If the departure clock strikes

page views:1 Publication date:2023-03-24

Tonight, Jia Min hadn't hung up the curtains. He Tianbao lay alone at one end of the kang (heated brick bed), staring at the ceiling,
a sense of defeat washing over him, like waking up one morning years ago to find his parents gone, leaving only his sister beside him.

His mind raced, countless thoughts swirling within him. One moment he wanted to keep Jia Min by
his side at all costs, the next he wanted to rush into the kitchen, grab the pistol from the rice jar, and kill this woman.

He didn't know why.

Jia Min suddenly sighed, got up, and turned on the light. Her face, without makeup, and her half-covered chest were bathed in the bright
yellow light, revealing an indescribable weariness.

He Tianbao looked at her and slowly sat up as well.

Jia Min said, "Since you can't sleep anyway, let me tell you a story." "What story?" "
The story of opium." Jia Min said, "You keep going on about this, don't you?" "Go ahead." "
During the three years of the War of Resistance, our base area had nearly a million troops, but your Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek still only gave us weapons and ammunition based on the original one army and three
divisions. What did we use to fight the Japanese? Even if we made it ourselves, we still had to buy the gunpowder and
chemicals . And our wounded soldiers, they were also wounded for the country. Now the Japanese have blockaded the coastline,
penicillin, morphine, scalpels, injection needles, aren't they all incredibly expensive?" He Tianbao wanted to refute, but he held back and waited
for her to finish.

"We used to sell our opium to the occupied territories, but now that Rehe has resumed production,
we're making less and less money in the Beijing-Tianjin area. Just then, a channel came to me—
provided by those smugglers at the Shenxianwo opium den. You know there's an enclave east of Wuhan still under Nationalist control." He Tianbao
nodded . After Wuhan fell, eastern Hubei didn't surrender without a fight; the person in charge was Cheng Ruhui, the director of the Eastern Hubei Administrative Office.

"Our main harvest this year will be sold to him. Compared to your area, Cheng Ruhui
is quite capable." He Tianbao couldn't help but mutter, "Capable? A bastard who profits from the national crisis."
"You'd better let me finish before you start cursing," Jia Min said softly. "Cheng Ruhuai is a local from Hubei, and he has a wide network of connections
, so he can control the situation. The Japanese can't organize a reliable puppet army, and even we can't infiltrate them. This year
, his biggest headache isn't the Japanese, but the Fifth War Zone that protects him, namely
the Guangxi Army . The Guangxi Army is good at fighting, but even better at extorting local resources. This year, both Henan and Hubei suffered from disasters and poor harvests.
Chongqing assigned Hubei a grain quota of 1.5 million shi (a unit of dry measure), with 1 million shi allocated to the Guangxi Army. The Guangxi Army said it wasn't enough, so they added another million shi.
Now, the Guangxi Army is demanding that Cheng Ruhuai hand over 200,000 shi of grain within September, or they will take matters into their own hands and collect
the grain themselves. Cheng Ruhuai is afraid that the Guangxi Army will harm his hometown, so he can only raise money to buy grain in Hunan. He can't raise enough legal tender no matter what, so
he thought of using legal tender to buy opium and then going to Hunan to exchange it for grain." In this chaotic world, opium could be used as
a hard currency like gold and silver, as He Tianbao knew, and nodded upon hearing this.

"Our opium will be delivered by guerrillas to the edge of the guerrilla zone, handed over to Qi Xieyuan's North China Security Army, and then
to Laohekou on the Hubei-Henan border, where it will be handed over to Tang Enbo's troops in the Central Army. They will then escort it to eastern Hubei to
Cheng Ruhui and his local gentry. The opium sent from eastern Hubei to Hunan to be exchanged for rice will be handled by Wang Jingwei's puppet troops. Once in
Hunan, it will be handed over to Zhang Zhizhong's Nationalist troops to be escorted to local rice merchants. The Hunan merchants will exchange the rice for opium, and then hand it over
to the officers escorting the new recruits to Yunnan to transport it to Hengyang, from where it will be sold to Guangdong and Jiangxi. It's a custom in your army that the officers escorting
the new recruits make each recruit carry a load of seventy or eighty catties to help them smuggle. Normally, carrying cloth and salt
doesn't yield high profits, and the death and desertion rate among new recruits is about 50% to 80%. Because transporting opium for us is more profitable, these
new recruits will receive better treatment, and..." "Maybe fewer people will die..." Jia Min started from the guerrillas,
bending a finger for each party in the opium chain she mentioned. She then swung her seven bent fingers: "Our
opium harmed the opium-addicted people in the rear, but it raised money for the Eighth Route Army, cured many brave soldiers who dared to sacrifice themselves for the country,
earned extra money for the puppet troops in the north and south and the Central Army, bought grain for the Guangxi Army, and rescued
some people in the guerrilla areas from the warlords. Finally, it allowed you to get more new recruits—you tell me, are we good people or bad people?" "Of course we're
bad people , you're all bad people!" He Tianbao answered without hesitation. "If you have a reason, you can traffic drugs,
extort money from the locals, let your troops plunder, and commit heinous crimes. Does having a reason also mean you can
sell out the country? Did Wang Jingwei have a reason?" Jia Min smiled gently.

