The secret on the ship returning home
The question of why there were spies on the ship returning home had troubled Qingcheng for a long time, and it was all the better that someone was willing to help her find the answer. Wang Renyong waited for her to sit down again and loudly announced: "Welcome to the new company, comrades. I am Wang Renyong, the head of the Marketing Section Two."
This left Qingcheng completely confused. What New New Company? It sounded like a department store. Could it be the code name for the organization's Shanghai station?
However, Wang Renyong immediately cleared up her doubts. Shanghai Station was just a general term, encompassing many parallel organizations. Their Xinxin Company was one of the independently operating organizations, and its business was rather special, mainly focusing on protecting the Central Committee, and it had four departments.
The General Affairs Section 1 was responsible for the company's finances and logistics; the Marketing Section 2 was responsible for intelligence gathering and counter-espionage; the Engineering Section 3 was responsible for rescuing comrades and eliminating traitors, including killing and burying them; the anti-traitor squads, dog-beating squads, and Red Teams were all from the Section 3; and the Communications Section 4 was responsible for telecommunications liaison and the training of radio personnel.
The company also has external transportation stations responsible for manually relaying information from various sources. For example, Wu Ji Auto Shop is a transportation station shared by various institutions at Shanghai Railway Station. In addition, the transportation stations unique to their Xin Xin Company are all called suppliers. And the general manager of Xin Xin Company is the respected Comrade Wu Hao.
Ah! That means I'll have the chance to meet Comrade Wu Hao in person someday! Qingcheng excitedly imagined the scene of meeting Comrade Wu Hao in the future. She was quite regretful that when she went to study in France, Comrade Wu Hao had already returned to China and she was unable to see his real appearance. She could only learn about him from the praise of others. What a pity.
After introducing the structure of the new company, Wang Renyong said in a solemn tone: "We are participating in a war without gunpowder. If we win, we cannot proclaim it; if we lose, we have nowhere to explain it. You two are people carefully selected by the organization. You are both educated and know the big picture. You must do a good job of keeping secrets. You cannot reveal even the slightest bit of information to your spouse."
“My wife used to help me pass on messages and raise funds for activities,” Qi Kejun asked doubtfully. “She’s also a loyal Party member, can’t we say that?”
"Try not to say anything. Our work in the Second Department is quite different from the strike and boycott plans you made before. For your wife's safety, the less she knows, the better. I believe she will understand you," Wang Renyong patiently reassured her.
After hearing this, Qingcheng felt a chill run down her spine. This was one of the reasons why she hadn't dared to date before. She should have found a stupid man as a cover instead of Gao Junxiao, a man with brains. She would rather be single than date an idiot.
Wang Renyong tapped the coffee table to pull Qingcheng back to reality: "Young comrade, don't daydream. Your current single status is more dangerous than Comrade Qi's, who is already married. If you have a partner, you should submit your marriage application as soon as possible."
"Huh? What marriage report?" Kiyosumi was thinking and didn't hear clearly.
"It's not a marriage report, it's a 'Marriage Application Report,' a report that all single members of the organization need to submit before getting married. You can only get married if the organization approves it; otherwise, you can't get married," Wang Renyong explained clearly.
"I have no plans to get married for the time being," Kiyosumi replied coldly.
“Don’t be like that. I’m just trying to be helpful. Your boyfriend’s situation is complicated. Gao Junxiao is a mid-to-high-ranking military officer in the National Government. He’s a key candidate for future promotion to high office. Given his situation, you should submit a ‘relationship application report’ first. However, I want to work with him, so I’ve given you the green light.” Wang Renyong said earnestly, looking at Qingcheng.
"Section Chief Wang, what do you mean? Are you trying to curry favor by giving me away as a gift, or do you want me to cooperate with your honey trap in the future? What's the difference between you and a CC dog spy?" Qingcheng retorted without fear.
