Siheyuan: Enemy spies are captured every time

"I didn't ask about grain. Wait, affordable grain, from 59 to 61?" Director Xiao's face changed drastically.

From 59 to 61, these were the most difficult three years since the founding of the People's Republic of China. There were three years of natural disasters, and Russia suddenly broke its promise, withdrew its experts, and forced the country to repay its debts.

"Yes, affordable grain. Of course, I was shocked when I learned about this. You know, in those three years, the black market grain transactions in the country increased many times, not to mention affordable grain that does not require a ticket. This is totally unbelievable." Hua Chengyu said seriously: "By the way, brother, you just said it's not grain, what is it?"

"Rose, you just said that someone in your compound went to the pigeon market in Baihua Hutong to sell roses?" Director Xiao asked.

"Yes, the manager of our compound, Yan Bugui, raises more than a dozen pots of roses throughout the year. Not long ago, I went to find Fei'er to borrow information. I passed by the pigeon market in Baihua Hutong and saw a man. That man was Yan Bugui, the manager of our compound. He was trading roses with someone." Hua Chengyu said: "I was alone at the time, and the other party had several people, so I didn't do anything. Now, you come to discuss with me!"

"In other words, Yan Bugui from your compound sold the roses to the pigeon market in Baihua Hutong?" Director Xiao extracted the key information from it.

"Yes!" Hua Chengyu nodded.

"It's really like searching for something in vain, but it's easy to find!" Director Xiao said happily: "Brother, your information is crucial."

"A pot of roses, how can it be so important?" Hua Chengyu was full of question marks?

"You don't know!" Director Xiao poured tea for Hua Chengyu: "Rose is a tool used by the pigeon market in Baihua Hutong to convey information."

"Roses convey information?" Hua Chengyu asked in confusion.

"Well, but we haven't figured out how to transmit the information specifically. Our staff just learned that the pigeon market in Baihua Hutong transmits information through the style, placement and size of the roses. We haven't figured out how to transmit the information specifically and to whom." Director Xiao shook his head.

Conveying information through roses?

Yes, roses bloom all year round and are very common in Beijing. If you use them as a code word, most people won’t be able to detect it.

"Is it a spy organization?" Hua Chengyu asked.

"I don't know. The pigeon market in Baihua Hutong is quite complicated. Some of the people behind it are the remnants of the Qing Dynasty, some are high-ranking officers of the National Army who surrendered, and some are... a mixed bag. The higher-ups have organized several investigations but to no avail. They have not found any connection with the spy organization."

"But the most important thing is that we haven't found out whether Lao Chaofeng is an organization or an individual, so we dare not act rashly." Director Xiao said regretfully.

In the novel "The Antique Bureau Midstream", Lao Chaofeng is not just a person, he is more like a mysterious organization. The head of this mysterious organization is called Lao Chaofeng by everyone. Lao Chaofeng and the Five Veins are completely two opposing organizations.

The Five Veins are responsible for appraising and selling treasures. Antiques that have been confirmed to be authentic by the Five Veins are definitely real treasures. However, Lao Chaofeng is a counterfeiting organization. The fake antiques they create are so real that they can be mistaken for the real ones. Relying on Lao Chaofeng, they have earned huge profits and created a kingdom of counterfeiting.

Could it be this?

Are these people so bold as to use state-owned and joint-venture shops to openly engage in stock speculation?

In addition, although it is a public-private partnership, in many cases, the public side only sends a manager, while the private side has a deputy manager in charge of the specific operations.

This creates room for maneuver. Hua Chengyu tapped the table lightly. Yi Zhonghai went to the pigeon market in Baihua Hutong to buy affordable grain, and Yan Bugui sold roses to the pigeon market in Baihua Hutong. What is the connection between them?

Are they related to Lao Chaofeng?

Do they know Lao Chaofeng? Should they be arrested and interrogated? If they are not, will it alert the enemy? Is the pigeon market in Baihua Hutong the base of the spy organization?

Questions popped up in Hua Chengyu's mind one by one.

"Beep...beep..." The knock on the door interrupted Hua Chengyu's thoughts.

