Chapter 96

National Day holiday.

Yan Lei rode back from the army on a 28-speed bicycle. On the day of the holiday, the family of three rode two bikes to the county town.

In the county town, due to the high back-turning rate, Qiao Wei sometimes felt as if the couple were not riding old bicycles but shiny and cool Lamborghinis or Maseratis.

There were quite a few people coming to the photo studio to take pictures during the holiday. It took them an hour to wait their turn.

Each member of the family took individual photos, then husband and wife together, and finally a family portrait.

Yan Lei wore a green military uniform, always tightly buttoned up whenever he was outside, regardless of the time.

Qiao Wei and Yan Xiang both wore clean long-sleeved white shirts.

The photographer praised them as he took the photos, “Such a handsome husband and beautiful wife, truly a perfect match. When they’re developed, I’ll display them in the storefront.”

Qiao Wei saw that Yan Lei’s mouth was always turned up, always smiling.

He even told the photographer, “My wife has completed high school. She works in the County Party Committee Office, she’s a pen pusher.”

These days, the term “pen pusher” carried a lot of weight.

The photographer’s attitude became even more enthusiastic.

When Yan Lei took out his wallet to pay, his movements were particularly smooth.

Qiao Wei admired Yan Lei’s persistence in valuing cultured individuals.

She teased him, “Otherwise, should I go back to school and see if I can get a graduation certificate?”

She had dropped out, so she didn’t actually have a graduation certificate; technically, she only had a middle school education.

She was half-joking. She had a job, she had strength, her leaders appreciated her, and she even had a military background.

A little high school graduation certificate didn’t mean much.

But as soon as Yan Lei heard this, he got excited.

“Yes, that’s right!” he said. “How do we do this? Do you have to take an exam?”

“…,” Qiao Wei said, “I don’t know about that. Really, if I have to go get a graduation certificate…”

Yan Lei felt, “If it can be done, why not do it.”

He really valued this thing.

“Alright,” Qiao Wei said. “I’ll call tomorrow to ask.”

Two people were talking, both kicking away the bicycle stands, getting ready to ride away.

Suddenly, they realized something was wrong.

Yan Lei hastily propped up the bike again, quickly walked into the photo studio, and soon came out with Yan Xiang. He scolded Yan Xiang, “Look at you, only paying attention to those things. Mom and Dad have left, and you didn’t even notice. What if we had lost you? What would we do then?”

Although Yan Xiang was momentarily absorbed in the camera and the props in the photo studio, he hadn’t noticed that his parents had almost lost him just now. But the human brain isn’t foolish; he asked in confusion, “But, when Mom and Dad leave, shouldn’t they take their little child with them? Why did they leave the child behind and go by themselves?”

Yan Lei was momentarily speechless.

Putting the child in the back seat of his mother’s car, he exercised unreasonable parental authoritarianism, “Stop talking nonsense, sit properly.”

The family of three happily strolled around the county, not only visiting the central park but also watching a movie at the county cultural hall.

It was the latest movie, called “Secret Sketch,” an anti-espionage film.

Qiao Wei thought this kind of old movie would surely be boring. But it turned out to be quite enjoyable.

The suspense was strong, and the actors’ performances were excellent. What Qiao Wei liked even more was being able to see the street scenes of a certain city in that era from the movie.

It was completely different from the future. Qiao Wei had been to that city several times; it was a first-tier city with skyscrapers.

But at this time, the streets were still lined with small houses.

And the characters inside were not stereotyped; the female spy was pure, beautiful, and graceful.

Unlike the ancient puppet dramas of the future, where a character would come out in all black, with black eyeshadow and black eyebrows “sweeping into the temples,” almost carving “I am the villain” on their face.

They also visited the department store.

This time they brought out four mesh bags, all filled and hung on Yan Lei’s bike, returning home fully loaded.

Qiao Wei thought that the National Day ended so happily.

When she was washing Yan Xiang’s feet with warm water at night, the quiet child who had been silent all the way said, “Mom, that lady didn’t seem like a bad person.”

