Siheyuan (traditional courtyard house): Don't touch my parents!

The vendor's face instantly lit up with a warm smile, and his attitude became much more attentive.

Actually, there's no such thing as the biggest candied hawthorn skewer; the number of hawthorns on each skewer is roughly the same.

The vendor deliberately picked out two large bunches of hawthorns and handed them to the two people.

Then he quickly counted out four copper coins and gave the change to He Yuzhu.

Xu Damao reached out and took the candied hawthorn, eagerly sticking out his tongue to gently lick the glistening sugar coating.

Then she looked up, grinned at He Yuzhu, and said happily, "Brother Zhu, this candied hawthorn is so sweet!"

"Sweet is good, delicious things are naturally sweet." He Yuzhu opened his mouth and bit into a candy ball, chewing it slowly.

It tastes sweet and sour, with a unique flavor.

In fact, in those days, most of the sugar-coated hawthorns were made with maltose or brown sugar, not refined white sugar.

The sweetness isn't as rich and mellow, but the hawthorn flesh is soft and mealy, making it very delicious.

The two of them, each holding a half-eaten candied hawthorn, continued to stroll leisurely down the street.

Xu Damao spent most of the time staring at the various foods on the street, his eyes constantly darting around.

But he didn't stop walking, nor did he reach out to take He Yuzhu's hand again.

He Yuzhu walked slowly forward, carefully observing his surroundings.

He silently observed the number of Japanese soldiers patrolling the streets and the police officers in black uniforms.

I didn't see many Japanese soldiers patrolling around here during the day.

However, there were an unusually large number of dark-skinned police officers traveling in pairs.

Before the two even reached the end of the street, they had already finished eating all the candied hawthorns in their hands.

Xu Damao looked at He Yuzhu with a longing expression and asked.

"Brother Zhu, can we have another skewer of candied hawthorn?"

He Yuzhu gently shook his head and said softly, "Eating the same thing all the time gets boring. Let's try something else."

"We've finally come out on a trip, we can't just keep eating candied hawthorns."

"I want to eat fried liver," Xu Damao blurted out immediately, his eyes lighting up.

"Where's the fried liver stall? Lead the way, I didn't notice it on the way here," He Yuzhu said with a smile.

"Hehe, I already secretly saw it a long time ago. Just follow me, Brother Zhu," Xu Damao said cheerfully.

As soon as he finished speaking, he reached out and pulled He Yuzhu, then turned and walked back.

The stall selling fried liver was also a roadside stall, with a large, steaming pot on a small stove made of yellow mud.

Next to the stall were two simple low square tables for customers to sit and eat.

"Boss, one order of fried liver, please." He Yuzhu walked straight to the stall and called out.

"Thank you for your patronage. It'll be one silver coin in total." The shopkeeper didn't even look up, continuing to work on his tasks.

When He Yuzhu handed over the money, he was surprised to find that the people who came to buy food were actually two teenagers.

Seeing that it was the older brother bringing his younger brother to eat fried liver, the owner was especially considerate and gave them an extra spoon.

The two boys sat down obediently at the low square table, and Xu Damao didn't rush to pick up his spoon.

He waited until He Yuzhu scooped up a spoonful of fried liver before he picked up his spoon and started eating.

He Yuzhu took a small bite and thought the taste was just so-so, nothing particularly outstanding.

There was still a faint fishy smell in my mouth, probably because the seasonings weren't all used properly.

Xu Damao, however, ate with great relish and a satisfied expression. After all, in his eyes, this was a rare treat of meat.

Before long, a whole bowl of fried liver was gone from Xu Damao's stomach.

He even let out a satisfied burp, looking quite adorable.

Seeing his expression, He Yuzhu smiled and asked, "Is it good? Does it suit your taste?"

"Delicious, so delicious!" Xu Damao nodded repeatedly, praising it endlessly.

Children are naturally drawn to novelty and excitement, so street food can't compare to the carefully prepared meals by the He family.

"Now that we've eaten and drunk our fill, let's get going," He Yuzhu said, standing up.

"Okay, Brother Zhu! I'll do whatever you say!" Xu Damao quickly stood up as well.

He patted his round little belly proudly, his face full of satisfaction.

The two were completely unaware that from the moment He Yuzhu took out his money to buy the candied hawthorn,

They had already been secretly targeted by some people with ulterior motives.

Later, when He Yuzhu bought fried liver again, the number of people secretly keeping an eye on him actually increased by several.

Everyone mistakenly thought they were two rich young masters and their henchmen disguised as tourists.

As Xu Damao passed by Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant, he took a deep sniff, inhaling the rich aroma of roast duck.

He paused involuntarily, his eyes filled with longing.

He Yuzhu looked up at the impressive signboard of Quanjude and gently shook his head at Xu Damao.

It wasn't that he couldn't afford Quanjude's roast duck, but rather that such an action was too ostentatious and conspicuous.

The shopkeeper probably wouldn't let two teenagers in easily.

