Chapter 137: Inspecting the Newspapers

Zhang Wei was convinced that someone must have gotten hold of some scandalous, unmentionable materials concerning the burly men before him and submitted them to the Minsheng Newspaper Office, intending to expose these dirty secrets to the public.

Sensing this, these men had come to check whether any humiliating content would be published in tomorrow's edition. Having worked at the Minsheng Newspaper Office for so many years, Zhang Wei had encountered situations like this before.

Thinking of this, his heart settled completely. What kind of big deal was this? The people before him were quite sensible; with a stack of banknotes placed right in front of him, he naturally knew what he should do!

Still, he considered himself a relatively decent person, and after hesitating for a long time, he still wanted to make things clear: "Good fellows, I have just finished editing tomorrow's newspaper, and indeed there is no significant content. I'm afraid it doesn't contain what you are looking for."

Ning Zhiheng waved his hand and said, "Mr. Zhang, do not worry. Regardless of whether we find what we are looking for or not, as long as you bring back the proof copy of the newspaper, this money will be your remuneration. We are only here for this matter, and it's no big deal; we guarantee you will not be harmed."

With that, he directly stuffed the stack of banknotes into Zhang Wei's pocket. Zhang Wei hurriedly made a gesture of declining before smiling and accepting them.

"Please wait a moment, gentlemen. I will go right back to the newspaper office to get the proof copy. It will be very fast!" Zhang Wei wore a beaming smile. He had originally thought this was an unexpected disaster, but the situation had taken a favorable turn, and he had come into a windfall of extra wealth for nothing. Naturally, his heart was filled with joy. To him, this matter was just a matter of lifting a finger—easier than easy!

He hurried out the door and walked quickly toward the Minsheng Newspaper Office across the street.

"Zhiheng, why waste that unjust money on a person like this? With a gun held to his head, would he dare utter even half a 'no'?" Guo Xueyi asked, shaking his head.

Ning Zhiheng looked at Guo Xueyi, thinking that this man's intellect was still slightly inferior to Shao Wenguang, Kang Shun-dong, and the others. You could tell that Shao Wenguang would never have asked such a question.

Ning Zhiheng explained with a smile: "If we really resorted to force, direct interrogation wouldn't be out of the question, but how would we handle him after the deed is done? Lock him up indefinitely? He is one of the two section editors at the Minsheng Newspaper Office. When his closest colleague goes missing, do you think someone as sharp as Tian Liqun wouldn't be suspicious? But if we let him go, knowing that we are investigating Tian Liqun, even if he didn't dare leak information to Tian Liqun, he would easily give himself away in front of him, alerting the target!

Therefore, we cannot coerce him; we must use temptation. Once a person takes money, their hands become soft! For the sake of this windfall, he will naturally keep his mouth shut. This way, the loose ends of this matter will be tied up cleanly. Spending a little money is well worth it!"

Hearing this explanation, everyone else in the room understood and nodded inwardly. Ning Zhiheng did things without a single flaw, considering every aspect. His meticulous mind was truly frighteningly thorough!

Xiang Yan also chimed in from the side, "Zhiheng, the Section Chief is right. You are a man naturally born to eat from this bowl!"

He then turned to the others around him and said, "You must all learn from Zhiheng and think things through more when encountering situations! In our line of work, caution is the most important thing. Sometimes a single oversight can lead to utter damnation. Remember that!"

Soon, Zhang Wei fetched the trial-printed proof copy, entered the room, and handed the proof with both hands to Ning Zhiheng.

"Brother, this is tomorrow's proof copy. Take a close look at it. If there is any content you are unsatisfied with, as long as it's something I have the authority to decide, there is still time to pull it out. Everything is negotiable, perfectly negotiable!"

After stepping outside earlier, he couldn't resist counting the stack of banknotes twice. Goodness gracious, a full two hundred yuan—already three months of his salary! Just for a single proof copy, these fellows certainly threw their money around extravagantly!

Since they were so reasonable about the rules, he could go a step further and do business with these fellows. As long as they could afford the price, altering or cutting a portion of the content wasn't out of the question. In this day and age, who had a grudge against money?

Ning Zhiheng nodded and said, "Mr. Zhang is truly a sensible man. Everything is negotiable. In a moment, I will have to ask you to enlighten me on a few questions!"

"Easy to say! Easy to say!" Zhang Wei agreed repeatedly.

Ning Zhiheng said to Shao Wenguang, "Take Mr. Zhang to the next room to rest for a moment. I have some questions for him shortly."

With that, he made a gesture of invitation toward Zhang Wei. Zhang Wei was momentarily stunned, but had no choice but to follow Shao Wenguang to the next room to rest.

At this point, Xiang Yan stepped forward, took the proof copy from Ning Zhiheng's hands, and spread it out on the table.

Ning Zhiheng quickly turned around and spread the old newspaper that Shao Wenguang had retrieved earlier onto the table as well. Several of them stepped forward to inspect them closely.

After a long while, they finished their inspection. Xiang Yan shook his head and said, "The layout format, content, and font have not changed at all. It is very hard for me to see any difference!"

Ning Zhiheng also raised his head at this moment and smiled bitterly, "With so much content, trying to find the specific signal they agreed upon is indeed very difficult. If only we could let the old hands from the Postal and Telecommunications Department check it. With their experience, they should be able to spot some clues."

