The train driver in the courtyard

Wuhan is an ancient city, but unlike Beijing and Xi'an, it was once the capital of a country.

It has never been a political or cultural center; it has been a commercial city since ancient times.

But it is not like Shanghai, Guangzhou and Tianjin, which were invaded by foreign styles several times before liberation.

Therefore, Wu Han is a real local commercial city.

When mixed with the commercial vulgarity that permeates the city, it gives people a particularly vulgar feeling.

The pinnacle of vulgarity is a strong sense of self-confidence.

Especially with the blessing of the Yangtze River and the Yangtze River Bridge, Wu Hanren is full of masculinity.

They are bold and straightforward, speaking in a loud and martial voice, with quite a northern air.

The sun was shining brightly in Wu Han at the end of October.

The streets are bustling with people and filled with loud shouting, but there is no trace of annoyance. Instead, people feel that this place is filled with a peaceful atmosphere of life.

It makes people feel that this is what life should be like for people in real big cities.

But, are there things in the world that should be like this?

No one noticed that behind the unique peace of this big city, a large net was quietly passing through the crowd and spreading towards a large courtyard.

Like many big cities in China these days, Wu Han has all kinds of slums.

They use cramped space to provide hard-working workers with a place to call home.

In a large courtyard on Wusheng Road in Hankou, old ladies and young wives sat in the shade of trees, fanning themselves with palm-leaf fans to enjoy the cool air.

The half-grown children were not afraid of the heat. They ran around the yard pushing iron rings.

The iron ring made of steel bars was the most magical toy in the eyes of the children. It rolled on the ground with a jingling sound, and a group of children followed behind it and shouted loudly.

Suddenly, the iron ring was picked up by a big hand.

The child raised his head, wiped his nose, looked at the burly young man, and asked timidly, "Uncle, do you want to play with the hoop too?"

"I want to play. Can you lend it to me for a while?" Zhou Wenzhong saw that the child was cute and felt childish too, so he said with a smile.

"This is mine. If you want to play with it, go home and ask your dad to bend it for you."

"."

Seeing Zhou Wenzhong being humiliated, Chen Dongsheng almost laughed out loud.

This is how underground work is done.

A scolding voice came from a distance: "Little Potato, how can you be so rude?"

Aunt Zhang from the compound came over and pulled Little Potato behind her.

Seeing that the person standing behind Zhou Wenzhong and Chen Dongsheng was the street office official, he quickly said, "Comrade, this child is ignorant, please don't mind it."

"It's okay. The iron ring is too expensive. My request was too much." Zhou Wenzhong felt a little embarrassed after being teased by the child.

Especially he knew that Li Aiguo and Lao Mao were watching this place not far away.

He was unscathed in the hail of bullets, but was beaten up by a kid. How shameful.

The street office clerk was very familiar with the situation in the compound. He walked forward and pointed at Zhou Wenzhong and Chen Dongsheng and introduced them.

"Aunt Zhang, the dormitory at Heinihu is full for the two comrades from Huangshi who came to participate in the construction of the Three Gorges Project.

There happen to be two vacant houses in your compound, let them live here first."

[After the founding of New China, the Yangtze River Water Conservancy Commission was established in February 1950 to carry out comprehensive management of the Yangtze River.

In 1955, comprehensive planning of the Yangtze River Basin and the survey, scientific research and planning of the Three Gorges Project were launched.

An agency called the Yangtze River Basin Planning Office was established.

Workers and technicians from all over the country gathered in Wu Han.

These people generally live in Liujiamiao, northeast of Hankou.

It was the passage into Hankou and wars often broke out there.

Before liberation, the militia had fought a great battle with the Qing army here. The blood flowed like a river and dyed the land black and red. People also called this area Black Mud Lake.

Because there were too many people, the dormitories in Heinihu were not big enough for them, so some workers and technicians were often assigned to live in Wu Han's various compounds.

Because the property rights of the slums belong to the street office and major factories, the so-called residents can only be regarded as tenants, so no residents in the compound will object.

What's more, supporting the management of the Yangtze River is an honor for the residents of the compound.

The only thing that caught their attention was that Chen Dongsheng was holding a huge iron box in his hand.

"There is a hydrological detection device in here." Zhou Wenzhong saw Chen Dongsheng standing there stupidly, and explained for him with a smile.

It was reasonable for technicians participating in the construction of the Three Gorges Project on the Yangtze River to carry hydrological monitoring devices with them, and no one doubted it.

