Chapter 45: Anti-Japanese Businessman

  In the suburbs of Yangon, Xu Hongming's home has a local characteristic bamboo villa, very quiet, surrounded by banana forests and phoenix tail bamboo, with no other residents.

  "It's usually quiet here, you can sleep soundly, and after dark, I'll send you out of the occupied area." Xu Hongming led Dong Li Mao and others to this place, which was a temporary decision, not part of the original plan for this operation. After entering the house, he busied himself searching for dry clothes.

  Dong Li Mao looked around the room with its exotic decorations, not luxurious but elegant. He saw a durian on the fruit platter on the coffee table, already cracked open, and he pried it open, using his fingers to dig out a seed and put it in his mouth, chewing for a few moments before swallowing, then asked: "What business is Mr. Xu in? Does he usually live here?" He casually handed the durian to Li Yuanyuan and Gou Hao.

  Gao Hao took a bite and immediately spat it out: "So smelly! Even smellier than stinky tofu!"

  Li Yuyuan was eating quite well and had several pieces in a row.

  Xu Hongming handed out the dry clothes he had found to the three of them, and specially picked out a emerald green dress for Li Yuanyuan.

  "After the Japanese army occupied Rangoon, I basically lived here." Xu Hongming sat down and continued: "My grandfather opened a silk store in Rangoon. After he passed away, my father took over the store. Ten years ago, my parents and I came here. Before the Japanese occupation of Rangoon, when Burma was still a British colony, our family had two silk stores and also did jade business... Burma is rich in jade, emeralds, and various precious stones. We bought wool and processed it into jewelry, then transported it to China by mule... Last year, due to the war spreading to Burma, my father opened a pawnshop..."

  "Miss Li, there's a shower here. Do you want to go take one first?" Xu Hongming said with great consideration to Li Yuanyuan.

  Li Yuanyuan, who was drenched from head to toe, had been wanting to take a good shower. Hearing Xu Hongming's words, she didn't hesitate and asked where the bathroom was before grabbing some dry clothes and going to take a shower.

  Three men in the house took off their wet clothes, simply wiped the water on their bodies with a towel, and changed into loose-fitting Burmese-style shirts and pants.

  The rain has not stopped yet, but the rain has slowed down, pattering and dripping, like a sorrowful woman shedding tears, stopping and falling from time to time.

  Xu Hongming took out some dry rations like biscuits, and the three men ate while chatting, looking very relaxed, as if they had all forgotten that they had just gone through a bloody life-and-death battle.

  From Xu Hongming's account, Dong Limao knew what Yangon was like before the Japanese devils occupied it. It seemed that Xu Hongming was very willing for the British to colonize the Burmese forever, because his family's business had done extremely well with the British. After the Japanese invaded Yangon, the silk business was not greatly affected, as Japanese women also liked Chinese silk. However, the jade and jewelry business could no longer be done, not only because the roads leading to the Chinese border were shrouded in war flames, but more importantly, half of China had already fallen, and domestic chaos was rampant, with many lives lost. Who would still buy expensive jewelry?

  Shanxi was also occupied by the Japanese army, and Xu Hongming's relatives and friends either died or fled. The several shops owned by the Xu family in Taiyuan were all closed. As a hot-blooded young man, Xu Hongming was influenced by the high tide of national resistance against Japan, and secretly joined the Burmese underground resistance organization without telling his parents.

  Gu Hao was probably too tired and had no interest in listening to Dong Li Mao and Xu Hongming's conversation, so he fell asleep on the bamboo chair.

  "Do you know the people in the resistance organization?" Dong Li Mao asked after roughly understanding Xu Hongming's background, just to be sure.

  Xu Hongming thought for a moment, shook his head and said: "I haven't told anyone about the location of my villa, let alone brought people from the organization here. Does Dong Lianchang feel uneasy?"

  "That's not it, I'm thinking of the other brothers who followed me in the assault team and can't get in touch with us." Dong Li Mao was actually a bit worried about staying here.

