Chapter 28: The Meeting
Chapter 28: The Meeting
Cheng Qianfan stood on a street corner holding a black umbrella.
With Qingming approaching, the rain in Shanghai fell endlessly in a soft drizzle.
When attending this kind of unknown appointment, he preferred rainy days.
Rain concealed many things.
It also provided a reasonable excuse to carry weapons.
This umbrella was itself an inconspicuous weapon.
His right hand traced a line through the air as he called out, “Rickshaw!”
A rickshaw pulled up beside him.
Cheng Qianfan folded his umbrella, climbed aboard, and said to the puller, “Mackie Road, Fortune Restaurant.”
The rain did nothing to restrain people’s desire to go out.
The streets were crowded and bustling.
A charming woman in a beautiful qipao rode past him in a rickshaw coming from the opposite direction.
The woman had not lowered the vehicle’s oilcloth canopy.
Instead, she held a small orange umbrella.
A faint fragrance drifted through the air.
It was the scent of peonies.
Cheng Qianfan greedily inhaled, as if trying to draw the fragrance into his lungs and lock it there forever.
Behind his childhood home there had once been a patch of peonies.
The memory made him nostalgic.
Lighting a cigarette, Cheng Qianfan contemplated the meeting he was about to face.
He knew that once he nodded and agreed to join the Special Service Office, his circumstances would become even more dangerous.
One could even describe them as perilous on all sides.
Though he was already operating inside enemy territory while serving in the police station, the police station was not an intelligence agency after all.
The colleagues around him could not be compared with professional spies.
He could conceal himself very well within the police station.
If he infiltrated the Special Service Office, however, and had to face those professional and ruthless agents, there was no guarantee he could conceal his identity for long.
Thinking about this did not mean he was retreating.
He was merely reminding himself that the struggle ahead would be even harsher.
He could not afford the slightest carelessness.
When he received Boss Tao’s telephone call, Cheng Qianfan felt both nervous and excited.
After completing the mission to eliminate the traitor Old Mo, he had felt an emptiness in his heart.
Infiltrating the Special Service Office had been an order issued by Comrade Zhulin before his arrest.
Cheng Qianfan had assumed that mission would come to nothing.
Now, Boss Tao’s invitation had reopened it.
For Cheng Qianfan, who had lost contact with the Organization, his heart was once again filled with burning passion.
That passion dispelled the loneliness within him.
“Stop for a moment.”
The aroma of fresh bread drifted through the air.
“Wait here for me. I’m going to buy something.”
Cheng Qianfan first handed the rickshaw puller a one-yuan banknote.
The puller accepted it happily.
A short while later, Cheng Qianfan returned carrying two paper-wrapped loaves of bread, one large and one small.
“Let’s go.”
They arrived at Fortune Restaurant on Mackie Road.
Cheng Qianfan got down, opened his black umbrella, and handed over another one-yuan note.
“Keep the change.”
The puller accepted the money and repeatedly bowed in thanks.
“Sir, your bread,” the puller called out.
The smaller loaf had been left on the seat.
“It’s for you. Take it home and let your children try it.”
Without turning around, Cheng Qianfan waved a hand, opened the restaurant door with his umbrella, and stepped inside.
“Thank you, sir, thank you, sir.”
The puller thanked him profusely.
He swallowed hard and broke into a happy smile.
Picking up the old towel draped over his shoulder, he carefully wrapped the bread.
Such fine bread was a luxury.
His children had never eaten anything like it.
They would certainly be delighted.
“Happy birthday, Mother,” Cheng Qianfan said silently in his heart.
Today was the birthday of his mother, Su Zhifu.
In his memories, his father would personally cook an entire meal and prepare a large bowl of noodles.
His mother would deliberately fill an enamel bowl with food and give it to homeless children on the street.
She always said that was what gave the day meaning.
At a window-side table on the second floor, Boss Tao quietly said to Song Fuguo, “Team Leader, he’s here.”
He was somewhat puzzled.
Song Fuguo had originally shown no intention of appearing in person.
Why had he suddenly arrived half an hour ago?
