Life in siheyuan era

Zhang Limin swallowed the mouthful of steamed bun, picked up his water glass and took a sip, then said again, "We are in a confusing state. First, where is the starting point?"

"I don't think the survey team will find anything. Treat it as a separate case, and they can survey it slowly. The Black Cat is the key."

"There is a key point here. Zhiyuan only met the Black Cat by chance. That copper ball was discovered by the Black Cat temporarily, so it shouldn't be the Black Cat's main target. There is something in that building that the Black Cat wants. The question now is, did it get it?"

After saying this, Zhang Limin looked up at Zhou Zhiyuan, who was eating the stir-fried cabbage in his lunch box with his head down.

But Shen Lanbo slowly said, "I'm wondering, Zhiyuan discovered the Fangshan doubt, and then he met the Black Cat. Is there a necessary connection between the two?"

Shen Lanbo raised a question, and Zhang Limin affirmed, "It's possible. Bold assumptions, careful verification."

After speaking, Zhang Limin picked up a steamed bun, took a bite, and lowered his head to pick up the cabbage in his lunch box.

Shen Lanbo raised a question, but didn't express his thoughts, and continued to eat the vegetables in his lunch box.

The three of them sat around the desk, each with a lunch box and several steamed buns in the middle.

Now it was Zhou Zhiyuan's turn to speak, "I have a hypothesis. That Black Cat doesn't set up closed spaces. This space is actually a passage. The Black Cat came to that building through this passage."

This aroused the attention of Zhang Limin and Shen Lanbo. They both looked up at him. Zhang Limin chewed his food and said in a low voice, "Continue to hypothesize."

Encouraged, Zhou Zhiyuan continued, "If this hypothesis holds, two conditions should be required. The first condition is that the Black Cat's owner is still there, but cannot come in person for some reason."

"The second condition is that there are coordinates in that building that allow him to set up this passage. And these coordinates should be something. Through these coordinates, the Black Cat can only enter that building."

"Whether the encounter between the Black Cat and me was accidental needs to be verified. What can be determined now is that the copper ball is something that the Black Cat must take back, and it didn't hesitate to come back to me after escaping."

After he finished his hypothesis, Shen Lanbo said in a deep voice, "If this hypothesis holds, our primary task is to find these coordinates. The mutton fat jade from Liu Wenxiang's side shouldn't be the key point. The key point is whether Hu Biao's side has anything else the Black Cat needs?"

"I think the Black Cat is related to Fangshan. Liu Wenxiang heard a loud noise, and then felt like he was being put into a black bag. This feeling is very similar to the closed space that Zhiyuan encountered."

"Combining Zhiyuan's hypothesis about transportation, we can make a deduction. Some kind of transportation crashed into the cliff, and then a few things flew out. The mutton fat jade has nothing to do with the Black Cat, but the other things are what it wants to take back."

"The Black Cat first chose the copper ball, and didn't hesitate to ask Zhiyuan for it, which shows that this copper ball is very important to it, and Zhiyuan returned it to it, which is beneficial to the subsequent investigation."

His words were to excuse Zhou Zhiyuan.

But Zhang Limin said in a low voice, "I told the higher-ups that Zhiyuan used the copper ball to explore the way and was snatched away by the Black Cat. Zhiyuan only discovered that it was a Black Cat when he was tracking it. Don't you two say the wrong thing."

Zhou Zhiyuan's returning the copper ball to the Black Cat was a big deal. Zhang Limin didn't have the confidence, so he fabricated another statement.

He understood Zhou Zhiyuan's little thoughts, and didn't want to cause trouble to his relatives and friends because of the copper ball. He understood, but he didn't know if the higher-ups understood, so he used a statement that everyone understood.

This statement was understood by Shen Lanbo and Zhou Zhiyuan, and they nodded together. Shen Lanbo said in a low voice, "Commissar, we need to clarify one thing. If it is a closed passage, and the Black Cat escapes into this passage, should Zhiyuan chase in?"

"Don't chase..." Zhang Limin replied decisively, "That is the enemy's main battlefield. Pursuing does not conform to our army's tactics. If we want to fight, we will fight on our army's main battlefield."

Zhang Limin made his attitude clear, and Shen Lanbo praised, "Commissar is wise."

But Zhou Zhiyuan disagreed, "Pursuing may be the only opportunity. If we don't chase, we won't be able to unlock this secret."

Then he asked, "What does the higher-up think?"

"I communicated with the higher-ups, and the idea of turning enemies into friends to obtain advanced technology should be approved by the higher-ups."

Zhang Limin replied very readily. This was the crystallization of a flash of inspiration, and he had to strive for it.

"If we can obtain the technology of closed passages?" Thinking of this, he must insist.

They studied it again, left the dormitory and went downstairs. Standing by the green jeep, Zhou Zhiyuan turned to look at the three-story building and asked worriedly, "Have Lanbo and I been exposed?"

Zhang Limin opened the car door and replied indifferently, "People with ulterior motives will know that you two are my soldiers. It's suspicious if there is no contact."

"Think about it carefully, Deputy Director Zhang is in charge of counter-espionage, but his soldiers are simple-minded and outspoken people. How tempting is this bait?"

