The Bravest

"Uncle Chen, you're here? There are so many Japanese and puppet troops in the county town." Xiaofeng saw Uncle Chen wearing a hat, with something smeared on his face, making it a little paler than usual, and an apron tied around his waist. He looked like a small businessman and she almost didn't recognize him.

"It's okay. No one here knows me and Xiaolong. Let's not talk about this anymore. How are you? Did that Lin Jie bully you?"

This is what Lao Chen is most concerned about. If something happens to Xiaofeng, how will he explain to his old comrades who have already sacrificed their lives?

"Oh, Uncle Chen, don't talk nonsense. I'm working as an assistant to his wife, and she's even teaching me how to read!"

Xiaofeng's face turned red, but she was not completely ignorant at her age.

"Uncle Chen is worried about you. So, find a time when no one is around and tell Chief Lin that the person who yelled at him that day is here. If he wants to see me, I want you to tell him to tell me. If it's not convenient, don't force him."

"Uncle Chen, I understand. I'll go back then. It's not good for me to be out for too long." Xiaofeng has been sensible since she was young and has some experience. They, the siblings, have never made any mistakes.

Captain Zhang arrested them only because he coveted Xiaofeng's looks and made up a random crime as an excuse.

"Well, go back. I will take good care of Xiaolong. If you don't want to stay here, tell Uncle Chen."

"Uncle Chen, take this and use it first. Xiaolong, I'm leaving." Xiaofeng put down a small cloth bag, turned around and left.

Xiaofeng also wanted to buy some snacks from the store in front. People should keep their words, so Xiaofeng wanted to take some snacks back to the security guard at the gate.

······

"Xiaolong, please help your sister keep these five dollars. Why does Xiaofeng keep the money in such a mess?" Old Chen opened the small cloth bag which contained five dollars, and handed it to Xiaolong to keep.

"Uncle, I've already told you that my sister has money. That Section Chief Lin got it from the traitor. It's clean! Take it and use it first."

"Nonsense, that was the compensation that Lin Jie got back for your sister. How could I use it? This is the rule, remember it." Uncle Chen said seriously.

······

Two days later, Xiao Feng carried a basket and walked out of the warehouse. She went to the street to buy some fruits and pastries. This was Lin Jie's instructions. On the way back, she passed by a teahouse and went in to order a bowl of hot tea and take a rest.

"Xiao Feng, how is it, is there a reply?"

"Uncle Chen, Section Chief Lin said that it is not convenient for him to meet with you, so he asked me to ask if you have anything to ask for? I can take it back with you. Section Chief Lin also said that I can go back with you."

Xiaofeng told Lao Chen exactly what Lin Jie said.

"Well, that's it, Xiaofeng. Go back and tell Chief Lin that we won't bother him anymore. But I won't go back. I'll settle down in the county. Ask Chief Lin if he can let you and Xiaolong stay with him?"

This is the strategy given by the captain. If Lin Jie is unwilling to establish contact, then try to keep Xiaofeng and Xiaolong with Lin Jie.

This is for the future, so that in case of emergency, they can leave a possibility of contact, but they will not assign the task to Xiaofeng, so as not to cause trouble to Lin Jie.

There was another reason. Captain Zhang knew that Xiaofeng was following Lin Jie, so he could no longer associate with the armed work team and had to find a safe place to settle them. It was the best choice for Xiaofeng and Xiaolong to stay with Lin Jie.

"Ah, Uncle Chen, aren't we going back?" Xiaofeng thought that Uncle Chen came to the county town to do some business, and would take her and her brother home after he was done.

"No, you and Xiaolong can't go back. If you go back, Chief Zhang will cause trouble for you, so you might as well stay in the county."

"Oh, I see. It should be fine. Brother Lin didn't say he would kick me out."

……

"Brother Lin, my brother has nowhere to go. Can you take him in? We will be obedient and will not cause you any trouble." Xiao Feng found an opportunity and told Ye Long what Uncle Chen meant.

"I understand. Bring Xiaolong back tomorrow morning and tell your uncle so he can rest assured."

In the days that followed, Lao Chen still ran the teahouse as usual. Xiaolong had been taken away by Xiaofeng, and now Lao Chen's only task was to lurk silently.

The captain has explained that without his order or Lin Jie's initiative to contact him, Lao Chen is just an ordinary citizen and cannot take any action. He cannot even contact Xiaofeng and Xiaolong. He is just a backup secret agent.

Xiaofeng and Xiaolong's performance did not disappoint Lao Chen. Several times when they passed by the teahouse, they acted as if they had never known him before. They walked past him, talking and laughing, without even looking at him.

On this day, a tall man came to the teahouse. He had dark skin, messy hair, and smelled of sweat! He sat down as soon as he arrived and shouted:

"Boss, give me a cup of hot tea,"

"Hey, here they come." Seeing that business was coming, Old Chen quickly picked up a large teapot and a ceramic bowl, poured a bowl of hot tea for the customer, and enthusiastically recommended it.

"Brother, it's already afternoon, you must be hungry! I still have some pancakes, would you like two?"

"No, I have them with me." He took out two multi-grain rice balls from his bag and ate them with big gulps of tea.

"Haha, big brother, you really know how to live." Old Chen saw that there were not many customers and he had nothing to do, so he started chatting with the man.

"Haha, there's nothing we can do. Times are bad, so we'll save as much as we can." The man responded indistinctly while chewing some dry and hard grains.

"That's right. It's lucky that no one starved to death this year. All the food has been taken away." Old Chen said with emotion.

"Yes, the Japanese are too cruel. They have plundered all the food. How can the people survive?"

"That's right. Those who have connections have become very rich, and have raised the price of food several times. We can't survive!"

The other guests were also talking about it.

"Boss, don't mind your own business! It's better to focus on your business than anything else." The man who ate grains interrupted everyone's discussion. After a while, the other guests left.

The man swallowed the last bite, stood up and left so quickly that Lao Chen didn't even have time to collect the money.

"Hey, hey! You haven't paid yet? And your bag is still there." Old Chen didn't react for a moment. When he chased out the door, he only saw a figure disappearing at the corner of the street.

"Oh! What kind of person is this? He doesn't even pay for tea. Life in this world is so difficult! I don't know what's going on with the team leader?" In order to buy back the teahouse, Lao Chen took away half of the team's funds.

Lao Chen put away the bag and did not dare to move. What if the man came back to look for it? Until dark, he still did not wait for the man to come back.

Old Chen closed the door and then curiously opened the tattered bundle. Inside was a torn piece of clothing that was crumpled into a big ball.

Old Chen smiled, picked up the clothes and shook them, and was immediately startled by what fell out.

A pistol, a spare magazine, a box of bullets, a grenade, a few packets of sulfa powder which was more expensive than gold, and a stack of Central Bank notes.

Lao Chen hurried outside and blocked the wooden door with a table, then went back to carefully check the bundle. In addition to the things on it, he also found a note.

"There's an emergency. Put up a sign at the door saying you're buying mountain products." The handwriting was crooked, and it was obvious that the handwriting was deliberately made unrecognizable.

"Who is it?" Old Chen checked again and again before he found the two small pieces of wood that he had missed.

"Haha, two trees make a forest. That's cautious indeed!" Old Chen smiled. It seemed that Lin Jie had been watching his every move.

Lin Jie would only show up now after confirming that there is no danger, but his makeup skills are so amazing that Lao Chen didn't notice it at all.

……