Xiaoniujiaogou Village.
Located at the foot of the remaining mountains of Songfeng Mountain, it has a population of nearly 500. It is a large village. The people in the village basically make a living by farming and collecting medicinal materials. Originally, their lives were relatively wealthy.
However, since the Japanese established the Puppet Manchukuo, under various forms of apportionment and cruel exploitation, the lives of the local people have been like Wang Xiaoer's New Year, and every year is worse than the last.
Early that morning, villagers who were drinking coarse grain porridge at the entrance of the village saw a car drive into the village, and then two people got out of the car, one was a White Russian ghost, and the other looked like a Chinese.
But when they saw the other person bowing before talking to the village chief, they immediately knew that he was a Japanese. These bastards looked polite and polite, and their hands were very black.
Let’s not talk about anything else. Let’s talk about the anti-Japanese troops who were operating nearby. When the Japanese couldn’t fight those heroes in the mountains, they just set fire to the mountains. I don’t know how many people were burned to death.
"Pooh."
The villagers who felt unlucky returned home one after another with their rice bowls in hand. The originally bustling entrance to the village became deserted, except for the village chief who was elected by the Japanese and puppet forces with an unchanging smile.
"Mr. Okamoto, welcome to Calfhorn Valley. Mr. Torretta has already told you your request. Leave the matter of platycodon and parsnip to me. I promise to arrange it for you.
You must not be like these mud-legged people. They rarely see people outside the mountains. They are a little scared when they see cars and you at first. I will talk about them later. "
"Yoshi, good."
Zuo Zhong replied in broken Northeastern dialect: "It's Okamoto's impoliteness to scare the villagers of your village. You should say hello to the village chief before coming, and you shouldn't be an uninvited guest.
Please rest assured that I am a businessman, not a soldier, and I do not care about political matters. If it is convenient, please take me to the medicine field to have a look. I want to check the quality of the medicinal materials. "
"No problem, you're too polite. Please follow me." The village chief raised his hand with a smile and pointed in the direction of the foot of the mountain not far away, where part of the village's medicinal fields are located.
Seeing this, Torretta covered his mouth and rubbed his eyes: "Okamoto, I will rest in the car for a while and wait for you to come back. I am really exhausted after driving all morning. Let's have two drinks at noon."
"Okay, see you later."
Zuo Zhong didn't force the other party to follow him. In fact, even if the Belarusians didn't say this, he still wanted the other party to stay. With this Japanese informant around, he couldn't ask directly about many things.
After saying that, he followed the village chief in a suit and walked through the fields. His feet and trouser legs were covered in mud, and his hair wet with dew stuck to his forehead, making him look very embarrassed.
The two walked for about twenty minutes and stood on the edge of a slope of dozens of acres. All they could see were medicinal plants growing well. Zuo Zhong pretended to be delighted and knelt down to check.
During the preparations for the operation, he went to Jinling University to secretly learn basic knowledge about herbal medicine cultivation. With his two-knife skills, he could tell that this place was very suitable for growing medicinal materials.
Beidacang,
Well-deserved reputation.
People often use sticks to beat roe deer and gourds to scoop out fish to describe the richness of the Northeast. This is no exaggeration. The rich resources and unique geographical climate make this place a natural treasure house.
It's a pity that such a good place was lost by a certain prodigal and a non-resistance leader. Without the blood transfusion from Northeast China, the Japanese will not be able to survive that long in the future.
There is also the puppet government of Manchukuo. They sold the precious wealth of the country and the nation to satisfy their own selfish interests and restored an extremely corrupt small court. It is very abominable.
"Very good, I'm very satisfied."
Various thoughts flashed through Zuo Zhong's mind. He stood up and patted the dirt on his hands. He turned around naturally with his hands on his hips. Then his heart sank. There was actually a rising sun flag floating on the mountain peak.
