Chapter 96

National Day holiday.

Yan Lei rode back a 28-bar motorcycle from the army. On the holiday, the family of three rode two bicycles to the county town.

The frequent turning back in the county town gave Qiao Wei the illusion that the couple was not riding an old-fashioned bicycle, but a shiny and cool Lamborghini Maserati.

There were quite a lot of people who came to the photo studio to take pictures during the holiday. They waited in line for an hour before it was their turn.

The family of three took individual photos, couple photos, and family photos.

Yan Lei was wearing a green military uniform, and whenever he was outside, he would button up his uniform tightly.

Qiao Wei and Yan Xiang both wore long-sleeved white shirts, neat and tidy.

The photographer praised while taking the photos: "What a perfect match. I will put them in the window after they are developed."

Qiao Wei saw that Yan Lei's mouth was always curled up.

He also told the photographer: "My wife has a high school education. She works in the county party committee office. She is a writer."

These days, the three words "writer" carry a lot of weight.

The photographer's attitude became more enthusiastic.

When Yan Lei took out his wallet, his movements were particularly smooth.

Qiao Wei admired Yan Lei's persistence in intellectuals.

She teased him, "How about I go back to school and ask if I can get a diploma?" She

was a dropout. In fact, she didn't have a diploma. To be honest, she only had a junior high school diploma.

She was actually half joking. She already had a job, she had the ability, her leaders appreciated her, and she had a military background.

A small high school diploma didn't mean much.

But Yan Lei got excited when he heard it.

"Yes, it should be!" he said, "How should I do this? Do I need to take an exam?"

"..." Qiao Wei said, "I don't know. If you really want me to get a diploma,

why not?" Yan Lei thought, "Why not if I can do it?"

He really valued this thing.

Okay. Qiao Wei said, "I'll call and ask tomorrow."

As they talked, they both kicked off the bicycle's legs and prepared to ride away.

Suddenly they realized something was wrong.

Yan Lei hurriedly got back on the bike, quickly entered the photo studio, and soon came out with Yan Xiang.

He scolded Yan Xiang: "Look at you, you were only looking at those things. You didn't even notice that your parents left. What would you do if you were lost?"

Although Yan Xiang was so absorbed in the camera and the props in the photo studio that he didn't notice that his parents almost lost him, he was not stupid. He asked in confusion: "But, when mom and dad left, shouldn't they take their own children with them? Why did they leave their children behind?"

Yan Lei was speechless for a moment.

He put the child in the back seat of his mother's car and acted in an unreasonable patriarchal manner: "Stop talking nonsense and sit down."

The family of three happily strolled around the county, not only went to the county central park, but also watched a movie in the county cultural hall.

It was the latest movie, called "Secret Drawings", an anti-spy film.

Qiao Wei thought that this kind of old movie would be boring. But it turned out to be quite good.

The suspense was strong, and the actors' acting skills were also online. What Qiao Wei liked even more was that she could see the street scene of a certain city at that time in the movie.

It was completely different from later generations. Qiao Wei had been to that city several times. It was a first-tier city with skyscrapers.

But at this time, the streets were still full of small houses.

Moreover, the characters in it were not stereotyped, and the female spies were pure, beautiful and generous.

Unlike the ancient puppet dramas of later generations, a character appeared in black clothes, with black eye shadow and black eyebrows "slanting into the temples", and the words "I am a villain" were just missing tattooed on his face.

I also went shopping in department stores.

This time, I brought four net bags, all filled, and hung them on Yan Lei's car, and returned with a full load.

Qiao Wei thought that the National Day ended happily.

In the evening, when I got warm water for Yan Xiang to wash her feet, the child who had been quiet all the way said: "Mom, that auntie doesn't look like a bad person."

"Which one?" Qiao Wei was puzzled.

Upon asking, it turned out that Yan Xiang was talking about the female spy in the movie.

