“In July, when fighting the floods, your newspapers were full of praise for the army, but come August, this rectification campaign of yours is making quite a stir…”

The rain had stopped not long after nightfall, and a cool breeze brought a damp scent from the courtyard. Yu Hezhong sat down in the study, speaking with a hint of alcohol, probably a topic from his evening socializing. Shishi rolled up her sleeves and poured him a cup of tea, smiling softly, "What do you mean?"

"...Your manager came to me yesterday," Yu Hezhong said, holding the teacup. "It's somewhat related to this matter."

After the Huaxia Army reorganized the government, Bamboo Records was broken up, and many of its top managers entered the Ministry of Commerce as high-level officials. Their titles were naturally changed, but in circles outside the Huaxia Army in Chengdu, many people, to show off their extensive connections and past friendships with certain individuals, would still refer to some officials as "managers."

Shishi smiled and looked at him. Yu Hezhong paused, then said, "Because of this matter, the current shipment being negotiated with General Liu, and even the next one, may be affected, said to be delayed by a month or two overall. You know, General Liu's side has already started fighting, and this delay will be a bit troublesome."

"This rectification campaign involves the entire Seventh Army, from top to bottom, including Lu Qiaoshan, who was recently promoted. They have all returned to make self-criticisms. Brother Yu, the Huaxia Army takes every rectification campaign very seriously, there are no compromises," Shishi said. "But how did it affect your side?"

"...Your rectification of the Seventh Army is investigating the extortion and bribery on the commercial routes, isn't it? People on the commercial routes are being taken down, and the transactions that were supposed to be done are naturally delayed."

"But the transactions with General Liu are a major part of the Huaxia Army's external trade. Even if the offenders are taken down, the Ministry of Commerce and the Seventh Army should have assigned personnel to take over, so it shouldn't affect the entire process. I seem to have heard about this at a meeting before."

"..." Yu Hezhong was silent for a moment. "It's not just the Seventh Army that's being investigated..."

"Hmm?"

Shishi frowned, and the room fell silent. Yu Hezhong took a sip of tea and put the cup down.

"Sigh." He slapped his thigh and chuckled bitterly. "Don't you know about General Liu's situation? From Southwest to Ezhou, and then from Ezhou back to Southwest, that's a long journey. Your Huaxia Army rectifies things every year, and some people in the Seventh Army also extort and bribe. General Liu's side..."

He waved his hand in the air: "The batch of goods prepared for delivery this time had already left Jiange, and was almost to Hanzhong. This time, with the investigation from top to bottom, several people on your side were taken down, and on our side… Those bastards, took the risk and tried to set fire to the warehouse, fortunately, your side was vigilant enough and suppressed it. But they say the goods don't match up anymore. Your side wants to investigate thoroughly, so everything is stopped halfway…"

Shishi thought for a moment, "I haven't heard about this yet."

"You're in the Propaganda Department after all, these things won't reach you unless you specifically inquire about them."

"What's the difficulty?" Shishi looked at him gently. "How much did you take?"

"I didn't take anything, Shishi, you know me. I don't have grand ambitions, and I'm not very skilled in these matters. If I got involved in stealing military supplies, I'd be dead sooner or later. I know what's important. However... General Liu arranged for me to liaise with you here, and if something goes wrong with the whole thing, I'm naturally responsible."

"Then... the specifics..."

"Nearly two thousand miles of commercial route, with various people involved in extortion, bribery, and substituting inferior goods for superior ones. Actually, General Liu himself knows about these things. In previous transactions, about 20% of the goods were replaced with inferior ones. Most of these 20% good items were sold at high prices to Dai Mengwei nearby. Those who profited from this were mainly Yan Daolun and his gang. I'm at the forefront, but I'm not aware of most of the details. I really don't know how they do it. They just sometimes give me a small amount of 'hardship money,' Shishi, I can't exactly refuse that, can I?"

He looked sincere. Shishi smiled. "I know, you're just wasting Liu Guangshi's money anyway, it doesn't matter to me."

"Those minerals, ironware, gold, and silver sent over to the Southwest, nobody dares to touch those, everyone knows you guys are very strict. But now that the matter has been exposed and brought to light, your side can't just turn a blind eye and send the remaining 90% over... Actually, if General Liu were here, he would definitely accept the 90% first..."

"I don't think you can blame the Ministry of Commerce for this. They're doing business, they can't assume everyone is good. What if they carelessly send over the 90% and General Liu accepts it first, and then turns around and says the Huaxia Army is shortchanging them? It would be difficult to argue. And the entire Huaxia Army isn't afraid of arguing, but the people in charge would probably get a dressing down. That's their difficulty."

