At noon, two or three miles away from Qingshan Village, a village located on the hillside could be seen clearly from afar. Su Qing stopped the team. She didn't want to go into the village in a swagger, so she asked the ninth squad to wait for her outside the village and prepared to go to the contact point alone.
Hu Yi understood Su Qing's temper. This stubborn woman would not change her mind even if she was convinced by ten oxen. However, Hu Yi also knew that Su Qing was a strict person. She must have her reasons for doing so, not just because she disliked him. So he did not object, but asked Su Qing to take the little girl with her. After such a long journey, although Luo Fugui was sometimes responsible for carrying her for a while, the little girl was exhausted. It was windy and cold outside, so Hu Yi asked the little girl to go into the village to rest. Su Qing did not object to this proposal, and led Xiao Hongying into the village.
The village was on a hillside, so Hu Yi led the three of them directly to the top of the mountain. The path they had taken entered the village from the west, passed through the village and then extended to the east. From the top of the mountain, one could clearly overlook the paths on both sides of the village. Ma Liang stood sentry to monitor the situation, while the others found a sheltered spot on the top of the mountain to eat lunch.
The village was not very crowded, and it was quite quiet. Only occasionally, a few idle people would cast a surprised look at the two men, one big and one small, in the uniforms of the Eighth Route Army. They just looked at them and didn't ask any questions. There was a door god paper painting pasted upside down on one side of the gate. This was the place specified in the letter. Su Qing looked around and saw no one, so he knocked on the door. Soon, the door opened halfway, and a middle-aged man's face appeared. When he saw Su Qing in the uniform of the Eighth Route Army, he immediately smiled and opened the door to welcome the man in.
"Haha, great, you are a comrade from the independent regiment! I'm Lao Luo, and I've been waiting for you. Come in, come in. Hey, there's a little girl in the back, come in with her."
Su Qing was speechless at Lao Luo's warm welcome. I haven't said anything yet, but he has identified me just by my military uniform. What if I'm asking for directions? What if I'm pretending? Su Qing didn't rush into the house. He stopped in the yard and whispered to Lao Luo, "Do you have any relatives in Meixian?"
This question was a special codeword for the underground organization in Meixian County. Su Qing asked it temporarily to verify the identity of Lao Luo. The letter said that the person in charge of this organization was surnamed Luo and that it was developed from the underground organization in Meixian County, so he should know how to answer.
Su Qing's question made Lao Luo stunned for a moment. What's the matter? You don't trust me? This is not an enemy-occupied area. Is there any need to make such a big deal? But since someone asked, I'll answer: "I have a biological uncle, but his surname is also Luo."
The yard was not big, and the house was not big either, with two rooms, one inside and one outside. No one was in the outside room, and four men were sitting around a broken square table in the inside room, smoking so much that the whole room was filled with smoke. Seeing a fair-skinned and neat female Eighth Route Army soldier coming in with a serious temperament, everyone stood up in a hurry and looked at her intently.
After Lao Luo led Su Qing and Xiao Hongying into the inner room, he spoke first: "This is the comrade sent by the Independent Regiment, who is responsible for guiding our meetings and future work directions. Welcome everyone." After saying that, he pushed the person sitting in the head seat to the lower position, rearranged the bench, and motioned for Su Qing to sit down.
Su Qing deliberately waved his hand to stop the applause, and sat down at the head of the table expressionlessly. He looked carefully at everyone at the table, and then said calmly, "My last name is Chang, and my given name is Chang Hong. I am a grassroots cadre of the independent regiment. Now, everyone, please introduce yourselves first, and be as detailed and comprehensive as possible."
Xiao Hongying silently slipped to the inconspicuous corner near the door, squatted down against the corner, took out half a piece of cake from her bag and started to eat it, until the corners of her mouth and cheeks were covered with crumbs.
Su Qing intuitively did not like this organization. They were too inexperienced and there was no way they could do their work safely, so Su Qing did not even want to reveal his true identity and just used half of Xiao Hongying's name.