“Which one?” Qiao Wei was puzzled.

Upon asking, it turned out Yan Xiang was talking about the female spy in the movie.

Qiao Wei chuckled, “Of course, if she looked like a bad person, would you be fooled by her? Spies need to disguise themselves. The more skilled the spy, the less they look like a bad person. And one day, when it’s revealed that the person is actually a spy, you may not even believe it.”

Yan Xiang fell silent for a moment.

Qiao Wei then noticed that something was wrong with Yan Xiang.

“Xiang Xiang, what’s wrong?” She gently rubbed Yan Xiang’s little feet, asking curiously.

Upon careful thought, indeed, Yan Xiang had been unusually silent today. He was usually a very quiet child, and today, on a festival day, Yan Lei was happy, and the couple had endless conversations, so they didn’t notice that Yan Xiang was unusually quiet today.

Yan Xiang said, “I know someone is a spy.”

Qiao Wei blinked.

To be honest, her first reaction was to laugh. It was normal; Yan Xiang was only a few years old, and to say he knew someone was a spy right after watching an anti-spy movie was quite amusing.

But then Qiao Wei remembered that in this era, there were indeed spies. Not to mention this era, even in the future, when she lay in bed unable to take care of herself, she heard her bedridden neighbor browsing the news on her phone and sighing, “What era is this? There are still so many spies.”

She also told Qiao Wei, “People are talking about this anti-spy law online.”

Qiao Wei became serious and treated Yan Xiang’s words seriously, “Oh, who is it? Can you tell Mom?”

Yan Xiang seemed a bit down, as if he had made a big decision and finally said, “It’s the tailor grandfather from the tailor shop.”

Qiao Wei couldn’t believe that the person Yan Xiang considered a spy would be that person.

Her mouth opened, she was stunned, and she asked, “Why? How do you think the tailor grandfather is a spy?”

Yan Xiang’s small face tightened, serious and earnest, “Last time, I fell under the table at the tailor shop and hit my head. There was something hard under there, like a square box.”

“Today, I saw it in the movie; it’s the wireless radio that the female spy used to send messages.”

“Exactly the same.”

Qiao Wei told herself to stay calm.

She had encountered many situations before—office politics, workplace traps, the warmth and coldness of hospital wards—but spies… dealing with spies was truly a first.

Taking two seconds to calm herself down.

She looked closely at Yan Xiang; his attitude was very serious, without a hint of playfulness. It was obvious that the child, who had just watched an anti-spy movie, understood the significance of “spy.” Especially considering he was such an intelligent child.

Qiao Wei chose to believe Yan Xiang.

Because she also pondered, why would there be a spy in such a small town like Xiahekou?

Yes, although Xiahekou was a small town, ever since it was selected by the military district as a place for military families to settle several years ago, it was no longer an ordinary town.

In ancient times, it could be called a military town.

Tailors naturally interacted with women from various families. Even if they were tailoring clothes for men, it was the family members who would arrange it, and men would at most accompany them to take measurements.

Logically, the existence of spies in Xiahekou was possible.

But she stared at Yan Xiang and said, “Xiang Xiang, why are you only telling Mom now?”

It was obvious that Yan Xiang had realized it while watching the movie. But he had remained silent until now, until it was time to sleep, before finally telling his parents.

What was he hesitating about?

Yan Xiang looked a bit ashamed, “Every time I go, Grandpa gives me candy to eat. So…”

So he hesitated. He knew rationally that he had discovered a spy, but emotionally, he didn’t want to believe it, and even hoped it wasn’t true.

That kindly old man who always patted his head, that witty old man who always made his mother laugh heartily.

Qiao Wei completely understood Yan Xiang.

She paused for a moment, then said, “I understand.”

“But, this country, it’s protected by Dad and his comrades with their lives. If a spy steals information, it could lead to many of Dad’s comrades dying on the battlefield. So, no matter how uncomfortable we feel, if we find a spy, we can’t stay silent just because it’s someone we know or like. Xiang Xiang, you did the right thing.”

Yan Xiang was encouraged and nodded heavily, “Hmm,” then asked again, “Mom, what should we do now?”

