The entire courtyard is full of villains

“Guangqi,” Liu Haizhong said hesitantly, “Zhang Erhe from the front yard… has returned.”

Liu Guangqi's briefcase fell to the ground with a "thud": "Dad, you said... Zhang Erhe is back?"

“Yes. Guangqi, what are we going to do about this? Your mother… we can’t just watch your mother…” Liu Haizhong didn’t finish his sentence, but the meaning was clear.

Liu Guangqi's mind raced. If he went to Zhang Erhe's house and apologized, would he be forgiven? He figured it was unlikely. Yan Bugui had tried to apologize before, but Zhang Erhe wouldn't have it. Sigh, why did he end up with such a mother?

“Dad, I reckon even if we went to apologize in person, it probably wouldn’t be in time,” Liu Guangqi said thoughtfully. “How about this, give me some money. Our factory director, Huang, has a decent relationship with Li Huaide from your factory. I heard Zhang Erhe is Li Huaide’s right-hand man. I’ll try to pull some strings and see if we can get our director to put in a good word for Li Huaide and put in a good word for him.”

"Fine!" Liu Haizhong gritted his teeth. "How much?"

"I'm guessing... it'll be around this number." Liu Guangqi gritted his teeth and made an "eight" gesture.

"eighty?"

"Eight hundred!"

"Good heavens!" Before Liu Haizhong could speak, the second aunt next to him jumped up in shock.

Liu Haizhong glared at her fiercely, and finally gritted his teeth: "Eight hundred it is! Guangqi, you wait here, I'll go in and get the money for you."

Liu Haizhong went into the inner room with a heavy heart, moved the cabinet, and began to take out money. Little did he know that his every move was being watched by Liu Guangtian, who was pretending to be asleep.

Liu Guangtian felt a chill in his heart. His older brother asked for eight hundred yuan without batting an eye, and their own father gave it to him without hesitation. If he had even eight mao (0.8 yuan), he'd probably be beaten half to death by Liu Haizhong. Sometimes he really wondered if he and Guangfu were even Old Liu's biological sons. Why did his older brother, born of the same mother, have everything he wanted, eat whatever he wanted, and never get beaten at home?

Liu Haizhong took out eight hundred yuan and hurriedly handed it to Liu Guangqi: "Guangqi, take this and go do it quickly."

After receiving the money, Liu Guangqi instructed, "Dad, you must keep a close eye on the family lately and make sure they don't offend Zhang Erhe again. If they do, our family... I really won't be able to handle it."

"Understood." Liu Haizhong nodded emphatically. "If your mother dares to go near those gossipy women again, I'll slap her! And don't worry about Guangfu and Guangtian either; if they dare to mess with Zhang Erhe, I'll break their legs!"

"Okay." Liu Guangqi nodded, took the money, and went back to his room.

Liu Haizhong glared at his wife with hatred, but being an old married couple, he ultimately didn't lay a hand on her. So, Liu Guangtian, who was pretending to be asleep, suffered the consequences. Liu Haizhong dragged him off the bed and whipped him half to death with a belt.

The next day, Liu Guangtian didn't even have the energy to go for a stroll.

After lying in bed for five or six days, Liu Guang finally recovered. Yesterday morning, after finishing his cornbread, he quietly pocketed the pack of cigarettes Zhang Erhe had given him, and, enduring the lingering soreness, slowly made his way out of the house.

Having finally found his usual group of "friends" who usually fooled around, Liu Guangtian took out the pack of cigarettes and, with a hint of smugness, offered one to each of them.

A guy nicknamed "Er Gouzi" immediately came over, his eyes shining: "Hey, Guangtian, where have you been lately? You've got a whole pack of cigarettes! Can I have another one?"

"No, no," Liu Guangtian put the cigarette pack back in his pocket, "One for each of us, that's all."

"That's right, Er Gouzi, how can you be so shameless? It's already been generous of you to do this in broad daylight, and you still keep taking advantage of me." Someone chimed in from the side.

The man turned around and asked Liu Guangtian, "Guangtian, where have you been making your fortune these past few days? I haven't seen you for days."

"No... I didn't make any money," Liu Guangtian said, a hint of unease flashing across his face. "It's just... some things came up at home, and I was busy for a few days."

"Oh, we thought you'd found a job too," the man said casually.

