South to North: A Prison Guard at the Beginning

He has sung this song countless times, but every time he sings it, his heart is still filled with emotion. A sense of pride arises from the bottom of his heart, and tears well up in his eyes uncontrollably.

After the flag-raising ceremony, Yuan Mu slowly put down his hands, then glanced at the portrait of the great man hanging on the city wall in the distance, then picked up the luggage beside him and turned to leave, a tear falling.

Little did he know that not far away from him, there was a woman in military uniform who was watching her. The woman wore glasses, had short hair, and had a sweet look. There was a hint of curiosity in her eyes.

She saw and heard Yuan Mu's behavior just now, as well as his humming of the national anthem. She could tell that his emotions were genuine.

Could it be that he is also a soldier? The woman guessed this in her heart, but then she chuckled and shook her head, wondering what was wrong with her, why did she suddenly become interested in a stranger?

After Yuan Mu left, he took a bus and found a guesthouse. He arrived a little early and the Railway Public Security Bureau had not yet started work, so he settled down first and would report in later when they started work.

Half past eight in the morning.

In front of the Railway Public Security Bureau in Higashi-ku, Kyoto.

Yuan Mu, wearing a well-fitting Zhongshan suit, walked into the Public Security Bureau and showed his ID and letter of introduction to the comrades inside.

"Hello, comrade. I'm from Ningyang City Railway Public Security Bureau, Ning Province. My name is Yuan Mu. I came to Kyoto to attend university. I'm here on a temporary basis. I'm here to report today. Here are my ID, letter of introduction, and transfer order."

The person who received him was a man in his twenties. He was surprised to hear Yuan Mu's words. Then he looked at Yuan Mu's ID and transfer order, and saluted Yuan Mu.

"Hello, Comrade Yuan Mu, my name is Li Xiang!"

"Hello, Comrade Li Xiang!" Yuan Mu also saluted him with a smile.

"I'm taking you to see Director Ren now."

"Okay, thank you for your help." Yuan Mu nodded with a smile.

Soon, Yuan Mu followed Li Xiang to an office on the third floor on the right side. A sign on the office read "Director of Personnel Department".

"This is Director Ren's office." Li Xiang pointed to the office and said.

"Okay, thank you very much." Yuan Mu shook hands with him with a smile, and then Li Xiang left.

Yuan Mu straightened his clothes and then reached out and knocked on the door.

"Come in!" A steady male voice came from inside the room.

Yuan Mu pushed the door open and walked in. He saw that the office was not very big and the facilities inside were rather simple. The most common thing was a filing cabinet filled with documents.

There is a desk against the wall in the office, and sitting at the desk is a middle-aged man in his forties wearing a pair of black-framed glasses. At this moment, he is bending over the desk to process documents. He should be Director Ren.

"Report!" Yuan Mu stood at attention and spoke.

Director Ren waved his hand without even looking up.

"Just sit there for a moment. I have a document that I'll be finishing soon."

"Yes!" Yuan Mu didn't say anything, but didn't sit down either. Instead, he stood there and waited quietly.

Director Ren continued to work on the documents. One minute passed, five minutes passed, and in the blink of an eye, half an hour passed.

Director Ren finally put down his pen, stretched his body slightly, picked up the cigarette on the table and took out a cigarette. He seemed to have just noticed Yuan Mu in front of him. There was a brief daze on his expression, and then he reacted.

"Oops, sorry, I forgot you were here, please sit down."

"Oh, it's okay, I just got here too." Yuan Mu smiled and walked in front of Director Ren.

"Please sit down. Where are you from? Do you have something to talk to me about?" Director Ren waved his hand and asked.

Yuan Mu didn't say anything, but helped Director Ren light his cigarette first, and then took out his ID, letter of introduction and transfer order.

"Director Ren, I'm from the Ningyang Railway Public Security Bureau. My name is Yuan Mu. Here are my ID, letter of introduction, and transfer order. I'm here to report to you."

When Director Ren heard this, he immediately frowned. For some reason, the name Yuan Mu sounded very familiar. He was from Ningyang. Soon, his pupils contracted.

"Are you Yuan Mu, the one who was named a national hero and model of the public security system for the train hijacking case?"

"Ah, it's me." Yuan Mu was stunned for a moment, then nodded in acknowledgement.

"Oh! You should have told me earlier. Look what happened. You have been standing here for so long. Sit down!" Director Ren immediately stood up from his chair, came to Yuan Mu and pressed him down on the chair. Then he took out his own cigarette and gave it to Yuan Mu.

"Director Ren, this..." Yuan Mu was flattered and confused.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I'm just like that, once I start working I forget about other things."

"It's okay. Work is more important. I came here early. It was my fault in the first place." Yuan Mu waved his hands quickly.

"Oh, I've been notified about this matter a long time ago. Don't worry, have a cup of tea first. I'll take you to report to the Criminal Investigation Corps later." Director Ren placed a cup of tea in front of Yuan Mu.

Yuan Mu was even more confused. Logically speaking, he was a section-level cadre, and the other party was a serious division-level cadre. How could he give him cigarettes and pour tea? This was not in line with common sense!

And where is this place? This is Kyoto, so it is even more impossible, but the following conversation made Yuan Mu find the reason.

"Director Ren, you are too polite."

"It's okay, take a seat. Comrade Yuan Mu, you are so famous. You are the National Public Security System Hero and Model awarded by the Ministry of Public Security. This is so enviable." Director Ren said with a smile.

"No way, it's just luck, just luck." Yuan Mu waved his hands repeatedly.

"Hey! How can it be luck? You paid for it with your life. Most people don't have your courage."

Yuan Mu smiled but didn't say anything.

"You saved a lot of people in this train hijacking case, and General Zhou was also rescued by you. When you came to Kyoto this time, didn't you think of visiting General Zhou?" Director Ren asked tentatively.

Yuan Mu suddenly realized that he had finally found the root of the problem. Why was Director Ren so nice to him, and even had a hint of flattery in his attitude? Now he understood everything.

After all this time, it turns out that it was not his title of hero and model that was intimidating, but General Zhou behind him. The person Director Ren respected was Zhou Zhennan.

However, the answer still had to be given. Yuan Mu thought about the words in his mind and then spoke.

"Not yet. I arrived in the early morning of the 3rd. I went to watch the flag-raising ceremony first, then rested in the guesthouse for a while. Now I came straight here."