Courtyard House: I only wiped out 30,000 Japanese pirates

He Daqing's words were somewhat sanctimonious, but not entirely wrong.

He grew up in the hutongs of Beijing, where neighbors valued face and human relationships. Even if there were conflicts, they would seek the help of the neighborhood head to settle the matter. They never had the habit of beating people to death.

Seeing He Dajun beat a young man who had just moved in until his face was covered in blood today, I still can't get over it.

He Liu peeked out from the kitchen and nodded, clearly agreeing with her husband's reasoning.

Bai Ling sat quietly next to He Dajun, without interrupting, only glancing at him.

He clearly trusts He Dajun.

He Dajun leaned against the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and remained silent for a while.

It's not that he doesn't want to explain, it's that he's thinking about how to explain and how much to say.

He Daqing and his wife were not good at keeping secrets and were not very bold. Knowing too much made it easy for them to give themselves away.

But since this was done in front of the whole family, we can't leave it unexplained.

Although He Daqing didn't say it, he was definitely worried. In short, the family shouldn't let this cause any rifts.

He cleared his throat and said, "Brother, sister-in-law, you've guessed wrong. These two aren't resistance fighters."

"Ah!" He Daqing and He Liushi couldn't help but be excited.

Then he looked at He Dajun with a suspicious look in his eyes.

He Dajun then explained, "I served in the army and saw how the Japanese infiltrate. This is called a 'bitter trick,' a common tactic used by the Japanese Special Higher Police. They send an agent disguised as a civilian to deliberately move near the target to monitor and test them."

"These past few days I've been managing the workers at the steel mill and recruiting collaborators outside, causing quite a stir. Although the Japanese gave me the title of captain, they certainly don't trust me. That's why they sent these two men to observe me secretly."

He Daqing and He Liu were instinctively shocked. They had already fought the Japanese devils, and now they were being asked to do more? Weren't they afraid of being shot?

He Dajun continued, "Brother, sister-in-law, if I don't drag him out, beat him up, and send him to the outpost at this time, the Japanese will suspect that I have a problem. At that time, not only will I be finished, but our whole family will be finished."

He Daqing was stunned after hearing this.

The more I listened, the more confused I became, yet some of it made sense.

Of course, he couldn't think of any of these things. He was just an ordinary cook, his mind only focused on how to cook and support his family. He had no idea about any kind of self-inflicted injury scheme or Special Higher Police.

But He Dajun spoke so logically and meticulously, pinpointing every detail, that he couldn't help but believe him.

He then recalled what He Dajun had told him before: to tell the truth in the interrogation room and not to make things up or hide anything. He was indeed released later. From then on, he knew that his cousin had a scale in his heart and could weigh things more accurately than he could.

He was silent for a moment before speaking again, his voice filled with worry: "Won't that Japanese soldier retaliate against you? You beat him so badly, what if he goes back and gets someone to take revenge?"

He Dajun waved his hand, his tone relaxed and dismissive: "Brother, don't worry, he wouldn't dare. If he comes to retaliate, it's tantamount to admitting he's a spy sent by the Japanese, and the Japanese will have no choice but to suffer in silence."

Even so, He Daqing still felt somewhat uneasy.

At this moment, He Liu asked, "Dajun, how did you tell at a glance that these two were Japanese soldiers?"

He Dajun immediately said, "Sister-in-law, think about it, with all this war and chaos, who would dare to move? Let alone move to a central area like a courtyard house."

"And they didn't come earlier or later, they just happened to move in right after I became the captain of the puppet army, what a coincidence."

He Daqing paused for a moment, opened his mouth, but ultimately remained silent, realizing that this made sense.

However, the worry on his face did not lessen. He nodded and said, "Then you should be more careful in the future."

He Liu then said to Bai Ling, "Alright, Bai Ling, let's go get the rice."

The topic was only turned over when the two went into the kitchen.

He Dajun explained so much for an even more important reason: he would use the same trick again if Japanese spies infiltrated the area in the future.

He Daqing and He Liushi had to get used to this and not let him waste his breath every time.

Soon, He Liu and Bai Ling brought the food to the table. Today's meal was white rice porridge with cornbread. The white rice was brought by He Dajun earlier, and the cornbread was made from a mixture of cornmeal and wheat flour, making it much softer than usual.

The bowl of cabbage and tofu soup in the middle was steaming, with a few pieces of tender white tofu floating on the surface, and a small dish of pickled vegetables on the side.

In the courtyard houses of the occupied territories, this was considered a rather sumptuous dinner.

Sha Zhu held his bowl, his cheeks bulging, and while eating, he kept glancing at He Dajun's bowl with his eyes.

He Dajun picked up a piece of tofu from his own bowl and put it into the little guy's bowl. The little guy smiled so much that his eyes narrowed into slits.

He Liu sat by the stove, slowly drinking a bowl of porridge. Occasionally, she would look up at the four people sitting around the kang table, a faint smile playing on her lips.

Five people sat around a small kang table, chatting and laughing under the dim kerosene lamp, as if the smoke and gunfire outside had nothing to do with this room.

At this moment, happiness is ordinary and simple.

Not long after, Jia Zhangshi arrived and asked if there was a reward for helping He Dajun capture the resistance fighters.

He Dajun thought for a moment and handed two steamed buns to Jia Zhangshi.

Jia Zhangshi took the steamed bun, glanced into the room, saw the bowl of cabbage and tofu soup and white rice on the table, made a gurgling sound in her throat, and looked somewhat disgusted.

He said, "Dajun, only two steamed buns? Dajun, you're being too stingy. I helped you capture resistance fighters; that's a major achievement. The Imperial Army should at least reward you with some money, right?"

He Dajun looked at Jia Zhangshi's face, which was full of greed, and his expression suddenly became serious.

He spoke in a sincere and honest tone.

"Sister-in-law Jia, I don't know about the reward; we'll have to wait for the Imperial Army to tell me. But to tell you the truth, if you help me arrest them, you might face retaliation from their accomplices. You should be prepared for that."

The smile on Jia Zhangshi's face froze instantly.

She looked at He Dajun, her lips trembling, and she almost dropped the steamed bun in her hand. "Dajun, you...you're scaring me. I just helped you tie someone up, how could I be in such a dangerous situation?"

"I'm not trying to scare you." He Dajun's expression was very serious, and there was no hint of joking in his tone. "Who are these resistance fighters? They're all desperate criminals who kill without blinking an eye. If you help me arrest their accomplices, do you think they'll let you go?"

Madam Jia's face turned pale, as pale as the steamed bun in her hand.

She opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end, she said nothing. Holding the two steamed buns, she turned and walked into her room, her steps so fast it seemed as if resistance fighters were chasing her.

He Dajun closed the door, picked up his chopsticks, and continued eating.

He Daqing put down his bowl, glanced at He Dajun, and said with a hint of pity, "Dajun, why are you scaring her? She's a pitiful widow and her child. Jia Dongxu is only six or seven years old. It's not easy for her to raise a child all by herself."

He Dajun picked up a piece of tofu, put it in his mouth, chewed it twice, swallowed it, and then looked at He Daqing and said, "Brother, I'm telling the truth. It's dangerous to arrest resistance fighters, after all, what they hate most are traitors. I'm saving Jia Zhangshi."

He Daqing fell silent immediately.

There's a huge traitor in my own family, and my whole family is in danger.