Chapter 101: Settling Scores with Enemies

He Yuzhu kept the file concerning Shen Shichang tucked inside his coat, but after hesitating several times, he ultimately did not hand it over to Liu Rusi.

He felt that he and Liu Rusi had not yet reached the point of complete mutual trust; it was hard to predict whether handing over these materials would be a blessing or a curse, so it was better to delay for a while.

Leaving the warm, cozy little building of the Liu family, He Yuzhu hailed a rickshaw and headed straight for his uncle's place at Dian'anmen.

But as soon as he arrived at Dian'anmen, he froze—the familiar grocery store from his memories had turned into a pile of ruins. Charred roof beams had been tossed to the side of the road, and broken bricks and tiles were scattered in a chaotic mess.

"What happened to Uncle and Lao Zhou?" A sense of foreboding instantly flooded his mind.

He Yuzhu did not stop for a moment and hurried home. Just as he pushed open the door, he saw Shen Guizhi leaning against the bedding with red, swollen eyes, while He Yushui was wiping away her tears from the side.

He Yuzhu's heart sank, and he understood immediately—his mother clearly already knew about the grocery store.

As soon as Shen Guizhi saw He Yuzhu enter, she immediately began to sob and scold: "You little heartless thing, running wild outside all day! Didn't you say you would protect your uncle? Now that he's gone, you finally come home... how am I supposed to go on living..."

Seeing her mother cry, He Yushui also teared up. She didn't understand what had happened, but as long as her mother was crying, she would cry along with her.

He Yuzhu took off his shoes, climbed onto the kang, and grabbed Shen Guizhi's arm to comfort her: "Mother, don't worry. They have a tunnel in their shop. I saw that the ruins had been rummaged through, as if someone was looking for something—this means Uncle is very likely fine!"

Shen Guizhi stopped crying and asked doubtfully: "Is what you say true? You aren't lying to me?"

"How would I dare to spout nonsense about something like this? To tell you the truth, it was my idea to dig that tunnel!"

Only then did Shen Guizhi feel slightly relieved. She held He Yuzhu's hand and said: "You must have suffered on this trip, right? Your face has become so rough."

Seeing her mother's mood improve, He Yushui became happy too. She came over, wrapped her arms around He Yuzhu's neck, and pressed her little face against him: "Brother! Where did you go? Yushui missed you so much!"

"Brother went out to earn money and even brought back something delicious for Yushui." He Yuzhu smiled and took a plum blossom cake wrapped in oil paper out of his cloth bag.

He Yushui took a small bite, the sweet, sticky taste melting in her mouth, and she immediately smiled with her eyebrows curved, "Delicious!"

"Zhuzi, can you really get in touch with your uncle?" Shen Guizhi asked in a low voice.

He Yuzhu nodded: "I know they have a backup address. Once it gets dark, I'll go check. If that doesn't work, I'll go to their Genjudi to look for them; I know the way."

Only then did Shen Guizhi ask: "Have you eaten? Are you hungry?"

"Mother, I already ate at the train station, I'm not hungry yet."

Seeing that Shen Guizhi had finished speaking and was starting to drift off again, He Yuzhu stood up and said: "Mother, I'm going to check on Hao Yuan, I'll be back soon."

Once he arrived at Hao Yuan, He Yuzhu looked around, and seeing no one, he quickly climbed over the wall into the courtyard.

After some simple repairs, the small courtyard finally had some signs of life: the courtyard wall had been patched with new bricks, and some of the doors and windows had been replaced, though they hadn't been painted yet, making them look very plain.

The snow in the courtyard had not been swept, clearly indicating that no one had lived there for many days.

He Yuzhu checked the rooms one by one and found that everything inside was in a state of disarray. The clothes and bedding had not been taken, which meant that the people had left in a great hurry.

His heart tightened: judging by this situation, the matter was definitely serious, and he was afraid he wouldn't be able to find Lao Zhou and his uncle in the city.

He made up his mind: he would leave the city first thing tomorrow morning and go to the village of the Jidong Guerrilla to find Xiao Duizhang; perhaps he could find out Lao Zhou's whereabouts.

