pjbooks Chapter 37: Even with a bald head, I still got promoted.
Chapter 37: Even with a bald head, I still got promoted.
The restaurant is small, but the food is very authentic.
At that time, Shandong cuisine dominated the city of Beijing. Without some skill, it was not easy to run a restaurant well, or some glutton might suddenly appear and ruin the reputation.
Thanks to his master, Tang Zhenghong became a familiar face in the Criminal Investigation Detachment of the Railway Public Security Bureau.
With his master's guidance, Tang Zhenghong prepared the gift with great care. The gift was not expensive; it consisted of ordinary tea, cigarettes, and alcohol, catering to Tang's preferences.
Sometimes relationships are formed this way. If you handle them well, you'll enter the circle; if you don't, it's because you're immature and offend people.
Since it was during working hours, we didn't stay long after we had our meal.
Looking at Tang Zhenghong, who was a few steps behind and had already become close with his teammates, Captain Fan said to Lu Zhang, "Your apprentice is indeed quite good. No wonder you care so much about him, Lao Lu."
"He's still a long way off. But he has some talent; with some training, he might be a promising young talent. Thank you for this, Captain Fan."
"You always say one thing and mean another; you're probably secretly overjoyed. By the way, I've checked on the matter of Jin Huizhu that he provided, and there's nothing wrong with it so far. Strictly speaking, what happened before Liberation can't be considered aiding the enemy."
"Okay, I'll talk to him and talk him out of it."
Captain Fan stopped and thought for a moment before adding, "If we investigate further, there shouldn't be any procedural problems, and the local authorities can't say anything either. On the day of the incident, she was indeed heading towards that enemy agent, but we just lack evidence. I'll call that guy over later and talk to him about it in detail."
Lu Zhang raised an eyebrow. They could find out they were connected to enemy agents and they still had no problem?
He wanted to hear what kind of explanation this was, and he even stopped calling him Captain Fan: "Old Fan, we just put down our chopsticks not long ago, don't you think your words are contradictory?"
The two were comrades-in-arms before. Fan Chongguang went bald but was promoted. He had made meritorious contributions in fighting enemy agents back then, and now his administrative rank is higher than Lu Zhang's.
"We've been friends for so many years, do you think I'd lie about something like this?"
Lu Zhang glanced at his apprentice following behind him, his expression softening, and invited, "I happen to have a packet of good tea with me. Would you like to come in and sit for a while?"
"You still have that awful temper. I don't know how your sister-in-law can stand it."
At this moment, Xu Fugui, who had just finished eating, lay down for a while and found that his neck, which had been choked, was now aching.
This startled Xu Fugui. He saw that there were no bruises or swelling, but he just couldn't use his neck. He was furious at having suffered a loss in silence, so he didn't go to sleep. He got up, packed his things, and went out.
"Honey, didn't you stay up all night? Why are you going out again?"
"I'm going to ask for a day off from the movie theater, just leave it to me."
Xu Fugui used his neck problem as an excuse to ask his boss for a day of sick leave, and then went straight to Jiaodaokou, where there was an old doctor who specialized in treating bone injuries.
"It's not a big problem. Just apply some medicated wine to clear the meridians and let it rest. How did you do this?"
Xu Fugui was too embarrassed to say that he had been pinched. The doctor was an old acquaintance, and it would be too embarrassing if word got out.
On his way back, Xu Fugui felt increasingly uneasy. He stood by the roadside holding the medicinal wine, hesitating for a long time before finally gritting his teeth, getting up, and heading straight for Nanluoguxiang.
When he arrived at the backyard, the door was locked. An elderly deaf woman was sunbathing at the door. When she saw Xu Fugui, she muttered rudely, "Bad boy."
Xu Fugui pretended not to hear and took a deep breath: "Grandma, want to sunbathe?"
The deaf old lady didn't even lift her eyelids.
Xu Fugui looked around and whispered, "You still want to sunbathe? You're probably in trouble this time."
"My old lady eats well and sleeps soundly, what problems could possibly arise? You wicked son, you probably just want me to die sooner, don't you? What, did you come here today just to cause trouble?"
Xu Fugui lit a cigarette, squatted down next to the deaf old lady, and deliberately blew out a puff of smoke.
This angered the deaf old lady, who picked up her cane and was about to hit him.
"Don't rush, you'll thank me after I finish explaining."
"Oh? You, Xu Fugui, have such a kind heart?"
"You've always been prejudiced against me, but I've already moved out, so it doesn't matter anymore. Anyway... do you know what that kid Tang has been up to these past few days? He's investigating what happened to Old Man Tang that day. Last night, I was taken in and locked up by people from his workplace."
The deaf old woman's eyes widened, but she just hummed indifferently without replying.
Aren't you curious about what they asked me?
