Gun Oil

When Cao Anmin entered, he saw his team leader still staring fixedly at the cigarette as if possessed. He swallowed hard, suddenly seized by a craving to smoke that cheap stick of tobacco himself. "What did you find?" Zhang Jiaju asked without lifting his head, his gaze never leaving the cigarette. "Based on the distance radius you specified, Team Leader, I narrowed it down to Jinling Bearing Factory and Capital No. 3 Auto Repair Factory. Both place workers on rotating days off once every half-month," Cao Anmin said. Zhang Jiaju said nothing. Cao Anmin continued, "However, due to war preparedness, workloads have been heavy lately, so it's virtually impossible for workers at either plant to take their rotating days off." "Hmm?" Zhang Jiaju looked up. "Are rotating days off entirely denied, or are they merely difficult to get approved?" "Isn't that the same thing?" Cao Anmin asked, dumbfounded. "Idiot," Zhang Jiaju snapped. "'Entirely denied' means no exceptions for anyone. 'Difficult to get approved' means that while rotating days off are prohibited in principle, there are always special circumstances or ways around the rule." "Bribes? What kind of world is this, having to give gifts just for a day off on rotation?" Cao Anmin shook his head. "Besides, that 'Great Sage' doesn't look like he has money..." "Shut your mouth, you utter fool," Zhang Jiaju scolded. "Who said anything about bribing for time off? Go check whether anyone has asked a coworker to cover their shift over the past two days—focus especially on anyone who claimed to be sick and had someone take their place." This kind of shift-covering did not mean an off-duty coworker came in to take the shift; rather, it meant the coworkers on duty took on the absent worker's share of the labor on top of their own heavy workload. Under an already exhausting schedule, whoever covered would be utterly worn out. Consequently, unless two workers were on exceptionally close terms, almost no one was willing to cover for another person. "I get it now." Cao Anmin's eyes widened. "Team Leader, you suspect 'Great Sage' deliberately caught a cold, then pleaded with a close coworker to cover for him!" "So you're not hopeless after all." Zhang Jiaju gave him a glance. "Now that you understand, why haven't you gone to check?" "Right away!" Cao Anmin turned eagerly to leave. "Come back," Zhang Jiaju called him to a halt. "Come look at this against the sun." Zhang Jiaju picked up the cigarette and held it up by the window against the glow of the sunset for Cao Anmin to see. "Tell me if you see a faint film of oil. It's very light, masked by the machine oil, which is why we didn't notice it at first." "There really is one!" Cao Anmin inspected it closely and indeed spotted it. He beamed. "Team Leader, you really are incredible." Zhang Jiaju's lips curved slightly. "Take a whiff. What does it smell like?" Cao Anmin had a remarkably sharp sense of smell; Zhang Jiaju often remarked that this subordinate of his had the nose of a hound. "It smells like... like gun oil. It really seems like it." "Are you sure?" "Team Leader, putting it that way, how would I dare be sure?" Cao Anmin said with a fallen face. Claiming he was certain meant shouldering the blame if he turned out to be wrong. "Get lost." Zhang Jiaju waved his hand in disgust. "Yes, sir." Cao Anmin took two steps, then paused, looking at Zhang Jiaju as if hesitating to speak. "Out with it," Zhang Jiaju snapped irritably. "Team Leader, according to Liu Antai, 'Great Sage' was carrying a gun that night. Since he had a gun, it's normal for him to have gun oil on him. That doesn't seem out of place," Cao Anmin said. "Get lost!" Zhang Jiaju barked. "What the hell do you know!" Cao Anmin scrambled out as if fleeing for his life. Zhang Jiaju frowned. Strictly speaking, Cao Anmin had a point. Yet Zhang Jiaju couldn't shake the feeling that this was a lead worth pondering carefully. Of course, if Cao Anmin and his men could track down 'Great Sage' at the factories quickly enough, the gun oil lead would become irrelevant anyway. *** "Interesting." A faint smile appeared on Jiang Guanghan's face. "You're saying that punk from the Party Affairs Investigation Department was beaten up by Dai Chengyuan?" "Yes, knocked clean out. Looked quite pathetic," Zhao Ding said. Even as he called it pathetic, a broad grin spread across his face. "His subordinate was beaten, and Yuan Jichuan didn't make a move?" Jiang Guanghan asked. "None at all." Zhao Ding shook his head. He added, "As you instructed, Team Leader, I had men keep an eye on Dai Chengyuan, and I also arranged for someone to watch the Party Affairs Investigation Department." "They're a brother agency—what are you having men watch them for?" Jiang Guanghan glared at Zhao Ding. "Don't say such things that undermine unity next time." "Understood, sir. It was reckless of me," Zhao Ding hurried to admit his mistake. Just then, a subordinate came in to report. "Chief Zhao, Team Leader," the man said. "Someone from the Dai family left by boat this afternoon." Jiang Guanghan cast a meaningful glance at Zhao Ding before asking, "Do you know where they went?" The subordinate shook his head. "What do you think?" Jiang Guanghan looked at Zhao Ding. "I'd say there's an eighty percent chance they went to Zhenjiang to lodge a complaint and bring in reinforcements," Zhao Ding reasoned after a moment's thought. "Now that a direct clash has occurred, only Committee Member Dai can resolve this. If he doesn't step in, the Dai family won't be able to withstand Yuan Jichuan's retaliation." "It always comes down to you, doesn't it?" Jiang Guanghan nodded with satisfaction. "Out of all my subordinates, your head is the sharpest. You're the one who puts my mind at ease the most." *** "There's really nothing better than relaxing with you fellows." Fang Jibai took a sip of wine, clicking his tongue in a contented sigh. "Fourth Uncle, did you see any Japanese while you were in Nanjing? What do they look like?" "What do they look like? Two shoulders and a head, just like anyone else. But if you ask about those runts, they're shorter than us, though they look a bit sturdier than most of our folks," Fang Jibai said. "And remember this: those runts aren't human. They're beasts. If you ever see one, just beat him half to death." "Fourth Brother, do Western devils all have yellow hair and big noses?" someone asked with a chuckle. "And also..." He gestured in front of his chest. "Are they really that big...?" "Due to their diet and race, Westerners are indeed built broader and sturdier," Fang Jibai said. "As for what you mentioned, yes, they are indeed quite magnificent." "I don't like big noses," someone piped up. "With a nose that big, you can't even kiss!" The crowd burst into laughter, bantering back and forth. Fang Jibai squinted, listening to their idle chatter and roughhousing, feeling a deep, peaceful comfort settling into his heart. "Fourth Grandfather," a half-grown boy stepped forward. "Xiwa." Fang Jibai patted Xiwa's head, scooped up a small handful of peanuts, and placed them into the boy's hands. "Is your dad feeling better?" "After taking the medicine you brought back last time, Fourth Grandfather, he's much better," Xiwa said happily. "Dad said you're our whole family's savior." "That's because my nephew accumulated good deeds—it wasn't his time to go," Fang Jibai said with a smile. Xiwa nodded mechanically, occupied with shelling peanuts to eat. Suddenly, he asked, "Fourth Grandfather, is eating also called 'mishi-mishi'?"