Spy war in the Republic of China, peak undercover

The streets of Sudong are narrow, lined with two-story buildings of grey brick and gray tile, and lined with shops. Their signs are vibrant in the morning light, yet they also have a stale feel. The barber, carrying his load, bangs on copper plates with a "clang-clang" sound, mingling with the cries of vendors, the shouts of rickshaw drivers, and the chirping of sparrows, creating a lively atmosphere.

Lu Yang, alias Li Tiesheng, was wearing a neat suit and gold-rimmed glasses as he walked down the street, but he seemed out of tune with the bustling scene.

He lived in an independent courtyard in a secluded alley in the west of the city.

The yard is not big but very elegant. There are two sycamore trees planted at the door with lush branches and leaves, providing a cool shade.

There is a stone table and several stone benches under the shade of the tree, which is a good place to cool off in the summer.

The neighbors were all government officials and businessmen. They were all curious about Li Tiesheng, the new audit commissioner, but Li Tiesheng always kept a low profile and rarely interacted with them. At most, he would nod and say hello and exchange a few words.

"Commissioner Li, good morning!" Old man Zhang from next door greeted Li Tiesheng with a smile, holding a birdcage.

He is a retired teacher who likes to raise birds. He has a white pigeon in his yard and takes it out to let it fly every morning.

"Good morning, Mr. Zhang!" Li Tiesheng responded. "The weather is nice today, and your pigeons are in high spirits!"

"Of course, my pigeon won an award, and its chirping is so clear!" Old Man Zhang was quite proud. As he spoke, he walked over to Li Tiesheng and lifted the birdcage. "Commissioner Li, do you want to listen?"

Li Tiesheng couldn't refuse, so he could only smile and agree with a few words, but in his heart he was thinking about getting away quickly.

Although Old Man Zhang was enthusiastic, he was too talkative and Li Tiesheng really didn't have the patience to deal with him.

After saying goodbye to Old Man Zhang, Li Tiesheng quickly walked to the entrance of the alley, where a rickshaw was parked.

"Sir, where are you going?" the coachman asked hurriedly when he saw Li Tiesheng approaching.

"Let's go to the provincial government." Li Tiesheng said, bending down and getting into the car.

The rickshaw bumped along the bluestone road, and the wheels made a creaking sound as they rolled over the potholes in the road. However, Li Tiesheng had long been accustomed to this rhythm. He closed his eyes to rest, but was thinking about today's work arrangements in his mind.

Li Tiesheng arrived at the provincial government and walked into his office, a spacious and bright room, not luxuriously decorated but very neat.

There were some documents, a telephone, and a typewriter on the desk. His secretary, Xiaoli, a young and beautiful girl in a simple cheongsam, was sorting the documents.

"Good morning, Commissioner Li!" Xiaoli stood up and greeted Li Tiesheng when she saw him come in.

"Good morning, Xiaoli," Li Tiesheng responded. "What are your plans for today?"

"Director Li has asked you to come to his office at nine this morning to discuss education funding." Xiaoli flipped open the notebook on her desk, glanced at it, and said, "You need to attend the provincial government's regular meeting at two this afternoon to discuss the budget."

"Okay, I understand." Li Tiesheng nodded, put his briefcase on the table, walked to the clothes hanger, took off his coat and hung it up.

The financial situation in Sudong Province is not optimistic. The government departments have huge expenditures and the army also needs a lot of military funds. Fiscal revenue cannot meet the expenditure needs at all, and a serious fiscal deficit has emerged.

As an audit commissioner, Li Tiesheng naturally has to investigate and supervise these issues.

At nine o'clock in the morning, Li Tiesheng arrived at the office of Director Li of the Finance Department on time.

Director Li was a short, fat, middle-aged man wearing glasses. When he saw Li Tiesheng, he quickly stood up to greet him.

"Commissioner Li, you are finally here. Please take a seat!" Director Li smiled and welcomed Li Tiesheng to sit on the sofa, and personally poured him a cup of tea.

"Director Li, you're so polite." Li Tiesheng took the teacup and said with a smile, "I wonder what brings you here?"

