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

He Yuzhu returned to the outskirts of the city before dawn.

He found the village to the west.

He Daqing was squatting under a dead tree at the village entrance. When he saw him, he suddenly stood up.

"Pillar!"

He Yuzhu ran over. "Where are Mother and my sister?"

"They're at a family's house in the village. I gave them some money and let them rest inside." He Daqing grabbed his arm. "Are you...are you alright?"

"It's alright," He Yuzhu said. "The matter with the military police has been resolved for now. But we can't go back to Beiping."

"Where do we go?"

"Let's find a place to stay first," He Yuzhu said. "This village is too crowded and noisy. We need to find a place where no one goes."

He Daqing had no idea what to do. He now listens to his son completely.

They picked up Chen Lanxiang and He Yushui.

Chen Lanxiang's complexion worsened. He Yushui, still in her swaddling clothes, had an unnaturally flushed face.

He Yuzhu touched his sister's forehead.

hot.

His heart sank.

"My sister has a fever."

Tears welled up in Chen Lanxiang's eyes instantly. "What should I do... we're in the middle of nowhere..."

"Don't cry," He Yuzhu said. "There's a way. Dad, let's head west into the mountains. I remember there's a dilapidated temple over there."

He Daqing didn't know why his son remembered, but he nodded.

The family started walking again.

The snowy road was difficult to traverse. Chen Lanxiang had just given birth and was weak; she was out of breath after only a few steps. He Daqing, carrying two large bundles on his back, had to support her.

He Yuzhu walked at the front, scouting the way.

After walking for more than an hour, they finally saw the dilapidated temple in the ravine.

The temple was small. Half of the roof had collapsed. Only one door remained, hanging askew.

Inside was a headless statue, covered in dust and bird droppings.

He Daqing found some dry grass and spread it in the corner behind the statue.

"Lanxiang, please have the child sit down first."

The wind blew in through the hole in the roof, chilling people to the bone.

He Yushui started coughing. One cough after another, her voice thin and weak.

Chen Lanxiang held her, trembling incessantly.

"Zhu Zi, your sister... what if she...?"

"No," He Yuzhu interrupted her. "Mother, you have to believe me. I'll go get the medicine."

"Where are you going to get it?" He Daqing asked, "In this desolate wilderness."

"In the city."

"No way!" He Daqing immediately objected. "The city is full of military police arresting you! You're going to your death!"

"Dad, I have a way to get in," He Yuzhu said. "My sister can't wait. She needs fever reducers. Mother also needs to recover. We're out of food."

The dry rations in the bundle were all eaten last night.

He Daqing fell silent. He looked at his frail wife and his sick daughter. He was a grown man, and there was nothing he could do.

A sense of powerlessness overwhelmed him.

"Dad, start a fire." He Yuzhu took out a lighter from his system space. "Make this place warm. Take good care of Mom and my sister. I'll definitely be back before dawn."

He shoved the lighter into He Daqing's hand.

He Daqing's hands trembled violently as he held the match. He didn't ask where it came from.

"Pillar..." his voice was hoarse, "Dad will go with you."

"No way," He Yuzhu shook his head. "You're too conspicuous. Besides, you'd need to be there to guard the house. Don't worry, I can run fast on my own."

After he finished speaking, he turned and walked out.

He stopped in his tracks just as he reached the temple entrance.

He saw several points of light flickering on the distant hillside.

Torch.

There's more than one. There are probably five or six. They're moving towards this ravine.

It wasn't moving fast; it seemed to be searching for something.

He Yuzhu immediately retreated back into the temple.

"What's wrong?" He Daqing asked.

"There are people outside," He Yuzhu said in a low voice. "They might be searching the mountain. Don't make a sound."

He pulled He Daqing and Chen Lanxiang to hide in the darkest corner behind the statue.

He Yushui seemed to sense the tension and started crying again.

Chen Lanxiang quickly covered her mouth.

The cries were muffled by the swaddling clothes.

He Yuzhu's heart clenched.

The torches outside were getting closer. Faint voices could be heard.

It's not Japanese, it's a local accent.

