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

Chapter 9 Upgrading from a slingshot to a cannon

When He Yuzhu woke up in the morning, it was already broad daylight outside. He got up, washed his face, and went out for breakfast.

At the entrance of Nanluoguxiang, there's a breakfast stall with a large wok for frying dough sticks, sizzling away by the roadside. He Yuzhu ordered a bowl of soy milk and three dough sticks, and sat on a long bench to eat slowly. The soy milk was scalding hot, so he blew on it as he drank, his mind racing with plans for the day.

We need to buy a watch so it'll be convenient to tell the time. All our clothes, shoes, and socks need to be replaced with new ones; the quilts at home are old and not warm enough. Before, the He family didn't have a woman; the two men, always struggling, lived a miserable life, and even the bedding smelled bad.

I need to clean it thoroughly when I get back. I also need to get my hair cut; the graduation banquet is in a few days, and I can't let my master down.

I need to buy a bicycle; I'll need it to track Liu Guangqi, I can't keep chasing him on foot. Besides, I have money in my spatial storage now—over three thousand yuan in cash, twenty-odd large and small yellow croakers, and several hundred silver dollars. Why not spend it and save it for future use?

As He Yuzhu pondered this, a smile crept onto his lips. He stuffed the last bite of the fried dough stick into his mouth, paid the bill, and left.

He went to Dong'an Market first.

At the south entrance of Wangfujing Street, in the largest department store in old Beijing, you could find anything. He Yuzhu went straight to the cotton fabric counter and picked out two new cotton quilts, one thick and one thin. He also bought several sets of cotton clothes, inner and outer garments, socks, and shoes. When buying them, he deliberately got them a size too big; he was only sixteen and could still grow taller.

The saleswoman was a middle-aged woman. She glanced at him a couple of times when she saw that he was a teenager buying so many things.

"Did you buy this for the adults in your family?"

"I bought this for myself." After saying that, she put on her new cotton-padded coat.

The sales clerk didn't ask any more questions and helped him pack the bags. He Yuzhu carried the bags out the door, turned into a small alley, and after checking that no one was around, he put them all into his spatial storage.

He went to a shoe and hat store and bought a cotton hat and socks, made of black cloth, which were warm to wear, and threw away his old shoes.

After leaving Dong'an Market, I headed straight for the Dongdan Consignment Store.

He picked out a secondhand bicycle, a British Phoenix brand, with a black frame and gleaming handlebars. The salesman asked for 180 yuan, but He Yuzhu bargained down to 20 yuan, pushing it away for 160 yuan. The price wasn't cheap, but the bike was easy to ride and durable.

I also bought the watch from this store. It's a second-hand Patek Philippe, steel case, white dial, Roman numerals, and in good condition.

The salesperson said the watch was sold a few years ago by a foreigner before he returned to his country. He Yuzhu looked at it and saw that it kept perfect time when fully wound. It cost two hundred and twenty yuan; he didn't haggle and took it home.

As he was about to leave the shop, his eyes caught sight of a few items displayed in the corner of the counter: a bow and arrow set, and six throwing knives. The bow and arrows were a hunting bow, not a high-drawn battle bow, but powerful enough. The throwing knives were made of steel, slightly rusty, but could be easily sharpened.

He Yuzhu squatted down and took a look.

With fragments of these skills in my mind, I can master them with practice. They'll come in handy for revenge.

"How much does this bow and arrow cost?"

The salesperson glanced at it and said, "The bow comes with twelve arrows, forty dollars."

"Where's the throwing knife?"

"Six for thirty yuan."

He Yuzhu took out some money and handed it over, saying, "Wrap it up."

After lunch, He Yuzhu found a barbershop. The barber put on a white cloth and asked him how to cut his hair.

He said to cut it shorter, to look more presentable, because they were having a banquet in a few days.

The experienced cutter was quick; the clippers and scissors clicked and swished, and he finished cutting in no time.

He Yuzhu looked in the mirror and saw that he looked clean and neat. With his own dressing up, he didn't look old at all.

