Chen Zikun started his journey single-handedly, he first went to the shaving booth next to the Lincheng railway station to get a haircut.

It was the beginning of May, the weather was getting warmer, the business of shaving the head was very good, a head shaver in his fifties was busy shaving his head and shaving his face, greeting guests, his movements were extremely sharp, he looked like an expert, and in the shade next to him, there were seven or eight idlers squatting, waiting to shave his head while talking nonsense.

Everyone suddenly saw an officer in a straight uniform coming, and they were silent for a moment, Chen Zikun was very kind, took out a cigarette and scattered around, and said in a Lunan dialect that he had just learned: "Gentlemen, shave your head." ”

Everyone took the cigarette roll under their noses and sniffed, nodding busily, foreign cigarettes were still rare in Lincheng, and they were reluctant to smoke.

"Sir, do you want to shave your head or your face?" The shaver asked politely, this chief is a fresh face, and the military uniform is not the same as that of the local officers and soldiers, it seems that he has just come from the capital, the master does not dare to slack off, and the guest sitting on the chair is also very interested in getting up to let him, but was stopped by Chen Zikun: "I shave my head, I'm not busy, there is always one who comes first and then comes, I'll wait, it's okay." ”

Seeing that this chief was so kind, everyone also relaxed, someone wiped the fire to help Chen Zikun light a cigarette, the atmosphere was much more harmonious, Chen Zikun squatted at the root of the wall, his movements were naturally unpretentious, and chatted with these idlers, pulling back and forth naturally to the big robbery that had just happened, although he did not get accurate clues, but also gained a lot of information, such as the attitude of the local people towards bandits and officers and soldiers, the position of the big robbery, etc.

Finally, it was Chen Zikun's turn to shave his head, and the shaver looked at his black head and didn't dare to cut it, and hesitated: "Sir, do you really want to shave?" ”

"Shaved cool, easy to do." Chen Zikun said with a smile.

With the knife scissors wandering away, Chen Zikun's hair fell down in a clump, shaving his head is very simple, just a few minutes, the master took a sharp razor and rubbed it twice on the shiny leather strip, ready to shave his scalp clean, but Chen Zikun said: "That's it, no need to shave." After that, he untied the cloth, shook it twice, and took out a big boy and handed it over: "Thank you." ”

"Ouch, sir, you're so polite, it's my time to thank you." The old master was at a loss by his polite behavior, and the local military master would never be so polite, not to mention the white shaved head, and he might have to blackmail the money.

"Guys, let's go." Chen Zikun bowed his hand to the idlers, and the idlers also greeted him one after another, one by one they were complacent, and they could talk to the big officials in the capital, and this cowhide could blow for half a year.

Chen Zikun shaved his head and walked around the street, the city is not as small as Beijing, the place is very small, one street, a few houses, plus a railway station, it is all of the town, but he really found the person he was looking for.

It was a merchant walking the streets and alleys, carrying a pick and walking around the streets and alleys of Lincheng, with an open mouth and a smooth mouth, Shandong people are tall, although this kid is not as tall as Chen Zikun, he can be regarded as a big man, Chen Zikun is overjoyed to see him.

Chen Zikun took the merchant back directly to the hostel, this hostel is run by Zhongxing Coal Mine, the best hotel in Lincheng is here, the merchant saw the military and police in the hostel, he was so frightened that he trembled when he walked, Chen Zikun took him back to the room, took out a few pieces of silver and threw it over: "I bought everything in your pick." ”

The merchant's eyes lit up, and he picked up Yinyang and blew it and put it in his ear to listen, this is the real Yuan Datou, crisp and buzzing.

"Medium, medium, not worth so much." The merchant is a sincere person, he only took two yuan, and handed the rest back, no wonder, he didn't see many things in his jumper, it was all some small gadgets such as needles, threads, brains, small round mirrors, foreign fire, wax candy blocks, etc., three dollars were not worth two dollars, and they all relied on ants to move to make a little profit.

Chen Zikun didn't accept the money, and said, "I still want to buy your clothes and picks, as well as rattles." ”

The merchant thought for a while, gritted his teeth and agreed: "Medium!" ”

"Also, you quote the price of these things, and sing the song again." Chen Zikun took out a few coppers and handed them over.

……

Half an hour later, a brand-new merchant went out from the back door of the hotel with a burden, and went straight to the northeast, this merchant was naturally Chen Zikun pretended, he shaved his bald head, put a plaster on his face, and his fingers were full of black mud.

Although it was already stormy outside, the atmosphere was tense and breathless, but the countryside of Lunan was still a peaceful and quiet idyllic scenery, except for the soldiers with guns seen from time to time, I couldn't believe that there had just been a big robbery that shocked the world.

Chen Zikun followed the line pursued by the officers and soldiers, and his ability to trace came in handy again, although the scene had been almost destroyed, he still found some useful traces, some barefoot prints of particularly large sizes, usually Chinese footprints are not so large, and the shape of the feet is also wider and thicker, so these footprints should be left by Western hostages.

