Chapter Nine: The First Pot of Gold

Liu Datong turned and brought the little girl over. Her small body trembled, and her pitiful appearance made Ning Zhiheng’s heart ache. This child was about the same age as his daughter in his previous life, and her features were somewhat similar. A wave of pain swept through him; he wondered how his daughter was faring in that other world.

He stepped forward and gently stroked the girl's hair, speaking softly, “Child, what is your name? Do you know where your home is? How long have you been taken by bad people?”

The little girl shook her head helplessly and answered through her tears, “My name is Xiaowan. I only remember my father’s name is Chen Guangran. I don’t know my mother’s full name, but my father calls her Mei Niang. Our house is in the middle of a big street, and there’s a small river nearby, but I don't know what it’s called.” She was too young to remember exactly where her home was; she had awakened in a daze to find herself here and had no idea how long she had been abducted.

Ning Zhiheng didn’t press her further. Once the two human traffickers were interrogated thoroughly, he would know everything. The immediate concern was how to arrange for the child.

Suddenly, he noticed Xiaowan’s accent was familiar—it was exactly the dialect of his hometown, Hangcheng. Could she have been abducted from Hangcheng? If so, that made things easier to arrange.

Hangcheng was not far from Nanjing; by train, it was less than a day's journey. The military academy was strictly managed, and Ning Zhiheng had not been home for a year, leaving him yearning for his family. Now, he could find an opportunity to visit home, and take Xiaowan along to search for her relatives in Hangcheng. If they could not be found, he could entrust the child to his mother’s care, so Xiaowan would not end up wandering the streets.

Since merging his current memories and emotions, he had felt a clear longing for his hometown and his loved ones. He had long wanted to return home, to arrange things properly. Some matters could no longer be delayed.

He turned to Liu Datong and asked, “Are you married? Who is at home?”

Liu Datong was momentarily stunned, not understanding Ning Zhiheng’s intention, but instinctively replied, “I’m married. I have a wife—rather plain—and two mischievous sons, wild as can be!”

Hearing this, Ning Zhiheng felt it was suitable and spoke in a negotiating tone, “Could you arrange for Xiaowan to stay at your home? It won’t be for long; once we get the confession from the traffickers, I’ll take the child back.”

Liu Datong’s eyes lit up, secretly delighted. This young officer seemed of good character, a kind soul. He had worked himself to exhaustion in the police bureau for years and gotten nowhere, all because he lacked connections and backing.

If he could use this opportunity to build a relationship with these officers, he could wield the banner of the Military Intelligence Bureau in this area, and who would dare to provoke him?

He patted his chest and said, “Rest assured, sir. Leave the child to me; there won’t be any problems. My wife is kind-hearted and will surely treat Xiaowan as her own daughter!”

Ning Zhiheng was pleased by the prompt agreement, sensing Liu Datong’s sincerity without any reluctance.

It was clear Liu Datong was eager to curry favor, and not only because he feared Ning Zhiheng’s position as an officer in the Military Intelligence Bureau; he must have had other motives. With Ning Zhiheng’s experience, he could see this clearly, but it didn’t bother him.

He gave Liu Datong his name and contact information, instructing him to expedite the interrogation and try to return Xiaowan home as soon as possible. Her family must be desperately searching for her, suffering through days that felt like years—a torment unimaginable to most.

After handling these matters, the action team quickly returned to the Military Intelligence Bureau. Wei Liangbi had already received word and was waiting in his office for their detailed report.

As expected, Liang Deyou was subjected to a harsh reprimand for nearly half an hour. Losing a quarter of the action team—even if they were ordinary members—was difficult to justify to superiors.

In the end, it was Ning Zhiheng who spoke up, detailing the difficulties of the operation and promising to learn from the experience and avoid future mistakes. Wei Liangbi, for Ning Zhiheng’s sake, refrained from further criticism.

Liang Deyou cast a grateful glance at Ning Zhiheng before leaving the office. Ning Zhiheng, meanwhile, stayed behind at Wei Liangbi’s suggestion.

“Senior brother, weren’t you too harsh on Captain Liang? They did complete the mission in the end, capturing the target alive. You won’t really punish him, will you?” Ning Zhiheng asked quietly.

Wei Liangbi had already changed his demeanor, chuckling, “Of course, it was intentional. Overall, the mission’s objective was achieved. As for casualties, yes, they were significant, but as the saying goes, kindness doesn’t command troops. Soldiers aren’t afraid of sacrifice.”

