Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

The old man said, "Last year, the government organized people to drain the water from the moat, cleaned it up, collected all the human bones and buried them, and removed a lot of silt. Now the water in the moat comes from the Yongding River, so the fish brought in are safe to eat."

"Oh, is that so? I knew it. Thank you, sir," He Yuzhu said politely.

"Don't mention it. If you want to go fishing, just go past the East Gate. There's a shop there that specializes in fishing gear." The old man even pointed out the shop's location.

He Yuzhu thanked him again, but said he hadn't come here to fish; the steel mill was just a few miles outside Dongzhimen.

Dongzhimen was the most convenient passage for Jia Dongxu and Yi Zhonghai to enter the city. He Yuzhu could stand guard on the bridge and use spatial perception to sense whether they were carrying any smuggled goods stolen from the steel mill.

Their hideout for selling stolen goods was a hardware store not far from Dongzhimen.

If Jia Dongxu is found to have illicit goods, He Yuzhu will turn a blind eye and catch him red-handed.

Therefore, He Yuzhu only needs to stay on the bridge and wait for the two to pass by to find out if there is anything wrong with them.

It just so happened that He Yuzhu got off work earlier than usual, so he went from the restaurant in front of Qianmen to Dongzhimen, where Jia Dongxu hadn't gotten off work yet.

He Yuzhu then chatted with the old man while using his mental powers to observe the situation underwater.

At first, I was a little annoyed that my space couldn't be used for planting or raising animals, but then I suddenly realized that I had an extra special ability: I could store all the items within a 10-meter radius into my space.

Although 10 meters is not a long distance, it is enough to cover the river water under the bridge and can scan all the way to the riverbed.

The area is a semicircle, and you can clearly see several fish swimming around within it. They may have been full and stopped biting.

Chapter 28 Capturing Jia Dongxu

With a thought, He Yuzhu sent one of the grass carp, weighing over three pounds, directly into the space.

Overjoyed, he realized that while his own space couldn't be used for planting, with the combined power of his superpower and his space, he could have as many fish as he wanted in the water.

With a thought, another large carp was stored in the space.

Now it's confirmed that you can use your personal space in this way.

Then he asked, "Grandpa, how much does this fish usually cost per pound?"

"They're usually around two cents each, depending on the type of fish."

The old man was very talkative and gave several examples, mostly between 15 and 25 cents, with little price difference. He also mentioned that small yellow croakers could sell for 40 cents, but those were sea fish.

He Yuzhu chatted with the old man, occasionally releasing his spiritual energy to check, since the river below was flowing and fish might pass by at any time.

Anything larger was put into the space; not a single one was left out.

A short while later, Yi Zhonghai and Jia Dongxu were seen walking onto the bridge.

He Yuzhu quickly turned his back to them and lay down on the bridge. At this time, the men's clothes were mainly black, blue and gray, making it difficult to recognize who they were from behind.

The two were talking as they passed over the bridge, and He Yuzhu released his spiritual power to scan them.

To He Yuzhu's disappointment, neither of them had any extra ornaments on them, so it seemed that they had returned empty-handed today.

But thinking about it, it's normal. Taking things from the steel mill depends on the opportunity. If you steal too much every day, the factory would have gone bankrupt long ago.

After the two crossed the bridge, He Yuzhu didn't rush to leave. He caught fish for a while longer, catching about two or three hundred pounds of fish, before leisurely returning to the courtyard house.

When he entered, he had a fishing rod on his shoulder and three fish, two large and one small, in his hand.

Yan Bugui's eyes lit up, and he ran over excitedly, saying, "Zhuzi, did you go fishing?"

“Yes, look how big this fish is!” He Yuzhu said, picking up the fish in his hand to show it to him.

"It's not small." Yan Bugui's eyes were fixed on the fish, as if he were looking at a beautiful woman and couldn't bear to look away.

He Yuzhu deliberately took out three fish—two large and one small—intending to give the small fish to him, but it wasn't a free gift.

He Yuzhu had mentioned borrowing first-grade books to Yan Bugui before, but nothing came of it. Yan Bugui never said he would give him the books, so He Yuzhu forgot to ask about it again.

It's perfect that we can use fish to exchange for it today, so Yan Bugui won't feel like he's been taken advantage of.

"Uncle Yan, did you find the book I asked you to look for last time?"

"Books? You mean the first-grade textbooks, right? I found them." Yan Bugui said he found them, but didn't express any intention to give them away.

He Yuzhu had already guessed what he was thinking, and then handed over the smaller carp, which still weighed two pounds.

"Uncle Yan, we'll add an extra dish for you today."

"This...this is too much!"

Although Yan Bugui spoke modestly, his hands betrayed his words; he directly took the straw rope used to tie the fish, and then said with a smile:

"Wait here, I'll go in and get the book for you."

In less than two minutes, Yan Bugui came out with several textbooks. If the ones weren't in the notebook, he would have to buy them separately. He Yuzhu thanked him and then went into the Intermediate People's Court.

