Chapter 43: Life in the Siheyuan

After the Japanese devils caused such a commotion, the entire Siheyuan was shrouded in an eerie silence.

Many families were hiding in their rooms, whispering to each other.

The Yan family went to sleep earliest, yet after lying there for nearly an hour, neither of the couple could fall asleep.

Yang Ruihua nudged her husband, who was tossing and turning beside her, and cursed, "The He Family are also bastards; they provoked the little devils and ran off, leaving us in the courtyard to suffer! Tell me, will the little devils arrest all of us?"

Yan Bugui let out a long sigh and said, "The He Family is indeed unscrupulous. At 91 Hao Yuan, that courtyard that is said to be haunted, it was because one family got involved that everyone was killed."

"Then let's run back to our hometown in Shanxi tomorrow!" Yang Ruihua's voice trembled as she spoke.

"The situation is a bit troublesome. That Jia Zhangshi is still playing clever, snitching to the little devils about the He Family eating meat often; that is not a good thing at all. Once the little devils get angry, everyone in the courtyard will suffer," Yan Bugui said.

"How about we go to my sister's house to hide for a few days?" Yang Ruihua asked.

"Go to sleep! The little devils certainly won't come back today; we'll see again tomorrow," Yan Bugui said.

In the Jia Family's room, in the darkness, a smile played on the corners of Jia Zhangshi's mouth. She lowered her voice and said, "Lao Jia, if the He Family is truly wiped out, can we move into the main room to live?"

Lao Jia unhurriedly rolled a cigarette. The match struck with a "hiss," illuminating his thoughtful face. "Occupying someone else's house isn't appropriate; the neighbors will gossip. However, if there's a chance, we could buy it at a low price."

"If everyone is dead, who would we pay?" Jia Zhangshi said.

"His family must have relatives or friends somewhere!" Lao Jia said indifferently.

In the Yi family's room, the kerosene lamp was turned up bright.

The Deaf Old Lady sat on the edge of the kang, wiping away tears with her sleeve: "Zhonghai, why do you think that Jia Zhangshi is so stupid? By revealing that the He Family was eating meat, isn't she making everyone in the courtyard suffer?"

"Who's to say she isn't? Fortunately, Zhuzi ran fast; if he had been caught, he wouldn't have escaped death!" Yi Zhonghai said, taking a puff of his cigarette.

"Zhonghai, listening to the questions the devils asked, the matter here is not small!" the Deaf Old Lady said.

"I'm beginning to understand. The devils must have mistaken Zhuzi for the notorious bandit who robbed the foreign firm!" Yi Zhonghai stood up abruptly and said.

"That shouldn't be! He's so young, what could he do?" Mother Yi said.

Yi Zhonghai pondered for a moment. "I saw that injured person beside the devils, his eyes kept darting around; perhaps he is the one behind this, and this person kept staring at the people from the Xu Family! This shows that this person has ties to the Xu Family!"

"Could it really be the Xu Family behind this?" The Deaf Old Lady opened her eyes wide in shock, her face full of disbelief.

"Ahem! I'm just guessing blindly! It's too late, Old Lady, let me take you back to rest!" Yi Zhonghai felt he had said too much; after all, there was not a shred of evidence.

Early the next morning, in the Japanese Army Hospital, Kameda lay on his hospital bed, breathing his last.

Tanaka Taro, Commander of the Military Police, walked into the ward with a team of men. He took one look and shook his head as he retreated.

He stared fixedly at the surgeon outside the door, "Kameda-kun, is there any hope of him coming back to life?"

The doctor shook his head with a bitter smile: "He was shot three times. If it weren't for Kameda-kun's strong will, he would have been gone long ago."

Tanaka Taro pointed to the Adjutant behind him, "From today on, you will take over as the Chief of the Special Higher Police Section."

Ishii Saburo felt very helpless. He knew this job was not easy to do, but there was no other way, so he could only salute: "Hai! This subordinate will certainly do his best to quell the incident as soon as possible!"

Tanaka Taro gritted his teeth and said, "To dare to place sixty-five heads on Qianmen Street, this is an open provocation to the Great Japanese Empire! No matter what means you use, you must solve the case as soon as possible!"

Ishii Saburo bit the bullet and replied: "Hai! I will bring the culprit to justice as soon as possible."

He Yuzhu, who had been busy all night, only slipped back home after finishing breakfast.

