Siheyuan: Reborn Silly Pillar, Taking Control of the Entire Courtyard

"Let's go, let's go. We've checked this room, nothing suspicious!"

The sheriff, who was called Master Duo, reached into the inner pocket of his cotton robe and squeezed the two hard silver dollars. His mouth instantly stretched to his ears, and the fat on his face relaxed.

"See you tomorrow, Manager He!"

"See you tomorrow, Master Duo, take care!"

He Daqing bent over and watched the group of plague-like people disappear into the alleyway.

"Yes, sir!" Several policemen carrying long guns behind him responded in unison, their eyes filled with excitement.

They knew perfectly well that this trip hadn't been in vain.

Two silver dollars!

They only earned five yuan a month for risking their lives. The boss wasn't one to keep everything to himself; he'd always give them three or five mao (0.3-0.5 yuan) when they got home, enough for a drink.

The air inside seemed to freeze for a moment, until the footsteps outside completely faded away, before it slowly began to flow again.

Chen Lanxiang winked at He Daqing and gestured with her chin toward the old lady's room.

He Daqing understood, nodded to her, turned around and took two quick steps toward the door, just in time to catch up with the police chief who was heading to the backyard.

"Master Duo, Master Duo, please wait!" He lowered his voice, his face plastered with an even more obsequious smile than before.

"Look, that deaf old lady in the backyard is quite old and her eyesight isn't good. She can't be easily frightened. When you go in later, please ask her gently, so as not to scare her too much."

"snort."

Master Duo exhaled a breath of cold air from his nostrils, didn't turn around, and simply waved his hand, "Let's go, enough nonsense."

The door creaked shut.

The footsteps went towards the backyard.

He Yuzhu strained his ears and vaguely heard Jia Zhangshi's signature crying, sharp and piercing, with a trembling tone, sounding as if she had suffered a great injustice.

He sneered inwardly.

This old hag is usually obsessed with money and values ​​wealth above all else.

Being swindled out of a dollar must hurt her more than if her own flesh had been cut off; her heart must be bleeding right now.

Two silver dollars—that's a huge sum of money, enough for an ordinary family to save up and eat coarse grains for a month.

The footsteps outside completely disappeared, and the courtyard returned to a deathly silence.

He Yuzhu spoke softly, his tone filled with concern, "Mom, why did you give so much? A token amount would have been enough."

Chen Lanxiang sighed, still gently patting He Yushui's back to comfort her frightened little daughter.

"They came so suddenly, there was no time to prepare. This is what they call 'giving money to avoid trouble.' If you don't give them enough, these people might tear the roof off your house."

"That's too much," He Yuzhu muttered sullenly, his heart bleeding.

"In this world, if we don't give it to them, will we have a good life?"

Chen Lanxiang lowered her voice, tinged with helplessness and resentment.

"Your dad can make money cooking for the Japanese, and those dark-skinned policemen know that very well. They've got that in mind, and they specifically target families like ours that have money to be made."

He Yuzhu pursed his lips and didn't say anything, but cursed inwardly: These black-skinned dogs who eat people without spitting out the bones!

After a while, the door opened again.

He Daqing came in, bringing with him a chill, and shut the door behind him. He walked to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and spat fiercely.

"Pah! They're finally gone. Those bastards! They were nothing but robbers!"

"Did you give the old lady any trouble?" Chen Lanxiang asked with concern.

"They gave me a silver dollar."

He Daqing sat down, without even taking off his cotton-padded coat, and went straight to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) to warm himself by the fire.

"That guy surnamed Duo even tried to go inside and ransack the place, but I managed to stop him after much persuasion. The old lady's room can't withstand their turmoil."

"Just send her away. Did the old lady say anything?"

"She didn't say. She's seen it all; she knows what she's doing."

He Daqing rubbed his frozen hands, breathed out warm air, and suddenly lowered his voice, speaking mysteriously.

"By the way, I took the opportunity to ask Uncle Duo a question earlier. He didn't dare to go into details, but from what I heard, another Japanese soldier died last night, and he died a pretty gruesome death. His clothes were stripped off and thrown out like trash in front of the police station."

As he said this, a hint of barely concealed schadenfreude flashed across his face.

He Yuzhu's heart skipped a beat.

Why is the system making such a big fuss? What is it trying to do?

Isn't this just blatantly causing trouble in Beijing?

Chen Lanxiang sighed, her eyes dimming: "This world... is in chaos. No matter who dies, in the end, it's us ordinary people who suffer."

"That's right."

He Daqing turned to look at his son, "Zhuzi, are you going back to sleep, or do you want to squeeze in here?"

He was afraid that the child had been frightened and wouldn't dare to sleep alone.

