If you had to choose an identity to go undercover, you'd choose a gynecologist.

Aunt Gui's disappearance left Minglou and Mingcheng feeling uneasy.

"Aunt Gui is a potential problem. She knows a lot about the Ming family, and I always feel that something is going to happen," Mingcheng said.

Minglou waved his hand: "Then let's prepare contingency plans first. Have all the penicillin production equipment from the Shanghai factory been moved?"

"Most of them have already been relocated and replaced with the original equipment used to produce sulfonamides. The core workers and technicians of the factories have been sent to Hong Kong in batches. Most of the workers in the Shanghai factories are also new. There is still a batch of penicillin in Warehouse No. 9 at Wusong Wharf, which is ready to be shipped out in the next few days."

"That's good." Minglou breathed a sigh of relief. "The Anhui-Southern Base Area is under double encirclement and suppression by the Japanese and Nationalist armies, making resupply extremely difficult. Let's give them this batch of penicillin. Arrange for Mingtai to go to Anhui-Southern Base Area and don't let him come back. Otherwise, that madman Wang Tianfeng will try to take advantage of him again. Let him take the supply transport route map to the Anhui-Southern Base Area and let the New Fourth Army rob this batch of goods, including the guns and supplies being transported to Chongqing."

Mingcheng opened the map and said, "Water transport is from Shanghai → Hangzhou Bay → Fuchun River → Chun'an → Southern Anhui → Jiangxi → Hunan → Chongqing. This place is quite far from the base in Southern Anhui. They don't have any boats, so it's unrealistic to try to intercept them on the water."

The land transport route was from Shanghai → Nanjing → Bengbu → Shangqiu → Jieshou → Luoyang → Chongqing. Du Yuesheng's Green Gang was responsible for the actual transport cover, while Zhang Lanfeng's puppet army provided security. Zhang Lanfeng's army was not strong in combat, so the New Fourth Army could take action near Bengbu.

Minglou nodded: "Then let's wait for Mingtai to rescue the New Fourth Army soldiers from the labor camp, and have him take the intelligence over there."

Mingcheng frowned slightly: "If this batch of supplies is hijacked, Zhou Fuhai and Chongqing will investigate, and that will cause a lot of trouble."

A ruthless glint flashed in Minglou's eyes: "Then let's find a scapegoat. Gao and Tao have already decided to betray the Wang puppet regime and go to Hong Kong to expose the 'Wang-Japan Secret Agreement.' Isn't Chen Qing thinking of running away? How can we let him leave so easily? He is the deputy director of the General Administration of Customs' Inspection Office. If this batch of goods is handed over to him for signature, and something goes wrong, it will be because he is a communist sympathizer."

Mingcheng nodded: "Okay, I'll take care of it right away."

...............

The next morning, as soon as Chen Qing arrived at his office, Ming Cheng walked in carrying a neatly bound stack of documents.

"Deputy Director Chen, this registration document for goods transit through Shanghai port needs your signature and approval." Mingcheng laid the document flat on the table.

Chen Qing had no interest in these complicated government documents. He didn't even lift his eyelids, grabbed a pen, and scribbled his name without even glancing at the contents of the document.

Mingcheng took back the document, his expression softening slightly, and brought up family matters: "My eldest sister has returned from the United States. She had a smooth journey, and her child was born safely. You might as well go and see the child another day when you have some free time."

Upon hearing this, Chen Qing's eyes lit up instantly: "That's only right, I will certainly prepare a generous gift. By the way, has the child's name been decided? Xing'er just had her one-month celebration, so how about Chen Shu?"

"It's already been chosen; it'll be called Mingyue." Mingcheng's tone was displeased. "Ming family, Mingyue, meaning peace and smooth sailing."

Upon hearing this, Chen Qing's smile vanished instantly, and a clear hint of displeasure flashed in his eyes: "Mingyue? It sounds like a girl's name, not upright enough. In my opinion, how about choosing a different one, like Chen Kun? The earth is receptive, and a gentleman carries the world with virtue, which can also suppress any aura."

Mingcheng's smile suddenly turned cold, his gaze sharp as a blade as he looked directly at Chen Qing, his voice cold and hard: "The child is of the Ming family bloodline, and takes the eldest sister's surname Ming, not Chen. Please remember this, Deputy Director Chen."

Chen Qing was so taken aback by this blunt rebuttal that his face stiffened, his throat bobbed, but he ultimately couldn't utter a rebuttal.

