Chapter 119: Visiting the Teacher Again
Cheng Qianfan was thinking.
He Guan was the biological nephew of Jin Kemu, the Deputy Chief Inspector of the Central Police Station.
Street thugs did not dare provoke him.
Even Green Gang members would not easily make an enemy of him.
As for the authorities, no one would go out of their way to offend the nephew of the newly appointed Deputy Chief Inspector Jin.
As far as Li Hao knew, the recent incident involving He Guan, one that had left him frustrated, was the “Japanese rōnin Miyamoto Saburo case.”
Miyamoto Saburo had been personally arrested by He Guan at the crime scene.
It could be said that both the culprit and the evidence had been caught red-handed.
In the end, the female victim was driven to suicide.
The Japanese rōnin Miyamoto Saburo was released without charge.
Given He Guan’s temperament, there was no way he could accept that. He must have been furious.
But in his anger, would He Guan really take action against Miyamoto Saburo for the sake of a woman who was “completely unrelated” to him?
Cheng Qianfan clenched his teeth and drew a breath. It was genuinely hard to say.
He Guan appeared to be a playboy, but deep down he possessed a strong sense of chivalry.
The fellow particularly enjoyed reading chivalric novels and was especially fond of Modern Chivalric Heroes by Pingjiang Buxiaosheng.
He greatly admired Broadsword Wang Wu and Huo Yuanjia.
Whenever the plot point of Huo Yuanjia being poisoned to death by the Japanese was mentioned, he would slam the table and leap to his feet, his teeth grinding with creak creak sounds, wishing he could personally kill the Japanese invaders.
Thinking back to how He Guan had spoken of the execution of the traitor Old Mo, Cheng Qianfan remembered the animated excitement on his face. As for the anti-traitor squad that He Guan had “guessed” was responsible, his admiration had been impossible to conceal.
Furthermore, when the execution of the traitor Zhu Yuan by the Communists was mentioned today, He Guan had also looked thoroughly gratified.
The more Cheng Qianfan thought about it, the more likely it seemed that He Guan had indeed taken action against Miyamoto Saburo.
“Haozi, I have something for you to do.”
“Brother Fan, go ahead.”
“Quietly ask around and see whether there have been any fights, violent assaults, or even murder cases near Yande Lane, within roughly five streets of the area,” Cheng Qianfan said.
“Brother Fan, do you suspect Officer He attacked Miyamoto?” Li Hao was clever and immediately understood.
“It’s possible.” Cheng Qianfan nodded. “That’s why you mustn’t investigate deliberately. We don’t want to attract the police station’s attention.”
“I understand.” Li Hao nodded. “If someone really beat up this Miyamoto, the news has probably already spread by now. If he was killed, the whole thing would be an even bigger uproar. There’d be no need to ask around deliberately.”
Cheng Qianfan nodded.
Li Hao had once been a beggar. Before meeting Cheng Qianfan and being rescued by him, he had wandered the streets of Shanghai for a long time.
To put it this way, in troubled times, any child beggar who managed to survive had to master reading people’s expressions and fishing in troubled waters as basic skills.
Cheng Qianfan trusted Li Hao to handle things.
Before Li Hao left, Cheng Qianfan took a brand-new Parker fountain pen from his desk drawer.
“Haozi, I bought this in Hangzhou. It’s for you.”
Looking at the brand-new fountain pen, Li Hao swallowed hard.
“For me, Brother Fan?”
“I’ve taught you quite a few characters now, and you’ve learned to write yourself.” Cheng Qianfan smiled. “Before leaving Hangzhou, I thought about buying you a gift. In the end, I decided on this Parker pen.”
Placing the fountain pen in Li Hao’s hand, Cheng Qianfan said, “Haozi, read more books and practise your handwriting. My Haozi is going to be an educated man someday too.”
Li Hao accepted the pen.
His nose stung with emotion.