These words made Zhou Zhiyuan feel awkward. He opened the car door and still asked, "Are you praising me?"

"What nonsense are you talking about? Drive your car." Zhang Limin roared and Shen Lanbo, who was sitting in the passenger seat, laughed. The conversation between Zhou Zhiyuan and Zhang Limin sometimes seemed like a crosstalk.

Zhou Zhiyuan sat in the driver's seat with a gloomy face, started the engine and drove away. Zhang Limin often let him be the driver, not caring that his right hand was disabled, and he would never give him a car, "What else do you want? An airplane?"

Zhang Limin ridiculed Zhou Zhiyuan, his request was too extravagant.

But Shen Lanbo spoke for him, "We really need a jeep. We don't have time to run to you to ask for a car at critical moments, and surveillance work requires a car even more."

Shen Lanbo's reasons were sufficient, but Zhang Limin asked suspiciously, "You want to monitor Zhiyuan, right? Because of that Section Chief Han?"

"Heh..." Zhou Zhiyuan laughed.

Shen Lanbo hurriedly explained, "I absolutely trust Zhiyuan. I want a car purely for work."

"Don't believe him, he just wants to monitor me." Zhou Zhiyuan continued to fuel the fire.

But Zhang Limin actually said, "I will report this matter to the higher authorities and try to get you two a car, but the prerequisite is that you have to keep an eye on it."

"No problem." Shen Lanbo replied readily.

But Zhou Zhiyuan shouted, "I am a doer, the car should be given to me. The scholar can just calculate at home, what car do you need?"

Shen Lanbo immediately replied, "The car is for you, the gasoline coupons are for me."

He is good at grasping the key points. A jeep without gasoline is just a pile of scrap iron.

They talked all the way, and the jeep drove onto the street. From a distance, they saw the tall building. Zhou Zhiyuan found a secret place to park, and the three of them got out of the car and walked into the building, going up the stairs.

Because of his poor health, Shen Lanbo had to rest for a while after going up one floor. It took him more than twenty minutes to reach the ninth floor, and another five minutes to reach the innermost side.

Zhou Zhiyuan looked at the platform leading to the roof, and Zhang Limin opened the door and walked into the house.

Then Shen Lanbo and Zhou Zhiyuan followed into the house one after another, closed the door and listened to Zhang Limin saying in a low voice, "This room is independent. It was originally intended as a dormitory for the building manager, but in the process of implementation, many inconveniences were found, so it was vacated for us to use temporarily."

Listening to his introduction, Zhou Zhiyuan glanced at the layout of the room. The space of more than twenty square meters had a bed, a table, and a chair. Fortunately, there was also a washroom.

This room was simple enough, but Zhou Zhiyuan didn't care. He listened to Shen Lanbo saying, "Brand new bedding and pillows, thermos, and washbasin are also new. They also prepared an electric stove, a spatula, and five kilograms of noodles for you. What else do you need?"

Listening to his inquiry, Zhou Zhiyuan would of course not let go of this opportunity, and immediately said, "One hundred kilograms of rice, one hundred kilograms of flour, and..."

Shen Lanbo interrupted him, "No."

"I have to bring food every day, bring noodles?"

Shen Lanbo ignored that this was a practical problem, and pondered for a while and said, "You come to my house for lunch every day. Anyway, Lanyin also has to go home for lunch. Aunt Liu doesn't mind cooking an extra meal."

Shen Lanbo came up with a good idea, but Zhou Zhiyuan refused, "No need, I'll go home every morning to get the lunch box."

He was not afraid of getting up half an hour early, but he would never go to Shen's house for lunch.

This attitude expressed estrangement, and Shen Lanbo said angrily, "When performing this task, don't forget another task."

"No..." Zhou Zhiyuan smiled, "I have agreed with Comrade Shen Lanyin to go to her twice a week. My plan is once on Tuesday and once on Friday, and the time is set at noon. Sunday is not within everyone's sight and is free time."

He thought this arrangement was good, but Shen Lanbo rejected it, "You have no time at night during this period, you must go to my house on Sunday and go to the park with Lanyin, and then go see a movie."

"I don't have time..." Zhou Zhiyuan explained, "I'm going to Zhang Yong's house this Sunday. Chief Engineer Zhang will be back on Friday, so I have to go see him on Sunday."

"I still don't have time next Sunday, I want to..."

Shen Lanbo interrupted him, "Lanyin and I will go to your house next Sunday."

According to etiquette, he should visit Zhou Zhiyuan's parents, but he doesn't need to bring Shen Lanyin.

Zhou Zhiyuan wanted to refuse, but suddenly thought of something and accepted it happily, "Okay, I won't arrange anything next Sunday. I welcome the arrival of Young Master Shen."

Zhou Zhiyuan thought that Shen Lanyin would definitely refuse, there was no need to play this black face, and he turned to invite Zhang Limin, "Commissar, come with us."

He was sincerely inviting, one meal could solve the problems of two people, and he could take advantage of it.

But Zhang Limin refused, "I am mourning, I can't go at this time. Wait until you let me live before going."

His mind was indeed not big. Zhang Limin still remembered what Zhou Zhiyuan said on Sunday night.