Chapter 616: Popcorn

Explosion?

Zhang Yong's first reaction was sabotage by a Japanese spy.

Damn it!

There was actually a Japanese spy lurking in the train station!

Strange, why didn't I notice it just now?

The map didn't show it!

Could there be a mistake?

He hurriedly turned back.

He drew his gun at the same time.

Then he realised that something was wrong. It turned out to be an old man making popcorn.

He was hiding in a corner. No one had noticed him before.

It was probably an operation error. There was a loud bang and a cloud of smoke. The popcorn was gone. The big metal canister used for popcorn seemed to have disappeared as well.

The old man was left in the smoke, looking confused. It was as if he was questioning life.

Yu Linsheng and the others rushed over with their guns drawn.

They were on tenterhooks.

Then they wanted to laugh.

It turned out to be popcorn! What a scare.

A great relief.

Everyone else was also relieved.

To be honest, they were all very nervous on their first mission.

Any little noise made them think the enemy was coming.

Zhang Yong silently put his pistol back in its holster.

Then he noticed Xu Enzeng sitting on the ground.

Huh?

What's he doing sitting on the ground?

Can't even walk properly? Fell over? Or was he just startled by the popcorn?

Haha!

If it was the latter, it was absolutely hilarious.

The head of the Party Affairs Investigation Department was actually scared by the sound of popcorn and sat on the ground with a thud.

What a spectacle!

I've never seen anything like it.

Hurry up and take out the camera.

Quickly load the film.

'Click!'

'Click!'

Take a quick photo.

Such a beautiful moment, how can you not take a photo to remember?

Later, when Xu Enzeng and I had a falling out again, I sent the photo directly to various newspapers, and it made the headlines!

Haha! It was almost laughable.

Xu Enzeng was really shocked. He thought Zhang Yong had fired the gun.

No one else would be so crazy. But Zhang Yong, you never know. The guy is really crazy.

Then I realised it wasn't.

Someone was popping popcorn.

Damn it!

I was actually shocked.

It was all Zhang Yong's fault!

He is the culprit.

Everything is caused by Zhang Yong.

This bastard...

Wait!

What is he doing?

Is he taking a picture?

Damn it!

Taking pictures!

He hurriedly got up. He rushed towards Zhang Yong.

Damn it!

How can you take pictures of this kind of thing?

What do you want to do?

As a result, Qin Lishan and the others blocked him.

Are you kidding? How could they let Xu Enzeng rush to Zhang Yong's front. It's impossible.

'Zhang Yong!'

'Zhang Yong!'

Xu Enzeng called anxiously.

He had really lost his temper. He was really worried that Zhang Yong would do something rash.

If Zhang Yong sent the photo to every newspaper, then it would be over. His image as Xu Enzeng would probably plummet from then on.

What?

The newspapers dare not publish it?

With Zhang Yong behind him, what is there to be afraid of?

Besides, some newspapers run by foreigners don't care about you at all. As long as you pay, they'll publish any photo you want.

'Director Xu, what can I do for you?' Zhang Yong smiled. He was a harmless guy.

'What were you taking photos of?' Xu Enzeng was anxious and angry.

'Oh, you mean this? I was just taking photos of the tourists hurrying about. Tomorrow is New Year's Eve...'

'Don't give me any nonsense. Take the film out immediately and expose it.'

'I'm not listening to you.'

'You...'

Xu Enzeng was caught off guard.

Yes. No one would ever listen to him. Who was he to ask others to do so?

There was no point in saying more. It would only make the other person feel incompetent.

'You'll regret it,'

Xu Enzeng said angrily, turning away. He evacuated with his subordinates.

He never wanted to spend another moment at the train station. Just seeing Zhang Yong made him want to explode.

The people had gone. The train station was quiet.

Zhang Yong waved his hand. He told his subordinates to disperse. They should try to hide as much as possible.

At the same time, he sent someone to inform the railway station that it could operate normally.

Anyone who could enter the station should hurry in.

Anyone who could leave the station should hurry out.

'No need for inspection.'

'Anyone with a ticket should get on the train. Speed up ticket inspections for those leaving the station. Hurry and get people out of here.'

'If anything goes wrong, I, Zhang Yong, will take responsibility.'

Zhang Yong called the station manager over and gave him direct orders.

The stationmaster was older than Zhang Yong's father, but he was respectful.

There was no way to provoke these fierce men from the secret service! Zhang Yong didn't cause them trouble, they were already grateful.

Since Zhang Yong had given the order, they just carried it out.

So...

Those who wanted to take the train, quickly got on.

Those who wanted to leave the station, quickly left.

The crowd gradually became denser.

The crowd that had been blocked by Xu Enzeng was quickly dispersed.

