wind in the dark night

Chapter 288 Lotus Town

into the night.

Isabella Ballroom.

On the dance floor, accompanied by the band playing the dance music "Danube Night", pairs of men and women danced gracefully, including Du Juan and a blond-haired, blue-eyed foreign man.

Qi Yue sat alone in a corner, looked around casually for a while, and asked the waiter standing beside him: "Why can't I see Miss Meizhen?"

"She, that..."

The waiter hesitated to speak.

Qi Yue asked: "What's wrong?"

The waiter said: "Meizhen was not feeling well and left in the afternoon..."

The song ends.

Dujuan came over.

Qi Yue said with a straight face: "I've been here for half an hour, and you didn't even ask to come and accompany me. You just kept flirting with that foreigner."

Du Juan laughed and said, "Are you jealous? He is my old friend and he just came back from Japan, so I have to socialize with him..."

After the waiter walked away, Du Juan said, "Didn't you say you wouldn't come tonight?"

"I'll be out of town all day tomorrow on a business trip, so I stopped by to let you know."

"Where?"

"Lotus Town."

"Can you come back that day?"

"almost."

Qi Yue took a sip of beer.

At this time, the band on the stage played a German folk song "Erica". The foreign man who had danced with Du Juan before was very excited. He stood up and clapped the beat with his companions and sang loudly along with the music.

"This guy is drunk again."

Dujuan smiled and shook her head.

Qi Yue asked: "Who is he?"

Du Juan said: "Frank, a German, an employee of the Far East Trading Company."

"Why is he so happy?"

Qi Yue asked casually.

Du Juan said: "He was celebrating because he was finally freed after being held captive by the Japanese for more than 20 days. At the beginning of the month, Frank was transporting goods to Niigata, Japan, and passed through Kagoshima Bay. The Japanese Navy detained him and his ship, saying that they had violated the embargo. Fortunately, he was German, and he was finally released through diplomatic channels. The Manchurian crew members were not so lucky and have not returned yet."

Qi Yue’s heart moved: The cargo ship was seized?
At the Madiel Western Restaurant, Ishihara and Yamada Yukizo were walking and talking. Qi Yue heard some of their conversation and knew that the two met there because their cargo ship was seized by the Japanese army. He did not think much about it at the time and thought it was just an ordinary thing.

Is this a coincidence?
A question mark appeared in Qi Yue's mind.

Du Juan said, "There is something I wanted to tell you... Meizhen is pregnant."

Qi Yue was surprised: "Ning Zhiyuan's?"

Du Juan rolled her eyes at him: "Is there any need to ask? Who else could it be except him? During this period, Meizhen has been with him every day. Meizhen herself said that he is Ning Zhiyuan's."

Qi Yue seemed to be thinking about something, and murmured, "No wonder, Ning Zhiyuan has been going out frequently during this period, so this is what's going on..."

Du Juan said: "I thought they were just playing around, but I didn't expect it to become real. If Meizhen can marry Ning Zhiyuan, it will be a good destination for her."

Qi Yue said: "With Ning Zhiyuan's status and position, it is impossible for him to marry a woman like Meizhen. Even if he wanted to, his family would not agree."

"If that happens, Meizhen will be in trouble..."

Dujuan sighed.

……

the next day.

early morning.

Highway outside the city.

A van modified from an Isuzu Type 95 truck drove towards Lianhua Town in the snow. The words "Binjiang Special City Transportation Bureau" were printed on the door. Zhao Zhenhai was driving, while Qi Yue and Wang Peng were sitting in the passenger seat. This was a car borrowed from the Transportation Bureau.

"Captain, what is the mission this time?" "We'll know when we get there."

"How many days are you going to go?"

"It depends."

Qi Yue lit a cigarette: "Which of you two has been to Lianhua Town?"

Wang Peng said: "My aunt's home is in Lianhua Town. I have to go there every year during the holidays."

"What about you?"

Qi Yue asked Zhao Zhenhai.

Zhao Zhenhai said: "I've been there too. Lianhua Town is close to Binjiang, and it's not far to walk there."

Qi Yue understood that Gao Kejian had no other intention in assigning these two people to follow him. It was probably because they were familiar with the terrain of Lianhua Town and could at least serve as a guide.

Soon, the truck drove into Lianhua Town.

The entire town of Lianhua is not very big. There are two main streets in total, which cross each other and connect the east, west, south and north, extending to the small streets and alleys in the town.

The town office is located on North Street, a brick-and-tile courtyard building. The walls are noticeably higher and have barbed wire on the top. There is a sentry box at the gate with guards standing guard with guns.

It's time to go to work.

A middle-aged man of medium build, wearing round glasses and looking worried, walked into the town office carrying a briefcase.

The van drove up to the gate of the yard.

"What?"

The guard stepped forward to inquire.

Qi Yue rolled down the window and said, "Your Lianhua Town has reported to the higher authorities that they want to repair the road, so the bureau sent us to take a look... Is Assistant Wang here?"

The guard said, "He lives far away, and if it snows, he may come a little later."

"Let's go in and wait for him."

"go in."

The truck drove into the town office, and the three got off and came to the door of the assistant mayor's office. The assistant mayor and the clerk worked in the same room. Zhao Zhenhai and Wang Peng were guarding the door on the left and right, pretending to be waiting for someone. Qi Yue pushed the door open and walked in.

The gloomy-looking middle-aged man, Li Yongxin, brushed the snow off his clothes and looked up at Qi Yue: "Looking for Assistant Wang? He hasn't come yet. Sit down and wait."

"You are Li Yongxin, right?"

"……it's me."

"I'm from the Secret Service Department. My last name is Qi."

Qi Yue showed his ID.

Li Yongxin was stunned for a moment, then quickly said, "Officer Qi, please take a seat."

Qi Yue pulled out a chair and sat down, looking at Li Yongxin for a while: "Are you ready?"

Li Yongxin said: "I'm ready."

Qi Yue opened his briefcase, took out a bulging envelope from it, and threw it on the table: "Someone has already told you about the remuneration for being a spy, right? It's 50 yuan per month, plus 10 yuan for each piece of information, and important information is charged separately. According to your request, I will pay you 100 yuan in advance, you count it."

Li Yongxin opened the envelope and found small denomination bills inside, including ten yuan, five yuan, and even one yuan. He couldn't help but ask, "What's this?"

Qi Yue explained, "Your monthly salary is 20 yuan. If I give you a -yuan sheep ticket, it will be easy for someone with ulterior motives to notice something unusual."

Li Yongxin said "oh", counted the money carefully, and then said: "Officer Qi, I want to ask clearly, if I die, will there be an additional resettlement allowance?"

"Have."

"how much is it?"

"Two hundred and eighty dollars, paid in one lump sum."

"Officer Qi, I want to ask you a favor."

"You said."

Li Yongxin was silent for a while: "My wife and I are a married couple. We have two children. The boy is hers and the girl is mine. Can you...if I die in the future, give all the resettlement money to my daughter?"

(End of this chapter)