Chapter 357 Home Delivery
The northwest wind is like a knife, slashing at people's faces before dawn.
A military transport plane was parked in a corner of the military airfield. Before the propellers had completely stopped spinning, the cabin door was already open.
Bai Shu was wrapped in a dark gray woolen coat, and sunglasses covered half of her face. Her belly was already showing, and she walked with a somewhat heavy gait. Qin Zheng followed behind her, carrying a large medical kit.
The officer who came to meet them was a middle-aged man with a three-star insignia on his shoulder. He stood ramrod straight and paused for a moment when he saw Bai Shu.
"You are..."
Bai Shu took off her sunglasses and looked at him coldly.
The officer swallowed the rest of his sentence.
"What are Commander Zhao's arrangements?" she asked.
The officer stood at attention and saluted. "Reporting, Mr. Bai, the vehicle and guards are ready."
Bai Shu nodded and strode off the tarmac.
The officer followed behind, lowering his voice to ask Qin Zheng, "And this gentleman is...?"
Qin Zheng remained expressionless. "Mr. Bai."
The officer glanced at Bai Shu's retreating figure, then at her pregnant belly, his lips moved, but he didn't dare ask any more questions.
The vehicle was a military jeep, driven by a young soldier in his early twenties. Before getting in, Bai Shu glanced around the car. There was a first-aid kit in the back, and a gun under the passenger seat.
She sat in the back seat and closed her eyes.
Qin Zheng, sitting in the passenger seat, glanced back at her.
"Young Miss, would you like to rest for a while?"
Bai Zhu didn't open her eyes. "No need."
The car drove into the city. The entire route was through the Gobi Desert, and the wind whipped up sand that pelted against the car windows with a loud pattering sound.
The young soldier gripped the steering wheel and tried to look back at Bai Shu several times, but Qin Zheng glared at him each time.
The car drove into a military guesthouse and parked in the innermost courtyard.
The courtyard wasn't large, and it was surrounded by guards. Qin Zheng jumped out of the car and opened the back door. Bai Shu stood up, supporting herself on the car door, her right hand unconsciously pressing against her lower abdomen.
The child kicked her.
She took a deep breath and went inside.
The room was very simple, with just a bed, a table, and a chair. There was an old-fashioned telephone on the table.
Qin Zheng placed the medical kit on the table, took out several glass bottles from it, and arranged them in a row.
"Young Miss, should I contact the ground rat immediately?"
Bai Zhu took off his coat and sat down on the chair.
"No rush." She opened the medical kit, pulled out a small packet of powder from a hidden compartment, dipped her finger in it, and put it in her mouth.
Qin Zheng frowned. "This is..."
"A medicine to prevent miscarriage," Bai Zhu said calmly. "I made it myself."
Qin Zheng breathed a sigh of relief.
Bai Zhu carefully put away the medicinal powder and looked up at him.
"Go and contact him now. Tell Mr. Bai that he's in the Northwest, but he's asking for a very high price."
Qin Zheng nodded, turned around and went out.
Bai Zhu sat in a chair, her hand gently placed on her stomach.
The baby moved again.
She lowered her head and spoke very softly.
"Baby, just bear with it a little longer."
"Bear with it for a few more days, and Mom will take you home."
...
When the ground rat received the message, he was playing cards in an underground casino.
When the phone rang, he listened to the call, then slammed the cards in his hand onto the table.
"I'm done playing!"
He grabbed his coat and rushed out, hopped on a beat-up motorcycle, and sped all the way to the outskirts of the city.
The abandoned mine was deep in the Gobi Desert, surrounded by wasteland. The ground rat stopped the car and whistled three times.
Less than a minute later, two burly men with guns emerged from the mine.
"Ground rat?" The one-eyed leader recognized him. "Why the rush? What happened?"
The ground mouse moved closer and lowered its voice.
"We have news!"
The one-eyed man's eyes lit up. "A quack doctor?"
“He’s not a quack doctor,” the ground rat grinned. “He’s a hundred times better than a quack doctor.”
The one-eyed man frowned. "Who?"
“Mr. Bai from Beijing,” the ground rat said, rubbing his hands together. “He’s a miracle doctor; he can cure any disease.”
The one-eyed man looked him up and down. "Are you sure?"
"I've seen his men with my own eyes!" the ground rat patted his chest. "That man said that Mr. Bai's medical skills are divine, but he has a strange temper and charges high prices."
The one-eyed man remained silent for a few seconds.
"How much?"
The ground mouse stretched out five fingers.
"Thirty large yellow croakers."
One-Eyed Dragon gasped.
"so much?"
"The price is enough to save a life." The ground rat lowered his voice. "Brother Black Wolf, isn't that Brigade Commander Lu about to die? Your superiors need him alive, so this money has to be spent."
The one-eyed man gritted his teeth.
"Okay, I'll go report. You wait here."
He turned and walked into the mine.
The ground mouse stood still, its eyes darting around.
About ten minutes later, the one-eyed man came out.
“Brother Black Wolf agreed.” He stared at the ground rat, “but on conditions.”
"What are the conditions?"