“It’s no use arguing with me. If the marriage application isn’t approved, you’ll either have to leave the organization and go back to be an official’s wife, or break up with Gao Junxiao and accept the fake husband assigned to you by the organization.” Wang Renyong’s tone also hardened.
"So, I can't go out and gather intelligence alone, I have to choose between two options?" Kiyosumi retorted.
“That’s right. Single people were considered a destabilizing factor and an anomaly by the Nanjing authorities. Whenever they conducted a thorough search, the first suspects were single people. I’m not afraid of losing face. Two years ago, I was arrested because I was single, which aroused suspicion from the spies.” Wang Renyong openly admitted his arrest experience.
He was forced to stay at the police station, but his identity hadn't been exposed yet, and the spies didn't have any solid evidence. The organization immediately sent a female comrade, posing as a newlywed wife, to bail out Wang Renyong. This was Ai Ruirui. The guards were driven crazy by her crying and tantrums, and after giving her a lecture, they released Wang Renyong.
Because they thought that with such a shrewish wife, Old Wang would definitely not dare to risk his life to carry out the revolution. Wang Renyong's expression changed, and he grinned, revealing eight upper teeth: "Don't think it's funny, the Nanjing authorities are just that old-fashioned and conservative. So we've learned our lesson, from now on, unmarried comrades will all have to be in pairs."
"Comrade Xiao He, this is our protection measure for comrades working on the front line. It's not just for unmarried comrades, but also for some married comrades. If their partners are not around or their partners' fighting experience is not compatible, they have to pretend to be husband and wife with other comrades. Although it is difficult to accept emotionally, we must endure it for the victory of the revolution." Comrade Qi told a more cruel reality.
The news was like a bolt from the blue. Qingcheng bit her trembling hand, her eyes red, her mind blank.
“You might have misunderstood. I didn’t ask you to use your honey trap. Instead, I hope you can use your close relationship to guide him to see the real Communist Party. You can privately recommend some of our books to him or occasionally take him to listen to public speeches by left-wing writers,” Wang Renyong shared his work experience.
He Qingcheng shook her head and refused: "Section Chief Wang, aren't you obviously setting me up? Even if I pretend to be a left-wing writer, Gao Junxiao, with his shrewd mind, will be able to guess what I'm up to. What if he decides to report me?"
“Young man, you have to have faith in your boyfriend. I’ve been doing this job for Gao Junxiao for over half a year, and he hasn’t reported me. I’m just handing this part of the work over to you now. Besides, we haven’t made him defect; we just want him to be our friend,” Wang Renyong said earnestly.
"The antagonism between the two parties is a conspiracy orchestrated by Chiang Kai-shek. We are all Chinese, and we all want to expel the foreign powers and restore our territorial sovereignty. We should understand each other. So, it would be more effective to have relatives and friends do the work. My wife and I joined the party together through our brother-in-law's introduction." Qi Kejun also joined the persuasion.
No, no, no matter how they tried to persuade her, Qingcheng just wouldn't agree. If she approached Gao Junxiao with ulterior motives, it would be disrespectful to their relationship. Gao Junxiao wasn't a spy, and she couldn't get over her own conscience.
“Alright, I don’t need your immediate answer. The choice is yours.” Wang Renyong stopped trying to persuade him for the time being. “Don’t blame me for being blunt, but if he really reports you and doesn’t agree with your beliefs, then that kind of man is not worth your love.”
While Qingcheng was still savoring Lao Wang's words, Wang Renyong had already begun recounting their experiences on the ship. Qingcheng was right; Wang Renyong was indeed her initial contact, but his management had gone awry, resulting in their secret code being obtained by spies.
The Hong Kong agents, having lost track of Wang Renyong, had no choice but to send three of them, disguised as passengers, onto the passenger ship to search for him. Unfortunately, Wang Renyong was recognized by one of the agents. Luckily, there were many people on the deck, and as they were separated by the crowd, Wang Renyong hid on the escape ferries, silently killed one of the agents who was following him, and threw him into the sea.