"You think I'm young and naive, don't you?" "Yes." "Open your eyes and look at the world. What have
you, these not-so-young, not-so-naive, experienced and pragmatic adults, made of it?" "Yes." Jia Min
didn't retort; she still smiled, tears glistening in her eyes.

He Tianbao relaxed his tense face and asked, "What's wrong?" "Nothing, I just thought about what I was like when I
was young —I haven't thought about it in a long time, but I still remember." He Tianbao moved closer to her, and Jia Min
smiled, then nestled in his arms and began to cry uncontrollably.

He Tianbao patted her back gently

, comforting her. Jia Min cried for a long time before calming down and saying, "It's okay, go to sleep." "Do you have something to say?"
Jia Min shook her head, lay down, and faced the wall to sleep.

The next morning, He Tianbao got up at the crack of dawn to buy breakfast. When he returned, Jia Min was still asleep, so he left
the breakfast on the table and went to work at the Chamber of Commerce.

Half a month after the Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Anhui Chamber of Commerce's sign was put up, He Tianbao finally realized that this job was nothing like
being a high-ranking official or an ambassador; it mainly consisted of smiling obsequiously and getting rejected. The Beiping government was determined to confront
Wang Jingwei , and He Tianbao couldn't accomplish anything.
With the Mid-Autumn Festival approaching, things were hectic. Beiping people traditionally "settle accounts during three festivals," meaning familiar merchants kept records without spending money during the year, only collecting debts on the eve of the Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and Lunar New Year. Now, with the economic downturn,
many businesses had uncollectible debts. Since the Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Anhui Chamber of Commerce had put up its sign, many merchants approached
them, asking for help in collecting debts or mediating triangular debts.

Jin Qiqing, cunning and shrewd, had already taken on the task of delivering festival
gifts, running all over the city delivering them to various government offices. He Tianbao was busy acting as an intermediary for various shops and merchants, mediating accounts. His breakfast and lunch were both social engagements.
This noon's lunch was at the Huixian Hall in Shichahai, hosted by an opium dealer surnamed Wu. Wu was quite cunning;
he even produced a film featuring Chen Gongbo. Chen Gongbo was Wang Jingwei's literary advisor, a peculiar figure in the Wang puppet government. Those who would still side with Wang Jingwei
during were either relatives of Wang Jingwei and his wife, or greedy like Zhou Fohai, or...
Unlike Chu Minyi, who was known for his womanizing, or Shao Yong, who harbored personal grudges against Chiang Kai-shek, only Chen Gongbo truly
believed in Wang Jingwei, convinced that his surrender was a calculated act of national salvation. It was utterly inconceivable that such a person would advocate
for . Mr. Wu frankly explained that the Nanjing government, after only a few months in operation,
relied solely on gambling, prostitution, and drugs to maintain its government and military expenditures. Finance Minister Zhou Fohai was adept at personal enrichment
, making it impossible for him to manage public funds effectively. Therefore, Chen Gongbo had no choice but to roll up his sleeves and enter the business, helping opium
traffickers cultivate relationships.

He Tianbao sized up Mr. Wu; his square face, large mouth, and clean-cut appearance made him seem nothing like an opium dealer. Mr. Wu then
explained his purpose to He Tianbao. Hongji Shantang's headquarters were in the Shanghai-Nanjing-Hangzhou area. The opium trade in Shanghai was unexpectedly
booming . Since Jiangnan didn't produce opium, they mainly imported it from South Asia and the Middle East by sea, a costly and time-consuming process. They
considered purchasing cheap opium from Rehe. However, the Japanese army and collaborators in the Shanghai-Nanjing-Hangzhou area were
a . Relying on official documents might take three to five years to establish this channel. Therefore, Sheng Laosan sent him to Beiping
to cultivate relationships.

Sheng Laosan seemed to be a favorite of the Nanjing government, but He Tianbao knew that Wang Jingwei disliked opium addicts and even more so
the feeling of having his money in someone else's hands; sooner or later, he would take the opium back from Sheng Laosan.
According to officialdom, regardless of how the opium dealer obtained it, with Chen Gongbo's document, He Tianbao
had no choice but to comply. He Tianbao immediately smiled broadly and patted his chest, promising to do his utmost.

Mr. Wu said, "Please don't mind me saying something, but I heard you're returning to Nanjing in a few days... Please
make sure this matter is handled as soon as possible." He then took out a paper package, opened it slightly to let He Tianbao peek, and
placed it on the table. He Tianbao, overjoyed at what was inside, immediately became friends with Mr. Wu, making a firm promise
regardless of whether he could actually do it.

He Tianbao returned to the Chamber of Commerce and ordered takeout to be delivered to Jia Min. Just as he hung up, the phone rang. It was
Shao Shijun's secretary, saying that Zhou Fohai had already started to sow discord between He Tianbao and Wang Jingwei and Chen Bijun, and
was urging Jiang Shixiao to quickly hand over his work to Beiping. The implication was that Shao Shijun
was dissatisfied with He Tianbao for not paving the way for the Sheng family's opium trade, and wanted him to do his best to help Mr. Wu, implying this was his last chance.

