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

With the financial crisis quietly unfolding, He Yuzhu's life temporarily returned to a peaceful routine. Like a true undercover agent, he concealed himself deeply beneath the identity of an apprentice and the appearance of a child, continuing his studies and the organization's secret training.

Life in the courtyard of Rongxian Hutong is peaceful and regular.

He Daqing firmly established himself at the restaurant in Xidan, and even became a trusted confidant of the owner because of his elusive but exceptional culinary skills. Every day after work, he would bring back stories of what he had seen and heard at the restaurant.

"What a strange day! A gentleman in a mandarin jacket specifically asked for 'Buddha Jumps Over the Wall.' The owner turned pale; you have to prepare that stuff in advance. I had a brilliant idea and used the ingredients I had to make him a 'Mini Buddha Jumps Over the Wall.' The old customer ate it with gusto, and even gave me ten silver dollars before he left!" He Daqing boasted excitedly as he sipped his wine, as if he had rediscovered some of the glory days of being the head chef at Fengzeyuan Restaurant.

Chen Lanxiang stood to the side, smiling as she sewed shoe soles, occasionally glancing up at He Yushui, who was chasing ants in the yard, her eyes full of tenderness.

Only He Yuzhu knew that this restaurant was one of the organization's properties, and that his father's every move was under the "manager's" watchful eye. This seemingly ordinary life was actually built on the most stringent protective network.

That afternoon, there was a knock on the courtyard gate.

He Yuzhu went to open the door, and standing outside was Xu Fugui, who had a big smile on his face.

"Is Zhu Zi home?" Xu Fugui asked, carrying two fish. He spoke as familiarly as if he were visiting relatives. "I know your dad likes a drink, so I got two fresh ones for Uncle Xu to have with his drinks."

"Uncle Xu, you're too kind. Please come in." He Yuzhu ushered him into the courtyard.

He Daqing was also quite happy to see Xu Fugui, after all, they were old neighbors. The two sat down at the stone table in the courtyard, and Chen Lanxiang brought tea, and they quickly started chatting.

Xu Fugui rambled on for a while before finally steering the conversation to what he cared about most.

"Brother Daqing, Zhuzi really has foresight," Xu Fugui said in a low voice, mysteriously. "After listening to what Zhuzi said last time, I also exchanged some silver dollars and stockpiled a lot of my livelihood—film. Guess what? In just a month or so, the price of silver dollars on the black market has increased by 20%! And my film is practically priceless!"

His face was filled with undisguised pride, and his eyes were full of admiration as he looked at He Yuzhu.

"Unlike some people in the courtyard, they're so stubborn." Xu Fugui's tone shifted, a gloating expression on his face. "Take that woman from the Jia family, for example. The other day when I went back to the courtyard, I heard her cursing at the gate. She was saying that grain prices had risen too fast, and her meager savings weren't even enough to buy cornmeal. She was clutching her few counterfeit coins tightly, treating them like treasures. What a fool!"

He Yuzhu listened quietly to the sound, a cold smile playing on his lips.

He had long anticipated Jia Zhangshi's fate. When the tides of history come, foolish and greedy people like her won't even make a ripple; they will be crushed to pieces.

"Oh, right," Xu Fugui seemed to remember something else, lowered his voice even further, and leaned close to He Daqing's ear, "There's something else. That Yi Zhonghai in the courtyard has been acting a bit strange lately."

He Yuzhu's ears immediately perked up.

"What's wrong with him?" He Daqing asked.

"He's been getting really close to that new Japanese technical supervisor named 'Ono' at the factory. The two of them are acting all secretive, always hiding in a corner of the workshop fiddling with things. I heard from the guys at the factory that they seem to be working on some kind of 'precision parts,' the blueprints are all in Japanese, they're treating it like a precious treasure, they won't let anyone else touch it." Xu Fugui curled his lip. "The factory's almost shut down, and he's still fawning over the Japanese like a lapdog, I really don't know what he's after."

Precision parts? Japanese technicians?

He Yuzhu's heart sank. In May 1945, at this point in time, they were still producing precision parts for the Japanese; the purpose was self-evident. Yi Zhonghai, this old man who had always been full of righteousness and morality in his previous life, might have actually embarked on the path of a traitor in this one.

This matter must be reported to the organization.

Xu Fugui chatted for a few more minutes before getting up to say goodbye.

After seeing him off, He Yuzhu couldn't calm down. It seemed that a new storm was about to break out in the courtyard.

Just then, Xu Fugui's wife, Xu Zhaoshi, rushed back, holding a small note in her hand.

"Zhu Zi, this...this is something the old lady asked me to give you." Xu Zhao Shi was a little out of breath as she stuffed the note into He Yu Zhu's hand. "The old lady said that you should go back and visit her when you have time. She said...she's not feeling well and wants to see you two siblings."

Xu Zhao's expression was somewhat strange, as if she wanted to say something but didn't. She only told him, "Go and take a look quickly," and then hurriedly left.

He Yuzhu unfolded the note, which bore the familiar, trembling handwriting of the deaf old woman. It contained only a brief sentence: "Return immediately, it's urgent."

However, the message delivered by Xu Zhao was that she was "not feeling well and wanted to see the child."

One said he had "something important to do," and the other said he "was not feeling well."

He Yuzhu understood instantly.

This is a code. The deaf old lady has something extremely important and secret to tell him, but it's inconvenient for her to say it outright, so she can only use this seemingly ordinary reason to call him back.

What lies hidden beneath the seemingly peaceful courtyard house? Is it Yi Zhonghai's secret, or is there some other, deeper danger?

He Yuzhu clenched the note in his hand, his eyes sharpening.

He knew he had to return to No. 95 Nanluoguxiang as soon as possible. There, he needed to unravel some mysteries, and perhaps, a new battle awaited him.