The Plough - Chapter 33

“Do you get so excited just by seeing me?”

Yue Dingtang looked up and down at Ling Shu, with a strange expression on his face.

The small yellow taels was hidden inside Ling Shu’s coat, but even through the thin pajamas, he could feel the sensation of the gold moving with his body, like pebbles rubbing against his skin.

Ling Shu forced a weak smile.

“We are friends who have survived life and death together. How can I not be excited? How did you manage to escape?”

Yue Dingtang had injured his shoulder and it was difficult for him to push the wheelchair with one hand, so he used crutches to support himself as he limped over to Ling Shu’s bedside and sat down.

“It’s warm inside, why are you still so cold? You have to wrap yourself in a blanket and hold onto your coat?”

Ling Shu hugged his coat tighter. “He is my brother in adversity, and no one can separate us.”

The expression on Yue Dingtang’s face was exactly the same as Ling Yao’s a few minutes ago.

He sighed and took out a half piece of paper from the pocket of his hospital gown.

“Take a look at this first.”

The piece of paper was one page of a document.

But that was only its original appearance.

Ling Shu could only see about four or five incomplete English phrases in the piece of paper.

The edges were black and charred, and there were small burnt black holes in the center of the handwriting.

Knowing Yue Dingtang’s style, if he could bring out a whole document, he would not have just brought this piece of paper.

The situation at that time was even more critical than imagined.

When the other party handed over the piece of paper, Ling Shu noticed that there were also burn scars on the half arm under his hospital gown.

“From the remaining words, it seems to be related to the source of those weapons.”

Ling Shu carefully identified the words on top. “The British United Transport Company…”

“There’s a name in the middle, but it’s not clear. This company transported a batch of matches and medicine to China in 1920, in response to the possible danger that could happen.”

“The rest of it was burned, but there’s one more word. Let me see… street fighti… the last two letters might be ‘ng’? Alley fight? Why would they mention alley fights?”

“We can only make out this much. If we could get hold of the whole document, we could learn more.”

“At the time, the fire spread quickly. I didn’t have time to rescue the document and almost lost my life in it.”

As Yue Dingtang recalled the scene from before, he remembered how he had narrowly escaped disaster. Instead of following Ling Shu and the others, he had turned back towards the entrance they had come in from.

Just as he had left, the explosion caused by the collapsing basement shook the ground. Yue Dingtang managed to make it to the second floor, with Boss Li hot on his heels.

Yue Dingtang had initially planned to take Hong Xiaoguang with him, but Boss Li refused to let him go. It seemed he was afraid that Hong Xiaoguang would reveal too much information. In the end, Boss Li shot Hong Xiaoguang, and the two of them fought and wasted a lot of time in the basement. When the second explosion occurred, Yue Dingtang almost lost his life in the flames.

Ling Shu stroked his chin thoughtfully.

“Don’t worry, we can still make some educated guesses based on what we’ve seen,” he said. “The underground weapons from the Yuan family were probably brought over with the batch of goods mentioned in the documents. Even the so-called matches and medicine might just be a cover-up.”

“I remember in 1919, not long after the war had ended, Europe, America, and Japan implemented an arms embargo against China. However, this measure was not actually enforced.”

Yue Dingtang nodded, “That’s right. Many weapons were still able to be dismantled and transported here. Local warlords also continued to purchase weapons from Europe and America, but they had to cover it up, hence the use of medicine as a disguise.”

Ling Shu said, “These things have never left Shanghai since they arrived, indicating that the person who ordered this batch of goods originally intended to use them here, but they were not needed later on. So the question is, what ‘potential dangerous situations’ occurred in Shanghai in the 1920s?”

It was more than ten years ago, and those in power were confused. It was difficult for them to recall everything at once.

As far as they could remember, Shanghai had been thriving since its opening, and there were many important events.

At that time, the warlords were still fighting fiercely, and Shanghai seemed to be the territory of the Anhui warlords.

Names like Duan Qirui, Xu Shuzheng, and Duan Zhigui flashed through Ling Shu’s mind. The names mentioned were all prominent figures in the Anhui warlord faction at the time.

Of course, now over a decade has passed and some have already passed away.

Many young men in the area may not even know about this past, but what does it have to do with these weapons?

Suddenly, Ling Shu had a flash of inspiration and thought of a possibility.

Indirect benefits.

“The original owner of the Yuan Manor was British,” Yue Dingtang suddenly said.

“At that time, the Anhui warlords had sided with Japan. Perhaps the British were worried about Japan’s rapidly expanding interests and the conflict eventually spread to the public concession here. That’s why they prepared this batch of weapons, just in case. But later on, the situation changed and the Anhui faction gradually lost power, so these weapons were never used.”

It seems that the British person who previously bought this house must have had a significant identity. This includes why he suddenly abandoned the house and everything inside, allowing it to be sold. Whether this person is alive or dead now, and other details, are impossible to trace due to the passage of time.

As for Yuan Bingdao, he probably didn’t know the secret beneath the gold. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have hidden the gold he worked so hard to transport from Sichuan in the armory.

Who recommended this house to Yuan Bingdao in the first place, and whether the recommender knew about the secret hidden beneath the house, is unknown.

The people who obey the orders of the organization behind Sancai orders probably learned about this secret from the information left behind by the British person or other channels. That’s why they sent Mr. Li, who was determined to get the house.

“Where is Mr. Li?” Ling Shu asked.

Yue Dingtang shook his head.

“After the fire was put out, the police station was responsible for cleaning up the aftermath. Currently, they have only found two bodies, preliminarily identified as Hong Xiaoguang and the old butler. It’s not ruled out that there may be more discoveries later.”