Qiao Wei laughed: "Of course, if she looks like a bad person, would you be fooled by her? Spies need to disguise themselves. The more powerful the spy, the less like a bad person they look. Even one day, when it is revealed that this person is a spy, you may not believe it."

Yan Xiang was silent.

Qiao Wei only then noticed that something was wrong with Yan Xiang.

"Xiang Xiang, what's wrong?" She gently scrubbed Yan Xiang's little feet and asked curiously.

Thinking carefully, it was true that Yan Xiang was particularly silent today. Yan Xiang was usually a very quiet child, and today was a holiday, Yan Lei was very happy, and the couple had endless things to talk about, so they didn't notice that Yan Xiang was particularly silent today.

Yan Xiang said, "I know someone who is a spy."

Qiao Wei blinked.

To be honest, her first reaction was to laugh. This reaction was normal. Yan Xiang was only a few years old, and he said that he knew someone who was a spy, and it was after he had just watched an anti-spy movie.

But Qiao Wei immediately remembered that there were really spies in that era. Not to mention this era, even in the future, she was lying on the hospital bed unable to take care of herself, and she heard the patient in the next bed scrolling through the news on her mobile phone and sighing: "What era is it now? There are still so many spies."

She also told Qiao Wei: "Everyone on the Internet is talking about this counter-espionage method."

Qiao Wei calmed down and took Yan Xiang's words seriously: "Oh, who is that? Can you tell mom?"

Yan Xiang was a little depressed, and seemed to have made a great decision. He finally said: "It's the tailor in the sewing shop."

Qiao Wei could never have imagined that the spy Yan Xiang was talking about would be this person.

She opened her mouth, was stunned for a moment, and asked: "Why? Why do you think the tailor is a spy?"

Yan Xiang's face was tense, and he said seriously: "Last time in the tailor's shop, I fell under the table and hit my head. That thing was hard, like a square box."

"Today, I saw it in a movie. It was the radio station that the female spy used to send messages."

"It's exactly the same."

Qiao Wei told herself to stay calm.

She had encountered many situations, workplace traps, office politics, and the warmth and coldness of human relationships in the ward, but spies...spies are really the first time in the world.

It took two seconds to calm down.

She looked at Yan Xiang carefully. Yan Xiang's attitude was very serious, without any smile. It was obvious that the child who had just watched the anti-spy movie understood the meaning of "spy". Especially he was a child with such a high IQ.

Qiao Wei chose to believe Yan Xiang.

Because she also thought about it at the same time, why would there be a spy in such a small town like Xiahekou?

Yes, although Xiahekou Town is a small town. However, since it was selected by the military district as a place for the resettlement of military dependents several years ago, it has not been an ordinary town.

In ancient times, it can be called a military town.

Tailoring originally dealt with the women of each family. Even if it was to cut clothes for men at home, it was the family members who took care of it, and the men just went to measure the size.

The existence of spies in Xiahekou is logically possible.

But she stared at Yan Xiang: "Xiangxiang, why do you tell your mother now?"

Yan Xiang obviously realized it when watching the movie. But he kept silent until now, and finally told his parents when it was time to go to bed.

What is he hesitating about?

Yan Xiang was a little ashamed: "Every time I went there, Grandpa gave me candy. So..."

So he hesitated. He knew rationally that he had discovered a spy, but emotionally he didn't want to believe it, and even hoped it wasn't true.

The kind and amiable grandpa who always patted his head, the grandpa who always spoke humorously and made his mother laugh.

Qiao Wei completely understood Yan Xiang.

She was silent for a moment and said, "I understand."

"But, this country was protected by Dad and his comrades with their lives. If a spy steals the information, many of Dad's comrades may die on the battlefield. So, no matter how uncomfortable we are, we can't keep silent just because we are familiar with and like the spy. Xiangxiang, you did the right thing."

Yan Xiang was encouraged and nodded heavily. She said "hmm" and asked, "Mom, what should we do now?"

