"Oh? You're going to target Cheng Muyun? Doesn't Secretary Lan know how Zhou Minhai died—he fell into the Yangtze River and fed the fish?"
Lan Qingyi smiled slightly. "Deputy Director Chen is joking. Zhou Minhai is eager for quick results, but I'm not that kind of person."
Chen Hede raised an eyebrow slightly, "Then I wish Secretary Lan all the best in recalling the Dongzhou Army."
The owner brought over a steaming bowl of three-ingredient wontons, with fine water droplets clinging to the rim of the blue-and-white porcelain bowl.
Lan Qingyi picked up a white porcelain spoon and slowly stirred the soup in the bowl, the round wontons swirling around in the broth.
As if on purpose, he gently lifted the edge of the spoon, and the thin, cicada-wing-like wonton skin broke open, allowing the tender pink meat filling to gush out with the broth, creating a small, cloudy patch in the clear soup.
“Actually, recalling the Dongzhou army isn’t difficult,” he said, his eyes lowered, his tone as flat as if he were talking about the weather. “The difficult part is dealing with Cheng Muyun.”
Chen Hede tightened his grip on the bamboo chopsticks, his brows furrowing. This person, after all his twists and turns, had finally revealed a clue.
"Secretary Lan, just say what you need to say," he raised his eyes, his gaze sharp as a knife. "I don't like beating around the bush."
He knew perfectly well that someone like Lan Qingyi would never sit in front of a wonton stall and waste time with him for no reason.
He wanted to see what benefits this "big shot" from Nanjing was trying to get from him.
Upon hearing this, Lan Qingyi stopped stirring with his spoon, his goldfish eyes behind his glasses narrowed slightly, and a smile appeared on his lips: "What a coincidence, I also like straightforward people. Let's not beat around the bush, I heard that Deputy Director Chen personally arrested Cheng Muyun? You must have had dealings with him." He paused, then changed the subject, "I would like to ask Deputy Director Chen for a small favor."
Chen Hede sneered inwardly.
Cheng Muyun deliberately let him get caught and then escape, and even burned down the prison cell, wasn't it all to put on this "incompatible" act? Now, Lan Qingyi has actually used this act as a breakthrough.
He put down his chopsticks, picked up his bowl, took a sip of soup, and slowly said, "I did catch him, but unfortunately I wasn't good enough and he got away." He emphasized the words "French Concession" at this point, "He even burned down the French Concession police station's cells."
The meaning couldn't be clearer—he was from the French Concession Police Station, in charge of matters within the concession.
The conflict between Nanjing and the Dongzhou army had nothing to do with him, and he didn't want to get involved.
Who is Lan Qingyi? He is a shrewd person who has made his way up in the officialdom, and he understood Chen Hede's implied meaning perfectly.
Despite being rejected to his face, the smile on his face did not diminish at all; in fact, it grew even wider.
“Actually,” he said, scooping up a spoonful of soup and blowing on it slowly, “our relationship with the French consul has always been very good. Director Zhu has also been very supportive of our work.”
He shifted his tone slightly, looking at Chen Hede with a hint of "concern," and said, "I hope Deputy Director Chen will reconsider. You've been in the position of deputy director for quite some time now; it would be good to find an opportunity for a promotion. You're not young anymore; it's time to get married and settle down."
His words were a mix of soft and hard, gentle yet sharp. On the surface, he was advising him to "get promoted" and "settle down," but in reality, he made his point very clear—the French consul and his superior, Zhu Zhishui, were both on Nanjing's side, and if Chen Hede didn't give them face, he would be going against the consul and Director Zhu.
At that time, let alone promotion, whether he can even hold onto his position as deputy director is uncertain.
The steam from the wonton stall was still rising in wisps, but Chen Hede felt the temperature around him suddenly drop a few degrees.
Lan Qingyi didn't say anything more, left the money for two bowls of wontons, and got up to leave.
Chen Hede sat for quite a while longer.
The bright moon hangs high in the clear night sky, and a few stars twinkle listlessly.
Chen Hede recalled everything Cheng Muyun had said, shook his head helplessly, left the money for a bowl of wontons, and got up to walk into the deep night.
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