The old butler was knocked unconscious by Sancai at the entrance of the second floor. Later, the scene was chaotic and everyone was too busy to rescue the elderly butler who couldn’t move.

Ling Shu asked, “Xinyue Cafe?”

Yue Dingtang replied, “We’ve checked there too. Smith personally led people over and caught all the staff, but from the preliminary interrogation results, they don’t know anything. In their eyes, Boss Li is a completely good and kind person.”

This was an expected result.

The more people who knew, the quicker the truth would be revealed. With Boss Li’s cunning, he certainly wouldn’t expose himself to these small fry. If it weren’t for Hong Xiaoguang’s confession, they might still not have been able to connect Mr. Li, even if they had suspicions, it would be difficult to prove.

Ling Shu asked about Shen Renjie.

Yue Dingtang: “He was burned and broke a leg, but he’s okay, better than being dead.”

If there are no surprises, this case will soon come to a close.

The killer of Du Yunning has been revealed, justice has been served, and the real culprit has met their deserved end.

This is a satisfying conclusion that satisfies the public’s desire for cause and effect. The destruction of the Yuan Manor and the death of the real culprit in the fire also saved the trouble of tracking and capturing them later.

This is exactly the result that Smith wanted, he can report to his superiors and boast in the newspapers, no matter what, he can turn it into a great achievement.

For Ling Shu, having his suspicion completely cleared was a good thing.

Moreover…

“Are you feeling uncomfortable?”

Yue Dingtang looked at him slightly twisting under the blanket.

The movement was small, but noticeable up close.

“It’s okay, my back is a bit itchy.”

“Holding onto dirty clothes, how can it not be itchy?” Yue Dingtang frowned and took the coat away. “Where does it itch? Shall I call a nurse to help you scratch?”

Ling Shu: “No need, as a grown man, I don’t need physical contact with women. I’ll do it myself later.”

Yue Dingtang:…

He still remembered Ling Shu’s scene of embracing beauty and laughing at the Feilengcui dance hall, and it was hard to connect the person who said “I don’t need physical contact with women” with the lipstick mark on the card sent to the table.

“Turn around, I’ll help you scratch.” “How can I accept this? You go back and rest first. I can see that you’re badly injured. Hurry back and rest, don’t worry about me!”

Before he could finish his sentence, Yue Dingtang had already lifted his blanket.

The hospital gown was pulled up by Ling Shu himself, revealing a white belly with gauze taped in the middle where he had been stabbed before. The area around it was as delicate as a woman’s skin, having never seen the sun for years.

“What are you doing?” Ling Shu hissed, about to resist, but his injured hand moved and he trembled in pain. His body was already flipped over, revealing the yellow taels of gold that shone brightly under the lamp, tempting him silently.

Before Ling Shu could reach out, the other person had already taken his property that wasn’t even warmed up yet.

“Give it back to me!” he demanded.

“Where did you get this gold?” Yue Dingtang held his hand up high, out of reach of Ling Shu, who couldn’t possibly flip over and grab it.

“This was given to me by my sister! What are you going to do about it? The fourth son of the Yue family has resorted to robbery in broad daylight. Have you no shame?”

Yue Dingtang smiled slyly, “Did your sister give you this gold with the Chongzhen inscription on it?”

Ling Shu remained calm, “So what? The Ling family is also wealthy and prosperous. Are we not allowed to have some assets?”

“Of course you can. In that case, I’ll ask your sister first. If it really was from her, I’ll return it to you. If not, I’ll help you keep it safe so you don’t squander it on those dancing girls again.”

Ling Shu laughed in anger, “Yue Dingtang, you have some nerve!”

Yue Dingtang put the small yellow taels in his pocket, his expression full of meaning.

“You’ll soon be thanking me.”

The days of recuperation were dull and boring, and it didn’t take long for Ling Shu to start clamoring to be discharged from the hospital, only to be ruthlessly suppressed by Ling Yao.

On the other hand, Yue Dingtang was allowed to be discharged and go home for recuperation, without having to continue being trapped here like him.

Yue Chunxiao, on the other hand, came to see him every three or four days. Even if she couldn’t come himself, she would send someone to bring some soup and water. When Ling Shu was finally able to be discharged after ten days or half a month, he had not lost weight but had instead gained a few pounds.

As soon as he returned to the police station, Cheng Si saw him and clicked his tongue in disapproval. He slapped him on the back, but was caught off guard when Ling Shu showed a pained expression and quickly withdrew his hand.

“Are you okay? Your injury hasn’t healed yet?”

“Ouch, you hit my wound!” Ling Shu gave him a glare. “You saw how the Yuan Manor was burned down. Even if it was you, you wouldn’t have recovered so quickly! I was just stuck in the hospital for too long and begged the doctor to let me out!”

Cheng Si laughed mischievously, “Well, that’s great news! Double happiness has arrived. You have to treat us to a meal today. You can’t drink because of your injury, but you can order drinks for us!”

Ling Shu looked at him with a face that said, “Are you crazy?”

His wound still hadn’t healed, and just the thought of his four taels of gold made him want to twist Yue Dingtang’s head off and fry it with the fish.

Cheng Si said, “You’re going to get promoted!”

The author has something to say: In the previous chapter, there was a bug. The four big yellow fish weighed four catties, and they couldn’t be hidden in the coat. They would definitely be discovered. It should have been four small yellow fish. It has been corrected now, so please refer to the new version.

A small theater unrelated to the main text:

Yue Dingtang: Today’s chapter is sweet again.

Ling Shu: Are you blind? Where is it sweet?

Yue Dingtang: Four small yellow taels.

Ling Shu: ???