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

He Yuzhu stayed home for two days. On the morning of the third day, He Nianhua stood at the gate of the courtyard, carrying her schoolbag and holding his hand tightly. "Dad, when are you coming back?" He Yuzhu squatted down and straightened the strap of her schoolbag. "Soon." The child didn't let go, and he added, "I'll come back after I'm done with this." He Nianhua looked at him for a few seconds, let go, and ran away. Qin Huairu stood at the kitchen door, clutching the rag in her hand, without saying a word. He Yuzhu stood up, walked past her, and went out of the courtyard.

He Yushui followed him out and grabbed his sleeve at the alley entrance. "Brother, Yu Li went out again last night. She left around 10 p.m. and didn't come back until almost midnight. Jia Dongxu argued with her. This time she didn't throw anything, but they were both speaking in very low voices. I listened to her for a long time by pressing my ear against the wall, but I couldn't hear a word she said."

He Yuzhu looked at the closed door of the Jia family's house. A new New Year's picture had been pasted on the door, depicting a chubby baby holding a carp, its red color almost blinding. "I know. Be careful, don't get into a conflict with her." He Yushui nodded and turned back. He Yuzhu got into the jeep at the alley entrance, Yang Xiaobing started the engine, and drove out of the alley.

It was 7:30 in the evening, and it wasn't completely dark yet. He Yuzhu stood by the office window, watching the streetlights outside the courtyard wall light up one by one. Yang Xiaobing pushed open the door and came in, the miniature camera hanging around his neck, the lens cap already removed.

"Commander, she's gone out. She's heading east, carrying a cloth bag."

He Yuzhu turned around. "Follow me. Don't get too close."

Yang Xiaobing responded and turned to leave. He Yuzhu didn't sit back down; he stood by the window, watching the shadow of the jujube tree in the yard slowly fade. The streetlights streamed in from outside the courtyard wall, illuminating the windowsill in a white light. He checked his watch: 8:15. He checked it again: 9:20. The tea had gone cold, so he poured himself a new cup, but didn't drink it, staring blankly at the steam rising from the rim. He heard footsteps in the corridor; it was Old Zheng from the security department on night patrol. He walked past, then returned, the footsteps fading into the distance.

At 11:40, footsteps came from the other end of the corridor, more hurried than Lao Zheng's. The door opened, and Yang Xiaobing walked in, his face covered in sweat. He first picked up the glass of cold tea on the table, took a sip, wiped his mouth, and put the camera on the table.

"Commander, we've caught up. It's a teahouse in the east of the city, sandwiched between a general store and a tailor shop. The storefront isn't big, and most of the red paint on the wooden door has peeled off. She went in, and I didn't rush to follow. I waited a few minutes to make sure no one else was there before pushing the door open and going in."

He Yuzhu picked up his camera. "Did you see them?"

Yang Xiaobing nodded. "It was dimly lit inside, so I found a corner to sit down and ordered a pot of tea. She sat by the window, a cup of tea in front of her, but she didn't drink it; she was just tracing lines on the table with her fingers. Across from her sat a man, about forty years old, thin, wearing a gray Zhongshan suit and a dark blue hat with the brim pulled low. I took out my camera to take a picture, but the waiter came over to refill the water, so I quickly hid the camera under the table. After the waiter left, I raised the camera again, but the man turned his face away, so I only managed to get half of his face in the picture. After a few minutes, he turned around, and I pressed the shutter. I took a few pictures; they should be able to be developed."

He Yuzhu took out the film roll, put it into the darkroom, and handed it to Yang Xiaobing. "Go wash it. I need it before dawn."

Yang Xiaobing took the black box, turned, and left. He Yuzhu sat at the table, took the list out of the drawer, and turned to the page with "Yu Li." It contained her confession from years ago: her uncle, Yu Dehai, was from Taiwan and later became a counter-espionage agent. In recent years, she hadn't provided any valuable intelligence, and Old Sun had relaxed his surveillance. Now she's made a move again.

