Courtyard House: From Deputy Division Commander to Civilian, Progressing All the Way

He Yuzhu gritted his teeth, his voice deafening: "I just went to the Yuquanshan compound to see Commander Lin! I've already signed up to join the army! Commander Lin agreed to let me be his bodyguard! We're setting off soon to fight the American devils in Korea!"

"Clatter!"

The wine cup in He Daqing's hand fell straight to the ground and shattered. Spicy Erguotou liquor splattered all over the ground, emitting a pungent smell.

He Daqing froze, staring intently at He Yuzhu as if he were looking at a complete stranger.

It took He Daqing a good ten seconds to react. Like an enraged old lion, he jumped up from the bench, rushed to He Yuzhu, and raised his calloused hands, which were used to stirring food for years.

"Snapped!"

A resounding slap landed hard on He Yuzhu's face.

He Yuzhu's head was turned to the side by the blow, and five bright red finger marks instantly swelled up on half of his face, but he didn't utter a sound. His neck was stiff and he gritted his teeth.

"You arrogant idiot! Have you lost your mind?!"

He Daqing was so angry that he trembled all over. He pointed at He Yuzhu's nose and cursed loudly, his voice filled with undisguised fear and despair.

"That's a battlefield! A meat grinder that devours people without spitting out the bones! Do you think it's some petty brawl between thugs in a courtyard? Those American devils were flying planes and tanks! They were living devils that even the Japanese couldn't defeat!"

"You're just a cook who flips a wok, you've never even touched a gun, what are you doing going there to join the fun? You're just destined to be cannon fodder!"

As He Daqing cursed, his eyes suddenly reddened. This old hand, who had spent most of his life in the hutongs of Beijing and had never shed a tear, was now weeping uncontrollably in front of his son.

"Zhu Zi... you're my only son! If you die out there, I won't even have a proper burial. How am I supposed to live? You'll make our He family line die out!"

He Daqing grabbed He Yuzhu by the collar, crying his heart out: "Listen to your father, go and cancel your name right now! We'll just stay here at the steel mill and cook honestly. If the sky falls, there are tall people to hold it up; it's not your turn to risk your life as a cook!"

He Yushui, who had been hiding in the inner room, heard the commotion and ran out. Seeing her father crying like that, the little girl was terrified and quickly ran over to hug He Daqing's arm, crying along with him.

"Brother, don't go! People will die on the battlefield! I don't want you to die!" He Yushui cried, tears streaming down her face, and clung tightly to He Yuzhu's clothes.

Seeing his father and sister like this, He Yuzhu's eyes also reddened.

But he did not back down. He stretched out his strong arm and gently freed himself from his father's hand.

"Father, Rainwater. Please stop crying."

He Yuzhu took a deep breath, his tone revealing an unprecedented firmness.

"I, He Yuzhu, may be a bastard, I may be a fool, but I know right from wrong! Who is Chief Lin? He's a dragon from the heavens! He gave up his comfortable job as the secretary of the steel mill, he gave up his comfortable life in the compound, and he insisted on risking his life to go to the front lines to defend our country. What is he after?"

He Yuzhu pounded his chest with his fists.

"Even a big shot like Chief Lin isn't afraid of death, so what's there for a lowly cook like me to be afraid of!"

"Father, you always taught me that one should repay kindness. Brother Lin is now the deputy factory director. How much kindness has our family received from the Lin family? Now that Commander Lin is going to risk his life, if I, He Yuzhu, cower in Beijing like a coward, I will never be able to hold my head up high for the rest of my life!"

He Yuzhu slung the tattered canvas bundle over his shoulder and bowed deeply to He Daqing.

"Father! Your son is unfilial and cannot be by your side to fulfill his filial duties! After I win this battle with Commander Lin, I will return to take care of you in your old age and see you off in your final days!"

After saying that, He Yuzhu resolutely turned around and strode towards the door.

"Zhu Zi! Come back here! You damned bastard!" He Daqing collapsed to the ground, slapping his thigh and wailing.

At this sorrowful moment of parting, a chilling, malicious laugh suddenly rang out from a corner of the courtyard.

"Hey, what's with the wailing? He's not even dead yet, and you're already making a scene?"

At some point, Jia Zhangshi was perched on her windowsill. Her fat face was filled with a gloating grin, and her triangular eyes gleamed with venomous resentment.

In the past six months, Lin Fan has become the deputy factory director, and He Daqing and his son, because they curry favor with the Lin family, act arrogantly in the courtyard. Jia Zhangshi has been suppressed to the point that she doesn't even dare to breathe loudly, and she has long been harboring a bellyful of venom in her heart.

Now that she heard that He Yuzhu was going to fight in Korea, she was so happy she was practically going crazy.

"Go, go! Hurry up and go!" Jia Zhangshi lowered her voice, but her sharp and sarcastic tone clearly reached He Daqing's ears.

"That idiot Zhu doesn't even know which end of the gun barrel is hot. Going there would just be suicide! It's no wonder your He family line ends! You're always acting as someone's lackey, this is your retribution! I'll wait and see your family throw a funeral feast!"

The air froze completely in that instant.

He Daqing was still immersed in the immense grief of his son's impending departure for the battlefield when he heard Jia Zhangshi's extremely vicious curses. The string of reason in his mind snapped completely!

"You old hag! You're asking for it!!!"

He Daqing let out a wild roar like a beast. He suddenly sprang up from the ground, his eyes bloodshot, grabbed a thick wooden stick used for chopping firewood that was standing by the door, and charged straight at the Jia family's gate like a mad tiger.

"Bang!"

He Daqing kicked the already flimsy wooden door of the Jia family, shattering it into pieces.

Jia Zhangshi was secretly enjoying herself behind the window when she was suddenly startled to see He Daqing rushing in menacingly with a stick. She was terrified.

"What...what are you doing! Help! Murder!" Jia Zhangshi was so frightened that she scrambled to hide under the kang (a heated brick bed).

"I'll chop you up today, you foul-mouthed old bastard!"

Without uttering a single word, He Daqing swung the thick wooden stick in his hand, whistling through the air, and slammed it hard into Jia Zhangshi's back.

"Snap!"

"ah--!"

Jia Zhangshi let out a bloodcurdling scream like a pig being slaughtered, and was beaten so badly that she collapsed onto the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed).

He Daqing's eyes turned completely red, and the wooden stick in his hand fell wildly like raindrops.

"You dared to curse my son to death! You dared to say my He family line would end! Today, I'll make sure your line ends!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The dull thuds and Jia Zhangshi's screams echoed through the courtyard.

Inside the house, Jia Dongxu huddled in a corner, trembling with fear, too scared to even try to stop them. Qin Huairu, clutching her child, cowered in the corner, shivering with terror.

The commotion in the courtyard alerted Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong.

The two men ran out, still wrapped in their clothes, and were terrified when they saw He Daqing's murderous look.