"Only those with a guilty conscience believe everything they hear. I've lived all these years, and there's nothing I'm ashamed of."
"Oh? For example, you don't care about calling Liu's eldest son and Old Man Tang to Coal Shop Alley that day?"
The deaf old woman stood up, bent over, and stared intently at Xu Fugui: "Even though you've moved away, you still seem to miss this old woman quite a bit, don't you?"
"How could I not miss you? I remember all the kindness you and Yi Zhonghai have shown me, and I must repay such a great debt of gratitude."
"Do you think your former masters will still protect you like before? This is an era where the people are the masters. Now that you've moved out, live your life well, or you'll regret it when you stumble one day."
When Xu Fugui thought of his son still in this courtyard, he couldn't utter any more harsh words.
"They've tracked down to your place. Be prepared. I'm just kindly reminding you out of consideration for our years as neighbors."
Having secretly sabotaged Tang Zhenghong, Xu Fugui didn't linger. He got up, humming a Peking Opera tune, and left the courtyard.
The deaf old woman watched his retreating figure and cursed, "A weasel paying respects to a chicken—he had no good intentions whatsoever. A bad seed is a bad seed; it can never be changed."
Then he stared blankly at the front yard, sighed, and muttered to himself, "What's coming will come."
Criminal Investigation Team Office.
"Jin Huizhu was indeed heading towards that enemy agent that day. According to the investigation by the Military Control Commission, this enemy agent was actually a kite with a broken string, planning to use Jin Huizhu's past to extort money and escape. Jin Huizhu was no pushover either, and she took the initiative to report him to the Military Control Commission."
At this point, Captain Fan glanced at Tang Zhenghong: "That day, Jin Huizhu was afraid something might happen, so she specifically wanted to go to the scene to see where the other party was brought to justice. Unfortunately, this person was very alert, like a frightened bird, and escaped. He wanted to take Jin Huizhu hostage, but Old Master Tang stopped him. You all know what happened after that."
Tang Zhenghong remained silent with a sullen face.
Lu Zhang asked on behalf of his apprentice, "What was the reason that Jin Huizhu was being blackmailed?"
"Before liberation, there was a period of occupation. The Japanese invaders specifically targeted wealthy families for ransacking, and Jin Huizhu's family was no exception. At that time, the enemy agent was a bald-headed undercover agent, and Jin Huizhu had even saved him. Later, the Japanese invaders surrendered and left. When Beijing was liberated, some of those who hadn't left went into hiding."
"Because of our crackdown, many people who can no longer contact the other side have become like kites with broken strings, and therefore want to make a fortune and fly far away."
"What about her impersonating a martyr's family member?"
Captain Fan smiled wryly, "Strictly speaking, it's not exactly an imposter. This Jin Huizhu was a concubine who was drugged by the first wife. She never had any children and adopted two orphans, both of whom died in the war outside the Great Wall. Although she was from the bald man's side, she still contributed to the war effort. It's just that her family doesn't have any official credentials."
As soon as Tang Zhenghong returned to the courtyard house, Xu Damao came to pay off the debt on behalf of his father.
The relationship between the two has lost its former sincerity; they only exchange a few polite words on the surface.
Tang Zhenghong lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), holding his grandfather's belongings and reminiscing about him. The matter of the old deaf man was over, and now he could only rely on himself.
He harbored a deep resentment and plotted to find an opportunity or pretext to bury the old deaf man.
Feeling a bit itchy all over, Tang Zhenghong slipped into the space and took a comfortable bath.
The seasons in this space are synchronized with those outside, but he discovered that the vegetables he planted grow faster than outside. The tomatoes are already laden with fruit, and the cucumbers on the vines are ready to eat. They are old varieties of cucumbers, unlike the green varieties that need trellises and vines.
Following in the footsteps of Uncle Ge, Tang Zhenghong half-reclined on the space beanbag chair and ate three tomatoes in a row.
At that time, cucumbers were not yet a commodity, nor were they a technological product later on. He couldn't resist picking one, and his mouth was filled with the sweet fragrance of cucumber.
When he turned around, he was surprised to find a yellow question mark floating on the ceiling of the room.
If it weren't for his previous experience, Tang Zhenghong would have thought his house had come to life and was sending him little soybean emojis.
He found a ladder and struggled to climb onto the roof.
First, he prayed devoutly, silently vowing to use his good friend in the backyard for the rest of his life as a bargaining chip, hoping to get something good.
With a light touch of the finger, a panel appeared.
Clues: With experience in on-site investigation and a certain understanding of forensic knowledge, there is a chance to discover some subtle clues.
Tang Zhenghong was a little depressed, but it was better than nothing.
However, he stroked his chin and pondered the triggering pattern of the spatial colored ball. The last time, the "Miraculous Hands" was triggered around the time of the mission. Could it be related to the mission?