Courtyard House: Purchasing Agents' Comeback from the Great Famine

Zhengyang Gate.

In a secluded little courtyard.

The second brother opened the door, walked into the room with a grim face, and said urgently to Ninth Master, "Ninth Master, we're surrounded by the police. What should we do?"

Upon hearing this, Ninth Master sighed deeply, looking as if he had aged ten years, his face extremely pale.

He looked at his second, fourth, and fifth brothers in the room, and fell into a brief silence without saying a word.

Seeing that Ninth Master remained silent, the second brother hurriedly said, "Ninth Master, why don't we fight our way out? We can't escape anyway. Killing one would be enough, killing two would be a bonus."

"Ninth Master, let's fight our way out!" Fourth and Fifth Brothers chimed in.

Ninth Master waved his hand, sighed, and said, "Since the police have come to our place, it means that Sixth Brother must have been arrested. Let's not make a futile struggle and just open the door and surrender."

Ninth Master really couldn't understand why Sixth Brother had failed when he brought a gun and had instructed him not to attack in crowded areas, and to plan an escape route in advance. Even if he failed and didn't kill the target, he shouldn't have been arrested, right?

He never expected that his first job as a killer would run into such a big problem.

With a sigh, Ninth Master frowned deeply. If he hadn't been so desperate to survive, he wouldn't have led a group of brothers into this line of work.

"Ninth Master, if we surrender, you may never get out of here for the rest of your life. If that's the case, I'd rather fight them to the death."

"That's right, Ninth Master, let's fight them to the death. I'd rather die than go to the Northwest to reclaim wasteland."

"Ninth Master, don't hesitate any longer. We'll cover you as you fight your way out. I only hope that after you escape, you can take care of my wife and children."

"Yes, Ninth Master, we are not afraid of death. We will cover your escape. Anyway, you gave me this life. If it weren't for you, I would have starved to death long ago. Now it's time to repay you, Ninth Master."

The group discussed amongst themselves, their eyes filled with determination.

All of them were refugees rescued by Master Jiu a few years ago. If it weren't for Master Jiu's kindness in providing them with a meal, taking them in afterward, giving them a way to survive, and eventually finding them wives, they would have starved and frozen to death long ago. How could they have the life they have today?

They were all loyal and righteous men. Ninth Master had been incredibly kind to them, and now they would risk their lives to ensure that nothing happened to him.

That's enough.

Ninth Master said in a deep voice, "You all have wives and children now. What will happen to them if you die? Can I take care of them all by myself?"

After a pause, Ninth Master continued, "Besides, we only have four men and four guns. How can we possibly break through the encirclement? I've already seen it; we're completely surrounded. Even if you fight your way out, you won't be able to carve a bloody path out."

"It's not that I'm afraid of death. You are all my good brothers. I just don't want to see you sacrifice yourselves in vain."

"We used to be doing legitimate business. If it weren't for the public-private partnership, where the public manager kept giving bad orders and turned our century-old pharmacy into a mess, making it impossible for us to survive, we wouldn't have chosen this path of no return."

"We've only been doing this for less than two years. Before that, we only took jobs that involved breaking arms and legs. We've never killed anyone. Even if we get sentenced, it won't be very severe. At most, it'll be eight or ten years. We'll still have a chance to get out in the future."

Upon hearing this, the men all frowned.

"Ninth Master, we are all still young, and we can hold on for eight or ten years. But you are getting old, and you are the mastermind. If you go in, you may never come out again."

"Yes, Ninth Master, you're almost fifty now. If you go in, you'll be there for at least twenty years. Land reclamation is too hard. I'm afraid you won't be able to handle it."

Ninth Master waved his hand and said in a serious tone, "Alright, that's it. I've made up my mind. Everyone, open the door and surrender with me later. I'm old and have lived enough, but you are all young and have a long life ahead of you. Besides, you all have wives and children. After you get out, you can reunite as a family."

Upon hearing this, the group became extremely anxious. They weren't worried about themselves, but they were most concerned about Ninth Master. After all, Ninth Master was old and the leader of their gang. Once he went in, he would definitely not come out.

The group argued incessantly, but Ninth Master didn't want to see them die young, so he was determined to surrender. They had no choice but to obey Ninth Master's orders.

Ninth Master sighed and waved his hand, saying, "Alright, now you can open the door and surrender. The police will be rushing in soon, and it will be too late to surrender then."

"Yes, Ninth Master."

Following Ninth Master's instructions, the group arrived at the courtyard gate, opened the door, and raised their hands.

The moment the door opened, the group was aimed at by a dozen or so dark guns.

"Don't move, put your hands behind your head, and crouch down, or we'll shoot."

None of them, including Ninth Master, chose to resist. Since they had already made their decision, they would not change it. Besides, it was too late to back out now. They all squatted down with their heads in their hands.

The team leader ordered, "Send a few people to search them."

Several police officers took out handcuffs, handcuffed the men, and began searching them.

After a thorough search of the yard, the police found more than a dozen daggers, as well as machetes and other weapons, along with seven Mauser pistols and dozens of bullets, and more than 800 yuan in cash.

It's actually quite funny. A gang like theirs only has a little over 800 yuan in cash? They don't even have a single small yellow croaker. They're really that poor.

"Take them all back for interrogation."

"Yes."

The group was escorted away. Before leaving, the second, fourth, and fifth brothers all bowed to Ninth Master.

"Ninth Master, take care."

"Ninth Master, take care."

"You must reform yourselves well in the future and become good people after you get out."

Ninth Master spoke solemnly to the group, his eyes filled with guilt. If he hadn't led them to do this kind of work, they wouldn't have ended up in this situation.

"Ninth Master, please take care of yourself. We will behave well from now on."

"Ninth Master, we can only repay your great kindness in the next life! Take care!"

Soon, the group was taken away by the police. As the gang leader, Ninth Master was the most closely guarded, escorted by four police officers, with two others aiming their guns at him.

After all, their gang is a violent group that takes money to do things, and they even found so many guns in the yard. How can they not be careful?