However, as soon as Wang Renyong returned to the deck, he discovered that one of the agents on the deck had successfully struck up a conversation with He Qingcheng. He was so anxious that he paced around in circles. If he rushed forward now, both of them would be exposed. But after a while, it seemed that the two had broken up, and He Qingcheng quickly ran towards the first-class cabin area.
While admiring Qingcheng's wit, Wang Renyong sneaked into the captain's cabin, opened the passenger address book, and deliberately imitated a foreign accent to call Mrs. Wan in the first-class cabin area. He said that he couldn't go back for a while, but Miss He would send him something, and asked Mrs. Wan to let him sit in the cabin and wait for a while.
"How did you know I would knock on the Alpha, the one with the foreigner's cabin door?" Kiyosumi asked, puzzled.
Wang Renyong laughed loudly: "Haha, it's no secret that the foreigner came all the way to China to pursue you. Sister Cai has already told it as a joke. Besides, the foreigner's room is closer to yours. If you want to get rid of the spies as soon as possible, you can find an acquaintance to hide in. It would be best if the foreigner is here. If he's not, Mrs. Wan next door will open the door and invite you in."
It turned out that Mrs. Wan's ability to open the door was not a coincidence, but a carefully orchestrated arrangement by Wang Renyong. Qingcheng felt somewhat ashamed; while others were fighting to the death with spies, she had simply stayed inside the cabin pretending to be stupid.
Wang Renyong then instructed a waiter to deliver cigarettes containing a message to Qingcheng. The waiter was one of their own, a regular on the ship delivering intelligence. The 'messenger,' Uncle Qin, was the oldest courier at the Shanghai station.
Qin Bo was also arranged by Wang Renyong to be a backup at the Shiliupu Wharf, just in case something went wrong. Later, Qingcheng used some underhanded tricks to escape first, and after he dealt with those two annoying spies, Wang Renyong followed the crowd off the ship. He couldn't let those two guys stay and expose He Qingcheng's existence.
"I sincerely apologize to you. I almost caused you to be exposed. I'm sorry." After Wang Renyong finished speaking, he stood up and bowed deeply to Qingcheng. Seeing his sincerity, Qingcheng felt a little embarrassed and said that his skills were too shallow and he was a little impatient when reciting the song, which showed that he was looking for someone.
Qi Kejun asked Qingcheng curiously how she discovered that the person she was contacting was a spy.
Before Qingcheng could answer, Wang Renyong explained that the main problem was that the spies only knew the token was cigarettes, but they didn't know it should be hand-rolled. If it were really packaged cigarettes, then the brand of cigarettes would have been agreed upon from the beginning, or like last time, only half a cigarette would have been given, to avoid getting the wrong contact.
"Then why did you pretend not to know me when you saw me later? And you even put me under the wing of someone like Ai Rui Rui. Do you think it's appropriate for her to treat me like an online friend?" Qing Cheng retorted angrily.
At this moment, Wang Renyong's face showed an awkward expression that was a mixture of red and green. He stammered that he had begged Sister Cai for more than half a year, and his lips were worn thin from pleading, before Sister Cai reluctantly agreed to send him an outstanding intellectual who knew five languages, could send telegrams, and had experience in riots back to China.
He was so excited that he couldn't sleep. He rushed to Hong Kong overnight to bring her back and train her personally. However, things went wrong. He was afraid that some spies still knew Qingcheng's identity. In order to protect her safety, he temporarily placed her in Wu's car dealership as a courier, intending to send her to do something big once she was settled.
However, Wang Renyong forgot to give prior notice that he would come to pick up the person in person. Coincidentally, Ai Ruirui was short of manpower and asked Wu Ji Auto Shop to allocate some. However, Wu Ji Auto Shop thought that Ai Ruirui was sent by Wang Renyong to pick up the person, so they directly assigned He Qingcheng to Ai Ruirui as her subordinate.