As soon as he entered the door, his ear was grabbed by Shen Guizhi. "You little brat, where have you been running wild all night?"

"I went back to the Siheyuan to scout for news, and guess what..."

He recounted the devils' search and the behavior of every household in the Siheyuan one by one.

When Shen Guizhi heard what Jia Zhangshi had said, she was so angry she cursed: "This person is truly rotten to the core! She's no good!"

After hearing the news of the search, He Daqing was a bit worried: "We are too close to Nanluoguxiang here. I always feel that living here is not safe."

He Yuzhu waved his hand: "It can't be! How could the little devils conduct a city-wide search every other day? We'll open the bun shop as usual; if anyone comes to search, you just hide in the cellar."

In a Nancheng Siheyuan, Zhao Datou stared fixedly at the eleven men in front of him and said, "Tonight we will burn down the Rolling Mill; we must also let Lou Bancheng taste the feeling of losing everything."

Daobalian hesitated and said, "San Ge, the case of the sixty-five heads on Qianmen Street hasn't settled down yet, and now the streets are full of devils. If we get caught by the devils, it's all over!"

"The devils also owe Big Brother a life. If the devils catch us, we'll fight the devils!" Zhao Datou slapped the table and said.

Daobalian nodded silently.

In the Dian'anmen teahouse, He Yuzhu sat by an eight-immortal table, listening intently.

After the storyteller finished a segment of "The Legend of Ji Gong," the tea guests began to discuss it one after another.

A middle-aged tea guest said mysteriously: "It is said that Huang Daxian slaughtered more than sixty traitors and placed all their heads on Qianmen Street."

"Really or fake?" asked a middle-aged man wearing glasses.

"If you don't believe it, go to Qianmen and ask for yourself!"

He Yuzhu listened to these discussions, the corners of his mouth lifted slightly, and he got up to return to the shop.

By noon, He Yuzhu took his whole family to have a feast, heading straight for Kaorouji.

At first, Shen Guizhi didn't want to go, but she couldn't resist He Yuzhu's pestering, and finally agreed to come out to eat.

Gou Rope, a waiter at Kaorouji, saw He Yuzhu and snorted unhappily, turning his head to let other waiters handle it while he hid far away.

Before long, Manager Li came up with a beaming face and affectionately hugged He Yuzhu's shoulders: "Damao is here! What would you like to eat today?"

"Damao!" Is this the son's name? Could they have heard wrong? He Daqing and Shen Guizhi looked at each other in dismay.

Chen Daya stifled a laugh.

Chen Qingshan pretended to look at Shichahai outside the window.

"Mother, I use Xu Damao's name outside! I learned it from Xu Damao; whenever he does bad things, he also uses my name!" He Yuzhu said cheekily.

Shen Guizhi kept shaking her head; she didn't know how to discipline this son anymore.

He Yuzhu handed the menu to He Daqing: "Dad, you order."

When He Daqing saw that the prices here were frighteningly expensive, and that a single meal could cost over ten Big Ocean, he pushed the menu back to He Yuzhu.

He Yuzhu didn't even look at the menu and said directly: "Manager Li, first bring six plates of Zhizi Barbecue, six plates of Braised Beef Strips, and thirty steamed buns. For the rest, you arrange it; serve it in two batches, and serve the next batch after we finish the first." After saying this, he stuffed a small cloth bag into the manager's hand.

Shen Guizhi's eyes widened, and she whispered a curse: "You little brat, are we still going to live? The shop hasn't even opened yet, and you're already being so extravagant!"

"Mother, in this day and age, there's no guarantee of tomorrow. If we don't spend the money today, and tomorrow we close our eyes for good and are gone, that would be a real loss!"

"You know, this little brat actually makes sense!" He Daqing slapped his thigh.

Chen Daya grinned from ear to ear: "Don't say it, Zhuzi's words are rough but the logic is sound."

Shen Guizhi looked at everyone and suddenly felt they were somewhat like strangers.

He Yuzhu raised his cup and said: "Mother, once we open the shop and earn money, we won't save a single cent; we'll eat and drink it all!"

He Daqing chimed in: "I agree!"

What they did not know was that at a table not far away sat four burly men who looked like people not to be trifled with.

One of them did not join the conversation, but instead kept his eyes, hidden beneath a felt hat, fixed firmly on He Daqing's table.