Chapter 42 Chapter 42 Spy (Part 2)

Just as the man was about to leap onto the lifeboat, a force came from behind and pulled him back. Before he could react, he was pinned to the ground.

"Who are you and what do you want to do?!" the man asked in a panic.

Xia Junshan ignored him and picked up the rope on the ground to tie up the man. He used the special binding method of the army, and the man had no chance of escaping.

The man struggled on the ground and shouted, "I advise you to be honest and let me go quickly, otherwise I will make you pay for it!"

Xia Junshan squatted down and looked at the man and said, "You should save your saliva and talk slowly later."

The man looked up and saw the military uniform Xia Junshan was wearing. His pupils shrank, and he knew he was exposed... For a moment, regret, anger, and fear appeared on the man's face.

Xia Junshan observed him carefully, to prevent him from biting his tongue to commit suicide. Some criminals, when caught, would resolutely choose to commit suicide in order not to expose the power behind them.

However, the man in front of him was obviously not that kind of ruthless person.

This shows that either he has no power behind him, or he is simply greedy and afraid of death.

Xia Junshan was more inclined to the latter speculation, that he pushed a child into the sea for no reason, most likely because the child caught him doing something.

The fear on the man's face let Xia Junshan know that it would be easy to pry open the man's mouth and get a lot of information out of him.

Xia Junshan pressed the man to the captain's room.

The captain saw the tied-up man and was surprised: "This... Aren't you a delivery man from a department store? Captain Xia, could it be that he is the murderer who pushed the child into the sea?"

Xia Junshan nodded and said, "It was most likely him. When I rushed to the lifeboat, he was putting it into the sea. He almost got away."

The man said to the captain, "Captain, I am innocent! I didn't push anyone. I didn't know what Captain Xia just said! Captain, we have known each other for so long. You know me. I would never do such a thing."

Listening to the man's words, the captain asked hesitantly, "Captain Xia, are you sure it was him? I know this man. He is an employee of a department store. He is usually responsible for delivering supplies to the supply and marketing cooperative on the island. He has been working on this route for more than two years. He usually gets along well with the staff on several ships. How could he push the child into the sea?"

When the man heard the captain speak for him, he immediately shouted, "Captain is right. I have a job. If you don't believe me, you can go to the Qiongzhou City Department Store to ask around. Even if you are the head of the group, you can't just accuse people!"

Xia Junshan said coldly: "Whether it is an injustice or not, you will know after meeting with me in the army. If you are indeed wronged, I will be responsible for all the consequences."

The man was about to argue when a crew member ran in and said, "Captain, Captain, the child has been brought aboard!"

"real?"

"How is the child now?"

The crew member took a breath and said, "It's true. Boss Qi dived into the sea to save the person himself. Isn't it foolproof? He just got the water out of the child's stomach. He is now in the lounge. It's okay for now."

"That's good, that's good..." The captain heaved a sigh of relief and said, "We'll wait for the oil tanker to arrive and then send the child to the hospital for a checkup. Fortunately, we met Lao Qi on the boat today, otherwise we wouldn't be able to rescue the child so quickly."

The crew member laughed and said, "Of course. It's no exaggeration to say that there are not many people in this world who can compete with Boss Qi in swimming. His kung fu is inherited from his ancestors."

Only then did he notice that there was another person tied up beside him, "Isn't this Brother Wang? How...how come he is tied up!"

After hearing this, the man immediately said, "Xiao Qian, you should talk to this Captain Xia. It is impossible that I pushed the child into the sea. He wronged me!"

Xiao Qian rubbed his head and said, "Yes, Captain Xia, you are not mistaken. Brother Wang is a very good person. He often brings food to the people on our ship and helps us buy the hot items in the department store. He is very enthusiastic. How could he push a child?"

"Yeah, I have no grudge against that boy, why would I push him?" the man hurriedly explained.