This Lao Luo was a member developed by the Meixian County Party organization. He was not young and had just joined the party. He was sent to the rural areas in the north of Meixian County to carry out work. Lao Luo was quick to act, but too eager for quick success. In just a few days, he developed several people in the surrounding areas and prepared to start work in a big way. In order to strengthen the momentum of his group, he even notified the independent regiment.
The other four people at the table were representatives from four nearby villages. Except for Lao Luo, the leader of the group, they had never met each other before. They were notified of a meeting today, which was chaired by representatives of the Eighth Route Army. They all came to Qingshan Village early. They thought that the representatives sent by the Eighth Route Army would be heroic and mighty, or warm and welcoming. Who would have thought that the one who came in would be a cold and serious white-faced girl. Not only did she not even give them a chance to greet each other and shake hands, but she directly put on the airs of a leader and stared at them one by one. Seeing that she was so young, her child was so big? How old was she when she gave birth to this child? Could she have milk? She even had the nerve to bring her own child to the meeting. Isn't this nonsense? She doesn't take her job seriously, does she
Several people could not help but complain about Su Qing's cold attitude. Why not let Lao Luo introduce himself once? Why show off his authority? But they could only keep their complaints to themselves. They had to say what they had to say.
“I’m XXX from XXX village, my age is XXX, and there’s XXX in my family… I joined the organization through the introduction of Comrade Lao Luo, and I’m determined to contribute to the anti-Japanese work and drive the Japanese out of Meixian County, etc…” The four people except Lao Luo introduced their respective situations in a similar manner.
The words were all well-spoken, but in fact they were meaningless. Su Qing listened and watched everyone's self-introduction carefully. She was not showing off her authority, but wanted to deepen her impression of these people and grasp more details, such as whether they were shy or outgoing, rough or meticulous, whether they were evasive, whether they were suitable for recruitment, whether they were competent for the work to be done, etc.
Lao Luo also complained about Chang Hong's performance. This girl is too fussy. Why are you talking about these useless things? I asked you to host the event so that you can come up with an idea on how to establish long-term contact with the troops of your independent regiment and cooperate with them. I will take care of the rest. But the great god was invited by himself, so he must be respected.
The four people at the table finished introducing themselves, and Lao Luo quickly smiled and said, "Well, Comrade Chang Hong, now that everyone knows each other, I think we should get straight to the point. Let's discuss the issue of contact first."
Su Qing nodded slightly, and after a moment of silence, he suddenly asked, "Comrade Lao Luo, are all the people who are going to the meeting today here? Are these the only ones?"
Lao Luo was surprised. He said you are a fussy person. You are really a fussy person. Do you have to worry about this? Can this meeting still start happily? But he smiled and replied, "Oh, there is also Old Liu from Lushuipu who didn't come. I guess he may be in poor health. It doesn't matter if he is missing. I will go to him directly to convey the message after the meeting."
Su Qing's expression became serious when he heard this: "Was he notified before the meeting? He said he would come?"
"I've notified him! He said he'd come. Don't worry about it. The meeting is more important. Can we continue talking about the contact..."
Su Qing stood up with his hands on the table, and interrupted Lao Luo seriously: "I declare that the meeting is cancelled, evacuate now!"
What? Everyone's jaw dropped to the ground. Isn't this crazy? They came from far away to get together, but you, a young woman who married and had children early, said one sentence and dispersed? Do you think we are here to play with your children? No one moved, just staring at the female Eighth Route Army soldier standing solemnly.
Su Qing used to be a professional in this field. If someone is absent from a meeting, no matter who it is, if the reason is known, the meeting can be continued. If the absence is unexplained, the meeting must be cancelled immediately. There must be no ambiguity. The reason is simple. What if the absent person was arrested? What if the absent person betrayed? In Su Qing's eyes, the members of the grass-roots team in front of him are all newcomers. Su Qing knows that they don't understand his approach, but there is no time to elaborate on this at this time, so he simply added: "This is for everyone's safety. Now adjourn the meeting and leave quickly."
As soon as Su Qing finished speaking, another voice rang out in the room: "No one can leave! Who dares to move? Just try!"