Siheyuan (traditional courtyard house): Starting with the Korean War, returning home to take charge

Xu Damao visited for the second time on the evening of the third day after he returned.

He Yuzhu was helping the deaf old lady chop firewood in the yard. As the axe swung and fell, a small piece of wood split in the middle. He bent down, picked it up, and threw it into the basket beside him.

"Brother Zhu, busy?"

Xu Damao stood by the hanging flower gate, holding a green glass wine bottle in his hand, the label worn down to just a white mark. He took two steps forward and lifted the bottle up slightly.

"My dad got two good bottles, how about we two brothers have a drink tonight?"

He Yuzhu stuck the axe into the wooden stump and straightened up.

"I won't drink it."

Xu Damao's smile froze for a moment.

"Can't drink? That can't be right, you've been out there for so many years—"

"I won't drink it." He Yuzhu patted the sawdust off his hands. "What's up?"

Xu Damao stood there, putting down the wine bottle in his hand and then picking it up again. His lips moved, but he didn't make a sound.

"It's nothing, I just... I just wanted to talk to you. The hospital has changed a lot since you left, there are some things you don't know—"

"I'm leaving tomorrow," He Yuzhu interrupted him. "We can talk about it later."

He turned around and continued chopping wood.

The axe swung up and fell. The wood split open, and a small piece broke off. He bent down to pick it up, hearing footsteps fading away behind him.

He Yushui poked her head out of the house.

"Brother, what does Xu Damao want with you?"

"fine."

He Yushui glanced at him, then at the direction Xu Damao had gone, and then turned away.

Less than fifteen minutes later, the Xu family was in an uproar.

Standing in the courtyard, Xu's mother's voice was so loud it could lift the roof off: "They're high-ranking officials, they look down on people like us! What have we gained by offering our kindness only to be met with indifference? We're poor, we're dirty, we don't deserve it!"

No one responded.

He Yushui ran out of the house and looked at He Yuzhu.

He Yuzhu continued chopping wood.

The axe swung up and fell. The wood split. Xu's mother was still cursing.

It wasn't until it was completely dark that things quieted down at the Xu family's place.

He Yuzhu couldn't sleep that night.

It wasn't because Xu's mother was cursing; it was when he was peering out the window that he saw it.

Xu Fugui returned from outside, pushing his bicycle with a bulging canvas bag strapped to the back seat. He pushed the bicycle into the yard, looked around, and instead of heading home, went to the gate first.

A man stood at the door, wearing a black jacket, his face obscured. Xu Fugui took out several rolls of something dark and wrapped in kraft paper from his canvas bag and handed them to the man. The man took them, stuffed them into his coat, and turned to leave. Xu Fugui pushed his cart into the yard.

He Yuzhu leaned against the window and watched the person disappear into the alleyway.

The next night, he saw it again. It was the same person, the same bag, and the same gesture.

On the third night, He Yuzhu did not stay in the house.

Once everyone in the courtyard was sound asleep, he climbed out of the window and up the courtyard wall to the roof. The tiles were a bit slippery, so he found a flat spot to lie down and took a small object out of his pocket.

Miniature film camera

[Redeemable Points: 800,000]

It was about the size of a palm, with a metal casing, and it was completely black and didn't reflect light. He pointed the camera at the entrance of the courtyard and waited.

The alley was pitch black, with only a streetlamp in the distance casting a dim yellow light on the ground, like an old newspaper spread out.

A little after eleven o'clock, Xu Fugui returned pushing his cart. It was the same canvas bag, still bulging. He stood in the yard for a moment, glanced outside, and then pushed the cart into the Xu family's house.

The person arrived shortly after.

He stood at the courtyard gate, not coming in. Xu Fugui came out of the house, carrying several rolls of things, walked to the gate, and handed them to him. The man took them and stuffed them into his arms.

He Yuzhu pressed the shutter.

A soft click echoed in the night.

But suddenly the man looked up and gazed at the rooftop.

He Yuzhu held his breath and remained motionless. The tiles were digging painfully into his ribs, but he didn't move.

The person stared for a long time—maybe only a few seconds, but He Yuzhu felt it was a long time—then lowered his head, turned around, and left.