Xia Junshan glanced at the man and asked coldly, "If you didn't push the person, then why did you use the lifeboat to escape just now?"

"I...I was..." The man was speechless for a moment.

Xia Junshan said, "I'm afraid he accidentally saw you doing something shameful, and in order to avoid being discovered, you silenced him."

The man's eyes flashed with a trace of guilt, and he stubbornly retorted: "You...you are talking nonsense, I-I didn't push him!"

The captain saw his behavior and knew what was going on. He said to Xia Junshan, "Captain Xia, leave this man with me. I will send someone to watch him and will never let him get away. Do you want to go back to the cabin and rest for a while?"

Xia Junshan shook his head. Before he was sure whether there would be any male accomplices on the ship, he decided to take care of it himself.

Xia Junshan borrowed the radio on the ship to notify the troops to send a boat to pick up the people. He also used the loudspeaker in the captain's room to announce: "Dear passengers, please pay attention. The child who fell into the water has been successfully rescued and is not in danger for the time being. The rescue boat will arrive soon. Please wait patiently."

In the cabin, everyone felt relieved when they heard the sound from the horn. Shuanzi's mother cried and laughed, "That's great, that's great, Shuanzi is fine, Shuanzi is fine..."

She hurriedly got up to see Shuanzi. The crew member saw that she was the child's mother and took her to the crew lounge.

Meng Yufei recognized that the voice coming from the loudspeaker was Xia Junshan's, and her tense spirit finally relaxed. It seemed that the matter was resolved smoothly.

Xia Qinqin pointed at the loudspeaker on the cabin in astonishment and said, "Mom, it's Dad who's talking!"

Meng Yufei nodded and said, "Yes, Dad has successfully caught the bad guy. He was just telling us not to worry. He will be back soon."

Xia Qinqin said happily: "I knew that Dad is the most-the most amazing!"

…

About ten minutes later, the boat sent by the troops arrived first. Xia Junshan handed the man over to the soldier who came to escort him and briefly explained the situation.

Because the rescue boat would not arrive for some time, Xia Junshan let Shuanzi and his mother, who had fallen into the water, follow the military boat back to the island and send them directly to the military hospital, as Shuanzi's confession would be needed later.

Xia Junshan was going to go back with the troops' ship, so he left two soldiers on the ferry just in case.

As the troop boat approached the ferry, people sitting near the cabin windows noticed it.

"Look, isn't that a military ship? How did it get here?"

"I guess it was the captain who sent a distress call. The child was just pulled from the sea. He is said to be not in danger of death, but he must be sent to the hospital anyway."

"The oil delivery ship is too slow. It hasn't arrived yet. By the time they get here, the daylilies will be cold!"

"How can we compete with the speed of the military ships?"

…

After a while, two soldiers came in and said loudly: "The suspect who pushed the child into the water has just been sent back to the island for interrogation. Please don't leave when you get ashore. Come back with us to cooperate with the investigation."

All of a sudden, the cabin, which had been quiet since the warriors came in, was filled with chaotic discussions again.

"Why do we need to investigate?"

"It turns out that the child didn't fall into the sea accidentally, but was pushed by someone!"

"What kind of hatred or grudge is this? Who is so wicked as to push a child into the sea? Isn't this a life-threatening thing?"

"Oh my, how can I rush back to cook tonight?"

"It's already so late, and you're still thinking about cooking."

"What are you saying? If I don't cook, what will the family eat?"

…

The people on the ferry waited for about ten minutes before the oil-delivering boat slowly arrived. After filling up the oil tank, the ferry continued to sail towards Nanya Island.

Two soldiers guarded the cabin tightly along the way. After docking, the ferry was immediately taken over by the troops, and all personnel had to get off the boat and return to the troops for investigation.

After everyone on the ferry was evacuated, the troops sent a team of soldiers and military dogs to search the ferry from top to bottom, inside and out.

