Reconnaissance in the Soviet Area (Part 5)
Many flying black dots pierced the dense clouds, blending together in a hazy gray, like a large flight squadron approaching from afar. Inside the house, all one could hear was the whooshing sound of an exhaust fan, which was quite eerie.
As its name suggests, Crow Hill is teeming with crows. Chunmei has disliked this place since she was a child. She gets annoyed whenever she hears crows cawing. She only comes here to catch a few birds to fill her stomach when she is starving. Little did she know that a spy station was hidden in this inconspicuous village.
Taking advantage of the spy's departure, Section Chief Zhao immediately poured all the tea in his hand into the flowerpot. Chunmei and the others followed suit, who knows what kind of poison the spy might put in it.
Looking around, all the furniture in this farmhouse consisted of a wooden bed and a square table. The living standard was at most that of a middle peasant. However, Chunmei discovered a thermos in the corner, a luxury item that could absolutely not be bought in the Soviet area.
Section Chief Zhao, sitting on the kang (heated brick bed), also noticed the thermos. His brows furrowed, and he gestured to Chunmei with his eyes to put it down…
A loud "ya" was heard outside the window. Chunmei was startled and let go of the water bottle. The expected explosion did not occur. She saw her comrade next to her clutching the water bottle in a panic. Luckily, he was quick-witted and did not make any noise.
Chunmei, who almost caused trouble, pouted and obediently sat in the corner counting the crows' cries. Their hoarse and unpleasant cawing had a unique flavor of the night.
Squeak—
The comrade who had gone out to relieve himself earlier rushed back into the house with a worried look on his face. He locked the door behind him and revealed what he had just overheard: the spies planned to kill us to silence us when we handed over the goods. They didn't care whether the victims were our own people or outsiders; anyone who knew their whereabouts had to die.
Section Chief Zhao seemed to have already understood this. After pursing his lips and thinking for a moment, he took out his notebook and started writing and drawing on it.
Perhaps to prevent eavesdropping, Section Chief Zhao remained silent, nodded to Chunmei and the other two comrades, and then pointed to the painting, meaning that the three comrades should accompany the spy to scout the trail, and arrest the spy on the spot as soon as he finished collecting the intelligence at the designated location.
The road from here to Ruijin City is quite long, so Chunmei needs to find an opportunity to leave in advance and go to her hometown village to remind the team by the river to evacuate in time.
For this field mission, the team also brought a hand-cranked telephone, which connects directly to the regimental headquarters in Ruijin County. They can find Battalion Commander Sun Dadan of the 267th Battalion, explain the situation, and use the emergency call number 999. They will know what to do.
How could we leave our commander in the enemy camp? In her haste, Chunmei snatched the pen and wrote a string of neat characters: You take the men and go first, we'll stay behind.
"No! Obey orders and proceed according to plan." Section Chief Zhao's cold command left no room for argument.
"Then what are you going to do?" Chunmei asked anxiously.
Clang clang clang...
Attracted by a series of forceful banging sounds, Section Chief Zhao reassured everyone with gestures not to be afraid, and at the same time gave a look, and the comrade closest to the door immediately opened it.
A bald-headed secret agent stood outside the door, followed by a man who entered the room. This man was not the shrewish woman who had opened the door. He appeared to be in his mid-thirties, a simple farmer, but there was an unusual murderous aura about him in his every move.
Chunmei immediately thought of Zhang Qing from Shizipo. However, there was no essential difference between the spy station and Sun Erniang's steamed bun shop. Both Wuyapo and Shizipo were black-hearted slopes that drank the blood and flesh of others.
"Brother Wu, this is Lao Pu, the station chief of our Crow Slope station. He will personally guide you. Our informant has already arranged for us to bury the city defense map under the twin camphor trees next to Mianfu Bridge at 11 o'clock sharp. Now, everyone can take the donkey cart there; it should be about the right time." The bald agent raised his hand, glanced at his watch, and said earnestly.
"Okay, you three go scout ahead," Section Chief Zhao said, waving his hand dismissively.
"Sorry, sir, my old donkey cart can't carry three gentlemen, it can only carry two at most." Old Pu grinned and gestured with the number two.
"Then you figure something out. I don't care what methods you use, all three of you must go together." Section Chief Zhao's tone was extremely firm, leaving no room for negotiation.
The bald-headed agent and Lao Pu looked at each other, wanting to try again, but Section Chief Zhao had already made his position clear: no matter how difficult their explanations were, they had to follow our plan.
