MISS Liu stayed in Shanghai. Although Chief Ma has now come down from the mountain, it will be different without him. But Yangxing cannot do without MISS Liu now. Kevin can't do it alone.
Lao Li has returned from Chongqing, but Commander Ma is now inspired by the spirit of the two instructors on the mountain, and he deeply feels the need for everyone to strengthen their studies. Needless to say, Lao Li is more skilled than Commander Ma. To be just a little bit stronger, he would be a master compared to ordinary agents, so Commander Ma also set up a temporary training class on the outskirts of Jinling, so that the brothers who were not on duty for the time being could experience the joy of growing up.
Cao Mu arranged the affairs of the intelligence network in Shanghai, and the far-sighted Boss Ma gave him a confidential task as soon as he got off the mountain and asked him to start it now (as for what it is, I will tell it in a later chapter).
Old Liu wanted to focus on business. There were two captains in Jinling City, so Chief Ma took his old partners Fatty and Xiao Lu to Hangzhou.
The three elites took the train all the way, first taking the Beijing-Shanghai (Shanghai-Nanjing) Line and then the Shanghai-Hangzhou Railway, and traveled for more than ten hours to reach this historic city.
Hangzhou is a good place. It has been a paradise on earth since ancient times. However, our party-state elites are not here to travel. This time they stayed in the very ordinary Yuelai Hotel. Chief Ma has formulated the work for the Special Operations Group and the Tiance Intelligence Group. The principle is to try not to interact with local organizations at work. The main reason is that they are worried about being involved in complicated and bloody palace battles. In addition, the party-state's confidentiality measures are leaked everywhere. This is also to avoid exposure as much as possible, so the first few operations were only in Wuxi through the headquarters. We have identified local latent personnel and have no horizontal connections with local organizations.
Naturally, it was the same this time. The three party-state elites did not wear special makeup this time. Although it was early autumn, it was still very hot during the day, so they put on makeup purely for their own sake.
The orders on the summit are always so unclear, as if not being so is not enough to show how inscrutable they are.
There is a destination. Since we are trying to find out the movements of the Japanese, we go to the Japanese Concession. The Japanese Concession in Hangzhou was one of the five Japanese Concessions in modern China. It was located at an ancient bridge fifteen miles away from the city at that time - - Gongchen Bridge spans the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. A field to the east of the bridge has been opened up as a concession. The Hangzhou concession has a total of 1,803 acres of land, divided into two parts, the north and the south. To the north is the Japanese concession, totaling 718 acres, and to the south is the public concession of 1,095 acres, divided between Britain, the United States, France, Italy, and Switzerland. Except for the United Kingdom, which has set up a consulate, other countries seem to be less interested and entrust the United Kingdom with full authority to manage it.
Therefore, the scale of the concession in Hangzhou cannot be compared with that of Shanghai. For foreigners, the symbolic significance is greater than the practical significance, but for Chinese people, it is a symbol of humiliation.
Originally, the Gongchenqiao Japanese Concession was a bit deserted, but later the Japanese used the usual "five-house trick", that is, opening a brothel, a teahouse, a theater, a restaurant, a tobacconist's house, and later a gambling house. The Gongchen Bridge area became a prosperous place. Especially the brothels have become the most famous Fireworks Willow Lane in Hangzhou.
However, these three are the elites of the party-state, and everything they do must conform to the spirit of the New Life Movement. They do not go to places like brothels, and they do not have to be there to find out information about the Japanese. Boss Ma and Fatty still Fortunately, they are all old people. Where can Xiao Lu, a little fresh meat, not be eaten alive by those fireworks women?
So at this time, the three of them were listening to storytelling and cracking melon seeds in a "Yongfu Tea House". Boss Ma and Fatty were enjoying themselves and contentedly, while Xiao Lu was busy pouring tea and water for the two elder brothers.
Seeing that the tea was almost drunk and it was getting dark and it was almost dinner time, Boss Ma asked the two brothers to get up and prepare to go shopping nearby.
There are many restaurants here, and I found a branch that was said to be Louwailou. Boss Ma generously ordered a large table of West Lake vinegar fish, Longjing shrimp, braised whip bamboo shoots, dry-fried ring bells, honey sauce fire recipe... The three brothers Naturally, I ate it to my heart's content. Regardless of whether it was authentic Lou Wai Lou or not, it tasted pretty good. I guess it was because the ingredients were all natural at that time.
After three rounds of wine and five flavors of food, the three of them started chatting.
"Fat Master, the food here tastes good. Do you think it's a serious restaurant?" Xiao Lu asked curiously.
"The food is serious, but it's hard to say whether the people are serious." The fat man took another sip of Huadiao and said.
"What?" Xiao Lu asked a little warily after hearing this.