Aunt Zhang and the old ladies and young wives were very active and the house was tidied up quickly.

Zhou Wenzhong pointed to the house next door and asked with a smile, "Aunt Zhang, why is there a red wedding character on this family's door? Did they just get married?"

“It’s Chen Zhongpu’s family. They haven’t gotten married yet, but it will be soon.

If you don't move out by then, maybe you can attend the wedding.

Nakaura is a sensible kid."

"That's great. I love joining in the fun."

There were two wooden beds in a room, and Lao Mao had sent some daily necessities and placed them in the room.

In a short while, the room became no different from an ordinary dormitory.

Using the excuse of having to work the night shift, Zhou Wenzhong asked those enthusiastic aunts to leave.

At this time, a young man wearing the uniform of an electric power bureau worker and a cotton mask walked in from outside with two electric power workers.

He had a canvas bag slung over his shoulder with the words "Hydropower Company 13" written on it.

Aunt Wang knew they were workers from the power bureau without the help of the comrades from the street office to introduce them.

Looking at the large coil of wires, she asked with a smile, "Where's the power?"

"Yes, in order to create high-quality living conditions for the comrades who support us, our bureau decided to connect the electricity first.

But don't worry, we will calculate the electricity fee according to the number of light bulbs, and will not use the total electricity of your compound."

Li Aiguo answered in standard Mandarin.

"Hey, young comrade. Look at what you are saying. They have come all the way to help us transform the Yangtze River.

If we are not willing to use a little of our electricity, wouldn’t that be too stingy?”

"Yes Yes"

People who do special jobs hate encountering these enthusiastic residents the most. Not only does it waste time, but it may also reveal flaws in their words.

Fortunately, there was an official from the street office nearby, who asked the old women and young wives to leave on the grounds that they did not want to disturb the work of the workers.

Only then did Li Aiguo bring two workers into the house.

After showing my credentials and counting the number of light bulbs according to the prescribed procedures, I officially started work.

Li Aiguo looked up and down the room and frowned.

"The electrical wires in this house are too old and prone to fire accidents. Let's just take this opportunity to replace the wires."

"It's free?" Photographer Chen Dongsheng recited the lines stiffly.

"No need, this is a public facility. Our power bureau will replace the wires for free." Li Aiguo said loudly and winked at the two workers.

Two workers took out the wires that had been prepared long ago, carried a ladder, and pulled a line of wires from the transformer at the street corner directly into the dormitory.

After pulling the wires in place, Li Aiguo closed the door on the pretext of checking whether there was any leakage in the circuit.

Chen Dongsheng hurriedly took out the camera.

He seemed a little nervous, and in his panic, he almost dropped the box containing the camera to the ground.

call.
Chen Dongsheng felt as if his pores were bursting and cold sweat broke out on his back.

Li Aiguo was quick-witted and quick-handed. He reached out and held the box firmly, then put it back on the table.

Seeing that the valuable camera did not fall, a hint of color appeared on Chen Dongsheng's pale face.

He looked at Li Aiguo deeply.

This comrade looks young, but he acts so quickly, no wonder he can become the leader of the investigation team.

"Old Chen, you are a brave soldier, don't be afraid!" Li Aiguo patted Chen Dongsheng's shoulder heavily.

Chen Dongsheng had also walked through gunfire and hail of bullets, but he was nervous because it was his first time doing this kind of "secret investigation" work.

Hearing this, he took a deep breath and calmed down.

He took out the camera and began to assemble it.

As a photography enthusiast, Li Aiguo has seen countless photographic equipment.

He was very interested in the cameras of that time. He took a closer look and took a deep breath.

There are actually three lenses on the front of this thing!
The three lenses rely on each other to form a majestic and domineering - bathroom heater triple camera.

That’s right, three prototype lenses form a circle, and the base outside is also a prototype.

This is the bathroom heater with three cameras!
Who would have thought that the three-camera bathroom heater that later generations are proud of had already appeared decades ago.

Perhaps seeing that Li Aiguo was interested in the camera, Chen Dongsheng introduced it while assembling it: "This thing was shipped over from the Russians before liberation. It has a resounding name, called the three-eye camera. It is considered high-end photographic equipment in the Russians."

Three-eye camera. The Russians are not very particular about naming.

It’s just that the Russians were a bit stupid. If they applied for a patent for the appearance, the fruit phone company in the future would have to pay a large amount of patent fees.

The three-eye camera is very large and has built-in film, so the installation process is relatively complicated. With the help of Li Aiguo, Chen Dongsheng took more than ten minutes to complete the assembly.