"Honey, don't we brothers have a donkey? I'll bring it out for you." The feisty female homeowner strode into the inner room, showing no shyness whatsoever.
"You spendthrift woman, my brother's donkey is for breeding, how can you use it recklessly?" Old Pu's voice rose several octaves, his eyes darting around, as if he was afraid of something.
"Nonsense! We have the right to use the donkey since it's in our house. Hurry up and come back soon." The shrew glared at her husband, and Lao Pu's shoulders trembled as he nodded hesitantly in agreement.
Fireflies fluttered their wings on the stone slabs like floating lanterns, making the village houses seem so tranquil. Suddenly, a loud "Ah!" pierced the night sky.
The other donkey probably didn't want to work the night shift. No matter how much the couple whipped it, it wouldn't leave the shed. The shrewish woman spat and raised a torch to burn the donkey's rump.
Driven by the instinct to survive, the stubborn donkey charged out of the shed like a madman. Chunmei, who had been happily watching the commotion, was suddenly stunned, and a chill ran down her spine.
Moist black eyes, a plump rear end—the gray donkey evoked a strange sense of familiarity that made Chunmei speechless with discomfort. It felt like countless ants crawling up her arms, raising goosebumps. She forced herself to tell herself, "A gray donkey? Everyone looks like that. It can't be what I'm thinking."
However, when the gray donkey saw Chunmei, it didn't retreat but advanced, rubbing its nose against Chunmei's arm, making "ah-uh-ah-uh" sounds as if it were complaining or grumbling.
Cold sweat instantly soaked her back. Chunmei's face was tense, and she looked helplessly at Section Chief Zhao. Section Chief Zhao waved his hand angrily and scolded, "Go away! You idiot, get lost. Can't you see my brother is scared?"
"So, I'm afraid of donkeys, huh? Well then, I'll have to take the carriage. Here, sir, take the donkey." Old Pu said, handing the reins to the man traveling with him.
With a whoosh, a few crows flew through the woods. Chunmei snapped out of her daze, snatched the reins, and hid her slightly trembling hands behind her back: "It's not that I'm afraid, it's just that I've never seen such an enthusiastic donkey before. And I just happen to be very curious about it, so let me ride it."
“Alright, but let me make this clear beforehand: I’ve heard this donkey is particularly stubborn. If it goes astray on the road, don’t blame us.” The bald-headed agent tried to smooth things over. Chunmei, afraid he would recognize her, quickly lowered her head and mounted the saddle.
The four people and two donkeys entered the woods. The fog of the night enveloped them, and the kerosene lamp hanging in front of the donkey cart provided only a limited light. Chunmei could not see the road ahead, and only her panting and swaying body reminded her that she was on her way.
The donkey cart was moving slowly, and before long Chunmei had left it far behind, making it a small highlight. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Chunmei grabbed the donkey's ear and whispered, "Are you Awang's donkey?"
Oops!
The gray donkey gave a short reply, and Chunmei patted its head before asking, "Has Awang gone back to Plum Blossom Village?"
Uh~uh~
The gray donkey's low braying was filled with sorrow, indicating that things were likely to turn out the worst. Chunmei wanted to help the gray donkey find its owner, but she had a mission to complete; Section Chief Zhao was waiting for her to fetch reinforcements, so she couldn't slack off.
Knowing that the little donkey was intelligent, Chunmei lay on its back and said, "Brother donkey, I need to talk to you about something. I'm in a hurry to get help from my hometown village. After we've rescued the people, I'll go with you to find Awang, okay?"
Ah! The gray donkey responded and moved, its steps becoming lighter and faster. Chunmei felt a pang of bitterness in her heart, but there were even more dangerous monsters lurking in the shadows during the long night.
She feigned panic and shouted back, "Oh my god, this donkey has gone mad! You guys go first, don't worry about me, meet up in Ruijin City."
"Alright, be careful." The comrade's ethereal voice drifted over, mixed with the cawing of a few crows, before dissipating in the wind.
The scattered moonlight filtering through the woods seemed to conceal blades, slicing the miscellaneous trees into broken fragments. Chunmei was already dizzy from the journey when suddenly her eyes lit up, and the shimmering river appeared before her.
With her spirits lifted, Chunmei squeezed the donkey's belly, and the gray donkey immediately took off running towards the dock at the speed of a hundred-meter sprint.