Liu Guangtian keenly understood the implication: "'Also'? You mean... someone found a job? Who is it?"

"Huang Daya, and Yuan Hui."

"Huang Daya? Yuan Hui?" Liu Guangtian was even more surprised. He knew Huang Daya; his family was even poorer than his, and he was always freeloading. "How did they manage to find jobs?"

"Hey, that kid Huang Daya got incredibly lucky!" the man exclaimed excitedly. "He went out to dig for wild vegetables outside the city and happened to run into a sneaky spy. He was quick-witted and secretly ran to report it to the police. As a result, the police gave him a commendation, and the neighborhood committee directly intervened and assigned him to the kitchen of a fertilizer plant. I heard he's a permanent employee!"

"Then... what about Yuan Hui?"

“Yuan Hui? That kid’s ruthless!” another person chimed in, his tone tinged with admiration. “He stole money from his family and secretly bought a workstation. Although his family found out and beat him half to death, he had already gotten the workstation and spent the money. What could his family do? In the end, they had no choice but to swallow their pride and let him go to work.”

"Tsk tsk, that's really bold... They even know where to hide the money at home. I wouldn't dare," someone remarked.

After saying that, the group started chatting about other trivial things. But Liu Guangtian's heart was pounding, and he barely heard a word they said after that.

Stealing money from home to buy a workstation?

They wouldn't dare do that, but he would!

At worst, I'd just get another beating. But getting beaten up was already commonplace in the Liu family, wasn't it? Once I had a job, became a worker, and received a monthly salary, I'd have more confidence. And if things got really bad… I could just separate from Liu Haizhong and live separately! Unlike now, living worse than a dog at home, getting beaten with a belt dipped in cold water for the slightest thing!

A thought, like a wild grass, grew wildly in his heart, impossible to suppress. He touched the few cigarettes left in his pocket, but his eyes drifted towards the road home, towards the cabinet where the money was hidden in his bangs.

P.S.: Now I finally understand the downside of having too many works. People keep reporting them, I have to revise one after another, it's exhausting!

Chapter 191 What virtues and abilities do they possess?

After making up his mind, Liu Guangtian gave a few perfunctory replies and then hurriedly left, making an excuse that he had to help with chores at home.

After he walked away, the group of people exchanged a glance and hurriedly dispersed.

It was noon when Liu Guangtian got home.

Aunt Er glanced at him and was somewhat surprised: "Did the sun rise in the west today?" Usually, when Liu Guangtian sneaked out, he wouldn't come back until Liu Haizhong was almost off work at the earliest.

However, she didn't ask any more questions, took the insoles and went to the front yard—although Liu Haizhong forbade her from spreading gossip, he didn't say she couldn't listen.

After Aunt Er walked away, Liu Guangtian slipped into the house and gently locked the door.

He first hid behind the door and peered out for a moment to make sure no one had returned to the yard before tiptoeing to the cabinet.

Following the same position Liu Haizhong had taken that day, he opened the cabinet door.

There were only old clothes from home inside.

Liu Guangtian searched around for a while but couldn't find anything.

"That's not right, he was definitely standing right here that day..."

He opened the other drawers, but they were still empty.

Where did the money go?

After searching for a while, Liu Guangtian was somewhat discouraged.

But I do remember my bangs being flipped up in this position...

and many more.

He crouched down and noticed that the bottom drawer seemed to be thinner than the top ones.

With a strong pull, sure enough, there was a hidden compartment at the bottom of the drawer.

Liu Guangtian held his breath and carefully pulled out the partition.

A thick wad of cash lay conspicuously inside.

But his gaze was drawn to something hidden beneath the money: a letter.

He moved the money aside and gently pulled out the envelope.

As soon as I picked it up, a photo slipped out.

Liu Guangtian picked up the photo, glanced at it, and his pupils suddenly contracted—

In the photo, Liu Haizhong is wearing a khaki military uniform and a military cap, with a serious expression.

This outfit... the more I look at it, the more something seems off.

He suddenly remembered that the Japanese soldiers on stage wore similar clothes when he watched a play at school.

Could his father be... a colonel?

broken.

Liu Guangtian's heart pounded like a drum, and his whole body went cold:

"Am I fucking... a Japanese devil?"

Liu Guangtian's legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground.

How did I suddenly become... a Japanese soldier?