Moreover, given how plainly and simply they were dressed, even if they really wanted to come in, they might not be willing to receive them.

If you insist on taking it with you, it will only attract the attention and trouble of others.

This entire scene was clearly witnessed by those who were secretly watching.

They secretly thought to themselves, "These two kids are really easy prey; looks like they can even afford to eat at Quanjude (a famous Peking duck restaurant)?"

When they returned to the vicinity of No. 1 Wangfujing, He Yuzhu suddenly stopped.

Xu Damao looked at him with a puzzled expression.

Immediately afterwards, He Yuzhu grabbed him and turned to walk into a nearby grocery store.

"Boss, do you have Arctic Ocean water here?"

"One silver coin per bottle. Don't throw away the bottle after you finish drinking the soda. You can get three copper coins back if you bring it back."

"Give us two bottles, we'll drink them right at the entrance." He Yuzhu took out two silver coins.

This grocery store is located diagonally opposite the "Mitsui & Co." building.

The two brothers squatted at the doorway and slowly began to drink.

"This orange flavor is really good, thank you, Brother Zhu. I asked my dad to buy it for me, but he wouldn't let me."

Xu Damao took a sip, and his eyes immediately lit up.

He took two more gulps before speaking.

"Drink slowly, you just finished eating," He Yuzhu gently reminded him.

"It's so delicious, I just couldn't resist!"

He Yuzhu took a sip himself, but his brows furrowed slightly.

This tastes even worse than the orange powder made in later generations.

The air wasn't very strong either.

But then I thought about what year it was, and I could only make do with drinking it.

As he drank, he subtly glanced at the street out of the corner of his eye.

He would occasionally glance at the "Mitsui & Co." across the street.

There were quite a few people coming and going from the foreign firms.

They were either wearing suits or kimonos.

Occasionally, people in military uniforms would come and go.

He thought to himself, "This looks like it won't be easy. It'll be difficult to do something quietly."

Then he noticed several people who looked like beggars.

They would glance at the two boys every now and then.

As soon as He Yuzhu's gaze swept over them, those people would immediately turn their heads away.

Either quietly move to another location and pretend nothing happened.

"Interesting, they've been targeted."

"I wonder if he's from the 'Beggars' Sect' or the Buddha!"

The two of them leisurely finished their Arctic Ocean soda.

He Yuzhu roughly figured out the patrol patterns on the street.

Police officers in black leather uniforms pass by here approximately every twenty minutes.

As for whether they will come tonight, that's hard to say.

Most likely not.

It's so cold that you can't see a single person in front of the police station.

However, it's harder to determine the identity of Japanese soldiers' patrols.

He wondered if he should come back that night to take a closer look.

Xu Damao drank very quickly.

The fizz from the soda was so strong it was practically rising to my throat.

But he still stared longingly at the soda bottle in He Yuzhu's hand.

He Yuzhu joked, "You can still drink?"

Xu Damao quickly shook his head: "Brother Zhu, I'll just take a look."

"You have big eyes but a small stomach, I'll take you for a drink another time."

"Really?"

What do you think?

"Shall we go back after we finish drinking?"

"Go back, come visit again when you have the chance. You still have to help your aunt cook when you get back."

"Uh-huh!"

Under Xu Damao's unwavering gaze,

He Yuzhu quickly finished the rest of the soda in the bottle.

He turned and went into the grocery store, returning the two bottles.

Then he led Xu Damao on the way back.

The two brothers had just left the Wangfujing area.

Several tails quietly followed behind.

He Yuzhu did not turn around.

But he could clearly hear that there was more than one person chasing after him.

As they walked, He Yuzhu suddenly grabbed Xu Damao.

The two turned into a quiet alley.

Xu Damao asked, looking puzzled, "Brother Zhu, this doesn't seem to be the way back?"

"Don't make a sound, we're being watched!" He Yuzhu warned in a low voice.

"what?"

Xu Damao had barely uttered a cry when he hurriedly covered his mouth with his hand.

Immediately afterwards, he tried to turn his head to look behind him.

"Don't look back, keep walking forward," He Yuzhu immediately stopped him.

"Uh, uh," Xu Damao nodded hurriedly in a muffled voice.

"Snap, snap, snap, snap snap—"

The footsteps behind me grew more hurried and closer.

He Yuzhu quickly glanced ahead.

The alley was deserted.

He suddenly turned around.

Four or five men dressed in disheveled clothes were seen quickly catching up.

He Yuzhu turned around.

Those people were clearly taken aback for a moment.

Then it rushed up at an even faster speed.

"Go! These two lads are probably some runaway young masters from some family. If we tie them up, we can definitely make a fortune."

"Maybe we should just rob them and leave it at that, but what if we mess with the wrong people..."

"You know nothing! If you really can't afford to mess with them, just sell them to a slave trader. You can get a good price for this half-grown kid!"

The conversation among them made He Yuzhu narrow his eyes slightly.

"So it was a kidnapping and human trafficking case?"