Because Meng Yufei was originally from the family compound, her identity and background had been thoroughly investigated before she came to the island to follow the army. In addition, today's incident was discovered by the couple, so after recording a few statements from her, they let her take Xia Qinqin home first.

However, when they heard Meng Yufei say that it was Xia Qinqin who saw the man pushing the child into the sea, they specifically asked Xia Qinqin if she remembered the scene at that time. Xia Qinqin shook her head and said nothing. Everyone just thought that the child was frightened and did not ask any further questions.

Meng Yufei brought Xia Qinqin back home. The things they bought today, which were packed in a snakeskin bag, had to be inspected before being delivered. Fortunately, the lunch box was in her shoulder bag, so after they took a look at it, they were allowed to take it back.

When we got home, it was already past six in the evening.

Meng Yufei didn't want to go to the cafeteria anymore. There were still some noodles left at home. She had just bought eggs the day before yesterday. She ate the noodles with eggs directly and then covered them with the dishes she brought back at noon.

Meng Yufei carried Xia Qinqin to the sofa, touched her daughter's face lovingly, and asked softly: "Qinqin, are you hungry? Eat some biscuits first, mom will cook now, how about we have noodles tonight?"

Xia Qinqin nodded and whispered, "Okay."

Meng Yufei opened the closet next to the sofa, took out two biscuits from the biscuit box and put them in Xia Qinqin's hand, then poured her a cup of hot water. The water was freshly boiled in the morning and had been in the thermos for a day, so it was still steaming hot.

"Be careful with the scalding water. Drink it slowly in small sips, okay?" Meng Yufei reminded him patiently.

Xia Qinqin nodded, put the biscuit in her hand to Meng Yufei's mouth, and said softly, "Mom, eat it."

Meng Yufei lowered her head and took a bite, then touched her daughter's head and said with a smile, "Thank you, Qinqin."

Xia Qinqin ate half a bowl of noodles and a few pieces of ribs before shaking her head and not eating. Meng Yufei didn't have much appetite either, so she just ate a few bites.

After the mother and daughter finished their meal, Meng Yufei went to boil some bath water. After giving Xia Qinqin a bath, she carried her back to the room and coaxed her to sleep.

After a tiring day today, Xia Qinqin didn't even need a bedtime story. She fell asleep in a short while after lying on the bed. Meng Yufei patted her daughter's shoulders gently, staring at the dark night outside the window but couldn't fall asleep.

I don't know what's going on over at Xia Jun Mountain?

Division Chief's Office.

Xia Junshan was reporting: "Commander, the suspect has been found out. The suspect is Wang Zhiyi, 30 years old, from Qiongzhou City. He used to be a food factory worker. Three years ago, he was transferred to work in a department store. At first, he was responsible for warehouse management. Two years ago, he began to be responsible for delivering goods to the supply and marketing cooperatives on nearby islands."

The teacher asked, "Who transferred him to the department store three years ago?"

Xia Junshan said, "According to Wang Zhiyi, three years ago his childhood friend contacted him and transferred him to the department store, and later asked him to be in charge of delivering goods to the supply and marketing cooperative. Starting a year ago, the childhood friend asked Wang Zhiyi to pay attention to the supply of materials on the island, especially sugar, snacks, cigarettes, etc. If there is a day when there is a lot more consumption than usual, he should report it to him immediately. Every time he reports, the childhood friend will give him 20 yuan."

After hearing this, Master Li was silent for a moment and said, "It turns out that he was the one who leaked the information about our training every time!"

Xia Junshan nodded and said, "From what we can see now, this is the case. After each training session, the soldiers would go to the supply and marketing cooperative to make some purchases. Wang Zhiyi, who was in charge of delivering goods to the supply and marketing cooperative, could easily infer which day the training was conducted based on the daily consumption of goods at the supply and marketing cooperative."

Teacher Li was so angry that he slammed the table. "Damn it! We searched the entire island several times but couldn't find the problem. We even suspected our own people, but we didn't expect the problem to be here!"

