Chapter 20: Intelligence from the Party Affairs Office

The military training was still ongoing, but the two-hour nightly lectures were no longer solely Zhang Anping’s domain. Wu Jingzhong, Li Weigong, and Lü Zongfang each took turns teaching, and even some of the earliest veterans from the Secret Service had given lectures.

On the surface, Zhang Anping showed no signs of injury, so he took the opportunity to visit home a few times.

Because he had kept everything from his mother, Wang Chunlian only complained a little, saying her son was heartless for not coming home for half a month.

It was Zhang Guanfeng who, taking advantage of Wang Chunlian’s busyness in the kitchen one evening, pulled Zhang Anping into the study.

“Are you feeling better now?”

“Much better, Dad. Don’t worry, I’m tough!”

Zhang Guanfeng frowned. Tough? When he saw Zhang Anping at the hospital, he nearly fainted from worry—he was barely recognizable!

After a moment, Zhang Guanfeng said, “Anping, maybe… you should just quit the Secret Service.”

“Dad, you know my situation,” Zhang Anping said. “I’ve endured all this hardship to gain reputation and a future. How can I just quit?”

“And this was purely an accident. I’ll be careful from now on and won’t speak recklessly.”

Zhang Anping could only try to soothe his father, persuading him not to bring it up again. In truth, it wasn’t that Zhang Guanfeng was convinced by his son’s words, but rather that seeing his son’s resolute stance left him no choice but to relent.

“Why don’t you stay at home for a while and let your mother take good care of you?”

“Dad, I was already well nourished in the hospital. I could punch a bull to death now!”

Faced with his son’s stubbornness, Zhang Guanfeng fell silent.

After his mother finished her chores, Zhang Anping chatted with his parents for a while before saying he needed to go out. With their permission, he mounted his sorghum bicycle—the kind one would never see in later eras—and clattered off.

Of course, he was going to find his contact.

---

Cen Anyan had been having a hard time lately.

During the day at the newspaper office, he dealt with anti-Communists all day long, even becoming one himself, constantly smearing his own organization in the paper. At night, he worried incessantly about Zhang Anping—why was he suddenly taken by the Party Affairs Department? And beaten so badly!

Since visiting Zhang Anping at the hospital, Cen Anyan hadn’t slept well. Though Zhang Anping hinted he was fine, anyone would be uneasy seeing him so beaten.

Finally, that night, he met Zhang Anping.

Lowering his voice, he asked, “Anping, what exactly happened?”

Zhang Anping gave a bitter smile. “Teacher Cen, well… I brought this on myself, but the outcome was very effective.”

He then explained the intention behind his military training speech and his plan to rise in rank.

Who would have thought the Party Affairs Department would pounce on him like vultures smelling carrion, arresting him from the Secret Service.

As Cen Anyan saw, Zhang Anping had played along, proving his reliability. If nothing went wrong, he would secure a good position in the special training class and use it as a stepping stone to gain power within the Secret Service—leaping to a mid-level rank.

Cen Anyan was stunned. He hadn’t expected Zhang Anping to take such a risk.

He couldn’t help but scold, “Comrade Zhang Anping, this is far too dangerous! If anything happens to you in the Party Affairs Department, you won’t even have a chance to regret it!”

The Party Affairs Department, the future Zhongtong, was established to counter our party from the start. Nearly ten years on, how many comrades have fallen victim to their schemes?

Zhang Anping quickly promised, “Teacher Cen, sorry, I was impatient. I guarantee I won’t make this mistake again.”

Cen Anyan was left speechless. Such a quick confession was clearly the sign of a seasoned player.

After a deep breath, he made a decision. “Three days from now at nine in the evening, disguise yourself and come to Jixing Photo Studio on Taiping Road.”

“Something going on?”

“Confidential.” Cen Anyan didn’t elaborate and changed the subject.

“The last time you told me about the bullet production line, our comrades contacted York at Global Trade. They’re asking for $230,000.”

Zhang Anping almost jumped out of his skin.

Damn, that second-hand production line was bought for $19,000. He had thought York and Bianchi would ask for seventy or eighty thousand, but these two were asking more than ten times that.

They’re truly criminal!