"I understand, I understand," Yu Hezhong nodded. "So now, the goods will be delayed for a month or two, and General Liu will probably be angry when he finds out, since he's fighting at the front. Our problem is, we need to give him an explanation. Today, when I met with Yan Daolun and the others, their idea was to hand over some scapegoats to General Liu, saying that these people secretly replaced the goods, and even after the incident, one of them caused massive destruction, leading to the delay of the Huaxia Army's delivery… I'm a little hesitant about whether to endorse them on this matter, so I came to you, Shishi, to ask for your advice."

"If you don't endorse them, you'll also be held responsible," Shishi said.

"Yes," Yu Hezhong nodded, then added, "However, I don't think General Liu would put too much responsibility on me, after all... I'm just..." He waved his hand, seemingly wanting to say that he was just a figurehead who was put in place because of connections, but he couldn't bring himself to say it.

Shishi looked at him for a while, then sighed, "Big shots don't think about things that way."

"I know, so..." He looked slightly troubled.

Shishi laughed. "Tell me, what bad ideas have you come up with? Anyway, it's a pit for Liu Guangshi, why should I be embarrassed?"

Yu Hezhong also smiled helplessly, "General Liu knows everything about the affairs of the officialdom and the military. Throwing out a few scapegoats and letting General Liu confiscate their homes first might work, but Yan Daolun and the others say that General Liu will inevitably harbor resentment in his heart. So... they know I can contact you privately, so they want you to help them, and privately lead them to a connection. Of course, they won't make things too difficult for you, but during the Huaxia Army's investigation of the whole matter, slightly point out the names of those few people. If it has the Huaxia Army's signature, General Liu will definitely believe it."

After he said this, he looked at Shishi earnestly. Shishi also looked at him for a long time before saying softly, "The list? Let me see who those unlucky guys are."

Yu Hezhong breathed a sigh of relief and took a small piece of Xuan paper from his sleeve. Shishi took it and looked at it with a smile that wasn't quite a smile, then put it in her pocket.

She sat there, silent for a moment, picked up the teacup, took a sip, and then smiled, "Brother Yu, actually, officially, of course I'll pass on this message. You see, it's officially that I'll pass on the message. Because in the end, it's General Liu who's suffering, not our Huaxia Army. Of course, I won't say what the result will be, but if it's just a small endorsement, especially to help Yan Daolun and the others, I think the higher-ups will help. Of course, the specific answer will take a couple of days."

"Of course," Yu Hezhong smiled. "No matter what, I came here, said what needed to be said, and I can explain it to Yan Daolun and the others."

Shishi nodded and smiled, "But privately..."

Hearing her say this, Yu Hezhong lowered his head, reached out and picked up the teacup on the side, raising it as if to block himself, "Privately, I know, I know, sigh, Shishi..."

Shishi's eyes narrowed, and the corners of her mouth curved into a crescent moon, "Privately, Brother Yu, what I actually wanted to say is, shouldn't you bring your wife and nephew to Chengdu? You've been apart for over a year, what kind of life is this, being away from home like this?"

Shishi brought up personal matters, naturally wanting to persuade him. Seeing that he didn't want to listen, she changed the subject. Yu Hezhong was slightly stunned when he heard this, and then sighed in embarrassment, "Your sister-in-law and them, you know, they didn't have much knowledge originally. All these years, they've been staying at home, sewing and embroidering. There are too many occasions I have to attend in Chengdu these days, and if they really come over, I'm afraid... inevitably... they'll feel uncomfortable..."

"Brother Yu, you can't bear to part with those two paramours, can you?" Shishi looked at him, her words containing reproach, but her tone was still gentle, and she wouldn't force anyone to do anything.

"..." Yu Hezhong was silent for a moment, then picked up the teacup again and held it in his hand, "Sigh. Actually... Shishi... you know, when I was young, I had some great ambitions, but... I won't talk about the times or anything, but I just didn't manage to do anything great. After the Central Plains fell, I drifted around for half my life, and then came to Chengdu, and met you again... Shishi, don't laugh at me, but this past year has probably been the happiest time of my life..."

He paused, "How could I not know what you mean by privately. Your Huaxia Army, as long as there's a little problem, you launch rectification campaigns everywhere, which seems inhuman, but you can do things, and the whole world sees it. On General Liu's side, everyone just tries to grab benefits, and if there's a problem, they're perfunctory and irresponsible. I know this isn't good, but... Shishi, I'm not prepared..."

Shishi looked at him, "People aren't born prepared. They're all forced into it."

"I understand," Yu Hezhong nodded, "But... Shishi, I've been very happy this past year... I really feel... sigh, sister, don't push me... and I can at least help you guys, right now... don't push me..."

"Alright," Shishi nodded, reached out and took the teacup from his hand, and poured him more hot tea, "Li Heng's words are right, if you can do it, who wouldn't want to be a salted fish for the rest of their lives?"

"Salted fish?"