Bandits? Or puppet troops?

Regardless of the type, being discovered means certain death.

He Yuzhu silently took out a silenced pistol from the system space and held it in his hand.

If they come in, we'll have to kill them.

The torches paused outside the temple for a while.

A voice came from inside: "Brother, what could be in this dilapidated temple? There's a foul smell; it's probably a wolf den."

"Go in and take a look," another voice said.

Footsteps.

He Yuzhu raised his gun.

He Daqing's eyes widened when he saw what was in his hand, but he covered his mouth tightly and didn't make a sound.

Footsteps approached the door.

Then stop.

"Forget it, bad luck," said the leader. "Let's go check out that hill over there. I heard a caravan passed through a few days ago; they're sure to have dropped some good stuff."

"Okay!"

The footsteps faded into the distance. The torches moved in another direction.

He Yuzhu breathed a sigh of relief.

He put down his gun.

My back was covered in cold sweat.

Chen Lanxiang also collapsed into He Daqing's arms.

"Gone?"

"I'm leaving," He Yuzhu said.

He stood up, walked to the door, and looked outside. The torches had already crossed the ridge and disappeared from sight.

But his plan to enter the city was disrupted.

If you go out now, you might run into someone.

But my sister's fever can't be delayed any longer.

He returned to the statue.

He Yushui's face turned even redder. Her breathing became rapid.

"Father, Mother," He Yuzhu made a decision, "We can't go to the city for now. I'll get something to eat first. We need to be full to have the strength."

He had He Daqing block him while he took something out of the system space.

A can of beef.

Two Japanese army compressed biscuits.

There was also a small bottle of sulfanilamide powder—found when he killed Japanese soldiers, which he hadn't touched.

These are the only medicines and food he has left in his space.

"Zhu Zi, what are you doing..." He Daqing stared at the thing that had appeared out of thin air, speechless.

"Father, I used to hide this outside the city with a colleague from Fengzeyuan," He Yuzhu had already prepared his explanation, "just in case. I never expected it would actually come in handy."

He Daqing was skeptical, but he didn't have time to ask further questions.

He Yuzhu opened the can.

The aroma of meat wafted out.

He Daqing swallowed.

"Mom, you eat first." He Yuzhu handed the canned food to Chen Lanxiang.

Chen Lanxiang shook her head. "You guys eat. I...I'm not hungry."

"You have to eat," He Yuzhu said firmly. "If you don't eat, how will you have breast milk to feed your sister?"

Chen Lanxiang fell silent. She took the canned food and ate it in small bites.

He Yuzhu broke the compressed biscuit in half, giving half to He Daqing and keeping the other half for himself.

He poured out a little more sulfanilamide powder, mixed it with snow water, and carefully fed it to He Yushui.

The medicine was very bitter, and He Yushui struggled to drink it.

He Yuzhu could only pry open her mouth and force it down her throat.

After finishing all that, he sat down and started munching on the half-eaten biscuit.

It was dry and hard. But he ate it very quickly.

"Zhu Zi," He Daqing said, looking at him after finishing his meal, "what's next? There's only this much medicine left. What happens when we finish it?"

"I'll get back to it before dawn," He Yuzhu said.

"Return it?"

"Hmm." He Yuzhu looked at the night outside the temple. "I know a place. A hidden flea market. It only opens at midnight. They sell everything there, medicine, food, you name it. I'll have to try my luck there."

He was referring to the ghost market.

In his past life, he had heard Xu Fugui from the courtyard mention it while bragging. It was over there in the chaotic graveyard in the western suburbs.

"Are you going alone?" He Daqing was still worried.

"I'm alone, so my goals are small," He Yuzhu said. "Dad, trust me. Take good care of Mom and my sister. Wait for me to come back."

He tucked the pistol into his lower back and covered it with his cotton-padded coat.

He then took out a decent pocket watch from the system space and put it in his pocket.

This is his only asset.

He glanced at his sleeping mother and sister.

He must succeed.

There is no escape route.

He walked out of the dilapidated temple and disappeared into the cold night.