Reborn in 1993, Dark Sea

The car didn't go to Xu Congzhou's tea plantation. Not far from Xiadong Town, it turned onto a small road and drove for seven or eight minutes, winding its way into a courtyard that looked like a farmhouse.

An Xiaohai frowned deeply. He knew this place. He had even come here to play with Pan Zhuangzhuang and others when he was a child. Some people in the village had even wanted to rent this place for tourism. He never expected that this place would be a safe place.

The courtyard was rather simple, looking no different from any other ordinary farmhouse inn, with a few chickens lazily sunbathing in the yard.

Xu Congzhou led An Xiaohai through the small building in the courtyard, turning left and right, and finally entered a tea room that was decorated in a rather elegant manner.

An Xiaohai had a bit of a headache. It seemed that all the security bureau's outposts were like this; if they didn't make you dizzy, it would feel like something was missing.

There was a person sitting in the tea room. Xu Congzhou didn't intend to introduce An Xiaohai. He led him to the tea room and then left, closing the door behind him.

"sit."

Ye pointed to the seat opposite him, and An Xiaohai sat down as instructed.

Ye was washing the tea set diligently, without even looking up.

An Xiaohai's first impression of Ye Du was not good. Ye Du was thin and bony, with high cheekbones and thin lips, which made him look mean.

Despite his dark skin, it couldn't hide his large dark circles under his eyes, giving him an impression of excessive indulgence in alcohol and sex.

"Ye Du, Director of the Southern Bureau of the Security Department. All members of the Security Department in the provinces south of the Yangtze River are under my jurisdiction. This is my phone number, please write it down."

As Ye Du spoke, he placed a business card in front of An Xiaohai. Ten seconds later, An Xiaohai took the card back and put it in his pocket.

"I'm a bit of a conspicuous person, so I had to invite you over. I hope you can understand," Ye said, placing a cup of tea in front of An Xiaohai and taking one for himself.

Sigh… After taking a sip of tea, Ye let out a comfortable sigh: “Isn’t our Security Department quite mysterious in the eyes of ordinary people?”

"It is indeed quite mysterious," An Xiaohai said with a slight smile, taking a sip of the tea in his cup. It was very fragrant and mellow, a good tea.

"Yeah, it's pretty mysterious!" Ye leaned back in his chair, relaxing.

"Actually, in our security department, apart from a very small number of people, most of the others are ordinary people."

They come from all walks of life and have their own regular jobs. They're just registered here to receive an extra allowance.

To put it bluntly, it's a part-time job.

Yan Hong, whom you know quite well, is considered a section chief here, but our allowances alone are far from enough; the bulk of his salary comes from the armed police.

So our work isn't easy; often we have to do small business to earn some extra income for everyone.

Take Xu Congzhou for example. He opened his tea shop with money from his family, and most of the monthly profits went to subsidize the bureau.

For so many years, he hasn't dared to go home much, afraid that his old man would beat him to death.

It wasn't easy!

He seemed a bit mercenary, but it wasn't his fault. You've helped us a lot by bringing him along to make money, which has solved a huge problem for us. Thank you.

"You're welcome," An Xiaohai said, taking a sip of tea. He finally understood why Ye Du had been talking to him about these things. After Ye Du's explanation, An Xiaohai's impression of Xu Congzhou and the entire Security Bureau improved considerably.

"I received orders from above yesterday, instructing the Southern Bureau of the Security Department to fully cooperate with the Security Department's work. Orders like this have been very rare since the Security Department was established."

I know something big must have happened, so I couldn't stay in Haizhou any longer and had to come and see you.

Can you tell me what happened?

"I think Director Ye can go directly to the security department; they definitely know more about the situation than I do."

"Great job!" Ye Du gave An Xiaohai a thumbs up: "That was a brilliant attempt to shift the blame! And you were very vigilant!"

"Director Ye, you flatter me."

"Hehe, after this is done, come work for me. You can be the director of the Shenzhen branch, and I'll let Xu Congzhou come and play with me in Shanghai."

I've already submitted the report, and it's been approved by the higher-ups. You just need to come over, sign it, and you can start your new post immediately.

Don't rush to reject me. I didn't say you have to start working right away. We'll probably have some in-depth collaboration during this period. You can make a decision after that.

Okay, that's enough about personal matters. Now let's talk about business.

Ye Du poured An Xiaohai another cup of tea:

"027 told me that you seem to be planning to go to Country T recently. The security department can't reach there, and we happen to have some friends there. 027 means that we should cooperate with you as much as possible in secret."

Cooperating in secret is their habit; they have never liked to put everything on the surface. This is not their fault; it is a mark left on them by the nature of their work.