What should we do?

Should we verify whether the thing under the table that hit Yan Xiang's little head is a radio station? Or is the child seeing it wrong?

But Qiao Wei immediately dismissed this idea.

How to verify it? She can't go with Yan Xiang? That's called risking one's life. Don't be so stupid.

While she was wiping Yan Xiang's feet quickly, she called out, "Yan Lei, Yan Lei! Come here!"

Yan Lei came over upon hearing the voice: "What's wrong? Are you done washing? I'll go get some water."

"No." Qiao Wei said to Yan Lei, "Xiang Xiang found out there's a spy in town."

Yan Lei: "..."

At this point, it became clear that professional soldiers were different from ordinary people. Qiao Wei was still hesitant, doubtful, and worried about making a mistake. Yan Lei was stunned for only a moment, then he became serious: "What's going on?"

He didn't think his wife or child was talking nonsense, so he took it seriously immediately.

Qiao Wei told him the situation.

She recalled, "That day, I just took a step forward to carry Yan Xiang out, and he passed by. I thought at the time that the old man was quite old and quite strong..."

The fragments of memory supported each other and became evidence.

"Just now I was thinking whether I should find time to confirm it, but I felt that it was dangerous, so I should tell you." Qiao Wei said, "Professional matters should be handled by professionals. I won't mess around."

Yan Lei breathed a sigh of relief and immediately praised her: "You are right to think so. The enemies are all vicious and extremely evil. If something like this happens, you must not rush forward by yourself, let me do it."

Yan Lei turned around and went out. Qiao Wei put Yan Xiang on the kang and followed him out.

In the main room, Yan Lei was already getting dressed.

"Are you going now?" Qiao Wei knew that he was definitely going to report to his superiors.

"Yes." Yan Lei said, "Today is the first day that the movie is released. If we act too slowly, he will know that the country has made such a movie for publicity, and he will definitely be more careful to cover up his tracks. This kind of thing cannot be delayed, and we must act immediately."

"What if we have wronged someone?" Qiao Wei asked. She still has this worry.

Yan Lei said: "Then the three of us will go to make amends, apologize, and give gifts to them."

Qiao Wei nodded: "Go."

"Don't wait for me, go to sleep first."

Qiao Wei was woken up at dawn.

Yan Lei came back.

He hadn't slept all night, and there were bloodshot eyes.

"We caught him," he said. "After Xiangxiang saw the radio station, he moved to another place, but we still found him."

So it's all true.

In the craft alley, the glasses always slipped down his nose. The knowledgeable and humorous old tailor was really a spy.

This was too dramatic.

It felt unreal.

Qiao Wei fetched water for Yan Lei to wash his face.

While washing his face, Yan Lei told her: "We interrogated him all night and found out everything."

The old tailor had an only son on the other side of the strait.

Before they retreated, his son's superior gave him a mission and trained him to be a spy.

In order to let his son come back one day, the old tailor chose to hide in the town after the establishment of the military district.

Many people think that leaking secrets requires using amazing means to obtain amazing files, just like in the movie Spy.

But it is not true.

It has been popularized online that leaks often happen when Professor Wang and Professor Li meet in a snack bar outside the university and exchange pleasantries.

Professor Wang asks Professor Li when he will take a vacation.

Professor Li says, in another month and a half.

The spy, who is disguised as the owner of the snack bar, feeds the news back to his superiors.

Based on Professor Li's professional field and the projects he presided over, the enemy knew that our country was close to a breakthrough in a certain field, or that a certain project would be completed in one and a half months.

They might launch sabotage against this.

Qiao Wei understood all this.

Qiao Wei sat on the sunbed under the eaves and stared at the cobblestone path in a daze.

She asked: "What will he do?"

Yan Lei knew, but Yan Lei looked at the expression on her face and did not say it directly. He just touched her head and said: "It depends on what the superiors mean."

Qiao Wei sighed and nodded.