou Shouxing happily distributed the items one by one, and everyone was very happy.

The only ones who will be hurt are probably the children in Gao Zhendong's courtyard house. They won't be able to see Aunt Lou's candy or Uncle Gao's firecrackers this Lunar New Year's Eve.

"Dinner's ready!" Mrs. Lou greeted them with a smile.

(End of this chapter)