Xia Junshan sighed and said, "The enemy is really cunning. They came up with such an idea."

Teacher Li asked, "Who is that childhood friend now? And who is the person in charge of the supply and marketing cooperative on the island? Does he know about it?"

Xia Junshan replied: "According to Wang Zhiyi's confession, the boy was transferred from the Jingzhou City Department Store to Qiongzhou three years ago and served as the director of the personnel department of the department store. We have already sent people to arrest him."

"As for Zheng Sanchuan, the director of the island's supply and marketing cooperative, we also interviewed him, and this is his confession."

As he spoke, Xia Junshan handed a document to Commander Li, who took it and read it while listening to his continued report.

"We have investigated all residents on the island before, but at that time we mainly focused on them and their families, and did not consider those responsible for delivery. However, according to previous investigations, it is very likely that Director Zheng was unaware of this."

Teacher Li asked, "Then why did Wang Zhiyi push the child into the sea this time?"

If it weren't for this, he wouldn't have been exposed today. This method of gathering intelligence through delivery would probably take some time to be discovered.

Xia Junshan said, "Since last month, my childhood friend saw that he was doing a good job and gave him a new mission. He asked him to drop radar detectors in the waters near Nanya Island."

"What? Radar detector!" Commander Li was surprised, his face became more serious. It seemed that the power behind the other party should not be underestimated...

Xia Junshan nodded and said, "That's right. Wang Zhiyi had already dropped a batch last month when he was delivering goods. This time, the other party specified that he should drop it in the middle of the island and the pier. Wang Zhiyi originally planned to drop it when he was delivering goods in the morning, because he knew everyone on the ship in the morning, which made it easier for him to move."

"However, yesterday Director Zheng from the supply and marketing cooperative handed him a purchase list for the kindergarten and asked Wang Zhiyi to deliver the items to the island today. Because some of the goods needed to be contacted with the toy factory, the delivery was postponed to the afternoon. In order to more smoothly drop the radar to the designated location, Wang Zhiyi quietly opened the throttle of the ferry, put the oil into the sea, and stopped the ferry."

"Unfortunately, his action of throwing the radar was seen by Shuanzi who ran by accidentally. Although Shuanzi was just a child and didn't know what he was doing, in order not to reveal his identity, Wang Zhiyi still pushed Shuanzi into the sea..."

After listening to Xia Junshan's report, Commander Li said, "Fortunately, his whereabouts have been discovered. I heard that it was your daughter who saw Wang Zhiyi pushing someone, right?"

Xia Junshan nodded and said, "Yes, Qinqin happened to go to the restroom at the stern and saw it at the stairs at the stern on the second floor."

Teacher Li said, "Hey, I saw in Zheng Sanchuan's confession that the person who opened the purchase list for the kindergarten was from the Finance Section of the Logistics Department. Isn't that your wife?"

Xia Junshan nodded and said, "Yes, it's her."

Teacher Li smiled and said, "It seems that we were able to catch Wang Zhiyi this time thanks to your wife and daughter. When the matter is over, I will personally express my gratitude to them. This is really a great help to our Normal University. They are the great contributors to this incident."

Xia Junshan said, "Master, you are too kind to me."

Commander Li nodded at Xia Junshan and said with a smile, "I am thanking your wife and daughter, not you. Why are you being so polite?"

Xia Junshan grinned and said, "Husband and wife are one body. My wife represents me."

At night, Meng Yufei, who hadn't fallen asleep yet, went to the living room and sat on the sofa to read a book.

She was reading On Protracted War, which she found in Xia Junshan's bookcase.

I originally thought that I would find this kind of military-themed book boring, but after really reading it, I received profound enlightenment on the country, the military, and life.

When Xia Junshan got home, it was already eleven o'clock in the evening.

"Why aren't you asleep yet?"

As soon as Xia Junshan entered the room, he saw Meng Yufei sitting on the sofa and asked in surprise.