Leaving Hao Yuan, he remembered He Ji restaurant and wrapped his cotton-padded jacket tighter as he hurried in that direction.

In the conference room of the Military Statistics Bureau Beiping Station, Station Chief Feng was lecturing.

"You went to a Traffic Station to make an arrest, and you lost seven brothers and three were wounded—your Second Group really has some talent!"

Tie Lin hurriedly explained: "Station Chief, I advised Ge Erdan to wait for the First Group to arrive before taking action. But he wouldn't listen and insisted that everyone rush in together. As a result... sigh, the losses are too great!"

Station Chief Feng didn't believe Tie Lin at all; having worked together for many years, he had long since figured out Tie Lin's nature of hiding whenever trouble arose.

"Liu Biti, you tell me, what exactly was the situation at the scene?" Station Chief Feng asked.

"Station Chief, I can testify. That Traffic Station suddenly caught fire. Tie Lin said there might be a trap and advised everyone not to rush in rashly, but Ge Erdan wouldn't listen and even said, even said, that whoever didn't charge would be shot..."

These words were naturally taught to Liu Biti by Tie Lin—if Tie Lin hadn't tripped Liu Biti, he would have lost his life too.

Liu Biti acknowledged this favor and had even promised to treat Tie Lin to a meal because of it. After all, he had witnessed with his own eyes the brothers being blown to pieces; it was truly miserable. Without Tie Lin's kick, he would have met the King of Hell as well.

Station Chief Feng went with the flow: "Since that's the case, this time it will count as Tie Lin's meritorious service. You will be the acting Group Leader of the Second Group!"

When Tie Lin heard it was still "acting," he curled his lip and said: "Station Chief, this job can't be done! In one month, our Action Team has lost eighty percent of our brothers, and the pension is pitifully small. To put it bluntly, that money isn't even enough to buy a decent coffin. I have to look for another way out!"

Following his outburst, several team members also complained one after another.

"That's right, Station Chief, Tie Lin's words are blunt but true. The pension given is too little, and money isn't worth anything now! It devalues every day!"

"This job really can't be done anymore. We're putting our heads on the line, living for today without knowing about tomorrow. If we die, that's the end of it, but what about our families?"

Station Chief Feng looked at the indignant team members and helplessly darkened his face: "This is a time of crisis for the Party and State, and the station isn't well-off either. How about this, I will immediately apply to my superiors to try and issue everyone more bonuses."

"Should have done that long ago!" the crowd clamored.

"Liu Biti, you will be the acting Group Leader. I will immediately transfer ten people from Tianjin to fill out the team as soon as possible!" Station Chief Feng ordered.

"Yes, Station Chief!" Liu Biti hurriedly stood up to respond, though he couldn't hide his embarrassment—who didn't know that the Action Team was now a high-risk profession?

When He Yuzhu arrived at He Ji restaurant, it was already past eight o'clock in the evening. The shop hadn't closed yet, but there weren't many customers left.

Chen Wenjun was busy doing the accounts. As soon as she saw He Yuzhu enter, her eyes lit up, and she quickly stepped forward to grab him: "Zhuzi, you're back! Was the trip smooth?"

"Quite smooth," He Yuzhu nodded with a smile, looked around the shop, and asked, "Sister Daya, why isn't Siqiang here?"

"It's not easy to get stock now; we have to go to the countryside to buy it at high prices! I don't think my father will be back today. If he doesn't collect enough goods, he stays at a villager's house for the night and continues collecting the next day."

He Yuzhu nodded and asked again: "There were always people causing trouble before, how is it now?"

"There's still quite a bit of trouble. When you first left, people were always making a mess, so we left one table in the main hall every day for the soldiers sent by Miss Liu to sit and keep order. After that, no one dared to come."

"Have you found out the background of those people?" He Yuzhu asked.

"My father followed them a few times; they all live in a courtyard in the south of the city. I'm afraid they are hired thugs." Chen Wenjun lowered her voice.

"Give me the address. Those people must have been sent by Zheng De," He Yuzhu said.

"Why don't you wait for your Siqiang to come back and go together?"

"I'll go scout it out tonight. Don't worry, I'll be fine."

"Then you must be careful!" Chen Wenjun urged.