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

The year was August 1945.

On August 6th, news of the United States dropping an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, caused an uproar among the high-ranking Japanese and puppet regime officials in Beiping (Beijing). Then, on August 9th, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan, and a million Red Army soldiers marched into Northeast China.

Japan's defeat was no longer a possibility, but a matter of time.

The entire city of Beiping was restless in an eerie atmosphere.

The Japanese soldiers on the streets were less arrogant than before, their heads hanging low and their eyes darting around. The officials of the puppet government, on the other hand, lived in constant fear. Those with connections began selling off their possessions, exchanging them for gold bars and US dollars, preparing to flee at any moment. Those without connections went around burning incense and praying to Buddha, hoping to escape the impending reckoning.

In the small courtyard of Rongxian Hutong, He Yuzhu's life remained as peaceful as before.

He went to school as usual, and after school he stayed at home reading and practicing boxing. His network of intelligence among teenagers was still in operation, constantly gathering all kinds of information for him.

Sun Zhiqiang sent word that his father, the fake deputy director of the police station, had been sighing at home every day lately, secretly burning documents, and even had his mother sew all the family's jewelry into the lining of their clothes.

Li Qiang, who runs a grocery store, said that the price of gold on the black market has been changing daily lately, skyrocketing. Many well-dressed people are carrying boxes of counterfeit money to exchange for a few small gold bars.

Zhang Ming, the son of a railway worker, saw several freight cars mysteriously leaving the city, wondering what they were carrying.

All signs indicate that things are about to change.

That day, He Yuzhu received an urgent summons from the shopkeeper.

Still in the backyard of Moxianzhai, the shopkeeper's expression was particularly serious.

"Apprentice, the wind is about to change."

The shopkeeper handed him a cup of tea and said in a deep voice, "The organization judges that the Japanese will surrender in no more than half a month."

He Yuzhu nodded; this point in time perfectly matched his memories from his previous life.

"However, victory does not mean the end of the battle."

The shopkeeper's eyes sharpened. "The people in Nanjing can't wait any longer. Their underground advance force, the city action team, and all sorts of people have long been infiltrated in Beiping. As soon as the Japanese fall, they'll jump out and seize the fruits of victory."

He Yuzhu naturally knew who the shopkeeper was referring to when he mentioned Nanjing.

"What is our mission?" He Yuzhu asked.

"Surveillance!"

The shopkeeper said, enunciating each word clearly, "From now on, you must use all your channels to keep a close watch on several key traitors and Japanese puppet regime businesses in the city. Record their personnel movements, asset transfers, and which documents they've destroyed. This will be incriminating evidence they won't be able to deny in the future!"

The shopkeeper handed He Yuzhu a list.

The first name on the list was that of a wealthy businessman named Hu Zongcheng. He was in the textile business and, during the War of Resistance against Japan, monopolized the cotton yarn supply in North China by relying on his relationship with the Japanese military, making a fortune off the national crisis. He was a notorious traitor in Beiping.

"This Hu Zongcheng is the key figure."

The shopkeeper pointed to the list and said, "We received information that the Kuomintang Military Intelligence Bureau has already made contact with him. They want to change Hu Zongcheng's assets from enemy property to party property, so that they can swallow it up legitimately."

"I understand." He Yuzhu took the list.

In the following days, He Yuzhu devoted most of his energy to monitoring Hu Zongcheng.

Hu Zongcheng's residence was located in a secluded alley in the eastern part of the city, heavily guarded. He Yuzhu did not force his way in, but instead used his status as a child to play marbles and collect picture cards with the neighborhood kids at the alley entrance after school.

He had a keen sense of perception and could easily distinguish the eyes observing from the shadows. He discovered that, besides himself, at least two other groups were watching the Hu family compound. One group looked like thugs, likely a local gang. The other group wore long gowns and top hats, and their movements showed they were well-trained; they were probably agents of the Military Intelligence Bureau.

Various forces are mingling, all waiting for the situation to change.

Finally, on the afternoon of the third day of surveillance, He Yuzhu got his chance.

A Ford sedan pulled up in front of the Hu family's house. A man in his forties got out, wearing a sharp suit and gold-rimmed glasses, carrying a leather suitcase, and walked straight into the Hu family's house.

He Yuzhu's pupils contracted. He recognized this person; he had seen this photograph in his previous life's records. The man's name was Zheng Keming, the deputy head of the Military Intelligence Bureau's Beiping station, whose public identity was an economic takeover special envoy sent by the Nanjing government.

The main character has arrived!

He Yuzhu immediately told the other children to continue playing to distract them, while he quietly slipped to the back wall of the Hu family compound. There was an old locust tree at the foot of the back wall. He Yuzhu was agile and climbed up in a few moments, hiding in the dense canopy and sticking close to the wall.

The window in the Hu family's study faces this wall. The window is ajar, and hushed conversations can be heard coming from inside.

The distance is too far, so I can't hear clearly.

He Yuzhu concentrated, and on the system panel, his hearing attribute glowed faintly. The surrounding noise was filtered out, and the sounds in the study became clear.

Hu Zongcheng said in a fawning tone, "Commissioner Zheng, rest assured, I have prepared the list. I have clearly remembered every single Japanese property in Beiping, the properties of our North China Chamber of Commerce, and the private properties of those puppet government officials who followed the wrong side."

"very good."

Zheng Keming's voice was cold and hard, "But you must remember, you must clearly distinguish which parts of this list are movable and which parts are to be kept for our own people. The Chairman's meaning is that the takeover work must not be chaotic, and we must not allow certain people to take advantage of the situation and steal our fruits."

"Yes, yes, I understand."

Hu Zongcheng responded immediately, "Let those who don't know what's good for them become traitors. Those of us who are wholeheartedly devoted to the Party and the country should naturally be protected."

Then, Zheng Keming's next words sent a chill down He Yuzhu's spine.

"Furthermore," Zheng Keming's voice lowered, tinged with a sinister undertone, "we've also taken control of some of the strongholds in the city. When the time comes, we can take advantage of the chaos to pin some enemy property on them. This will allow us to confiscate it legitimately and frame them for treason—killing two birds with one stone."

He Yuzhu's heart sank suddenly.

What a vicious plan!

These people hid in the rear during the War of Resistance, but now that the Japanese haven't surrendered yet, they can't wait to jump out, not for the country or the nation, but to seize territory and eliminate dissidents! They not only want to swallow up the enemy's and puppet regime's industries, but also want to take the opportunity to frame and attack them!

He Yuzhu lay motionless on the tree, but his fists were already clenched.

He knew that a more dangerous and dirty struggle was about to unfold in the city.

He quickly memorized what he heard, then silently slid down from the tree and disappeared into the shadows of the alley.

This intelligence must be sent out immediately!