During that time, he was so busy dealing with the traitors at Fan Mansion that he didn't have time to pick up people. Moreover, He Qingcheng's organizational affiliation was already in the Second Section, so there was no need to submit a transfer report. If he hadn't happened to be at Wu's Auto Shop delivering the action plan, he would have thought Qingcheng was still working as a courier at the grassroots level.
This blunder was quite a big one. Qi Kejun, exasperated, punched Wang Renyong and scolded him for his carelessness. Wang Renyong helplessly said that in order to make amends, he canceled all his other commitments and specially protected Qingcheng.
Just then, Song Li needed to arrange for some unfamiliar faces to work at Mr. Tang's banquet. He secured the job through his connections with lower- and middle-level agents, easily infiltrating the banquet. It was he who slipped the note reminding He Qingcheng to evacuate.
Only then did Qingcheng understand what had happened to her after returning to China. At first, she was just doing small things like buying blank residence permits. She thought the organization was testing her and making her start from the bottom.
Later, she was suddenly assigned to Ai Ruirui. Ai Ruirui's first task was to contact her cousin Song Li and find a way to help her transfer and obtain the entrance exam questions for the CC's subordinate intelligence agency. Because, like most agencies, the CC only had one person in each position. Song Li had to leave her position vacant so that the organization could put our comrades in.
She thought the organization was going to give her an important position, so she worked diligently. But when she found out that the leaders didn't even know she existed, she was immediately disappointed.
"Then go and argue with Wu's car dealership! How am I supposed to know she's some treasure you begged for? Besides, even couriers risk their lives; does she think she's special and can't bleed?" Ai Ruirui returned to her room from the steaming water room.
“Xiao Ai, doesn’t your conscience hurt when you say that? You can send her out, but what support have you given her? You neither taught her how to deal with a high-ranking spy like Xu Qiao, nor did you clear away the thorns around her that she couldn’t see from the rear.” Wang Renyong accused with a frown, “You just left her to deal with the enemy alone like this.”
"How could I leave her alone? Isn't Wu's Auto Shop there?" Ai Ruirui exploded, raising her voice once again.
"Oh, so you're thinking about Wu's Auto Shop again. Don't you, Ai Ruirui, have any responsibility? I'll reiterate, the higher the rank, the greater the responsibility." Wang Renyong said with great distress, "The weaker the connection between frontline intelligence personnel and the organization, the more dangerous they are."
"No one is born knowing how to do intelligence work. Don't they all learn through struggle? If we don't put her in the oil pan and fry her a little, will she become shameless? If we don't let others squeeze her, she'll fall apart." Ai Ruirui's words revealed her vulgarity once again.
“But the enemies we face are not the same as the local tyrants you encountered in the countryside. Don’t apply your land reform methods to the city; the city and the countryside are two completely different concepts,” Wang Renyong patiently advised.
To everyone's surprise, Ai Ruirui suddenly jumped up and said, "Yes, I'm just a country bumpkin. I can't learn those hypocritical tricks of you city people."
"You're too sensitive. How did you bring up country bumpkins again? Do you know why I don't want to pretend to be your wife anymore? It's because your extreme inferiority complex has caused your ego to inflate, which often embarrasses those around you. Not only do you not cooperate with me, but you also frequently hold me back, making it impossible for me to carry out my work properly." Wang Renyong slammed his fist on the coffee table in anger.
“Xiao Ai, you’ve been in Shanghai for two years now, but you’ve been stubborn and unwilling to integrate into the city. When I was pretending to be your wife, how many times did you greet the neighbors? Your previous landlady was so kind, yet you could argue with an old woman like her just because she kindly taught you that you have to lift the toilet seat after using it.”
“Who wants to pretend to be your husband? What I can’t stand most about you is that you use the name of revolution to indulge in the glitz and glamour of Shanghai under the guise of revolution, and you’re always hanging out with those spies. You also bring back all sorts of shady characters. If I don’t drive them away, am I supposed to entertain them?” Ai Rui Rui said matter-of-factly.
