13: Chapter 13 Catching the Spy

He went back to the dorm and changed his clothes.

The four of them gathered at the BBQ stall once again.

Lin Ning ordered a beer for himself, while those three brothers were still drinking from small cups.

At Lin Ning's age, he wasn't used to drinking baijiu. Since they were all so familiar with each other, they just kept things casual.

Lin Ning first sent two hundred yuan to each of their phones. "How was it? Did you manage to blend in?"

Jin Er and the other two squinted at him. "Who are you looking down on, you punk?"

Lin Ning nodded; as long as they blended in, it was fine.

Jin Er: "..."

Jin Er: "What are you nodding your head for? Ask us already!"

Lin Ning: "??? Ask what?"

Xu San almost spat out a mouthful of liquor.

Lin Ning realized right after asking and said in surprise, "You guys found out everything in just one day?"

Jin Er rolled his eyes. "Didn't you say the boss wanted basic information? It's not like we were asked to find out how much money he embezzled or the private details of which young widow he slept with."

Zhang Shitou said with a chuckle, "It's mainly because of you. You got us this job, so we couldn't let you lose face in front of the boss, right?"

Lin Ning was a bit worried. It was too fast, too rushed—would they be noticed?

He quickly asked, "You didn't alert Zhang Chaoyang, did you?"

Jin Er: "Are you acting in a spy drama? 'Alerted.' That area consists of old staff housing from years ago; they've been neighbors for ages. Just a couple of gossipy comments while playing chess and we got it. Who would ask him to his face?"

Lin Ning cheered up. "Tell me, tell me everything you found out."

Jin Er gave a reserved cough. "Zhang Chaoyang, retired as the Deputy Director of the Bureau of Statistics. His wife is a teacher, also retired. They have one daughter who has already gone abroad to work and live."

Zhang Shitou took a sip of liquor and said, "The old man and his wife are quite pretentious. He was a leader before, so he loves to show off. He's always bragging and posting photos on WeChat Moments every day about how amazing and outstanding his daughter is. Working at a big company in the US, bought a villa, has several cars to rotate through. He even said they'd pick the two of them up soon to live abroad and enjoy their retirement..."

Xu San laughed. "They've been colleagues and neighbors for so many years; everyone knows what's what. The moment he goes home to eat, everyone starts complaining about him behind his back."

"That daughter of his is named Zhang Jingying, but she's not 'elite' at all. She struggled with school since she was a kid and only got into a third-tier university. She studied accounting, but even years after graduating, she couldn't manage to get her accounting certificate. Even I have an accounting certificate."

Lin Ning: Whoa~ that is pretty pathetic. The accounting practitioner certificate is really something you can pass just by reading a book.

Xu San continued, "She couldn't find a job after graduation and couldn't pass the civil service exam. It's not like the old days where you could just take over your parents' job, right? She loitered at home for three years, doing nothing but eating, drinking, and playing. Then suddenly, she said she got an offer from a big foreign company."

Jin Er: "It's just a load of nonsense. What, are foreign companies trash recycling centers?"

Xu San: "Exactly! Do they think people are as easy to fool as they were decades ago? Just because we haven't been abroad doesn't mean we don't have phones. If you can't make it at home, you're going to make it abroad? In a strange place with no skills, you're suddenly going to succeed and become a talent? Big villas and luxury cars, my foot."

Zhang Shitou chimed in, "I bet the old man spent his own money to save face for his daughter. Back then he was the director and everyone else was a grunt, but now that they're old, other people's kids are successful while his is a loser. The situation is reversed, so he's just forcing the act."

Jin Er shook his head. "Unlikely. Later, while you guys were playing chess and I was practicing dancing with Big Sister Liu, she said that the year Zhang Jingying graduated, she hit someone with her car. The compensation they paid wiped out their savings, and they even borrowed money from her. They shouldn't have much money."

Zhang Shitou: "Then they really must have no money; otherwise, an old man who cares so much about face wouldn't borrow money from outsiders. But wasn't he an official before?"

