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

He Yuzhu stopped.

He looked at Xu Fugui, his hand resting on the gun handle at his lower back.

"Uncle Xu."

Xu Fugui forced a smile, but it looked worse than a grimace.

"Pillar, it really is you. You... what are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here again?" He Yuzhu asked in return.

Xu Fugui's face stiffened.

He rubbed his hands together and sighed.

"Don't even mention it. Da Mao, that kid, is sick too. He has a fever. I was thinking there might be some imported medicine here at the ghost market, so I came to try my luck." He waved the medicine bottle in his hand. "What about you? Uncle He and Auntie..."

"We're avoiding the limelight," He Yuzhu said succinctly.

He didn't want to say more.

"Sigh, this world," Xu Fugui shook his head. "Things haven't been peaceful in the courtyard these past few days either. The police came twice, going door to door asking where you'd been."

"What did you say?"

"They all say they don't know. The old lady has spoken, who dares to say anything?" Xu Fugui lowered his voice. "But from what I can tell from Chief Liu's words, this isn't over. Zhuzi, you guys need to be careful."

As he spoke, his eyes kept glancing towards He Yuzhu's chest.

He saw that He Yuzhu had bought flour and cured meat.

"Zhu Zi, you've... struck it rich?"

"A little money to survive," He Yuzhu said. "Uncle Xu, I'll be going now."

He didn't want to get entangled with Xu Fugui.

This person is too shrewd.

"Hey, wait a minute." Xu Fugui caught up. "We're going the same way, let's walk together for a while. This cemetery is too creepy to walk alone."

He Yuzhu did not refuse.

The two walked out of the woods, one after the other.

Just as I reached the main road, three people suddenly jumped out of the bushes beside me.

They were all dressed like local thugs, carrying wooden sticks.

"Halt!" The leader was a scarred-faced man. "Gentlemen, you must be tired from being out so late. Can you lend me some money?"

Xu Fugui's face turned pale.

He quickly pulled out a few banknotes from his pocket.

"Good sirs, please do me a favor. This is all the money I have, you can have it all."

Scarface took the money, glanced at it, and spat.

"Is that all? Are you trying to fob me off like a beggar? Hand over that bottle of medicine you're carrying!"

"This...this is to save my son's life!" Xu Fugui exclaimed anxiously.

"Stop talking nonsense!" another thug raised his stick.

Xu Fugui was so frightened that he backed away.

He Yuzhu stood still, without moving.

He sized up the three people.

Unstable stance, unsteady steps. Just an ordinary thug.

Scarface's gaze fell on He Yuzhu.

"And you, kid! Hand over what you're carrying! That bag of flour looks good!"

Xu Fugui quickly winked at He Yuzhu, signaling him to spend money to avoid further trouble.

He Yuzhu ignored him.

He told Scarface, "Get lost."

All three of them were stunned.

Scarface looked as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world.

"Hey kid, what the hell did you say? Say it again!"

"I said, get out," He Yuzhu said again.

"court death!"

Scarface roared and swung his stick at He Yuzhu's head.

Xu Fugui was so frightened that he closed his eyes.

But he didn't hear any screams.

There was a muffled thud, the sound of bones dislocating.

He opened his eyes.

Scarface's stick fell to the ground. He clutched his wrist, knelt on the ground, and screamed in agony.

He Yuzhu was still standing in the same spot, as if he hadn't moved at all.

The other two thugs reacted and rushed forward together.

He Yuzhu moved.

He was short in stature, but extremely fast.

He dodged a stick to the side, stepped forward, and delivered an elbow strike that hit a thug squarely in the ribs.

The man arched his back like a shrimp, collapsed to the ground, and vomited.

The last thug was terrified and turned to run away.

He Yuzhu picked up the stick from the ground and threw it away.

The wooden stick struck the back of the opponent's leg.

The man fell to the ground.

The whole process took less than ten seconds.

Xu Fugui stared blankly, mouth agape.

In his eyes, He Yuzhu was no longer a ten-year-old child.

His swift movements and calm gaze made him seem like a god of death.

He Yuzhu walked up to the scarred man.

"Still want to rob it?"

"No... I won't dare again... Grandpa, spare my life!" Scarface was sweating profusely from the pain.

"Remember my face," He Yuzhu said. "If I see you again in this area, it won't be as simple as losing a hand."

He didn't look at them again.

He walked up to Xu Fugui.

"I'm gone."

Xu Fugui then came to his senses and followed along, trembling.

The two quickly left.

After walking a long way, Xu Fugui finally spoke, his voice trembling.

"Pillar...you...your skills..."

"I learned it from someone," He Yuzhu said.

Xu Fugui didn't believe it.

But he didn't dare ask.

The look in his eyes when he looked at He Yuzhu had changed from sympathy to awe, and even fear.

"Pillar," he said, his tone becoming very respectful, "thank you for today...."

"What did you see?" He Yuzhu asked.

"I didn't see anything!" Xu Fugui said immediately. "I only saw three thugs fall down on their own. Yes, that's it."

He Yuzhu nodded.

Xu Fugui is a smart man.

"Zhu Zi," Xu Fugui stopped as they approached the fork in the road, "If... if you ever need my help in the future, just ask. I can't guarantee anything else, but I know a few people in the city."

This is a pledge of allegiance.

He saw He Yuzhu's value.

A ten-year-old child with such skill and courage has a limitless future.

He wanted to invest in advance.

"I've got it," He Yuzhu said.

He neither agreed nor refused.

The two separated.

He Yuzhu hurried back to the dilapidated temple.

The sky was already turning a pale white.

He Daqing waited at the temple gate all night. When he saw him return, his eyes were red.

"Pillar!"

"I'm back."

He Yuzhu entered the temple.

Chen Lanxiang was also awake.

He placed the medicine, flour, cured meat, and the remaining fifteen silver dollars on the ground.

"Mother, there's medicine. My sister can be saved."

Chen Lanxiang covered her mouth and cried.

He Daqing looked at the things on the ground, then at his son.

"Pillar, did you...did you get all of this?"

"Um."

He Yuzhu didn't mention the dangers of the ghost market, nor did he mention the beating.

He only mentioned it once.

"On the way, I ran into Uncle Xu. He was also going to get medicine."

He Daqing was stunned.

"Xu Fugui?"

"Yes," He Yuzhu said, "He knows we didn't go back to the hospital. He won't talk nonsense."

He Daqing fell silent.

He felt that he understood his son less and less.

But there was one thing he knew.

This family is now being held together by pillars.

He, as the father, became the one who needed to be protected.