Courtyard House: The Road to an Industrial Power

Before dawn, just as the rooster in the yard crowed for the third time, there was a gentle knock on Yi Zhonghai's door.

He put on his coat and opened the door, only to find Director Wang from the neighborhood office with two staff members. His heart skipped a beat, and a sense of unease rose within him.

"Comrade Yi Zhonghai, according to the unified arrangement of the street, you have been assigned a job sweeping the streets, responsible for the section of road from our alley to the street entrance, with a monthly salary of 15 yuan."

Director Wang spoke in a calm tone, yet with an unquestionable official air.

Yi Zhonghai's face drained of color instantly, and his brows furrowed tightly.

Back then, he was a level eight fitter at the steel rolling mill, respected by everyone, and his salary was among the best in the entire institute. Now, however, he had to sweep the streets, a stark contrast that he found hard to accept.

"Director Wang, could you perhaps offer me a different job? I have repair skills; I can fix the machines in the factory and the farm tools at home."

He tried to persuade them, his tone tinged with pleading.

"Comrade Yi Zhonghai," Director Wang interrupted him, his expression becoming more serious.

"The organization has already shown you kindness by assigning you this job, taking your situation into consideration."

"Sweeping the streets is hard work, but it's also serving the people. You should correct your attitude, reform yourself properly, and strive to reintegrate into society as soon as possible."

A staff member nearby chimed in, "You need to be clear about your role and have the right attitude. There's no hierarchy in work; we're all contributing to socialism!"

Yi Zhonghai looked at the two of them, knowing that further arguing would be pointless. He was deeply conflicted, torn between his disdain and resentment towards the street sweeping job and his own predicament.

He had just returned from the farm penniless. His family relied entirely on the extra income from the odd jobs his aunt did on weekdays; they had no other source of income.

After a long silence, he finally lowered his head and said in a somber tone, "Fine, I'll do it."

Director Wang's expression softened when he saw that he had agreed: "That's right. Start work tomorrow. Go to the street office to pick up your tools."

"Work hard, and the organization will take notice." With that, he left with his staff.

When Yi Zhonghai arrived at the door, he slammed his fist on the doorframe, his eyes filled with humiliation and resentment.

Despite his resentment, he had no choice but to accept this humiliating job in order to make a living.

For the next few days, Yi Zhonghai got up before dawn every day, took a broom and went to sweep the streets, only returning home exhausted in the evening.

He kept a close eye on Widow Li's movements, but the woman seemed to be on guard, staying at the deaf old woman's house all day long, never leaving her side, making it impossible for him to find an opportunity to contact the deaf old woman alone.

On the morning of the fifth day, after Yi Zhonghai finished washing up and was about to pick up a broom to go out, he suddenly caught a glimpse of Widow Li carrying a cloth bag and hurriedly leaving the house.

These days, Widow Li's family is almost out of food. She had been wary of Yi Zhonghai staying at home and dared not go out easily. Later, she discovered that he went to sweep the streets at a fixed time every day.

Only then did I feel relieved, and I planned to go to the market to buy groceries after he left.

But to her utter surprise, Yi Zhonghai was a little later than usual today, and happened to catch her leaving the house.

Yi Zhonghai was overjoyed. Suppressing his excitement, he waited until Widow Li had gone far away before hurrying towards the deaf old woman's house.

He gently pushed open the half-closed door. The room was dimly lit, and he saw the deaf old woman sitting on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), struggling to fold a tattered quilt.

"Ahem." Yi Zhonghai coughed deliberately.

The deaf old woman trembled with fright, and the blanket in her hand fell to the ground.

She turned around abruptly and saw Yi Zhonghai. A hint of surprise flashed in her cloudy eyes, which quickly turned into eagerness.

"What brings you here? Did Widow Li not notice?"

"She went out to buy groceries, so I rushed over." Yi Zhonghai closed the door behind him and lowered his voice.

