Having read in the records that Feng Xia would become deaf and mute at the age of six or seven because her family lacked the money to treat a fever, Wang Xu silently kept this in mind.
How much could treating a fever cost? Xu Jiazhen might not have the money, but Wang Xu certainly didn't lack it.
As a modern person, Wang Xu certainly had many flaws, but those were for the sake of adapting to society.
In this dog-eat-dog world, if you don't eat others, others will eat you.
However, this didn't mean he was completely without a conscience.
After all, this was different from killing Xie Ruolin; that matter had been a necessity.
In a situation where there was no conflict of interest, Wang Xu didn't mind spending a little money or doing a small favor to earn some karmic merit for himself.
Of course, he would never admit that his willingness to help Feng Xia was because Xu Jiazhen looked like Gong Li and perfectly matched his aesthetic preferences.
Closing his notebook and opening the shuttle gate, Wang Xu returned to 1940 once again.
In 1940 Tianjin, there were very few forms of leisure and entertainment. As soon as it got dark, every household would turn off the lights and get to work making babies.
When Wang Xu returned, Da Huang was lying on the ground with a look of utter despair.
He stepped forward to tease Da Huang, but the dog didn't even acknowledge him, a display of blatant disregard.
"It really is someone else's dog!" Wang Xu stopped teasing Da Huang and turned to enter the house.
Today, he had told Yu Zecheng about Commissioner Shi; he didn't know how the Underground Party had handled it.
The Underground Party's style of operation was different from the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics; they didn't have the tradition of 'better to kill three thousand innocents than let one culprit escape.'
While this approach certainly had its benefits, its drawbacks were equally obvious.
Recalling the silver-tongued Commissioner Shi from the movie 'Little Soldier Zhang Ga,' Wang Xu was worried that the Underground Party might have run into complications again.
Bang, bang bang!!
Just as Wang Xu was lost in thought, the sound of firecrackers suddenly drifted over from the direction of the East City.
Listening closely, he realized something was wrong; those weren't firecrackers, those were gunshots.
Wang Xu's heart skipped a beat as he instinctively sensed that something big was happening. He quickly climbed the courtyard wall and then used it to scramble onto the roof.
Standing on the roof and looking east, he couldn't see anything clearly under the shroud of darkness.
However, the gunshots became more intense, as if two armies were engaged in battle within the city of Tianjin.
"What's going on? Did the fake commissioner send intel to the Japanese, leading the Gendarmerie to attack an Underground Party stronghold? That shouldn't be right. With my warning, even if Yu Zecheng couldn't contact Yanan, he wouldn't let the fake commissioner send any intel out. Besides, this gunfire is too heavy; since when did the Underground Party's firepower become this strong?"
Standing on the roof, Wang Xu gazed into the distance.
It had been at least five or six minutes from the moment he first heard the gunshots to when he climbed onto the roof.
The gunfire was as dense as popping corn, and every so often, there was a thunderous boom and a flash of light—undoubtedly hand grenades.
Wang Xu could believe it if it were the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics with such heavy firepower, but the Underground Party? Their guerrillas were short on guns and cannons; the entire Tianjin intelligence station probably didn't even have ten guns combined. Where would they get such strong firepower?
"Thump, thump, thump..." While Wang Xu was pondering, someone knocked on his front gate.
The knocking was urgent, indicating the person was in a hurry, which caught Wang Xu's attention.
Looking down from the roof, there seemed to be several people outside the gate, acting suspiciously and without any lights.
Wang Xu jumped down from the roof, walked to the gate, and asked tentatively, "Who is it?"
"Old Wang, it's me, Yu Zecheng!"
This address of 'Old Wang' made Wang Xu's skin crawl with awkwardness.
However, he recognized Yu Zecheng's voice and opened the door with a wry smile. "What are you doing coming over so late?"
When the door opened, Yu Zecheng was indeed not alone. There was also Shopkeeper Qiu from the Lotus Leaf Chicken Shop and a young boy of thirteen or fourteen.
Wang Xu's brow furrowed slightly. In the night, he saw Shopkeeper Qiu clutching his chest, his green gown already stained red with blood.