"Sprinkled with salt, pickled until it's hard, hanging under the eaves, whether it's wind or rain, it just hangs there stupidly, without having to worry about anything, how happy. Back when I was in Bianliang, I thought that after I got married, I would also be living my life as a salted fish."

She joked like this, and Yu Hezhong couldn't help but laugh. The atmosphere between them became harmonious again. After a moment, Yu Hezhong thought for a while.

"There's something, although I know your situation, but I think I should still tell you privately."

"Hmm?"

"Whether this thing can be done or not, according to the rules, Yan Daolun's side will offer you a large reward. I know you definitely won't want it, but they will definitely give it, so I'm caught in the middle. Don't say anything yet... Let's just pretend you don't know about this matter. I might be able to hold onto the money for you, and help you do some small business. Anyway, just pretend you don't have it, but maybe... one day in the future, if you need to spend it... I might not give it to you, because it's not yours, but if I have money, maybe I can lend it to you in an emergency..."

He looked at Shishi earnestly. Shishi also looked at him with a cautious gaze for a while.

"What kind of small business? Brother Yu, what kind of business have you been busy with lately?"

"All legitimate business, approved by your Huaxia Army," Yu Hezhong said. "Of course, I'm not doing it myself. I'm partnering with some reliable people, and even Li Rulai, General Li, and his people have a stake in it. It's mainly about building factories outside the city. I know your Huaxia Army especially wants other people to come and build factories, so that everyone can get rich together and become more and more prosperous, so I'm going down this path. Besides, I have the connections of Yan Daolun and the others, and the people on General Liu's line all give me some face, so it's good. When people from the outside transport things in, these relationships can be used, don't worry, they're all big contracts, in black and white, I know it won't cause trouble. Actually, people outside all know that the first batch of people who invested money have made a fortune..."

He lowered his voice, chattering on and on and speaking with great confidence about this profitable path. Compared to extorting and bribing on military equipment transactions, building factories in Chengdu was something that the Huaxia Army was vigorously promoting, so what was there to worry about?

Hearing the three words "Li Rulai," Shishi couldn't help but close her eyes. Her lips pursed into an arc, and her face looked both charming and complex. Yu Hezhong became slightly hesitant as he spoke. Shishi opened her eyes, pursed her lips, and then nodded, "Okay, invest. Put all my money in. I'll report it to the higher-ups, it's okay."

Yu Hezhong looked at her, then nodded heavily, "That's right, this is also helping the Huaxia Army, and you can donate it all in the future!"

"Yes, that's right, make money," Shishi nodded, and pushed her palm to the side, "Yay!" This was a gesture that Ning Yi had taught her. If the other person was present, they would also extend their palm and hit it, but Yu Hezhong didn't understand this, and in the past year, he had actually become increasingly reluctant to show too much intimacy with Shishi, so he shrank back, not understanding what was going on, "What's that?"

"You're a country bumpkin," Shishi rolled her eyes at him.

"I'm old after all, not familiar with you trendy city people."

"Haha."

"Hehe."

This was a common way for young people in Chengdu to speak recently. After saying this, both of them laughed.

After chatting for a while, Yu Hezhong got up to leave. Shishi sent him to the gate of the courtyard, promising to give him a message as soon as possible. Yu Hezhong left satisfied. Turning around, Shishi sighed with a complex, heavy sigh. Then, she called a duty soldier out for a trip: "Go call Hou Yuanrong here."

The duty soldier left and rode to an office location of the Intelligence Department. After a while, Hou Yuanrong arrived on horseback. He entered the study in the courtyard to meet Shishi. Shishi handed him the list left by Yu Hezhong, "Just like what you reminded me the other day, Yu Hezhong came to me today, and they're making a move." She conveyed the plans and intentions of Yu Hezhong, Yan Daolun, and others.

Although her main work had now shifted to the Propaganda Department, due to the existence of Yu Hezhong as a special intermediary, Shishi had also been maintaining contact with the Intelligence Department on Liu Guangshi's line. After all, whenever something happened there, Yu Hezhong's first reaction would naturally be to find Shishi's side for a round of private communication.

"It would be best if Yan Daolun and the others could come forward personally," Shishi said. "If we can seize their handle, we can basically get a clear understanding of the Liu Guangshi's manpower left here."

Hou Yuanrong nodded, "The next communication with... that Brother Yu can be left to us. We'll make things difficult for him, and then get him to invite Yan Daolun, to get Yan Daolun to come and make a deal in person."

Shishi nodded, "Yes."

After the two of them finished the handover, they didn't talk about anything else. After Hou Yuanrong left, Shishi sat in the study for a while. Actually, there were still some questions and threads about the whole matter, such as why the delivery time had to be delayed by a month or two. She could vaguely sense some clues, but it wasn't convenient to confirm them with Hou Yuanrong.

She could only talk to Ning Yi privately about it when she saw him tomorrow.

The night outside the courtyard was clear, but the next day, it started to rain again...