Chapter 37: Targeted by the Japanese

"You little brat, if I don't earn money, are you, your mother, and your sister going to drink the northwest wind?" He Daqing glared, shaking his legs ungraciously, the tips of his worn-out cloth shoes bobbing in the air.

"Dad, it's not that I don't want you to work," He Yuzhu leaned in closer, lowering his voice, "I have a plan. Let's rent a small storefront; my Siqiang is currently free anyway, so the three of us can open a steamed bun shop together!"

"Easier said than done. What about the capital? That's not just a few pennies!" He Daqing scoffed, leaning back.

"It's a coincidence," He Yuzhu's eyes lit up, "When I went to find you, I happened to pass by the entrance of the 'prize collection office' of the little devils. Guess what? I picked up some 'foreign loot'!" As he spoke, he pulled over a hundred Big Ocean coins from his pocket, "Is this enough to rent a small shop?"

"You brat, you went to the devils' place to pick up money again!" He Daqing made a gesture to hit him.

He Yuzhu dodged directly and said, "If I don't pick up money, how can we open a shop?"

He Daqing nodded and said, "Fine, since it's from the little devils, I'll forgive you, but you mustn't pick up anything from ordinary families."

"That goes without saying, the little devils' things were all extorted from our common people. I, I am just taking from the people and using it for the people."

"Where are we planning to open the shop?" He Daqing asked.

"I've already scouted it out, there's a small storefront empty by the side of Shichahai, it used to be a grocery store," He Yuzhu said hurriedly.

"Alright, I'll go take a look tomorrow." He Daqing agreed, then looked around the simple East Wing, his brows furrowing into a knot again, "Am I sleeping on this broken cold kang tonight? Won't I freeze to death?"

"Just make do for one night."

"Pah, this broken place is drafty on all sides! When I wake up tomorrow, I'll be frozen into an icicle." He Daqing curled his lip in disgust, "Hurry up, go home and bring that thick cotton quilt of mine! And get some window paper too!"

"Got it, leave it to me!" He Yuzhu agreed, settled He Daqing down, and hurried back.

As soon as he entered the Siheyuan gate, sure enough, his mother Shen Guizhi was waiting with a broom handle in her hand.

Without a word, she rained blows down on him, landing solidly on He Yuzhu's backside.

"Mom! Mom! Stop hitting! My dad... my dad, hasn't he come back yet?" He Yuzhu dodged while wanting to punish his mother, who was hitting him without rhyme or reason.

Shen Guizhi's hand stopped in mid-air, her face turning pale: "You... didn't you say he went to the Martial Arts Assembly? What? You didn't find him?"

"I went! But there were too many people, I couldn't find him."

"How was the Martial Arts Assembly? Tell me!" Shen Guizhi asked anxiously.

He Yuzhu panted, "The little devils had bad intentions and wanted to kill all those martial artists. If the Jidong Guerrilla hadn't saved us, we would have all died there. Even so, a hundred people died. I only escaped by risking my life..."

Upon hearing this, the broom in Shen Guizhi's hand dropped to the ground with a "clatter," and tears instantly fell: "What should we do... your dad..."

Little Yushui nearby didn't quite understand, but seeing her mother cry, she also wailed and started crying along.

Seeing his mother cry, He Yuzhu's anger dissipated, and he then told her everything exactly as it happened.

After hearing it, Shen Guizhi was so angry she picked up the broom again and gave He Yuzhu several solid hits: "You brat! Are you doing this on purpose to make a fool of me? Look, Yushui has been scared to tears by you!"

He Yuzhu endured it, gritting his teeth: "Mom, we have to play the part to the end. Tomorrow! Tomorrow we go to Dongxing Lou to demand him! If they don't hand him over, we'll smash their broken shop!"

Shen Guizhi hesitated: "This... will this work? Isn't this asking for trouble?"

"Why wouldn't it work! They pushed my dad into a pit of fire, why should we be afraid of them! I think they are in cahoots with the little devils!"

Looking at her son's determined eyes and thinking of the risks her husband had faced, Shen Guizhi finally gritted her teeth and nodded heavily: "Fine! Tomorrow, Mom will go with you!"

That night, He Yuzhu sent the family's warm clothing and bedding to his father.

The next morning, He Yuzhu led his mother Shen Guizhi to Dongxing Lou.

Upon arriving, they discovered that it wasn't just them; the families of the other four kitchen helpers were also there, some crying, some making a scene.

It turned out that He Daqing had arranged all this as soon as he led those four people out of the kitchen; it seemed He Daqing still had some tricks up his sleeve.

These families were causing such a scene throughout Dongxing Lou that they didn't even open for business at noon.

The people in the kitchen, hearing that those who went to cook were missing, also put down their work one after another and refused to continue.

The Boss Ma here was truly a miser and refused to agree to any compensation. He Yuzhu had already made up his mind to torch Dongxing Lou tonight.

At the Jidong Guerrilla headquarters, the atmosphere was heavy yet tinged with excitement.

Commander Xiao was listening to a report.

A detachment leader held a notebook and read: "Commander, in this battle, we lost one hundred and twenty-one comrades, thirteen were seriously wounded, and two hundred and fifteen were lightly wounded."

Commander Xiao nodded silently and asked in a deep voice: "What about the spoils?"

A smile appeared on the detachment leader's face: "The spoils are not small. We captured eleven Type 11 Light Machine Guns, four hundred and thirty-seven Type 38 Arisakas, fifteen Box Cannons, five boxes of Hand Grenades, one hundred thousand rounds of ammunition, eleven Grenade Launchers..."

Commander Xiao slammed his fist lightly on the table, unable to hide the joy on his face: "Good! With this equipment, we can expand our ranks again and have a good fight with the damn little devils!"

At this moment, Lao Zhou stood up: "Commander, the two-week leave the school granted me is almost up, I must hurry back to Si Jiu Cheng."

Commander Xiao grasped Lao Zhou's hand: "Lao Zhou, when you go back this time, can you think of a way to get some anti-inflammatory medicine and food? We have many wounded, and supplies are too scarce."

Lao Zhou nodded heavily: "The tens of thousands of Big Ocean coins captured this time will come in handy. I'll check the black market as soon as I get back. I can't guarantee the anti-inflammatory medicine, but I will definitely find a way to get the food for you!"

"Great! I'll arrange for people to escort you back as soon as possible!" Commander Xiao said immediately.

Si Jiu Cheng, Japanese Military Police headquarters. The atmosphere was cold and oppressive.

Kamedajiro hung his head, sweat beading on his forehead, standing respectfully before the desk, enduring the thunderous rage of Military Police Commander Tanaka Taro.

Tanaka Taro's voice was low but cold as a knife: "Kameda-kun, you made a mess of this 'Martial Arts Assembly'! So many of our famous martial artists died there, and the Ministry of the Army is very dissatisfied! You must find the nest of that guerrilla unit as soon as possible and wipe them out completely! Also, why is there still no clue about the theft at the Taihe Firm?"

Kameda bowed abruptly, sweat dripping onto the floor: "Yes! This subordinate is incompetent! I will definitely do my utmost to find the nest of these anti-Japanese elements as soon as possible and round them all up! The Taihe Firm case is also being investigated with urgency!"

Returning to his office, Kameda's face was livid as he roared at his subordinate: "Go! Call Ozu to me! Immediately! Ask him exactly how the investigation of the case is going!"

Ozu entered the office with a grin and said: "Commander Kameda, after these days of investigation and my careful analysis, I have found several suspicious individuals. These people were taken away by our men, but the people who took them away are all dead. Tomorrow I will send people to investigate these individuals..."