Chapter 21: An Old Friend Comes to the Door
The air in the early morning is fresh, especially after the rain, but this is Zhangwu County, which is just a small place, and no one will get up early to breathe fresh air like people in big cities. The sun rises in the east, the first people in Zhangwu County to get up are always those who are responsible for sweeping the streets, and the full-time street sweepers in the county are some refugees who escaped from the Japanese war zone and can't survive, the female county magistrate has a good heart, so she arranged for these people to clean up the streets for the county, and only spend a small amount of money and food to keep the county clean every day, and the big families in the city are also willing to donate, and that little money is just that they play mahjong one less time.
As usual, the street sweepers still start cleaning from the county government compound, and clean the county government compound first, which is the respect of the cleaning team for the female county magistrate. After cleaning the streets at the entrance of the county government compound, the cleaning team will be divided into two, half to the west to the west barracks, the other half to the south to the city gate, and then everyone will disperse to clean the streets and alleys of the city. As usual, Sun Mantang is the one who cleans the city gates, and sweeping the floor is a person who will do it, and the refugees know that this work is not easy to come by, so they are extremely attentive, and Sun Mantang is the same.
"Get out of the way, get out of the way" today is a little different, Sun Mantang and they didn't have time to clean up before the city gate, they were driven back by the militia guarding the city gate, and the city gate that was never opened before 8 o'clock in the morning was also wide open, and the militia guarding the city gate were all holding guns, and it seemed that someone was going to enter the city in a while. "Let's go, let's go somewhere else, don't look at Mantang, it's not something we can see" The elder Sun Jiashu stretched out his hand and dragged Sun Mantang to the alley, and the latter was stretching his neck to look at the city gate.
As soon as Sun Jiashu's words fell, there was a roar at the city gate, and three jeeps full of muddy water rushed in from outside the city. Sun Mantang originally wanted to laugh at the people sitting in the jeep who were covered in muddy water, but he didn't want the muddy water splashed by the wheels to throw him in the face, which caused Sun Jiashu and several other cleaners to laugh for a while. "These people are too crazy, they are not afraid that the female county magistrate will send military police to find them" Sun Mantang blushed and muttered in a concealed whisper, which caused Sun Jiashu and their laughter.
The jeep that was speeding at a speed did not mean to slow down at all, and drove west along the street that Sun Mantang had just cleared all the way west to the barracks in the west of the city. Another sharp turn, Tang Lei, who was holding the steering wheel, glanced at the co-pilot's position, the guy in the original suit and leather shoes had become a veritable refugee at this time, and his originally neat hair had long been messed up like a chicken nest with thick hair wax, and his face was splashed with mud spots, and the suit that looked valuable was also full of mud and water, and the whole person looked like a refugee.
The corners of his mouth slanted up to reveal a smile, Tang Lei shifted gears and stepped on the accelerator to speed up the jeep again, Tang Lei's speed again made the guy sitting in the co-pilot grab the seat with both hands and tense his body. Originally, there was a good way to come from Qinglongping, but Tang Lei chose a side road that he usually doesn't walk much, that side road was used by the training camp to train mercenaries to do weight-bearing marches, plus it just rained last night, Tang Lei and the two jeeps behind him made it look like this.
"Go and inform Madame, just say that someone has come to visit" Approaching the Chengxi Barracks, Tang Lei slowed down and slowly drove the jeep into the courtyard of the Chengxi Barracks. didn't pay attention to the guys who were still sitting in the jeep, Tang Lei just took care of himself after parking the car, when Rowling arranged for Tang Lei to go to Qinglongping to pick up people, he didn't say who he picked up, you have to know that you are going to pick up such a few things, I'm afraid Tang Lei will not go to Qinglongping to pick up people even if he is killed.
No one paid attention to the guys who were picked up by Tang Lei, and those guys who were covered in mud had to get out of the car and ask themselves, and finally saw a big-nosed foreign mercenary, and the guy led by him hurried up. "I'm Henry, the representative of the Fort London Company, I'm here to find Rowling, and I order you to lead the way for us in the name of the nobles" Looking at the embarrassed guy in front of him who still had to put on an aristocratic style, Hansen tried his best to hold back a smile, Britain has been beaten down by the German army for more than half a year, and this kid is still ramming everywhere in the name of Fort London, and he is not afraid of being kidnapped by Mr. and sent to Germany.
Although he didn't look down on the guy in front of him who called himself Henry, Hansen still did the politeness that a Western gentleman should have, and personally took the six guys covered in mud and water to Zhao Zhi and Rowling's residence. "This is the residence of my boss and Ms. Rowling, please wait a minute, I will let people in and report to you" Hansen nodded slightly and turned to leave, and the mercenaries who were arranged outside Zhao Zhi's residence pulled out their guns and stared at these guys, and the killing intent in their eyes inadvertently made Henry's hair stand on end.