Among the ten departments of the Military Statistics Bureau, there was a Postal and Telecommunications Department, which specialized in censoring newspapers published in society, as well as telegrams, mails, and letters exchanged between civic groups.

Within this department, there was a group of experienced censorship veterans who specialized in strictly monitoring all social strata, major political parties, and intra-party dissidents through the inspection of postal mail and newspapers.

Especially in the subsequent years of development, it grew increasingly powerful, even holding the authority to establish news and postal inspection offices within postal and telecommunications departments across large and medium-sized cities nationwide to inspect all newspapers, letters, and telegrams.

Back then, Zhang Pei had published old-style contact methods in the newspaper to find the underground party, only for the clues to be discovered and deciphered by the censorship personnel of the Postal and Telecommunications Department. Consequently, after being arrested, he could not withstand the brutal torture and eventually betrayed the party, becoming a disgraceful traitor!

"Time is running out, and besides, this isn't transmitting plain intelligence; there are rules to be found among the words. This is entirely a specific signal. Without information from the parties involved, it's simply too hard to discover. Even those people from the Postal and Telecommunications Department would find it difficult to pick out!" Kang Shun-dong said from the side.

Everyone nodded. They had made no particular discoveries and were at their wits' end regarding this.

However, Ning Zhiheng still had not completely given up hope. He still believed that his judgment had a basis and made sense.

At that moment, he turned back to Shao Wenguang and said, "Go to the next room and invite Mr. Zhang over. He is the section editor of the Minsheng Newspaper and is more familiar with the layout of this paper than any of us. He has the most right to speak on this!"

"Right, right, only he is most likely to find the problem. Quickly call him over!" Xiang Yan remembered that there was still a section editor of the Minsheng Newspaper and said hurriedly.

Shao Wenguang took the order and quickly invited Zhang Wei back. Having waited in the next room for a long time, Zhang Wei had begun to feel somewhat uneasy, thinking: *Why have these people been checking the newspaper for so long? Could something be wrong?*

When Shao Wenguang came to summon him, he finally reined in his wild imagination and entered the room. Seeing everyone staring at him, he suddenly felt somewhat at a loss.

"I wonder if you gentlemen have any further questions? Please speak freely!" Zhang Wei began.

With a smiling face and a gentle demeanor, Ning Zhiheng said, "Indeed, there are some matters I wish to consult Mr. Zhang about."

With that, he invited Zhang Wei to the table, pointed to the newspapers spread across it, and said, "Mr. Zhang is the section editor of the Minsheng Newspaper. No one is more familiar with this paper than you. We would like to ask Mr. Zhang for a favor. Can you find out what differences exist between this proof copy you brought and the Minsheng newspapers published in previous days?"

Zhang Wei was taken aback by Ning Zhiheng's words, but he didn't dare to ask further. He faintly sensed that the matter was not as simple as he had imagined.

"Which aspect are you referring to? Do you mean the content or the layout format?" Zhang Wei asked cautiously.

Ning Zhiheng spread his hands and smiled bitterly, "We don't know the exact differences either, which is why we must consult Mr. Zhang—provided Mr. Zhang can help us locate the source of the problem."

Having said that, he pulled out another stack of brand-new banknotes, placed them before Zhang Wei, and repeated, "These are Mr. Zhang's trouble fees. I'll have to trouble you, Mr. Zhang."

Hearing Ning Zhiheng's words and looking at the stack of banknotes in front of him, which was clearly thicker than the previous one, Zhang Wei's eyes instantly lit up. He completely forgot the anxiety he had felt just moments before, rubbed his hands awkwardly, and said, "How dare I accept such a reward for no merit! You are too polite! Too polite! Well then, let me take a look first. Rest assured, I've worked at the Minsheng Newspaper for so many years; as long as there's a problem, it won't escape my eyes!"

Zhang Wei stepped forward and expertly sorted through the newspapers, neatly arranging them in order of publication date. He then aligned his own proof copy symmetrically alongside them, beginning a line-by-line, word-by-word comparison. This was yet another windfall; Zhang Wei could not afford not to be earnest and meticulous.

Zhang Wei truly lived up to his reputation as a veteran newspaper man. Once he entered his working state, his spirit transformed completely. He inspected the papers with total concentration while the others watched him anxiously, hoping against hope that he would deliver good news.

"Huh!"

Before long, Zhang Wei suddenly let out a sound of puzzlement!

"What is it? Did you find a problem?" Ning Zhiheng, who had been waiting closely by the side, asked hurriedly. The others also immediately focused their gazes on Zhang Wei.

Pointing his finger at a particular section on the proof copy, Zhang Wei said with a puzzled expression, "This gossip and anecdote column generally publishes only two gossip stories per issue. Space in the column is limited, and the text for each story is controlled at around six hundred characters. But for some reason, this issue has published three short stories. This leaves only four hundred characters of space for each story, making the narrative inevitably somewhat crude."

Ning Zhiheng quickly grabbed the newspapers and cross-referenced them carefully. Sure enough, the columns in previously published newspapers had only contained two short stories, whereas the proof copy Zhang Wei had brought back contained three.

When everyone else was inspecting the papers earlier, they were unaware of this convention at the Minsheng Newspaper; seeing that the format and size of the proof remained unchanged, they had overlooked it. True to Ning Zhiheng's words, the person most familiar with the newspaper was the most likely to spot where the problem lay!