Ning Zhiheng carefully put away the dozen or so small tea canisters and wooden boxes, made sure he hadn't left any traces, left Lu Ming's house, locked the door, and quickly returned home.
He took out the small tea canister again and examined it carefully. The tea inside was very ordinary; it was Longjing tea, which is commonly drunk by people in the south and is sold in many tea shops on the streets of Nanjing.
I poured out all the tea leaves. The small tea caddy was made of hardwood and was very exquisite. It was not commonly seen on the market, but there were no signs of any merchant or shop on the surface.
Why would Lu Ming buy so much tea at home? It must not have been purchased all at once. Otherwise, he wouldn't have divided it into so many small tea canisters; it would be too much trouble!
It's supposed to be one tea canister of tea at a time, so why did Lu Ming buy so much tea in multiple trips?
It's very simple. He must frequently visit a tea shop, always buying a small tin of tea each time. He can't possibly drink that much tea by himself, so why is he buying tea? It must be to deceive others and conceal his true intentions.
What was he doing at the tea shop?
Meeting with contacts to exchange intelligence and messages?
Yes, that should be it!
Ning Zhiheng knew he had found the right answer. This contact, a farmer, must work at a tea shop. The tea shop must be located near Lu Ming's workplace, his residence, or on his way to and from get off work!
This is quite a large area! Ning Zhiheng knew this was a huge workload, but this time none of his subordinates could be used, so he had to find the right people himself.
He first returned to the military intelligence department, rushed to the morgue, and quietly placed the key on Lu Ming's body. Then he went to Wei Liangbi to ask for leave, saying that he had been investigating cases for some time and felt very tired, so he wanted to rest for two days.
Wei Liangbi readily agreed, but he wasn't unaware of the situation; he knew very well that Ning Zhiheng was about to make another move.
He once again warned his junior brother, "Zhiheng, don't push yourself too hard. You've been looking for clues about the underground party all this time, haven't you? Our military intelligence department rarely gets involved in cases involving the underground party. You know what's going on inside, so I don't want to say any more."
If you really want to investigate, that's fine, but those Communists are desperate criminals. Be extremely careful when dealing with them. When you go out on cases, bring plenty of men. Like I said, nothing is more important than your own life!
Ning Zhiheng then realized that his senior brother was exceptionally shrewd and knew exactly what was going on. It seemed impossible to hide it any longer, so he could only agree repeatedly, assuring everyone he wouldn't take any unnecessary risks, before leaving Wei Liangbi's office.
Then he gave Shi Hong a few more instructions before hurriedly leaving the military intelligence office.
He first went to the vicinity of Lu Ming's house and quickly found several tea shops. At each shop, he asked for one or two ounces of Longjing tea and then checked whether the tea canister the merchant gave him was the style he wanted.
He then tried to stay in the teahouse for a while, carefully observing everyone inside, but he still couldn't find the person he was looking for.
So he followed Lu Ming's route to work and began to search each shop one by one. Finally, in a tea shop, he saw a tea canister on the shelf that was exactly the same as the one in Lu Ming's home.
He was overjoyed and looked up. The signboard of the tea shop read "Qingshi Tea House".
He stepped forward unhurriedly, pretending to select tea leaves, and said to the shop assistant, "Shop assistant, I'd like an ounce of Longjing tea."
Upon seeing Ning Zhiheng enter, the young shop assistant quickly stepped forward and replied with a fawning smile, "Alright, one tael of Longjing tea, sixty copper coins!"
Ning Zhiheng looked around and found that the shop was small, with only one shop assistant serving him. Not finding the person he was looking for, he casually asked, "Is business good?"
"Thanks to you! Business is doing alright!" he said, deftly weighing out an ounce of tea leaves, putting them into a delicate little tea caddy, and handing it to Ning Zhiheng.
Ning Zhiheng paid the money, chatted casually with him for a bit, and seeing that he hadn't discovered anything further, he didn't linger and simply turned and left.
He looked at the tea canister in his hand and nodded to himself. It should be here!
This farmer is now middle-aged, so he's definitely not a shop assistant. He's more likely the manager or owner of this Qing Shi Tea House. Now he just needs to confirm it in person!
So he found an inconspicuous corner nearby, kept his eyes on the entrance of Qing Shi Tea House, and carefully observed everyone coming in and out.
The business at this Qing Shi Tea Shop was so-so, with not many customers coming and going, and Ning Zhiheng hadn't noticed anything amiss.
About an hour later, he suddenly saw a middle-aged man dressed in a long robe, looking like a businessman, walk straight into the Qing Shi Tea Shop. The shop assistant stepped forward and called out, "Manager, you're back!"
The middle-aged man nodded without saying a word and went straight into the back room of the tea shop.
Ning Zhiheng had excellent eyesight. In just a glance, he could tell that the middle-aged man looked very similar to the farmer in the portrait. Apart from the difference in clothing and temperament, the farmer in the portrait looked haggard and worried, and was wearing coarse cloth clothes.
The middle-aged man now had the typical face of a businessman, and his clothes were also cotton long gowns, of much higher quality.
However, Ning Zhiheng was already certain that this person was the one he was looking for, Lu Ming's contact person, Farmer!
We finally found it!
Xia Deyan has been very anxious these past few days. He doesn't know exactly why, but it might be because of the argument he had with Lu Ming last time. He repeatedly advised Lu Ming not to contact his former comrades-in-arms anymore, mainly because it was too unsafe!
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