"Come in!" Director Xiao shouted.

After opening the door, Manager Yang looked at the two people in the room and said, "Director Hua, Director Xiao, the duck is ready. Shall we serve it now?"

"Come on, we're all hungry." Director Xiao waved his hand.

Manager Yang waved his hand and asked the waiter to serve the dishes: "Directors, this is our signature dish, Quanjude Roast Duck. Please have a look. This duck comes from our own duck raised in the suburbs. There is a strict standard for each duck, which is 4.5 jin, no more and no less. It is famous for its thin skin, thick meat, crispy and delicious taste."

"The chef in our shop will give you two slices."

"Come on, show me!" Hua Chengyu had also seen the chef slice a duck on the spot in his previous life. It was a visual enjoyment for him.

"This is your first time here, right? Would you like me to teach you how to eat it?" the chef said excitedly. Every time guests come to Quanjude to eat roast duck, he can taste the most essential part of the roast duck.

You know what, he quite likes this job.

"No need, you have eaten it and you know how to eat it, just slice it well!" Hua Chengyu refused.

"Have you ever eaten it? Ladies and gentlemen, there are certain rules to follow when eating roast duck at Quanjude." Then, the chef picked up a knife and wielded it from top to bottom, and a duck head fell off.

Then he cut the duck with the knife as fast as a dragon, starting from the buttocks, made a few cuts, and then lifted it lightly, and a duck skeleton fell out.

Then cut a small piece from the most essential part of the duck breast.

The whole process was smooth and flowing, and you could tell at first glance that he was a veteran.

"This is the dipping sauce, which is made of shredded vegetables, onion segments, cucumber strips, sweet noodle sauce, etc. Put the dipping sauce on the pancake." As he said this, the roast duck chef spread out a pancake in his hand and applied a thin layer of dipping sauce on it.

"To wrap the duck skin: Add the dipping sauce on the pancake to the roast duck skin, shredded vegetables, scallions and cucumber strips, then roll it up."

"Give it to me!" Hua Chengyu said suddenly.

"For you?" The roast duck chef was stunned. Wasn't he teaching them how to eat? Shouldn't he eat the first bite himself?

"Come on, give me the meat and see if I cooked it right." Hua Chengyu stood up and took the duck breast and pancake from the roast duck chef. He put the meat on top, then added shredded vegetables, green onion segments and cucumber strips, then rolled it up and finally put it into his mouth.

"The crispy and tender duck meat, combined with the flavors of vegetables and sauces, is a wonderful enjoyment." He kept praising the dish as he ate.

"Come on, Master, give my brother a piece too. You still say no, this is really good cooking, grilled over charcoal, full of the breath of life."

It was really delicious. Unlike later generations, cities did not allow the use of charcoal fires, so many roast ducks were cooked with electricity instead. It lost some of the flavor of life and naturally did not taste as good.

In addition, ducks grown in later generations were grown with various hormones, so they are not chewy enough when eaten.

This bite made Hua Chengyu very satisfied.

"What are you standing there for? Give me a piece of the roast duck!" Hua Chengyu looked at the roast duck master who was staring at him blankly. Why didn't he understand what the roast duck master meant.

I bought this with my own money, it’s not cheap, why should I treat you to it?

Are you thinking too much?

"Master Chen, what are you thinking about? The customers are waiting impatiently." Manager Yang said dissatisfiedly. If it were in the past, such a roast duck chef would have been fired eight hundred times.

And the waiter in the front store didn't understand the principle of doing business and welcoming customers with a smile at all.

Roast Duck Chef: Who am I, where am I, and what am I doing?

However, Manager Yang's words still brought him back to his senses. The two people in front of him looked at Manager Yang's attitude towards them. They could be served well. They might be rich or noble, otherwise it would cause trouble for him.

Thinking of this, the roast duck chef gave up the idea of ​​getting something for free and started slicing the duck seriously.

"Come, Brother Xiao, I will teach you how to eat Quanjude's roast duck." Hua Chengqian picked up a piece of duck thigh meat and then a pancake.

