Perhaps because she was worried that if she wandered downstairs with me, she would be bumped into by Aunt Ren who came home early, Xiaoqin reluctantly carried the cans and nutritional supplements into the unit door, and asked me to keep in touch with her before leaving. You can call her whenever you miss her.

I asked Xiaoqin not to make Aunt Ren angry. Xiaoqin was a little surprised that I suddenly cared about her mother so much, but she didn't think too much about it. She just thought I was trying to please my future mother-in-law.

I don’t know if it’s the mother-in-law, but it’s very likely that she’s the stepmother. If she doesn’t please a stepmother who knows martial arts now, life will be difficult in the future. Snow White’s stepmother even found a hunter to kill Snow White. , I, the stepmother, saved the trouble and just did it myself. A bone-breaking flying kick could make my blood splatter in the living room.

After saying goodbye to Xiaoqin, I went alone to the outside of the shoe repair shop in the market and found that the sliding door was still closed, but the yelling and cursing inside had stopped, and a small mobile TV was playing a discussion program about the national football team's loss.

I was standing outside the door and was about to knock on the door, but I heard the conversation of two people inside. One was naturally the shoemaker uncle, and the other was a younger man. He kept speaking in an official tone, as if he was from the government. staff.

Their voices were basically at the same volume as the TV. You could only hear them clearly if you were standing at my distance. The lady selling fruit nearby looked at me with disdain, someone who has ears between walls. I pointed at the watermelon on her stall and signaled that she would buy it later. Only then did she happily ignore me.

After buying the fruit lady, I simply put my ear to the sliding door of the shoe repair shop. I couldn't help but be curious about the conversation between a former intelligence agent and a government worker.

The shoemaker uncle spoke first. Even through the door, the breath of the old angry young man came to his face. Surprisingly, his anger was also laced with grief.

"The country has let me down so much. My comrades who died in Yugoslavia have not been avenged for so long."

"You have to calm down, now is not the time yet..."

The tone of the government staff's response was like Wang Yongping, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Railways, who said, "Whether you believe it or not, I believe it anyway."

"I've had enough of waiting, I want to do things my own way."

"Comrade Hu Lai." The government worker stomped his feet angrily, "I advise you not to go too far. The country is not unaware of your behavior. We can arrest you at any time. We only let you go in consideration of your contribution to the country. If you keep doing this, it is very detrimental to the country's major policies."

The shoemaker uncle named Hu Lai snorted, "China doesn't dare to provoke U.S. imperialism. There are other countries in the world that dare to provoke it, such as Cuba, Iran, Venezuela, North Korea..."

"Hu Lai, can you please stop being so ridiculous? How much information did you steal from the US Embassy and give it to anti-American countries? If you want to give it, you should also give it to your motherland."

"I'm sorry, I no longer work in the government department. Collecting intelligence is my hobby, and I am free to give the information to whomever I want."

"Okay, okay, you can continue to be free, but don't forget who gave you your freedom. Anyway, in your current situation, there is no effective channel to deliver intelligence to anti-American countries, even the nearby North Korea , if you give them information for free, they won’t believe it.”

"That's not necessarily true." The shoemaker uncle sneered, "I have almost pieced together the deployment of nuclear weapons by the US military in South Korea. As long as the North Korean military comes to visit my thatched cottage, I will give them the information."

"Stop dreaming." The government worker slammed the table where the sewing machine was placed. "You are just a shoe repairman now. Why would the North Korean military come to you? I advise you to hand over the information to the country. That way I I will guarantee that your frozen pension will be paid on time, and then I will increase your salary by two levels."

"No need." The shoemaker uncle said coldly, "I can support myself by repairing shoes. I will give the information to anyone who can avenge my sacrificed comrades. Director Jiang, please come back. I will follow you." TV shows are criticizing the national football team."

I quickly backed away, acting as if I had just come from a distance. Sure enough, I opened the door and encountered a frustrated Director Jiang. He patted the dust on his suit, shook his head and walked out with a sigh.

When he saw me who was nearest, he looked at me sternly. He probably thought that I was definitely not a kind person because of my appearance, and that I might be a spy sent by North Korea. I turned around and faced his gaze for a while, not afraid of the slanting shadow. He walked away feeling bored.