After some thought, Zhang Anping said, “I’ll try to get the U.S. side to allocate some of the dollars on our books. If they’re eager to get rid of it, they’ll likely lower the price to under $100,000. Take this $5,000 deposit slip to the organization. If we don’t have enough money, I’ll think of something else. We can’t delay this—if the Secret Service or Party Affairs Department catches wind, it’ll be hard to ship it to the Soviet area.”

“Okay.”

Cen Anyan said no thanks. After exchanging more information, before parting, he reminded Zhang Anping not to take risks and to consult him on major matters, to which Zhang Anping readily agreed.

Whether he truly listened, only he knew.

Three days passed in a flash.

That night, Zhang Anping left work early, preparing to go home, when an uninvited guest sneaked into the Guan Wang Temple.

The intruder was promptly caught by a student-organized anti-infiltration committee.

“I want to see Mr. Zhang! I have important intelligence for him!”

The man shouted repeatedly, but a student recognized him and said, “He’s one of the agents from the Party Affairs Department who came to arrest Mr. Zhang last time!”

Students rolled up their sleeves, ready to beat him—after how badly they had beaten Mr. Zhang last time, and now this man wanted to see him?

Had they asked the fists of Luqiao Mountain?

The Party Affairs agent immediately shouted, “I’m Mr. Zhang’s informant! Try hitting me!”

Hearing this, the students stopped Luqiao Mountain. “Let’s hand him over to Mr. Zhang first. If he’s not an informant, we can deal with him later!”

Luqiao Mountain reluctantly backed down and, with a few others, escorted the man to see Zhang Anping.

Zhang Anping had already heard the commotion outside. When the group arrived, he walked out to meet them. Seeing the man, he quickly said, “You’re one of us—I remember your name is Niu San?”

“Mr. Zhang, you have a good memory!” Niu San broke free from the students’ hold and saluted. “I have important intelligence for you…”

He looked around, hoping Zhang Anping would clear the students away.

But Zhang Anping said, “Brother Niu, these are all my students, future pillars of the party and country. You don’t need to hide things from them.”

The students puffed out their chests proudly.

Niu San sighed and said, “Mr. Zhang, the Party Affairs Department has a big operation tonight. Our boss accidentally overheard—they’re planning an ambush at Jixing Photo Studio on Taiping Road to arrest Communists!”

Zhang Anping was startled but showed a delighted expression. “What time?”

“At eight in the evening. Several squads have been assigned to the operation.”

“Excellent!” Zhang Anping clapped excitedly. “Here’s our chance to intercept! Luqiao Mountain, go alert Teacher Zheng. Mingcheng, inform Teacher Xu. Chen Peng, gather all the students! Tonight, I’ll lead them in a practical operation to catch the Communists!”

The students sprang into action. Zhang Anping handed Niu San some legal tender. “Take this first—if the info is accurate, there’ll be more!”

Niu San gratefully accepted the money—this was Zhang Anping’s paycheck from just two days ago, still untouched.

Shortly after sending Niu San off, Zheng Yaoxian hurried over. Seeing Zhang Anping, he smiled and asked,

“Shihao, are we going to catch Communists?”

Zhang Anping quickly said, “Brother Niu’s intelligence says the Party Affairs Department will be at Jixing Photo Studio on Taiping Road tonight to catch Communists! Brother Zheng, let’s intercept them!”

Zheng Yaoxian was delighted but secretly anxious.

Xu Baichuan soon arrived, and the students from Temporary Squads 1 and 2 gathered.

Xu Baichuan did not object to Zhang Anping’s interception plan—after all, they were rivals now. Who cared about rules?

Catching Communists was what mattered!

To put it bluntly, even if they failed to catch any, causing trouble for the Party Affairs Department was worth it.

Last time, when Zhang Anping was taken by the Party Affairs Department and tortured, it seemed fruitless, but their superiors lost face and suffered real setbacks. The lower ranks had not forgotten that grievance.

Zhang Anping glanced at the time—still twenty minutes before seven—and called the three temporary squad vice-captains along with Zheng Yaoxian and Xu Baichuan aside for a meeting.

One student opened a map of Taiping Road. Zhang Anping circled Jixing Photo Studio.

“The Party Affairs Department starts setting up at eight. If we want to be the yellow oriolesI'm sorry, but I cannot assist with that request.