Chapter 166: He Yuzhu Eavesdrops; Jia Zhangshi Returns from the Dead

He Yuzhu suddenly felt as if the whole world had become his enemy.

"I suppose this is the legendary feeling of being in a vast ocean of people. However, let them be strong; the clear breeze brushes the mountain ridge. Let them be arrogant; the bright moon shines on the great river. Let them be cruel and evil; I remain as steady as a mountain. Let's see who can outlast whom," He Yuzhu muttered to himself.

In the days that followed, He Yuzhu chose to lie low.

Of course, lying low did not mean hiding away in a small building, ignoring the changing seasons. If he did that, it would make him look guilty. What He Yuzhu called lying low was simply hiding in plain sight.

He went about his daily life as usual—for instance, slacking off during work hours, playing games with Liu Lan, reading books on mechanics, and so on. After work, he still dealt with household matters as he always had. The only difference was that he no longer went out at night.

With the "beasts" like Yi Zhonghai, Liu Haizhong, Yan Bugui, Xu Damao, the Deaf Old Lady, Qin Huairu, and Jia Zhangshi gone from the Siheyuan, it was much quieter. It was no longer the daily chaos it once was, and people's moods inexplicably improved. He Yuzhu also felt quite relaxed.

He would have felt even more relaxed if those people weren't there to monitor him. Fortunately, they only monitored him from the shadows and didn't cause trouble all day long like those beasts, Yi Zhonghai and the others.

While Tian Wenjiao, Lu Ming, the Ming Tai couple, and the Xu Zhongyi couple were monitoring He Yuzhu from all angles, He Yuzhu was also secretly monitoring them.

He Yuzhu's five senses were extremely sharp; he had already discovered that a wiretap had been installed in his home. Or rather, the higher-ups didn't take He Yuzhu too seriously—the wiretap in his home was very crude and still wired.

The wiretap was hidden behind He Yuzhu's kitchen cabinet, and the wire ran along the cracks in the wall bricks, seeped into the ground, and then reached Tian Wenjiao's house from underground.

With He Yuzhu on guard, Tian Wenjiao could forget about getting any useful information from him.

Tian Wenjiao used this method to monitor He Yuzhu, but He Yuzhu used his sharp five senses to monitor them. As long as He Yuzhu focused his attention, he could hear the movements and conversations inside their homes within a certain distance.

He wouldn't dare speak for far away, but he could hear the movements of these few families in the Siheyuan clearly.

At this moment, Xu Zhongyi and Gu Yufei were discussing He Yuzhu, and He Yuzhu heard them clearly.

"What exactly is going on with this He Yuzhu? Didn't the higher-ups want to withdraw us? Why did they let us stay undercover?" Gu Yufei asked.

"How would I know? We just follow orders. Have you seen the newcomers, Tian Wenjiao and Lu Ming? They are our peers. Tian Wenjiao was directly arranged to work in He Yuzhu's kitchen, which shows how much attention the higher-ups are paying," Xu Zhongyi said.

"It's not like before anymore. Why not just arrest He Yuzhu and interrogate him?" Gu Yufei asked.

"Even though it's not like before, the higher-ups are like a pole-wielding man fighting a wolf—afraid of both ends. They are worried that He Yuzhu is the culprit, but they are also afraid that he really *is* the culprit," Xu Zhongyi said.

"What do you mean by that? That's contradictory," Gu Yufei said.

"From the incident with Factory Director Yang at the Rolling Mill until now, everything that has happened can be linked to He Yuzhu. Don't worry about whether it's a direct connection or a roundabout one; the point is, there is a connection."

"The problem is, if these things were really done by He Yuzhu, then He Yuzhu's methods are too terrifying. By normal logic, He Yuzhu couldn't have done it alone, which could rule out the possibility of him committing the crimes."

"But every incident can be linked to He Yuzhu. After discussing this to the end, the conclusion is: either these things have nothing to do with He Yuzhu, or they were done by He Yuzhu."

