Anti-Japanese War Espionage: I Have an Omniscient Perspective

In the refugee area north of Baylor Street, Huang Dazhu and his brothers were distributing coarse food to the refugees. Each person held a small bowl of brown rice in their hands, and their faces were filled with long-lost hope.

Manli stood aside, looking at the scene before her, and tears welled up in her eyes again.

A emaciated child clutched half a bowl of rice tightly in his hand, unwilling to eat a single bite, and offered the rice to the lips of a dying old woman beside him; several ragged women held shivering children in their arms, sobbing softly, their eyes filled with despair.

"These children... are so pitiful." Manli's voice was hoarse as she took the bundle from the maid and walked to Huang Dazhu's side, handing him the bundle. "Huang Dazhu, this contains the pastries and steamed buns I made this morning. I originally intended to give them to the refugees, but it's too little."

Huang Dazhu took the bundle, opened it, and saw that it contained several neatly stacked packets of pastries and steamed buns, still warm.

He felt a warmth in his heart and was about to thank her when he saw Manli raise her hand and take off the pearl-encrusted ring from her finger. It was a birthday gift from Wan Heilin, and it was quite valuable.

Immediately afterwards, she took out all the Chinese currency from her wallet and stuffed it into Huang Dazhu's hand.

"Take these too. Buy some grains and coarse food and distribute them to these refugees. My abilities are limited, and this is all I can do. I just hope that they can eat more and suffer less."

"Miss Manli, this won't do!" Huang Dazhu quickly declined. "This ring is too valuable, and you should keep these coins for yourself. We brothers will figure something out!"

"There's nothing wrong with it." Manli shook her head, a faint smile on her face. "Compared to these material possessions, the lives of these refugees are more important. Huang Zhuangshi, don't refuse, go and make the arrangements."

After saying that, before Huang Dazhu could refuse again, Manli turned around, walked to the team distributing food, picked up a rough porcelain bowl, and filled it with coarse rice for the refugees.

The maidservant watched from the side, hesitated for a moment, and then went over to help.

Seeing all this, Huang Dazhu stopped refusing and immediately instructed Zhao Lin: "Take the money and the ring, go to the nearby grain store, and buy as much grain as possible."

"Yes, brother!" Zhao Lin took the money and ring, and quickly led his two brothers away from the refugee area.

Manli, Huang Dazhu, and the remaining brothers continued distributing food. But there were simply too many refugees, crowding around them in layers, and their food supplies quickly dwindled.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..." Manli looked at them, her eyes filled with guilt, her voice choked with emotion, "We brought too little food, not enough for everyone to eat..."

Just then, the sound of orderly cart wheels could be heard in the distance, accompanied by the sound of people talking, growing closer and closer.

"It looks like a convoy is coming!" Qian Laoliu, with his sharp eyes, pointed in the direction of the refugee area entrance and shouted loudly.

Everyone turned to look, and saw a long procession of carts coming down the path in the distance. There were more than a dozen carts, and each cart was piled high with bulging sacks and packages. The sacks were marked with the grain store's logo, and the packages were so full that it was unclear what they contained.

Beside the cart, a number of people followed, including employees of Lianhua Film Studio, theater staff, and young people in school uniforms, walking briskly toward the refugee area.

"It's Manager Chen!" Huang Dazhu's eyes lit up as he spotted Lin Rui walking at the front.

Manli was also stunned. She saw her cousin Su Wan's figure. Now that Nanjing had fallen, the safety of her family was unknown, and only her cousin and she were left. She had asked Wan Heilin to search in the concession, but there was no news. She never expected to run into her here.

Soon, the convoy arrived at the entrance to the refugee camp.

Lin Rui stopped and glanced at the scene. When he saw Manli and Huang Dazhu, a gentle smile appeared on his face. He cupped his hands and said, "Chief Huang, Miss Manli, I didn't expect to meet you here."

"Manager Chen? What brings you here?" Huang Dazhu asked.

"When I was taking inventory of the film studio's warehouse, I found some autumn and winter props and costumes. Now that the weather is getting colder, I took them out and gave them to the refugees so that they could get through the winter." Lin Rui said, then turned around and introduced, "These are the owners of various theaters on Baylor Street. They were also worried that the refugees would have a hard time getting through the winter, so they sent food and clothes together."

As soon as he finished speaking, Mr. Wang, the owner of Jincheng Theater, stepped forward, cupped his hands in greeting to Manli, and said with emotion, "Miss Manli, we all know you are a kind-hearted person. We all know that Young Master Li is making things difficult for you, but we dare not say anything because he has the Japanese backing him. Now that the theater can't open, instead of keeping this food at home, we should give it to these poor refugees. It's a good deed."

Subsequently, the owners of Nanjing Theater, Lafite Theater, and Lanxin Theater also stepped forward to greet Manli and Huang Dazhu.

Looking at the scene before her, at the dozen or so truckloads of food and clothing, at these people who had been scattered and now gathered together, Manli's eyes welled up with tears again—this time, tears of gratitude. "Thank you, bosses, thank you, Manager Chen, thank you everyone..." Her voice choked with emotion as she bowed deeply. "With these supplies, the refugees will have more hope, and they will be able to get through this winter."

"Miss Manli, you're too kind." Lin Rui waved his hand with a smile, then turned to Su Wan, Chen Shan, and the patriotic students behind him and instructed, "Everyone, get to work and distribute the food and clothing to the refugees. Make sure to distribute them in an orderly manner and avoid chaos."

"Okay!" everyone responded in unison and immediately got to work.

At that moment, Manli walked up to Su Wan, who was distributing clothes.

He whispered, "What are you doing here?"

Su Wan turned her head. "Cousin, didn't I say I found a good job in the concession? I'm working as a clerk at Lianhua Film Studio."

Manli picked up a set of clothes and handed it to Su Wan: "Why didn't you tell me? I've been worrying about you the whole time. Now that Nanjing has fallen, you're my only family left."

Su Wan's eyes welled up with tears: "Cousin, don't talk nonsense. Mom and Dad, and Aunt and Uncle are all fine. They'll definitely be alright."

Suppressing their bitterness, the two focused wholeheartedly on distributing clothes to the refugees, using this as a way to alleviate their inner pain.

Other theaters nearby also began distributing food, and this refugee area was one of the few places to have a day of abundant supplies.

Two hours later, the supplies were distributed, and the theater staff said their goodbyes and left.

Manli also bid farewell to Huang Dazhu: "Boss Huang, I will tell Boss Wan about your matter, but I can't guarantee it will work out."

"Thank you, Miss Manli." Huang Dazhu clasped his hands in thanks.

Then, Manli brought Su Wan to Lin Rui and said, "Manager Chen, she's my cousin. Could you let her come back with me? I have a lot to talk to her about. I'll send her back tomorrow."

Lin Rui feigned surprise: "So you're relatives? No problem, go ahead."

After the two sisters got into the rickshaw and left, Lin Rui sent the five students home, while he and Chen Shan returned to the film studio.

Upon arriving at the film studio, Lin Rui, thinking about Su Wan's situation, decided it was best to report it to the station. He then told Chen Shan to go back on his own while he headed to the liaison point on Xiafei Road.

...........

Half an hour later, Lin Rui arrived at the eastern section of Xiafei Road.

As he approached the contact point, he almost instinctively activated his supernatural abilities to observe the surrounding environment.

There were no problems inside the stationery store, so we then observed the surrounding area from a three-dimensional perspective.

It seems like there's no problem.

Something's not right, Lin Rui suddenly became alert.

On the second floor across the street, someone was hiding in a secluded spot, secretly observing the stationery store.