Spy wars start with lurking Secretary Hong

Chapter 493 Liu Ping
Liao Chunxiang was both surprised and delighted. She lowered her voice and said to Sun Wang, "Dean Sun, just pretend you didn't see anything today. Don't say a word about it."

Sun Wang was a shrewd man, so he immediately nodded and bowed, saying, "Don't worry, Madam Gao, I keep my mouth shut. I guarantee it will stay inside."

Liao Chunxiang nodded in satisfaction, took the medicine, and left by car.

Upstairs, Hong Zhiyou and Gu Qiuyan watched the black sedan disappear around the street corner. They both breathed a sigh of relief, their tense nerves finally relaxing.

The atmosphere was a little awkward for a while.

Hong Zhi touched his nose, his face showing some apology, and spoke first: "Um... Sister-in-law, the situation was urgent just now, I was very offensive, please don't take it to heart."

Gu Qiuyan's cheeks were still flushed. She gently shook her head and said softly, "No, I'm the one who should say thank you."

She knew in her heart that Hong Zhiyou didn't care about her at all.

He was helping her, and he was also helping Zhou Yi.

……

At night, at the Gao family's house.

Liao Chunxiang hummed a little tune as she knitted, feeling exceptionally happy.

Gao Bin had just returned from the police station, looking exhausted and smelling of smoke. He was sitting on the sofa rubbing his temples.

"Why are you knitting this? It's been so many years since you've done it. It strains your eyes," Gao Bin asked curiously.

"Old Gao, I have some amazing news to tell you." Liao Chunxiang put down her needlework, her face beaming with undisguised joy.

Gao Bin didn't even lift his eyelids: "What good news?"

"Look at you!" Liao Chunxiang rolled her eyes at him, annoyed. "Let me tell you, you might... be a grandfather soon!"

Gao Bin's hand, which was rubbing his temples, suddenly stopped. He opened his eyes, his bloodshot eyes filled with astonishment and confusion: "What nonsense are you talking about?"

Liao Chunxiang proudly recounted what she had witnessed at the hospital that day, embellishing the story, and concluded with certainty, "I asked Dean Sun, and Gu Qiuyan is at least five months pregnant!"
When did Zhou Yi return?

Last December!

"The timing doesn't match at all! This child is probably Zhiyou!"

Gao Bin was stunned, his mouth slightly open, unsure of how to react.

Shock, elation, and doubt intertwined on his face, creating a fascinating display.

Liao Chunxiang looked at his dazed expression and couldn't help but nudge him with her elbow: "Just laugh if you want to. Your lips are practically pointing to the sky. Why are you pretending to be so profound?"

Gao Bin then came to his senses, coughed twice, and pretended to be serious as he said, "Nonsense! Don't make a fuss!"
He lowered his voice, his eyes sharpening: "Let me tell you, this Gu Qiuyan has a big problem. She is very likely a pro-CCP vote sent by the Comintern!"

Liao Chunxiang pursed her lips and said nonchalantly, "All you ever do is grab red tickets, grab red tickets! Can't you think of anything else?"

"Who cares if she's red or black? She can't possibly harm us."

"Besides, with that vixen-like look of hers, all she does is seduce men!"
"It would be strange if she got a red ticket."

She paused, then her tone hardened: "Let me make this clear from the start, if you want to arrest her, at least wait until she gives birth to our Gao family's child!"
"Otherwise, I'll never let you off the hook!"

After saying that, Liao Chunxiang went back to her room to sleep in a huff.

Gao Bin had a pipe in his mouth and a smile on his face.

grandson……

The Gao family's business has finally blossomed and borne fruit.

……

Three days later.

The streets of Moscow are bitterly cold.

A Russian man with a long beard walked out of a red house, holding a photograph in his hand and cursing.

"That old man is a complete idiot."

He wrapped his coat tighter around himself, strode into a room, picked up the phone, and dialed an international number:
"Hey, my old friend, I've found the person you were talking about, Moraeksky."

"That guy is a complete drunkard!"

"He'll tell you anything as long as you give him money and alcohol!"

"Damn it, believe me, he's absolutely rotten!"

"If you give him enough vodka, he'll even say Stalin is your father!"
“I’ve looked into it, and there was indeed a young Chinese student named Xu Qingqing at that school.”

"My friend at the intelligence headquarters also checked, and there is no information about Xu Qingqing on the list of trainees for the sixteenth cohort."

"Believe me, he is my best friend, and he never lies."

"You've been tricked, it's that simple."

"OK, bye."

