The Kaiyue Billiards Club near the Yamato Tobacco House on Furong Road is a two-story palace-style building.
Table tennis in the Northern Territory is not the kind of entertainment game that is so common in the East China Sea that even street thugs can play in roadside shops.
In the Northern Territory, billiard clubs are only open to the middle class and above, unlike in the East China Sea, where the rich have billiard clubs and street thugs also have billiard stalls like food stalls to play.
Membership in the Kaiyue Table Tennis Club costs 100 yuan a year, which is equivalent to the annual income of an ordinary citizen's family.
Even if you are not a member, you can temporarily book a private room. The fee is 10 yuan, and there is no time limit. Of course, the most you can stay in it is one day.
Lu Ming is currently in a private room on the second floor, and he can see the main entrance of the Yamato Tobacco House from the window.
Daguo and Xiaoguo are playing billiard over there, having a lot of fun.
Next to the phone stood a pretty girl, Ding No. 2, the confidential secretary following Director Zhang today. She was now wearing casual clothes, a dark purple suit, black stockings, and high heels.
Next to the box door stood four capable young men in peaked caps and black uniforms.
Inside the Yamato Tobacco House, the operation has already begun and an internal search has begun.
In front of the door of the tobacco shop, there stood a row of more than a dozen soldiers in green uniforms, armed with guns and wearing helmets.
At the bottom of the steps, there were several green-shed military trucks parked.
The Bureau of Secrets is originally a military unit, so it is normal for the action team to wear military uniforms when conducting large-scale operations.
From afar, there were many people watching the excitement.
There was a gentle knock on the door of the private room. The young man in the peaked cap looked out through the peephole and turned back to say, "Director, it's Manager Ding."
Ding No. 2 immediately showed a trace of helplessness on his face. He glanced at Lu Ming anxiously and whispered, "I'm sorry, Chief. I'll send him away. My father..."
Lu Ming waved his hand: "It's okay, invite him over, I just want to find someone to chat with."
“Yes…” When Ding No. 2 turned around, there was a hint of anger on her pretty face. She hated her father for being ignorant and unaware of the overall situation, which might cause big trouble.
But there was a hint of uneasiness between his brows, and he was extremely worried about his father. This was probably the contradiction of being a child.
When the guard captain Chang Lei selected this place as a temporary resting point and observation point for the bureau chief, Ding No. 2 reported that the Kaiyue Table Tennis Club was opened by her cousin's family, and her father worked as a handyman here. He was said to be the deputy manager of the lobby, but it was just a job in Hukou. Many relatives of her cousin's family worked here, and her family was considered to be a distant relative, so her father had a very low status.
These details should have been filled out in detail when she was examined, but she is now rushing to report it proactively.
If she hadn't told him, Lu Ming really wouldn't have known, and he hadn't really read the files of several confidential secretaries.
No. Ding Er opened the door, and a middle-aged man with a forced smile appeared at the door, holding a plate of snacks.
"Wanjun, your boss is here, right? I'm here to bring you some snacks. I specially selected the best ones. They're free..." The middle-aged man was Manager Ding, the father of Ding Erhao. His smile revealed a mouthful of yellow teeth, and he was obviously a heavy smoker.
When Lu Ming heard "Wanjun", he remembered. Yes, the second one was Ding Wanjun, who had the same name as one of Chen Rongfu's concubines. That "Wanjun" did a good job in the Chengjiaji Town Office. After the Sujing Office completed its historical mission, she stayed in the town office and was appointed as the deputy mayor. Although it must have something to do with her background, as she lived at No. 7 Hongta Road, which represented her direct lineage, apart from that, she did have some real talent. After all, she had been trying to change her destiny since she was a child bride. She was able to coax her mother-in-law to send her to school as a child bride, which meant she was very cunning.
Now, there is another name called Ding Wanjun. Also, in this world, when families with little culture have to give their girls a cultural name, most of them will choose the same few names, and "Wanjun" is one of them.
Ding Wanjun had already led her father over.
"Ah, sir, I don't know your name..." Ding Wanjun's father handed the snack plate to Ding Wanjun, took two quick steps and stretched out his hands.
Ding Wanjun subconsciously took the snack plate, but she never expected her father to do this. She was shocked and said, "Dad..." She wanted to tell her father to talk less, but how could she yell in front of the director
After a moment of hesitation, Lu Ming smiled and stood up, stretched out his hand, and shook hands with Ding Wanjun's father. "My last name is Zhang, and my name is Commissioner Zhang."
Ding Wanjun's father shuddered noticeably, and was probably almost frightened to the point of sitting down. He stood there completely frozen, with the smile on his face frozen, the corners of his mouth twitching, and his eyes filled with fear.
Lu Ming was helpless. Am I that scary
He glanced at Ding Wanjun and said with a smile, "Xiao Ding, it seems that you are very disciplined, which is good." I didn't expect this.
One of the confidentiality regulations of the Bureau of Secrets is that no one can reveal anything about the bureau to their family members, including the content of the bureau's work, who their superiors and subordinates are, etc.
Of course, it is easy to imagine that there are only a few people who can truly strictly abide by this discipline.
However, Ding Wanjun and others have just been recruited after going through numerous screenings, so they are definitely very cautious and cannot be compared with the old hands.
"Come, sit down." Lu Ming let go of Ding Wanjun's father's hand and pointed to the sofa.