  "Don't worry about this, I'll get in touch with them before nightfall," Xu Hongming said with seeming confidence.

  "Thanks, Mr. Xu." Dong Li Mao really felt tired, having not closed his eyes all night, and after a thrilling and earth-shaking session, he naturally felt exhausted, and let out a yawn.

  Xu Hongming saw that Dong Li Mao was in a difficult situation, so he said: "Dong Lian Zhang, the bedroom is upstairs, I'll take you up to sleep."

  Dong Li Mao glanced at Gou Hao, who was already reclining in the bamboo chair, and replied: "I'll sleep later, I want to take a bath." In fact, he was uneasy. If everyone fell asleep, in case of an emergency, they might not even have time to get out of bed before being eliminated, so he had to keep his eyes open until Gou Hao woke up before he could sleep.

  "Alright, after Miss Li is done washing up, Dong Lianchang can also go and rinse off." Xu Hongming stood up, opened a wine cabinet, inside which was a hidden compartment. He pointed at the compartment and said: "There are weapons and ammunition in here, if you need them, just take them from inside."

  Dong Li Mao walked forward, Xu Hong Ming pushed open the compartment, and oh my, it was a small arsenal, with a light machine gun, several submachine guns and pistols, as well as hand grenades, all made in America. Dong Li Mao picked up an ammunition clip, which was fully loaded with bullets.

  "That's great, with these, we can take on a small team of Japanese soldiers." Dong Li Mao now needs these things, he casually picked up an assault rifle, the magazine clicked into place, and he pulled back the bolt with a familiar sound. He is no longer a novice at playing with guns, knowing how to bring out the maximum power of the lethal weapon in his hands.

  "I'll head back home for a bit, and also ask about the movements of the city's garrison. I'll be back before sunset, and there's already food prepared in the room, so just make yourselves at home and don't be polite." Xu Hongming said this, then glanced towards Li Yuanyuan's showering room, and walked out of the bamboo building.

  Dong Li Mao walked to the window with his submachine gun, looking out and seeing Xu Hongming open a small room on the side of the bamboo building. Before long, an old car drove out from inside. In Dong Li Mao's eyes, it was just an old black car, but he was very familiar with the brand. Seeing the logo on the hood stunned him - it was actually a Rolls-Royce! However, the sound of the engine sounded like a tractor.

  "Pretty cool!" Dong Li Mao muttered. Watching the car drive away, he turned around and walked up the stairs, took a look at each room, confirmed that everything was normal, before coming back downstairs.

  "What's wrong, Jiacheng?" Li Yuanyuan asked, wiping her wet hair with a towel and standing at the bottom of the stairs. "Where did Mr. Xu go? I seemed to hear a car sound just now."

  "He said to go into the city, to gather some information about the Japanese army's movements, and come back before sunset. He was driving a Rolls-Royce, it seems that Mr. Xu's family is doing very well in Rangoon's business, he's a rich young master." Dong Li Mao's tone had a hint of envy, looking at Li Yuanyuan who had just finished showering and was drying her hair, thinking she looked very feminine, walked closer to her, leaned in and took a sniff of her hair: "So fragrant..."

  "Go... didn't think there was anyone else here?" Li Yuanyuan smiled and pushed Dong Limao away, glancing at Gou Hao who was snoring on the bamboo chair.

  "Hot water or cold water?" Dong Limao asked about the bathwater in the bathroom.

  "This weather, is hot water needed? You also go wash up, it's quite comfortable." Li Yuanyuan ambiguously pushed a palm against the back of Dong Limao and said.

  "There's a bedroom upstairs where you can sleep, I've just checked it out. Go ahead and go to bed, I'll keep watch for you, so rest assured." Dong Li Mao said, pointing his gun at the upper floor.

  Li Yuanyuan however smiled and said in a soft voice: "I'll wait for you..." Then she threw the towel to Dong Limao, and went upstairs step by step.