Chapter 14 14. An old pastor with no followers

The clock had just struck six when Ding Shaomei came to the gate. The sky was just bright, the air was sweet, and there was the scent of late-blooming Sophora japonica. Last night, a light rain made the gravel road smooth and clean like a bas-relief, and the leaves glistened with the morning light.The pedestrians that can be seen on the street are only three or five maids carrying vegetable baskets, and one and a half Americans running bare-legged.Occasionally passing a rickshaw, the yawning guests sitting on it must have played mahjong all night and rushed home to have a good morning sleep.

Such a wonderful scene is like the morning in Oxford City. It is impossible to believe that half a mile away is the occupied land, plus tens of thousands of ferocious Japanese soldiers. It was a cool day after the rain, Fan Xiaoqing pulled up the black cowhide hood, steered the steering wheel with one hand, and gnawed on a set of pancakes and fruits—the servants went to Huajie to buy them before dawn. From a distance, she could see Ding Shaomei standing on the sidewalk with her hands behind her back, still wearing the old foreign clothes, but that unobtrusive attitude, with her head held high, was indeed different and really attractive.

It's time for him to add some clothes.Fan Xiaoqing prepared a set of flannel sportswear for him in the back seat, expensive British products, and old Giggs has many similar clothes, but fortunately, they are about the same size. "Delicious food, how can there be such a thing these days? It's delicious." Ding Shaomei joked as soon as she opened her mouth. "You better not have breakfast." Fan Xiaoqing tore off the bitten end, and gave the remaining half to Ding Shaomei. "If you eat a full stomach, it will be enough for you in a while." Ding Shaomei took a big bite, almost bleeding her index finger. "It's been so long since I've been back to China, I really haven't had the chance to taste the delicious food here." He chewed deliciously, his white teeth gleaming.The fritters are a bit hard, it must be because the white flour is too expensive recently, a lot of cornmeal has been mixed in, and the scent of pepper kernels is also missing in the mung bean noodle pancakes.The Japanese have been plundering locally for two or three years, and it is not easy to make pancakes to this level.

The Concession Stadium is only four or five blocks away from Lao Guan’s house, surrounded by wooden fences, with a football field in the middle, with bare goals at both ends without nets, and a dust track around it.The biennial Concession Sports Games are held here. Students from various countries come to play football and occasionally cricket matches. Fan Xiaoqing parked the car under the wooden stands, facing the box. "You change your clothes." She left Ding Shaomei in the car, and went to see the runway first. This girl is wonderful.Ding Shaomei changed her clothes, savoring Fan Xiaoqing outside.She also wore a set of flannel sportswear, dark pink with dark gray leather trim, a pair of lambskin tennis shoes under her feet, with thick short hair, fair skin, and a tall figure, which made people jump Heartbroken.

"Come down quickly. It's such a good weather, so you can move your muscles." Inadvertently, Fan Xiaoqing revealed a little Tangshan accent again, feeling a little embarrassed, and said: "My mother is from Tangshan, and she hasn't changed her accent all her life." "Your English can't be the same as Tangshankou, right?" "That's a lie! You are slippery fellow! (Nonsense! You slippery head)." These two sentences are serious Oxford accents. To meet the requirements of the old Giggs, this pre-training is essential.Time was running out, he only gave Ding Shaomei a week to carry out physical and mental training at the same time, and Fan Xiaoqing was in charge.The British are rigid, which he had learned a long time ago in Oxford, and he is used to it.

Only at this time, Fan Xiaoqing's stubborn British temper was revealed.There are more than a dozen projects every day, all of which are on the old Giggs' list, and none of them can be missed. "I don't know why Dad is putting in so much effort, but since he asked me to train, he is not accommodating at all. Young Master Ding, you will take your life." Fan Xiaoqing's expression was cruel and slightly funny, and his tongue was sharp. Like a knife. The first 10-mile long run did not bother Ding Shaomei. He was the second runner-up in the 10-mile race of the Oxford department. What surprised him was that Fan Xiaoqing followed him and ran the 40 laps without taking a single step. .

"Your physical strength is good." Ding Shaomei put his hands on his knees and took a deep breath. The fresh air full of the smell of grass poured into his lungs, making him cough repeatedly.He has been exhausted these days, and his physical strength is not as good as before. He doesn't need to look at the horse watch on the engine cover, he knows that he has regressed a lot. "I'm familiar with this venue." Fan Xiaoqing's forehead was dripping with sweat, but his chin was still held high. "Ten mile races, I've won two championships here." "Are you going to train with me?" He was a little puzzled, but at the same time thought it might be fun, she was an excellent playmate.

Fan Xiaoqing smiled and said viciously: "This is a warm-up, the next is the inhuman torture. If you can't stand it, you can ask for mercy. I will give you some favor without telling my father. Do you want to pay it back?" "Your young master Ding is in his twenties, and he never knew what it means to beg for mercy. Girl, just let it go." The heavy exercise stimulated a lot of adrenaline, which made him tremble slightly with excitement. "Boy, take the trick." This tone sounded like a dialogue.Ding Shaomei is very happy to have such a playmate to help him through the most painful period after losing his father.

