"Mr. Ning, what brings you here?" Mr. Yang asked.
Ning Zhiheng didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point: "It's like this, I've been too busy with work lately and haven't been home, but I heard that some people are asking about me near my place. Mrs. Yang seems to know something, I wonder if she could tell me about it."
The couple then understood Ning Zhiheng's meaning. Upon hearing this, Mrs. Yang immediately said, "Mr. Ning, you're very well-informed! You know what, there really are people asking about you."
"Okay, then please tell me the situation in detail," Ning Zhiheng quickly asked.
"Two people came to inquire about you. One was a man eight days ago, and the other was a girl two days ago. This girl was quite pretty," Mrs. Yang said after a moment's thought.
Ning Zhiheng knew that the girl from two days ago was undoubtedly Zuo Rou. The important one, however, was the man who inquired about his movements eight days ago—that was the one he was looking for.
"Please describe in detail the situation of the man from eight days ago, including the specific questions asked. Please be as detailed as possible," Ning Zhiheng continued.
Mrs. Yang was a little embarrassed when she heard this. It had been too long since the incident, and she couldn't remember much of it at the moment. She could only try to describe it as best she could: "Eight days ago at noon, I was washing vegetables in the yard when a man dressed in tattered clothes knocked on the gate asking for a drink of water. I felt sorry for him, so I gave him a bowl of water."
We chatted for a bit while we were drinking water. He said he had come to stay with a distant relative, and all he knew was that the relative's surname was Ning and that he was a young military officer. I thought he was looking for you, so I told him my address.
Later, when he asked me if I usually went home, I said I didn't know, sometimes I did, sometimes I didn't. But then when he asked me about my appearance, he said the face didn't match, it was too different, I must have gotten the wrong person, he was quite disappointed, and left after finishing his water.
After listening to Mrs. Yang's words, Ning Zhiheng thought carefully and then asked again, "What accent does he speak?"
“I only know it’s a northern accent, not very distinct, and different from the local accent,” Mrs. Yang replied. Then she seemed to remember something else, “The accent is similar to that of Old Cheng, the shoe repairman at the street corner.”
“Old Cheng is from Shandong,” Mr. Yang interjected.
Ning Zhiheng couldn't help but nod inwardly. During this period, most Japanese spies who were proficient in Chinese had a northern accent, usually with accents from Northeast China or Shandong.
This was also the case among the Japanese spies he came into contact with. For example, Huang Xiansheng before him, and Xie Ziming, Meng Lesheng and others later. According to the intelligence department, Yan Yichun also spoke with a Northeastern accent, and Ning Zhiheng's contact, Kawamoto Kuraji, also had a slight Northeastern accent.
This situation was caused by the environment at the time. There was no standard Mandarin in that era, and the accents of different regions varied greatly.
Many years ago, the Japanese targeted the northern regions, so their influence first penetrated the northern provinces and cities, such as the Northeast and Shandong. They abducted a large number of laborers from the Northeast and Shandong, and many spies learned Chinese from these laborers at that time.
Chinese is very difficult to learn; it requires a lot of time and effort. To speak it exactly like a native speaker, it would take at least several years.
Therefore, the Chinese language learned by Japanese spies during this period was mostly the local dialect, which is why most of the so-called China experts among the Japanese were like this.
Of course, nothing is absolute. Some Japanese spies did speak with a southern Chinese accent, but this was rare. After all, the south was a battlefield that the Japanese had only recently opened up, and even if they wanted to learn a southern accent, it would take a considerable amount of time.
Thinking of this, Ning Zhiheng continued, "Could you describe his height, appearance, and clothing in more detail?"
Mrs. Yang said with difficulty, "It's been a long time. I only had a few words with her before I left, so I really can't remember clearly."
Ning Zhiheng said with a smile, "It's alright, Mrs. Yang. Just say as much as you can remember. Don't push yourself too hard."
I just finished the third chapter, sorry for the long wait! I'm asking for votes at the end of the month! Thank you everyone!
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