What should they do?

Should they go and verify whether the thing Yan Xiang bumped his head on under the table was really a wireless radio? Or was the child mistaken?

But Qiao Wei immediately dismissed that thought.

How could they verify it? They couldn’t go themselves, could they? That would be risking their lives. They couldn’t be foolish like that.

As she quickly wiped Yan Xiang’s feet, she called out, “Yan Lei, Yan Lei! Come here for a moment!”

Yan Lei came over, hearing her call. “What’s wrong? Finished washing? I’ll go pour water.”

“No,” Qiao Wei said to Yan Lei, “Xiang Xiang found out there’s a spy in town.”

Yan Lei: “…”

This was where professional soldiers ultimately differed from ordinary people. While Qiao Wei hesitated, doubted, and worried about making mistakes, Yan Lei’s expression turned serious instantly. “What’s going on?”

He didn’t think his wife or child were making things up; he immediately took it seriously.

Qiao Wei explained the situation to him.

She recalled, “That day, I had just taken a step to go and pick up Yan Xiang, but he rushed over. At the time, I thought, the old man’s quite old, but he’s quite agile…”

The fragments of memory supported her, becoming evidence.

“I was just thinking whether we should find time to confirm it, but I felt it was dangerous, so I should tell you.” Qiao Wei said, “Professional matters should be handled by professionals. I won’t interfere.”

Yan Lei breathed a sigh of relief and praised her immediately, “You’re right to think so. Enemies are always extremely dangerous. If there’s such a thing, you mustn’t rush into it yourself; leave it to me.”

Yan Lei turned to leave, and Qiao Wei put Yan Xiang on the kang (a heated brick bed) and followed him out.

In the main room, Yan Lei was already getting dressed.

“Are we going now?” Qiao Wei knew he must be going to report to his superiors.

“Yeah,” Yan Lei said, “Today was the first day that movie was released. If we act too slowly, and he finds out the country has made such a movie for propaganda, he’ll definitely be more careful to cover his tracks. This kind of thing can’t be delayed; we need to act decisively.”

“What if we’ve wrongly accused someone?” Qiao Wei asked. She still had this worry.

“Then the three of us will go and apologize, make amends,” Yan Lei said.

Qiao Wei nodded, “Let’s go.”

“Don’t wait up for me, go to sleep first.”

Qiao Wei was awakened at dawn.

Yan Lei was back.

He hadn’t slept all night, with bloodshot eyes.

“We caught him,” he said, “After Yan Xiang saw that radio, he relocated, but we still found him.”

So it was all true.

In the Tailor’s Alley, where the glasses always slid down his nose, the humorous old tailor, he really was a spy.

The whole thing was too dramatic.

It felt unreal.

Qiao Wei fetched water for Yan Lei to wash his face.

As he washed his face, he told her, “We interrogated him all night, and he confessed everything.”

The old tailor had an only son across the strait.

Before they retreated, his son’s superior gave him a mission, training him to become a spy.

In order to give his son a chance to come back, after the military district was established, the old tailor chose to infiltrate the town.

Many people think that leaking secrets requires extraordinary means, like in the movies, where you need impressive skills to obtain top-secret documents to leak important information.

But that’s not the case.

Online popular science has explained that leaking information often occurs when Professor Wang and Professor Li meet at a snack shop outside the university, exchanging pleasantries.

Professor Wang asks Professor Li when he will take his vacation.

Professor Li says, “In another month and a half.”

The spy disguised as the snack shop owner feeds this information back to his superiors.

Based on Professor Li’s field of expertise and the projects he leads, the enemy learns that our country is nearing a breakthrough in a certain field or that a project will be completed in a month and a half.

They could then launch attacks targeting this.

Qiao Wei understood all of this.

Sitting on the cool bed under the eaves, she stared at the cobblestone path in a daze.

She asked, “What will happen to him?”

Yan Lei knew, but seeing her expression, he didn’t say anything directly, just touched her head and said, “We’ll see.”

Qiao Wei sighed and nodded.