The next day, after get off work, He Yuzhu went to the moat to catch fish again. He caught quite a few fish and even caught a seven or eight-pound turtle. However, Jia Dongxu was still missing his pendant and had no success.

At night, after He Yushui fell asleep, they went to the base of the city wall to get bricks.

On the third day, He Yuzhu came to the bridge again. In three days, he caught a total of seven or eight hundred catties of fish. If calculated at the middle price of two cents per catty, this would be enough to make 150 yuan.

Now He Yuzhu was finally relieved. Even without a job, he could live a carefree life in this world by relying on this magical ability to catch fish.

I will never have to worry about going hungry again. As long as there is no drought, I will have fish to eat.

With a steady supply of fish, they could exchange them for food, and even during those three years, He Yuzhu was able to make a good living.

Just as he was feeling happy, he saw Jia Dongxu and Yi Zhonghai coming from a distance, and quickly lowered his head to hide from them.

When they passed by, He Yuzhu released his spiritual power to check again. Sure enough, his three-day wait finally yielded the desired result.

There was a bearing in each of the two pockets on either side of Jia Dongxu's oversized work clothes. No gaps were found during the mental energy check, so it seemed to be intact.

At that time, steel production was low, and all industrial products were very expensive. A two-wheeled bicycle cost more than 300 yuan. A few years later, during the First Five-Year Plan, after the bicycle factory went into production, the price was quickly reduced by half, and the price of a bicycle was less than 200 yuan.

This is also why He Yuzhu hasn't bought a bicycle yet, since there isn't a single bicycle in the courtyard.

However, He Yuzhu was now hesitant. His money came too easily, and he felt that it was like wearing fine clothes in the dark if he didn't spend it.

My mind was wandering, wondering if I should buy a bicycle soon, but for now, I needed to take care of Jia Dongxu's matter.

Following far behind into the city, Jia Dongxu said something to Yi Zhonghai, and then walked into a smaller street.

Yi Zhonghai continued walking forward for a while, then entered an alley, which was a shortcut home.

It seems that Yi Zhonghai has no intention of stopping to wait for Jia Dongxu.

He Yuzhu hurried a few steps and turned into the side street, where he saw Jia Dongxu turn a corner and enter a hardware store.

Previously, He Yuzhu only knew the general location and did not know which specific house it was, so he stayed on the bridge over the moat to guard it.

He quickly took a few steps and stood at the door, where he saw Jia Dongxu taking the bearing out of his pocket, intending to hand it to the shopkeeper standing behind the counter.

"Brother Dongxu, what a coincidence! I never thought I'd see you here." He Yuzhu exclaimed.

Hearing the familiar voice, Jia Dongxu was startled and lost his grip, causing the bearing to slip from his hand and fall to the ground.

He Yuzhu clearly saw the bearing smash directly onto Jia Dongxu's cloth shoes.

"Ouch!"

Jia Dongxu had no time to pay attention to He Yuzhu behind him. Instead, he sat down on the ground, hugging his feet and wailing.

He Yuzhu: "Oh dear, how could you be so careless? What if you broke the bearing?"

As he spoke, He Yuzhu stepped forward and picked up the bearing that had rolled to the ground. Then he picked up another bearing from the counter and said to the shopkeeper, "Excuse me, I'll take him to see a doctor about his foot first."

Then He Yuzhu helped Jia Dongxu up and pulled him outside.

Jia Dongxu was clearly bewildered and reluctant to be led forward. He asked, "Zhu Zi, what are you doing here?"

He knew in his heart that stealing the factory's bearings was something that couldn't be brought to light, so after leaving the house, he grabbed onto a nearby pillar and refused to move forward.

If you want to stop, you should first talk to He Yuzhu about this matter.

Seeing that he couldn't pull it any further, He Yuzhu stopped and said, "Why can't I be here? I'm just curious why you're here too?"

"I..."

Jia Dongxu was at a loss for words and didn't know what to say. He couldn't very well just say that he had stolen two bearings from the steel rolling mill to sell, could he?

What kind of person would that make me? Wouldn't that be an admission of guilt?

He countered with, "Why did you come here?"

He Yuzhu said, "I stole two bearings after get off work at the steel rolling mill today, intending to sell them to this hardware store!"

Chapter 29 Master save me

Jia Dongxu opened his mouth but couldn't say a word; it was obvious that someone had stolen his lines.

He Yuzhu's workplace was in Qianmen, which is in the south of Beijing, while Dongzhimen is in the northeast corner of Beijing. Besides, how could He Yuzhu, a chef's apprentice, possibly steal bearings?

He Yuzhu was clearly implying that he had stolen the bearings. His face flushed slightly, and he said awkwardly, "I didn't steal these bearings from the factory."

"Hehe, really?" He Yuzhu asked back.

"Really, I'm not lying to you, I found it on the road," Jia Dongxu said, forcing a smile.

"You found them on the street? Then try finding me two more!"

"..."