Upon seeing several familiar figures, Chunmei tugged on the reins, and before the donkey had even come to a complete stop, she jumped off impatiently and cried out, "Comrades, something's happened!"
Everyone rushed forward with concern. After learning what had happened, the comrade, who had been a communications soldier, sprang up like a rabbit, carrying a large roll of wire and climbing a big tree with both hands and feet.
"The spies might launch a surprise attack after finding accomplices. Section Chief Zhao ordered us to retreat immediately, and not to worry about the sunken ship for now." Chunmei remembered Section Chief Zhao's instructions and blurted out, "Everyone, pack up and call it a day."
The comrades scattered, and the squad leaders of each group gathered their members, escorted the prisoners, and evacuated the dock in an orderly manner. In an instant, the dock returned to its previous bustling state.
As dusk fell, Chunmei's vision began to blur again. She rubbed her eyes hard, annoyed at herself for always having a seizure at such a crucial moment.
She exhaled and changed the subject: "By the way, how many militia members and team members are left?"
"Not many left. Your third uncle took away most of the militia, and we still have to interrogate and detain prisoners. At most, we can spare... two more people." The communications team leader shook his head.
“What good are two people! Section Chief Zhao is holding me hostage in the spy's lair. Those spies are used to killing people like dirt and don't mind getting their hands dirty with blood. If anything happens to Section Chief Zhao, how are we supposed to explain this to the organization?” Chunmei trembled with excitement.
The comrade paused for a second, then quickly reacted and shouted towards the direction of the big tree, "Is the power line installed yet?"
"Alright, you guys try it out." The communications soldier replied, holding up the antenna.
He shook the phone a few times, but there was no static in the phone, it was as quiet as if he had connected to a mute person's house. The communications captain, holding the receiver, cursed, "What are you squatting for, taking a dump? Stand up and raise it higher."
The communications soldier swayed on the tree branch, trying to find a signal, but to no avail. The communications captain, with a grim face, shooed the soldier down.
He chose a taller tree, carried the heavy communication box on his back, climbed up the tree, stepped on a thin branch, slowly let go, and raised the antenna into the air.
The extremely dangerous action terrified Chunmei so much that her teeth ached. Finally, she heard a long beeping tone on the phone—the call had connected!
"Hello, is this the Ruijin County Regiment Headquarters? I'm looking for Battalion Commander Sun Dadan of the 267th Battalion. There's an emergency."
A man on the other end gave a muffled reply, seemingly with a lisp: "I, I, I am Sun~Dadan."
"Battalion Commander Sun, are you alright? Our Section Chief Zhao is waiting for you to save his life! Wake up!" Chunmei shouted, startling the birds in the forest, and everyone stopped what they were doing.
The phone went silent for a moment. Just as Chunmei was wondering if it was a signal problem or something was wrong with Sun Dadan, a crisp slapping sound came from the other end.
"Comrade, you... Section Chief Zhao, right? Emergency call?" Sun Dadan swallowed hard and asked.
“Three nines,” Chunmei answered without hesitation.
"Holy crap!" Sun Dadan gasped for breath. Chunmei could hear him pacing back and forth in the room. "Where are they? How many are there? Do they have any weapons?"
“There’s a house in the southwest corner of Crow Slope that’s a spy station. I don’t know how deep the water is inside. There’s a middle-aged woman in the house right now. There are also 11 people posing as Red Army soldiers. They’re basically all spy cadres, and they all have big stuff. But they do have a telegraph machine. They just sent a message,” Chunmei said truthfully.
“Crow Slope, that place is really far away. Even if we ride at full speed, it will take us two hours to get there. Section Chief Zhao, you have to hang in there,” Sun Dadan said with concern.
"Section Chief Zhao has his own ways of stalling, you should send troops quickly." Chunmei seemed to have grasped at a straw, and the corners of her mouth curled up slightly.
"Okay... what are you doing? Thud—" Suddenly the phone fell heavily to the ground, and a loud static came from the other end, like sandpaper rubbing against the receiver.
Chunmei quickly covered her other ear, and then vaguely heard: "Sun Dadan, someone reported you for drinking alcohol while on duty. Come with us."
"I don't."
"Still denying it? The smell of alcohol on you is almost making me faint."
"I really didn't, and I have an important mission to complete soon, could you..."
