Chapter 021: Assigning Zhou Yongsu's Task

Chen Jiehua thought for a moment, then spoke solemnly to the two men, “Since you’re both willing to follow me, there are some things that need to be said upfront. You must remember them! And you must never speak of this to any fourth person!”

“Please, go ahead!”

“First, you are not to concern yourselves with who I truly am. You may call me Qingmu Qingxuan, Qingmu, or Qingmu Qiao—any of these is fine! But never again must you refer to me as Chen Jiehua. That name must remain buried in your hearts!”

“There’s one thing you must always remember: I will never ask you to do anything that would harm our country or our people. So, in the future, if you ever receive orders—whether relayed, repeated, by phone, or by telegram—telling you to do anything that harms our nation or our people, that is not my order. You must be vigilant; either our lines of communication have been compromised, or something has happened to me. At that point, your first priority is your own safety! Cut all means of contact and hide yourselves at once!”

“How will we know it’s really you in the future?”

“Look at this knife. There’s only one like it in the world, and it’s marked with a single character: ‘Hua’. If someone can’t produce this knife, they’re an impostor.”

Chen Jiehua produced a custom-made scalpel for them to inspect closely.

“Ah! That’s the knife you used yesterday to operate on Liu Junze!”

“Yes, this is my surgical knife—my own special instrument.”

“Understood.”

“Good. Second, I hope you will never betray me. If I ever discover you have, it will be this very knife that takes your life.”

“If you’re ever caught again by the Kwantung Army Headquarters or the Military Police Headquarters, simply present your Army Academy graduation certificate and give the name Qingmu Qiao. I am Qingmu Qiao now. Yesterday I cut down Sakurada Takeshi with one stroke—my name is already known. I doubt anyone with sense will risk offending me by causing trouble for you again.”

“Understood!” “You really cut down Sakurada Takeshi with a single stroke? I thought the rumors were exaggerated!”

“My kendo was the best at the Academy, didn’t you know?”

“We knew, but we never imagined it was to that extent. I heard Sakurada Takeshi’s swordsmanship wasn’t bad either!”

“Let’s not talk about this today.”

“Alright, since we’ve come this far, I’ll assign your tasks directly.”

“First, Zhou Yongsu, you’re an engineering major—you should pick up radio and telegraphy quickly. Focus on studying transmitters and radio equipment; this will be our main tool for communication. I have a set for you. I’ll bring it tomorrow. Make use of the downtime while the shop and house are being renovated to study it in the secret room at home. If you need anything, I’ll buy it for you. Under no circumstances should you purchase anything yourself! If you go out buying materials and parts, the enemy will find the shop and, through the owner, trace it back to you!”

“Understood!”

“And me? What’s my assignment?”

“Your assignment is to recover from your injuries! In your current state, what else could I possibly give you to do?”

Laughter erupted.

“The Army Academy taught you only the most basic espionage skills. You need to master more advanced techniques, including the tracking and counter-surveillance methods I mentioned yesterday. I’ll find the relevant books for you, but the most important things you’ll have to figure out for yourselves.”

“You two are more familiar with Lushun than I am. We need to prepare two safe houses in the city. My idea is, one should be near the Kwantung Army prison, and the other near the west or north city gate. Think about suitable locations.”

“Too many people in a slum isn’t good—too many eyes, makes things difficult. Too few people is no good either—easy to watch, hard to shake tails. The main purpose of the two safe houses is to have a place ready in case an important figure is captured—making it easier for us to rescue, hide, or evacuate them from the city.”

“I’ll go scout it out tomorrow. I have a couple of areas in mind. I’ll let you know when I’ve settled on a spot so you can make the purchase.”

“No, I can’t buy any more houses. It wouldn’t make sense—if Headquarters investigates, I have no explanation. You have to buy them yourself. Try to find a normal family who wants to move and transfer the house directly—do not go through an agent.”

With that, Chen Jiehua pulled out two bundles of yen. At the moment, yen was highly valuable and stable, the most useful currency in Lushun apart from gold bars.

But Japan was in the grip of both an economic crisis and the Great Depression; the yen would only hold its value until 1929. So, the yen in storage needed to be spent first, while the dollars would be kept for when they appreciated after 1930.

As for silver dollars, those were too heavy. You couldn’t carry many on your person, and pulling out a large bundle from storage would certainly arouse suspicion.

After settling the affairs of his two new subordinates, the three had a brief discussion about the shop’s renovations and then each retired for the night.

Time passed quickly. Thanks to the benefits brought by cutting down Sakurada Takeshi, the First Section of the Senior Staff Department barely assigned Qingmu Qiao any difficult tasks. He idled away his days under the guise of “patrolling the city,” wandering about in the name of familiarizing himself with the environment. The senior officers at headquarters turned a blind eye, happy to be spared the presence of this “god of slaughter” in their midst.

During his “patrols,” Qingmu Qiao took note of certain special shops and the general situation in residential areas, relaying his findings to Zhou Yongsu.

By early March, the pharmacy, house, and both safe houses had been fully renovated, and Zhou Yongsu was already proficient at assembling and disassembling the radio equipment.

A shipment of medicine, gathered through George Lucas in America, had also arrived at port. After setting aside enough for his own shop and sending some to the two safe houses with Zhou Yongsu, Qingmu Qiao handed the remainder to Saito Tsunetake, Chief of Staff of the Kwantung Army Headquarters.

Qingmu Qiao’s intentions were clear: treat me well and I’ll reward you. I’ll let you distribute the supplies as you see fit—I won’t interfere.

With most of the medicines in his hands, Qingmu Qiao’s standing rose yet another notch. Now both a god of slaughter and a god of medicine, Saito Tsunetake was practically ready to enshrine him!

Meanwhile, Liu Junze’s leg had healed almost entirely—he could walk normally without a cane.

Once all the medicines had arrived, Qingmu Qiao’s pharmacy held an opening ceremony, booking a large restaurant and inviting his colleagues from headquarters for a night of revelry. He introduced Liu Junze and Zhou Yongsu to everyone. The two bustled about, serving the guests and making themselves known, reconciling with those from the Interrogation Section and the Second Section.

With these relationships mended, Qingmu Qiao became an idle figure at headquarters, coming and going empty-handed, often out of sight. Everyone knew that if you wanted to find him, just go to his pharmacy—it was right around the corner!

Under Qingmu Qiao’s guidance, Zhou Yongsu recruited a group of “fast runners” to help transport and deliver medicines—essentially the earliest pharmaceutical delivery service!

Call the shop if you urgently need medicine, and it will be delivered straight to your door!

Deliveries were also a chance to observe the environment, locations, and layouts.