Courtyard House: Ten-year-old Master Zhu reorganizes the entire courtyard

The bookstore was dimly lit.

The air was filled with the smell of old books and ink.

Rows of bookshelves reached the ceiling.

The shop was very quiet.

There was only one elderly man wearing reading glasses, sitting behind the counter, repairing a thread-bound book with a brush.

He heard the wind chimes ring, but didn't look up.

"Take a look," he said, his voice aged.

He Yuzhu walked to the counter.

He placed the cloth bag on the counter.

"Shopkeeper."

The old man then raised his head.

His eyes, through his thick glasses, scrutinized He Yuzhu.

Very sharp.

He doesn't seem like an ordinary bookstore owner.

"What is it?"

He Yuzhu repeated Lin Wanqiu's instructions verbatim:

"The book Mr. Lin asked you to repair."

The old shopkeeper stopped what he was doing.

He put down the brush in his hand.

He looked at He Yuzhu.

I stared at it for a full ten seconds.

He Yuzhu stood ramrod straight, his eyes unwavering.

The old shopkeeper nodded.

He reached out and picked up the cloth bag.

He didn't open it; he just weighed it in his hand.

Then he placed the cloth bag under the counter.

"Tell Mr. Lin," the old shopkeeper said, his voice neither loud nor soft, "it will take seven days to repair the book."

He Yuzhu noted it down.

"understood."

mission completed.

He turned around, ready to leave.

"Wait a minute," the old shopkeeper called out to him.

He Yuzhu turned around.

The old shopkeeper took two pieces of candy from a cookie box under the counter and handed them to him.

"Eat on the way."

He Yuzhu was stunned for a moment.

He took the candy.

"Thank you, shopkeeper."

He walked out of the bookstore.

The wind chimes rang again.

He put the candy in his pocket but didn't eat it.

He quickly left the back street of the beach.

Half the weight has been lifted from my heart.

The test has been passed.

He needed to leave the city as soon as possible and deliver the reply to Lin Wanqiu.

We just reached the next street corner.

Suddenly, a commotion arose from not far away.

"Down with Japanese imperialism!"

"Give us back our homeland!"

The slogans were sharp and impassioned.

He Yuzhu's heart sank.

problem occurs.

He saw a group of people rushing out from the street corner.

Most of them were young people wearing school uniforms.

They held up banners and handed out leaflets.

Like a torrent, it rushed into the street.

Pedestrians on the street scattered in panic.

Immediately afterwards, a piercing siren sounded.

A dozen or so fake policemen rushed out from another street, brandishing batons, and charged toward the student group.

"Catch them! Don't let them get away!"

The scene instantly descended into chaos.

The students scattered and fled.

The fake police were chasing after them.

The dull thud of police batons striking people mingled with the screams of students.

He Yuzhu immediately stepped back and slipped into a small alley next to him.

This is a dangerous place.

He must leave immediately.

He walked quickly forward along the alley.

He had only run a dozen meters.

A figure suddenly rushed in from around the corner at the entrance of the alley.

He is a student.

He was around twenty years old, wore glasses, had a pale face, and looked panicked.

Two fake policemen followed behind him.

"stop!"

The students saw He Yuzhu.

A flicker of despair crossed his eyes, which then turned into resolute determination.

He brushed past He Yuzhu.

In that very instant.

He quickly shoved something into He Yuzhu's hand.

It was a crumpled ball of paper.

"Hey, can you do me a favor?" he said in a very low, urgent voice, "Throw it away! Quickly!"

After he finished speaking, he ran into the depths of the alley without looking back.

The two fake policemen gave chase.

They didn't look at He Yuzhu.

Their target was that student.

He Yuzhu stood still.

He was holding that crumpled piece of paper in his hand.

Warm.

It was covered in the student's sweat.

In his mind, the system panel popped up instantly.

[Breaking News: An Unexpected Wrap of Paper.]

[Option A: Throw it away immediately.]

Risk: None.

Potential benefits: None.

[Option B: Leave the crumpled paper and look at it when you have the chance.]

Risk: 20% chance of being discovered by a fake police officer. The crumpled paper could lead to your death.

Potential Rewards Preview: [Hint: A map fragment leading to a new world.]

He Yuzhu hesitated for only half a second.

He chose B.

He didn't throw away the crumpled paper.

He clenched the crumpled paper in his palm and then quickly stuffed it into the lining of his sleeve.

His face was expressionless.

He continued walking forward.

His pace was neither fast nor slow, like that of a startled passerby.

He walked out of the alley.

Then it turned into another road.

He took a long detour, avoiding the area that had just been chaotic.

He could hear the distant whistles and shouts growing fainter and fainter.

He kept his head down the whole way.

There were no further checks.

He returned to the breach in the city wall at Xizhimen.

He looked left and right.

no one.

He nimbly climbed the tree and scaled the city wall.

He made it out of the city safely.

He stood on the wasteland outside the city and glanced back at the towering walls of Beiping.

In the city, a storm was brewing.

Outside the city, everything was desolate.

He touched the crumpled paper in his sleeve.

It's hard.

What exactly is this thing?

He did not check immediately.

He knew that now was not the time.

He quickened his pace and headed towards the dilapidated temple.

He has to go back first.

Returning to that dilapidated but temporarily safe home.

It was afternoon when he returned to the dilapidated temple.

He Daqing and Chen Lanxiang were waiting for him.

"You're back?"

"I'm back." He Yuzhu nodded.

He first told his parents about the old shopkeeper's reply.

"Seven days."

Then, he made an excuse and went alone to the hillside behind the temple.

He was certain that no one was around.

He took the crumpled paper out of his sleeve.

He unfolded it carefully.

The paper is very thin; it's the kind of homework paper students use.

That's not a map.

It is not a list.

A dozen or so names.

The address follows the name.

These are all addresses within Beiping (Beijing).

At the end of the list, there was a line of smaller print.

"Three days later, gather at Xishan to execute the 'Spark' plan."

He Yuzhu's pupils suddenly contracted.

This is not an ordinary student flyer.

This is a list of actions and plans for an underground organization.

The small crumpled piece of paper in his hand.

That's more than a dozen lives lost.

It is also a bomb that could explode at any time.

He threw it into his arms, which was tantamount to hugging a bomb into his arms as well.