Led upstairs by a waiter, Cheng Qianfan immediately saw Boss Tao and a middle-aged man dressed in a long gown and jacket waiting for him.
“Brother Cheng, Tao has failed to welcome you properly.”
Boss Tao greeted him warmly with clasped hands.
“It is Qianfan who arrived late and kept Brother Tao waiting.”
Cheng Qianfan returned the gesture.
“And this gentleman is...?”
“Officer Cheng, I’ve heard much about you.”
Song Fuguo stood and returned the greeting.
“My name is Song Fuguo. I’m Xiao Tao’s maternal uncle. Officer Cheng has taken great care of Xiao Tao, and Song is deeply grateful.”
“So you’re Mr. Song.”
Cheng Qianfan clasped his hands and laughed heartily.
“Brother Tao and I hit it off at first sight. Mr. Song is too polite.”
Boss Tao was a master of social interaction and knew exactly how to keep a conversation flowing.
With him acting as intermediary, the three men chatted and laughed together.
Before long, they had become quite familiar with one another.
After several rounds of wine and many dishes,
Boss Tao mentioned a shipment of goods he had imported from Hong Kong a month earlier.
The cargo vessel had been detained during an inspection by the Japanese military.
The loss had been devastating.
Boss Tao sighed repeatedly and cursed the Japanese for their despicable actions.
“Enough. The goods are gone, so they’re gone. As long as you’re safe.”
Song Fuguo sighed and tried to console him.
“The nation’s situation is difficult. The Japanese invaders occupy our land and kill our countrymen. What can ordinary people like us do except stay out of the way and count ourselves unlucky?”
“I just feel humiliated. Look at what those little Japanese have done to our great China.”
Boss Tao downed a cup of liquor.
Cheng Qianfan’s heart stirred.
He knew the real performance was beginning.
“Officer Cheng works in the police station and sees the bigger picture. Xiao Tao has always spoken of you with the highest admiration.”
Rising to refill Cheng Qianfan’s cup, Song Fuguo asked,
“What is Officer Cheng’s view of the current situation in Shanghai?”
Politely accepting the wine flask, Cheng Qianfan first filled Song Fuguo’s cup before sitting down to answer.
“After the January 28 Incident and the sorrowful withdrawal of the Nationalist Army, Shanghai, the economic center of the National Government and our own territory, was left forbidden to host our own troops. It is a humiliation beyond measure.”
Boss Tao’s expression changed.
He seemed about to say something, but Song Fuguo stopped him with a subtle glance.
“Indeed. A great government reduced to such helplessness.”
Song Fuguo sighed indignantly.
“Mr. Song is mistaken.”
Cheng Qianfan shook his head.
“Qianfan harbors no resentment toward the government. My anger is directed at the Japanese invaders and their wolfish ambitions. The nation is in peril, yet regional powers pursue their own interests instead of uniting to overcome the crisis. That is what gave the Japanese an opportunity. If all of China stood united, how could the Japanese ever run rampant?”
“Officer Cheng is referring to the Communists?” Song Fuguo asked with a faint smile.
“The Communist bandits?”
Cheng Qianfan snorted.
“If the bandit menace had not persisted, tying down the Nationalist Army, how could such vast territories have been lost?”
As he spoke, he drained his cup in one gulp and declared passionately,
“As long as the bandit menace remains unresolved, Zhang Hansheng is incompetent, and our great China will continue to suffer humiliation at the hands of the Japanese!”
Hearing this, Song Fuguo was overjoyed.
He had long heard that this man treated Communists with hostility in the police station.
It appeared to be entirely true.
“Officer Cheng, mind your words.”
Song Fuguo adopted a serious expression.
“General Zhang is a senior commander of our Nationalist Army. We have always respected him. Please don’t put us in an awkward position.”
“Respected?”
Cheng Qianfan sneered.
Then hesitation suddenly appeared on his face.
Looking at the two men across from him, his expression changed dramatically.
“Mr. Song, you... you...”
As he spoke, he sprang to his feet.
His eyes locked onto Song Fuguo as he demanded through gritted teeth,
“Mr. Song, who exactly are you people?”