"Watermelon costs two yuan and a pound." The fruit lady hurriedly introduced it to me.

"Wait until I come out and buy it." I waved my hand and stepped into the shoe repair shop. "Don't worry, I can't run away."

The shoemaker uncle was carrying the pony and was about to sit back in front of the TV. His face was filled with the loneliness of a master like Ximen Chuixue.

After all, buying a listening device is illegal. After I entered, I immediately closed the sliding door and pushed the latch.

"I'm not in the mood for business now," the shoemaker said angrily.

I approached the shoemaker quietly, looking like I was here to buy drugs. I lowered my voice very low and said into the shoemaker's ear:

"Uncle...it's Xiaoqin...Ren Xiaoqin who lives upstairs introduced me here...I want to buy a bug...is it available?"

The shoemaker was stunned for a moment, and then turned up the sound of the TV to cover up the conversation between the two of us.

"Who is Ren Xiaoqin's mother?" The shoemaker really wanted to test me.

I said with a smile: "Ms. Ren Hongli, a former world champion in women's Sanda, now a full-time martial arts instructor. She has participated in movies such as "The Sword", "The Town", "The Devil Comes Down to Earth", "Chu Liuxiang" "Blood Sea and Wild Sands", "Tang Bohu vs. Chu Liuxiang"..."

"That's enough." The shoemaker waved his hand and asked another question, "Who is Ren Xiaoqin's father?"

"Well..." I frowned, "I only know his surname is Huo..."

"I don't know, it's okay not to know." The shoemaker tugged at the black and white beard on his chin, "It seems that you are Ye Lin, Xiaoqin's boyfriend."

"Hey, how do you know?" I admired Comrade Hu Lai's intelligence analysis ability. He was able to analyze who I was and what my name was through the above two questions.

"Uncle, how did you analyze it? Can you teach me?" I humbly asked for advice.

The shoemaker shook his head, "I didn't analyze it. When Xiaoqin came to see me, she showed me your photo. She took it with her mobile phone."

I wonder if you know me, why would you ask test questions? Is it fun to tease the younger generation?

After all, I was asking for help, so I said with a shy face: "Senior...revolutionary senior, can you sell me a useful eavesdropping device, for short-range eavesdropping, just across the room."

The shoemaker asked me like a customs inspector: "Do you have any relatives in Cuba?"

"No," I wondered, "Does the purchase of listening devices have something to do with relatives in Cuba?"

The shoemaker continued to ask: "Do you know anyone from the Venezuelan, Iranian, or North Korean military?"

I shook my head like a rattle.

"It's a pity." The shoemaker sighed, "Why are there so many people coming and going, but no one can help me deliver the information."

It turns out that I feel uncomfortable holding the information in my hands and want to find a channel to get rid of it. However, even if you ask people when you see them, the chance of meeting someone to contact you is too low. Everyone is just here to repair shoes.

"Who are you buying the eavesdropping device to eavesdrop on?" the shoemaker asked. "If it was to eavesdrop on Xiaoqin, I wouldn't sell it to you."

Hey, if Xiaoqin eavesdropped on me, why don't you sell it? He is such an irritating uncle.

But I still laughed along and said shamelessly:

"I bought this bug for a very noble purpose. What I monitored was a spy sent by US imperialism."

Ai Shuqiao is now American in terms of nationality, so it is not too outrageous to say that Su Qiao is an American spy.

The shoemaker suddenly became interested, "Really? I thought that your generation had fallen for the sugar-coated bullets of US imperialism. I didn't expect that there were patriotic young people like you. In that case, this bug is free of charge. I Gave it to you."

As he spoke, he took out a small black box from the shoe cabinet that was about 2 cm long, 1 cm high, and looked like a smaller version of a matchbox. He opened the back cover and saw a battery slot for a lithium button battery.

"For your requirements, this 'Zhonghua Type 1' is enough. If it is too complicated, it will easily expose your flaws. By the way, there is also this small receiver. You can also take it, plug in the earphones, and use the radio. Almost, because the listening distance is close, the battery of the bug only needs to be replaced every half a month..."

Su Qiao only stayed at my house for half a month, so I guess she won’t need to change the battery when she leaves.

I carefully put the bug and receiver into my schoolbag and asked the shoemaker uncle: "How much should I pay."

