Chapter 160: Settling Down

After Bai Yan and the others departed, Li Wensheng strode back to the inn, and then went out with Chen Wenqi to look for a place to live.

This time, the two of them had numerous criteria for the house.

It had to be inconspicuous, yet feature a Western architectural style. Li Wensheng’s current persona was that of a returned overseas student who vehemently praised the West while dismissing all Eastern culture; such a person would never live in a Chinese-style room.

The house could not be too shabby, or it would fail to match Li Wensheng’s identity as a returnee from abroad, yet it could not be too luxurious either, since Li Wensheng’s persona was not exceptionally wealthy.

It also had to be a detached building with convenient transportation.

There were simply too many demands. After searching for a long time, the two failed to find a suitable property.

The next day, a little past six in the morning, the two got up, refined their appearance, and went out for breakfast.

As soon as they stepped onto the street, Li Wensheng and Chen Wenqi saw crowds of people surrounding newsboys and newsstands, shouting excitedly, "Quick, give me a newspaper!" "Damn it, don't buy them all!" "If anyone buys two copies, I won't let them walk out of here alive."

There were also many people who had managed to get a newspaper standing by the roadside, reading the pages with worried expressions and discussing in low voices with those beside them.

"Sigh, I never expected the Lone Ranger's identity to be exposed. It's going to be dangerous from now on."

"Brother Rui'an, how do you think those Japanese devils are so capable of actually tracking down the Lone Ranger's identity?"

"The Japanese devils have numerous spies in China, and there are plenty of their people within the Nationalist Government as well. The Lone Ranger's identity probably leaked from inside the Nationalist Government."

"I never thought the Lone Ranger would actually be that man's nephew."

"Bah, that person is hardly worthy of being the Lone Ranger's uncle! He actually sent assassins after the Lone Ranger—what a despicable wretch."

Walking past and listening to the surrounding discussions, Chen Wenqi, holding Li Wensheng's arm, whispered in his ear, "From now on, the Nationalist Government won't send anyone to hunt you down anymore. But intelligence agencies from other countries will definitely hunt down your whereabouts with all their might. Your assassination skills are simply too formidable; everyone wants to get their hands on you."

"It's fine, they won't be able to track me down. With the way I look now, even Bai Yan and the others who spent half a year following me wouldn't recognize me right away, let alone anyone else."

"You mustn't let down your guard. Better to be safe than sorry," Chen Wenqi cautioned with lingering worry.

"All right, I'll be careful."

After finishing a Western-style breakfast at a Western restaurant, the two set out to look for housing again.

The exposure of his identity had become the talk of the town in Shanghai, and for several days, ordinary citizens on the street continued to discuss it.

After a few days, the fervor died down somewhat. At this point, Li Wensheng's good-for-nothing "uncle" used the newspapers to declare that the whole affair was entirely the work of Minister Zhan Hua of the Political Department, claiming he had never sent anyone to hunt down Li Wensheng, and even expressed his hope that Li Wensheng would return.

This stirred the fervor back up again, but fortunately, with no follow-up reports, the excitement quickly subsided once more.

By late September, although the weather was still quite hot, it was much better than before, and one no longer broke out in a sweat merely from walking outside for five minutes.

At this time, Li Wensheng and Chen Wenqi, after searching for a long time, finally found a small detached western-style house in the inner section of Route 2, Pétain Road.

This row consisted entirely of detached western-style houses, varying in size. Li Wensheng's house was the smallest of them, featuring small front and back courtyards of about twenty square meters each, and a two-story Western-style cottage.

After moving in, Li Wensheng began searching for newspapers and visiting bookstores to acquire information about France.

A few days later, having gained a general understanding of France, Li Wensheng began looking for a job.

Finding a job was merely a cover to conceal his identity, which meant the work had to be relaxed, offer flexible hours, and allow for frequent trips outside.

There weren't many job options available nowadays, and coupled with Li Wensheng's numerous demands, he searched for several days without finding a suitable position.

Li Wensheng had no choice but to lower his standards and select a newly opened financial company advertised in the newspaper that was close to his home.

The Stone Company was located on Pétain Road, just a little over ten minutes' walk from Li Wensheng's home.

As a newly established financial company, when it placed a recruitment advertisement in the newspaper, it offered thirty positions.

Decades ago, Shanghai had already been highly developed, attracting numerous domestic and foreign elite talents to seek development there. When the war broke out, these people all flooded into the Foreign Concessions.

With an abundance of people, good jobs naturally became fiercely contested.

Positions at foreign companies like this one were particularly sought after.

At eight-thirty in the morning, when Li Wensheng arrived at the Stone Company, a queue of job seekers had already formed in the lobby.

Those standing in line were all dressed in impeccably neat suits, with similar demeanors—either Chinese returnees from overseas studies or foreigners possessing profound and extensive learning.

Li Wensheng glanced over the scene, walked up to the counter, and stated his purpose. The receptionist behind the counter handed him a form.

After filling out the registration, Li Wensheng took his registration form and joined the very end of the queue.