A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Chapter 1000 Settling Chen Zhongyu

Wu Mingqiang smiled and said, "Mr. Chen is so thoughtful. I've been busy with the pawnshop these past few days and haven't been able to spare the time to arrange for someone to move all those things away. Let's go then. I heard from Miss that you wanted to see Detective Long?"

Chen Zhongyu quickly said politely, "Mr. Wu, please don't misunderstand. After this incident, I think it would be great to have a friend who is a policeman. I'm really sorry to trouble you to introduce me."

Wu Mingqiang readily agreed, "Don't mention it. It's no trouble at all. Let's go then. Just tell the address to these guys who are helping out, and then get in our car and head over there."

Chen Zhongyu paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "I'll go with them. They haven't been in Hong Kong for long and aren't very familiar with the area. Please wait for me after you get there."

Wu Mingqiang didn't pay any attention and drove off with Gui'er in tow.

He glanced at the rearview mirror and said with a smile, "Are those Mr. Chen's friends? They don't look like people who have fled here."

Gui'er was startled and quickly tried to cover for them by saying, "I don't know. So many people are fleeing here now, maybe your family used to be wealthy?"

She glanced back and saw that the comrades were all dressed in homespun clothes, ranging in age from 20 to 40, and their appearances were nothing special. She wondered why they had attracted Wu Mingqiang's attention.

"Brother Wu, do you see anything wrong with those people?"

"It's just a feeling. When someone goes to an unfamiliar place, they tend to be less confident, more cautious, and more wary because they are unfamiliar with the environment. But these people don't have that kind of expression. Could it be that they are used to traveling the world?"

Gui'er was surprised by his keen observation skills; no wonder Long Xing had taken a liking to him.

"Haha, maybe he feels at ease now that he's found a fellow villager like Brother Chen to rely on."

Upon arriving at the location, Wu Mingqiang parked the car on the side of the road and opened the front door of the shop. Gui'er looked around and saw that although it was smaller than the previous bookstore, it was still fairly square. Since it was intended to be rented out as a shop, the doors were all panel-style, and there was still some dust on the ground that needed to be swept.

Wu Mingqiang and Gui'er went up to the second floor. When Gui'er returned to this place, it felt like a lifetime had passed.

Before Wu Mingqiang entered, he turned to him and said, "Miss, don't worry, it's been cleaned up inside. All the dirty things and furniture have been removed."

Gui'er went inside and took a look. The originally exquisite mahogany furniture had been replaced with ordinary cedar furniture, and it looked old.

"I originally thought this place could be used as a temporary residence for the young lady, so I decorated it nicely. But after that incident, I'm afraid the young lady won't want to stay here anymore. Since I'm going to rent it out, I just got a set of old furniture from a secondhand store. Although the furniture looks old, it's quite durable."

"That's fine." Gui'er felt that since this place was to be used as a contact point, it was not appropriate to decorate it too luxuriously. The furniture, which looked neither new nor old, gave people a sense of life and would not arouse suspicion.

"Knock knock knock." Suddenly, there was a knocking sound from downstairs.

"It must be Brother Chen who's here," Gui'er said.

"I'll go open the door." Wu Mingqiang turned and went downstairs.

Wu Mingqiang opened the door and saw Long Xing standing there with Xiao Huang. He was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "Brother Xing, you're here? Please come upstairs and have a seat. I'll make you some tea."

Long Xing stepped inside and went upstairs. His gaze swept across the room and finally landed on Gui'er. He cupped his hands and said, "Miss Sha, how have you been? How have you been lately?"

Gui'er quickly returned the greeting: "Detective Long, you're too kind. We should be thanking you. We haven't even congratulated you on your promotion yet. Detective Long, your promotion is truly well-deserved."

Long Xin waved his hand and laughed, saying, "No, no, it was just a lucky break. In fact, I should thank you, Miss Sha, you're truly my lucky star."

Just then, Chen Zhongyu arrived with his comrades. Long Xing's gaze lingered on them for a moment, but he didn't ask any questions. He simply smiled at Chen Zhongyu and said, "This must be Mr. Chen? I've heard so much about you. Mr. Wu told me you're opening a bookstore?"

"Yes, just a small business." Chen Zhongyu handed over a teacup. "I've long admired Detective Long's name, and I hope Detective Long will take good care of me in the future."

“No problem.” Long Xing took a sip of tea. “There are many gangs and thugs in Kowloon City, but with me here, I’ll keep your bookstore safe. You don’t need to pay protection money. If anyone causes trouble, just mention my name.”

He then changed the subject, “I heard that Mr. Chen often helps fellow countrymen from the mainland? There’s a war going on in the mainland right now, and the Japanese pirates are rampant. It pains me to see that. If you have any difficulties, such as needing medicine or fabric, you can tell me—we’re all Chinese, and we should help each other out.”

Xiao Huang chimed in, "Brother Xing has been telling the brothers to keep an eye out for any foreign firms that are withholding supplies from the mainland. If that's the case, they'll be in big trouble."

Chen Zhongyu's eyes lit up: "Detective Long is very kind. Many places in the mainland are lacking medical care and medicine these days. If you could make an exception, it would be a great deed."

"Of course, of course." Long Xing waved his hand. "I admire patriots. It is because of these people who have persisted in resisting that we will not become slaves of a conquered nation. I like to associate with capable and patriotic people like you. If you need anything in the future, just ask Brother Wu to contact me. I have official business to attend to, so I'll take my leave now. Let's meet again another day."

After seeing Longxing off, Wu Mingqiang led everyone to see the shop, pointing to the attic on the third floor: "People can also live here. There's a side door in the back alley, so it's convenient to come and go." He took out paper and pen, "The rent will be the market price, eight yuan per month. I've already drafted the contract."

After signing the document, Chen Zhongyu took advantage of Wu Mingqiang going downstairs to get the keys to pull Gui'er to the window and said, "Long Xing is not simple. The way he looked at the comrades just now clearly showed that he recognized them, but he pretended not to know and even took the initiative to bring up the matter of supplies—this person is worth trying to win over."

Gui'er hesitated: "But he's a policeman..."

“It’s precisely because he has real power in the police station that he’s more useful.” Chen Zhongyu lowered his voice. “Having Wu Mingqiang follow him can both make connections and gather information. Don’t worry, I think Wu Mingqiang is quite loyal to you. He wouldn’t dare to agree to Long Xing’s request without your consent.”

Gui'er looked down at Long Xing, who was explaining things to Xiao Huang, and then at the comrades tidying up the house. Finally, she nodded and said, "Then let Brother Wu decide for himself."

When Wu Mingqiang came up, he heard this and said with a smile, "Don't worry, Miss, I know what I'm doing. Although Long Xing is involved in officialdom, he has a good reputation and is very righteous. With his protection, at least things like Ouyang Bao won't happen again, and that will protect you."