He put on a hat and dressed in new clothes, then rode his bicycle to Fengzeyuan.

After getting out, with a piece of meat and a fish hanging on the back seat of the car, they swayed back to the courtyard house.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, He Yuzhu pushed his cart into the courtyard, and several people in the courtyard looked over at the same time.

When Jia Zhangshi saw He Yuzhu's attire, the cart he was pushing, and the meat and fish hanging on it, her eyes nearly popped out of her head.

Her mouth started moving, but the sound wasn't loud; He Yuzhu could hear a few words.

"Show-off...what's with the bragging...you'll squander it all sooner or later..."

He Yuzhu glanced at her and made a note of it.

There were two uniformed officers standing in the courtyard; they were from the police station. Several other people were also standing nearby.

He Yuzhu propped up the car and walked over.

"What's wrong?"

Wang Caifeng glanced at him but didn't say anything. A police officer spoke up, "The old lady's house in the backyard has been burgled; we're here to investigate."

He Yuzhu looked surprised. "Broken? When did this happen?"

"The old lady said she discovered it at noon today. She took the money to go out and buy food, but found the money was gone."

He Yuzhu thought for a moment, then raised his voice so loud that it could be heard throughout half the courtyard.

"They can steal this? I need to hurry home and check. I spent a lot of money today, I don't want my house to be emptied out."

After he finished speaking, he walked to his room, unlocked the door, went inside, stayed for a while, and then came out, patted his chest, and looked relieved.

"Thank goodness, the money I hid is still there. That scared me."

These words were meant for Yang Ruihua and Wang Caifeng. Sure enough, both women's expressions changed. Yang Ruihua turned and headed home, her steps almost a jog. Wang Caifeng also turned back.

Many people also went back to check their own money.

He Yuzhu stood in the central courtyard, waiting.

A moment later, a scream came from the front yard, so sharp it could shatter glass.

"That damned bastard! Our house has been robbed!"

The sound then came from the backyard as well. Wang Caifeng's voice was even louder than Yang Ruihua's, like a pig being slaughtered.

"Husband! Come back quickly! All our money is gone! Not a single penny left!"

He Yuzhu stood in the middle courtyard, listening to the commotion on both sides, and the corners of his mouth slowly curled up. He turned around and went back into the house, closed the door, sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), and covered his mouth to chuckle.

As soon as Jia Zhangshi came out of her house, she craned her neck to look into the front yard. Her expression was complex, a mixture of surprise, schadenfreude, and a little fear.

He Yuzhu looked at Jia Zhangshi's face through the window, and a fierce expression appeared on his face again.

It'll be your turn sooner or later.

The two police officers exchanged a glance, one ran towards the front yard and the other towards the back yard.

He Yuzhu was at home, watching the play, and he couldn't suppress the smile on his face.

About ten minutes later, the two police officers returned to the intermediate court. The one from the front yard looked unwell, while the one from the back yard shook his head. Both houses, like the old lady's, had intact doors and windows, no signs of forced entry, yet their belongings were gone.

Yang Ruihua followed behind, her eyes red from crying, muttering, "All the money I've saved up for half my life." She didn't dare mention the gold, only the money.

Wang Caifeng also suffered a terrible fate; she lost all of her three hundred yuan and cried so hard she could barely stand.

"Don't panic." The police officer made a few notes, closed his notebook, and said, "We will investigate. You should also be careful not to keep all your money at home; deposit it in the bank if you should."

The two left in a hurry. In a case like this, the door wasn't pried open, the windows weren't broken, there wasn't even a footprint—where are you supposed to investigate?

The courtyard gradually quieted down. Yang Ruihua, leaning against the wall, returned to the front yard, while Wang Caifeng was also helped back to the back yard by a neighbor.

Just as He Yuzhu was about to open the door and go out to say something, he sensed a person walking out of the backyard through the wall gate.

Old deaf man.

She leaned on her cane and walked forward step by step. When she reached the main house in the courtyard, she raised her hand and knocked on the door.