Seeing that the three-eye camera was installed, Li Aiguo connected the wires he had just pulled in to the camera through the socket board.

As the indicator light came on, the sound of film turning was heard in the camera, and the light bulb hanging on the roof dimmed twice and then brightened again.

Li Aiguo also breathed a sigh of relief.

This thing requires 3000 watts of electricity to operate.

In later generations, it is only about the power of an air conditioner, but in these days, if you dare to connect it directly to the compound's line, the line will be overloaded and will definitely burn out.

That's why they go to so much trouble to get a separate line of electricity from the transformer on the street.

After the arrangements were completed, the street office official reappeared at the right time and said with a smile: "Comrade electrician, the wiring in the compound is old and it is easy to cause a fire. Since you are here, I would like to trouble you to help the residents check the wiring."

"It is our responsibility to ensure the safety of use." Li Aiguo agreed immediately.

Checking the lines is no different from a free physical examination. When the residents learned that their home lines were going to be checked, they all welcomed it with open arms.

Li Aiguo brought two electricians to check the wiring from house to house.

Because the wiring in the house was very simple at that time, it didn't take too much time. After a while, I arrived at the door of the next door.

"It looks like this family isn't home. Is it appropriate for us to go in? Otherwise, let's just forget about it today."

Seeing that Li Aiguo was unwilling to go into Chen Zhongpu's house for inspection, Aunt Zhang quickly said with a smile: "Comrade, this is Chen Zhongpu's house, it's okay, you can go in and check."

"He's not at home," Li Aiguo said with embarrassment, pretending to be a lazy man.

"Comrade, with Secretary Zhang from the Subdistrict Office here and us here, even if Chen Zhongpu comes back, he won't cause trouble."

The houses in the compound are connected together. If the electrical wires in Chen Zhongpu's house catch fire, it will spread to the next door in just a few minutes.

Just kidding, in the past I had to beg everyone to ask an electrician to check the circuits, but today I have a good opportunity, how can I let it go.

After Aunt Zhang's repeated urging, Li Aiguo reluctantly nodded.

Aunt Zhang was not interested in circuits. Seeing that the young worker had been fooled, she immediately went to chat with the group of old sisters.

Li Aiguo winked at the two workers and asked them to guard the door.

He stretched out his finger and touched the crack in the door, frowned slightly, and pulled out a hair from the crack.

The electrician handed over the envelope at the right time. After the hair was put into the envelope, Li Aiguo stretched out his fingers and felt in the crack of the door again, but this time he didn't touch anything.

The door opened, but Li Aiguo did not go in immediately. Instead, he lowered his head and squinted at the threshold.

Sure enough, I saw a piece of quicklime behind the threshold.

Li Aiguo winked at power worker Xiao Zhao.

Xiao Zhao walked forward and left his footprints on the quicklime.

Li Aiguo then stepped over the threshold and entered the house. The house was very clean, with tables, chairs and benches neatly arranged. On the table were books mostly borrowed from Xinhua Bookstore. On the wall were yellowed newspapers and framed pictures.
It looks no different from an ordinary resident's home.

The only difference is that the inner room and the outer room are separated by a glass partition.

The room in the middle of the partition was actually locked with a big iron lock.

The door is closed, hiding all the secrets, which really makes people feel itchy.

The big iron lock was a new lock, painted black with an attractive luster.

There was no one outside now and there were two comrades standing guard. Li Aiguo could have easily used a piece of wire to poke open the iron lock, but he didn't do that.

Li Aiguo seemed not to see the iron lock. His eyes slid across the wall, found a suitable position, and then knocked lightly on the wall twice.

A moment later, there was a sound of a hand drill drilling a hole in the wall, and a small hole large enough to accommodate the three cameras of the bathroom heater appeared on the wall.

The location of the small hole is chosen very cleverly, and if you don't pay attention, you can't see it at all.

When drilling the hole, Zhou Wenzhong used a special drill bit, and all the broken bricks and dust were brought to the next room by the drill bit.

After Li Aiguo didn't notice anything unusual, he turned around and looked inside through the glass of the inner room.

The location he chose this time was on the left side of the chest of drawers near the end of the bed, where there was a piece of torn newspaper covering it.

"5.32 meters on the left, 2.1 meters high"

Li Aiguo visually observed the distance and position and reported the coordinates of the wall in the inner room, and the drill started again.

A moment later, a small hole appeared silently at the designated location.

