Siheyuan: I am a trader in both worlds!

"These are He Yuzhu, Yi Zhonghai, and Liu Haizhong?! No, why are they dressed like that?! Look at He Yuzhu's fierce face, they're clearly thugs and bandits!"

"And then there's Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong. One's a high-ranking Kuomintang officer, a general at that. And the other, wow, he's become a Japanese colonel! Even Qin Huairu is wearing one."

Looking at the outrageous photos Bai Ling had slapped on the table, Hao Pingchuan realized something was wrong halfway through his conversation.

"This isn't right! I've dealt with the Kuomintang before, and they don't have any special women's military uniforms. And this one is so fancy, even with little collars. This can't be right, can this photo be fake?"

Yes, it's completely different from the situation in various so-called war dramas and spy dramas where female officers of the Kuomintang almost always wear eye-catching female military uniforms.

In reality, whether in later generations or in the world of Beijing, the Kuomintang of that era never designed or issued even a single set of women's military uniforms specifically for female officers.

So the idea that someone is always dressed in a full American military uniform or a short jacket-style military uniform simply doesn't exist; it's pure nonsense!
"The only difference between their men's and women's uniforms is the size; men wear the larger size, and women wear the smaller size. There are practically no women in the army, but they do have all sorts of concubines—they really do keep quite a few. That's completely untrue; how could that be real?"

Seeing that Hao Pingchuan spoke with such confidence and knowledge, Bai Ling asked curiously.

"Where did you get such accurate information? What, did you see it with your own eyes?"

"of course!"

He was speaking with absolute certainty when he noticed that not only Bai Ling, but even Lao Luo had become interested, looking incredibly gossipy.

Hao Pingchuan was embarrassed.

He immediately shut his mouth, blinked his eyes, and tried to get away with it as quickly as possible.

However, this little trick was definitely not enough against two professionals who were clearly more skilled than him.

In addition, both Lao Luo and Bai Ling held higher official positions than him.

He couldn't afford to offend either of them.

In the end, Hao Pingchuan couldn't withstand the pressure from both Bai Ling and Lao Luo and explained why he knew so much about it.

In short, during the cooperation period, when the two sides organized exchanges, he personally saw a so-called female officer from the other side.

Because he rarely saw women in the front-line troops, he couldn't help but take a few more glances.

"And then, that was it."

"That's it? Seriously, is that all?"

"What else did you think? Wait, you don't actually think I could have something going on with her, do you? Are you kidding me! Even if I, Lao Hao, am not the smartest, I would never get involved with someone who is obviously abnormal, most likely a spy, someone who came to spy on us! Are you kidding me? I'm not stupid!"

That's really how it is.

Although it was a period of cooperation, everyone knew that the bald man's side was very unwilling and lacked sincerity.

Baldy, on the other hand, always regarded them as a thorn in his side and harbored a wicked desire to get rid of them as soon as possible.

The various overt and covert attacks and suppressions have never stopped!

The infamous Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (Zhongtong) and Military Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (Juntong) were known for using female agents they trained to carry out secret missions such as intelligence gathering and assassinating important enemy figures.

In this situation, anyone who isn't an idiot would have run far away long ago.

Do you want to have a deeper conversation with them?
"I'm just stupid, not dumb! How could that be?!"

Of course, another very important reason is that at that time, Hao Pingchuan was still a green recruit who had just joined the army.

Even if someone really has some unspeakable secret, they wouldn't go looking for him.

So, it really was just a few extra glances, a few extra glances while on guard duty, and then nothing more.

Bai Ling and Lao Luo, seeing that all that fuss turned out to be just this, immediately lost interest in gossip.

After all, there's nothing there, so what's the point of gossiping?
Therefore, we did not dwell on this topic any further.

Following up on the question Hao Pingchuan had just raised, Bai Ling continued.

"The photos might be fake, but this story is absolutely true!"

At this point, Bai Ling immediately spoke to Lao Luo, who was standing to the side.

"Old Luo, notify the authorities in Beijing and have them thoroughly investigate whether we publicly tried a traitor named Zhao Er when we first entered the city. Also, do you know if he had two sworn brothers named Fu Hai and Liu Fangzi? And is the owner of Qinfangju restaurant named Yan Zhensheng?"

Because Bai Ling spoke so solemnly, Lao Luo didn't hesitate and immediately notified the authorities in Beijing, instructing them to investigate immediately.

Then, in no time at all.
"The results are in. When we entered the city back then, we did indeed publicly try a major traitor named Zhao Er, who was a minor leader in the Japanese detective team at the time. During the Anti-Japanese War, he was a wicked and evil man who harmed many villagers and did countless heinous things for the Japanese!"

"That Fuhai and Liu Fangzi are indeed his sworn brothers, and the owner of Qinfangju is indeed named Yan Zhensheng. It is said that he is currently arguing with the comrades of the street office over his two wives. It has caused a lot of gossip among the neighbors and has a very bad influence."

As expected, this plot is exactly what Sesame Alley has been all about for my entire life.

He first sighed and said something.
"Sure enough, this is definitely a melting pot of movies and TV shows."

Then, turning to Hao Pingchuan, who was also gradually coming to his senses, Bai Ling asked him.

"Now, do you still think this thing is fake?"

It's no exaggeration to say that Hao Pingchuan was so shocked that he was completely dumbfounded, and it took him a long time to recover.

Realizing that He Yuzhu, Yi Zhonghai, and Liu Haizhong, even if they weren't the people in the photo, must have some connection to them, and might even be related to them in various ways.

