Holding the original shares, they fought all the way to the Korean War!

The procession walked for another quarter of an hour.

The road ahead widened and became smooth.

Large areas of factories and warehouses began to appear on both sides.

Occasionally, you can see a few people in work clothes riding bicycles past on the road.

Zhou Tianyang stopped and glanced at the faint outline of the city ahead.

Shanghai is much larger than Nanjing.

"Ma Yong".

Zhou Tianyang turned his head to the side, his voice low.

"Let the brothers disperse and go into the city separately, and agree on a place to meet."

Ma Yong nodded and turned to make the arrangements.

The thirty soldiers quickly dispersed into seven or eight groups.

Some walked in groups of three, while others walked in pairs, alternating between them, towards the city center.

Zhou Tianyang and Liu Ping walked at the very back.

The two walked side by side through a brick archway.

The road surface underfoot changed from dirt to stone slabs, and from stone slabs to asphalt.

The shops on both sides of the road have also started to become more densely packed.

Even after Shanghai became an occupied territory, it maintained a semblance of prosperity.

Zhou Tianyang noticed that there weren't many pedestrians on the street.

Occasionally, a few Japanese men in suits would walk by on the street.

As he passed by, the locals would instinctively step aside to make way for him.

Zhou Tianyang stopped at the entrance of an alley, turned his head and said something to Liu Ping.

"Where should we meet?"

Liu Ping's gaze swept across the signs across the street, as if trying to identify something.

Then he raised his hand and pointed to a three-story building that looked rather inconspicuous in the distance.

"There's a Rongji Grocery Store over there."

Zhou Tianyang followed his gaze and glanced at the shop. There weren't many people going in or out of the door.

The two crossed the street and entered the shop.

Behind the counter sat a woman in her fifties, head down, calculating accounts.

Hearing footsteps, he looked up and glanced at them.

"What would you two like to buy?"

Her tone was flat, with the casualness that only someone who does business with regular customers would have.

Liu Ping walked to the counter and spoke slowly and deliberately.

"Boss lady, do you have soy sauce?"

"Yes, how much do you want?"

"Give me a pound."

The woman stood up, took a ceramic pot from the shelf, and then placed an empty bowl on the scale.

As she ladled soy sauce into the bowl, she casually asked a question.

"Judging from your accent, you don't sound like a local. Where are you from?"

"From Nanjing."

Liu Ping's answer was very natural.

"I was trying to find a relative, but I couldn't."

The woman paused for a moment, then put down the scale, glanced at Liu Ping, and her gaze held something indescribable.

She was silent for two or three seconds before speaking, her voice a few decibels lower than before.

"What kind of relatives?"

Liu Ping's gaze met hers.

"I heard that the man surnamed Liu does business in this area."

The woman did not respond immediately.

She stared at Liu Ping for several seconds, as if trying to confirm something.

Then he nodded slightly and put down the soy sauce jar.

"Wait here, I'll go check behind."

After saying that, she turned and walked towards the back door of the shop, her footsteps disappearing behind the door.

Liu Ping stood in front of the counter, his gaze sweeping over the items on the shelves.

Zhou Tianyang stood near the entrance, seemingly casually watching the passersby outside.

Less than fifteen minutes later, the small door was pushed open again.

The woman came out, followed by an elderly man in his sixties.

The old man walked up to Liu Ping and looked him up and down for a few seconds.

Then he spoke, his voice not loud, but very steady.

"Are you from Nanjing?"

Liu Ping nodded.

In what year was the Nanjing city wall built?

During the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty.

The old man nodded, turned his gaze to Zhou Tianyang, looked at him for a moment, and then stepped aside to clear the doorway.

"Come in and talk."

The three of them went through the small door and into a small backyard.

The old man walked to the stone table and sat down, gesturing for the two men to sit as well.

He skipped the pleasantries and went straight to the point.

"Was the journey smooth?"

Liu Ping replied:

"Overall, everything went smoothly. We encountered a few issues along the way, but they were all resolved."

The old man turned his gaze to Zhou Tianyang, scrutinized him for a few seconds, and then asked:

Which part are you in?

Zhou Tianyang did not hide anything.

"Zhou Tianyang, New Second Regiment, 386th Brigade."

The old man's eyebrows twitched slightly, as if he remembered the name, but he didn't say anything more.

He stood up, walked to the stone vat in the corner, and stood there for a while, as if he was thinking about something.

Then he turned back around, his tone becoming more formal than before.

"Now that you're in Shanghai, proceed according to procedure."

"Settle down here with us first, and a comrade will contact you."

"Just tell me what supplies or manpower you need."

Liu Ping nodded.

"it is good."

The old man then looked at Zhou Tianyang.

"How many days are you going to stay in Shanghai?"

Zhou Tianyang replied:

"After settling Comrade Liu Ping in and confirming his safety, I'll head back."

"There are still things waiting for us at the military base."

The old man nodded and left.

That night, they were arranged to spend the night in an inconspicuous room in the back alley of Rongji Grocery Store.

The night is already deep.

Zhou Tianyang lay on the wooden bed with his eyes closed, but he was not asleep.

This is a habit he has developed over many years.

When I arrive in a strange place, I never sleep very soundly on the first night.

The ears are always alert to external noises.

Even the sound of a single leaf being blown by the wind in the yard could instantly snap him out of his daze.

Suddenly, a very light footstep sound came from outside the window.

The footsteps stopped at the doorway, paused for a moment, and then someone gently tapped the door twice with their fingers.

The sound was very soft, as if afraid of disturbing something.

Zhou Tianyang opened his eyes in the darkness.

He didn't get up or make a sound; he just listened quietly to the sounds outside the door.

The knocking stopped for about three or four seconds, then started again twice, with the same rhythm as before.

"Commander Zhou, it's me."

Liu Ping's voice came from outside the door, very low.

Zhou Tianyang then sat up, walked to the door, and opened the wooden door.

Liu Ping slipped in sideways, gently closed the door behind him, and then leaned against the doorframe.

"Comrade Liu Ping, are you still awake so late?"

Zhou Tianyang sat back down on the edge of the bed, his gaze sweeping over Liu Ping in the dim light.

Liu Ping sat down on the low stool opposite him and remained silent for a few seconds, as if organizing his thoughts.

He is usually very tactful in his speech and actions, and rarely shows any hesitation.

"Commander Zhou, there's something I'd like to discuss with you."

Zhou Tianyang didn't urge him, but just waited quietly.

Liu Ping's voice wasn't loud, but he spoke each word clearly.

"The task assigned to me by the organization was not just to report to Shanghai."

"There's a more specific arrangement that I can only begin to make after I arrive."

He paused, as if to make sure Zhou Tianyang was listening attentively, and then continued:

"I need to rebuild an independent intelligence network."

Zhou Tianyang's gaze shifted slightly, but he did not interrupt him.

"The organization in Shanghai has been shut down for nearly two months since the Special Committee Secretary was killed."

Liu Ping's tone became even calmer than before.

It's as if you're telling a story that you've thought about carefully before deciding to tell it.