Sha Zhu's Rebirth in the Courtyard: Starting with Hitting Someone in the Head

Chapter 4 Father and Son Meet

The military control commission sent an officer to accompany He Yuzhu and his sister to Widow Bai's house.

The officer's surname was Sun, he was in his early twenties, had a Mauser pistol tucked into his waistband, and walked with a swagger.

Widow Bai's house was in an alley on South Street, with faded Spring Festival couplets pasted on the door. Officer Sun went up and knocked on the door, making a loud banging sound.

"Open the door, open the door, it's the Military Control Commission."

Footsteps sounded inside, and the door opened a crack. A woman in her thirties peeked out.

"Comrade... what's the matter?"

Is He Daqing here?

The white widow's face changed, and she tried to close the door. Officer Sun stepped in to stop it, and the door opened.

The courtyard wasn't large. He Daqing was standing by the gate when he saw He Yuzhu and Yushui, and he froze.

"Pillars? Rainwater?"

Rainwater fell from He Yuzhu's arms, and he rushed over to hug He Daqing, bursting into tears.

"Father! You don't want us anymore!"

He Daqing squatted down and picked up the rainwater. His eyes were red, and he kept saying, "No, no."

He Yuzhu watched this scene with no expression on his face. He didn't even glance at He Daqing, and walked to the middle of the courtyard to activate his spatial perception.

Everything was crystal clear within 30 meters.

Hidden in the west wing was a cloth bag containing 1,200 yuan, two small yellow croakers, and jewelry left by his mother. With a thought, he stored it in his spatial storage. That old bastard He Daqing had amassed quite a fortune over the years.

He swept the yard again. Under the floor tiles of the east wing, there was an oil paper package containing a piece of paper.

Confession.

With a thought, He Yuzhu sent the oil paper package into his spatial dimension.

He then glanced at He Daqing and said coldly, "Alright, stop crying. Let's go inside and talk."

Officer Sun followed them into the main room. The widow's two sons, one eight or nine years old and the other five or six, were hiding in the inner room, peeking out through the crack in the door.

He Yuzhu asked Yushui to sit down, and stood beside her. Officer Sun took out his notebook and began questioning her.

"He Daqing, you abandoned your children and ran away from Beijing to Baoding. Do you admit it?"

He Daqing's face turned pale, and his lips trembled.

"Comrade, I...I didn't abandon you..."

"Then what are you?" Officer Sun's voice wasn't loud, but it was firm. "Your son is sixteen, your daughter is seven, and you abandoned them in Beijing and ran away. According to the newly promulgated Marriage Law, that's called abandonment. Abandonment is punishable by up to three years in prison."

The white widow's face turned pale.

He Daqing opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word.

Officer Sun then looked at Widow Bai: "And you too. If you knew he had children to raise and still seduced him into severing ties with his family, then you are an accomplice and will be punished the same as him."

The white widow's pretty face turned blue.

He Yuzhu stood silently to the side. Yushui leaned against his leg, her little hands gripping his trouser leg.

He Daqing looked up and said, "Zhuzi, I left two hundred yuan with Yi Zhonghai, and a substitute worker certificate from Lou's Steel Plant. That's for you and Yushui."

He Yuzhu glanced at him.

"Yi Zhonghai said it. He said it in front of the whole hospital, that you didn't leave anything behind."

He Daqing was stunned, then his face turned ashen.

"How...how could he..."

"Why not?" He Yuzhu sneered. "Once you leave, my brother and I will be nothing more than meat on a chopping board. Yi Zhonghai can cut us however he wants."

He Daqing's hands began to tremble.

After taking notes, Officer Sun closed his notebook and looked at He Yuzhu.

"Comrade Xiao He, what do you think we should do next? Should we take them back?"

He Yuzhu thought for a moment and then shook his head.

"Officer Sun, thank you. I'll talk to them first, and if that doesn't work, I'll trouble you again."

Sun nodded, patted him on the shoulder, and then glanced at He Daqing and Widow Bai with a warning look in his eyes.

"Okay. I'll wait outside. Just call if you need anything."

He went out and closed the door behind him.

The main room fell silent. The widow's two sons peeked out from the inner room, only to be glared back at by her.

He Yuzhu pulled up a chair and sat down, looking at He Daqing.

"Dad, I have something to tell you. Listen carefully and don't interrupt."

He pointed at the white widow.

"Your affair with her was a scheme set up by Yi Zhonghai and the old deaf man. The old deaf man's caregiver is Yi Zhonghai and his wife. Yi Zhonghai can't have children himself and wants to find someone to take care of him in his old age. He chose Jia Dongxu, but with Jia Zhangshi around, he wasn't comfortable with him. So the old deaf man and Yi Zhonghai scared you away, and I became Yi Zhonghai's alternative caregiver."

He Daqing's face was filled with disbelief.

"You know the White Widow, introduced by Yi Zhonghai, right?"

He Daqing opened his mouth and nodded.

"You drank with the White Widow, ended up in bed with her in a daze, and then wrote a confession after waking up, right?"