After hanging up, a new servant came in and said that a Mr. Wang was requesting an audience, claiming to know Director He. He Tianbao
immediately said "please." Besides fooling around with Li Xiaoying in the Chamber of Commerce, his only pleasure was bullying those
opium dealers from the south. He wouldn't do their jobs, and every now and then he'd call one of them over to treat him to a meal. One of them, surnamed Wang, was the most ridiculous;
his whole face would tremble every time he paid the bill.

The person was brought in, and He Tianbao stood up from his chair.

The person wasn't an opium dealer, but the secret service chief Wang Tianmu. Before his defection, Wang Tianmu was one of the four kings of the Military Intelligence Bureau.
He had suddenly appeared at Jin Qiqing's dinner party, seemingly "mooching off" him, and mentioned seeing He Tianbao in Sandaogaojing. It was unclear
whether he was suspicious of him or testing him.

He Tianbao warmly offered him a seat: "I didn't know you were here, please forgive my rudeness." He then called to his coworker, "Old Zheng,
make some tea." Wang Tianmu looked at He Tianbao with the eyes of a veteran spy—friendly yet suspicious, as if he could read
minds. He sat down and smiled before slowly saying, "Mr. He, you really do remember me." "I
wouldn't dare ." After exchanging pleasantries with He Tianbao for a while, Wang Tianmu suddenly changed the subject: "I was just passing
by today and came in to bother you. I'm very sorry for the intrusion." "Mr. Wang is an important person. It's an opportunity for me
to learn from you to chat with you. But is there something you need?" "It's a little embarrassing to say—I met Mr. He's wife at
the Dong'an Market . I'd like to ask where your wife got her hair done?"
He Tianbao was taken aback and said, "Well… I really don't know. It seems to be near Beibingmasi." "It's a small barbershop,
something like Shanghai Hair Salon or Shanghai Hair Salon. Why is Mr. Wang asking about this?" "I have a new girlfriend, and she
has that shoulder-length hair that female students have, which doesn't look good. I want her to get a perm like your wife's." "Well,
she came to Beiping and I don't know why she suddenly started getting perms. I think the old style looked better. Chinese people
, straight hair, neat and tidy." "What, can short hair be permed?" He Tianbao looked at him blankly, and
asked with a forced smile, "What do you mean?" Wang Tianmu looked at He Tianbao with the same expression, changed the subject and continued
chatting . The two talked for a while, and then Wang Tianmu said goodbye and left.

After seeing Wang Tianmu out, He Tianbao returned to his office, leaned back in his chair, and realized
that was soaked with sweat. This guy probably asked about "Wei Xiu,"
who had short, straight hair when she left Nanjing with He Tianbao. He Yuxiu's ID photo was terrible, and with her hair pulled back behind her ears,
it was impossible to tell how long her short hair actually was.

He sat in his room smoking five or six cigarettes in a row before finally making up his mind to leave the Chamber of Commerce and drive home. Back in
Jinyu Hutong, the courtyard gate was locked. He Tianbao turned and came out. Aunt Ba and Grandma Bai were
washing vegetables by the tap at the gate. Seeing him, they gossiped, saying they'd never seen a young wife wandering the streets all day.

He Tianbao searched aimlessly in the street, and in the distance, he saw Jia Min walking back from the west end of the hutong. He rushed
to greet her . Jia Min asked, "What's wrong? Why are you so flustered?" "Wang Tianmu came to see me today, and he seemed to suspect your
identity. I was worried you were in trouble." "The takeout you ordered for me just now, the delivery guy left the utensils behind when he brought it
. I finished eating and since I had nothing else to do, I went over to return it to them." Jia Min was touched and took his hand:
"I'm fine, let's go back." The two returned to courtyard number 24. Aunt Ba and Grandma Bai were still
chatting , saying, "You two young couple came back hand in hand?" "You two are still the best couple without children."
"Like honey." Back in their own courtyard, after closing the door, Jia Min threw herself into He Tianbao's arms and asked, "Were you worried
?" He Tianbao kissed her passionately and said, "I was really scared. I thought Wang Tianmu would do something bad to you."
"It's alright. After Wang Tianmu sold out all the information he knew about the Military Intelligence Bureau, the Japanese stopped liking him.
Even if he wanted to cause trouble for us now, he'd have to go through layers of bureaucratic ups and downs in Beiping, which would take at least a few days." He
Tianbao sensed something in her words: "A few days... and then what about after a few days?" "Zhao Di came by and brought
news that Jiang Shixiao, who was supposed to replace you in Nanjing, has already left his post and will come to Beiping after the Mid-Autumn Festival. He has met
Xiu'er. My plan to fake my death is set for the sixteenth day of the eighth lunar month. We'll go to Miaofeng Mountain to offer incense then, and on the mountain..."
Staging a fake car accident on the road, then escorting the coffin back to Nanjing.

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If the departure clock strikes

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