Chapter 2445: Reunion of Old Friends

Ever since receiving his master's orders, Chen Yin had been searching throughout Guangzhou for Chen Ding these past several days.

Thinking calmly, if Chen Ding really had come to Guangzhou, whether for public or private reasons, he would visit relatives and friends. Even if he was urgently seeking an Australian connection, he should first come to their own household. There was no reason he would hide himself away.

Either he simply hadn't come to Guangzhou, or he was hiding for some reason.

The question was: why would he hide?

Though Chen Ding and Chen Xuan had conflicts, they were after all blood brothers—it wasn't a life-or-death feud. According to what Chen Qing had said, there was no irreconcilable conflict between the two. It seemed unlikely that Chen Xuan would send people to hunt him down.

Chen Yin felt that Chen Ding coming to Guangzhou was purely Chen Lin's speculation. But orders were orders, so he could only wander the streets of Guangzhou day after day.

On this particular day, however, he happened to encounter an old acquaintance on the street—a former runner from Nanhai County's quick squad named Zhao Xian. After the Senate entered the city, Zhao Xian had been retained in the Investigation Squad due to "positive performance." After more than half a year, when the police department conducted its first comprehensive purge of retained personnel—dismissing the poor performers and keeping the good—Zhao Xian was transferred to become a regular police officer due to his "good performance," serving as a patrol officer in the Public Order Division.

For someone like him, an experienced runner from the old quick squad, as long as there was no blood-feud public resentment against him, the new National Police naturally had use for his skills. After becoming a regular officer, Zhao Xian honestly served as a patrol officer in the Public Order Division for over half a year before being promoted from the uniformed section to the plainclothes section. His rank was also raised one grade.

After transferring to plainclothes, he no longer needed to wear a uniform to work. Instead, he moved through the streets in civilian clothes. His work content also shifted to minor crime prevention—mainly anti-pickpocketing, anti-street-fraud, and similar petty cases. These could only be suppressed through patrol presence; they couldn't be effectively cracked down upon.

For Zhao Xian, this was practically his old profession, and the new position suited him like a fish to water. He quickly became a capable man in the Public Order Division.

Chen Yin had had some dealings with Zhao Xian in the past. After the Australians entered the city, with so many complicated matters unfolding, the two hadn't seen each other for quite some time. Meeting now, they were quite warm toward each other. Chen Yin wanted to find a place to have tea and catch up.

"That won't do." Zhao Xian shook his head. "I'm not off work yet. If anyone from the bureau sees me, this month's performance review will be ruined."

Chen Yin knew that ever since the Australians came, these former runners had all been disciplined into obedience, each one cautious and careful, afraid of making mistakes.

"Another day then?"

"Why pick another day when we've already run into each other?" Zhao Xian shook his head. "We haven't seen each other in so long. Besides, I'll be even busier in a few days—probably with continuous overtime. How about this: I'll be off in about half an hour. Go to the usual place, and I'll come over after work."

The "usual place" he mentioned was a small teahouse called Yuchunhe. This was also where Zhao Xian used to conduct business in the past. Someone like him, a proper quick squad runner, would always have a base. Anyone wanting to ask him to handle something would go there to find him. Even if he wasn't there, the tea attendant would pass on messages.

Now Zhao Xian no longer had such prestige, but his old habit of enjoying tea and meeting people there hadn't changed.

Chen Yin arrived at Yuchunhe—though he didn't come here often, the tea attendant still remembered he was Zhao Xian's friend and immediately came to attend to him.

"Today I'm having tea with Brother Zhao. Start brewing now."

"Our shop has newly arrived Qiongzhou Limu Mountain oolong..."

"Brew a pot." Chen Yin instructed. "And prepare in advance any dim sum Brother Zhao likes..."

Though he hadn't dealt with Zhao Xian in a long time, Chen Yin knew Zhao Xian's recent situation quite clearly. Today's encounter was coincidental, but catching-up tea had to be drunk. Setting aside past friendship, he might be able to glean some useful information from Zhao Xian.

Indeed, about half an hour later, Zhao Xian arrived. He had already changed into casual clothes, and even the grime on his face was gone.

Chen Yin knew that whether it was the clothes, the grime, or the kept queue hairstyle, they were all disguises for when he was working. They exchanged a few pleasantries, then called the waiter to bring tea and dim sum. The two chatted over tea. Talking about their experiences these past two years, Zhao Xian was quite emotional:

"Truly like having exchanged for a different world!"

"Who can say otherwise! In the past, our master most often said that no matter how heaven and earth turned upside down outside, as long as the realm was peaceful, we'd close our doors and live our own lives—now he's eagerly hoping to connect with the Australians to start a factory."

"Heard he's going to start a cotton spinning factory?"

Chen Yin gave a thumbs up: "Brother, you really are Guangzhou's know-it-all!"

"How am I a know-it-all?" Zhao Xian chuckled. "Your master's bidding was in this morning's newspaper—we have it at the office. Speaking of which, your master is really wealthy! Playing with tens of thousands of dollars like it's nothing!"