Outside a forest, Chen Zikun also found traces of fighting, and a small number of bullet casings were left on the ground, including the cartridge casings of Hanyang-made Type 79 rifles used by officers and soldiers, as well as traces left by bandits.

It seems that what the people of the Sixth Mixed Brigade said is true, the firepower of the bandits is even more fierce than that of the officers and soldiers, Chen Zikun used the Japanese-made golden hook rifle when he was in the Kanto, the Japanese weapons have high precision, the caliber of the bullets is small, and the recoil is also small, which can be regarded as good guns, but where did the bandits get so many Japanese-made rifles, and Shandong is not the Kanto, so they can't get Japanese-style weapons, could it be that the bandits snatched them from the Japanese troops stationed in Qingdao and Jinan? It's even more unreliable.

With deep doubts, Chen Zikun continued to walk forward, and saw the officers and soldiers blocking the road from a distance, and the soldiers in gray cloth uniforms were blocking the road with rifles on their shoulders, but this did not bother Chen Zikun, and he followed the locals to easily cross the blockade line from the ridge and enter the next village.

As soon as he saw the merchant enter the village, the children surrounded him first, Chen Zikun cleared his throat and shook the rattle and began to sing: "Three catties of apples and two catties of pears, only two piles of skins are left after eating; Zhang Fei bought a horse and Zhang Fei rode, Guan Gong didn't buy it and was in a hurry...... "There are sellers in the village, and the sisters-in-law and daughters-in-law are all dispatched, taking hair and rotten cloth to exchange for needles and threads and small mirrors, now Chen Zikun can be blind, he doesn't know the market, but fortunately, the folk customs here are simple, and there is not so much bargaining between the buyers, but they can also fool the past."

Chen Zikun, who was surrounded by women and children, inquired about the situation while selling goods, he pretended to be homely, and inadvertently led the topic to the train robbery, to his disappointment, the villagers did not know anything about the outside world, and did not care, but there was a man in his thirties, squatting on the earthen wall not far away, smoking a dry tobacco pouch and staring at this side.

Suddenly, a sister-in-law asked: "Why didn't Wang Laosan come, who sold the goods, this is his pick, I recognize it." ”

Chen Zikun's ability to adapt to the situation is not covered, and he immediately continued: "The third brother is sick, I am his old cousin, and I will take him back." ”

The sister-in-law just said casually, and naturally perfunctory, and then looked at the man on the other side of the earthen wall, and he had disappeared.

Chen Zikun had a plan in his heart.

Selling a bunch of needles and threads, Chen Zikun carried the burden to the back of the village, he could detect that there were people following behind, but he continued to move forward silently, and when he walked into the sorghum field, a big man jumped out in front of him, with a short shirt, a hero's belt tied around his waist, a box gun, and a red silk tied to the handle of the gun.

Chen Zikun pretended to be panicked, put down the pick and turned to leave, and a person jumped out from behind, it was the man in the village who had been staring at him for a long time, with a smug smile like a hunter on his face.

There was an interception in front and a chasing soldier in the back, but Chen Zikun calmed down, hugged his fists and said loudly: "Two heroes, hard work." ”

He suddenly came to such a hand, the two bandits were stunned, it was hard to meet, it must be the rivers and lakes, this merchant is afraid that it is not simple.

"What do you do?" The man with the gun shouted.

"I'm here to redeem people." Chan said.

"Ransom whom?" The man with the gun rolled his eyes, as if he was a little surprised.

"Our cottage made a big deal the day before yesterday, and one of the flower tickets is my woman, and I am here to ransom people." Chen Zikun is also open, and he said the purpose straight to the point.

The man looked him up and down: "You are not a spy of the official army?" ”

"It's not."

"Poe, search for him." The man said, his hand pressed on the handle of the gun.

The man stepped forward and skillfully searched every part of Chen Zikun's body, but naturally found nothing, he shook his head silently.

"Who are you ransom without any money?" The man with the gun suddenly raised his eyebrows coldly.

Chen Zikun was not afraid at all, and said with a smile: "I just came from Beijing, I don't know the rules of Guibaodi, and I am afraid that I will go to the wrong mountain gate, recognize the wrong person, and see people, and the money will naturally be there." ”

The man looked him up and down for a long time, his face was cloudy, Chen Zikun always faced it indifferently, smiling and looking harmless to humans and animals.

"Okay, I'll take you there, but I'll tie you up and blindfold you." The man said.

"Boss, I know, it's the rule." Chen Zikun stretched out his hand very cooperatively, let the other party tie himself up, covered his face with a black cloth, and led him over the mountains and mountains and in circles, walked for half an hour, and finally arrived at the destination.

Chen Zikun was first left to dry for ten minutes, and suddenly heard a chaotic footsteps, as if many people were coming, and then a thunderous voice was shouting angrily: "Why did you bring a spy, pull it down and collapse!" ”