Quartermasters can also fight the devils

Hu San sent the depressed Chen Mingzhang to Chunfeng Tower. After calling a beautiful woman to lead Chen Mingzhang into the room, he waited outside the room for half an hour before coming to the private room of Mr. Xue Siye in the casino through the secret door of Chunfeng Tower.

At this time, the six coolie porters were standing respectfully in front of Zhang Wenwu and Fourth Master Xue. After Hu San pushed the door open, Fourth Master Xue said, "Tell us what you have discovered. If you tell me well, I will reward you."

The six coolies discussed with each other, and then one of them, a middle-aged man in his forties, clasped his fists and said to Fourth Master Xue: "Fourth Master, I am Wu Dali, and the brothers asked me to report the situation to you. If there is anything I missed, please fill it in for me."

Fourth Master Xue looked at Zhang Wenwu, who also nodded. He saw that Wu Dali was quite logical and should be able to explain things clearly, so he agreed to let Wu Dali narrate the story. Seeing Zhang Wenwu nod in agreement, Fourth Master Xue said, "Okay, you go ahead."

Seeing that Mr. Xue Si agreed, Wu Dali began to introduce their previous experience of transporting supplies.

After listening to Wu Dali's introduction, Zhang Wenwu frowned and asked, "Are you sure there are four different kinds of goods?"

"It's certain, sir. The six of us have checked with each other. We have been doing hard labor for so many years. As soon as the object is on our shoulders, we can immediately feel whether it contains the same thing. Although the boxes today are sealed very tightly, the brothers can tell as soon as they touch them. Some of the boxes have something painted with red paint on them. I have seen that. When my child was sick in the past, the foreign doctor wore a white coat with that mark to treat him. There is also a kind of box that is lighter, one kind of box is a little heavier, and another kind of box is the heaviest. When we were moving it, a person who spoke not very clearly asked us to put it down gently and be careful." Wu Dali described his feelings at the time in detail, and the other five people also talked in unison to prove that it was indeed the same as Wu Dali said.

Zhang Wenwu nodded. He believed that what Wu Dali said should be correct. If he was the only one who felt there was a problem, it might be that he was wrong, but it was impossible for the other five people to have the same problem.

"Then can you feel what's inside?" Zhang Wenwu regretted asking this question. The boxes were sealed and the Japanese were watching them closely. Wu Dali and the others had no chance to pry open the boxes and take a look. He was still too anxious.

Wu Dali thought about it seriously and said, "Sir, we can't see what's in the box, and those people are watching very closely, so there is no chance to secretly pry open the box."

Zhang Wenwu thought to himself: Sure enough, it seems I have to find another way.

"But, sir, I can roughly guess what's in two of the boxes. I just feel it." Wu Dali said to himself.

"Oh? You felt it? How did you feel it?" Zhang Wenwu became interested. It would be interesting if he could have a sixth sense.

"Sir, we have been doing hard labor for more than ten years. We have carried countless items of all kinds. By comparing the weight with the items we have carried before, we can roughly know what is inside the box. Brothers who have been doing this for a long time will have this "skill"." Wu Dali explained.

Zhang Wenwu was delighted when he heard this and asked, "Then tell me, what do you think are in those four boxes?"

Seeing the officer asking questions, Wu Dali quickly said, "Officer, the box with the mark should be medicine or something. There was a noise when it was moved. I think the lightest box is opium. I'm not sure about the heavier one. The heaviest one should be iron based on its weight, but I'm not sure what it is." After he finished speaking, he turned to the other five and said, "Tell me what you think and see if I'm right."

The other five people were also lost in their memories when they heard what Wu Dali said. After a while, one of the young men said, "Brother Dali's first two words should be correct. One is medicine, and the other is opium. The heavier one, I feel like it is very similar to the batch of arms that we moved at the train station before. As for the heaviest one, I really don't know. I have never moved anything like that."

"Yes, it is definitely ammunition. I have moved ammunition many times. Now that you mention it, I remembered it. It feels very similar to an ammunition box and the weight is about the same." Another person added.

After several people gave each other hints and supplemented their knowledge for a long time, they basically determined the contents of three boxes. However, they really couldn't guess what was in the fourth box. The only thing they were sure of was that it was made of iron and was very heavy.

Seeing that the others were speechless, Zhang Wenwu signaled to Master Xue, who asked the six of them to go to the accounting office to receive a reward of three dollars each. He also told them to keep the matter a secret and not to let anyone know. If anyone was found to have let out a big mouth, they would not be blamed for Master Xue's brutal action.

After thanking him profusely and promising not to spread the news, they left the private room to collect their reward money.

After they left, Xue Siye looked at Hu San and asked, "Are these people reliable? We can't let them delay Chief Zhang's important task."

When Hu San heard what Fourth Master Xue asked, he quickly replied respectfully, "Fourth Master, these six people were recommended by our subordinates. They are loyal and can be trusted. Besides, I was the one who found them. The Japanese and Chen Mingzhang don't know them, so they probably won't be able to find them."

Mr. Xue nodded. He was still very confident in Hu San's work.

"Brother Hu, do you have any new information?" Zhang Wenwu asked Hu San while thinking about the boxes, hoping that Hu San could have new information to let them know what items were in the four boxes. This would be crucial for subsequent judgments and actions.