Chen Dongsheng set up the camera there, and no clues could be seen from the outside.

Li Aiguo finally breathed a sigh of relief.

As we all know, hiding the camera lens is a difficult task.

Fortunately, the walls of the houses were in tatters these days, and people liked to stick newspapers on the walls, so there was an opportunity.

If it were in later times, encountering those latex painted walls, one would be at a loss.

But by then, a miniature camera will be enough to solve the problem.

High definition 4K with wireless transmission.

Otherwise, how could there be so many third place winners?

Ahem, don’t get me wrong, this is the first time for me, Li Aiguo, to install a camera lens.

The stage for the reality show is set.

Li Aiguo checked again and asked the comrade who had just stepped on the lime to make a few footprints in the house along the direction of the electric wires.

"Okay, let's retreat."

After closing the door, Li Aiguo threw his hair in front of the door. After closing the door, he went into the next room.

Chen Dongsheng hid in the house and kept watching Li Aiguo's actions.

Curiously asked: "Comrade, you just found the hair, why did you just throw it on the ground?"

Li Aiguo smiled and explained to the somewhat nervous photojournalist who was carrying out his first underground mission: "What is that hair for?"

"It's a safety precaution set up by the enemy to prevent anyone from breaking into the house."

Chen Dongsheng raised his hand and said.

Before liberation, he also received professional training, but he never had the opportunity to practice in actual combat.

"Once the hair is spotted falling, the enemy will know someone has broken into the house."

Li Aiguo asked, "Have we broken into the house?"

"." Chen Dongsheng thought about it carefully, his face suddenly changed, and he was shocked.

Checking electrical wires is something every household knows. If the hair is put back, it will make the matter even more obvious and Chen Zhongpu will become suspicious.

"So that's how it is, Driver Li. I learned another lesson today." After Chen Dongsheng figured it out, he sighed in his heart.

He just saw that Li Aiguo's movements were very relaxed, as if he had returned home. Who would have thought that he would notice so many subtle details.

"In our line of work, if we don't think things through, we'll end up with bloodshed and sacrifice."

Li Aiguo patted Chen Dongsheng on the shoulder and said, "Old Chen, you are a talented person. I am optimistic about you."

"."

Chen Dongsheng felt like he was a poor student who was deceived by his teacher.

However, it feels really good.

"Don't worry, Driver Li, I can definitely complete the task successfully!" He puffed out his chest.

Zhou Wenzhong was camouflaging the house. When he saw this scene, he sighed and shook his head.

He is also considered a veteran on the special front.

He had carried out missions alone several times and had cracked enemy strongholds. He could be said to be a veteran and knowledgeable person.

However, such a mission has never been carried out.

This mission seems very simple.

Chen Zhongpu has become a turtle in a jar, and it is difficult for him to escape even if he has wings.

But it is very difficult.

They needed to fully film Chen Zhongpu's method of committing the crime without alerting him.

In this way, it will not attract the attention of surrounding residents.

After the commotion caused by Wu Han a while ago, the residents are now very vigilant, and any negligence may result in all previous efforts being wasted.

What's more, we have to adopt the techniques of filming a movie. The difficulty of the whole task increases sharply.

Fortunately, thanks to Li Aiguo's meticulous arrangement, the hiding work was completed perfectly.

Now all we have to do is wait for the movie’s protagonist to appear in front of the camera.

After Li Aiguo finished the arrangements, he called an electrician to replace him.

This person's height and weight were very similar to his. After changing into his clothes and putting on a cotton mask, there was nothing unusual about him.

Three electricians carried the wire reels and ladders out of the house and, led by the street office official, headed outside the compound.

Aunt Zhang was chatting with a group of old ladies and young wives, and she greeted them.

"Busy working?"

"We've finished our work. We checked and there's nothing wrong with the wiring in the compound. But it's hot now, so I'd like to trouble you to remind the residents to use electricity safely."

An electrician said a few perfunctory words, turned around and left.

The slum fell back into its former tranquility, with leaves rustling in the breeze.

evening.

The fire clouds in the sky are burning beautifully.

Chen Zhongpu walked in from outside the compound, carrying an iron lunch box and humming a little tune.

"Zhongpu, you've brought back the leftovers from lunch. The treatment in your store is really good." Aunt Zhang looked up and saw Chen Zhongpu, and greeted him enthusiastically.

"It's Aunt Zhang. I live alone and I'm too lazy to cook at night, so I'll just make do with this." Chen Zhongpu greeted the residents one by one.

