cicada

In the temporary residence prepared for the consolation group and government personnel in the border area, there are chefs on call 24 hours a day. Because the consolation group's itinerary is not fixed, there is no precise time for meals.

However, in addition to three meals, if they want to eat or entertain, they have to pay for it themselves. The price is not expensive, it is basically a cost.

This little money is nothing to the overseas Chinese and spies in Nanyang. The problem is that the residents are short of meat, and even if they have money, they can't buy good things.

At most, they are poultry and livestock raised by the villagers and a small amount of carp fished out of the Yellow River. For this, they have to go to the market to see their luck.

There was no way, the government had completely blocked the border area, and meat had become a contraband. Even the man from the border area treated Mr. Chen to a meal, and the rooster he used during the dinner was bought from the neighbor's aunt.

So Zuo Zhong handed the chef a stack of French currency and asked him to look at the arrangement. After waiting for a long time, he saw a plate of boiled cabbage, a plate of shriveled boiled peanuts and half a bowl of braised pork. The wine was also shochu brewed by the common people.

If it were placed in a mountain city, even the lowest-level secret agents in the military would not take a second look at this kind of food, let alone him. However, it is a rare delicacy in the garrison, at least it contains meat.

When Cui Hongyong, accompanied by Wu Chunyang, walked into the room and saw the dishes on the table, his eyes immediately widened, his throat involuntarily twitched twice, and he joked with Zuo Zhong.

"Team Leader Xu, you are trying to corrupt me. The last time Cui tasted meat was several months ago. At that time, his superiors distributed several cans of seized Japanese cans. The wounded were given meat to supplement their nutrition. I drank some meat as well. Soup."

This is not Cui Hongyong's deliberate misfortune. The conditions in the base areas behind enemy lines are more difficult than in the garrison, and the supply of materials is more difficult. The supply of coarse grains cannot be guaranteed, let alone meat.

"Hahaha, it's good that Instructor Cui doesn't dislike it."

Zuo Zhong laughed and asked the other party to sit down, and said with some regret: "If we were in a mountain city, Xu would definitely treat you to a taste of Guanshengyuan's food. For now, let's just have some drinks."

"Don't settle, don't settle."

Cui Hongyong shook his head repeatedly, picked up a piece of braised pork with chopsticks, put it into his mouth, closed his eyes and chewed it carefully, with a satisfied smile on his face.

This scene made Wu Chunyang stunned. It was just a piece of meat. There was no need to be like this. After all, the other party was also the instructor of the guerrillas. Could it be that he really couldn't even eat meat.

No matter how poor the logistics of the Guo army are, junior officers can still eat meat once or twice a week, let alone mid-level and senior officers. Not only do they have meat, they even have milk to ensure their nutritional intake.

"Old Cui, have a drink."

Zuo Zhong picked up his wine glass and greeted him warmly, and quietly winked at Wu Chunyang, hinting that he would toast, and some things could only be said after he had had enough wine and food.

Wu Chunyang came to his senses and quickly took the cup, but he was a little complicated in his heart. They said that the underground party was wandering around without attacking, so what was the purpose of the other party risking their heads and fighting behind enemy lines on an empty stomach?

Cui Hong swallowed the meat with reluctance, picked up the cup and clinked it with the two of them. He raised his head and drank the low-quality soju in one gulp, with a blush flashing across his cheeks.

"Okay, enjoy it."

After shouting "Hello", Zuo Zhong imitated the other person's example and drank all the wine in the glass. The spicy wine flowed down his throat and into his stomach. His stomach suddenly turned upside down and he almost vomited it out.

As the deputy director of the military command and someone's confidant, he received a lot of banquets, so he drank a lot of wine. Normally, he shouldn't be so drunk.

But what he usually drank was either the high-end rice wine that was popular among the high-level officials of the Republic of China, or the red wine imported from China, and the last one was 20-year-old Fenjiu from Shanxi Province. When had he ever drank such low-quality shochu.

After winking at each other for a while, Zuo Zhong picked up the chopsticks and pressed the boiled cabbage, secretly cursing that the wine was too damn bad, and decisively gave up the plan of drinking.

Don't look back. Cui Hongyong is not drunk. He was drunk first. If this matter gets out, someone on his side will be embarrassed.

Wu Chunyang, who also wore a mask of pain, was in a trance after drinking and eating some food. While he was trying to stay awake, he heard the deputy director's voice in his ears.

"Old Cui, let me say thank you again. If it weren't for the desperate protection of your army, Xu and the condolences group would have been in danger last time. In this way, we brought some canned beef with us on this trip. You can take them all when you leave the station."

Zuo Zhong slammed the table, looking quite bold, as if he didn't take the dozens of cans seriously at all, and changed the subject again after speaking.

"Although we all have our own masters, we can't let our brothers fight the Japanese on an empty stomach. Oh, what a pity. If you are willing to abandon the dark side and turn to the bright side, I can get you a few cannons, let alone canned beef.

Even though Mr. Xu is just a team leader, he is also somewhat thin-faced in the army. Lao Cui, do you want to think about it? They are all fighting the Japanese anyway. There is no difference between following the party state and following the underground party.

As long as you are willing to do it anyway, I promise, please go up to the peak and give you the rank of major, no, lieutenant colonel. The troops, weapons and materials under your command will all be allocated according to the standards of the Central Army, and I guarantee that everyone will be treated equally. "

Wu Chunyang suddenly realized that the purpose of the deputy seat's treat was to instigate Cui Hongyong to rebel. Also, the other party's ability was indeed not bad. It would be a good thing if he could join the government.