The envelope slipped from his hand as his fingers loosened, and as it fell to the ground, a yellowed piece of paper floated out.

Liu Guangtian hurriedly picked it up, pulled out the letter, and quickly unfolded it to read.

Respectfully submitted to my dear parents:

Today, I sit at my desk writing, my pen feeling as heavy as a thousand pounds. Lately, I've seen newspaper reports and heard street gossip, and the situation in Japan seems to be like a cicada's song in autumn, the initial clamor gradually turning into desolation. I often sit alone late at night with a candle, and when I see the lamp flame burst, I am filled with alarm, realizing that the so-called "co-prosperity" was nothing but a mirage.

I still remember last year when the cherry blossoms were in bloom, a banquet was held in the headquarters courtyard. The Japanese commander, drunk, swung his sword and cut down a blossom, laughing and declaring, "The glory of the Empire will bloom forever like the cherry blossoms." This morning, passing by that place, all I saw were ruins and overgrown weeds. Yesterday, a messenger whispered that "the mainland is prepared for scorched earth," and my son trembled upon hearing this, spilling his teacup without even realizing it.

I have made three grave mistakes in my life: first, mistaking wolves for friends; second, mistaking poison for honey; and third, abandoning the graves of my ancestors to worship the gods of a foreign race. Every time I see new corpses of the starving in the city, I recall the fragrance of wheat in my hometown; every time I hear news of a victory in the "punitive expedition," I feel as if I see the tearful eyes of my fellow villagers. Now it is too late for my regrets; my body is tainted, as if I have fallen into a deep, icy abyss.

Now that the chaos has begun to ease, I have secretly prepared boats and oars. This journey is fraught with peril, and I know there is no hope of returning alive. The swallows in front of the house may find new masters; the ancestral tablets in the ancestral hall must not bear the name of this rebellious son. If the authorities inquire, simply say that this wicked son perished in the chaos of war.

Before departing, I secretly went to the south of the city, gazing across the river at the smoke rising from the chimneys of my hometown. I kowtowed three times, my forehead stained with blood and dust. This was not a farewell—a sinner is unworthy to speak of parting; it was truly an eternal damnation. I wish to return to the land of China in my next life, to be a cow or a horse, to atone for this sin.

The waning moon was about to set, and the steam whistle urged them to depart. He sewed a few last pieces of silver into the lining of his old coat and entrusted them to a lone smuggler to slip through the checkpoint. From then on, they were strangers, and his parents pretended never to have had him.

unfilial son

A tearful final letter

In the late spring of the 34th year of the Republic of China

The letter was signed "Liu Jiangzhong" at the end.

Liu Jiangzhong?

He froze for a moment, his memory suddenly dwindling to years ago—he had only seen this name on a tombstone on a solitary grave when he was a child, accompanying Liu Haizhong to pay respects at his grandparents' graves. He had casually asked, "Who is this?" at the time, only to be met with a beating from Liu Haizhong. Afterwards, Liu Haizhong only explained to his older brother, Liu Guangqi, that it was their uncle who had died years ago.

It turns out... the person in the photo is my uncle.

Liu Guangtian let out a long sigh of relief, then chuckled bitterly and muttered, "I knew it... with my dad being such a good-for-nothing, how could he possibly become an officer in the Japanese army..."

But before he could fully relax, an even deeper chill crept up his spine—

My uncle was a traitor.

Then aren't their family members relatives of traitors?

If this gets out...

Liu Guangtian thought for a long time, then gritted his teeth, put the things back where they were, and lay back down on his small bed. That evening, Liu Guangfu called him for dinner, but he didn't go.

Liu Haizhong was cursing and swearing: "Spoiled brat! What's wrong with giving him a beating? Whose kids weren't beaten up first? Is he some kind of precious treasure! He won't eat after being beaten? Let him starve, let him starve to death!"

These words filled Liu Guangtian with resentment. He only thought of his elder brother Liu Guangqi when there were good things, yet Liu Haizhong hid something that could bring disaster to the whole family at home—what was he planning?

The next day, Liu Guangtian mingled with the group as usual, but they took him to the outskirts of the city to watch people being paraded through the streets and forced into labor camps. Those most strictly guarded and forced to do the hardest work were the family members of several traitors, who had to put on a smiling face. This scene terrified Liu Guangtian, and he had nightmares that night.