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

Until noon.

Naturally, we should invite the old lady over to drink fish soup together.

The two brothers were once again showered with praise by everyone.

What followed was...

There was also a lecture directed at Chen Shuxiang.

Everyone says she shouldn't let her child go out so casually.

The outside world is dangerous;

He Daqing was a cook.

Instead, they couldn't get anything to eat.

They insist on making their children go out and run errands.

She went on and on about these kinds of things for quite a while.

What could Chen Shuxiang do?

All I could do was stand quietly to the side and listen.

The rich aroma of fish soup wafted outside.

This inevitably attracted the greedy mother and son next door.

He kept cursing on the other side of the wall.

It was afternoon.

Surprisingly, Xu Damao didn't pester him to go play mahjong as usual.

Instead, he clung to He Yuzhu, saying he wanted to learn kung fu.

He Yuzhu then led him to the backyard.

I taught him a few of the most basic standing postures.

He Yuzhu made a discovery after careful observation.

Xu Damao's body was rather frail.

It is not suitable for practicing the powerful Bajiquan.

So he started to make plans in his mind.

I'll ask He Daqing tonight.

Let's see when he can pass on the Monkey Tongbei Fist.

We'll have Xu Damao learn along with us then.

He did not tell Xu Damao about this.

They were afraid of dampening the little guy's newly ignited enthusiasm.

He owes all his skills to the system.

There's no need to consider talent or anything like that.

In the evening, He Daqing returned from outside.

Upon seeing the pig's trotters in the kitchen...

I knew my son must have sneaked out again.

He pulled He Yuzhu aside and asked him a few questions alone.

I heard they just went to the market.

They didn't ask any further questions.

Anyway, no matter how many questions you ask.

This kid can only fool him with a bunch of lies.

He Yuzhu asked if his father's boxing style could be passed on to Xu Damao.

He Daqing pondered for a moment, and finally nodded slowly, which was considered his agreement.

Immediately afterwards, He Yuzhu pressed on with more questions.

Dad, did you leave behind any recipes or similar items related to your Tan family cuisine?

Have you also kept notes or journals about other cuisines that you've studied and learned on your own?

A journal? What's that?

He Daqing didn't understand at first, and frowned as he asked a question in return.

These are the tips and tricks you jot down while cooking.

He Yuzhu quickly and patiently explained.

Are you really planning to learn these things?

He Daqing glanced at his son, his tone tinged with doubt.

Yes! I really want to learn!

He Yuzhu nodded heavily in response without hesitation.

You've never even had a proper school education, how many words do you even know?

He Daqing immediately poured cold water on the idea without any politeness.

Uh……

After being rebuked by his father, He Yuzhu was immediately rendered speechless.

He could probably, perhaps, barely recognize some of the characters written in that era.

But to say that he has never actually attended school or read any books, that's a completely untrue claim.

When I have some free time, I'll teach you little by little.

You're still young, there's no point in rushing it.

He Daqing looked at his son and spoke in a slightly gentler tone.

Okay. So, about the boxing techniques we talked about earlier…

He Yuzhu stopped worrying about the recipe and brought up the boxing technique again.

After dinner, we'll start practicing.

He Daqing gave a crisp and decisive answer.

Okay! It's settled then!

He Yuzhu readily agreed.

The leftover pig's trotters from before were not served again at the dinner table.

The family discussed it and decided to save the pig's trotters for tomorrow.

Xu Damao didn't ask any further questions about it.

His meals have been quite good these past few days; he's had plenty of oil and fat in his stomach.

After dinner, everyone sat and rested for a while.

He Daqing then led the two young men, He Yuzhu and Xu Damao, to the backyard to practice their boxing.

He Yuzhu has a solid foundation and doesn't need to practice basic moves from scratch.

He Daqing directly taught him practical boxing techniques and fighting methods.

As for Xu Damao, He Daqing reached out and carefully touched his bone structure.

He secretly judged that this child's talent for martial arts was only average.

Even if you don't master the skills, they're still enough for improving your health and self-defense in the future.

Of course, this happened when He Daqing was explaining and demonstrating the basic movements to Xu Damao.

He Yuzhu also stood aside and watched the whole process carefully.

After all, he would have to be responsible for supervising Xu Damao's boxing practice from now on.

The three of them practiced in the backyard for a full hour before they each finished and went home.

Firstly, the temperature outside was too low at night, and it was really freezing to stand in the yard.

Secondly, Xu Damao was a beginner and his physical strength couldn't sustain him for very long.

When Zhao Cuifeng returned home, she heard that He Daqing was willing to teach Xu Damao boxing.

He immediately took it very seriously and even wanted Xu Damao to formally become He Daqing's apprentice.

However, He Daqing had his own plans and was unwilling to formally accept disciples.

He just loosened his grip a bit and agreed to accept Xu Damao as a nominal disciple.

The deeper meaning behind those words is all too clear.