He bent deeply at the waist toward Cheng Qianfan.
An educated man.
For a child beggar, those words had once seemed so distant and unfamiliar.
In truth, he did not really understand what an educated man was.
He only knew that educated people were respected.
The streetlamps of Yande Lane glowed dimly.
Walking along the bluestone-paved alley, Li Hao repeatedly slipped a hand into his pocket to touch the fountain pen.
The cool metallic feel filled his heart with warmth.
Not long after Li Hao left, Cheng Qianfan also departed from home.
Carrying a gift box, he stood beside a mailbox at the mouth of the alley waiting for a rickshaw.
The utility pole beside the mailbox was covered with all kinds of advertising posters.
One relatively new advertisement caught Cheng Qianfan’s attention:
Wenyou Society Recruiting Female Clerks.
“Making Friends Through Literature, Western-Style Salon.”
Below it was an address: No. 34 Route Père Robert.
What caught his attention was the address.
Next door, at No. 32 Route Père Robert, had once been a safe house he had prepared for the Communist Provincial Committee.
Last winter, the Communist underground organization had been uncovered by the enemy and suffered devastating losses. This safe house had also been broken into by enemy forces, and a brief but fierce gun battle had taken place.
The comrades in that safe house either died on the spot or remained steadfast after being arrested, only to be executed by the enemy in the end.
Every one of them died heroically. Not a single person survived.
As he remembered it, No. 34 Route Père Robert had belonged to an elderly widower.
The old man rarely left the house, and a maid took care of all his daily needs.
Had the house been sold?
Converted into a literary society?
Cheng Qianfan was slightly surprised and silently committed the matter to memory.
Any small change might be perfectly normal, or it might be something that could safely be ignored.
Nevertheless, it needed to be remembered in case it became important later.
About forty minutes later, Cheng Qianfan arrived at the entrance of No. 21 Avenue Massenet carrying the gift box.
He had come to visit his teacher, Xiu Gongshen.
He had returned from Hangzhou today and would officially report for work tomorrow.
Whether by reason or courtesy, he ought to visit Xiu Gongshen today.
“Madam, Young Master Qianfan is here!”
Hearing the doorbell, Aunt Wu opened the door. Seeing Cheng Qianfan carrying a gift box, she happily called into the house.
Only the master of the house, Xiu Gongshen, and the mistress, He Xuelin, lived there.
As a result, the home was often somewhat quiet.
Whenever Cheng Qianfan came to visit, the large residence became noticeably livelier.
Xiu Gongshen and He Xuelin had already finished dinner.
The couple were currently drinking tea and chatting in the sitting room.
Xiu Gongshen came from a Western academic background and did not subscribe to the notion that husband and wife should maintain excessive formality and distance.
In his spare time he would chat with He Xuelin, drink tea with her, and when the mood struck, even dance with her for a while in the sitting room.
It was both relaxation and an expression of his respect and affection for his wife.
“When did you get back, Qianfan?” He Xuelin asked in delight upon seeing him.
“Greetings, Teacher’s Wife.” Cheng Qianfan bowed respectfully. “I only returned from Hangzhou today. I was afraid you and Teacher would be wondering about me, so I hurried over.”
As he spoke, he handed over an attractive cloth bag.
“A silk scarf from Hangzhou for Teacher’s Wife.”
“You child, why spend money on things like this?” He Xuelin scolded affectionately, casually passing the bag to Aunt Wu to put away.
“It’s only proper.” Cheng Qianfan smiled. “I chose several different colours. There should be one Teacher’s Wife likes.”
“I haven’t doted on you for nothing.” He Xuelin smiled happily. “Have you eaten yet?”
“I have.” Cheng Qianfan smiled.
Seeing that He Xuelin was about to reproach him, he exaggeratedly sniffed the air and said, “But now that I’ve smelled the shepherd’s purse wontons made by Teacher’s Wife herself, I’m hungry again.”