Zhang Yong held up his binoculars and silently observed the dense crowd. He was testing his judgment. He wanted to see if he could tell which were the Red Party members.

Unfortunately, he couldn't. None of them looked like them. He didn't know if any Red Party members had gotten on the train.

Moreover, the map didn't show any Japanese spies.

He was right when he accused Xu Enzeng just now. That was indeed the case.

Xu Enzeng had mobilised the entire force to search for the Red Party, inevitably making all the Japanese spies on the alert. They had gone into hiding.

They would not have come out and moved around if it was not absolutely necessary.

Knowing that the train station was being guarded, the Japanese spies would of course not come here. His waiting here for them to come would certainly not be effective.

However, Zhang Yong did not order a retreat. He still had to control the railway station. He had to try to facilitate the retreat of the Red Party. Unless Lao Bai appeared and said that everyone had evacuated, he would not leave.

He had nothing to do.

It was a good time to think about what had happened.

Right now, he really needed a task tracking list.

The kind of online game panel.

Otherwise, he would not know what he had actually done and what he had not done.

It seemed that he had done a little of a lot of things and then left them behind.

He was in the world and could not help himself.

At the boss's command, he has to go and do something immediately.

So, at the wife's command, he immediately came from Tianjin to Hangzhou as fast as he could.

He left everything and everyone behind in Tianjin.

He doesn't know when he will be able to go back. Even if he does, he will probably find a mess.

Sigh...

He continued to hold up his binoculars and pondered over every passenger entering and leaving the train station. Suddenly, he noticed a vaguely familiar figure.

He was sure he had seen this person before. But he couldn't quite remember.

The other person was dressed warmly, wearing a scarf and a cap. The brim was pushed down low. You could hardly see his face.

Who was it?

What was he doing in Hangzhou?

Zhang Yong's mind raced. Finally, he gave his forehead a hard slap.

Damn memory!

It's so bad!

As a result, after two slaps, he finally remembered.

Li Yuanqing!

That's right. It was him!

No wonder it felt a little familiar. But it was also unfamiliar.

This guy was the captain of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau and was previously on the same level as Zhu Yuan. He was said to be an expert at solving cases.

Later, according to Zhu Yuan, Li Yuanqing took refuge with Akagi Takasumi. So he gradually distanced himself from Zhu Yuan.

After that, there was no news of this Li Yuanqing.

Unexpectedly, he appeared in Hangzhou today. And at this very sensitive time.

What is he doing here?

Is his hometown Hangzhou?

Instinctively, Zhang Yong wanted to send someone to follow him. To see what this guy was really up to.

Sneaking around like that, he must be up to no good.

But then Zhang Yong changed his mind. This guy is very clever, and we might not be able to keep him under surveillance. On the contrary, we might scare him off.

He is now leading the team. There is no expert at tailing. They are all rookies. Including Qin Lishan. The veterans like Qin Lishan are good at fighting and fighting, but they know nothing about tailing, interrogation, and so on. Not to mention those police academy graduates who have just been recruited.

On their first field tailing, they encountered a master like Li Yuanqing, and they must have been defeated!

Without making a sound, he gave Li Yuanqing a mark. He silently watched him leave the train station.

'Boom!'

Suddenly, there was another muffled sound.

Zhang Yong looked in the direction of the sound. It was the old man again. He had made another pot of popcorn.

This time, there was no accident and the large metal can did not blow up.

As he was bored, Zhang Yong walked over.

Let's buy some popcorn to eat!

It's the New Year, and it's really not easy for the old man to be out here selling popcorn by himself.

He bought the whole lot. Let him go home and celebrate the New Year.

He went up to the old man.

The old man was slowly tidying up.

Alas, it is really hard for an old man in his seventies. How hard life is for the poor.

'Old man!'

Zhang Yong called out.

As a result, the old man did not respond.

'Old man!'

Zhang Yong raised his voice.

As a result, the old man still did not respond.

He was still tidying up the popcorn slowly.

Zhang Yong: ...

Could it be that he is deaf?

Slow to react. And deaf. This business is...

He takes out a large coin. He goes around to the front of the old man.

The old man finally sees him.

He also sees the large coin in his hand. This causes some reaction.

'How much is the popcorn?'

'I'll buy it all. How much?'

Zhang Yong shouts. He's afraid the old man won't hear him again.

As a result, the old man stooped over, fished around, and pulled two lumps of cotton out of his ears.

Zhang Yong then realised that the other party was not deaf. It was the most primitive protective measure.

Otherwise, every time there would be a loud bang, and I am afraid that he would become really deaf.

'I'll buy a dollar's worth of popcorn,' Zhang Yong said, shaking the dollar in his hand.

The old man reached out and took the dollar. Then he gave him the whole bag of popcorn.