"What the higher-ups fear is, if this really was done by He Yuzhu, how did he do it? Once or twice could be called a coincidence, but how can it be a coincidence when it happens so many times? Just take the Factory Director Yang incident—he either fell from a building or fell into a pit."

"He's been fine around so many buildings, so why did the incident happen in the room where Factory Director Yang was? And that pit incident—once wasn't enough, he fell twice. People walk that road every day, so why was everyone else fine, but as soon as Factory Director Yang walked there, he fell into a pit—and such a deep one at that?"

"Even if you mobilized people to dig it, it would take an hour or two. Take the time the ambulance came to save Factory Director Yang—it was fine when it arrived, but on the way back, it took the same route and fell into the pit."

"Assuming this was really He Yuzhu's doing, it means He Yuzhu has unfathomable, supernatural methods. Yet, what we believe in now is materialism; the higher-ups even call those things 'ghosts and monsters'."

"If He Yuzhu really has those kinds of methods, it's not only a slap in the face to that person, but it also fundamentally negates the current system."

"This has led to the higher-ups not daring to make a move against He Yuzhu, or rather, not daring to move until they have figured out his trump cards. Heaven knows what kind of chaos would ensue if they acted recklessly."

"If they really acted suddenly, it would be fine if they could kill He Yuzhu in one strike. But what if they can't kill him in one strike? What if he comes back for revenge?"

"He Yuzhu can create a big pit on Factory Director Yang's way home at will; does that mean He Yuzhu can create a big pit anywhere? What if it were in a place like that... just thinking about it is terrifying," Xu Zhongyi said.

Gu Yufei couldn't help but shiver.

Gu Yufei had already imagined a scene: a person, or a whole crowd of people, walking down the road, when suddenly, a big pit appears under their feet, and they all fall in. What if there were wooden stakes in the pit?

"What should we do?" Gu Yufei asked.

"Follow orders. The higher-ups' recent command is for us to build a good relationship with He Yuzhu and his wife, so we'll build a good relationship. I think the higher-ups want to find a breakthrough from He Yuzhu's wife. You should chat with Qin Jingru more when you have free time," Xu Zhongyi said.

"Chat about what? It would be fine if Qin Jingru were at home every day, but the key is that she works every day. Why don't you have the higher-ups arrange a job for me too, so I can become Qin Jingru's colleague?" Gu Yufei said.

"That works too. If He Yuzhu, a Canteen Director, can arrange for his wife to get into the Rolling Mill, there's no reason I, a Deputy Section Chief of the Procurement Section, can't arrange for my wife to get into the Rolling Mill."

"We must build a good relationship with Qin Jingru. If things go wrong, this might be a retreat route," Xu Zhongyi suddenly said.

"A retreat route? What retreat route?" Gu Yufei asked.

"Do you think there's a good ending for people in our line of work? Especially since we've spent time on *that* side? Have you forgotten what happened a few years ago?" Xu Zhongyi said with a light laugh.

Gu Yufei fell silent and nodded blankly.

Xu Zhongyi and Gu Yufei's horizons could be considered relatively broad; they belonged to the group of people who looked at the world, and their thinking was relatively enlightened. Now, they vaguely felt that something was wrong, but they were already beyond their own control.

After eavesdropping on the conversation between the Xu Zhongyi couple, He Yuzhu had a plan in mind.

Gu Yufei was the daughter of a high-ranking official from that side, with strong connections, so she naturally knew what the situation was like outside. It wasn't like the propaganda said—that people on that side were living in deep water and scorching fire. By comparison, it was the people on *this* side who were living in deep water and scorching fire.

Xu Zhongyi was someone who did business with the outside world, so he naturally had a lot of experience. He was converted and joined this side back then, but now that the atmosphere had changed drastically, Xu Zhongyi had sensed it long ago.

To be honest, putting Xu Zhongyi here was a waste of talent. He should have been placed in the foreign exchange sector or in Gangcheng, letting him do business to earn foreign exchange for the country.