Chen Yin laughed a few times. Under Ming rule, Zhao Xian saying this would have contained hints of shaking him down—your master had better be sensible. But now Zhao Xian didn't have that kind of nerve. Not only was his master now a Federation member who could speak directly with the Australians, but even if he were an ordinary citizen, a two-finger-wide slip of paper sent to the National Police Guangzhou Headquarters would be enough to make Zhao Xian suffer—for retained personnel like him, any complaints or reports were treated as guilty until proven innocent.

"This time our master is prepared to stake everything to make something happen," Chen Yin said. "The master is a clever man. I don't really understand what he says, but following the Australians to make money is the idea."

"It's good to have money." Zhao Xian murmured, his expression rather complex. Suddenly he remembered something: "But I don't understand—your master has always been in the dried fruit business. Why did he think of doing cotton spinning? That's completely unrelated, isn't it?"

"Hehe, where would we servants dare guess what the master is thinking..." Chen Yin said. "But the master's maternal nephew is from a family of mulberry silk weavers."

"I see." Zhao Xian nodded. "Whether it's silk or cotton, it still needs spinning."

Chen Yin thought the difference was huge! But this was a good opportunity, so he took advantage: "Originally, our Chen family in Xiangshan all did silk weaving. I have a clan uncle who's also a skilled hand. The master originally wanted to rely on him..." He then explained the whole story of searching for Chen Ding. "I've searched the city for several days with nothing to show. I don't know why they insist he came to Guangzhou!"

Zhao Xian ate a rice flour cake, understanding Chen Yin's meaning. He wanted Zhao Xian's help. This help was naturally worth giving—not for a few thank-you coins, but because it could earn goodwill from Master Wu. He now vaguely understood: under Australian rule, scholars were out of luck, but those in industry and commerce were in luck. Due to his background, his own future in the new police system was limited. He could only hope his children would prosper in the future—and that would require patronage from influential people.

Helping find someone wasn't difficult and carried no pressure—whether found or not didn't matter. Looking at it closely, there was no disciplinary violation either. It was a steady, risk-free favor. He immediately patted his chest and declared this was on him:

"This is easy. Nowadays, outsiders staying at inns have to register. Those staying with relatives and friends also need to report temporary residence. One inquiry will tell."

With Zhao Xian willing to help, Chen Yin was very pleased. He also hinted at a generous reward upon success, but Zhao Xian played dumb, completely ignoring his words. This surprised Chen Yin: Since ancient times, dogs can't change from eating shit, but the Australians come and he's reformed!

Since money wasn't needed, he'd just have to butter him up with words.

"Brother Zhao said you'd be very busy soon. May I ask what you'll be busy with?" Chen Yin asked while pouring him tea.

"In a few days, Australian troops will be returning in succession," Zhao Xian said casually. "I heard some are going back to Hainan, some will be stationed in various places. The bureau has issued orders saying the troops are returning from their campaign to rest in Guangzhou for a while. We need to maintain street order and avoid conflicts."

"Aren't the Australians strictest about military discipline?"

"That's true," Zhao Xian sighed, "but these are all men coming down from the battlefield. They've suffered greatly, endured much, and probably lost quite a few brothers. Coming back to see Guangzhou's pleasure-seeking world, with everyone singing, dancing, eating, and drinking—wouldn't you be upset?"

"Upset perhaps not, but there'd definitely be some discomfort."

"So you see—there's no guarantee a spark won't set off a firecracker."

"If there's actually a military mutiny, that would be terrible!" Chen Yin was somewhat alarmed. He hadn't witnessed one himself, but had heard many who'd been up north describe them.

"The chiefs want us to be prepared," Zhao Xian said. "They want us to warn all the shops—tell them not to get into conflicts if anything happens, but to report to police quickly. We police will also be deployed to all locations throughout the city, especially commercial districts. I heard they're even bringing in riot police from the garrison battalion... And with all this, we still have to keep watching the wealthy families. It's like wanting one person to become three!"

"This is really too much trouble. If you're worried about soldiers causing trouble, just don't let them into the city—why go through all this effort!" Chen Yin commented.

"You don't understand," Zhao Xian shook his head. "The soldiers have been fighting outside for almost two years, taking two provinces' worth of territory. Meritorious and hard-working. Now they're returning from the campaign for rest and recovery—not letting them eat, drink, and enjoy themselves in this pleasure city—wouldn't that breed resentment? These soldiers all have pent-up frustration! Just yesterday, National Army soldiers from Wuzhou returning to rest got into a disturbance over some trivial matter. Besides breaking a lot of things, they injured several people. There was even one outsider beaten unconscious—they don't even know who he is!"

Zhao Xian suddenly remembered something: "By the way, that Chen Ding you're looking for—roughly how old is he? What does he look like? Any distinctive features?"

"Oh, he's about thirty-five or thirty-six. Hasn't shaved his head. Not much of a beard. There's a black mole at the end of his left eyebrow..."

(End of Chapter)