Courtyard Houses: The Great Masters of a Nation Hidden Within

One of the responsibilities of the Internal Security Department is to maintain factory secrecy and catch spies.

The two comrades on duty were also members of the militia.

After hearing what Liu Haizhong said, they felt like their ears and brains were completely messed up, and they almost kicked him.

Gao Jianguo? A spy? Saying that Director Yang is... ptooey, ptooey, ptooey, we'd both believe you if you said you were a spy, but Section Chief Gao? What kind of joke is that?

Secrecy is no child's play, and anything related to espionage cannot be taken lightly. These two comrades put aside their personal opinions for the time being and questioned Liu Haizhong carefully, taking detailed notes.

Liu Haizhong rambled on for almost twenty minutes, revealing all the doubts he had in mind.

It was said that a woman of unknown origin was coming and going from Gao Jianguo's house, and she always brought a bunch of things that were sealed tightly.

He also said that he often sneaked around alone after get off work when it got dark, and when he secretly followed him, he was kicked and had his leg broken.

He also said that he had a room in his house that was so well hidden that no one in the neighborhood could peek inside.

The most compelling evidence is the constant beeping noise coming from that dark room lately—isn't that obviously someone sending and receiving telegrams?!

Especially today, his house is beeping again. I have to hurry up and catch him red-handed and get the stolen goods.

The two comrades from the Internal Security Section listened to his detailed and convincing account and began to have doubts. Was Section Chief Gao a spy? They absolutely refused to believe it.

But if what he said is true, then it seems we can't just ignore it.

The two comrades looked at Liu Haizhong and made a decision—to report it to their superiors.

Just because this worker broke his leg, and considering that someone like Gao Jianguo is involved, it's not something the two of them can make decisions about.

Director Zhang from the Security Department isn't at the factory. The factory leader on duty tonight is Deputy Director Li, who is in charge of security. I'll report to him.

Deputy Factory Director Li looked at the two people who came to report, feeling unsure whether to laugh or cry.

If he really thought Gao Jianguo was a problem, he would have slipped away faster than anyone else and would never have gone any closer.

But Deputy Factory Director Li knew perfectly well what level those things Gao Jianguo produced were at. No matter where you were, if you had someone like that, you would definitely be forced to work yourself to death on the research line, wishing he could be welded to research 24 hours a day.

Using this kind of person as a spy, and bringing over results of this caliber as bait to fish for prey? What a load of bull! If the enemy were that stupid, the world would have been a unified whole long ago.

Using bait to create a feeding area is fine, but who throws a person into the water to bait the area while fishing? I've never seen that.

This isn't about whether we can catch fish or not; it's about treating fish like royalty.

Even if we take a step back and consider Gao Jianguo personally, Deputy Factory Director Li couldn't figure out why he would become a spy. Putting aside other factors, the number of enemies who died at his hands was too numerous to list.

If you consider all aspects together, the possibility that Gao Jianguo is involved with spies is zero.

In Deputy Factory Director Li's view, all the things Liu Haizhong was saying were a bit far-fetched. Let's not even talk about the distant ones, just take Liu Fatty's leg for example.

Given Gao Jianguo's situation, if you were to tail him in the dark, he'd pull out a gun and shoot you dead. Those who knew him well might even applaud and cheer, saying, "Comrade Gao Jianguo has never let his guard down in his fight against the enemy; he's fantastic!"

If they only broke one of your legs, consider yourself very lucky. Back then, Gao Jianguo hadn't even been equipped with a gun yet.

However, it wouldn't do for Comrade Jianguo to believe Liu Haizhong's words so easily and not report to the factory that he was being watched. He would definitely be criticized and given a warning. It's good to unite the masses, but we can't let the bad guys get away with it.

That's what they say, but since Liu Haizhong has already come, this matter can't just be quietly forgotten. The matter still needs to be handled, both to protect himself and his unit, and ultimately, to protect Gao Jianguo.

Deputy Factory Director Li made the decision—to call for help.

On the leadership duty roster, Director Chen is also on duty tonight; after all, he's the one who knows Gao Jianguo's background best.

Liu Haizhong was urging him so urgently, and even said that it was in progress. He figured that a short pain was better than a long one, so he told Liu Haizhong to wait while he went to find Director Chen and they would go together to see what was going on.

When Deputy Factory Director Li met with Director Chen, Director Chen was beaming as he watched the ESR research and testing progress. The progress written on his face was very encouraging.

Upon seeing Deputy Factory Director Li, Director Chen was quite enthusiastic. This man had truly put in a tremendous amount of effort in his position as Deputy Chief Commander of ESR: "Factory Director Li, what brings you here? Did you come to gather information and hope to hear some good news?"

Deputy Factory Director Li chuckled and said, "With you here keeping things under control, good news keeps pouring in. Do I need to ask around?"

After speaking, he looked around and gave Director Chen a look.

Director Chen had a plan in mind. The two went outside, and Deputy Factory Director Li briefly explained to Director Chen the matter that Liu Haizhong had reported.

After hearing this, Director Chen didn't even bother to get angry. He pointed to his head and asked, "Is there something wrong with Mr. Liu? It's perfectly normal for his room to be beep. He's still working even after he's off duty."

After speaking, he looked up and glanced at the ESR control system cabinet next to him, which was flashing various indicator lights and beeping alarms every now and then.

Following his gaze, Deputy Factory Director Li glanced at the server rack and immediately understood. He chuckled, "Haha, you think so too? But he's already submitted the report, so it wouldn't be right not to investigate according to the rules."

Director Chen chuckled: "To people like Gao Jianguo, the most destructive thing to our social development isn't being a spy, it's that he collects a tenth-level technician's salary, does nothing, and coasts to retirement. If he really were a spy, haha, no matter where he came from, I'd take as many as he could."

Deputy Factory Director Li was also amused by Director Chen's tone: "Hey, Old Chen, I didn't know you were so good at making jokes, but we still have to go through the motions."

Director Chen nodded: "That's true. It would be bad for Gao Jianguo if we didn't go through the motions."

Deputy Factory Director Li made his intentions clear: "Then why don't we just call Liu Haizhong, and send two people from the Internal Security Department, and just get through this formality? Let's skip all that secret investigation stuff, it's a waste of time and manpower. We'll just shut it down right where it started."

Director Chen pondered for a moment and thought, "This approach is good. It's straightforward, clear-cut, and it addresses the problem at its root."

Liu Haizhong was blaming Gao Jianguo for doing something bad, so he just went to his house to take a look and that was it. A fake thing can't become real.

Such a large transmitter can never be blocked. In this day and age, long-distance telegraph transmission can be done by the machine itself, but the antenna is difficult to set up and take down as needed.

As for what to do if Gao Jianguo really was a spy, Old Chen never even considered that possibility.

And so, Deputy Factory Director Li and Director Chen went to the Internal Security Department together, called Liu Haizhong, and selected two other comrades from the Internal Security Department, and headed to Gao Jianguo's house.

Judging from this display of force, it's clear that Deputy Factory Director Li and Director Chen never took the idea that Gao Jianguo was a spy seriously. Otherwise, Gao Jianguo was armed, so why would he only be calling out to a handful of people?