"Grandma, tell me, who exactly is Widow Li?"

The deaf old woman didn't waste any words, speaking rapidly: "That woman is a bandit queen from a mountain stronghold, a ruthless killer!"

"I found her at the neighborhood shelter to take care of me. Later, when my identity was exposed and I was confined to my home by the neighborhood office, she turned her back on me."

"They treated me like a servant, beat and scolded me, and even tried to force me to hand over the treasures they had hidden."

"If I didn't comply, she wouldn't give me food and almost smothered me to death!" she said, her eyes filled with hatred and fear.

Yi Zhonghai frowned as he listened, never expecting that Widow Li was from a mountain stronghold. He felt even more strongly that this woman could not be allowed to live.

"Come with me." The deaf old woman said, standing up while holding onto the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), and walked unsteadily to the wardrobe.

"Come on, push this wardrobe open."

Then Yi Zhonghai struggled to push open the heavy wardrobe.

Then the deaf old woman inserted her cane into an inconspicuous little hole, which anyone who didn't know better would have thought was a mouse hole.

At that moment, a gap popped out from under the wardrobe with a click.

Then, at the deaf old woman's prompting, Yi Zhonghai pushed the stone slab inward through the gap.

A downward passage was revealed, the opening of which was small, just enough for one person to pass through.

Yi Zhonghai was stunned. He had lived in the courtyard house for decades and had no idea that such a hidden place existed.

He followed the deaf old woman down the narrow stone steps. The basement was filled with a damp, musty smell. The deaf old woman lit a dim oil lamp hanging on the wall, illuminating the small space.

The basement was filled with old wooden crates and miscellaneous items. In the corner, a pile of things was wrapped in tarpaulin, but it was impossible to tell what they were. Scattered scraps of paper lay on the ground, making the place seem particularly desolate.

"Look at this." The deaf old woman walked to a wooden shelf and opened a mahogany box on top.

The box was opened and immediately burst into a dazzling display of gold bars, neatly stacked and radiating an alluring luster.

Yi Zhonghai's eyes widened instantly, and his breathing became rapid.

He had lived most of his life and had never seen so much gold. For a moment, he was speechless and just stared blankly at the gold bars in the box.

The deaf old woman picked up three gold bars and stuffed them into Yi Zhonghai's hand. The gold bars were heavy and had a slightly cool touch. "Take them, this is your deposit."

She said urgently, "I'll give you an address. Go there and find a few people. They're spies from the south, specializing in these clean and efficient jobs. Have them kill Widow Li for me. After it's done, I'll give you ten gold bars."

She paused, a resolute glint in her eyes: "Originally, I didn't want to deal with these people, but now I have no choice. That poisonous woman, Li Cuie, if I let her stay by my side any longer, I'll die at her hands sooner or later!"

"All this gold will be yours after I pass away. Right now, I'm restricted from moving around by the neighborhood committee and can't do anything. From now on, I'll have to rely on you for many things."

Yi Zhonghai held the gold bar in his hand, his mind in turmoil.

On one side is the risk of murder, and on the other is the allure of gold and the enormous wealth that may be gained in the future, as well as the opportunity to regain control of the situation.

He hesitated for a moment, but greed ultimately prevailed over reason, and he nodded: "Okay, I'll help you! Where's the address?"

The deaf old woman gave the address of an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city, repeatedly instructing, "When you meet them, just say the old lady sent you to pick up the goods, and they'll know. Be careful, don't let anyone find out."

Yi Zhonghai memorized the address and carefully tucked the gold bars into his pocket.

The two followed the stone steps back into the house and worked together to move the wardrobe back to its original position, blocking the entrance to the basement.

The deaf old woman gave him a few more instructions, and Yi Zhonghai dared not linger any longer. He picked up a broom from the corner of the wall and hurriedly left the deaf old woman's house.

Pretending to be nonchalant, he walked towards the street, but in his mind he was already planning how to make contact with those spies.