A quarter of an hour has passed since the appointment time for the meeting, and there are still only the three of them in the empty hall of the old Giggs' house, and the other committee members are late, which has never happened before. Old Ziggs was holding his old prayer book, flipping through it quietly, while Lao Guan and Izko sat aside, trying to hide the anxiety in his heart. This is not a good sign.For more than 20 years, with the iron fist of the old Giggs, no member of the committee has ever been late without reason.There have been two late arrivals in the past, one was when the person was assassinated, and the other was when the victim had a mental breakdown and fled back home.But what happened in front of him would never be the kind of involuntary reason, Lao Guan made a bet with himself in his heart.They must have deliberately demonstrated to challenge the authority of the old Ryan Giggs.

Everyone is getting old, old Giggs's blond hair has turned gray, and his face is wrinkled like dried apples.Izko knew that he was older than old Ziggs, and his physical strength was not as good as before.Encountering such a serious challenge at this time is enough for this old man to drink a pot.Kenji Miyaguchi must no longer be a professional spy. Along with the Sino-Japanese war, almost all the local Japanese became active and served the Japanese army regardless of pay.If there is any difference, it is the four Japanese death row prisoners that old Giggs bought from Marshal Feng more than ten years ago. They swore to God Amaterasu and will be his slaves all their lives.

