Chapter 14 Thief Enters Private Room
A dark figure was rummaging through the luggage compartment, occasionally accompanied by the sound of zippers being pulled.
The sound was a soft, intermittent clicking, almost inaudible unless you listened very carefully.
The sound of the plump woman snoring came from the bunk across the hall.
The dark figure circled the private room a few times, seemingly unable to find what he was looking for, and stomped his foot lightly in frustration.
He let out a heavy sigh.
At this moment, Shen Wanjun was extremely glad that she had bought the upper bunk. The upper bunk was inconvenient to get up and down, but it was quiet and relatively safer.
The lower bunk is noisy with people coming and going, but it's more convenient to lie down there.
Shen Wanjun waited and waited, but she didn't hear the person leave.
Could it be... that he's going to sleep in this private room tonight?
After thinking it over, for safety's sake, Shen Wanjun slipped into her own space.
After taking a hot shower, I lay down on the big bed I had moved from home and quickly fell asleep.
I slept soundly through the night, and when the dim lights came on again, it was already 6 a.m.
The radio was playing the song "The East Is Red," with the lyrics, "The East is Red, the sun rises..."
Shen Wanjun returned to the private room, stretched, and was about to get up.
Suddenly, a loud scream erupted from the plump woman: "Where's my toothbrush and toothpaste? Who the hell stole my toothbrush?"
Toothbrushes and toothpaste aren't cheap these days, so everyone quickly ran to check their belongings.
It was only after checking that we discovered that, besides the fat woman's toothbrush and toothpaste, many other people in the private room had also lost a lot of things.
Some people brought their own flatbread and pickled vegetables, while others had their clothes stolen.
Shen Wanjun lost a bar of soap, a fountain pen, and a notebook.
The plump woman angrily summoned a train attendant, "Comrade, there's a thief on the train!"
The train attendant sighed, and seeing the agitated expressions of the people in one compartment, reassured them, "Everyone, please register your lost items first."
Looking at Shen Wanjun and the fat older sister, one was calm and the other was flustered.
"You two come with me."
Shen Wanjun and the plump lady, carrying the hopes of everyone in the compartment, were invited to the train's office area.
The train office is located at the connection between the hard-seat carriage and the sleeper carriage, between carriages 8 and 9.
A porcelain iron plaque hangs high above the door, with the words "Office Seat" clearly and conspicuously displayed in white on a red background.
The train attendant said, "Please have a seat, comrades."
He took the kettle off the kerosene stove and poured a cup of hot water for Shen Wanjun and the plump older sister.
The plump woman took a sip, sat down casually, took out her well-worn water bottle, and filled it with water.
There were only two bamboo-cased thermos flasks in the private room, which was far from enough for six people.
She hadn't even had a sip of hot water in the morning when she was called over.
Seeing the train attendant looking at her, the plump woman scratched her head and said, "I'm just a little thirsty."
He took a sip of soup from the kettle, his face scrunched up, and his throat hurt terribly.
He forced a smile: "My goodness, this water is so hot."
The water in the kettle in the private room was lukewarm, not hot at all.
Without comparison, there's no harm done; she even wants to sleep here tonight.
Shen Wanjun sat down next to her and looked at the three serious-looking men opposite her.
The train attendant introduced them one by one: "This is our train conductor Zhang, political commissar Zhao, and police chief Tian."
Shen Wanjun frowned slightly. It was just a few lost items, yet the train conductor personally came forward?
The public security is so good these days.
The plump woman's eyes widened, and she almost spat out the hot water she had just drunk.
"Train conductor? You're the conductor, you're sitting here, then... who's driving the train?"
She made everyone laugh, and the atmosphere eased a bit.
Shen Wanjun said, "Zhang, the train conductor, is in charge of management."
How could the boss do the work himself? Hard work like driving the train should naturally be left to the lower-level employees.
However, these days, anyone who can drive a train is no ordinary person.
"Ahem." Train conductor Zhang coughed and said, "Comrades, don't be afraid. I called you over here just to understand some things."
"The situation is that someone stole things from our private room." The plump woman thought to herself, "What else do I need to know about this?"
Isn't the situation obvious? That's just how it is.
"Tell me what you lost?" Train conductor Zhang took out his notebook and began to take notes carefully.
Shen Wanjun listed more than a dozen items, and the plump woman looked on with envy, saying, "Little sister, you have a really good memory."
In just a short time, Shen Wanjun was able to remember all the stolen items.
As for her, having walked from the private room to here, she had already forgotten that she had lost a few things.
"Did you see any suspicious people yesterday? Or hear any suspicious sounds?"
"If we had heard or seen it, would we still have been robbed?" The plump woman felt that these people were acting strangely, interrogating them as if they were criminals.
"Comrades, please don't misunderstand, we are just doing our job impartially," Political Commissar Zhao said.
"We're just telling the truth," the plump woman said irritably.
The three men opposite him exchanged a glance, and Political Commissar Zhao asked with a smile, "Comrade, what's your name?"
"Dang Xianghong." The plump Dang Xianghong looked arrogant. With her surname and name, who would dare to say she was a bad element?
"A good name." Political Commissar Zhao's smile deepened as he asked Shen Wanjun, "And yours?"
Shen Wanjun answered truthfully, then rolled her eyes and asked, "Political Commissar Zhao, Train Commander Zhang, this isn't a simple theft, is it?"
Why make such a big fuss, summoning her and Dang Xianghong, and sending three important figures, just to catch a petty thief?
How could that be! Good public security is one thing, but the leaders don't have that much free time either.
Sergeant Tian glanced at them and said, "Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask."
Train conductor Zhang replied, "It's alright, I can tell you, but you have to promise not to talk about it."
Dang Xianghong assured her, "Don't worry, I'm very tight-lipped."
Shen Wanjun also assured that "spreading rumors won't do us any good."
They're not stupid. It's fine to chat about everyday matters and gossip, but when it comes to important issues, the more they say, the more mistakes they make.
Train conductor Zhang nodded, indicating his approval of the two men's attitude.
“An enemy T agent has infiltrated the train, and we haven’t been able to catch him yet.”
"He is a highly educated intellectual who specializes in stealing our country's information."
Train conductor Zhang stopped short of making a point, carefully observing the expressions of the two men.
Dang Xianghong's mouth gaped open in an "O" shape; she had actually encountered such a bad person.
Shen Wanjun also showed a look of shock, but not much.
She recalled the description of this enemy T agent in the book: ordinary appearance, taciturn, fluent in foreign languages, and with a particularly strong sense of counter-surveillance.
Seeing that Train Chief Zhang was looking at her, Shen Wanjun said indignantly, "People like this who sell out their country for personal gain deserve to be eaten."
"Train Captain Zhang, does that person speak a foreign language?"
"You... how did you know?" Sergeant Tian asked warily, reaching up to touch the Type 54 black pistol at his waist.
Shen Wanjun rummaged through her delicate little bag and pulled out a rolled-up newspaper.
When Sergeant Tian opened it, he immediately burst out laughing.
Newspapers published extensive reports on how the Shen family's multi-million dollar fortune vanished and how the eldest daughter of the Shen family fell into poverty.
"So, you're someone important too." Chief Inspector Tian's eyes were wary; even among capitalist heiresses, there were quite a few special agents.
“I also speak foreign languages, and I can provide assistance whenever you need it.”
Shen Wanjun did not want to get involved in these disputes, but those special agents not only betrayed the country for personal gain, but also murdered many female comrades.
If we don't find him, all the women on this bus are in danger.
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