"Didn't I say there was a problem with the commissioner? How did it end up like this?" Seeing Shopkeeper Qiu covered in blood, Wang Xu knew things had gone south.
With a bitter smile on his face, Yu Zecheng spoke without looking back, "It's a long story. If it's convenient, let Shopkeeper Qiu go inside to rest for a bit, and I'll tell you about it later."
Looking at the sighing Yu Zecheng, Wang Xu really wanted to say: Why aren't you pretending anymore?
They met every day, and every day he pretended he wasn't with the Underground Party. I guess he can't keep the act up this time.
Of course, these were Wang Xu's inner thoughts; he couldn't say them out loud.
Shopkeeper Qiu's identity and Yu Zecheng's identity, much like the fake commissioner's, hadn't been a secret to him from the start.
Since Yu Zecheng was no longer pretending, he wouldn't make things difficult. He nodded and said, "Come in. This house originally belonged to a member of the Puppet Army; letting a few righteous men inside might help clear out the bad luck."
"Thank you..." Shopkeeper Qiu, who hadn't spoken until then, struggled to voice his thanks and then, supported by the young boy, walked into Wang Xu's small courtyard.
Yu Zecheng watched the two go inside. Only once they were in the house did he glance at Wang Xu, who was closing the gate, and ask, "Don't you want to ask about their identities?"
"Ask what? The head of the Underground Party in Tianjin, Shopkeeper Qiu of the Lotus Leaf Chicken Shop. And the little soldier from the White Yang Lake area District Detachment, Zhang Ga, Ga Zi!" Wang Xu shook his head slightly and spoke nonchalantly, "There's nothing to ask, don't you think?"
"Haha, I knew I couldn't hide it from you. I suppose you've been certain of my identity for a long time too!" Yu Zecheng wore a bitter smile. Seeing Wang Xu didn't answer, he continued to himself, "Thank you for your intelligence. Counting the business with Li Ya, the medicine in between, and now this fake commissioner, we owe you three favors."
"Don't be so formal. I'm a businessman; if you're good and I'm good, then everyone is truly good. By the way, what's with the gunshots in the distance? How did you guys end up in this state?" Gaining the friendship of the Underground Party was pleasing, but despite his warning, Shopkeeper Qiu was still half-dead, which Wang Xu found strange.
Someone who could lead the entire Tianjin Underground Party shouldn't be someone who was all talk and no action.
Besides, with Yu Zecheng there to help, how could things go wrong even with the intelligence? What were they playing at?
"It's a long story. After receiving your news, I quickly reported to Yanan and received word about the real commissioner. Shopkeeper Qiu secretly arrested the fake commissioner and had him send a message to the Japanese to lure them out. At the same time, we leaked the news that a commissioner had arrived in Tianjin to the Central Statistics Bureau people.
As you know, the Central Statistics Bureau is different from the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics; their primary responsibility is to deal with our Underground Party. According to the plan, the Japanese were supposed to clash with the Central Statistics Bureau, and we were supposed to sit back and watch the tigers fight. Unexpectedly, that kid didn't believe the commissioner was a fake and secretly released him during the transfer. As a result, Shopkeeper Qiu was shot while giving chase, and the man got away..."
As Yu Zecheng reached this point, a look of disappointment appeared on his face.
Wang Xu nodded slightly. No wonder Yu Zecheng looked so miserable when he arrived today.
At first, he thought Yu Zecheng was just worried because Shopkeeper Qiu had been shot, but he hadn't expected this to be the problem.
It was such a good plan—not only did they arrest the fake commissioner, but they also used his identity to set a trap for the Japanese. If nothing had gone wrong, the Japanese and the Central Statistics Bureau would have fought it out, and the only winner would have been the Underground Party.
Unfortunately, man proposes but God disposes. The Central Statistics Bureau and the Japanese did fight, but the fake commissioner escaped. It was like taking an exam where you could have scored a hundred, but ended up with an eighty; anyone would feel unsatisfied.
"Old Yu, you said Shopkeeper Qiu was shot by the fake commissioner while chasing him. Where did his gun come from? Didn't you disarm him?" Wang Xu immediately asked another question.
Hearing this, Yu Zecheng gave a smile that looked worse than crying and said gloomily, "Ga Zi gave it to him..."