Meng Yufei looked up and said, "I couldn't sleep, so I came out to read a book. Have you eaten?"

Xia Junshan said: "I had dinner in the army cafeteria in the evening."

Meng Yufei stood up and said, "It's so late, I'll make you another bowl of noodles."

Xia Junshan said, "Don't bother me, I can do it myself."

Meng Yufei walked up to him and said, "It's just the boiling water. What's the problem? Go take a shower first."

Xia Junshan wiped his face and nodded, "Okay, I'll go take a shower first."

At the dining table, Xia Junshan, who felt much more refreshed after taking a shower, sat at the table. Meng Yufei covered the noodles with the remaining pieces of sweet and sour pork ribs and fish, and cooked two poached eggs.

After being busy for such a long time, the little food he had for dinner had long been consumed. Xia Junshan picked up the chopsticks and ate several big mouthfuls of noodles.

Seeing this, Meng Yufei hurriedly reminded him, "Eat slowly." She then poured him a cup of hot water.

After eating half a bowl of noodles, Xia Junshan sighed and said, "I didn't feel hungry at first, but when I smelled the fragrance of the noodles, I felt very hungry."

Meng Yufei asked: "Is the matter resolved?"

Since Meng Yufei was originally involved in this matter, Xia Junshan told her everything he could.

Meng Yufei was shocked as she listened, "That person... is a spy?"

Xia Junshan nodded and continued eating noodles.

Meng Yufei was silent for a while to digest the news. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, an important task in the country was to capture spies and secret agents sent by the enemy. Newspapers also often reminded the general public to monitor and report, but Meng Yufei always felt that these were far away from her own life.

I didn't expect that I would actually meet a spy today, and I even talked to him...

Meng Yufei asked curiously: "Then... do you know who sent him?"

Xia Junshan shook his head, spat out a rib bone, and explained: "I don't know yet. The man we caught today is at most a small shrimp. The fish is still behind."

Thinking of the director of the supply and marketing cooperative that Xia Junshan mentioned just now, Meng Yufei asked again: "How will Director Zheng handle it?"

When I asked Director Zheng to do something for me the day before yesterday, he was quite enthusiastic. I didn't expect that he would be involved in this matter.

Xia Junshan said: "Since Wang Zhiyi started delivering goods to the supply and marketing cooperative, he has been trying to build relationships with Director Zheng. The two have a good relationship. They go to the small restaurant in the town to eat every now and then. Occasionally, they will run into military officers and soldiers who go there to eat..."

At this point, Xia Junshan said in a serious tone: "Wang Zhiyi got a lot of information about the officers from Director Zheng."

Meng Yufei asked hurriedly: "Are you included?"

Xia Junshan shook his head: "No, I only went there once and didn't run into them."

Meng Yufei breathed a sigh of relief: "Fortunately! This is too insidious, it's really hard to guard against!"

As for the military officers whose information was leaked, they may be affected in the future. This is truly an unprovoked disaster.

Xia Junshan said: "Although Director Zheng is not aware of this and the army will not hold him accountable, he will not be able to be the director of the supply and marketing cooperative in the future. After this incident, the division commander still feels that the person in charge of the supply and marketing cooperative should be one of our own."

Meng Yufei said: "It's a pity for Director Zheng, but the matter is of great importance, so it's the right thing to do."

Xia Junshan picked up the bowl, put the remaining noodles and noodle soup into his mouth, put down his bowl and chopsticks, and rubbed his stomach comfortably.

"This incident has also served as a warning to us. In the future, we will send more people to carefully check all ships and people entering and leaving the island. By the way, the commander also said that he would thank you and Qinqin after the matter is over."

Meng Yufei asked: "Me?"

Xia Junshan nodded and said, "Yes, I will ask for your reward when the time comes. There is a reward for discovering spies and reporting them."

Meng Yufei smiled and said, "Then I'll give you half of it."