Only one's own son can fully master the essence and complete set of moves of this boxing style.

Even though she was just a nominal disciple, Zhao Cuifeng was overjoyed.

He kept muttering to himself, waiting for Xu Wangcai to return.

We must hold a grand and proper apprenticeship ceremony for Xu Damao.

He Daqing originally wanted to decline a few more times.

But upon further reflection, she realized that she only had one son.

It would be good to have someone to help and support you when you're out in the world in the future.

Thinking of this, he stopped objecting.

He Yuzhu followed his father, He Daqing, back to their own courtyard.

Seeing this, Chen Shuxiang urged He Yuzhu to go back to his room and rest.

These words resonated perfectly with He Yuzhu.

He was planning to get a good night's sleep first.

Wait until late at night before going out to take care of your business.

At exactly 10 p.m., He Yuzhu woke up from his sleep.

It was late at night outside the window, and all was quiet; not a sound could be heard.

He quietly put on his clothes, then quietly pushed open the door and went out.

With practiced ease, he set up the ladder he had brought, then flipped himself over and climbed out the door.

He then jumped onto the bicycle parked to the side, pushed off hard with his feet, and sped off straight toward Wangfujing.

Along the way, he carefully evaded several groups of Japanese soldiers and puppet police who patrolled back and forth.

After a series of close calls, we arrived safely at the outskirts of Wangfujing Street.

He found a secluded corner and carefully hid the bicycle.

Then, he pressed himself tightly against the wall, lowered his body, and quietly made his way towards the backyard of Mitsui & Co.

Just as he took out the ladder he carried with him, preparing to climb over the wall into the courtyard.

Suddenly, they heard extremely light footsteps coming from the courtyard of the foreign firm.

He immediately lowered his body, held his breath, and dared not move.

He kept his eyes fixed on the direction from which the footsteps were coming, waiting patiently.

They waited quietly for about half an incense stick's time.

A dark figure carrying a bulging bundle leaped onto the wall.

Then, with a leap, he nimbly flipped onto the roof next to him.

With a light touch of the eaves, he leaped onto the high roof ridge again.

In the blink of an eye, they completely disappeared into the deep night.

He Yuzhu's gaze suddenly sharpened, and he secretly thought to himself, "This is bad."

I never expected to run into a master tonight. Judging by his skills, he's clearly a seasoned thief.

I just don't know what's going on inside that trading company right now.

He silently summoned his system panel in his mind to check.

The task still shows as incomplete and remains unchanged.

This means that the most precious and important item inside has not yet been taken away.

He Yuzhu immediately turned to the side and pressed his ear tightly against the wall to listen carefully.

After listening carefully for a while, there was no further sound from the courtyard.

He gritted his teeth and made up his mind to stop hesitating.

He took out the ladder, quickly set it up, and nimbly climbed onto the top of the wall in a few moments.

He then moved the ladder to the inside of the wall and secured it, before steadily climbing down the ladder.

After landing, they quickly and efficiently packed up and hid the ladder.

The courtyard of the Mitsui & Co. building is very spacious.

It is about the size of a regular basketball court.

Surprisingly, a military truck and a sidecar motorcycle were parked in the yard.

In addition, He Yuzhu also unexpectedly discovered a rare object.

A two-wheeled motorcycle, which was extremely rare at that time.

Several ordinary bicycles and tricycles were parked nearby.

Now that he had finally stumbled upon these things, He Yuzhu naturally wouldn't be polite to them.

With a thought, he stored all the vehicles into his system space.

After carefully storing the vehicle, he tiptoed toward the main house.

Before entering the main house, he pressed his ear against the door and listened carefully, but there was no sound coming from inside.

He gave it a gentle push, and the door opened with a click—clearly, the person who had just left hadn't been able to lock the door from the outside.

He took out the mini flashlight provided by the system, covered the lamp head with a cloth, and then turned on the flashlight.

Using the dim, hazy light, He Yuzhu began to carefully examine the room.

There wasn't much to see in the main room; it was mostly just ordinary furnishings.

Upon entering the inner room, one could see a man and a woman lying naked on the bed.

He Yuzhu stepped forward and reached out to check their breathing—they were still alive.

He took another deep sniff of the air; a faint, strange fragrance filled the room, suggesting that the two of them had been drugged with some kind of sleeping potion.

The flashlight beam slowly shone on the man's face, and when He Yuzhu saw the distinctive mustache on his lips, he was instantly enraged, and his hands couldn't help but itch.

With two crisp "crack" sounds, he decisively snapped their necks.

After dealing with the two men, he began to pack up everything in the room, leaving nothing behind.

When they came out of the inner room, only two pale corpses remained.

He then swept the main room clean, and then turned and walked towards the side room.

He followed the same method and dealt with everyone in the side room, taking away all their belongings as well.

There were a total of seventeen people, including fifteen men and one woman.