Faced with Zuo Zhong's sugar-coated bullets, Cui Hong put down his cup and wiped his mouth: "Thank you very much, Team Leader Xu. I'll accept the canned food with a smile. Alas, people have short ambitions but short horses have long hair. On behalf of the comrades, I would like to thank you for your support."

As for surrendering to the government, we are fighting against the Japanese under the command of the government. There is no need for a family to speak two different languages. How can we start talking about abandoning the dark and turning to the bright?

I personally don't care about my military rank. As long as I can fight the Japanese, I can be an ordinary soldier. People must learn to be content. Compared with those comrades who died under the gun of the Japanese, I am already lucky. "

In a word, I'll eat the sugar coating, and I'll hit you with the cannonballs. Cui Hong accepted the can with an unceremonious smile, and at the same time taught Zuo Zhong a political lesson. His attitude was neither humble nor arrogant, polite and polite, leaving people speechless.

After politely declining the offer, he filled the cup and raised it, signaling Zuo Zhong and Wu Chunyang to toast as a token of his gratitude.

Seeing this, Zuo Zhong had no choice but to have a drink. After drinking, he stopped talking about anything else and instead chatted with Cui Hongyong about his academic career at Beiping University Hall.

The three of them took a few sips of wine as they talked. Maybe it was because they were used to it, or maybe their mouths were numb. The soju that was originally difficult to swallow became much better now, and the unhappiness just now has long been gone.

Two hours later, Wu Chunyang left the show drunk and staggered back to his room. Zuo Zhong and Cui Hongyong were the only ones left in the cave.

"Old Cui, your drinking capacity is not good. Again, if you have other ideas, you must contact me, burp~"

"Deng Deng."

Patting Cui Hongyong who was lying on the table, Zuo Zhong burped and talked drunkenly. The next moment, someone knocked on the door, and a bald man stuck his head through the door and called out to the team leader in a low voice.

Zuo Zhong's face straightened, he put his fingers in front of his mouth to make a sound, then he stood up gently and walked to the door, closing the door behind him.

"How about it? Didn't the underground party follow you when you went out?"

Seeing the sneaky Gui Youguang in front of him, Zuo Zhong asked in a low voice while scanning the yard to make sure no one was eavesdropping.

"No, there were 5 stalkers in total. Their camouflage and tracking skills were quite professional, but they couldn't follow me. They just walked around in a few circles and got rid of me."

"Okay, don't be complacent. People's spies are everywhere. Is there anything unusual about Zhu Wenlin?"

"I haven't found it yet. He hasn't come out since he returned. And I found that the border area is also monitoring that guy. Team leader, do you think he is a spy?"

"and many more."

Raising his hand to tell Gui Youguang to stop talking, Zuo Zhong turned around, opened the door and looked inside, making sure that Cui Hongyong was still lying on the table, then closed the door again and replied.

"I do suspect Zhu Wenlin, but I don't suspect that he is a spy. The other person is probably a member of the party-state."

"What!?"

Gui Youguang exclaimed and his eyes widened. He didn't understand why the deputy director made such a guess. Why didn't he realize that Zhu Wenlin was one of his own.

Zuo Zhong walked from the door to the center of the empty yard, looked up at the stars above his head, and spoke of his guess in a voice that only the two of them could hear.

"I won't hide it from you now. Before we arrived at the bandit's lair, the bureau chief already knew that the condolences group had escaped and that I had a conflict with the underground party. There is only one explanation for this matter. We have something to do with the rebels. The bureau's eyeliner.

Our people have never been separated, so the possibility of problems is unlikely. Among the border personnel who were at the rescue scene and had the opportunity to act alone, there was Officer Zhu, so I said he might be from the bureau.

You must have heard that, in addition to the students from the training courses of Qian Xun, Xi Xun, and Lan Xun, the bureau secretly recruited some people. These people have no information at the bureau headquarters and are directly assigned by the bureau. Their identities are very mysterious. . "

Gui Youguang nodded. He had indeed heard people talk about this, but it was all hearsay. Now that the deputy director said this, it seemed that the rumors were true.

This kind of unidentified spy agent performs highly confidential tasks. Even if he is caught, the agency will not admit the existence of the other party, so the risk is very high.

"Team leader, what should we do? This bastard is a despicable person at first glance. He has the same virtue as Xu Enzeng, and you have a conflict with him again. Do you need me?"

Gui Youguang gestured like cutting his throat. Now that they were stationed in the border area, they were dealing with dissidents every day. Who knew what Zhu Wenlin would report to Shancheng, so why not find an opportunity to get rid of them.

"Forget it, don't kill people easily. After all, they are your brothers."

Zuo Zhong waved his hand and rejected Gui Youguang's proposal. He pinched the bridge of his nose again and pointed to the cave dwelling where Cui Hongyong was with a tired look on his face.

"I'm a little dizzy. Send Instructor Cui back first, and then leave a secret code for the bureau near Zhu Wenlin's residence to see this guy's reaction.

If I guess correctly, something like this happened today. Even if there is no code, the other party will find a way to contact us to prevent the flood from flooding the Dragon King Temple.

When the time comes, give him a warning and tell him not to talk nonsense. If... you shut his mouth for him. A spy with no identity will die as soon as he dies. "

Gui Youguang knew that Zhu Wenlin would just obey him. If he didn't obey, he would be sent back to his hometown. In this way, they would have fulfilled their friendship as colleagues.

Soon, the bald man helped Cui Hongyong leave. Zuo Zhong stood at the entrance of the alley and watched the two of them go away. When he turned back to the yard, his eyes stayed in a certain direction for a moment.

In the darkness, Luo Yongying lay tightly on the ground and held his breath. He breathed a long sigh of relief until the footsteps became farther and farther away until they disappeared.