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

On the third day after Old Man Tong was brought back, he finally confessed.

He sat in the chair in the interrogation room, handcuffed, his expression unreadable—a mixture of resignation and defeat. Old Sun pushed a glass of water in front of him, but he didn't move, only staring at the shimmering water.

Where is that batch of gold buried?

Old Man Tong looked up at him. His lips twitched, as if he wanted to laugh but couldn't.

"Nanluoguxiang. The abandoned courtyard next to number 95."

Old Sun was stunned for a moment.

"An abandoned courtyard? That place collapsed a long time ago."

Old Man Tong nodded.

"It used to belong to that family, but it was destroyed by artillery fire the year the Japanese invaded, and it's never been repaired. Later, people said the place was haunted, so nobody dared to go there. It's more reassuring to have ghosts guarding it than people guarding it."

Old Sun looked at him.

How do you know it hasn't been poached?

Old Man Tong smiled, revealing a few yellowed teeth.

"It can't be dug out. It's inside the wall. Who would think to tear down a wall that's about to collapse?"

He Yuzhu stood at the entrance of that abandoned courtyard, looking at the crooked wall.

The courtyard wasn't large, and the weeds grew taller than a person's waist. Two rooms in the middle had collapsed, with broken tiles piled up like a small mountain, and broken beams half-buried inside, the exposed wood already blackened and rotten. The only wall still standing was the one against the east side, but it had several cracks and leaned to one side, looking like it could collapse at any moment.

Old Sun was smoking nearby, exhaling a puff of smoke.

"This is the wall that Old Man Tong was talking about. The gold is in the bricks. It's built with layers of gold bars and bricks."

He Yuzhu walked up to the wall and reached out to touch it. The bricks were old blue bricks, badly weathered, crumbling at the touch. He tapped them; the sound was dull and solid.

"dismantle."

I don't know how the news got out.

Less than half an hour after work began, the courtyard gate was already packed with people. Yan Bugui stood at the very front, his neck craned out, his glasses almost slipping off his nose, one hand holding them steady, his eyes fixed on the wall. Liu Haizhong followed behind, clutching a wrench, it was unclear whether he was there to help or just watch the spectacle. Aunt Erda stood by the hanging flower gate, holding a child, muttering to herself, the baby squirming in her arms.

Jia Zhangshi squeezed to the front, her eyes wide like copper bells, her hands gripping the door frame so tightly that her fingernails almost dug in.

"Zhu Zi, what are you digging for? Is there some treasure?"

He Yuzhu ignored her.

Ma Yuejin and several others were demolishing the wall. With each swing of the pickaxe, broken bricks rained down. Dust billowed up, making everyone cough, but no one backed away.

When they had demolished half a person's height, a worker shouted.

"There's something there!"

Everyone pushed forward. Jia Zhangshi shoved the people in front of her and stepped inside the doorway.

The worker pulled something out of the broken bricks; it was dark and long. He wiped off the ash, revealing a golden sheen.

bullion.

Under the sun, that yellow light was so dazzling it made people dizzy.

Yan Bugui swallowed hard and subconsciously took a step forward, but Liu Haizhong grabbed him. The wrench in Liu Haizhong's hand fell to the ground and hit his own foot. He grimaced in pain, but didn't cry out.

Jia Zhangshi's eyes lit up immediately.

She rushed forward, but was stopped by Lao Lu.

"Get out of the way! That's my house! This yard is mine!"

Old Lu looked at her, his hand still on hers.

"Yours? Where's your property deed?"

Jia Zhangshi was stunned for a moment, then sat down on the ground, slapped her thigh, and started wailing.

"Damn it! This is bullying! They're stealing our things!"

He Yuzhu walked over and stood in front of her.

"Aunt Jia, the housing management bureau knows whose yard this is."

Jia Zhangshi raised her head, her eyes bloodshot.

"I don't care! This courtyard is next to the Jia family's, so it's ours!"

He Yuzhu looked down at her and suddenly smiled.

"Just because it's next to your house doesn't mean it's yours. Does that mean it's next to Zhongnanhai too?"