"It's like this, Commissioner Li, our Finance Department is having some difficulties regarding the allocation of education funds..." Director Li said with an embarrassed expression on his face.

Li Tiesheng knew that Director Li was crying poor to him, hoping that he would go easy on him during the audit.

"Director Li, you know that this is a time when the country needs money, and every penny must be spent wisely," Li Tiesheng said calmly. "Education is a long-term project, and we naturally need to strongly support it, but we also need to ensure a reasonable allocation and live within our means."

"Yes, yes, Commissioner Li is right." Director Li nodded quickly, but he was secretly groaning in his heart. He knew that he probably couldn't avoid this audit.

Li Tiesheng and Director Li negotiated for a long time, but in the end they were unable to get any useful information out of him.

He knew that in order to get to the bottom of the financial problems, he could not just listen to the superficial statements of these officials, but also needed to go deep into the grassroots and conduct on-site investigations.

After the afternoon meeting, Li Tiesheng returned to his office. His secretary Xiaoli had already sorted out the documents that needed his signature and placed them on his desk.

Li Tiesheng patiently flipped through the documents, signing his name on them from time to time. It was not until it got dark that he stretched and rubbed his sore eyes.

"Dong dong dong..."

There was a knock on the door, and Li Tiesheng looked up. "Come in."

The door opened and Fan Wenzheng walked in. He was wearing a navy blue gown today and had a warm smile on his face.

"Secretary Fan, is there anything wrong?" Li Tiesheng asked.

"It's nothing, I just came to see you. Are you off work?" Fan Wenzhen walked to Li Tiesheng's desk and asked casually.

"Just finished." Li Tiesheng pointed to the documents on the table, "I need to finish these documents today."

"Although work is important, you also need to take a break."

Fan Wenzheng asked with concern, "By the way, are you free tonight? I have a distant relative who is an elementary school teacher, and I'd like to introduce you to her."

Li Tiesheng then remembered that Fan Wenzheng had previously mentioned that he wanted to introduce him to a girl. He originally wanted to refuse, but then he thought that perhaps he could take this opportunity to learn more about the social situation in Suzhou and Eastern Europe, so he agreed.

"Okay, then I'll trouble you, Mr. Fan."

"No trouble, no trouble, it's my duty." Seeing Li Tiesheng agree, Fan Wenzheng smiled happily, "How about we meet at the Qingfeng Teahouse in the city center at 7 o'clock this evening?"

"okay, I get it."

After Fan Wenzhen left, Li Tiesheng simply packed up his things and left the office.

At seven o'clock in the evening, Li Tiesheng arrived at the Qingfeng Teahouse on time.

The teahouse is bustling with people coming and going, and its antique decoration style exudes a strong sense of the Republic of China.

Li Tiesheng sat down by the window, ordered a pot of Biluochun tea, and waited quietly.

Soon, Fan Wenzhen came over with a young woman.

"Commissioner Li, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting." Fan Wenzheng said with a smile, "This is Lin Wei, the elementary school teacher I mentioned to you."

Li Tiesheng stood up and nodded politely to Lin Wei, "Hello, Miss Lin."

Lin Wei was wearing a simple cheongsam, with her long black hair braided into two pigtails hanging in front of her chest, making her look pure and lovely.

Although the two were acting, Lin Wei was deeply immersed in the role. She smiled shyly and said, "Hello, Mr. Li."

"Come on, come on, sit down and chat." Fan Wenzhen invited the two to sit down, then called the waiter and added two cups of tea.

The three of them chatted while drinking tea, and Lu Yang watched Lin Wei perform quietly.

"I came to Sudong not long ago. I was originally teaching in Shanghai. Later, due to the war, the school was forced to close. She then came to Sudong and became a teacher in a private primary school."

"Ms. Lin, are you used to living in Sudong?" Li Tiesheng showed his concern from time to time. He couldn't let the atmosphere be dull, right?

"It's okay, but the pace of life is much slower than in Shanghai," Lin Wei replied. "But the people in Suzhou and Dongguan are very welcoming, and I've gradually grown to like it."

"That's good." Li Tiesheng nodded, but he was thinking in his heart that Lin Wei had done a good job of preparation.