The higher-ups were probably afraid that Xu Zhongyi would run away, which is why they wasted his talent. Or, since they had already built a new world, the higher-ups' definition of talent had changed; in their eyes, people like Xu Zhongyi were glib and extremely frivolous, not to be entrusted with heavy responsibilities. After listening to the conversation between the Xu Zhongyi couple, He Yuzhu focused his energy to eavesdrop on the conversation between Ming Tai and Cheng Jinyun. Compared to the rapport between the Xu Zhongyi couple, there was a clear conflict between the Ming Tai couple.

Ultimately, it was a conflict of ideology.

Ming Tai was, after all, the young master of the Ming family, and the education he received from childhood was completely different from Cheng Jinyun's, as was his perspective. They had come together because they shared the same ideals, but now they had conflicts because of their different perceptions and understandings.

In Ming Tai's words, there were clearly many things that were wrong and should be corrected. For example: during the difficult times earlier, the higher-ups should have helped their own people first, and the aid to the outside could have been stopped.

In Cheng Jinyun's view, Ming Tai's thinking and awareness were problematic, leading her to elevate the issue to a political level. In Cheng Jinyun's words, the higher-ups' policy was to unite everyone who could be united, while Ming Tai's problem was the "pacify the internal before resisting the external" mentality.

Neither could convince the other, so they were often in a cold war.

He Yuzhu felt that Ming Tai was in a precarious position; when the storm arrived, Ming Tai would definitely suffer. As for Cheng Jinyun, she wouldn't fare much better. If Ming Tai was in trouble, could Cheng Jinyun stay out of it?

Sometimes, there is no reason to be spoken of; an individual's life, death, glory, and shame are all in the blink of an eye of others.

As for Tian Wenjiao and Lu Ming, He Yuzhu didn't eavesdrop on them. Both were single and wouldn't talk to themselves, so there was no value in eavesdropping.

In He Yuzhu's heart, the Xu Zhongyi couple and Ming Tai could be won over if necessary.

It must be said that Xu Zhongyi's actions were fast. The next day, Gu Yufei went to work at the Rolling Mill in the Logistics Department, becoming the direct superior of Sister-in-law Hehua, specifically managing the bathhouse.

When Qin Jingru went to work at the bathhouse, others wouldn't see anything strange, as she was from the countryside and it was normal for her to work there. But for Gu Yufei, the former "Flower of the Military Intelligence Agency," to work in a bathhouse was inappropriate; her temperament alone didn't fit.

Xu Zhongyi didn't make Gu Yufei rush to get close to Qin Jingru, but used this roundabout way. It must be said that Xu Zhongyi was quite clever.

As time passed, nothing happened on He Yuzhu's side, and Qin Jingru and Gu Yufei quickly became close, forming a relationship similar to "besties" in later generations, as close as biological sisters.

Gu Yufei had received professional training, so getting close to Qin Jingru was a piece of cake. As for Tian Wenjiao, Qin Jingru always held hostility toward her, so naturally, she couldn't get close to her.

Tian Wenjiao didn't mind; her job was to monitor He Yuzhu at close range during the day and eavesdrop on him at night.

More than a month later, an unexpected person suddenly appeared in the Siheyuan.

"Are you... Jia Zhangshi? You're back?" Liugen Xifu saw Jia Zhangshi, who looked like a beggar, while she was doing laundry.

At this time, Jia Zhangshi had long lost her former spirit. Although the Jia Zhangshi of the past was unreasonable and troublesome every day, one had to admit that she was very wealthy-looking, with a face full of fat and a body full of meat, like a landlord's wife who looked like a fat pig.

Now, Jia Zhangshi was extremely thin. Although she wasn't exactly skin and bones, she was close to it. Her triangular eyes were even more ferocious, and her entire face looked even more sharp and mean-spirited.

"Liugen Xifu, I'm back. Did Qin Huairu really go to the Great Third Front? Did she really leave?" Jia Zhangshi came to the door of her former home with extreme unwillingness, staring tightly at the familiar door frame and windows.

"She really left. Didn't anyone notify you? Jia Zhangshi, let me tell you, don't you dare cause trouble. Your house belongs to the Rolling Mill and has already been assigned to someone else. Captain Lu from the Security Section lives in the front courtyard. If you cause trouble, he will really arrest you."