"I'll go back." He Yuzhu slid off the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed). "The quilts in that room should still be warm."

"Okay." He Daqing was delighted and reached out to rub his son's head.

"You've got guts, kid. You stay calm in the face of trouble, just like me!"

"Hehe." He Yuzhu chuckled foolishly as he walked out.

He Daqing followed behind, and only closed the main door after he left, not forgetting to add, "Don't wander around at night, you hear me?"

"Yes, Father!"

The courtyard was as cold as an icebox.

The pale moonlight shone on the snow, casting a faint bluish-white glow that shrouded the quiet courtyard in an eerie veil.

I just arrived at the Intermediate People's Court.

Then, from inside the Jia family's house came Jia Zhangshi's pig-like cursing, sharp and piercing, piercing through the thin paper windows:

"Damn you, you black-skinned dog! You son of a bitch! One silver dollar! That's one silver dollar! How much meat could I buy for my Dongxu? How many steamed buns could I buy?! You spineless coward, Jia Laonian, you hand over your money the moment someone glares at you! Why don't you just die?!"

"Mother, didn't you personally hand the money to Master Duo? Why are you blaming my father?" Jia Dongxu's voice was filled with confusion and grievance.

"I'll beat you to death, you heartless little bastard! You're siding with outsiders!" Jia Zhangshi roared angrily.

"Alright!" Old Jia finally spoke, his voice muffled, revealing a numbness that seemed to say, "I'm not afraid of boiling water."

"If I don't give you something in return, what if they arrest me and put me in jail? You and your daughter will starve! That's money to save your lives!"

Then came Jia Zhangshi's earth-shattering cries.

She was really crying. Those were tears of heartache over the money.

He Yuzhu's lips twitched into a mocking sneer. He shook his head and walked towards his side room. This Jia family is truly hopeless.

Lying back in bed, his mind was racing with other thoughts.

Yi Zhonghai.

Given Yi Zhonghai's "old man" personality, who usually loves to show off and make arrangements for this and that, why hasn't he stepped forward at all tonight?

Didn't even utter a fart?

Is it because you haven't mastered the art of being thick-skinned yet?

It's still the soul of that "Moral God"...

Not fully awakened yet?

Unbeknownst to He Yuzhu, Yi Zhonghai was hiding inside the house, peering out through the window cracks.

He knew perfectly well that stepping forward now would only make him a pawn, and he'd have to pay up. He wasn't that stupid.

If Yi Zhonghai could hear He Yuzhu's inner thoughts, he would probably tell him.

Silly Zhu, don't rush.

It's not that I don't want to, it's just that the time hasn't come yet.

I have to wait for the right opportunity, an opportunity that will allow me to save money and gain a good reputation.

What He Yuzhu didn't know was that the "white-stripped pigs" he threw at the police station entrance had already exploded like a thunderbolt, completely shattering the night in Beijing.

The police's house-to-house searches were just the beginning.

The military police in Xiao Rizi went completely mad. They were convinced it was the underground Communist Party that did it, so they declared martial law throughout the city and began searching every household.

Several strongholds of the Bald Gang were discovered, and gunfire and grenade explosions echoed through the long street for most of the night, with flames shooting into the sky.

Since the Bald Party has taken action, the Rabbit Party can't sit idly by—even though they haven't been found yet.

But since everyone is fighting against the Japanese pirates, it's always possible to lend a hand secretly and create some chaos.

On a spring night in Beijing, the air was filled with the smell of gunpowder and a faint stench of blood.

He Yuzhu lay in bed, unable to sleep. He opened the system panel.

[Ding! Host's participation in anti-Japanese pirate operations detected. Rewards being distributed...]

[Congratulations, host, you have obtained: Pistol Mastery (Beginner).]

The skill icon lit up, transforming into a stream of light that entered his mind.

The moment my consciousness sank in, drowsiness surged up like a tide.

In a daze, he seemed to have entered a "dream".

In my dream, it was an empty shooting range.

An instructor whose face he couldn't see stood in front of him, his voice as hard as iron.

"Grip firmly! Breathe steadily! Don't let your wrist shake! Pull the trigger decisively!"

He was dragged around and tossed back and forth between the 10-meter, 20-meter, and 50-meter target positions.

Fixed targets, moving targets, and even birds in the air. Gunshots exploded in our ears, deafeningly loud.

"Bang bang bang!"

"Bang! Bang!"

The recoil made his hands go numb and his arms ache, but his aim became more and more accurate.

The spent bullet casings clattered to the ground; every shot hit its mark.

They fought for most of the night, until they ran out of bullets.

When I woke up, it was just getting light.