The residents all praised Chen Zhongpu for his ability to manage life.

"Although this kid is only a temporary worker now, the salary at the telecommunications repair shop is very high. He can earn 25 yuan a month, and he is still so frugal."

"Anyone who marries him will surely enjoy happiness."

"Yes, it's amazing that he can repair radios at such a young age."

Faced with these compliments, Chen Zhongpu behaved like a shy young man and even received praise from the old ladies.

After saying hello, he prepared to leave.

Aunt Zhang suddenly remembered something and asked, "I saw you drying rice this morning. Did you cook rice yesterday? Is there any rice soup left?"

In Lao Wu Han, "Nong Fan" refers specifically to drained rice.

When the rice is cooked to about 70% done, it is time to drain it. When draining the rice, use a basin to catch it below and a bamboo basket on top.

The rice soup produced by draining rice contains all the nutrients of the rice.

This is also a rare thing.

Washing clothes and quilts requires rice soup, starch, and hard work. At that time, neighbors would ask for it everywhere.

"There are a lot left. I'll give it to you now." Chen Zhongpu was very generous.

After arriving at the compound, Chen Zhongpu was able to quickly establish good relationships with the residents in the compound because he was generous enough.

Upon hearing this, Aunt Zhang thanked him repeatedly, went home to get the enamel basin, and followed Chen Zhongpu.

When he walked to the door of his house, Chen Zhongpu suddenly saw a figure moving in the house next door which had been vacant for a long time.

"Aunt Zhang, is there someone living in this house?" Chen Zhongpu stopped vigilantly.

"They are comrades who are participating in the construction of the Three Gorges Project on the Yangtze River. They have no place to live, so the street office temporarily placed them here." Aunt Zhang said.

"Really?" Chen Zhongpu frowned slightly.

At this time, Zhou Wenzhong's honest black face poked out from the window.

"Are you my neighbor? My name is Zhou Wenzhong. Sorry to bother you later."

"You're welcome."

There was no clue in his tone or expression. Chen Zhongpu nodded as a greeting.

He walked to the door, but did not open it first. Instead, he stretched out his left hand and hooked his fingers in the crack of the door.

His movements were very natural and his body covered them, so Aunt Zhang, who was standing behind him, couldn't see them at all.

He swept his fingers through the gap, but couldn't feel the hair. Chen Zhongpu's head suddenly exploded, and a chill rushed from the soles of his feet to the back of his head.

Aunt Zhang saw that Chen Zhongpu was slow to open the door, so she asked curiously, "Xiao Chen, what's wrong with you?"

Chen Zhongpu came to his senses, opened the door, and pretended to be calm and asked, "Aunt Zhang, is there anyone checking in our compound?"

"Check? Of course not." Aunt Zhang's words made Chen Zhongpu's heart rise to his throat.

But the next words made him put his heart back into his stomach.

"Someone lives next door, so the comrades from the power bureau took the opportunity to check the electricity in our compound from house to house to prevent fire.

You also heard that there was an electrical fire in a large courtyard on the next street, which burned down two houses."

"That's right."

Chen Zhongpu calmed down again, pushed open the door, and his eyes instantly fell on the hair.

The position of the hair was the same as where it fell naturally, and Chen Zhongpu felt that he was overthinking it.

His eyes moved forward and fell on the piece of quicklime.

The edge of the footprint on the quicklime showed that it was a size 45 labor protection chemical sole shoe.

This type of shoe is expensive and most people cannot afford it, but because of its good insulation properties, it has become the work shoe for power workers.

When we entered the house, there were no traces of quicklime anywhere except the electrical wires.

It seems that I am overthinking.
Chen Zhongpu breathed a sigh of relief, walked to the stove, picked up the stainless steel pot, and poured all the leftover rice soup from yesterday to Aunt Zhang.

"You are such a good person, child." Aunt Zhang was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling. She happily left with the enamel basin in her hand.

The heavy wooden door blocked out the sunlight, plunging the house into darkness.

Chen Zhongpu did not turn on the light. Instead, he turned around and rummaged in the drawer for a while, then took out something that looked like a flashlight.

Click, it turned on, and the flashlight emitted a light blue beam.

In the next room, the camera was started, the turntable was turning, and the 16mm film recorded his every move.

Zhou Wenzhong was watching Chen Zhongpu's actions through the camera and frowned: "Why is this kid's flashlight this color?"

"This is an ultraviolet lamp." Li Aiguo said slowly.

(End of this chapter)