Why do we need to hang a flag in the wilderness? Is there a military facility there or is it a declaration of territory? We must understand this matter, otherwise the next task will not be easy to handle.
He asked seemingly unintentionally: "Mr. Village Chief, in addition to Platycodon and Fengfeng, I also need some herbs that grow in rocky areas, such as wild ginseng, Guan Huangbai and Liao Wuwei.
I wonder if you can introduce it to me. I think your village has a lot of mountainous land, and the land is fertile. If it can be cultivated artificially, the yield and quality will definitely be very good. "
"Well..."
The village chief looked embarrassed and hesitated for a long time. Seeing Zuo Zhong's face getting darker and darker, he came over and revealed: "The imperial court has set up observation posts on the surrounding hills.
Those anti-Manchu and anti-Japanese elements like to stay in the woods, but no matter how well they hide, they still have to cook. When they cook, there is smoke, which can be seen clearly from dozens of miles away.
Mr. Okamoto, you must not go up the mountain. If you are caught, you will be in trouble. Last year, several students from your country said they were going to climb mountains and were arrested and interrogated at the police station for several months. "
Trouble.
How to survey the terrain of Beiyin River now.
You can't kill anyone on sight. That kind of "infiltration" will only appear in the game. In real secret intelligence operations, as long as someone dies, the sight of blood means the operation has failed.
A trace of worry arose in Zuo Zhong's heart, and he smiled cheerfully on the surface: "Mr. Village Chief, please rest assured that I am the most law-abiding person and will never ask for trouble near the top of the mountain.
Then let's go take a look at other places and confirm your planting environment. I can pay the deposit today. Please help me collect the medicine, Aligado. "
After finishing speaking, he bowed to express his gratitude to the other party with another standard bow. After performing a full set, the medicinal materials must be purchased. This kind of troublesome matter can only be left to the village chief to deal with.
This era is unlike later generations. Farmers have no trust in outsiders, let alone a nominal Japanese. Not only does he have many things to do, but he is also easily deceived.
Don’t think that farmers don’t lie to others.
Mix in sand,
splash water,
There are many small ways to increase the weight of goods. It is impossible for Dai Chunfeng to agree to such a long-term waste of money. The Ministry of Finance of the National Government does not provide them to the Secret Service.
Despite what the bald man said, he was willing to do whatever it took. If he really spent too much money, I'm afraid an emergency recall order would be sent from the bureau headquarters the next day.
"Okay, okay, you're welcome."
The village chief on the other side was relieved when he heard that Zuo Zhong didn't force him to go to the top of the mountain, and quickly stepped aside. Japanese people are famous for turning their backs on others and not being easily offended.
There is nothing the other party can do if they use it as a soldier, but what if they take it out on themselves? This kind of thing is not uncommon in the land of Kanto today. In short, you must be careful when dealing with these beasts.
The two of them walked around with their little thoughts in mind and exchanged false greetings. They took a general look at several medicinal material producing areas in Xiaoniujiaogou. During the process, they also met a group of Japanese soldiers.
On the nearby ridgeline, more than a dozen armed Kwantung Army troops were patrolling in the north and south directions. When they saw someone at the foot of the mountain, the officer leading the team held up a telescope to observe from a distance.
The barking from time to time proves that these people are equipped with military dogs. This thing is more effective than any observation equipment in the mountains. The dogs have a keen sense of smell, so forget about sneak attacks and lurking.
On the highest peak called Yantonglizi, there was an antenna set up on the roof of the observation post. It was obviously equipped with a radio station to call for support from other troops.
With such strict security measures, not to mention reconnaissance of the terrain of Beiyin River, it is not easy to even get close. It seems that we can only wait until night to check the situation. Night will be the best cover.
Zuo Zhong didn't think about the mission for the time being, just like a businessman who really came to collect medicinal materials, listening intently to the introduction or asking questions, and didn't go back until lunch was close.