Zhang Yong: Huh?

Huh? That much?

Oh. It seems to be about right.

He gave it to himself, but it's a dollar. The purchasing power is off the charts.

These days, a typical family of five with a monthly living expense of three dollars is basically enough.

If you have an income of five dollars a month, you basically won't have any problems.

If you have more than eight dollars, you can say you're doing well.

Of course, I'm talking about real money. Paper money and the like don't count. Paper money is worthless.

Even if it's newly issued fiat currency, from the very beginning, its purchasing power is inferior to real money. Although the official requirement is one-to-one.

'Thank you!'

Zhang Yong took the popcorn and was about to leave.

The old man held up two fingers. Then he told him that there were two more cans.

Oh. Then wait.

Zhang Yong then stood aside and watched the old man operate.

To be honest, in his previous life as a child, he was actually quite curious about this thing. He never figured out the principle.

He chatted with the old man.

He answered in monosyllables, studying the popcorn.

The question that had always puzzled him was finally answered perfectly.

He was delighted.

He ate the popcorn with relish.

It felt similar to peanut brittle. Both were his favourites. Unfortunately, they didn't sell peanut brittle here.

From time to time, he raised the binoculars to observe the passengers coming and going.

Suddenly, he sees Lao Bai.

Lao Bai is mingling with the other passengers.

It's the end of the year, and the train station is particularly busy. Lots of people are coming and going.

Following Zhang Yong's orders, the train station has cancelled all checks. Only tickets are checked. Anyone with a ticket can pass through. No matter what.

Since Lao Bai is here, it means the underground party is evacuating.

So he can rest assured.

'Bang!'

Suddenly, there is another loud noise next to him.

Zhang Yong: ...

This old man, can he please give a heads-up next time?

Luckily, it had already rung twice before. Otherwise, I would have been scared by you, okay. Never mind. For the popcorn, I forgive you.

Soon, he received a big bag full of popcorn again.

Tasted it.

Freshly made. Very fragrant. Delicious.

'Yu Linsheng!'

'Yes!'

'Go ahead and eat it! Share it with everyone!'

'Yes.'

Yu Linsheng went off with the popcorn.

Soon after, with another bang, another can of popcorn came out of the oven. He told Han Li to come and take it away.

It was almost New Year's Eve, so he wanted to have some snacks to tide him over.

Then he suddenly saw Lao Bai coming over.

Lao Bai came up to Zhang Yong and whispered, 'They've all gone.'

'So soon?' Zhang Yong looked at his watch.

It seemed that it had only been an hour or so.

Anyway, the underground party is really efficient. They make decisions quickly. No dragging their feet.

'Eleven have gone. The rest don't need to go.'

'Okay, I'll leave then.'

'Thanks!'

'You're welcome.'

Zhang Yong nods, turns around and leaves.

He snaps his fingers. Orders everyone to retreat immediately. Gets into his car and leaves.

'What do you think?' Lao Bai suddenly says.

'I like it,' the old man nods, 'but you can't break the rules.'

'Ugh, this little guy is really...'

'It's only natural to be greedy and lustful. He's young and full of energy, I completely understand.'

'He's also very bold. He dared to go against Xu Enzeng head-on.'

'There's no need for him to join the organisation at all. It's fine to be an outsider friend. I'll talk to my superiors about it. We'll see how to communicate with him.'

'It's strange, he seems to have a lot of confidence in us. I really can't figure it out.'

'It means his beliefs are stronger than ours.'

'Then...'

'A friend like that is the most reliable. Sometimes comrades within the organisation can cause problems.'

'Damn traitor!'

'We've suffered a great loss this time. It will take months to recover. For now, you'd better stay close to him. Just in case Xu Enzeng makes a move on you. Xu Enzeng must have caught one of our key people this time, which is why he got so many names.'

'What about Li Jingqian?'

'We don't interfere with personal lives. As long as it doesn't violate organisational discipline.'

'I understand.'

'Sigh...'

The old man let out a sudden sigh. He looked up at the sky in silence.

The clouds were low. The sky was difficult, with heavy snow on the way.

Hangzhou...

A troubled time!

But!

Hope lives on!

Light lives on!

Even Zhang Yong was full of confidence in their future.

Are they not as good as Zhang Yong?

"By the way, Ruiyuanqing is here. He really came at the wrong time.'

'I guess something happened in the concession.'

'Akaiki Takasuke has already gone to Tianjin, so why...'

'Kagezawa Teisho is there. He's not someone to be underestimated.'

'Has Kurimoto Aoi been exposed?'

'It's hard to say.'

'But if he leaves the concession at this time, it's even more...'

'Let's arrange a meeting and talk about it.'

'Okay.'