"I also asked Chen Mingzhang, but he didn't know what was in the boxes. The Japanese didn't let us get close when they were moving the things." Hu San told Chen Mingzhang what he had found out. There was nothing he could do, as he didn't find out what was in the boxes.

"But, I got some new information from Chen Mingzhang, and I don't know if it will be useful." Hu San was a little hesitant. He didn't know if that information about the Japanese man in Nakamura could be considered new information. He just felt that he hadn't found out what was in the box, and it would be embarrassing if he didn't provide any information.

After hearing Hu San say that he had not found out what was in the box, Zhang Wenwu was a little disappointed. Later, Hu San said that he had some news, so Zhang Wenwu motioned for Hu San to tell him. No matter whether it was useful or not, this was the news that Hu San had found out, so he still had to listen to it and give him encouragement.

Seeing that Zhang Wenwu wanted him to speak out, Hu San said, "Chief Zhang, there is a Japanese man named Nakamura who returned to Zhenjiang with Kojima Kenzo today. He was in the car with Kojima Kenzo. I asked Chen Mingzhang about it, and Chen Mingzhang said that Nakamura didn't seem to be a doctor because he was very respectful to Kojima Kenzo in the car, like a superior and a subordinate."

After hearing the news, Zhang Wenwu suddenly felt like he had grasped something, but he couldn't connect the dots no matter how hard he tried. He stood up and paced slowly in the room.

After walking around for a few times, Zhang Wenwu frowned and asked, "This man named Nakamura, do you remember what he said or if there was anything wrong?" He thought for a long time and always felt that something was missing, so he asked Hu San again to see if there were any details he had missed.

Hu San also frowned, constantly thinking back. Xue Siye handed Zhang Wenwu a cigarette and lit it for him, saying, "Chief Zhang, don't worry."

Zhang Wenwu took a few puffs of his cigarette and said to Hu San, "Don't worry, take your time to think about it. I'll help you recall it and see if there are any details you missed."

Hu San also nodded gratefully. He thought for a long time and found that there was nothing special about it. Seeing that Zhang Wenwu could help him and comfort him, he felt much more at ease.

"Brother Hu, let's recall first. First of all, was it Chen Mingzhang who took the initiative to tell you about Nakamura, or was it you who asked first?" Zhang Wenwu began to help Hu San recall.

Hu San said without hesitation: "I asked. Chen Mingzhang was in a hurry to come to the casino to play for money and was not in the mood to chat. I was the one who found the topic at the time."

Zhang Wenwu nodded and continued, "Then why did you talk to Chen Mingzhang about this Nakamura? Or what happened at that time that made you pay attention to him?"

Hu San thought for a moment and said, "At that time, it was because this man called Nakamura was loudly directing the coolies to be careful with the boxes of supplies. Because he spoke Chinese poorly, I heard it and asked who Chen Mingzhang belonged to."

Zhang Wenwu was stunned: "Wait, you said that the Japanese wanted those coolies to be careful with those boxes, right?"

Hu San was confused and said, "Yeah, that's right. The sound was quite loud at the time, so I heard it and became curious."

Zhang Wenwu walked back and forth quickly. Master Xue signaled Hu San to keep quiet and not disturb Zhang Wenwu's thoughts.

"Brother Hu, please call those six coolie brothers up here quickly. I have something to ask you." Zhang Wenwu stopped and asked Hu San seriously to call those coolies back.

Hu Sanyi clasped his fists and hurried out to look for the coolies. He could see that Commander Zhang must have thought of something, otherwise he wouldn't be so anxious to ask him to look for the coolies right now. As for the reason, he didn't know yet, and he would only know after Commander Zhang asked the coolies.

Wu Dali and his companions were now completely confused. They had just happily received their reward money and were walking home chatting and bragging when they were called back by Uncle Hu San who came over and said he had something to ask them. They thought about it for a long time but could not figure out what else he had not told them.

"Brothers, I'm sorry. I just thought of an important question, so I called you back." Zhang Wenwu explained with a smile.

Several people said they were not worthy of the title and promised to tell them everything they knew and asked the superior to ask any questions he wanted.

"I remember brother Wu Dali said just now that when you were moving the boxes, there was a person who spoke unarticulately and asked you to put the boxes gently, is that right?" Zhang Wenwu asked, staring at Wu Dali.

"Yes, sir, it was a man who was not very fluent at the time who asked us to put the box down gently." Wu Dali replied, thinking, that's it? Isn't this normal? The victim usually makes such a request.

Zhang Wenwu ignored Wu Dali's thoughts and immediately asked, "When you were moving other boxes, did he say something like that? Or, when you were moving other boxes before, did you put a heavy box on top of it or drop it?"

"No, sir. We are all experienced. We will not drop the goods that our employer needs to move. We have never dropped boxes before, nor have we placed heavy boxes. The brothers can testify to this." Wu Dali explained quickly. The others also quickly stated that such a thing had never happened before. If that happened, if something was damaged, they would be asked to pay compensation, so they were all very careful.

"Then remember which type of box he asked you to handle with care when you were moving it?" Zhang Wenwu continued to ask.

Wu Dali thought for a moment and said, "I remember it was the heaviest box."

"Are you sure?" Zhang Wenwu asked immediately.

Wu Dali and several others said together: "Sure."