He Yuzhu lay on the roof until the sound of the person's footsteps completely disappeared before slowly crawling back down.

He climbed to the window and was about to climb in when someone called him softly from behind.

"elder brother?"

He Yushui stood in the courtyard, wearing a coat and barefoot.

"What are you doing on the roof at night instead of sleeping?"

He Yuzhu jumped down from the windowsill and stuffed the camera into his arms.

"Can't sleep? Let's go upstairs and look at the stars."

He Yushui looked at him, then looked at the roof.

"Brother, are you hiding something from me?"

He Yuzhu pushed her into the house.

"Go back to sleep. You have school tomorrow."

He Yushui was pushed into the house by him. Standing at the door, she looked back at him.

"Brother, you're different since you came back."

He Yuzhu didn't say anything and closed the door.

The next morning, He Yuzhu went to the police station.

Old Zhou was watering the flowers in the yard when he saw him come in, so he put down the watering can.

"Hey, Commander He—you should call me Advisor He now. What brings you here?"

He Yuzhu pulled him aside and took out the photo from his pocket.

The photo was developed in the middle of the night; it's black and white and a bit blurry, but you can still make out Xu Fugui's face and the way the person was receiving the item.

Old Zhou took it, glanced at it, and the smile on his face disappeared.

"Where was it filmed?"

"I took the picture."

Old Zhou returned the photo to him and looked around.

"This guy's name is Feng Laosan. He runs a scrap metal recycling station in the east of the city," Old Zhou said in a low voice. "He and Xu Fugui deal in film reels. Not scrap film, but unused film, stolen from the cinemas, refurbished, and then sold to small projection teams down there."

He Yuzhu looked at him.

"That's illegal."

"It's illegal." Old Zhou nodded. "But this person has powerful connections. The neighborhood committee can't handle it, and neither can our police station."

"Who?"

Old Zhou didn't reply, but shoved the photo into his hand.

"Advisor He, you've just returned, there are some things you don't know. I can't say for sure who's behind this person, but I do know that someone from the neighborhood committee tried to investigate him last month, and he was transferred to the suburbs a few days later."

He Yuzhu put the photos away.

"understood."

three days later.

At six o'clock in the morning, He Yuzhu was brushing his teeth when a commotion broke out at the gate of the courtyard.

Several uniformed men rushed in, heading straight for the Xu family's house. The screams of Xu's mother, the shouts of Xu Damao, and the pleas of Xu Fugui mingled together. People in the courtyard ran out to see what was happening, crowding around the hanging flower gate, craning their necks to peer inside.

He Yuzhu spat out the toothpaste foam, rinsed his mouth, and went back to his room.

When he came out again, Xu Fugui had already been taken away. Xu's mother sat in the yard crying, while Xu Damao stood beside her, his face ashen.

In the afternoon, the Xu family began moving.

Several handcarts were parked at the gate of the courtyard, with pots and pans thrown onto them. Xu Damao carried his bedding out, walked to the gate, and suddenly stopped.

He turned around.

He Yuzhu stood at the door of the west wing, looking in this direction.

Xu Damao stared at him for a long time. His gaze wasn't like hatred, nor fear; it was something else entirely. It was sinister, cold, like steam rising from an ice cave in winter.

He didn't say anything, and carried his bedding away.

The cart creaked and groaned as it was pushed out of the alley, turned a corner, and disappeared from sight.

Standing next to He Yuzhu, He Yushui asked in a low voice, "Brother, what happened to Xu Damao's family?"

He Yuzhu patted her head.

"fine."

In the courtyard, the Xu family's door was wide open, and the inside was empty except for a few pieces of broken furniture. A gust of wind blew in, causing an old newspaper to tumble twice on the ground.

Side Quest 1: Exterminate the Woodworms (Completed)

[Mission Reward Points: +250,000]

[Current total points: 44,540,000 + 150,000 - 50,000 = 44,640,000 points]

He Yuzhu didn't look at the number.

He stood at the door of the west wing for a long time. So long that He Yushui ran out again and tugged at his sleeve.

"Brother, what are you staring at?"

He looked down at his sister, then looked up at the sky.

"I'm thinking," he said, "about the next thing."