At 11 p.m. that night, Ning Zhiheng placed an exquisite leather suitcase on the desk, gently opened it, and put stacks of US dollars inside.
Ning Zhiheng only took a piece of white paper after filling the suitcase, ready to start typing. However, he found that the pen was out of ink. He took a bottle of ink from the side, unscrewed the pen, and prepared to fill it with ink.
But at that moment, an idea struck him. He spilled a drop of ink from the ink bottle onto the side of a stack of banknotes in his suitcase, then took a handkerchief and wiped the ink away. The ink stain on the side of the banknotes remained clearly visible.
Ning Zhiheng tidied up briefly, and seeing that there were no flaws, he wrote a line on a piece of white paper, placed it on top of the banknotes, and after confirming that everything was correct, closed the suitcase.
He changed into a black casual outfit, then sat in his chair and quietly looked at his watch. Half an hour later, knowing that it was time for his bodyguards to change shifts, he stood up and picked up his suitcase.
With his exceptional hearing, he went to the window and heard the sounds of conversation coming from downstairs. Knowing they were changing shifts, he took advantage of the moment when they were all gathered in the front hall to open the back window. He leaped out of the window, hooked his arm around the windowsill, and once he was steady, he let go and fell to the windowsill on the third floor. He grabbed the windowsill with one hand and then fell again, landing on the second floor almost instantly. He lightly leaped again, grabbed a tree branch not far away, swung over, and flipped over the courtyard wall. All his movements were swift and clean, like a nimble ape, extremely light and silent.
Upon reaching the outside of the courtyard wall, he hurried a few steps to a dark place where the light couldn't reach, and then quickly left. He was in a hurry. Although he had clearly instructed that his bodyguards and others were not allowed to enter his study without his permission, just in case, he couldn't leave for too long.
Fortunately, he had considered this issue when choosing the location of Qing Shi Tea House, which is why he chose the area near Xinle Park. This location was not far from his residence. He quickened his pace and moved quickly through the darkness. Before long, he arrived at the back door of Qing Shi Tea House. As before, he went to the back door and gently knocked on the door rhythmically.
Soon, he heard footsteps inside. Ning Zhiheng quickly placed the suitcase at the door, turned around and hid in the darkness, quietly observing whether it was the farmer coming to pick up the suitcase in person. He wanted to confirm that the handover was correct.
Xia Deyan's journey to Shanghai was delayed for some time due to various reasons. After all, it was a time of war and chaos, and the journey was not smooth. As soon as he arrived in Shanghai, he quickly made arrangements to open a tea shop and prepared to contact Shadow as soon as possible.
Now that the tea shop is finally up and running, he doesn't dare to rest until after midnight every night. Today was no different. He was resting with his eyes closed in bed when he suddenly heard a familiar knock on the door. He immediately sat up.
That's the sound, that's the rhythm!
The shadow finally contacted him. Xia Deyan excitedly jumped out of bed, took a few steps to the back door, opened the door, and found that, as before, there was an exquisite leather suitcase at his feet. The surroundings were quiet and deserted, and in the hazy moonlight, he could not see anything.
Xia Deyan sighed softly. Shadow was still as cautious as ever. This time, he came to Shanghai and was directly under the command of Lin Hanwen, the person in charge of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee. Lin Hanwen emphasized that he should establish two-way contact with Shadow so that they could communicate with each other on many issues and maximize Shadow's role. But it seems that Shadow still has no intention of contacting him.
Oh well, it's been like this for the past few years anyway, and Xia Deyan has gotten used to it. He picked up his suitcase, went back to his room, and closed the door.
Seeing that it was indeed Xia Deyan, Ning Zhiheng finally felt relieved. He didn't have much time and couldn't linger here, so he turned around and left quickly.
He rushed back to his home and retraced his steps. His agility was even greater than before. He returned to his study with ease, without alerting the bodyguards downstairs.
Xia Deyan returned to his room, turned on the light, and placed the suitcase on the table. He knew from the feel of it that, as usual, it was another suitcase full of US dollars.
He gently opened the suitcase, and everything was just as he had guessed: a suitcase full of banknotes with a blank piece of paper on top.
Xia Deyan took the paper and saw a line written on it: "Comrade Farmer, everything is as before. I am doing well in Shanghai. I will contact you if there is any situation. This money is for activity funds. Use it where it is needed."
The calligraphy is strong and vigorous, with bold strokes and elegant lines. The signature at the end is still that large, flowing "Shadow" character.
Xia Deyan breathed a sigh of relief. Shadow was now also an undercover agent behind enemy lines. Despite the harsh working conditions, he still managed to raise these funds and hand them over to the underground party. This showed his loyalty and unwavering commitment!
The next day at noon, in a secluded single room in Liu Family Alley in the French Concession of Shanghai, Lin Hanwen, the head of the municipal party committee, and Xia Deyan met.
Xia Deyan handed the suitcase and the piece of white paper to Lin Hanwen and said, "This is the first time Shadow has contacted me since I came to Shanghai. Judging from the current situation, he can at least raise this much money, so the situation should be pretty good!"
Lin Hanwen looked at the writing on the white paper, nodded and said, "The situation you described earlier is indeed good. This Shadow must be a person with extremely high literary cultivation. His calligraphy shows great skill, especially the last character Shadow, which is as graceful as a dragon in flight and as elegant as a startled swan. It is extremely unrestrained. You can't write at this level without many years of practice."
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