In the distance, several people in Concord uniforms were lying in the grass, monitoring every move here. One of them was a fat man named Gao Bin, the chief of the general senior section of the Special Service Section of the National Police Agency.
This person's sharp eyes were fixed on "Okamoto". After a long time, he raised his hand and waved, indicating to his subordinates to follow him. They must not be careless until the other party's suspicion was completely eliminated.
noon,
The village chief's house.
Zuo Zhong sat cross-legged on the kang and chatted with the village chief and Torretta. The village chief's wife and daughter-in-law were busy and brought up several plates of farm food with quick hands and feet.
Guobao pork, fish in sauce, big pulled skin, crispy yellow vegetables, braised fish, and a large bottle of home-brewed shochu. The food and wine are very rich. Just smelling it will make people salivate.
Outside the house, the village chief's grandson looked at the dinner table through the door curtain and swallowed secretly. It seemed that even if he defected to the Japanese puppets, the village chief's family would not be able to eat these things often.
Ordinarily, such a lunch is nothing to a wealthy family, not to mention that this is the rich Northeast, but the oppression of the Japanese and Manchukuo is open to all Chinese.
traitor,
Then you have to pay tax.
Zuo Zhong noticed this scene out of the corner of his eye, turned around, smiled and waved for the other person to come over. As a result, the child was so frightened that he ran away, earning a severe reprimand from the mother outside.
The village chief laughed dryly, picked up the soju and poured a full glass of it, then changed the position of the pot of meat, and said with a hint of pride: "Mr. Okamoto, this is my specialty.
Last year, when your country and the imperial army passed by to suppress the anti-Manchu and anti-Japanese elements, several officers finished eating and said, "There is nothing to entertain in the mountains, so you must eat more." "
"You're welcome, Mr. Village Chief."
Zuo Zhong picked up a piece of meat with chopsticks, put it into his mouth and tasted it carefully, then gave a thumbs up and praised: "Mr. Village Chief, your lady's cooking is better than many big restaurants.
No wonder even the imperial officers are full of praise. I'll drink this glass of wine to you, and I'll leave it to you to collect the medicine. Don't worry, I will never let you waste your time. "
"Yes, Mr. Okamoto is very generous."
Torrieta, who was devouring food on the side, did not forget to help. I don’t know if he was hinting at something. Considering the greed of the White Russians, this possibility was very high. They really wanted money.
The village chief nodded with a smile on his face. There was a lot of profit in collecting the medicine. Why did he go all out to welcome the Japanese? Isn't it just to get this profitable business?
Since they had to talk about something, the three of them finished their lunch quickly, and then discussed the specific sharing while drinking tea. Finally, Zuo Zhong generously said that he would give all the profits from the medicine collection to the two of them.
After getting what they wanted, the village chief and Torretta were very excited. In the evening, they had another big table of fish and meat. After drinking heavily, Zuo Zhong and the two of them stayed in the side room of the village chief's house.
It was colder in the mountains than in the city, and the fire bed had already been burned. The warm quilt made them fall asleep quickly. As the lamp oil was lit and the lights went out, the room was dark.
"Hulu~Hulu~"
In the middle of the night, Torrieta's loud snoring was deafening. Zuo Zhong, who seemed to be asleep, opened his eyes, pressed his hand on the opponent's carotid artery and slowly exerted force, causing him to fall into coma.
Based on his experience, this would make the White Russian unconscious for at least two hours, which would be enough time for him to go to the surrounding mountains to check out the situation without worrying about being discovered by the other party.
After doing all this, Zuo Zhong stood up, put on his shoes and looked outside the door, then pushed open the wooden window at the back of the house and climbed out. When he landed, he lowered the window little by little and walked lightly to the backyard.
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
Please explain, it’s not just a word count. I originally wanted to use a lot of historical data to prove the cruel exploitation of the Japanese, but in order to be able to write the book, I changed the way, using a small incident to illustrate it sideways, and try to say what I want to say.
7017k