The noise stopped abruptly. No matter how much Chunmei called out, there was no response. As soon as she put down the phone, all the blood rushed to her face, and her eyes became misty, making it impossible to see clearly what was near or far, high or low.
"Why are you crying?" Her comrades were startled by her appearance and rushed over to check on her.
As the night wind blew, Chunmei's vision gradually cleared. She wiped away her tears with her sleeve and said in a hoarse voice, "The reinforcements can't come. Battalion Commander Sun was arrested for violating discipline."
After a moment of gasps, the communications captain squeezed out of the crowd, shook the phone again without saying a word, and after a long while, the call was answered once more. This time it was a woman's voice: "Hello, comrade, what's up?"
"We are the communications team under Section Chief Zhao Fengnian. We have discovered a spy hideout and urgently need support from the regimental headquarters," the communications team leader quickly stated the request.
"Sure, please have your Section Chief Zhao come to the Ruijin regimental headquarters to fill out the application form." The other party was polite but distant.
"Perhaps I didn't explain clearly, our emergency call sign is three nines," the communications captain explained patiently.
"I'm sorry, I don't know what an emergency call sign is. Please have your Section Chief Zhao fill out the form and follow the procedure." The other party maintained a businesslike attitude.
"We rescued Section Chief Zhao; he's now in a spy den." The communications captain's face turned red, and each word was forced out through clenched teeth.
"Oh, Section Chief Zhao is not available, right? Then you can find Section Chief Zhao's supervisor, and he can handle the procedures." The other person's voice was completely flat.
The communications team leader couldn't help but curse, "Are you out of your mind? Do you even know who Section Chief Zhao's superior is? It's Comrade Wu Hao. Why is he filling out this form?"
The person on the other end snorted coldly and said arrogantly, "Excuse me, I've never heard of Wu Hao. May I ask which department he's from? I can call him and have him come and go through the procedures."
The communications captain gritted his teeth and said, "Girl, if you don't understand, you can find someone who does to answer the phone. Our mission is extremely important. If the spies escape, you'll be in legal trouble."
"Heh, what a big mouth you're making. Just a few spies. Why don't you arrest them yourselves instead of wasting the army's resources? I think you're class enemies, deliberately wasting resources to give the White bandits an opportunity." The other person started accusing them without even realizing it.
Damn, this stupid woman doesn't even know who Wu Hao is, she only knows the procedures. Talking to an idiot is too suffocating. A thought flashed through her mind, and Chunmei suppressed the urge to curse and picked up the phone, saying, "We can't afford to waste any money. Please help us find Zhou (male god), that is, Comrade Wu Hao. If you're so capable, bring him from Shanghai to go through the procedures."
"Pah, you little bitch, how dare you call Minister Zhou by his name? You want to see him? Do you think I'm stupid? Get the hell away from me." After cursing, the person on the other end hung up the phone.
beep--
Chunmei's head felt like it had been hit by something, buzzing. This woman was the typical type who sat in the office because of nepotism, so ignorant that she was severely out of touch with the masses.
With a slump in her shoulders, Chunmei snapped back to reality. The communications captain frowned slightly and suggested that everyone proceed with the planned evacuation immediately, lest the spies take advantage of the situation, or Chief Zhao's life would have been in vain.
"How many bullets do we have left?" Chunmei asked cautiously.
The communications captain glanced at her and said, "Don't do anything reckless. Before he left, Section Chief Zhao specifically told me that I couldn't give you any extra weapons."
“I’m the captain of the action team. With Section Chief Zhao not here, the action team has to listen to me. We’ve already wasted too much time. Even if we can’t catch the spy today, we should at least rescue Section Chief Zhao and the others,” Chunmei said earnestly.
“I understand what you mean, but I still suggest you go back to Ruijin City as planned and arrest the spies in the city.” The communications captain stroked his chin and analyzed, “The spies in Crow Slope want opium. They won’t make a move against Section Chief Zhao until they get the opium. This is also one of Section Chief Zhao’s delaying tactics.”
"But I didn't even finish my first task." Chunmei stamped her foot helplessly.
"So you need to go back even more. Here's what you need to do: go to Liu's Tea House next to the main stage in the market and ask our Section Chief Ouyang for help. You know him, too," the communications team leader instructed earnestly.
Oh dear, I almost forgot about Section Chief Ouyang! Chunmei suddenly realized. With the communications captain's assurance that he would support Wuyapo, she took off her coat, mounted her little donkey, and sped off towards Ruijin City.
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