“Then why the stern attitude?” Ning Zhiheng asked, puzzled.

“It’s just an opportunity to knock some sense into Liang Deyou. He’s inexperienced and always keeps his distance from us, which is unsettling.” Wei Liangbi clarified the issue.

Ning Zhiheng understood at last. Liang Deyou was not favored by his superiors because he never took sides. A leader dislikes using people who won’t stand with them; to put it plainly, he lacked political acumen. Shi Hong, on the other hand, understood this far better than Liang Deyou.

Leadership sometimes needed to prod subordinates to make them understand the situation and take a stand early—this was one way factions expanded their influence.

Since the goal was ultimately to win him over, there would be no real punishment for Liang Deyou. Ning Zhiheng was reassured and asked, “But what about the loss of so many brothers?”

“Losses can be replenished. Zhiheng, you’re still young. Sometimes, casualties aren’t a bad thing. Heavy losses mean our operations are dangerous and require great sacrifice. From that perspective, it shows how important our frontline role in espionage is! The child who cries gets the milk—it all depends on how we present ourselves.” Wei Liangbi decided to give his junior brother a lesson, sensing his innocence.

Ning Zhiheng wasn’t ignorant, but the values of his previous life still influenced him, and his respect for life made him reluctant to accept such reasoning.

They spoke for a while longer before Ning Zhiheng returned to his office. Liang Deyou was anxiously waiting. Upon seeing him, he quickly closed the office door.

He came over and asked in a low voice, “Zhiheng, what did the section chief say? This won’t escalate, will it?”

Ning Zhiheng reassured him gently, “Don’t worry, Captain. Section Chief Wei has a sharp tongue but a soft heart. His reprimands are more bark than bite. Besides, our mission was successful—we killed two accomplices and captured the main culprit. Everything can be accounted for; the matter is settled.”

“Really? That’s wonderful. Zhiheng, from now on, just call me Brother Liang—we’re brothers. ‘Captain’ sounds too formal!” Liang Deyou’s attitude had completely changed.

“You don’t know how unlucky our team has been lately! The previous team had one dead and one injured, and now today, six killed and two wounded.” Hearing Ning Zhiheng’s answer, Liang Deyou’s heart finally settled, and he couldn’t help but reflect on his poor luck.

Ning Zhiheng said no more. He didn’t want to give Liang Deyou any hints; after all, they had only just met, and speaking too deeply was unwise. Besides, he didn’t want to appear overly shrewd.

The matter soon passed, and that afternoon, Shi Hong and Wang Shucheng returned from the hospital and handed over to the Intelligence Division.

In his report, Wei Liangbi enumerated the difficulties and dangers faced by the action team and requested prompt reinforcements from the army to replenish the team.

With someone in authority, things moved quickly. The next day, at the bureau’s high-level meeting, the operation was affirmed and immediate replenishment of personnel was approved. Everything quickly calmed down.

Wei Liangbi informed Liang Deyou that due to the shortage of personnel in the Third Action Team, no tasks would be assigned until reinforcements arrived. All work shifted to the other two teams.

Upon hearing this order, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, they could enjoy a brief period of rest and relax their taut nerves. For Ning Zhiheng, it meant he could finally attend to a long-planned matter.

Since merging memories, he had begun to plan every step ahead. His years in the archives in his previous life had not been fruitless; on the contrary, as he often perused those old records, he had gained access to information unavailable to ordinary people.

Of course, such information was of little use in his previous life, and he regarded it merely as history or biography. But now, having traveled through time to this era, this knowledge was invaluable, capable of transforming his future.

He intended to use an event from his past life to obtain his first pot of gold in this world.

The First Action Team was equipped with two American jeeps. With no current assignments, he could use them freely.

Early in the morning, he drove straight to the Eastern District, arriving soon at the gate of a dilapidated compound. At that moment, a middle-aged man in coarse clothing emerged, apparently heading to work. He looked up to see a young officer stepping out of the jeep.

In these times, ordinary people avoided dealing with those in uniform—if things went awry, and a gun was drawn, it was always the civilian who suffered.

Ning Zhiheng approached, and the man tried to step aside, but Ning Zhiheng stopped him and asked, “Whose property is this compound?”

The man answered carefully, not daring to be negligent, “You mean the Liu Family Compound? Naturally, it belongs to the Liu family.”

“Liu Family Compound?” Ning Zhiheng was surprised, then quickly understood. Times had changed; ownership of this house had shifted, and its original name had long faded into history.