Jin Er: "Zhang Chaoyang was only promoted to Deputy Director right before retirement. He had no real power. He used to manage the database and archives, and after his promotion, he was still in charge of that same area."

The three of them started talking about which departments were easier to make money in, and the topic began to drift.

Lin Ning ignored them. From the moment he started listening to their briefing, his eyes grew brighter and brighter, until he was finally excited.

Confirming that Zhang Chaoyang had no money while in office, combined with the series of events following his daughter going abroad, Lin Ning was almost certain in his heart—a spy.

He recalled some materials he had read.

Recruiting spies involved luring them with profit, promising power, honey traps, and one of the methods was arranging for their children to work and live abroad, then giving money to the children instead of directly to the person themselves.

Doesn't this match perfectly?

Lin Ning's eyes sparkled as he asked Jin Er, "Anything else? For example, does he have any unusual behaviors?"

Jin Er thought for a moment. "The couple bickers a lot. He wears a nice watch he claims his daughter bought him. Oh, right, Zhang Chaoyang often goes back to his old workplace. He doesn't do anything, just sits there. Big Sister Liu and the others say the people at the office are annoyed to death. They can't kick out an old comrade, so someone has to accompany him and report on work and such. Also..."

Combining this with the fact that he had spotted him at the government office building before, Lin Ning couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Hehe!"

Jin Er was completely confused. "Are you sick?"

Lin Ning instinctively replied, "Do you have the medicine?"

Jin Er was speechless. "Am I performing a cross-talk show with you here?"

Lin Ning was happy and in a great mood.

"Boss, add eight skewers of large kidneys and twenty skewers of pork tendons!"

Xu San blurted out, "Giving up on living?"

Lin Ning grinned and put his arm around Jin Er. "My treat. You three worked hard today!"

Hearing it was his treat, the three of them cheered up as well and shouted in unison with perfect chemistry, "Thank you, Boss!"

Lin Ning: "..."

What on earth were your previous professions? They made him almost want to shout, "Next batch!"

Jin Er laughed, "Today's job was good—fun and easy money. If there's more work like this in the future, remember us three brothers!"

Xu San chimed in, "Right, we can even give you a commission later. If it's this kind of work, we could do it every day."

Zhang Shitou also nodded in agreement, not forgetting to take a bite of his skewer.

Lin Ning: "Definitely! Definitely! Since you did such a beautiful job this time, who else would I go to next time?"

Lin Ning mused that everyone has their specialty. These three were truly talents; how could he only use them once?

When I have money in the future, their pay will go up too!

But Lin Ning was also a bit curious. "Aren't you curious why a boss would want to investigate someone?"

Xu San and Zhang Shitou looked at Lin Ning with "How can you be so clueless?" expressions. "We're doing day labor!"

Lin Ning was dazed. "What do you mean?"

Jin Er was quite fond of this younger brother and explained, "Don't ask where it comes from, don't care where it goes. That's the essence of day labor! As a day laborer, you just do whatever you're told."

Lin Ning suddenly understood.

Blowing in the night breeze that was no longer chilly, the men, all in high spirits, toasted each other. The atmosphere of chatting and joking was relaxed and comfortable—in a word: Bliss!

...

After eating and drinking their fill, those three started snoring as soon as they got back to the dorm.

Lin Ning lay there, suffering from a bit of insomnia.

Today's experiences were far too eventful.

After tossing and turning a few times, he really couldn't help himself. He picked up his phone and started drafting a message. After some editing, it finally read: [Hello, Brother Chen, I am Lin Ning. I want to report a suspicion. I suspect that Zhang Chaoyang, the retired Deputy Director of the Yanjing Municipal Bureau of Statistics, is a spy. His daughter Zhang Jingying's work income and living situation abroad are highly suspicious. After Zhang Jingying went abroad, Zhang Chaoyang began frequently returning to his former workplace for "visits." I suggest investigating and gathering evidence.]