"Pay attention to the waiter. Look at his hands. You can see that they have been used..." The fat man whispered, covered his mouth with a shooting gesture, and made a "shh" gesture.
"Don't be anxious, eat slowly." Boss Ma did not stop the brothers from talking.
On the way back to the hotel, seeing no one around, Xiao Lu couldn't help but ask.
"Boss, why does it feel like I'm not on a mission, but like traveling..." Xiao Lu couldn't help but ask first.
"In order to find out the movements of the Japanese and sneak into the consulate, let's go directly to Tokyo and kill all the bastards in the military department, so that we can all live together..." Boss Ma complained directly in front of the two brothers.
"Brother, it was the Japanese Concession just now. There were spies everywhere. There was nothing to find out. It was just whether the Japanese had any new trends. Now it seems that the trends are obvious - there are more and more Japanese, and the lice on the bald man's head are obvious. Things." Fatty explained to Xiao Lu.
"It seems that we can only find an opportunity to enter the consulate." Xiao Lu understood.
"Yes, you are all right, but when Xiao Lu goes back tonight, the most important thing is to write down everything he saw today. Where are the transportation points for Japanese spies, where are the liaison stations, where are the spies... I don't know. Fatty." Boss Ma still patiently taught Xiao Lu the scriptures and treasures. The basic work still needs to be done well. Agents cannot always obtain the enemy's secrets. You must know that later in the war, when the Japanese entered Hangzhou, they relied on the map in their hands. , walking through the streets is more familiar than the terrain of the national army. Do you think this is funny and ironic?
"Similar to preparing ingredients for cooking, many of the tasks of agents are trivial..." Fatty patted Xiao Lu on the shoulder and explained patiently.
"Yes, we will continue tomorrow." Boss Ma said with unfinished burping.
I don’t know how to return to the pure banquet at West Lake, just sing a song and drink a glass of wine.
The next day, Boss Ma had a tendency to get more serious. He actually took his two brothers to the West Lake to play. He was very happy and his joy was completely free. Unfortunately, he didn't meet the White Snake at the Broken Bridge.
At noon, another table was set up at Zhiweiguan beside the West Lake, including snowfish in chicken sauce, duck with dried vegetables, shredded crab roe and fish, dragon and phoenix...
Even the fat man who always prides himself on being shameless is blushing for Boss Ma, so corrupt! Doesn’t Boss Ma’s conscience hurt?
But Boss Ma didn't realize it. Anyway, he looked quite satisfied.
After eating and needing to eat, the three of them strolled around for a while. After walking for a while, they came to Boya Xuan, an antique shop by the lake.
Boss Ma was very interested and walked in.
There are all kinds of antiques inside, such as blue and white pastels, gold, stone and jade, bronze ritual vessels, calligraphy and paintings... There is a dazzling array of things to see.
Boss Ma doesn't understand the furnishings here, nor do the two elites. This antique shop has a lot of knowledge, and no one who has worked hard for more than ten years can't understand it.
Boss Ma is curious about everything, has tried everything, and asks for the price of everything. However, he always asks and refuses to bid, let alone buy... Gradually, the shopkeeper and the waiter lost their patience, and even his two brothers Feeling a little bored, I sat on a chair and dozed off.
At this time, three people came in from outside the store, two men and one woman. The two men's short shirts and short hexagrams were not attractive, but the leading woman was eye-catching.
Naturally, beauty is the thing that can make people's eyes shine. I saw this lady with slim figure and elegant makeup. She was wearing a moon-white cheongsam. Her elegant temperament made all the men look at her for a moment - she didn't touch this broken bridge. But he met the white lady in the antique shop?
"Oh, Mr. Ju, are you here?" When the shopkeeper and the waiter saw the woman, they greeted her warmly with smiles on their faces, and quickly put aside the three Boss Ma who only wanted to watch.
This Mr. Ju is so handsome that one cannot tell his actual age. His face looks like he is in his twenties, but his temperament seems to be older. However, he has an indescribable elegance. He seems to be a housewife from a wealthy family. Or miss.
Mr. Ju was very polite. He folded his hands in front of him, bowed slightly and said, "Shopkeeper Luo, thank you for your hard work..."
"Our master is here to see the Yongle blue and white plate you mentioned a few days ago..." A follower replied on behalf of the master.
"Okay, okay, Agui, go to the back and invite the baby, be careful... let Mr. Ju take care of the eyes..." the shopkeeper ordered.
After a while, the kung fu boy Agui came to the front hall from the back with a wooden box in his arms. Agui put the box gently on the square table.
When I opened the box and took a look, wow, what a big Yongle blue and white flower tray, nearly two feet in diameter. The flower layout on it is clear and layered. The lines of the lotus are beautiful and smooth. The use of Subo clay and green material causes blurring and makes the lines look hairy. The shape adds a soft and soft feeling. When you look at the glaze color and patina, you can see the Yongle blue and white flowers with wide open doors.
