Quick Wear: Cousin, Come to the Bowl Quickly

The night is dark and the stars and moon are low in the sky.

The river flows silently, with the occasional sound of one or two water birds flapping their wings. A few scattered fishing lights slowly rise and fall on the silent river surface, as if they will be swallowed up by the dark night at any time.

Compared to the Lin Mansion, which is bustling with guests and well-dressed people, this inconspicuous little ferry crossing by the Huangpu River is really too quiet.

"Mr. Shen, I'm fine. Let's go." A rough male voice suddenly sounded, breaking the silence.

A short and sturdy man dressed as a boatman came out from behind a pile of half-man-high old wooden boxes that smelled of mold and damp with a "crash".

While he was busy tying his belt, he grinned a little awkwardly at the tall young man standing on the shore.

"Hehe, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I kept you waiting for so long, it's all my fault for my stomach!" As he spoke, he rubbed his hands embarrassedly and walked quickly towards the old cargo ship with a mottled hull on the shore.

Hearing this, the young man turned his head slightly, glanced at the boatman's apologetic dark face, and said, "It's okay."

He did not move immediately, but turned around silently, and looked deeply at the dimly lit street in the distance with no expression on his face. After a moment, he retracted his gaze, bent down, picked up the heavy-looking suitcase at his feet, and walked towards the cargo ship.

Seeing him coming, the boatman habitually reached out his hand to help him, "The boat is a little shaky, let me help you..."

The young man just shook his head, naturally avoided the boatman's hand, and jumped onto the slightly slippery deck in one step.

There were a lot of cargoes covered with oilcloth piled on the deck, forming patches of high and low shadows in the night.

The boatman withdrew his hand awkwardly, rubbed it on his trouser leg, scratched his head, and then quickly untied the thick rope tied to the shore pile. He subconsciously wanted to shout, but seemed to suddenly remember something and held it back.

He jumped onto the boat nimbly, ran to the stern, and cranked the starter handle of the diesel engine.

"Tu tu tu tu——"

A dull engine sound broke the silence on the riverside, and the hull of the ship began to vibrate.

The boatman skillfully controlled the rudder, and the cargo ship slowly turned its bow, pushing away the calm river water, stirring up the stars and fishing lights reflected on the river surface, and sailed towards the thicker darkness.

The night wind blew in my face, carrying with it damp moisture.

Shen Jingyuan stood on the deck, watching the ferry in the distance with faint lights flashing gradually turn into a blurry dot until it was completely swallowed up by the night. Then he greeted the boatman and turned to go into the cabin.

He lifted the thick waterproof oilcloth curtain on the hatch, closed the hatch carefully with his backhand, and then put his ear against the door panel and listened attentively for a few seconds.

After confirming that the boatman was concentrating on steering the boat at the stern and that outside there was only the monotonous roar of the engine and the sound of rushing water, and no other unusual sounds, Shen Jingyuan turned around and sat in the middle of the cabin, in front of the table with the kerosene lamp lit.

He placed the dark leather suitcase he had been holding on the table. He opened the suitcase and found inside, besides a few ordinary clothes, several documents and maps neatly stacked.

He pulled out the top one. The paper looked a little yellowed under the dim, flickering kerosene lamplight, but the bold heading of the document was still clearly visible. It was exactly the arms procurement list he had seen in Commander Lin's office that day.

The lights flickered slightly, Shen Jingyuan held the thin pages, his thoughts drifting to that evening after the rain.

"We will raise this amount of weapons ourselves, and keep it absolutely confidential!"

"Several northern foreign companies and brokers have extended olive branches... But empty words are not enough. Without seeing the actual goods and knowing the details, I cannot easily allocate funds..."

Commander Lin placed his hand heavily on Shen Jingyuan's shoulder, his strength heavy, "Jingyuan, I can only entrust this matter to you."

"I want you to go on my behalf and secretly investigate these sellers. The more you know about the quality of the goods, their sources, and the connections behind them, the better..."