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

The news of the He family moving away spread like wildfire back to the courtyard house at No. 95 Nanluoguxiang.

Xu Fugui was the first to receive the news. Following the code left by He Yuzhu, he went to the dilapidated temple to deliver some food, but found no one there. He only learned from nearby villagers that the He family had been taken away in a cart to the city.

Xu Fugui was both surprised and envious. He quickly ran back to the courtyard and told the deaf old lady about it.

After listening, the old lady simply hummed in agreement, sat down in her chair, closed her eyes, and no one knew what she was thinking.

The news quickly spread throughout the courtyard.

Yi Zhonghai frowned upon hearing this. The sudden disappearance and unknown whereabouts of the He family made him feel a sense of loss of control. He had originally planned that once the storm had passed and the He family returned, he, as the head of the compound, would give He Daqing a good talking-to and take control of the family. Now, they were gone.

The Jia family reacted the most strongly.

"What? They moved away?" Jia Zhangshi's loud voice boomed in the courtyard, startling several sparrows on the eaves. "Where did they move to? They must have struck it rich and are afraid we'll benefit from it, so they ran away secretly!"

She plopped down on the doorstep, slapping her thigh and wailing, "Oh my god! The He family is so heartless! When their wife had her baby, I, this old woman, was running around helping them. Now that they're rich, they just disappear without a word! Is this how humans do things?!"

Jia Dongxu, standing to the side, pouted and said, "Mom, didn't you want them to throw the child away the other day?"

"You little brat! Get out of here!" Jia Zhangshi slapped her son on the back of the head. "I'm doing this for their own good! Don't you understand?!"

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, and the more she felt cheated. In her view, the He family's current status was entirely due to the money He Yuzhu stole after killing the Japanese soldiers. That money should rightfully belong to everyone who saw it, especially her, his "hardworking and meritorious" neighbor.

"No! This matter cannot be left like this!" Jia Zhangshi's eyes darted around, and a wicked idea popped into her head.

She stood up and said to Jia Dongxu, "Son, come with me somewhere!"

"Where are we going?"

"Go to the police station!" Jia Zhangshi said through gritted teeth. "Go tell the police that I know who killed the Japanese soldiers! They must have Japanese gold bars hidden in their house! When the police find the gold bars, they'll have to give us informants some of the spoils! Maybe they can even award us those three main rooms in their house!"

When Jia Dongxu heard about this good news, his eyes lit up.

The mother and son hit it off immediately. Without consulting anyone, they changed into what they considered to be decent clothes and stormed out of the courtyard, heading straight for the police station.

……

The next morning, He Yuzhu was completely unaware of what had happened in the courtyard.

He changed into a clean school uniform, which Lin Wanqiu had sent, along with his Yuying Middle School student ID. He put the box containing his writing implements into a cloth satchel, looking like an ordinary middle school student going to school.

Before leaving, Chen Lanxiang straightened his collar and whispered, "Zhuzi, be careful in everything you do."

"Don't worry, Mother." He Yuzhu smiled, turned around and went out.

The Qianmen Railway Station was bustling with activity. Passengers from all directions, rickshaw pullers soliciting passengers, cigarette vendors, and patrolling fake police officers... all created a chaotic yet vibrant scene of the times.

He Yuzhu did not rush to the grocery store.

He first sat down at a wonton stall across the street, ordered a bowl of wontons, and ate slowly while observing the "Fuyuan Grocery Store" without making a sound.

The grocery store was small, and business seemed slow; not a single customer had entered for half a day. The owner, a fat man, was dozing against the counter. No one of obvious suspicious nature was found inside or outside the store.

After finishing a bowl of wontons, it was almost ten o'clock.

He Yuzhu put down the money, stood up, tidied his schoolbag, and walked into the general store like an ordinary customer.

"Boss," he said.

The fat shopkeeper raised his eyelids and responded lazily.

He Yuzhu uttered the code he already knew by heart: "Boss, do you have Huizhou pine soot ink? I want Old Hu Kaiwen's."

The portly shopkeeper, who had been drowsy, instantly snapped awake. He sized He Yuzhu up and down; this boy didn't seem like the person he was supposed to meet. But he still followed protocol and gave the second half of the coded message.

"Hu Kaiwen's goods just sold out," he said slowly. "Cao Sugong's are still available, just as good."

The code was matched.

He Yuzhu felt relieved, took the box out of his schoolbag, and placed it on the counter.

"Then how about one of Cao Sugong's?" he said, behaving like a dutiful son. "Please wrap this box of stationery up for me too, and give it to my dad."

"Alright." The chubby shopkeeper understood, picked up the box, and turned to walk towards the back shelf. His body blocked He Yuzhu's view, and he quickly took another identical box from under the shelf, completing the switch. The whole process took no more than three seconds.

He came back with the new box, quickly wrapped it in a piece of brown paper, and handed it to He Yuzhu.

"It's three yuan in total."

He Yuzhu paid the money, picked up the wrapped box, and turned to leave.

Just then, the shop curtain was lifted, and two men walked in.

Both men were wearing black trench coats and matching black top hats, the brims pulled low. One was tall and thin, while the other was somewhat stocky.

Upon entering the store, they didn't look at the shelves, but instead quickly scanned the entire store with sharp eyes.

He Yuzhu's heart skipped a beat.

spy!

He had seen too many characters like this in movies in his past life. The two men's demeanor was completely out of place with their surroundings.

He didn't turn around or stop walking. He simply said "thank you" to the shopkeeper with a normal expression, and then walked towards the door.

He brushed past the two men in trench coats.

In that fleeting moment, He Yuzhu could clearly feel the tall, thin man's gaze, like a knife, scrape across the backpack on his back and the box in his hand.

That gaze was cold, filled with scrutiny and suspicion.

A cold sweat instantly broke out on He Yuzhu's back, but his face remained calm and expressionless, like that of a child. He walked out of the grocery store, his eyes fixed straight ahead.

He didn't dare to quicken his pace until he had walked more than ten meters and turned into another alley.

He didn't turn around, but he knew that gaze might still be lingering on the doorway he had just walked out of.