Chapter 40: Tasteless as Chicken Ribs

Originally, Ding Moqun asked this question just to tease Zhao Xuan and simultaneously gauge whether Zhao Xuan held any grievance against Jiang Ping.

However, Ding Moqun did not expect that the moment his words fell, Zhao Xuan replied straightforwardly:

"Two thousand legal-tenders."

Ding Moqun was just about to offer Zhao Xuan some advice, but as soon as Zhao Xuan said this, the words caught entirely in his throat.

In less than a second, Ding Moqun suppressed his awkward expression and said with full admiration:

"Very good. Working in an office is different from doing fieldwork. The fact that you can manage this relationship properly sets my mind completely at ease."

"Still, you should keep a closer eye on this Jiang Ping. Major corruption isn't terrifying; what's terrifying is petty corruption. This fellow will run into trouble sooner or later."

Zhao Xuan agreed with Ding Moqun's knack for judging people.

It wasn't that major corruption wasn't terrifying; rather, it was something Ding Moqun couldn't afford to offend, so what was there to fear? It was most likely a level of corruption far beyond his reach.

Petty corruption, however, was a different story.

As petty corruption accumulated, a person's motives multiplied; once motives multiplied, one's path easily strayed off course.

"Rest assured, Uncle, I will—"

Before Zhao Xuan could finish, the door to Ding Moqun's office was knocked upon.

Seeing that the person entering was Zhou Mei, Zhao Xuan was slightly startled. In particular, noticing that Zhou Mei was in quite a good mood made Zhao Xuan's heart leap straight to his throat.

A traitor to the Military Statistics Bureau being in a good mood—what did that represent? Zhao Xuan felt he could guess without even needing to activate his dialysis mode.

(Hoo! I'm definitely going to secure this position as the Chief of the Intelligence Section!)

(Hmm? Zhao Xuan is actually here too? Could it be that Sun Ping'an's death was arranged by Ding Moqun precisely to pave the way for Zhao Xuan?)

For a moment, Zhou Mei was filled with suspicion and uncertainty as she walked step by step toward the desk.

Zhao Xuan had already stood up from his chair. Glancing at Zhou Mei as she reached his side, Zhao Xuan nodded expressionlessly toward Ding Moqun and turned directly to leave.

However, just as Zhao Xuan reached the doorway, Ding Moqun suddenly asked:

"Oh, by the way, A-xuan, was it your suggestion to go to Zhoushan Road today?"

Zhao Xuan's footsteps paused. He was truly mentally exhausted; this Ding Moqun was probing him every single moment, or else on the way to probing him.

Zhoushan Road was a prime location for rendezvous, whether for the Military Statistics Bureau or the underground party.

Ding Moqun's sudden question indicated that his trust in Zhao Xuan remained merely superficial.

What an old fox!

Zhao Xuan cursed inwardly, then nodded directly:

"Yes."

Ding Moqun's pupils contracted slightly, a grin broke across his face, and he waved his hand to signal Zhao Xuan to leave first.

After the office door closed, a sharp gleam flashed in Zhou Mei's eyes.

Those words just now implied that Ding Moqun did not entirely trust Zhao Xuan, which was undoubtedly good news for Zhou Mei.

Of course, Zhou Mei was not foolish enough to question Ding Moqun about it; this was family business, and sticking her nose into it casually would cost her her life.

"Director, I have made an important discovery. Today on Nanjing Road, I spotted Su Bai."

Ding Moqun frowned slightly as he looked at Zhou Mei, who hurriedly explained:

"This Su Bai and I were trainees in the same cohort. After graduation, I heard he was assigned to Nanjing. But following the Empire's capture of Nanjing, I lost track of his whereabouts. Now that he has turned up in Shanghai, he has likely been transferred to the Shanghai Station. This implies that the Shanghai Station has been re-established by the Military Statistics Bureau."

"Of course, these are merely my guesses. I need the Director to assign me some manpower so I can continue following up. Perhaps I can actually track down the location of the newly established Shanghai Station!"

Hearing this, Ding Moqun grew interested. Just as he was pondering whom to assign to Zhou Mei, a phone call rang in.

Back at his workstation in the Intelligence Section's communal office, Zhao Xuan was pondering how to obtain intelligence that "only he could acquire."

In truth, this assignment also involved a degree of contingency. During the previous cleansing operation, Ding Moqun had brought the documents home, and Zhao Xuan happened to be summoned into the study, discovering them only under the influence of his dialysis mode.

If Zhao Xuan were expected to hunt for such things on his own, he truly had no direction for the time being.

Helplessly, Zhao Xuan could only proceed as usual: while mulling over how to fulfill his superiors' commands, he activated his scanning and dialysis modes to keep watch on the documents at Su Jian's workstation.

There was no help for it; across the entire Intelligence Section, the documents arriving at and departing from Su Jian's desk had the highest frequency.

The previous clearance plan had been found within that very pile of documents.

Operating on the principle that being idle was just as bad as being busy, Zhao Xuan directly targeted the documents at Su Jian's workstation.

Normally, these fragmented and trivial documents, if not laid out together in their entirety and analyzed over a long period, would yield little of value.

Yet now, with Zhao Xuan's scanning mode active, assisted by the dialysis mode, the scanning process directly treated him to a demonstration of what big data analysis truly meant.

Not looking was one thing, but after a round of scanning and big data aggregation, Zhao Xuan's breath caught momentarily.

Looking at the report compiled into written documents by Edith flashing into his mind, Zhao Xuan took a deep breath, picked up the teacup on his desk, took a sip, turned to look out the window, and sank his thoughts entirely into the report.

First was the material inventory. Upon reviewing the aggregated inventory, Zhao Xuan felt a tingling sensation across his scalp at a single glance.

This was a military supply manifest sufficient to sustain at least two months of operations for an entire brigade.

Coupled with the train dispatch schedule and matched against the manifest's shipping dates, Zhao Xuan instantly locked onto the destination of these supplies.

The North China Theater of Operations!

Based on the transit time of the trains and an analysis of the railway conditions in the Japanese-occupied areas, Zhao Xuan further narrowed the destination down to the vicinity of Baoding, Hebei.

November 1939, Baoding, Hebei—once all these keywords were identified, Edith directly provided the final answer.

The Battle of Hualuling!

These supplies were intended to reinforce Abe Nobuyuki's brigade.

Although the ultimate outcome of this battle was favorable, if anything went awry with this batch of supplies, Abe Nobuyuki's brigade would suffer an even more disastrous defeat.

Calculating from the date these supplies were dispatched, only a few days remained until they reached their destination.

Time was pressing. Zhao Xuan decided to submit this intelligence upward.

Although the intelligence was relevant to the Red Party, it still met the task criteria assigned to Zhao Xuan by his superior.

By dusk, at the Military Statistics Bureau Headquarters in Chongqing, in the Director's office.

Director Dai looked over the telegram just transmitted by Master Niu, and tossed the document onto the desk with a wry smile.

"Old San, this intelligence is important, but it's of little use to our plans!"

Shen Xing also smiled bitterly and nodded, reaching out to pick up the document while shaking his head and sighing:

"Director, given this intelligence, what do you suppose we should do? Should we notify the Underground Party side just like last time?"

Director Dai's face was nearly twisted into a knot; frequent dealings with the Underground Party were no good thing.

Especially at the present juncture, when the cooperation between the Nationalists and Communists was growing increasingly tense.

Yet to say this intelligence was useless would be inaccurate; it did have some utility, but utilizing it would benefit the Red Party far too much.