Period drama: Old Cao's carefree life

Chapter 75 Identifying the Traitor
Zheng Chaoyang's arrival broke the awkward atmosphere, and Cao Weida felt as if he had seen a savior.

"Oh, Chaoyang, what brings you here? Come in and have a seat."

"I won't sit, Master Cao, what's wrong with you?"

"Hey, the pavilion was eaten by termites and it collapsed by accident."

"Termites?" Zheng Chaoyang was taken aback. Are there termites at this time of year?
Isn't it supposed to be a little while later?
Cao Weida touched his nose and quickly changed the subject, saying, "Chaoyang, is there something you need from me?"

Zheng Chaoyang's attention was indeed diverted, and he glanced at Xinghong, seemingly unintentionally, "There is something I need to discuss."

Xinghong, being a sensible person, gently smoothed Cao Weida's disheveled hair and said softly, "I'll go boil some water for you first, Mr. Zheng, you two chat."

Zheng Chaoyang looked on with envy. Every man likes a woman who is gentle, young, beautiful, and has a good figure, and all of these qualities can be seen in Xinghong.

He teased sourly, "Wow, Mr. Cao, you're really blessed with good fortune! Du Shiniang is beautiful and charming, and Miss Xinghong is even more stunning. You're the envy of everyone."

"You only see the thief's wealth, but you don't see his suffering," Cao Weida said with a sigh, rubbing his lower back.

Zheng Chaoyang couldn't help but roll his eyes. If it were that kind of suffering, many people would probably be quite happy to endure it.
Not wanting to hear about Versailles, Zheng Chaoyang looked around and whispered, "I need your help."

"What's the matter?"

"Here's the thing, there's a traitor within the organization. Based on various clues, we've identified a few individuals, but to avoid detection, we've added others to the team. I'd like to ask you..."

"???"

Cao Weida's eyes widened in shock, as a flock of crows flew over his forehead.
What the hell?! I'm being asked to identify the mole?!
Cao Wei Da chuckled, "You're really something, trusting me that much? Aren't you afraid I'll betray you all and wipe you out?"

"Master Cao is joking. If you really wanted to betray me, would I still be standing here chatting with you? I'd be in the Japanese interrogation room by now."

"What if I'm planning to play the long game and catch a big fish?"

"The value of the supplies you sold us far exceeds the price of our worthless lives."

Cao Wei Da remained silent. The answer was sad, but it was the truth.

Later generations always say that life is sacred and priceless, but in this day and age, a person's life has a price, and sometimes it is even very cheap.

To put it simply, if someone told a comrade in the underground party that a human life could be exchanged for a box of penicillin, I believe many comrades would be willing to give their lives for it!
The supplies that Cao Weida sold to the Red Party were worth it, even if it meant sacrificing the lives of an entire underground party group!
After a moment of silence, Cao Wei Da nodded in agreement:
"Okay, I agree."

He was bound to align himself with the Red Party, and when the Red Party needed his help, he had to do his best to help.

After liberation, he would have to rely on Zheng Chaoyang and his gang for protection.

Only when the two sides become more familiar with each other will he have the opportunity to meet the people behind Zheng Chaoyang, and even the people behind those people.

As long as we establish solid relationships, what will we have to worry about after liberation?

A person who does not plan for the future will have trouble in the present; one must have a long-term vision.
Seeing that Cao Weida did not refuse, Zheng Chaoyang was overjoyed. He knew that Cao Weida was a good comrade who could be won over!

His heart is with the organization!
"Let's talk somewhere else."

Inside the study, Zheng Chaoyang took out a stack of photos and a list and pushed them over. "The list is for people who need to be verified, and the photos are of some of our former comrades. Familiarize yourself with them first."

"Should we eliminate the traitors?"

Cao Weida looked through the photos and lists one by one, memorizing the faces and information of these people.

"No need, I just want to confirm the traitor." If it is necessary to eliminate the traitor, then the risk level will increase sharply, and Zheng Chaoyang will absolutely not let Cao Weida go into dangerous places.

Not only would he not agree, but the organization would not agree either; Cao Wei Da's role was too great.

After a while, Cao Weida put down the photo and said, "I've taken a look. Now, let me tell you what you need me to do."

"That's right. The leader has already invited these people to the Yangtze Dance Hall. None of them have ever met the leader before, but just in case, I suggest that the leader find a new face to check things out."

"Is my face considered unfamiliar?" Cao Weida pointed to his face and said speechlessly.

In Beiping, who doesn't know that Cao Weida is a newly risen elite? These spies are all experts at gathering intelligence, how could they not recognize his face?
"Um, I didn't express myself clearly. What I meant was, although we are in single-line contact, it's possible that someone saw us near the rendezvous point."

"I originally told the commander that I could go, but the commander said that I am from the confidential section and many people know me. I don't usually like to go to those places to have fun, and I don't have the means. If I go rashly, it will easily arouse suspicion."

“You, Cao Weida, are a rising star in Beiping. You often go to various high-end places with Ono Oda and others. If you go, no one will suspect anything.”

Cao Weida accepted this explanation; Zheng Chaoyang was right, he had indeed been frequenting various high-end venues during this period.

There's no way around it; if you want to maintain a good relationship, you have to spend a lot of money. You can't expect to just talk about friendship with people.

It can be said that he had been to almost every high-end place in Beiping.

In the afternoon, the sun had just set, and the people on the street trying to make a living hadn't even packed up their stalls yet, but the dance halls were already open for business.