"I want you to teach me? When you were a kid, I used to eat it all the time!" After saying that, Director Xiao's movements were more skillful than Hua Chengyu's: "But I don't like to eat it with dipping sauce, can't I just eat it like this?"

One bite with dipping sauce, one bite with original flavor. Director Xiao looked at Hua Chengyu proudly.

"You're awesome! Come, drink some wine! It's Maozi-flavored." Hua Chengyu poured a glass of wine for Director Xiao, and when he opened the bottle of Maozi, the aroma of Maozi filled the room.

"What do you mean by sauce flavor? Isn't that what Maozi always smells like?"

"You don't understand this. Maozi is divided into sauce-aroma type, strong-aroma type, light-aroma type, rice-aroma type and fruit-aroma type. This one is the 53-degree sauce-aroma type of Maozi, also known as the Feitian series." For a while, Hua Chengyu kept talking.

"I have little education, so don't lie to me. I have never heard of strong-aroma, light-aroma, rice-aroma and fruity-aroma types of Maozi. Isn't Maozi always tasted like this? Did you drink fake wine?" Director Xiao looked at Hua Chengyu suspiciously.

"What...ah, yes, yes, I might have drunk fake wine." Hua Chengyu smiled embarrassedly.

Today's liquor has not yet been classified. It was not until 1979 that it was divided into five flavor types: light fragrance, strong fragrance, sauce fragrance, rice fragrance, and other fragrances.

Subsequently, further research was conducted and the results were expanded to 12 types of aromas: light aroma, strong aroma, sauce aroma, rice aroma, mixed aroma, medicinal aroma, phoenix aroma, special aroma, sesame aroma, Laobai Gan, rich aroma and soy aroma.

Now there is only one: white wine!

"Brother, be careful when drinking. Don't drink fake wine. Fake wine is bad for your health!" Director Xiao looked at Hua Chengyu with sympathy and said, "Brother, I still have a few bottles of treasures. How about I give you a few bottles later?"

"No, brother. I don't drink much." Hua Chengyu refused.

In his previous life, he drank alcohol, mainly red wine and fruit wine. The alcohol content of white wine was too high for him. In this life, singing and dancing are no longer his main occupation.

It's not bad to drink occasionally.

"That's right, you guys go out first. You won't come in unless we call you." Director Xiao drank one glass after another.

"Okay, both leaders." Manager Yang smiled and took the roast duck chef and the waiter out, and helped them close the door.

"Brother, we have eaten and drunk, tell me what you think!" Director Xiao wiped his mouth with a towel and said lightly.

"Brother, I think we should pay attention to the pigeon market in Baihua Hutong, Xicheng District. Regardless of whether it is a spy base, the existence of the pigeon market has an impact on the overall situation. In addition, the people and things in our compound must also be monitored." Hua Chengyu thought for a while and said to Director Xiao.

"We have been following up on the pigeon market in Baihua Hutong, Xicheng District, and the people and things in your compound." Director Xiao paused and said, "Brother, you also know that we are short of manpower and the task is heavy. Please let me think about this matter."

"Also, I will send someone to investigate Yue Ji's matter."

"Finally, most of the people in Baihua Hutong, Xicheng District, are from the late Qing Dynasty. If you have nothing to do, you should not go there."

He knew that the old and young people of the late Qing Dynasty were very united. In later generations, this group of people basically controlled the entertainment and cultural circles, and tried their best to beautify the rule of their ancestors.

The real situation is a thousand times, even tens of thousands times, worse than the TV series, and it has attracted many fans at home and abroad.

Hua Chengyu was very clear about this. They had money and connections, and they found a lot of people to cheer for him.

At present, the power of this group of people cannot be underestimated. After all, they were once an organized group, and many of them still dream of becoming the best of the best.

The two discussed the details separately. The pigeon market in Baihua Hutong, Xicheng District, will be under the charge of Director Xiao.

Hua Chengyu is in charge of the Siheyuan, and Director Xiao sends two people to assist. They should find out the background of the three uncles in charge of the Siheyuan and the deaf old lady as soon as possible, and then discuss the next course of action.