He Daqing clenched his fist.

"Later, someone sent you threatening letters, saying that you had hosted banquets for the Japanese and that they would report you and force you to leave Beijing, right?"

He Daqing was trembling all over.

"That letter was sent by Yi Zhonghai. The confession was a honey trap set by him and Widow Bai; it was a setup from beginning to end."

After He Yuzhu finished speaking, he took out the confession from his pocket and unfolded it.

When the white widow saw the paper, her legs went weak and she almost collapsed to the ground.

He Daqing turned his head and looked at the white widow.

The white widow took a step back.

"Great Qing, I... I had no choice... Yi Zhonghai, he..."

He Daqing raised his hand to strike, but when he saw the widow's tearful face, his heart softened.

He slowly lowered his hand, glanced at He Yuzhu, then at the widow, his expression troubled.

He Yuzhu looked at his father and understood.

That old bastard, he can't bear to part with the white widow.

He Yuzhu knew that He Daqing had no backbone when it came to women. Even though Widow Bai schemed against this old bastard, he still couldn't bear to let her go.

Even without Widow Bai, there's Widow Li, and Widow Zhang. He's hopeless.

He Yuzhu sighed.

"Alright. I won't break you two up."

The two were stunned.

He Yuzhu looked at the white widow.

"But I have conditions. Yushui will stay in Baoding and you can raise her. It's inconvenient for me to take her with me."

Upon hearing this, the white widow's face changed, and she opened her mouth to shout.

"Why are you calling me that—"

He Yuzhu went up and slapped him twice.

Two sharp cracking sounds rang out. The white widow's face immediately swelled up, and blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. She covered her face, her eyes wide, as if she had seen a ghost.

He Daqing stood up to try and stop him, but He Yuzhu turned around and delivered a powerful punch to He Daqing's chest. He Daqing groaned, fell backward, and landed hard on his backside, unable to catch his breath for a long time.

Rain was startled, took two steps back, and bit her lip without crying.

He Yuzhu waved the confession in front of Widow Bai.

"You two better behave yourselves. If you piss me off, I'll send you both in jail. Both of you will be locked up for two or three years, and when you come out, don't even think about getting a job. You'll be doing hard labor. Widow Bai, your two sons will starve to death first. I'll take care of the rainwater myself."

The white widow trembled as she looked at the confession. Her two sons ran out from the inner room, hugged her legs, and cried.

He Daqing sat on the ground, panting for a long time before finally catching his breath. He stood up, leaning against the wall, and looked at He Yuzhu with a complicated expression.

"Pillar……"

"Shut up." He Yuzhu didn't look at him. "Just tell me, do you agree or not?"

He Daqing nodded.

The white widow dared not object.

He Yuzhu put away the confession, squatted down, and looked at the rain.

"Rain, come here."

Rain came over, looking at him with teary eyes.

He Yuzhu wiped her face, his voice softening.

"Rain, listen to your brother. Stay in Baoding and study hard. If Widow Bai treats you badly, go to the Military Control Commission and report her. You can also have them call Beijing, and I'll come up and get revenge for you."

He turned and stared at the white widow, his eyes flashing with a fierce light.

"If she dares to bully you, I'll come up here and kill her two sons. Those two old bastards, I'll break one of their legs each. Remember that."

Yushui bit her lip, tears streaming down her face.

"Brother, I don't want to be separated from you."

"I don't want to either." He Yuzhu patted her head. "I have things to do, and it's inconvenient to take you with me. Be good, study hard, and you'll be able to write to me. In a few years, once I've finished my business, I'll definitely take you with me. You can stay here for now. If He Daqing treats you well, we'll still acknowledge him as our friend."

Rain poured into his arms, and he cried so hard his shoulders trembled.

He Yuzhu hugged her and patted her back.

After a while, the rain stopped. He Yuzhu stood up, took out four hundred yuan from his pocket, and handed it to He Daqing.

"I'm taking your 1200 and the little yellow croaker. Here's 400 to raise Rainwater well. Remember this: if Rainwater doesn't fare as well as those two boys, it's because you two are mistreating her. When I come up here, you two will have to think twice."

He Daqing took the money, his hands still trembling.

He Yuzhu looked at him and said another sentence.

"I can take the money without anyone noticing, and I can take both of your lives just as easily."

He Daqing's face turned pale. The widow huddled in the corner, not daring to breathe.

He Yuzhu picked up the rainwater and walked outside. But when he reached the door, he turned back.

"Dad, come with me to the Military Control Commission again. You left two hundred yuan and a substitute worker certificate with Yi Zhonghai. Go and write a certificate; I need to get them back. Also, I brought my household registration booklet. Can we register Yushui's household registration here?"

He Daqing wiped the sweat from his forehead and followed.

The white widow leaned against the wall, watching them leave, then her legs gave way and she slid to the ground.

Her two sons ran over, one hugging her arm and the other her leg, and they all burst into tears.

The widow looked down at her two sons, and a chill ran down her spine as she recalled what He Yuzhu had just said.

That little bastard is like the King of Hell.