“Xiao Ai, you still haven’t figured out who our friends are and who our real enemies are.” Wang Renyong took a deep breath and continued, “This world is not black and white, and we can’t just make sweeping generalizations based on class or party affiliation, otherwise our work behind enemy lines would be meaningless.”
Listening to their past stories, Qingcheng inwardly cursed Rui Rui as an idiot. Even someone like her, who was practically an insider, knew that working behind enemy lines meant infiltrating enemy territory, uniting any forces that could be united, and getting those forces to facilitate their revolutionary work. It was a miracle that Lao Wang hadn't been exposed after being dragged along by Ai Rui Rui like that!
What she hates most in her life is being ordered around by idiots. Even without Ai Ruirui, that stupid woman, taking any action, she will still apply for a job transfer.
"I just had the young comrade apologize to you to deflate her arrogance, not to condone your disregard for the overall situation." Wang Renyong completely abandoned his emotional control and yelled at Ai Ruirui, "Go back to your room right now and write a three-thousand-word self-criticism. If you don't, you'll be dismissed from all your positions. I don't need an irresponsible subordinate. Go wherever you want."
Ai Rui Rui, standing at the door, was surprised for a moment, then seemed to have figured something out. She looked down at her toes and whispered, "I understand. I'll write the self-criticism."
Hey, just a moment ago she was all set up and wouldn't give up until she was transferred away, but now she's like a sick cat, all timid and spineless. Qingcheng looked at Wang Renyong with a strange expression. Wasn't Ai Ruirui his precious wife who had saved his life? Why is she so fierce?
After Rui Rui went upstairs to write her self-criticism, Wang Renyong began to arrange the work for the next stage. Qi Kejun and Qing Cheng had not participated in party study for a while, so the two of them, along with Wang Renyong, formed a three-person study group to study progressive documents every Friday night at eight o'clock. They were not allowed to ask for leave unless there were special circumstances.
Furthermore, given that they have joined the Second Department, they will also need to learn intelligence-related knowledge. Wang Renyong will announce the course details at the study session next Friday. Neither of them had any objections to this.
"Comrade Xiao He, you probably don't know, but Comrade Renyong is a high-ranking agent from the Cheka, and one of the first cadres our Party sent to the Soviet Union for training." Qi Kejun took the initiative to introduce Wang Renyong.
"What's this about high-level or low-level? It's all for the revolution." Wang Renyong encouraged the two men. "The battle horn has sounded. I hope you two will intensify your studies and join the fight as soon as possible. Do you have any difficulties that the organization needs to resolve?"
"Yes, could you please arrange a job for me as soon as possible? I'm fine with manual labor. My wife and children are coming to Shanghai soon, and I can't let my whole family go hungry because of me," Qi Kejun pleaded anxiously.
Wang Renyong laughed and flattered, "Comrade Qi, what are you joking about? You are a PhD graduate from Beiping Medical College, a great intellectual. If I asked you to do manual labor, Comrade Wu Hao would curse me to death."
"I'm wanted by the authorities, and I don't know how much of my valuables I can recover. I've almost spent all my savings from my time as a doctor, but my eldest daughter is about to enter her final year of high school, and my second son is about to start middle school. I really don't have the means to support their tuition fees." Comrade Qi said, taking off his glasses and rubbing his reddened eyes.
Even a hero can be brought down by a lack of money. Comrade Qi can't continue like this; he still needs to find a decent job to support his family.
“Don’t worry about your identity, I’ve already taken care of that for you. Besides, your wife isn’t wanted, and she’s a doctor, so she can apply for a job at the hospital without any problems. As for your job, I have other arrangements. Wait a moment, I’ll show you something good.” Wang Renyong said as he ran upstairs.
He quickly brought down a document. When Wang Renyong took the document out of the brown paper bag, Qingcheng immediately recognized it as the job entrance exam paper she had photographed.
