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Chapter 27 After the Interrogation
Winters in Shanghai are very cold, a biting, damp chill that, accompanied by north winds and rain and snow, seeps straight into your bones.

After those people left, the door opened, and the wind kept blowing inside.

In the other rooms of the shikumen house, some tenants quietly opened their doors, glanced inside, and quickly closed them again; some lit lights but blew them out after a while; and some remained completely unresponsive.

Human nature is on full display in this room.

The days that followed felt like being immersed in ice water.

I thought I would be called in for a talk the next day, but nothing happened for two days.

But Jiang Wumei and Shen Xiangyun dared not go out; the curtains were always drawn, and not a ray of sunlight could penetrate.

They knew that under the current circumstances, they would definitely be followed as soon as they stepped out the door, and it would be even more disadvantageous if any unexpected situation occurred.

That night, the two put aside their previous unhappiness and had an open and honest conversation about the letter that had been taken away, and surprisingly, no one knew what was inside.

The unknown is terrifying!

Shen Xiangyun sat in the chair, repeatedly stroking the prayer beads. She had found these emerald green beads from some corner somewhere.

Jiang Wumei had not seen her mother use these things for many years, and she didn't know why she had taken them out at this critical juncture.

She was muttering to herself. Jiang Wumei had tried to find someone she knew, but after thinking for a long time, she still didn't know who to ask. Even if someone could be found, they were now people to be avoided.

"Mom... what would you like to eat later? I'll make it for you."

"Go steam some rice and stew an egg." Shen Xiangyun said with her eyes closed, her prayer beads turning incessantly.

"Knock knock knock." Before Jiang Wumei could finish cooking, there was another knock on the door.

The door opened and one of the men who had arrived that night appeared. He looked arrogant and said, "You two, come with me."

"We haven't eaten yet."

"Eat?" the man sneered. "We used to have that where I live."

Without waiting for a reply, he urged the two of them to set off.

Shen Xiangyun pulled Jiang Wumei, who was in a bad mood, and said, "Let's go."

Their first summons came three days later, indicating that those people either had found evidence or had found nothing.

As for what it's really like, you'll find out when you get there.

The incandescent light in the interrogation room was blinding. The person opposite slammed an envelope on the table, his voice like sandpaper scraping wood: "Tell me, how did you contact the people outside? What information did you betray?"

Shen Xiangyun suddenly looked up, her earring hitting her cheek. "I really haven't seen that letter."

"have not seen?"

The other party sneered, took out a few sheets of paper, and pointed at them, saying, "These are the deposit slips we obtained. You have been exchanging a lot of documents over the years, which is particularly suspicious."

"First of all, I don't know who wrote this letter, and I haven't read its contents. Perhaps you could let me read it first." Shen Xiangyun spoke calmly and her request was reasonable and well-founded.

I advise you not to be so stubborn.

Shen Xiangyun looked up at the person, her expression cold and emotionless. "Do you have any evidence?"

"These are the letters!"

Shen Xiangyun placed her hand on the envelope, and the person immediately pulled the letter away.

But it was too late.

Just by pressing her hand on the envelope, Shen Xiangyun could tell that it was empty; there was no letter inside.

So where did the real letter go?

The results speak for themselves.

On the other side, the atmosphere in Jiang Wumei's interrogation room was tense. The reason was that the interrogator spoke rudely, but Jiang Wumei spoke even more rudely, arguing with him word by word, which made the other party so angry that he almost overturned the table.

"Jiang Wumei! I'm warning you, confess honestly! Tell me what intelligence you've been selling all these years." "I already said I don't know anything, and you were the ones who delivered the letters. Didn't you read them? What's wrong? Now you think there's a problem and you're turning around and blaming me? Who knows if what you sent was even real?" Jiang Wumei was a typical example of someone who wasn't afraid of anything.

She crossed her legs, clasped her arms around her chest, and stared defiantly at the person opposite her.

Actually, when she first entered the room, she was quite well-behaved.

After all, this is not a good place; everyone says that getting out of here will be like shedding a layer of skin.

They might not be able to get out.

"Look at this! What secret code is hidden in this letter? Tell me honestly."

Seeing the letter that almost flew into her face, Jiang Wumei looked a little impatient. She finally caught the letter, and the moment she got it, she reacted extremely quickly, unfolding it in one go and reading ten lines at a glance.

"Snap." The letter was snatched back in an instant.

"Idiot, who told you to give her the letter? How could she even read it!"

Jiang Wumei suppressed her racing heartbeat, "Is this letter actually addressed to my family? I don't even know. Is there anything wrong with the contents? It's just talking about a dish."

"Who is this person? Don't you know? How long have you been in contact?" The interrogator's face grew increasingly grim.

Jiang Wumei spread her hands, "I don't know who it is, and I don't recognize them."

The interrogation lasted a long time, yielded no results, and was incredibly tedious.

After an unknown amount of time, they suddenly let her go home.

There was no explanation, just like when she was suddenly taken away in the first place.

Jiang Wumei pushed open the door and saw Shen Xiangyun, who had been brought back earlier, sitting in the empty living room. Most of the furniture had been moved away and was covered in a thick layer of dust, making a soft rustling sound when shaken.

"What happened to Mom?"

"It's nothing, it's just that those who were supposed to leave have all left." Shen Xiangyun's gaze was cold.

"Mom, let's go." Jiang Wumei squatted down and held her mother's cold hand.

"Where are you going?"

"Let's go south, to a place where nobody knows us." Jiang Wumei's voice was soft, but it carried an unprecedented firmness.

"I won't leave."

Shen Xiangyun refused.

"Why don't you leave? Are you still waiting for that man? We've suffered all this because of him! Look at this house, what's left? Nothing at all."

Jiang Wumei was extremely agitated. "I read that letter."

Shen Xiangyun's previously expressionless face suddenly changed. "What did you say? What did that letter say?"

She tried several times in the interrogation room but couldn't get her hands on the letter; she had no idea what was written in this new letter.

That was her husband's reply.

Jiang Wumei read the contents of the letter aloud, word by word. She sneered, "They didn't write anything like heartfelt words, just telling you to learn how to make braised pork. That's laughable."

“Braised pork…” Shen Xiangyun murmured, unconsciously tightening her grip on the beaded string in her hand, “He… misses home.”

“Home?” Jiang Wumei stared at her mother sarcastically. “You’re simply unreasonable.”

.........

"Beep beep... beep beep... beep beep."

The loud alarm from the hospital equipment pulled Jiang Wumei back from her reverie. Looking at her emaciated mother on the hospital bed, she looked serious and didn't want to recall how loud their argument had been that night.

But after that one night, she left home to go her own way.

(End of this chapter)