"My husband and wife are still washing, please come with me" Luo Ying, who was dressed in military uniform, took Henry and them to the vacant room in the barracks, "Mr. Henry, do you remember me?" I didn't expect to see you in Zhangwu County in a few years" Luo Ying is also the first person to follow Zhao Zhi, he has seen Henry, but Henry is consciously noble, he doesn't remember Luo Ying who was just an ignorant teenager at the time.
"The things here are all new, please pack up first, there are some clothes here that you can lend you to change into, and my husband will see you in half an hour" Luo Ying didn't know where to find the civilian clothes of all ages, what kind of cardigans, coarse cloth trousers, cloth shoes or something hugged a big stack. Henry, their current appearance is the same as that of refugees, they will not refuse Luo Ying's kindness, and Henry even gave Luo Ying a thank you.
"Hi Henry, I didn't expect you to be here" Rowling gave Henry a hug without hesitation, although it was so weird that she and Henry, dressed in military uniform, hugged each other as a Chinese person. When Rowling received a telegram from Kunming, she was also puzzled, this Henry had a good family, Rowling thought that this guy should have fled to Australia, but she didn't expect to appear in Myanmar and secretly enter China to find Moren in the Kunming base.
"Are you okay? I mean, is that guy good to you? After a period of greetings, Henry couldn't help but feel heartache when he looked at Rowling dressed in military costume, thinking that if he hadn't been intervened by that damn Zhao Zhi, Rowling would have married him a long time ago, instead of negotiating with him on behalf of Thunder like now.
"Him?" Rowling paused for a moment, then nodded with a smile suddenly realized, "He is very good to me and respects me, and we have lived together, and everyone in my family has seen him, and my grandfather has a good impression of him" Rowling's engagement to Henry was just a smoke bomb released to the outside world before the Rockman family migrated to the United States, and the reason for this matter, the old Rod had already explained it to Zhao Zhi, and Zhao Zhi also said that he could understand the intention of the Lockman family's move, so Rowling was not afraid to talk about Zhao Zhi in front of Henry.
"Okay, as long as you live happily" Looking at the warm smile on Rowling's face when talking about Zhao Zhi, Henry's mouth was bitter, he came to Zhangwu County with the family's trust this time, and before meeting and discussing with Zhao Zhi, he had to get Rowling's help first, so even if he was uncomfortable, he could only bless Rowling. "When will I be able to meet Zhao, to be honest, I came with a family mission this time, and there are some things that must be discussed with Zhao, there are too many things involved"
Rowling had long guessed that Henry's appearance would not be so simple, if it was just to catch up with the Lockman family, he should go to Florida, and he was willing to venture through Myanmar to come here in Zhangwu County, Henry's trip was definitely not simple. Rowling instructed the female guards to bring coffee and snacks to greet Henry, but she was thinking about Henry's intentions, Zhao Zhi has only one thunder in China, although Henry's family is involved in the military industry, but after all, they have lost the factory in Britain, think about it carefully, Henry came to find himself and Zhao Zhi There is only one last possibility, that is, Burma.
Burma is a small place, but the area adjacent to Burma is not small, and when it came back to the British mainland, the Churchill government drew a large number of troops from the overseas colonies to defend it, and India and Burma were naturally among them. Before the German army occupied Britain, Churchill fled to Australia with the top government officials, and a large number of British nobles fled with them, Burma and India have actually been controlled by the military, and the control of these two places is the British army left behind, and it is precisely because of this that after the Churchill government fled to Australia, Zhao Zhi can also get a steady stream of oil and iron ore from Burma, because he bought the British army in Burma.
Henry's family is famous for its pervasiveness in the British Isles in the UK, as long as there is a place where there are interests to occupy, they will definitely appear, Henry entered China from Burma, Rowling does not know how Henry passed through the Japanese defense line in Burma, but she can guess that Henry's intention to come to China is definitely for Burma, because among the current military forces in China, only Thunder has been stationed in Burma, not to mention that Thunder's combat power is not comparable to the Japanese army.
"Okay, I'll take you to see him now," Rowling put down her coffee cup and said slowly, "Henry, our two families are also world friends, and I don't care what the purpose of your trip is, but I want to remind you that if there are any things that are best said clearly when you meet him." If you hide something and he finds out, I'm afraid I won't be able to help you, you know, his temper has never been very good."
Rowling's words made Henry's hair stand on end again, Zhao Zhi's fierceness in Shanghai at the beginning, Henry remembered it deeply, if it weren't for the family's assignment, he would never have come to deal with a guy like Zhao Zhi.