Hao Pingchuan couldn't wait even a moment longer. "What are we waiting for?! Better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free! Regardless of the truth, get the person under control first, then begin interrogation immediately!"

"Let me remind you, they know quite a bit about Brother Lang! The smarter ones might have already discovered a lot of clues from spending so much time together! Even if they can't guess all of Brother Lang's secrets, they can definitely see that Brother Lang is very important, unless they're blind!"

"Brother Lang's safety is paramount! Therefore, I suggest that we immediately arrest all the people in the courtyard! Everyone, without exception, be taken into custody and begin screening them immediately!"

"Even if the investigation ultimately proves their innocence and confirms their complete culpability, I still don't recommend allowing them to have any further substantial contact with Ah Lang. It would be best to have them all leave Beijing immediately."

"We still can't let our guard down! To prevent them from leaking information, we must keep a close watch on them until all of this is no longer a secret."

Until all of this is no longer a secret?

"Wouldn't that mean locking them up for life? Have you considered that they're just ordinary people with limited resilience? Even we professionals might not be able to handle this! Them? What's the difference between this and killing them outright? Even killing them outright would be far more merciful than what you're doing!"

"If they've really done something heinous, then so be it. But what if they haven't? Or what if they're just distant relatives? Is it fair that they have to be monitored like prisoners for the rest of their lives just because of one possibility?"

Hao Pingchuan knew, of course, that this was extremely unfair to them.

In fact, making this decision was incredibly difficult for him.

"But this isn't about fairness, and now isn't the time to think about those things! Brother Lang's safety is the most important thing. This is something you and Lao Luo both agree on! And now you're saying this again... you..."

This is something that Lao Luo finds very puzzling.

He was clearly prepared to take the blame, to shoulder all the pressure and mistakes, and to completely absolve Bai Ling of any responsibility.

Moreover, Bai Ling is not a particularly indecisive person.

Especially since this matter involves Ximen Lang, given her personality, she shouldn't object.

But the result was that Bai Ling clearly disagreed.

Why is that?
Thinking of a certain possibility, Lao Luo asked.

"Is it because Ah Lang doesn't want us to take any drastic actions?"

Seeing that Lao Luo had finally realized the problem, Bai Ling affirmed.

"It's not just that they don't want it, it's that they resolutely oppose it! They even only allow us to conduct a secret investigation, and we must not disturb their normal lives until we have solid evidence!"

"So adamant? No, didn't you explain the seriousness of the problem to him?"

"Of course I said that! But you know Ah Lang, his kindness is written in his bones! Not to mention that he has already built a deep relationship with everyone in the courtyard, even if he hadn't, even if it was just an ordinary person, he wouldn't want to, and wouldn't, do anything to them just because they might be a threat to him."

“Even Fan Jinyou, who deserved to die and was so enraged he was about to explode, was so dejected for a long time after he was executed. If he were to agree to go after everyone in the courtyard, that would be a miracle! Even the secret investigation was something I had to persuade him to do after a long time.”

"Want to take more measures? Let me tell you, it's absolutely impossible! If you dare to do anything rash without evidence, he will definitely make your life miserable."

This is also something that gives Bai Ling a huge headache.

But it's also one of the things she likes most about Simon Lang.

After all, if he were truly a ruthless person who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals, Bai Ling would never have been moved by him and fallen deeply in love with him.

so.
"It's alright. Of course, it's a little troublesome, but only a little troublesome, nothing serious. So, let's leave it at that. Let's not discuss this issue any further."

Of course, the reason why Bai Ling agreed to Ximen Lang's somewhat absurd requests was that she didn't really believe that the people in the courtyard were truly evil villains.

They're just a group of ordinary citizens, so there's not much need for them to do this.

Having said that, he settled the matter directly in an unyielding tone.

The firm stance forced Lao Luo to reconsider, and he nodded in agreement, promising to make sure his subordinates were extremely careful and would not disturb the normal lives of the people in the courtyard.

And as soon as there is any progress, they will immediately notify Bai Ling and the others, and will never act rashly.

Finally, he received Bai Ling's approval.

Then, he simply dumped all sorts of random TV series and movies that were likely to get mixed in with Luo Yonghao's content, leaving him to figure it out himself.

Then, solemnly, he pulled out a ticket that read "Project Eagle," an action-comedy film directed by and starring Jackie Chen.

Bai Ling's eyes lit up.

"I won't go into the specifics of the movie, it's just an action comedy, nothing particularly noteworthy. But the treasure it mentions, that treasure somewhere in the Sahara Desert containing at least 240 tons of gold—bring it back! You absolutely have to bring it back for me!"

At first, Lao Luo didn't pay much attention.

Especially when Bai Ling mentioned that it was just an action comedy, Lao Luo didn't take it seriously at all.

But when he heard that the treasure contained so much gold...

Luo was completely stunned.

Then, incredulously, they quickly sought confirmation.

"No, how much did you just say?! At least 240 tons of gold?! No, do you even know what 240 tons of gold means?! Our national treasury only has a total reserve of 156 tons of gold! And yet an action comedy movie starts off with at least 240 tons of gold, more than the gold reserves of an entire country as large as ours! Does that make sense?"

Bai Ling knew, of course, that this thing was indeed outrageous. Even if this gold was related to that man who swept across Europe and became himself again, it was still extremely outrageous.

If they really had that much gold at the end of World War II, given his personality, he would have gone all in long ago. How could he have kept it until now?
And even if it had survived until now, it wouldn't be hidden in a place as far away as the Sahara Desert!
"But you're trying to reason with a comedy? Am I the one who's sick, or are you? And all that gold, just say it! Do you want it or not?" (End of Chapter)