He slammed down the phone and was just about to go out for a couple of drinks.

As soon as the door opened, two men wearing heavy woolen coats and with indifferent expressions walked over and flanked him from the left and right.

One of them showed his identification without any expression.

The bearded man's face turned deathly pale instantly.

……

Harbin, Special Affairs Section of the Police Department.

In the section chief's office, Gao Bin slowly hung up the phone, his expression a mix of relief and helplessness.

He raised his hand and wearily pounded his temple.

Cao Zhiqing, that bastard, was indeed spreading false information.

Of course, this was expected.

These intelligence brokers, after making a trip to Moscow in the freezing cold, they're bound to leave empty-handed; they have to come up with something to show for it.

As for Liu Ping from Beiping, Section Chief Shan Ming made arrangements three days ago to send someone to transfer her. Judging by the time, she should arrive in Harbin soon.

As he was pondering this, there was a knock on his office door.

Lu Ming walked in and handed a document to Gao Bin's desk.

"Section Chief, this is the detailed report on the Wolf Head Cliff female corpse case."

Gao Bin nodded, put on his reading glasses, and picked up the document to read it carefully.

"Have you confirmed that the person who fell off the cliff was a member of the Military Intelligence Bureau?" he asked.

Lu Ming answered affirmatively: "It's confirmed."

"This woman is a Kuomintang agent from the Manchurian Station, named Li Man. She has received specialized training in demolition and telegraphy."

"She was very good at hiding her true intentions, and on the surface she was still working for the Japanese."

"After her death, the Manchurian Station applied to the interior for a commendation order on her behalf."

Gao Bin tapped his fingers lightly on the report, then suddenly asked, "Where was Gu Qiuyan on the day of the incident?"

Lu Ming was prepared and immediately replied, "Liu Kui and I personally visited the outskirts. Gu Qiuyan was indeed collecting mountain goods from house to house with Captain Zhou that day."

According to the farmers, Captain Zhou left first, and Gu Qiuyan left after him.

“We also found a rickshaw driver in the village who said that he was the one who took Gu Qiuyan from the village entrance into the city that day. Judging from the timeline, there shouldn’t be any problem.”

Lu Ming hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Section Chief, I think you might be overthinking it."

"Even if we take a step back and assume there were two people at the scene that day, if the one who sent the telegram was a Kuomintang agent, then if the other person was Captain Zhou, he would most likely also be a Kuomintang agent, and at the very least, he couldn't be a Red Ticket."

"Although the Kuomintang and the Communist Party are currently cooperating, they were mortal enemies before."

"It shouldn't be that we're at a point where we can entrust our backs to each other and send telegrams together on a cliff, right?"

After listening, Gao Bin slowly nodded.

Lu Ming's words do make sense.

"I understand." He waved his hand. "You can go now. Remember, this report is strictly confidential and must not be circulated."

"Yes." Lu Ming responded and left.

Gao Bin picked up the report and looked at it again, then opened the drawer and locked it together with the previous intelligence.

He nervously patted his forehead and let out a long breath.

Could it be... that my intuition is wrong?
Gao Bin leaned back in the large leather chair and closed his eyes.

No hurry, no hurry.

Let the evidence and facts speak for themselves.

They will prove everything in the end.

He sat in the chair for a while, then suddenly seemed to remember something of great importance. He opened his eyes abruptly, pulled out a few books from the bookshelf, and spread them out on the table.

He picked up a pen and started writing and drawing on a blank sheet of paper, as if he was pondering something.

If it's a boy, it'll be easier to choose a name.

It is called "passing on the family line" or "inheriting the family line".

Yes, it's one of the two!
This matter is not negotiable.

I'll just have to swallow my pride and go to Zhou Yi's house to freeload off her postpartum celebration, and then "casually" give Captain Zhou a suggestion.

After all, the child's father is still someone else in name only.

However, these two names sound nice and have good meanings, so I suppose Captain Zhou won't object.

What if it's a girl?

Golden Branch? Jade Phoenix?
Gao Bin shook his head. "No, that's too tacky."

Zhiyou is a modern person, and Zhou Yi and Gu Qiuyan are both sophisticated people who have seen the world, so they definitely wouldn't like such an old-fashioned name.

Besides, there aren't that many rules for little girls. Why not just give her a nickname?
What should I call it?
"Sasa"?
Hmm, this is great! It's stylish!

Captain Zhou and the others shouldn't object.

Thinking of this, a long-lost smile appeared on Gao Bin's gloomy face.

……

Five p.m.

