Chapter 3
Yi Hanxing read this sentence from the Biography of Manjun to the audience that day.
The aunties and the older ladies gathered together and laughed at the heroine after hearing this: "Are you really young and earning money with your own hands? We all earn money with our own hands, how much have we earned?"
"It's still a novel after all. The protagonists in novels are different from us."
"Why is it different now? That girl from your alley before was so pretty! What happened? She still ends up dancing in the ballroom. She doesn't want to dance with people, so where will she get the money for her father's medical expenses and her brothers' tuition?"
"Speaking of that girl, she really does look a bit like Manjun."
"She's much smarter than Manjun. She keeps all the money in her own hands. She won't let her younger brother use her dancing income to act rich and look down on her. Her whole family lives by her side."
A group of people were discussing lively and lively, and Yi Hanxing was interrupted several times after reading a scene. He would wait until everyone had finished discussing and then continue reading.
While reading the newspaper, Yi Hanxing was observing the people around him. In addition to remembering the characteristics of the relevant personnel, he also noticed a few people who might be a little special.
Yi Hanxing also mentioned this when talking to Yu Fu about tasks and study arrangements at night.
"I saw a few people buying things in your store today. They all looked like our intelligence agents." Yi Hanxing said, "I don't know if my guess is right."
"Oh?" Yu Fu was a little curious: "Which ones do you think are similar?"
Zhuzi was also standing by, silently focusing his gaze on Yi Hanxing.
"A woman who looks to be in her thirties carrying a basket and wearing a blue top and black pants, a middle-aged man wearing glasses, a gray gown and holding a newspaper, a male student in his twenties wearing a school uniform, and a rickshaw driver with a thin, long and muscular face." Yi Hanxing said while counting on his fingers.
Yu Fu and Zhuzi looked at each other in surprise.
Seeing the expressions of the two people, Yi Hanxing had an idea in his mind: "Did I guess at least two correctly?"
"How did you figure that out?" Zhuzi asked curiously.
Compared to Zhuzi, who was eager to ask, Yu Fu was more patient and remembered to ask Yi Hanxing: "You did guess two correctly. Now that you know there are two people, can you guess which two they are?"
After hearing Yu Fu's words, Yi Hanxing pondered for a moment, compared the suspicious points of the four people, and replied: "It should be a middle-aged woman and a middle-aged man with glasses."
This time, Yu Fu couldn't help but raise his eyebrows: "Tell me your analysis?"
Yi Hanxing did not keep the secret and directly said his analysis: "The middle-aged woman's clothes look good, and the basket she carries is filled with some vegetables.
If someone only buys groceries while reading the newspaper, they're probably not a servant. They probably come from a decent family, but they still need to buy their own groceries. So, they probably own one or two properties, or have a stable middle-class income.
After listening to Yi Hanxing's analysis, Yu Fu and Zhuzi nodded in agreement.
"Her condition should be similar to that of Sister He and Aunt Juhua who came to the store today, but she didn't stop to listen to me reading the newspaper." Yi Hanxing continued.
"Maybe something happened at home? For example, he has to entertain relatives, so he is in a hurry to go back." Yu Fu asked.
"She bought cabbage, green onions and salted fish, which are not what a family in this situation should buy to entertain guests." Yi Hanxing explained.
Because Shanghai is close to the sea, the price of salted fish is very low. Basically, it is caught from the ocean and then dried and sold. It is usually served as a side dish at home, and when entertaining guests, at least meat and eggs are required.
"Maybe she just doesn't like listening to stories." Yu Fu continued to be picky.
"That's a possibility, but not only did she look around before leaving the store, she also bought the cabbage without removing the old leaves, and the green onions came in a bunch." Yi Hanxing said, "When Sister He and the others buy vegetables, there are no old leaves left on the vegetables. They are weighed after removing them. As for the green onions, she would only ask the vendor to give her two or three, so why would she buy a bunch? So this middle-aged woman is probably not a housewife, she's just dressed like this."
Yu Fu didn't expect Yi Hanxing to observe so many details, and thought to himself that he should remind him next time.
Seeing the two people remain silent, Yi Hanxing continued, "It's only been a short time since the beginning of spring. Although there are more vegetables on the streets, housewives like Sister He who have to do the washing up at home haven't fully recovered from the frostbite they got in winter, so there are more or less traces on their hands. However, this person's hands are very clean, which means she doesn't need to wash clothes or rags on a regular basis."
"Of course, it's also possible that someone else in her family usually does these chores, and today they were busy, so she took over temporarily." Without further questioning, Yi Hanxing said, "But based on these few characteristics alone, I have a slight suspicion, but I don't need too much evidence."
Yu Fu nodded, and Zhuzi gave a thumbs up.
"As for that middle-aged man." Yi Hanxing frowned: "Actually, he doesn't have any flaws."
"Then how did you become suspicious?" Zhuzi asked curiously.
"His glasses are not thick enough." Yi Hanxing said.