However, I don't like doing it that way.

I prefer to put everything out in the open with my own people. Guessing and speculating is exhausting and easily leads to misunderstandings. It's better to have an open and honest conversation.

For specific details on how we need to cooperate, you should contact Director Xu directly. You are more familiar with him, so communication will be smoother. During this period, I have asked him to stop all his work and fully cooperate with you.

I won't get involved myself, so as not to cause you any trouble.

As long as you don't cause me too much trouble, I'm small and can only carry a limited amount of weight.

Alright, that's enough for today. We've gotten to know each other now. Everyone's pretty busy, so let's call it a day.

"We'll have a proper chat when you return victorious from Country T and report to the security department. Go on your way."

"Okay, goodbye Director Ye."

"Looking forward to seeing you again. Oh, just a moment!"

An Xiaohai had just stood up when Ye Du called him back. Ye Du took out a very delicate little box from the inside pocket of his coat and handed it to An Xiaohai.

An Xiaohai took the small box, opened it, and found a very exquisite medal inside.

"This is the medal we applied for for you. Take it. With it, I believe you'll be able to handle some things much better. Okay, that's all. Go now."

"Thank you, Director Ye. Goodbye, Director Ye."

An Xiaohai carefully put away the medal, turned around and left the tea room. Xu Congzhou was waiting outside the door. When he saw An Xiaohai come out, he smiled and led him out.

"How did your chat with our boss go?" Xu Congzhou asked on the way back.

"Not bad!" An Xiaohai nodded.

This is the truth. Although the first impression wasn't great, after this conversation, An Xiaohai's impression of Ye Du changed dramatically.

Ye Du didn't say much, but the amount of information he contained was enormous. He practically told An Xiaohai about the organizational structure of the Security Department, which in itself was a great sign of trust. It also made An Xiaohai realize that Ye Du was not the kind of person who followed the rules blindly.

As a result, An Xiaohai's impression of Xu Congzhou also changed significantly.

Ye Du and 073 are indeed two completely opposite types of people.

The car quickly returned to Apojiao Village. Zhou Meng was still standing at the village entrance. It was estimated that he wouldn't leave until he caught up with An Xiaohai today.

Upon seeing Zhou Meng, An Xiaohai couldn't help but smile. After waving goodbye to Xu Congzhou, An Xiaohai quickly walked to Zhou Meng's side.

"Why are you coming to my door all of a sudden, kid?" Zhou Meng asked, glancing sideways at An Xiaohai.

"Captain Zhou, come here, I want to show you something!"

Without thinking twice, An Xiaohai pulled Zhou Meng to a secluded corner, took out the box containing the medals, and quickly opened and closed it in front of Zhou Meng.

Zhou Meng's expression immediately became incredibly interesting. Although he couldn't see clearly what kind of medal it was, it was definitely a medal, that was for sure.

"How about that? I'm awesome, aren't I! Ha!"

Zhou Meng rolled his eyes at An Xiaohai, but in the end he still gave him a thumbs up: "One thing at a time. You've done a great job, congratulations. But this matter of beating up Lao Zhou can't be left unresolved!"

"Since you have a medal on you today, I won't beat you up. I'll remember it and beat you up another day!"

"Okay!" An Xiaohai nodded with a smile.

To be honest, An Xiaohai used to look down on medals and the like, even thinking that they were meaningless and just a way to fool people.

However, when he actually held his own medal in his hands, An Xiaohai finally understood its meaning:

This is an acknowledgment, a recognition—the motherland's recognition of merit and of the person. This kind of recognition cannot be bought, no matter what.

Seeing An Xiaohai grinning foolishly, Zhou Meng's expression softened considerably.

When are you coming to my house for dinner?

"Captain Zhou, is there something you can't tell me first?" An Xiaohai put away his medal and looked at Zhou Meng.

Zhou Meng certainly wouldn't be so bored as to come all the way here just to invite him over for a meal, and then wait for him at the village entrance for so long.

Zhou Meng must have something to ask him.

"There are a lot of things to talk about, and they're a bit complicated. It would take some time to explain, so I thought we could chat while we eat. But I can let you know first."

The government has allocated funds for us to build dormitories and can also allocate a piece of land to us along the coast. I would like to hear your opinion on which piece of land would be more suitable.

Also, our people have sent back some news, but it's not something I can tell you here. I'll tell you the details when you get home."

"So that's how it is..."

An Xiaohai immediately understood Zhou Meng's meaning. Zhou Meng probably wanted to take this opportunity to trick Haiyaozi again. The information he mentioned was likely about Haiyaozi's overseas base.