There was no other way. During this period, a capable person emerged, and many of the most wicked Japanese soldiers and collaborators in Beiping were secretly killed. Although the Japanese soldiers tried their best to hide it, as one corpse after another was found, the matter could no longer be concealed.

Feeling utterly humiliated, the Japanese soldiers went completely berserk, and many innocent civilians suffered undeserved calamities.

Some admire him, calling him a national hero. Others despise or even hate him, labeling him either a traitor or a selfish individual.

Some even believe it was the work of ghosts and gods, specifically seeking revenge against the Japanese invaders and traitors.

Anyway, there is anything to say.

Anyway, fewer and fewer people dare to go out at night these days, especially those traitors.

In those days in Beiping, at least a third of the wealthy were either traitors or people who had committed numerous evils, and these were the main group of people who disappeared.

As a result, all entertainment venues have been significantly affected.

Once it gets dark, people are too scared to come out, so who will spend money?

As a result, various entertainment venues were forced to bring forward their opening dates, much like the situation in the Eight Great Hutongs before.

Standing in front of the Yangtze Dance Hall, Cao Weida glanced at the sign above his head and calmly stepped into this decadent and extravagant place that ordinary people couldn't afford.

"The ends of the earth"
Seeking a kindred spirit

Little sister sings while Lang plays the piano.
My love, we are of one mind.
Oh, my love!
We are of one mind.
Looking north from my home mountains
Tears, tears soaking my clothes.

Cao Weida walked in, and a cool breeze swept over him; it was the air from the central air conditioning in the dance hall.

You heard right, this era has central air conditioning, who would have thought?

The singer on stage, dressed in revealing clothing, swayed her hips seductively as she passionately sang Zhou Xuan's "The Wandering Songstress".

The people below had taken off their shirts and were sweating profusely as they danced in the dance floor.

"Oh, Mr. Cao, greetings! Please come in, the private room is ready for you!"

Those who can work as receptionists are all people with sharp eyes; they can usually recognize guests who have been here before, even if they come a second time.

The wages of reception staff in those days were not cheap; they were much higher than those of patrol officers, since they made a living by talking.

"No need, I came alone today, so please sit in the lobby and find me a seat."

"Alright, Master Cao, we'll definitely arrange a good spot for you so you can enjoy yourself with the people!"

Cao Wei Da chuckled. "You know, he's a professional. Look at that little mouth of his, so eloquent."

He's supposed to be sharing joy with the people? I'm not the emperor.
On his way to his seat, Cao Weida subtly scanned the crowd, recognizing some people from the photos, but not others.

He sat down without making a sound, ordered a bottle of foreign liquor, gave the receptionist a UnionPay voucher as a tip, and leaned back comfortably on the sofa, holding the liquor in his hand with a half-smile on his face.

His eyes darted around every now and then, but he didn't look at anything in particular. It seemed like he was just stretching his neck out of boredom, and everything seemed normal.

Suddenly, a chill ran down the back of his neck, instantly alerting him. He felt a malicious gaze sweep over him.

Since becoming a master of Northern Boxing, he has developed an almost mystical instinct.

As the saying goes, "the cicada senses the autumn wind before it stirs," meaning he can immediately and keenly sense any ill will directed at him.

In fact, it's not just those who have reached a certain level in martial arts who can sense this; some people with sensitive perception also have this ability. Before danger arrives, they will always have a strange feeling of panic.

He didn't look around to search for the source of the malicious gaze. It wasn't directed at him; he was simply "accidentally" caught in the crossfire, because there was another member of the underground Communist Party sitting not far from him!

After a while, he pretended to get up and stretch, taking the opportunity to glance out of the corner of his eye at the direction from which the malicious shot came.

The Yangtze Dance Hall has a dance hall on the first floor and individual private rooms on the second floor. The windows connect to the dance hall, and when the windows are open, you can have a complete view of the dance hall.

When the windows are closed, each room becomes a separate and secluded little room.

In this way, wealthy people can satisfy their desires, whether they prefer a lively atmosphere or a more private and tranquil environment.

These private rooms are quite expensive; an average worker's monthly salary is only enough to book one room, not even including drinks and other necessities.

At this moment, a crack appeared in the door of a private room on the second floor, and a pair of sinister eyes were scanning the dance hall, seemingly searching for something.

Because he needed to scan the entire area, the gap was inevitably made a bit too big, which resulted in his face being completely exposed to Cao Weida's view. Cao Weida instantly memorized his face.

Especially when he saw that there were people standing behind the other party, he immediately realized that this was the traitor!
However, what puzzled him was that before he came, Zheng Chaoyang had given him a list and photos. This person's face was not on the screening list given by Zheng Chaoyang, but he was indeed in the photo.

There are clearly only two answers: either there is more than one traitor, or the underground party has targeted the wrong person!

Cao Weida glanced at him out of the corner of his eye for a moment before shifting his gaze. Those who work underground are often in a state of high tension, and many of them have an intuition that they will feel if they are being stared at.

Some people are so perceptive that they will wake up even in their sleep if they are being stared at maliciously.

Cao Wei Da wasn't sure how strong this person's intuition was, so the best course of action was to ignore it and avoid alerting him.

In fact, many people can try it. If they are being watched, they will have a faint feeling, only the intensity varies.

If you don't feel anything at all, it just means you're incredibly thick-skinned.
(End of this chapter)