Lu Ming scurried over to the economics section, specifically to invite Hong Zhiyou: "Section Chief Hong, would you do me the honor? I'll treat you to dinner tonight."

He'd recently sensed that Hong Zhi had become distant. He needed to find a way to mend things.

Hong Zhi leaned back in his chair, his legs propped up on the desk, fiddling with a delicate lighter in his hand, without even lifting his eyelids.

He thought for a moment and then said, "How about we go to Liu Yawen's Romantic Western Restaurant?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Ming's mind immediately became active.

Liu Yawen is the daughter of Deputy Director Liu. Going to her place for dinner is clearly giving face to the leader.

Section Chief Hong is truly a master of interpersonal relationships.

"Alright! I'll arrange it right away!"

Hong Zhi put his legs down, sat up straight, and added, "Call Captain Zhou and Liu Kui as well."

Lu Ming's smile froze for a moment, and he was extremely unwilling.

A Western restaurant.

More people mean more money, not to mention Liu Kui is a big eater and drinker.

Hong Zhi saw through his thoughts and explained calmly, "Captain Zhou is everyone's superior, and Liu Kui is an old friend. It wouldn't be right to invite people to dinner without them."

He had his own plans in mind.

To avoid suspicion, he hadn't met with Zhou Yi for several days.

Taking advantage of Lu Ming's invitation to dinner, we can openly and legitimately meet with Zhou Yi to discuss the matter.

……

Soothing music played in the romantic Western restaurant.

As soon as Hong Zhi entered, he saw Liu Yawen busy behind the bar.

He stepped forward, smiling, and struck up a conversation: "Haven't seen you for a few days, our beautiful lady has gotten so thin!"

Liu Yawen glanced up at him and said in a rather annoyed tone, "You're welcome to eat, but no idle chatter."

"Besides, Section Chief Hong is extremely busy, and I wouldn't dare to waste your precious time in this small place."

Hong Zhi knew that this woman was still holding a grudge about the last time Director Liu treated them to a meal, which he had forgotten about.

He quickly raised his hands in surrender, apologized sincerely, and then sat down at the piano: "To express my apology, I will punish myself by playing a piece."

Hong Zhi gently pressed the piano keys, and a melodious new tune flowed from his fingertips.

Liu Yawen's expression softened somewhat.

Soon, the Western dishes were served one by one. Hong Zhiyou took his seat and began to chat with Zhou Yi and the others, and the atmosphere gradually became lively.

After three rounds of wine, five flavors of food.

Hong Zhiyou, holding a wine glass, seemingly unintentionally bumped into Zhou Yi's glass and gave him a look.

The two understood each other without saying a word, and got up one after the other, heading towards the bathroom.

Upon entering, the two spoke almost simultaneously.

"You go first," Hong Zhiyou gestured.

Zhou Yi lowered his voice and spoke very quickly: "As expected, the section chief sent someone to Moscow to find that Molekosky."

"Luckily, we listened to your advice beforehand and took action first."

"News also came from the Soviet intelligence department that they not only completely deleted Qiu Yan's information, but also followed the clues and caught a Japanese spy who was lurking inside."

"Of course, there's also the person that Section Chief Gao sent."

Hong Zhi nodded and said in a low voice, "Very good, this way your sister-in-law is one less in danger."

He turned on the tap, and the sound of the rushing water drowned out their conversation.
"There's one more thing, Liu Ping will be arriving in Harbin soon."

Zhou Yi's face darkened: "I've already spoken with Lao Wei. Lao Wei's suggestion is to keep it simple and direct: send someone to kill her on the road, and that will be the end of it."

“Cancel the operation,” Hong Zhiyou said decisively.

He turned off the tap, shook the water droplets off his hands, and stared sharply at Zhou Yi in the mirror.

“If the crime had been committed in Beiping, my uncle might have suspected that Cao Zhiqing was behind it, and fearing that a face-to-face confrontation would expose him, he killed him to silence him.”

"But if someone dies in Harbin, what do you think he would think?"
"All he thinks about is who the biggest beneficiary is, and that person is the murderer!"
"Isn't this tantamount to openly telling him that his sister-in-law has a problem and that Hong Piao has something to hide?"

Zhou Yi's brows furrowed tightly: "What should we do? Once Liu Ping arrives at the police station, she'll insist on Qiu Yan's involvement, and we'll be at a disadvantage."

Hong Zhi smiled and said, "You don't understand my uncle."

"He's an extremely suspicious person. The simpler and more direct the evidence is in his hands, the less he believes it."

