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

It was late at night.

He Yuzhu lay on the bed with his eyes open, showing no signs of sleepiness.

The moonlight streaming through the window illuminated his youthful yet remarkably calm face.

He was rapidly reviewing the entire situation in his mind.

Being targeted was only a matter of time. That idiot Jia Zhangshi, if she dared to go to the police station, she'd definitely dare to go to the military police. The Special Higher Police's level of professionalism far surpasses that of the regular police and detective teams. They won't abandon their suspicions just because the case is closed; on the contrary, they'll become even more excited by any remaining doubts.

Right now, the other side is only monitoring, not taking any action. This indicates that they aren't entirely confident either. They're waiting, waiting for themselves to slip up. Or perhaps they're gathering evidence, hoping to wipe out everyone behind them in one fell swoop.

Should we just eliminate these spies? No way.

He Yuzhu immediately dismissed the idea. Killing one would only bring two more. Killing two would bring a whole squadron. This would only solidify his suspicions and escalate the situation, making it difficult to control even if the organization intervened.

Running away? That's even less likely.

He's not alone now; he has his parents and his infant sister behind him. With his family in tow, where can he run to? Besides, if he runs away, it would be tantamount to admitting guilt.

If we can't fight and we can't run away, then we can only use strategy.

To break this deadlock, the key lies not in the spies who are monitoring, but in the source of their surveillance—Ichiro Watanabe.

The best way to make a suspicious hunter stop is not to kill him, but to make him believe that he is only chasing a rabbit, not the tiger he imagines. Even better, make him feel that continuing to chase the rabbit will make him a laughingstock.

To achieve this goal, the best pawn is none other than that greedy and foolish woman—Jia Zhangshi.

A plan quickly took shape in He Yuzhu's mind. The core of this plan was to exploit Jia Zhangshi's uncontrollable greed and have her personally turn Watanabe Ichiro's investigation into a complete mess.

The next morning, He Yuzhu found an opportunity and quietly slipped out of his house. He didn't go to the organization's safe house, but went to another place—a small teahouse where Xu Fugui often frequented.

Xu Fugui was holding a teacup, listening to a storyteller, looking quite content. Suddenly, someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and saw He Yuzhu. Startled, he almost dropped the teacup.

"Pillar... Pillar? What brings you here?" Xu Fugui asked in a low voice, looking around nervously.

"Uncle Xu, I need your help." He Yuzhu's expression was very calm.

"Help? Oh my little darling, don't scare me like that. I tremble just hearing your name now," Xu Fugui said with a pained expression.

"Don't worry, I won't let you kill or set fires." He Yuzhu took out two silver dollars from his pocket and stuffed them into Xu Fugui's hand. "Find a chance to go back to the compound. Put in a good word for me."

Xu Fugui held the warm silver dollar, his eyes lighting up: "Talk? Talk about what?"

"Tell the people in the courtyard, especially where that woman from the Jia family can hear you," He Yuzhu whispered in his ear, speaking in a voice only the two of them could hear. "Tell them that the reason my father, He Daqing, was able to settle down in Xicheng so quietly is because my grandfather left behind a treasure map. Following the map, our family dug up a small box of gold bars in the cellar of the old house."

"What?!" Xu Fugui was so shocked he almost jumped up.

"Keep your voice down!" He Yuzhu glared at him.

"Gold...gold bars?" Xu Fugui's mouth was practically watering. "Really?"

"Never mind whether it's true or not," He Yuzhu said coldly. "Just pass on the message. Remember, make it sound like the truth. Say you personally saw us move, and there was a small, heavy box wrapped in black cloth, which we treasured like a precious gem."

Xu Fugui was a clever man, and he immediately understood He Yuzhu's intention. This was a trap! Although he didn't know who was being targeted, just thinking about how anxious and distressed Jia Zhangshi would be upon hearing the news made him feel incredibly satisfied.

"Alright! Leave it to me!" Xu Fugui patted his chest and assured her, "I guarantee the whole courtyard will know tomorrow, and Jia Zhangshi will be dreaming of gold bars!"

"If it's done, you'll get a bonus too." After saying that, He Yuzhu quietly left.

Xu Fugui clutched the two silver dollars, watching He Yuzhu's small figure as a chill ran down his spine. This kid was cunning and ruthless. Luckily, he had chosen to curry favor with him; otherwise, he probably wouldn't even know how he died.

As He Yuzhu had predicted, things went exactly as he had expected.

When Xu Fugui returned to the courtyard house, he embellished the story of the "treasure map" and "gold bars," causing an uproar throughout the entire courtyard.

When the news reached Jia Zhangshi's ears, her eyes instantly turned red.

bullion!

A small box of gold bars!

Her mind went blank, and she seemed to see countless golden croakers dancing before her eyes.

"I knew it! I knew where they got so much money!" Madam Jia slapped her thigh, pacing back and forth in the room, muttering to herself, "You, He Daqing! You think you can just run away after making your fortune? No way! That house belongs to the courtyard, and everything in the courtyard should be shared by everyone! Why should he keep it all to himself!"

Her foolish mind was completely consumed by greed. The idea of ​​informing the Japanese, or being a murderer, had all been thrown to the winds. Now, she had only one thought in her mind—to dig for gold bars!

This news was quickly relayed to Watanabe Ichiro by the surveillance agents.

"Treasure map? Gold bars?" Watanabe Ichiro scoffed upon hearing the report.

He wouldn't believe a single word of these common rumors.

However, another thing mentioned in the report piqued his interest.

"What was the reaction of that woman named Jia Zhangshi after hearing the news?"

"Reporting to the section chief! She's acting like a madwoman, repeatedly trying to break into No. 95 Nanluoguxiang courtyard, saying she's going to dig a cellar, but the new residents have stopped her each time. She's also making a scene in the courtyard, saying the He family's gold bars belong to everyone in the courtyard."

Watanabe Ichiro narrowed his eyes.

He tapped his fingers lightly on the table, lost in thought.

This rumor appeared too coincidentally. It's so coincidental that it seems like someone deliberately released it.

Is this meant to confuse the public? Or... a trap?

He now has two choices. One is to dismiss it as nonsense and continue monitoring He Yuzhu as usual. The other is to use this rumor, and the foolish bait of Jia Zhangshi, to test the waters.

If the He family really has gold bars, then it's a good idea to confiscate them. If not, let Jia Zhangshi make a scene; perhaps that will force that brat He Yuzhu to reveal his true colors.

"Interesting." Watanabe Ichiro's lips curled into that cruel smile again. "Notify the people monitoring Compound 95 to retreat temporarily and avoid being exposed. I want to see what this mad dog can gnaw out of this quagmire."

He decided to temporarily retract the hound's leash and release an even crazier, more foolish bait.

night, deeper.

No. 95, Nanluoguxiang.

A dark figure crept out of the Jia family's house. It was Jia Zhangshi, who had been blinded by the gold bars. Holding a shovel, she looked around furtively, making sure no one was in the yard, before tiptoeing to the door of the He family's former main house.

She took out a wire, poked it into the keyhole, and fiddled with it clumsily for a long time.

With a "click," the door lock opened.

Overjoyed, Madam Jia pushed open the door and slipped inside.

Unbeknownst to her, in the shadows of the courtyard behind her, Yi Zhonghai was coldly watching everything. And on a higher rooftop outside the courtyard, two pairs of eyes belonging to the Special Higher Police were also taking in the entire scene through binoculars.

A trap has been set.

And the foolish prey has already plunged in.