Someone in the crowd burst out laughing.

Jia Zhangshi's face turned a deep purplish-red, and she opened her mouth to howl, but He Yuzhu didn't give her the chance.

"Go howl in your own yard, don't dirty public property."

He turned and waved to Ma Yuejin.

"Keep digging, don't miss a single brick or tile."

Gold bars were dug out one after another.

More than a hundred sticks were piled on the ground, their golden color gleaming in the sunlight. Yan Bugui took a step back, his glasses nearly falling off. Liu Haizhong squatted down, wanting to reach out and touch them, but then pulled back.

He Yuzhu squatted down, picked up a gold bar, and weighed it in his hand. Ten taels each, more than a hundred bars, that's over a thousand taels. The gold bars still had the mold marks on them, blurry and indistinct, indicating they were very old.

He stood up and looked at Old Sun.

"What should we do?"

Old Sun stubbed out his cigarette and crushed it with his foot.

"Hand it over. The country is short of foreign exchange."

He Yuzhu nodded.

That evening, He Yuzhu summoned everyone in the courtyard to the central courtyard.

Once everyone had arrived—the Yan family, the Liu family, the Jia family, and the Zhang family—they were all there. Jia Zhangshi stood in the crowd, her eyes still red, glaring at He Yuzhu, her hand clutching her pocket as if afraid someone would steal her things.

He Yuzhu stood on the steps, holding an envelope in his hand.

"Everything we dug up today has been handed over to the state. But the state will not let us down."

He pulled a wad of cash from the envelope.

"Twenty yuan per household. Consider it a subsidy."

Yan Bugui was the first to applaud.

"Good job, Pillar!"

Liu Haizhong clapped along, making a loud "clap clap" sound. The second aunt held the child, a smile on her face, and the child babbled along.

Aunt Zhang stood in the corner, clutching the hem of her clothes, her eyes a little red. She walked over, took the twenty yuan, and glanced at He Yuzhu.

"Director He, thank you."

He Yuzhu shook his head.

"Of course."

Jia Zhangshi stood there, motionless.

He Yuzhu handed over twenty yuan.

She snatched it away, stuffed it into her pocket, and muttered something under her breath.

"Only twenty? That's like giving money to a beggar..."

He Yuzhu had only taken two steps when he heard this and stopped.

He turned around and stared at her.

Madam Jia felt uneasy under his gaze and took a step back.

"Not enough?"

He Yuzhu reached out his hand.

"Then spit it out. I'll immediately send this twenty yuan, along with the sanitation fees and food coupons your Jia family owes the neighborhood committee, to the neighborhood office. Let everyone judge whether this money should be given to you or not."

Jia Zhangshi instinctively covered her trouser pocket.

He Yuzhu withdrew his hand and patted off non-existent dust.

"If you take the money and still can't shut up, that's called being ungrateful. Aunt Jia, one should know how to be content."

He turned and left.

Madam Jia stood there, her face turning pale and then flushed, and she didn't dare to utter another sound.

The crowd dispersed.

Yu Li stood at the Jia family's door, looking at He Yuzhu's side and then at Jia Zhangshi. She was peeling scallions in her hand, not even lifting her eyelids.

Jia Dongxu stood beside her, head down, lost in thought.

Yu Li threw the onion peel on the ground.

"Your mother's thoughts are shameful."

Jia Dongxu looked up at her but didn't say anything.

Yu Li turned and went into the house, slamming the door shut behind her.

Jia Dongxu stood there, looking out He Yushui's window. A light was on inside, and shadows flickered.

He stood there for a long time.

Suddenly, the window was pushed open. He Yushui leaned out halfway, as if to splash water, but immediately saw Jia Dongxu in the yard.

The two exchanged a glance across the darkness.

He Yushui remained expressionless and slammed the window shut.

The lights went out.

Jia Dongxu stood there, the cigarette butt burning his fingers, before he suddenly jerked it off, threw it on the ground, and stomped it out.

He turned and disappeared into the darkness.