The shoemaker's face was full of displeasure: "Didn't I say I won't charge you any money? Anyone who is an enemy of the Americans is my friend. Remember to disgust the Americans."

I have a dark look on my face. Although I am not a centrist, my biological sister is an American. In your eyes, she is at least well-connected with foreign countries. You gave me a free set of eavesdropping equipment. I really deserve it.

So I went to the fruit seller at the vegetable market and bought a watermelon and gave it to the shoemaker uncle to quench his thirst. He originally wanted to shirk the offer, but I said it was inconvenient to take the watermelon with me on the subway, so he accepted it.

Walking out of the vegetable market with a bug in my schoolbag, I suddenly remembered that I probably wouldn't be able to take the subway home today.

If you want to ask why, it's because you need to go through security checks to take the subway. Bugs are illegal equipment after all. If they are found out, won't they create complications and create a cocoon for themselves?

So I changed my mind and took the bus.

It was troublesome to take the bus from Xiaoqin's house back to my house. I had to change the bus halfway. Fortunately, the two buses were not too crowded. I even got a seat on the second bus. I held my school bag and sat on the wide seat in the last row. , we only have to wait five more stops before we can get off the bus and go home.

The phone suddenly vibrated in my trouser pocket.

I thought it was Xiaoqin calling, but when I pulled it out, I saw it was an unfamiliar number.

"Hello."

"Do you know who I am?"

A person who must be a female student said the above words in an unkind tone.

"I don't know who you are, you sell insurance."

"Apologise to me first."

"Hey, I don't even know who you are, why are you asking me to apologize?"

"Anyway, you have to apologize to me, and you have to treat me to dinner. Ordinary food is not enough, at least it has to be Western food."

"Hey, hey, you're kicking your nose in the face, at least tell me who you are."

"I'm He Ling." The other party finally reported his name.

"Ah... I thought it was who it was, but it turned out to be Uncle He's daughter He Ling..."

"No matter how big or small you are, call me Sister He Ling." She was quite unhappy.

"Okay, for Uncle He's sake, He Ling...sister, why should I treat you to Western food?"

"Why." He Ling chuckled on the phone, "The woman named Ren Hongli who came to the Taekwondo gym last time didn't she claim to be your mother-in-law?"

Aunt Ren did say that I was her son-in-law at the Taekwondo gym, which was really embarrassing in retrospect.

"Humph, Ye Lin, has your mother-in-law ever mentioned to you that her silver necklace was lost somewhere?"

I immediately became alert, "Are you saying that Aunt Ren's silver necklace was left in the Taekwondo gym and then picked up by you?"

He Ling was noncommittal on the phone.

I was a little angry, "Although that silver necklace is not valuable, it is a relic of Aunt Ren's mother. Since you picked it up, why didn't you inform us earlier."

He Ling said slightly angrily: "I didn't pick it up, it was picked up by another male student. They thought I lost it, so they gave it to me. The price of silver is now less than 4 yuan per gram. This kind of necklace It doesn't look like an antique, how did I know you guys treat it so much?"

After thinking about it carefully, I had no reason to get angry with He Ling, so I changed my tone to a gentler tone:

"He Ling...sister, Auntie Ren really values ​​that necklace. Take good care of it and don't lose it again. I will definitely treat you to dinner, and I will definitely treat you to Western food. Whenever it's convenient for you."

Having achieved his goal, He Ling snorted arrogantly, "Let's meet at the Petersburg Western Restaurant on the Pedestrian Street at eight o'clock on Friday night. You have to reserve a seat in advance. If you ask me to stand there and queue up, don't say I won't. Return the necklace to you."

"Russian-style Western restaurant." I asked casually, "Are you used to the taste there? I heard that the Western food there is a bit rough. Although the portion is quite large, I prefer it..."

"You don't care whether I am used to it or not. I just want to try something new." He Ling seemed to be playing with some small keys, making a jingling sound. "There are many foreigners who go to Petersburg West." The restaurant, I heard that even the proprietress is a foreigner. Isn’t it very charming? You just know how to eat. By the way, don’t forget to apologize to me at the dinner table.”

"What are you apologizing for?" I pretended to be stupid.
Chapter completed!