Chapter 14: Discrediting Xu Fugui

Early the next morning, the sun had just climbed onto the roof of the East Wing of the Siheyuan, emitting a golden light, yet there wasn't a shred of warmth to it.

He Yuzhu tucked his hands into his sleeves, hunched his shoulders, and trotted all the way to the door of Yan Bugui's house, raising his hand to knock.

"Who is it? Come in and speak!" Yan Bugui's loud voice came through the door curtain.

He Yuzhu lifted the half-new blue cloth curtain and slipped inside sideways.

Don't look at Yan Bugui's house as small; it was kept neat and tidy, exuding a scholarly air.

Yan Bugui was bent over, tending to those few pots of orchids on the windowsill. Hearing the movement, his glasses slid down to the bridge of his nose, and he rolled his eyes upward. Once he saw clearly who had come, he pushed his glasses back into place, his face immediately piling up into that habitual, three-parts shrewd and seven-parts warm smile.

"Yo! It's Zhuzi! What's this, at this hour, and you haven't headed to school yet? Are you playing truant!"

"Uncle Yan, I've come to your door because I have something to ask of you!" He Yuzhu said with an apologetic smile.

"What is it?" Yan Bugui asked.

He Yuzhu fished a crumpled pack of "Qianmen" cigarettes out of his tattered cotton-padded jacket pocket, placed it on the kang, and said, "Uncle Yan, I've come today because I want to ask you to help me ask for leave from the school teacher. Yesterday, that grandson Xu Fugui beat me up, and my brain is still aching this morning!"

Yan Bugui gently set down the small watering can in his hand, his gaze like a searchlight, sweeping back and forth over He Yuzhu twice.

"Were you really beaten by Xu Fugui?"

"Look at what you're saying, how could I lie about such a thing? You can see the gauze on my head is still seeping blood!"

"Xu Fugui is truly not a thing!"

"Who's to say he isn't!" He Yuzhu echoed.

"Didn't your father get hauled away by the Japanese soldiers yesterday? How did he come back in one piece after just the time it takes to smoke a pipe? Is there... any trick to this?" He leaned in closer, lowering his voice, his gossiping nature written all over his face.

In truth, He Yuzhu visiting early in the morning was a pretext; asking for leave was fake, and his goal was to use Yan Laoxi's mouth to spread the word that Xu Fugui had betrayed He Daqing. However, this couldn't be forced; he had to wait for him to take the bait himself.

"What trick could there be?" He Yuzhu deliberately let his face fall, appearing quite annoyed. "Last night, I wasn't home at all, how would I know anything!"

"Young man, your mouth is quite tight! But if you don't speak, and some unpleasant rumors spread, don't you go regretting it!" Yan Laoxi threatened.

He Yuzhu shook his head helplessly and said, "This Xu Fugui is a poisonous snake! From now on, you should walk carefully in the courtyard and be on your guard against him!"

Yan Bugui picked up the cigarettes He Yuzhu had given him, skillfully pulled one out, passed it under his nose, and then tucked it into his bosom.

"Zhuzi, give me the bottom line on yesterday's events. What exactly... happened at your house yesterday?"

Seeing that Yan Bugui was as restless as if scratched by a cat, He Yuzhu hurriedly leaned into Yan Bugui's ear and whispered, "Yesterday, that old bastard Xu Fugui actually framed my father in front of the devils, saying he had connections with... with that side! You think about it, once the devils heard that, wouldn't they go crazy? They immediately rushed to my house! It was only because my father knows a few people who can speak up that he managed to save his life!"

"Yo! Your father... has connections with the Japanese?" Yan Bugui's small triangular eyes flashed with a sharp light, curiosity mixed with probing.

He Yuzhu's heart skipped a beat, and he secretly cursed this Yan Laoxi for being so good at setting traps! If he admitted it outright, later on when the movements started, the fact that He Daqing was "on good terms" with the devils would be a massive stain, one that could cost him his life! He hurriedly waved his hands, "You're overestimating my father. He's just a cook who handles a big ladle; he couldn't reach the Japanese even with an eight-foot pole! It was my father's employer, Master Ma San, who has some friendship with the captain of the Military Police. My father had no other choice, so he bit the bullet and mentioned Master Ma San's name, and stuffed them with a few Big Ocean coins, which is how he managed to redeem his life from the King of Hell!"

Yan Bugui gasped, smacking his lips, "One must have evidence when speaking. So why are you so certain it was Xu Fugui who caused the trouble?"

He Yuzhu secretly praised him; this old Yan is worthy of having been educated, his brain turns fast. He shrugged his small shoulders and deliberately paused mysteriously, "Even the Deaf Old Lady in our courtyard heard it! When the interpreter was translating, he was shouting it. I guess Xu Fugui was too busy licking the devils' boots and forgot about the interpreter, and the guy got angry and sold him out!"

"That does make sense." Yan Bugui nodded.

"If you don't believe me, ask him yourself tomorrow!"

"I believe you. We've been neighbors for so many years, I know that old fellow's temper. This matter is also your father's fault; if he hadn't beaten him yesterday, he wouldn't have pulled this stunt."

"Actually, when my father was explaining to the devils, he also asked the interpreter if it was Xu Fugui who said it, and the interpreter nodded. But if I tell you that, you'd only believe it five or six parts at most. With the Old Lady as a witness, it's set in stone. We all live in the same courtyard; we wouldn't say things without a basis."

"Zhuzi, you're something! You're even discussing evidence with me! I must say, this Deaf Old Lady is also formidable. Through a wall, she can hear people talking? So her deafness... is selective?"

He Yuzhu slapped his thigh, "I suspect the Li Family and Liu Haizhong's family heard it too, it's just that they might not tell you."

In fact, this whole story was something He Yuzhu had pieced together from his father's words and the scene he had seen while lying on the roof.

This time, Yan Bugui believed it seven or eight parts. A flash of malice crossed his triangular eyes, and he darkened his face, "With such a 'traitor' sprout around, none of us, young or old in the courtyard, will have a peaceful life from now on!"

"That's exactly it!" He Yuzhu hurriedly echoed.

"Your father... spent how much 'road-buying money'?" Yan Bugui leaned in closer again, his face full of eagerness to dig for gossip.

"There were only five Big Ocean coins left in the house, and they were all given away. Now, the family savings are completely emptied!"

"That can't be! Your father is a head chef, he must have hundreds in savings!"

"You're talking about yourself! My father didn't even have money to send my mother to the hospital, where would he have money?"

"Yesterday I saw your father go out with the devils, and the devils were quite fierce. What was that about?"

He Yuzhu shook his head, secretly cursing Yan Laoxi in his heart for asking so carefully; he should stay away from this person in the future.

"They didn't get enough money! They couldn't fill the stomachs of those hungry wolves!" He Yuzhu said with a face full of indignation. "My father said one devil was easier to talk to, but the other Big Head devil was a stubborn one. After taking the money, he insisted on forcing my father to find me. My father had no choice but to bite the bullet and take them all over the world to look for me. Hey, it was a coincidence; just as I reached the entrance of the hutong, I happened to be walking back. Once those devils saw the white cloth wrapped around my head, still seeping blood, they didn't make things difficult for my father anymore and let him go."

Yan Bugui immediately switched to a compassionate expression, "Yesterday, seeing your father being dragged away by two devils, my heart felt like it was being fried in oil; it was agonizing!"

He Yuzhu didn't respond to Yan Bugui's fake words. He clenched his small fists until they cracked, and said bitterly, "This time, it's a fight to the death between us and the Xu Family. You'd better be careful too!"