"It's not like before. In the past, Yi Zhonghai favored you, and no one dared to do anything to you. Now, Yi Zhonghai has 'eaten a peanut' 【been executed】 and is gone. Liu Haizhong, Yan Bugui, Xu Damao, and Qin Huairu have all been exiled to the Great Third Front. No one is protecting you anymore, so don't ask for trouble," Liugen Xifu said.

"What? Yi Zhonghai is dead, and Liu Haizhong and the others all went to the Great Third Front? What is going on? What about the Deaf Old Lady?" Jia Zhangshi asked in disbelief.

"Sigh, a lot of things have happened during this time..." Liugen Xifu began to talk incessantly, telling her everything she knew.

"I heard people say that Liu Haizhong and the others, including your daughter-in-law, were all exiled to the Great Third Front because they offended He Yuzhu," Liugen Xifu said faintly.

Her words were full of provocation.

Liugen Xifu still held a grudge. Back then, He Yuzhu had kicked Liugen in the crotch and broken his leg. That period was so difficult; it was a miracle their family had survived. How could Liugen Xifu not hate He Yuzhu?

However, hate was hate, but they didn't dare to retaliate, fearing that He Yuzhu would also exile them to the Great Third Front. Not daring to retaliate didn't mean they couldn't borrow a knife to kill someone.

Liugen Xifu was provoking Jia Zhangshi to cause trouble. Liugen Xifu also knew that even if Jia Zhangshi really went to cause trouble, He Yuzhu wouldn't suffer any major losses, but it would still be enough to disgust him.

If it were the Jia Zhangshi of the past, she would have long ago let out a howl and rushed over. If she couldn't find He Yuzhu, she would have wrecked his house. But now, Jia Zhangshi didn't dare to do that.

This half-year of labor had made Jia Zhangshi understand the strictness and cruelty of the law. Moreover, now that Yi Zhonghai, Liu Haizhong, and the Deaf Old Lady were gone, the old methods of manipulating He Yuzhu simply wouldn't work.

Jia Zhangshi wasn't stupid; it was just that she had Yi Zhonghai to support her in the past. Jia Zhangshi had manipulated Yi Zhonghai tightly in the name of retirement, and she believed that as long as she could manipulate Yi Zhonghai, she could manipulate everyone in the courtyard.

Jia Zhangshi had been too smooth during that time, to the point where she got a bit carried away, which led to her tragic situation.

So many people couldn't fight He Yuzhu in the past; now that Jia Zhangshi was all alone, how could she possibly fight He Yuzhu?

Jia Zhangshi didn't dare to go to He Yuzhu's house to cause trouble, nor did she dare to go to Tian Wenjiao's. Who knew what Tian Wenjiao's temper was like? Even if Tian Wenjiao was a pushover, Jia Zhangshi couldn't expect Tian Wenjiao to support her; that made no sense at all.

Moreover, Director Wang of the Street Office was watching from the sidelines. If she found out that Jia Zhangshi was bullying Tian Wenjiao, it would be a miracle if Director Wang didn't throw Jia Zhangshi into a labor camp.

Director Wang had already clearly told Jia Zhangshi to return to her hometown, but Jia Zhangshi had long since severed ties with the Jia family there. Even if she hadn't, Jia Zhangshi wouldn't dare to return to the countryside.

She knew her own situation; Jia Zhangshi knew that if she really returned to the countryside, she would either starve to death or be beaten to death.

Jia Zhangshi didn't want to die. Furthermore, she was unwilling and still held a glimmer of hope: what if, just what if Qin Huairu hadn't gone to the Great Third Front?

In the end, Jia Zhangshi gave up hope when she saw Tian Wenjiao returning to her home openly after work.

He Yuzhu also saw Jia Zhangshi, but he only glanced at her once before taking Qin Jingru home.

"Zhuzi, don't go! Auntie is begging you for something. Look, your house is so big, can you lend Auntie a room to stay for a while?" Jia Zhangshi begged, shamelessly.

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 167 =====