"How thick are the glasses?" Yu Fu and Zhuzi asked curiously.
"You all should know that glasses, whether they are concave lenses for myopia or convex lenses for hyperopia, all rely on refraction to correct vision. Therefore, people with different degrees of myopia wear glasses with different lens thicknesses. The deeper the myopia, the thicker the thickness." Yi Hanxing thought, the lenses nowadays don't have the advanced technology of later generations.
There is no such thing as a very thin lens for high myopia.
"So you think his myopia is not severe and he shouldn't wear glasses?" Yu Fu asked.
"But wearing glasses is popular in the foreign land now," Zhuzi interrupted.
"Wearing glasses is a popular trend in foreign circles. What does it have to do with a down-and-out scholar like him?" Yi Hanxing said, "He's just not dressed right. With the way he's dressed and the degree of his myopia, he wouldn't waste money on glasses."
Yu Fu couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat when he thought that his comrades' disguises were so easily seen through by a little girl like Yi Hanxing.
"As for that student, if he wasn't one of our intelligence agents, he and his classmates must have formed some kind of patriotic organization. And this patriotic organization is likely unwelcome to the Nanjing government."
"If that rickshaw driver is not one of ours, he should be from the Green Gang or Nanjing. In short, he doesn't look like an ordinary rickshaw driver." Yi Hanxing said two sentences immediately afterwards.
"Can you tell me in detail?" Zhuzi now admired Yi Hanxing very much, and took the initiative to pour a glass of water for Yi Hanxing to quench her thirst.
Yi Hanxing drank the warm water in the teacup in one gulp without hesitation, and handed it to Zhuzi who was holding the teapot: "Brother Zhuzi, give me another glass of water, thank you." He said with a smile.
Zhuzi poured another full cup for Yi Hanxing, not feeling at all that he was being treated as a tea-pouring boy. After pouring the tea, he looked at Yi Hanxing with a curious look.
Yi Hanxing didn't rush to explain, but instead asked, "You haven't told me whether my guess is correct or not!"
"Both are correct." Yu Fu replied simply, "Next time I will remind you two comrades to disguise yourself well."
Yu Fu was so straightforward that Yi Hanxing didn't hesitate. "That rickshaw driver seems to be living a good life, unlike those skinny rickshaw drivers you usually see. If he really is a rickshaw driver, he should be a relatively high-class driver, and he might even be chartered."
What Yi Hanxing said were all very obvious things, and Yu Fu and Zhuzi also thought of them.
"But his car is quite dirty. Usually, drivers of this kind only serve wealthy people. They won't accept dirty customers who might soil their cars. Only when the car is clean and new enough can they accept wealthy people. Let alone chartering a car. If it's not clean, no one will be willing to charter a car." Yi Hanxing analyzed: "With his muscles, he must be quite good at fighting."
There is no need to say much about Yi Hanxing. Yu Fu and Zhuzi also know why she guessed that he was from the Qing Gang or the Nanjing government. He must have exercised regularly to have the corresponding muscles. The people who need regular exercise, besides those on their side, are either from the Qing Gang or the Nanjing government.
"Oh, right, we can't rule out the possibility that he's a Japanese intelligence officer." Yi Hanxing suddenly remembered and mentioned it, "But looking at his feet, I don't think he's a Japanese intelligence officer."
"Japanese people often wear clogs, which can cause some deformation of their feet and flat feet. But this person has a very obvious arch of the foot and the nail of his little toe has two petals." Yi Hanxing explained.
"What's the story behind the two petals on the little toe nail?" Zhuzi asked in confusion, and Yu Fu also looked puzzled.
"Not everyone has two petals on their pinky toes. It's a hereditary trait," Yi Hanxing explained, explaining the common knowledge many people have about pinky toe nails. "This trait is more common in the Han Chinese population, and less common among ethnic minorities and foreigners in East Asia."
Yu Fu and Zhuzi both looked as if they were surprised that there was such a way to distinguish them.
Yi Hanxing was afraid that he would lead the two into trouble, so he quickly explained: "Of course, this is just a high probability, but we can't rule out the possibility that he is Japanese. If he is really Japanese, then judging by the way he speaks and behaves, he must be a China expert who has been specially trained."
"I've never heard of this before. I thought everyone's pinky toes were split. But some people don't have split toes?"
"Then you can pay attention to the feet of those porters on the street." Yi Hanxing smiled.
"What do you think is wrong with that male student?" Yu Fu asked.
Because he took the wrong booklet! Yi Hanxing thought
Can I say this is what I learned from the novel I read before I traveled through time?! The pamphlet that male student was holding appeared in a Republic of China novel by Wenchao Gong, and it was created by a student organization that was very close to the Workers and Peasants' Party!
However, Yi Hanxing only saw the name on the cover. This name was quite normal and could not be used as a reason to explain to Yu Fu and Zhu. So Yi Hanxing began to think hard about the boy's flaw: "Well..."!
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