Ding Wanjun's father's legs were shaking, "I, I,..."
Lu Ming was helpless, probably because of Chen Rongfu. The director of the Security Bureau had always been a demon that made Nanping children afraid to cry at night. He was of the same bloodline and had the residual power of Chen Rongfu. Moreover, many rumors about him soon appeared in the outside world, such as killing Chen Rongfu's entire family and taking possession of all his wives and concubines, burying thousands of Chen Rongfu's men alive and creating a mass grave. Of course, there must be a bigger demon to kill a big demon like Chen Rongfu.
Moreover, like Chen Rongfu, he did not allow his photos to be released to the public, never met with reporters, and his images had never been published in newspapers.
Chen Rongfu has been in Nanping for decades, and some photos of him have been leaked, which makes him seem even more mysterious.
"I'm not that scary, am I?" Lu Ming smiled, "It seems like I need to reflect on myself."
"Commander, my father has never seen the world..." Ding Wanjun also looked a little panicked, fearing that her father's misbehavior would anger this boss who was always serious but made people feel timid just by looking at him. Seeing a smile on his face, she was even more frightened.
Over there, Ding Wanjun's father finally recovered and sat down tremblingly, but his legs were too weak to stand.
"You, I didn't know it was you..." His voice was trembling.
Lu Ming waved his hand and said, "Manager Ding, do you have the Japanese flag hanging in your store?"
"Oh, no." Ding Wanjun's father shook his head.
"Why? Aren't you afraid of the Yamato Gang here?" Lu Ming asked with a smile.
"Yes! My cousin knows Director Liu's cousin. Mr. Liu is also a member of the club."
Lu Ming nodded. From a businessman's perspective, being able to get a personal connection with the police chief was a very powerful connection.
"But in many cases, it is better to have less trouble than more. It's not a big deal to hang a flag." Lu Ming smiled.
"Originally, yes. It seems my cousin is also planning to hang up in a few days." Ding Wanjun's father answered honestly.
During the question and answer period, he gradually came to his senses and was no longer so frightened.
Lu Ming asked him about the situation of the club and they started chatting about everything under the sun.
During the conversation, Lu Ming asked him his name, but it turned out to be Ding Mocun. He could only shake his head helplessly.
"You, you are so young?" Ding Mocun was really bold to suddenly say this.
Lu Ming smiled but said nothing.
"Wanjun has been strong and smart since she was young. Unfortunately, I can't give her anything. Director, I feel relieved that you are cultivating her. We are really blessed." Ding Mocun smiled.
Lu Ming also smiled: "Yes, such a beautiful girl, with no military service in her family, is going to a military academy. It's a good idea, and her grades are not bad either."
When Ding Mocun heard this super-big shot praising his daughter, a flattering smile appeared on his face, "Yes, I..."
Then, Ding Wanjun kicked his foot lightly, "Dad..." his voice was very soft.
"Look at me, I'm so confused! You're so busy. Well, then I'll be leaving..." Ding Mocun glanced at his daughter, came to his senses, and got up in a hurry.
Lu Ming smiled and said, "It's okay. I like chatting with people and learning new things the most."
"No, no! I'm leaving now!" Ding Mocun bowed deeply and respectfully.
Lu Ming nodded, "Okay, then go and get busy. You are welcome to visit my office when you have time."
Ding Mocun shuddered and said with a smile: "Yes, yes."
He was about to turn around and leave when Lu Ming said, "Oh, see you're smoking. Take this box of cigarettes." He picked up the Camel cigarettes on the coffee table and threw them over.
It was given as a gift in the 10-yuan box. Camel cigarettes are one of the most high-end cigarette brands. They sell for two or three yuan in the East China Sea, but the price in the North Region is several times higher. If sold in high-end clubs, they can be sold for 1 yuan.
The world is so strange. The income in the North is very low. Apart from farm products, the prices of ordinary daily necessities are not low. And industrial consumer goods, transported from the South, are much more expensive than in the South.
For example, a television can be sold for 1,000 to 2,000 yuan, and only wealthy people can afford it.
Of course, there are only four provincial capitals with television stations.
Over there, Ding Mocun subconsciously took the cigarette thrown in front of him, and immediately smiled so hard that he couldn't close his mouth. He nodded and said, "Thank you, Director, thank you, Director!" He bowed every few steps and walked out.
Lu Ming glanced at Ding Wanjun next to him and suddenly asked, "There was a letter of complaint on my desk this morning, reporting Yao Keli for bringing a small camera to work and secretly photographing documents. You wrote it, right? Oh, to be exact, you typed it out on a typewriter, right?"
Ding Wanjun's face turned pale, and she was flustered and didn't know how to answer. Lu Ming smiled and said, "You're right. You guys, continue to help me keep an eye on them."
"I, I don't want to either, but I feel uneasy if I don't report it." Ding Wanjun said in a low voice with her head down.
Lu Ming nodded: "You did the right thing."
I sighed in my heart. Working in a confidential system in such troubled times, perhaps human nature would slowly become distorted. No one could be trusted, and people would resort to covert means to exclude each other. Superiors would also encourage colleagues to monitor and expose each other.
It was a great experience to be there myself. I gained a personal understanding of the work of the Military Intelligence Department and also gained many ideas for improving system loopholes.
In troubled times, one's own goals and intelligence work are often the key factors that determine success or failure.