He leaned back in his chair, let out a long sigh, and murmured, "I offered my heart to the bright moon, but the bright moon shone on the gutter..."

Mingcheng ignored his sentiments, picked up the signed document, turned and left, leaving Chen Qing alone in the empty office, staring at the teacup on the table, his expression dark and unreadable.

...............

The dirt roads in northern Anhui are rugged and bumpy, and the cold winter winds whip up sand and dust, making the withered trees along the roadside rustle.

Ma Kui leaned back in the passenger seat of the escort vehicle, chewing on peanuts, his eyes casually scanning the scenery along the way.

Since he lost his erectile function, he has completely lost interest in women and only wants to make money and get promoted.

Behind him, a long convoy of trucks stretched out, consisting of more than a dozen heavy trucks with thick waterproof tarpaulins covering their cargo beds. The heavy load of supplies had slightly dented the tires.

Dozens of heavily armed Green Gang escorts followed on both sides, with Mauser pistols at their waists and Type 24 rifles on their shoulders, fiercely protecting the convoy as it sped toward Shangqiu.

Ma Kui had traveled this road dozens of times. Backed by the Japanese and puppet troops stationed in Bengbu, and also a smuggling route secretly operated by Zhou Fuhai and Chongqing, it had always been peaceful and safe. Even the bandits along the roadside dared not provoke it easily.

Looking at the dense forest that blocked out the sky ahead, he chuckled and didn't take it to heart at all, only urging the driver to step on the gas and pass through the forest.

Suddenly.

"Boom!"

A deafening roar shattered the silence of the wilderness. The chassis of the lead truck was struck by a landmine, flames shot into the sky, and metal fragments, accompanied by thick smoke, exploded into the air. The entire truck was instantly twisted and deformed, lying crookedly across the middle of the road, engulfed in flames.

"Oh no! An ambush! Turn around and retreat!"

Ma Kui was so frightened that he slapped the peanuts out of his hand and roared.

Before the words were finished, hundreds of dark figures suddenly rushed out of the dense forest on both sides of the road. They were all swift and orderly, clearly a well-trained armed force, not ordinary bandits.

Using tree trunks as cover, they opened fire with rifles and submachine guns, a dense hail of bullets raining down on the escort team.

The Green Gang's escort team consisted of only a few dozen people. They usually acted arrogantly and domineeringly because of their power. But when they encountered a real battle, they were in complete chaos, with only sporadic gunfire, and were utterly ineffective.

The firefight lasted only a few minutes. The Green Gang members were either killed or surrendered. Some lay in pools of blood, while others hurriedly dropped their weapons, covered their heads, and squatted on the ground, completely powerless to resist.

Several dark gun barrels were instantly pressed against Ma Kui's head. He froze, no longer daring to move. He could only tremble and raise his hands, crawling out of the car with a dusty face.

"Who are you people! Do you even know whose supplies these are? This involves both Chongqing and Nanjing. If you touch them, you'll be in deep trouble!" Ma Kui roared, trying to intimidate them with his status.

The masked leader coldly rebuked, his tone leaving no room for negotiation: "Enough nonsense! We only want this batch of supplies. Stay put and we'll spare your life. If you try anything funny, we'll shoot you on the spot!"

Ma Kui was pinned to the ground, unable to move, and could only watch helplessly as dozens more donkey carts drove out of the dense forest. Hundreds of strong men quickly lifted the tarpaulins off the trucks and loaded boxes of scarce supplies onto the donkey carts.

These men were well-trained. In less than half an hour, the goods of more than a dozen trucks were looted. The donkey carts loaded with supplies lined up in a column and quickly retreated along the forest path, disappearing into the depths of the forest in the blink of an eye. All that was left were burning trucks, shell casings scattered on the ground, corpses in disarray, and the disarmed Ma Kui and the remnants of the Green Gang.

The wind, carrying the smell of gunpowder and burning, swept across the dirt road. Ma Kui slumped to the ground, staring at the empty convoy, his face ashen. He knew that this time, he had completely committed a terrible disaster.

Ma Kui wasn't stupid. Such well-trained bandits could only be the Southern Anhui Guerrilla Force. He got up and shouted, "Hurry back to Bengbu and send a telegram to Chongqing and Nanjing. Our supplies have been robbed by Fourth Master!"

.....................