The living room of the old Giggs house was huge, occupying most of the ground floor, with no decorations or much furniture, just some hard chairs scattered around, and it was as empty as a deserted church.The floor-to-ceiling windows are also inlaid with broken stained glass like a cathedral, and the sunlight shines in in various colors, reflecting weirdly on people's faces.In past meetings, Izko often had some strange thoughts. He felt that the gathering of this group of blue and red faces seemed like a gathering of Satan's disciples. At 5 minutes after 10 o'clock, the four people who were late entered the door together. It was clear at a glance that this was a group of conspirators who had agreed long ago.Who would have thought that old Ziggs's face suddenly became kind, and the colorful sunlight shone on him, making his fluffy white hair glow red; he opened his arms in a welcoming gesture, and the wide sleeves of his robe Hanging down like a prophet in the Old Testament. "My lost brother, please sit beside me." Only Jesus could have such a demagogic voice. Kenji Miyaguchi walked last, pulled a chair far away and sat down.Giggs, an old fellow, has the acting talent of Winston Churchill, can control his charm like a spotlight, and may shout at any time, "The nation has a lion-like ambition, and I have the honor to roar for it" or something, he I ridicule in my heart, and at the same time, I am afraid of the unpredictable influence of the old foreigners. Count Panavino pulled out the cross at his neckline and kissed it, and sat on the side far away, suppressing the anger that would inevitably arouse in every meeting, and thought to himself: This Calvin's villain who has no congregation, I don't know what to talk about today What heresy.His own family had been Roman Catholic for generations, and he had to put up with the ramblings of apostates here.Even so, when he sat down, he still didn't forget to mention the straight trouser line, put the worn soles on the ground, and crossed his legs out of habit.His tailor had given him an ultimatum that he would never get a new dress until he paid off his old debt. The Pierre brothers lined up to embrace the old Ziggs with the fragrance mist of cologne, kissed his cheek with their lips, and clicked their tongues. Six people were scattered in the hall, like a game of life and death pending. "Poor people, every time you fall into the catastrophe of war, it must be accompanied by a wind of betrayal." Old Ziggs moved a ladder against the wall, climbed onto the small pulpit suspended in the air, He took a long raw silk scarf and threw it around his neck, and the hall was instantly transformed into a Protestant church.Before the committee meeting, he had to give a sermon. This was a procedure that had persisted for more than twenty years, and it was close to an ancient custom, although the audience below often held half a dozen different beliefs. He firmly believes that he is a "shepherd". "The kindness of the Lord will not free you from your greed. He looks at you in heaven with compassionate eyes, waiting to save your humble souls and punish your flesh, just after the betrayal happened." Lao Ji Gus stared into the distance, as if the opposite wall did not exist, and raised his hand sadly in front of his forehead. The sound spread, hit the wall, and then turned back, exchanging, vibrating, and demonstrating above the heads of everyone. "Adam and Eve left Paradise joyfully. They broke their vows because of their greed. For the first time, the species of 'man' showed an innate rebellious nature. Why? Because they got 'wisdom', or they got A powerful tool to catalyze and stimulate nature, and let the rebellious nature grow wings." Count Panavino pulled out the gold-cased horse watch the size of a biscuit from his vest. This was the only similar thing on the committee members, and everyone had one.He opened the watch cover, accompanied by the sound of "Ding", the metal rhyme rose straight into the air.Asshole, Martin Luther's disciples also preached Genesis?He didn't like the self-righteous tone of old Giggs, and he hated the explicit hints in the sermon. Elder Ziggs raised his voice, "The Philistines invaded Canaan from the sea and ruled over the Israelites for 40 years. The mercy of the Lord is omnipresent, and he gave the Israelites a marvelous warrior—Samson. Who would have thought that when this god-given warrior showed his god-given power and extraordinary wit, the leader of the clan would say to him: "What you have done has hurt us so much!" A lord sent His savior died just like that. Was he killed by a Philistine woman? No, this woman named Delilah was just a scapegoat, a poor defense made by the Israelites for herself. hands." Nonsense, nonsense.The Pierre brothers also kept opening and closing the horse watch, and Tintin's voice joined the battle group of the stereo above his head.Miyaguchi Kenji clasped his hands and pressed his lower abdomen, his eyes were slightly closed, and he regained consciousness, and Amaterasu was sitting on top of his head.For the empire's Greater East Asia jihad, the old Ziggs' intelligence market was so important and so attractive that the adults and gentlemen in the military department were timid and refused to act rashly.He judges the gap between his ability and task. "The fear of the invader in the hearts of his people made them abandon Samson in their souls, and cast him before the snare of their enemies, giving up the protection of his most fatal weakness. God have mercy on these traitors, and in hell In the hellish fire, they still stink to this day...." The confrontation of voices filled every inch of the hall, like a war on the mountain of God. The meeting that followed was extremely difficult, and the battle shifted from will to interest. Regarding accepting Ding Shaomei's proposal, Big Pierre first expressed his objection, facing the committee members sitting in a circle, he said: "Except for you, Alan, none of us has ever seen this Mr. I'm afraid he will feel embarrassed." The objection turned out to be objectionable, and the smile on his face was still sweet. "A young Chinese, in his twenties? What will he bring us? Experience? Everyone here, everyone has espionage experience no less than his age. Courage? Each of us is a warrior .No, we don't need a hairy kid to mock our intelligence." "There is already one Chinese in the committee, that's enough." Panavino straightened his fancy tie, expressing his attitude clearly.The Chinese have only cut off their braids for a few years, how do they know what a modern intelligence industry is? Little Pierre said: "What is the difference between the nine-member committee and the seven-member committee? Adding one more person will make it an even number, and such a structure cannot vote." Miyaguchi Kenji did not speak for the time being, because there was no need for him to speak out against it. This was the first time Giggs was defeated in the committee.Lao Ding's death was a godsend, and for the first time, the forces against the old Giggs had a majority in the committee.Heaven has eyes, this is entirely God's favor.If there is any loophole, it is Big Pierre. His lustful nature will kill him sooner or later, but he can't take chances, thinking that old Ziggs will not know about it——Big Pierre recently Hook up with a big drum girl, the cherished mistress of a gangster. But the old Giggs thought in his heart that the gangster's name was Zuo Yinglong, he was a murderous villain, and two French white patrolmen who refused to cooperate with him had already died at his hands, and the French Concession authorities took He can't help it.He knew that he couldn't vote today, and it was not appropriate to threaten Pierre here.Should there be one less person in the committee, so that the balance of power will change again.Killing people with a borrowed knife is a wonderful Chinese strategy, and it is very suitable for big Pierre. Lao Guan is explaining the importance of absorbing Ding Shaomei. His English has no grammar at all, but it is very majestic. Maybe getting rid of Kenji Miyaguchi is more beneficial than getting rid of Big Pierre.Old Ziggs felt that the matter of murder could wait, just like the matter of Ding Shaomei could wait.Xiao Ding can only join the committee and take over from him if he does a few great things and wins the respect of most members of the market. "A few days ago, I met my old teacher," said Kenji Miyaguchi, knowing that old Ziggs was not foolish, and would never ask for a vote. He also didn't want to vote on this trivial matter, exposing his strength too much. "He taught me that young people are the hope of a career, and a career without successors is a hopeless career; and once we old people no longer like young people, we must have become old haters." These words attracted everyone, and the tone was a bit strange. "It should be a good thing that the committee absorbs young people. But what kind of young people are recruited? This is the most important thing. Allen must have studied this person in depth, but we all don't know him, so it is inevitable Have doubts. Please forgive me, this is not because we don’t trust you, but because this matter concerns our careers and even lives, we have to be cautious. We might as well change the way to talk to this young man and let him Do a few things to take a look, and then draw conclusions. It is not worth it if the committee is split because of his affairs. This is the work of all of us, please cherish it, please." Kenji Miyaguchi bowed his head, The six ring scars on his bald head are exposed. He was a monk for a few days when he was a teenager. Old Giggs took the lead in applauding and cheering, and Kenji Miyaguchi smiled shyly.A tense battle turned into a joyous reunion of old friends in an instant. They are all a bunch of people.Lao Guan hated that his intelligence was not enough to guess the minds of the leaders of the two factions. Miyaguchi Kenji's teacher is Tokugawa Nobuo, this old fox finally showed his tail.The old Giggs' harvest today is greater than Ding Shaomei's election to the committee.