“A few days ago, I asked a friend in Beiping to send money and a message to Liu Ping and her family in two groups.”

"A group of people advised her to stick to her story and identify Gu Qiuyan as the red ticket, so that she could live and get a large sum of money."

"Another group warned her not to say anything out of line, or she would lose her life."

Zhou Yi's eyes lit up, and he began to understand.

Hong Zhiyou continued, "Since my uncle was able to send people to Moscow, he couldn't possibly have ignored the investigation in Beiping."

"He will soon find out that there are more than one group of people giving Liu Ping money, and their stories are completely contradictory."

"At that time, no matter what Liu Ping says, in my uncle's eyes, her words will not be credible."

"What weight does the testimony of a witness who takes money to do things and contradicts herself carry?"
“Once my uncle becomes suspicious of Liu Ping’s testimony, he will definitely confront Cao Zhiqing. That’s when the real show begins.”

Zhou Yi looked at Hong Zhiyou in the mirror and smiled coldly: "You are a terrible guy."

"Now it seems that you are not only a philosopher, but also a psychologist."

Hong Zhiyou turned around, patted Zhou Yi on the shoulder, and said with a smile, "I would rather be an economist."

"Don't forget, you have to pay."

Zhou Yi laughed and said, "Don't worry, you won't be shortchanged by a single penny. Your sister-in-law's family has plenty of money."

“You two are really rich.” Hong Zhi nodded.

The two straightened their clothes and walked out of the bathroom as if nothing had happened.

Back at the table, after they had finished drinking, the group got up and left.

Hong Zhi stayed behind and chatted with Liu Yawen.

He actually really likes Liu Yawen; she has a stunning figure and is very beautiful.

Unfortunately, he simply doesn't have the time to pursue her right now.

He still preferred Xu Yunying's approach: if she could do it, she would; if she couldn't, she would leave, giving a straight answer without dragging things out.

Furthermore, he and Liu Ya-wen actually didn't have much in common.

Liu Yawen is inherently pro-Communist, and always likes to talk about vague topics such as revolution and ideals.

To Hong Zhiyou, this was just a spoiled young lady who relied on her good father and didn't know the hardships of struggle, spouting unrealistic nonsense.

Talking to her is like trying to communicate with a brick wall.

Hong Zhi chatted for a few more minutes, but too lazy to put up with her cold attitude, he got up to leave, feeling bored.

Just then, the phone on the bar rang.

When Liu Yawen answered the phone, her previously calm eyes instantly lit up, and she even subconsciously glanced at Hong Zhiyou warily.

Hong Zhi immediately understood.

It's most likely that her senior from Beiping, Zhang Tao, is coming.

Stupid woman!
He cursed inwardly and left the Western restaurant quickly without looking back.

……

Late at night, Harbin Railway Station.

A cold wind howled on the platform. Gao Bin, wrapped in a thick coat, stood quietly in the shadows with only a few bodyguards.

He did not inform Corey of anyone else.

Shortly after, accompanied by the screeching sound of brakes, a train slowly pulled into the station.

Several armed military police escorted a haggard-looking woman down from the road.

It was Liu Ping.

"Chief Gao, the man is now in your hands." The leading military policeman saluted.

Gao Bin nodded: "Thank you for your hard work."

The guards stepped forward and led Liu Ping into a black sedan.

Gao Bin instructed the driver, "Take her to the detention room in the hall first, prepare thick quilts and a heater, so she doesn't get cold."

After saying that, he got into another car and disappeared into the night.

……

On the street, a policeman on night duty took advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention and went into a public phone booth to make a call.

"Mr. Cao, Liu Ping has arrived."

The lights were dim in Cao Zhiqing's office.

He looked at Xiao Wu, who was drunk and unconscious on the sofa, rubbed his aching temples, and pretended to have a splitting headache as he got up.

He walked to the window, glanced warily at Xiao Wu on the sofa, and then lowered his voice to say into the microphone, "It's me."

"Okay, listen carefully."

"While Gao Bin is away, find an opportunity to secretly speak to that woman."

"Tell her that as long as she insists that Gu Qiuyan is a red ticket, she will not only live, but I will also give her a large sum of money to send her away from Harbin and make her go far away."

"Remember, be very careful, and never let a word of this slip out."

"Gao Bin is not someone to be trifled with."

In the darkness, Xiao Wu lay motionless on the sofa, yet he heard everything.

Good heavens, it turns out that Section Chief Gao was indeed deceived by Lao Cao and his colleagues in Beiping.

……

(End of this chapter)