"Pay a deposit of ten sticks first, and the rest will be paid after the treatment is complete." The one-eyed man paused. "Also, Mr. Baishu can only bring one assistant."
The ground mouse nodded. "No problem, I'll go and pass on the message."
...
That afternoon, Qin Zheng saw the ground rat again.
The two arranged to meet at a teahouse in the city.
Qin Zheng leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, and didn't even lift his eyelids.
When the ground rat came in, he was covered in sweat. When he saw Qin Zheng, he quickly sat down.
"Master Qin, it's done!"
Qin Zheng raised his eyelids to look at him. "Speak."
"Black Wolf has agreed," the ground rat said in a low voice. "Ten large yellow croakers are the deposit, to be paid in advance."
Qin Zheng sneered.
Ten sticks? Are you trying to feed a beggar?
The groundhog smiled ingratiatingly. "Master Qin, this is already their bottom line."
Qin Zheng stood up, turned around and left.
The ground mouse panicked and quickly stopped him.
"Mr. Qin, don't rush! Let's discuss this further!"
Qin Zheng pushed him away. "There's nothing to discuss. Mr. Bai said it's either full payment upfront, or we don't go."
The groundhog's forehead was sweating even more.
"Mr. Qin, please make an exception..."
Qin Zheng glanced at him, his voice chillingly cold.
"Do you think Mr. Bai is a fool? Going to a place like that could cost you your life, so what's the point of talking about leniency?"
The ground mouse opened its mouth, but couldn't speak.
Qin Zheng opened the door and went out.
The groundhog stood still, gritted its teeth, and then got back on its motorcycle and headed back to the mine.
This time, the one-eyed man looked very unwell.
"Pay in full upfront? That's impossible!"
The groundhog was jumping up and down in a panic. "Brother Black Wolf, that Brigade Commander Lu is really dying! If you don't save him, the higher-ups will blame us..."
One-Eyed Dragon glared at him fiercely, then turned and went back into the mine.
This time the wait was even longer, a full half hour.
When the one-eyed man came out, he was carrying a leather suitcase.
"Full payment, thirty large yellow croakers." He tossed the box to the groundhog, "but there are three conditions."
The ground mouse quickly caught it. "Please tell me."
“First, Mr. Baishu can only bring one assistant.” One-Eyed Dragon held up one finger. “Second, he must guarantee that the person will be saved; if they die, it’s not our fault.”
The ground mouse nodded. "And the third one?"
The one-eyed man squinted.
"Third, the time and place of the meeting will be determined by us."
The ground mouse paused for a moment, then quickly realized what was happening.
"No problem, I'll go and pass on the message."
...
By the time Qin Zheng brought the news back to the guesthouse, it was already dark.
Bai Zhu sat by the bed, examining the contents of the medical kit.
Qin Zheng pushed open the door and came in, his face ashen.
"Young Miss, something has happened."
Bai Zhu looked up. "Speak."
"The military clashed with the Eagle's Nest forces in the south of the city today." Qin Zheng clenched his fist. "Although the enemy was killed, our operation was exposed."
Bai Shu paused for a moment.
"Lu Jingyuan?"
Qin Zheng nodded. "It's him."
Bai Zhu closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
What's Black Wolf's reaction?
"They changed the rendezvous time and location at the last minute," Qin Zheng said in a low voice, "and increased the number of people several times over."
Bai Zhu opened her eyes, her face expressionless.
"Anything else?"
Qin Zheng was stunned. "There's more? Miss, this is dangerous enough already..."
“The fact that Black Wolf changed his plans shows that they are more vigilant,” Bai Shu interrupted him. “But along with vigilance comes urgency.”
Qin Zheng frowned. "You mean..."
“Lu Jingyan is their only survivor.” Bai Shu stood up and walked to the window. “The military’s search operation has been exposed, and they will worry that we will find the location of the mine.”
"Therefore, they must extract information from Lu Jingyan as soon as possible."
Qin Zheng's eyes lit up.
"But Brigade Commander Lu was seriously injured, and they had no doctors, so they had to come to us!"
Bai Shu turned around and looked at him.
"It's actually safer to go now."
Qin Zheng opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything for a long time.
"Young Miss..."
"Get ready." Bai Shu walked back to the bedside, picked up the coat, and said, "They'll come to pick us up tomorrow night."
Qin Zheng took a deep breath and gave a military salute.
"yes."
...
The wind picked up the following evening.
Bai Shu was wearing a gray coat, and sunglasses covered half of her face. Qin Zheng followed behind her carrying a medical kit.
The meeting point was an abandoned gas station 20 kilometers outside the city.
By the time Qin Zheng drove there, it was completely dark.
The gas station was dilapidated; half of its sign was missing. A beat-up jeep was parked in the yard, its headlights casting a stark white light on the surroundings.
Bai Zhu pushed open the car door and got out.
Qin Zheng followed behind her, his hand on the gun at his waist.
The jeep door opened, and several burly men jumped out.
The leader was a one-eyed man. He looked Bai Shu up and down, his gaze finally settling on her slightly protruding belly.
"Mr. Bai?"
Bai Zhu nodded.
The one-eyed man grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.
"You... you're still carrying goods?"
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