Antique shops are very particular about not getting the goods right away, so after shopkeeper Luo and his clerk opened the box, they left the square table more than a foot away and made way for Mr. Ju to enjoy it by himself.
Boss Ma originally had no interest in antiques, but he naturally liked to look at beautiful women, so it was normal for him to use the excuse of curiosity to look at antiques and look at beauties at the same time.
Ms. Ju's eyes lit up as if she had discovered a new world, but she did not panic. She asked her entourage to bring a pair of brand new white gloves and brought them with her solemnly. She also took a magnifying glass and slowly started to admire them.
"Well, the bubbles are transparent and steady, with different sizes and layers..." Mr. Ju nodded in praise.
Carefully turning the large blue and white plate over, I saw that the bottom was polished and rough, and there were some brown spots on the plate. That was because the iron in the Suma Liqing was not refined well at that time, so little brown spots appeared.
At the bottom are the words "Yongle Year of the Ming Dynasty" in seal script.
"Mr. Ju, you are very talented and knowledgeable. You can tell from just one look..." Shopkeeper Luo smiled like a flower and praised Mr. Ju.
"This is a big door opener." Shopkeeper Luo said with a smile.
"Shopkeeper Luo, please give me a price." Another attendant looked at Mr. Ju and gestured, then said on behalf of the master.
"Originally, this item was a good thing passed down from generation to generation, and it cost NT$5,000. However, an old friend had an urgent need at home and couldn't sell it. He was anxious to sell it and gave me a reserve price of NT$4,000..." Shopkeeper Luo said with a smile.
"Four thousand?" Rao Shiju, a well-educated man, was a little surprised when he heard this and hid his mouth in surprise.
"Have you discussed it?" A follower was a little impatient.
"Shopkeeper Luo, you'd better be wiser. This Mr. Ju is not an ordinary person." Another attendant threatened.
Shopkeeper Luo was a man who turned into a human spirit. When he saw something was wrong, he had to apologize and said with a smile: "You three, I am also buying on behalf of you. If you feel that the price is not what you want, why don't you look at others?"
"Shopkeeper Luo, can you please have less..." Mr. Ju asked expectantly, obviously liking this big dish of tangled branches very much.
"This..." Shopkeeper Luo hesitated a little, but saw that the two attendants looked unkind and did not dare to say anything more, while the young boy Agui stood aside and pretended to be quail.
"Shopkeeper Luo, you are unhappy in business. If Mr. Ju really wants you, just let him go. Moreover, this plate has some flaws... The left and right are consigned, so you still have to cut off..." Boss Ma He couldn't stand it anymore and said directly, Boss Ma is a person with a sense of justice, and he didn't help Mr. Ju just because he was good-looking.
Shopkeeper Luo rolled his eyes at Boss Ma, then smiled at the three guests and said, "Then it will be two hundred oceans less, no more."
Seeing that the price of Boss Ma's assist dropped to 200 yuan, Mr. Ju nodded to Boss Ma and smiled gratefully.
"Shopkeeper Luo, you're too verbose, you're just asking for one price..." Boss Ma saw the beautiful woman thanking the good guy for her perseverance, and continued to help.
"This can only cost another hundred oceans, and this cannot be any less..." Shopkeeper Luo said while gritting his back molars.
"Okay, Ah Xiang will give Boss Luo a check." Mr. Ju also made up his mind and told his entourage.
Everything went smoothly after that. I called the local bank and checked the check and the delivery went smoothly. Mr. Ju and his party put away the blue and white tangled tray with great satisfaction and politely said goodbye to Shopkeeper Luo. Before leaving, they saw some Brother Zhu looking like him. Boss Ma also nodded gratefully, smiled and then drifted away.
When Mr. Ju walked away, Boss Ma looked outside the door carefully, winked at the fat man, put away Brother Zhu's expression, and smiled at Shopkeeper Luo: "Friends, it is a rule in the world to share half of the money when we meet. We are not greedy. , how about dividing a thousand oceans?"
"This boss is not joking like this..." Shopkeeper Luo said with a smile, while Agui, who was pretending to be quail, slowly moved towards the door of the store.
"What's going on, brother, are you going to close the door and let the dogs out?" The fat man appeared out of nowhere and patted Agui from behind. Agui was so frightened that he froze.
"Shopkeeper Luo, you can just make a fake antique to deceive these Japanese mallets. Although we don't understand antiques, we still know the bottom line of Yongle blue and white..." Boss Ma said with a playful smile.
"Is this woman Japanese? Are the blue and white flowers fake?" Xiao Lu wondered at the side.