The sound of gunfire still echoed in my mind, buzzing.

But he felt refreshed, as if he had really practiced shooting all night, and that muscle memory was deeply imprinted in his bones.

"Pillar! Pillar! Get up!"

He Daqing's voice rang out from outside the door, tinged with anxiety.

He Yuzhu jumped up, hurriedly dressed and went out—he had to go to work today.

I didn't have to go so early, but because of what happened last night, I was worried about being stopped and delayed on the way.

He had an employee ID from Fengzeyuan Restaurant and a "good citizen certificate," so he wasn't afraid of being arrested. But if he delayed the Japanese people's mealtime, that would be a matter of losing his head.

Chen Lanxiang had originally wanted him to deliver the doctor's consultation fee today, but seeing the situation outside, she gave up the idea—it was too chaotic outside, and if something happened, there would be nowhere to cry.

After breakfast, He Yuzhu had nothing to do, so he practiced boxing in the yard.

This is a set of military boxing that he learned in his dream last night. Although he is not yet proficient, every move is powerful and vigorous.

Surprisingly, Jia Zhangshi wasn't nagging today; she was probably still immersed in the pain of losing the silver dollars.

Jia Dongxu leaned closer, staring intently at his movements, a hint of envy in his eyes.

"Zhu Zi, what kind of boxing style are you practicing? It looks pretty impressive. Can you teach me?"

He Yuzhu sized him up. This kid usually bullies people, why has he changed his tune today?

He was seized by a mischievous thought, stopped what he was doing, raised an eyebrow and said, "What, Brother Dongxu wants to become my apprentice? Fine, kowtow and become my apprentice, and I'll teach you."

"Get out! Get out! Get out!" Jia Dongxu immediately bristled, his face turning bright red. "A little brat like you wants to be my master? Go take a good look at yourself in the mirror, aren't you afraid of shortening your lifespan!"

"You think you can learn anything without becoming an apprentice?" He Yuzhu scoffed. "Dream on. I'm not that stupid. If I teach my apprentice, I'll starve myself."

"Hmph! I only asked you to teach me a couple of moves, how stingy!" Jia Dongxu angrily turned his head away.

"If he won't bow, I will! Brother Zhu!"

A sleazy voice came from behind.

He Yuzhu turned around and saw Xu Damao.

The kid was clinging to the door frame of the hanging flower gate, peeking around curiously.

Jia Dongxu whirled around, glaring and roaring, "Xu Damao! Are you looking for a beating? You dare try to take it from me?"

He then turned to He Yuzhu.

"If you dare teach him, don't ever play with me again!"

He felt that Xu Damao was doing it on purpose—he was everywhere, like a fly.

Upon hearing the word "beat up," Xu Damao, who had just stepped out of the hanging flower gate, scurried back behind the gate like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, only half of his head showing, trembling with fear.

"Brother Zhu, don't hit me! I was wrong!" Xu Damao cried out.

"You were building a snowman with me yesterday afternoon! Shall we continue playing? I'm not learning boxing anymore, and I'm not going to find a master!"

"Really not going to study anymore?" He Yuzhu looked at him with a half-smile.

"I'm not learning anymore! I'm not learning anymore!"

Xu Damao shook his head vigorously, like a rattle-drum.

"Just play with me! As long as you don't beat me up, I'll go home and steal some candy from my mom for you!"

"What about my candy?" Jia Dongxu interjected, asking matter-of-factly.

"There's none for you!"

Xu Damao peeked out from behind the door and made a face.

"You're always the one who gets Zhu Zi Ge to hit me, I'm not going to let you!"

"He's the one who beats you up every time, why did you give it to him?" Jia Dongxu pointed at He Yuzhu, looking completely bewildered.

"Brother Zhu was fooled by you! You're the worst one! You big bad guy! Hehehe!"

Xu Damao stuck his tongue out at Jia Dongxu and made an extremely irritating face.

Jia Dongxu got angry and jumped up and down, yelling, "Zhuzi! Go beat him up! He's talking bad about you! He's insulting you!"

He Yuzhu was completely baffled by this peculiar train of thought.

They're saying you're bad, what does that have to do with me?

Do you really think I'm stupid?

This thought process...

You must have learned that from your mother, Jia Zhangshi, right?

Xu Damao was truly terrified of being beaten.

As soon as Jia Dongxu finished speaking, he turned and ran, yelling at the top of his lungs as he ran:

"Mom! Jia Dongxu is getting my brother Zhuzi to beat me up again! Mom! Help me! I'm going to be beaten to death!"

Watching Xu Damao's disheveled escape, He Yuzhu shook his head helplessly.

Life in this courtyard is really lively.