"How about it, young comrade? Doesn't it look familiar? It's the exam paper you brought back." Wang Renyong gave He Qingcheng a meaningful smile. "The last Saturday of March this year is the Radio Management Bureau's entrance exam. Comrade Qi, you should memorize it as soon as possible and then take their exam. The results will be released at the end of April."
"Okay, I accept the organization's arrangement." Qi Kejun solemnly accepted the test paper, as if carrying the hopes of his entire family.
“I remember your wife’s surname is Xu, and she’s from Huzhou, Zhejiang,” Wang Renyong suddenly asked.
“Yes, the Xu family is a well-known and prominent family in Huzhou. We even met through the Zhejiang hometown association of the medical school.” Qi Kejun said with pride in his eyes.
"Then that's settled. Focus on your exam, and I'll tell you more about it after you're accepted. Young lady, come in with me for a moment, I have something to ask you." Wang Renyong beckoned to her to go into the inner room, and Qingcheng, not knowing what he meant, could only follow him inside.
After closing the door, Wang Renyong carefully fastened the bolt, acting all mysterious. Qingcheng, propping herself up on her arm, preemptively said, "I will not be able to work with Ai Ruirui in the future. I would appreciate it if you could arrange a job transfer for me as soon as possible."
"We'll talk about that later. What I want to ask you is, during the night visit to Xu Xi's house, there was an American in the tape. Are you sure it was an American and not a British or Canadian?" Wang Renyong's serious expression made Qingcheng realize that things were a bit serious.
Kiyosumi nodded affirmatively: "I'm sure. I can still tell the difference between American accents. And as I wrote in my report, he should also know Japanese and Chinese. Although he insisted on speaking English, he naturally picked up where the other two left off when they were talking. Unless you can understand them, you wouldn't be able to react that quickly."
“This man is named Robert. He’s a language genius and a well-known intelligence broker in our industry. He sometimes acts as a middleman, but his commission is extremely high. Generally, unless the intelligence is particularly important, no one will use him as an intermediary,” Wang Renyong said with a cold expression.
"Uh... I don't quite understand. What do you mean? Aren't they reselling state-owned assets?" Qingcheng was confused; this news was a bit beyond her comprehension.
"To put it simply, whenever Robert makes a move, things get unsettled in certain places. You could call him a warmonger." Wang Renyong closed his eyes and took a deep breath, probably trying to manage his emotions again.
Qingcheng immediately realized that Xu Qiao had used a mine to buy military intelligence, which could potentially affect the future course of the war. Gao Junxiao's face flashed through her mind; whenever the country was in trouble, he, as a soldier, would always be the first to go to the front lines, willing to die for his country on the battlefield, needing no return wrapped in a horse's hide.
A tense atmosphere filled the air. Wang Renyong spoke first: "International intelligence is not under our jurisdiction. I have already reported it. I just want you to know that the external situation has changed and we don't have much time left to unite. So please think carefully about Gao Junxiao's matter. Even if you don't get married, you still hope that the person you like is on the same side as you, right?"
Qingcheng's eyes were vacant. She opened her mouth as if to agree, but she was unable to make a sound, as if she had lost her voice. In the end, she could only force out a smile that was more like a grimace, asking Wang Renyong to give her some time to think about it.
Back home, lying in bed, Qingcheng felt her thoughts were in turmoil, nothing but torment. The world was not as peaceful and beautiful as it seemed; beneath the veneer of peace and prosperity lay a catastrophic crisis.
Begging and pandering won't bring peace; on the contrary, others will only see you as weak and easily bullied, and their inflated ambitions will eventually spiral out of control. Therefore, we need a thorough revolution. Revolution requires struggle, but the cruelty of struggle once again refreshed her understanding.
She didn't want to leave the organization, nor did she want to betray her love. Tears streamed down her face involuntarily. If it were you, what would you choose, Gao Junxiao?
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