At dawn, Yang Xiaobing returned. He spread the photos out on the table, one by one. They were black and white; some were blurry, others were legible. One photo showed Yu Li standing at the teahouse entrance, her cloth bag slung over her arm, talking to a man. The man was turned to the side, his hat pulled low, revealing only his chin and lips. Another photo showed the man's face, blurry, but the outline was still discernible. Thin, with high cheekbones, slightly sunken eyes, and thin lips.

He Yuzhu picked up the photograph of the man's face and held it up to the light from the window. He stared at the face for more than ten seconds, then put the photograph down and took out a sketch of "the Master" from years ago—a pencil sketch based on descriptions from Wang Defa, Liu Dehou, and others. He placed the sketch and the photograph side by side on the table. The height of the cheekbones, the depth of the eye sockets, and the thickness of the lips all matched. He then pulled out Wang Dehou's confession from the bottom of the drawer and turned to a certain page. It described "the Master's" features: a very faint scar at the end of his right eyebrow, barely noticeable unless you looked closely. He picked up a magnifying glass, brought it close to the photograph, and lingered on the man's right eyebrow for a long time. The scar was faint, but it was visible in the photograph.

He Yuzhu put down the magnifying glass and leaned back in his chair. Yang Xiaobing stood beside him, watching his face gradually darken.

"Commander, is this person 'Sir'?"

He Yuzhu didn't answer. He put the photos and portrait into the drawer and locked it. "Has Yu Li been going out these past few days?"

Yang Xiaobing said, "She should go again. She stayed in the teahouse for almost an hour. The man left first, and she came out a few minutes later."

He Yuzhu stood up and walked to the window. It was daylight outside, but the sun hadn't risen yet, and the light was hazy. He stood there for a moment, then turned around. "Keep watching. When she goes in again, follow her in and bring the recorder. Listen to what they say."

Yang Xiaobing nodded, turned, and left. He Yuzhu took the list out of the drawer and turned to the page with "Yu Li." After the words "counter-espionage agent," he added a line: "Recently frequently going out, meeting at a teahouse in the east of the city, the person suspected to be 'Mr.'" After writing that, he put the list back and locked the drawer.

Yang Xiaobing followed him a second time three days later. When he returned, he had a tape recorder in his hand, about the size of a palm, a domestically made one that had just been released. He placed the tape recorder on the table and pressed play. The tape started spinning, hissing, first with the sound of footsteps, then the sound of a door opening, and the clinking of teacups. Then came a male voice, deep and hoarse.

"Is anyone following me on the street?"

Yu Li's voice. "No. I went through two alleys."

The man's voice was silent for a few seconds. "Did you bring the things?"

"I brought it," Yu Li said. The sound of fabric rustling, like something being pulled from a cloth bag. The man didn't speak, waited a moment, probably looking at something. Then came the sounds of pages turning, folding, and being tucked into clothes.

"How's your man doing?"

Yu Li hesitated for a moment. "He became suspicious. We argued a few times. But he didn't know what I was doing; he just felt that I was always running around outside."

The male voice said, "Don't let him ruin things."

Yu Li opened her mouth, as if to say something, but then swallowed it back. After a few seconds, she finally spoke. "I'll try to calm him down."

The male voice said, "The Prince is pressuring us. We need to find a way to get into the archives of the Chengshan Research Institute. You used to live there, so you know the area well. Find an opportunity to bring someone in."

Yu Li's voice tightened. "Bring people in? How? The compound is strict now; they check IDs to get in and out."

The man didn't reply. Several seconds of silence followed. Yu Li couldn't wait any longer. "I...I'll think of something."

The male voice said, "The prince said that after it's done, both you and Dongxu can leave."

The recording stopped. He Yuzhu pressed the stop button, rewound the tape, and listened to it again. "Your Highness, Chengshan Research Institute, Archives." The words swirled in his mind, round and round.

"Commander, this person is 'Mr.'" Yang Xiaobing didn't ask a question this time.

He Yuzhu took the cassette tape out of the tape recorder and put it into the system space. He stood up and walked to the window. The sky outside was overcast, looking like it was about to rain. The leaves of the jujube tree in the yard rustled in the wind.

"Commander, should we tell Old Sun?"

He Yuzhu didn't turn around. "Don't tell him yet. Keep an eye on her and wait for her to make her own move."