The beginning of the silly uncle, the true love is full of the courtyard

On Wednesday morning, at the train station, He Ping'an said goodbye to his family and boarded the train heading south. Because of the presence of Lou Tan and Lou Xiao'e, He Ping'an specially booked a private room for the Lou family this time, so as to avoid the embarrassment of being an outsider and getting mixed up in their family.

He Pingan thought this trip would be a boring one, but before the train departed, Old Xu suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Seeing him sitting across from him in a familiar manner, He Pingan said helplessly:

"Old Xu, is there no work in your department? It's ok to go north, but why did you follow me south? Also, couldn't you tell me before you came?"

"Director He, the task assigned to me by our director is to ensure your safety during the trade with the north. This trip south is also part of the trade, so of course I have to follow! I also want to say something to you, didn't you think of me when you bought the ticket?" After more than two months in the north, the two of them have already become familiar with each other, so Lao Xu can also make some harmless jokes.

"Guarantee the safety of mine? Then should I thank you?" Glancing at Lao Xu, He Ping'an pointed at himself and said in disbelief.

"Well..., we still need intelligence, right? Hong Kong and Kowloon are different from the north. Because of their special geographical location and environment, they have become the information intelligence center of Asia. It is no exaggeration to say that Hong Kong and Kowloon now gather intelligence personnel and spies from all over the world and various countries."

"In addition, the British government's connivance has led to the near legalization of prostitution, gambling and drugs. Coupled with the fact that people have fled to Hong Kong from the mainland due to famine, Hong Kong and Kowloon are now a mixed crowd. In this situation, intelligence is particularly important! Don't worry, it's still the same old rules. I am only responsible for providing intelligence and I don't care about anything else." Faced with He Ping'an's questioning, Lao Xu was a little embarrassed and quickly changed the subject.

"That's more like it! But the consumption in Hong Kong and Kowloon is not low. Your colleagues..." He Ping'an didn't believe that they would be given foreign exchange as activity funds when the entire country was extremely short of foreign exchange.

He Pingan did not doubt the ability of the Hong Kong and Kowloon intelligence comrades, but he was very worried about their social status. You know, a street vendor, no matter how strong his intelligence ability is, it is difficult to get intelligence from the upper class.

"Regarding this, Director He can rest assured! Although the country's support is limited, after the unremitting efforts of the comrades in Hong Kong and Kowloon, some comrades are still able to get in touch with the upper class! If possible, please help us come up with some ideas to improve the living environment of our comrades!"

Ever since Old Xu saw He Ping'an's ability to do business without capital last time in the north, he had this idea in mind. And his suggestion has been approved by their director.

"That's no problem. After all, they are my comrades. I will help them if I can! But I have to wait until I have arranged for Lou Bancheng!" He Ping'an accepted Old Xu's request without thinking. As he said, although he didn't want to have too much contact with the intelligence department, he couldn't remain indifferent to his comrades.

"Thank you, Director He! Speaking of Lou Bancheng, I have a piece of information about him. I wonder if Director He is interested?" After completing the extra task, Lao Xu began to get into the role and became concerned about this trip to the south.

"Lou Bancheng, what other intelligence does he have besides those secret lines? You're not talking about the batch of gold that Jiang Ming and Tu Feng from Tianjin escorted, are you?" He Pingan thought about the intelligence he had collected about Lou Bancheng over the years. Apart from the gold, there was nothing worth noting.

"You know? Then you...?" In Old Xu's opinion, Lou Bancheng's behavior was clearly a betrayal of He Pingan. He really couldn't understand why He Pingan watched Lou Bancheng smuggle gold.

"Why did I let Lou Bancheng take the gold away, and why did I still use him even though I knew he was playing tricks on me?" Looking at Old Xu who looked stunned, He Pingan said calmly without waiting for Old Xu to answer:

"Old Xu, this is not intelligence work. Intelligence personnel need to be absolutely loyal to ensure the accuracy of intelligence. In business, profit is all that matters. As long as Lou Bancheng can meet my requirements, it is understandable that he has some calculations of his own!"

"However, the necessary warnings must be given, lest he become ignorant of the immensity of the world and cause a disaster. If the time comes, I will have to make a trip to replace him. Originally, I was planning to just give him a warning, but since you, Old Xu, have already provided the information, it's his bad luck!" After saying that, He Ping'an got up and went to the Lou family's box and called Lou Bancheng over.

"Mr. Lou asked you to come here for no other reason than to have some 'good news' to tell you: the batch of gold you asked Jiang Ming and Tu Feng to escort has been successfully loaded onto the ship at Tianjin Port and will arrive in Hong Kong and Kowloon soon."

"In addition, in consideration of your service to the country, Old Xu has specially sent his colleagues to escort you along the way. You should know what Old Xu does, and I think his colleagues can definitely guarantee the safety of your gold. How about it, are we quite thoughtful?" He Pingan said with a half-smile after Lou and Xu reminisced about the past.

"Director He, Comrade Xu, I think that the lack of funds for this trip south may affect the mission assigned by the government, so I have specially prepared some backup plans. I hope you can forgive me!"

Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, Lou Bancheng had seen many people like Lao Xu. Therefore, when he first saw Lao Xu, Lou Bancheng had a guess. Especially Lao Xu's series of activities later confirmed his judgment. Lou Bancheng knew how powerful these people were, and knew that he couldn't hide it, so he simply admitted it. But what he said...

"Old Xu, what do you think of my candidate? He is clearly planning to leave the government and settle in Hong Kong and Kowloon if things don't go well. Yet he claims that he is serving the country! Lou Bancheng, you are so cruel that you don't even want your son in Beijing!" He Pingan looked at the 'righteous' Lou Bancheng and joked with Old Xu beside him.

"In terms of shamelessness and cruelty, apart from those Japanese and puppet traitors, no one can match Mr. Lou!" Old Xu also joked.

"Director He, Comrade Xu, I..."

"Businessmen believe that they should not put all their eggs in one basket, and they avoid risks. I can understand that. But Lou Bancheng, you'd better understand your own identity and don't put the cart before the horse. Otherwise, even if I can let you go, the national law will not let you go. You also know Lao Xu's identity. Not to mention Hong Kong and Kowloon, he can find you even if you run to the ends of the earth! Take care of yourself..."

"Yes, yes... Don't worry, I will do my best to serve the country in the future." Lou Bancheng wiped the sweat from his forehead, not daring to quibble, and nodded repeatedly.

"By the way, Lao Xu's colleagues can't work in vain. I'll make the decision. You can keep half of the gold on the ship, and the remaining half will be used as their labor fee. Do you two have any objections?"

"No comment!"

"Since Mr. Lou is so polite, I'd be honored to refuse! However, I can't take your gold for nothing. As the old saying goes, 'Do good things to the end, and send Buddha to the west.' How about this: after arriving in Hong Kong and Kowloon, I will let my colleagues continue to be responsible for the safety of the gold until you are completely settled. What do you think, is that okay?" During the war years, Old Xu had encountered too many people and things like this, and he was very familiar with making arrangements.

Lou Bancheng knew what Old Xu meant by "protection" but actually detention. He wanted to object, but looking at the two smiling faces in front of him, he shuddered for no reason and agreed to Old Xu's suggestion with hesitation.