Chapter 59: Yan Bugui's Generous Gift

"Who are you? Why aren't you charging?" the signal soldier asked, raising his gun vigilantly.

Before his voice had even faded, He Yuzhu had already snatched the gun away like lightning and pulled the trigger.

The Japanese soldier fell to the ground in response, a bloody hole appearing in his forehead.

He Yuzhu dodged nimbly, nearly getting splattered by brain matter.

The sound of the gunshot startled Matsumoto Satoshi, who was directing the charge; he immediately ordered a dozen Japanese soldiers to return and defend the vehicles.

He Yuzhu seized the opportunity to dart nimbly to the side of the truck and stuffed a hand grenade into the fuel tank.

The successive sounds of explosions were deafening, and the truck was instantly plunged into a sea of flames.

The fire blocked the Japanese soldiers' line of sight.

Under the cover of the fire, He Yuzhu raised his gun and fired, instantly mowing down half the enemy.

On the guerrilla position, nine Type 11 Light Machine Guns spat tongues of fire; more than half of the ninety-plus Japanese soldiers were killed or wounded, and the rest could only crawl forward.

He Yuzhu took the chance to jump onto the truck loaded with silver dollars, turned it around, and sped toward the outside of the city.

Matsumoto Satoshi shouted in exasperation, "Retreat! Chase the vehicle!" But the Japanese soldiers' bullets could only strike uselessly at the rear of the departing vehicle's shadow.

At dusk, in the headquarters of the Jidong Guerrilla, Captain Xiao looked at the sixteen crates of silver dollars and laughed heartily: "Although we didn't manage to snatch back all one hundred thousand Big Ocean, the battle results are glorious enough! Little Zhuzi has performed a great service; tell me, what reward do you want?"

He Yuzhu scratched his head, his eyes brightening: "Nothing in particular, could I have some Big Ocean? I want to make my mother happy!"

Everyone laughed.

Lao Zhou patted him on the shoulder: "I propose rewarding He Yuzhu one hundred Big Ocean; what does everyone think?"

"No problem!" everyone said in unison.

After all, not long after He Yuzhu drove away, the Japanese reinforcements arrived. If not for He Yuzhu, this battle would have been fought in vain.

In reality, what He Yuzhu transported back was more than eighty thousand Big Ocean.

But he couldn't very well say that in such an environment, he had still managed to transfer the contents of the other vehicle! Moreover, half of these Big Ocean he had risked his life to bring back had to be split with Lou Laoban, which he secretly felt was not worth it. It would be better to keep the other twenty thousand Big Ocean for himself.

This operation made the Japanese furious, and all the contact points in the city were withdrawn to the mountains. Lao Zhou and Shen Wenqing were included in this; this New Year, Shen Guizhi would certainly not be able to see her younger brother.

With the end of the year approaching, after resting for one night at the camp, He Yuzhu took the Big Ocean and returned to Si Jiu Cheng.

After this battle, everyone felt that this kid was simply the reincarnation of the "Monkey King," and no one worried about his safety anymore.

In the Japanese Military Police Headquarters, the charcoal brazier was burning brightly, yet it could not dispel the chill in the room.

The Commander stared coldly at Lou Bancheng's pale face: "Lou-san, going to the Rolling Mill to collect money was a trap from the start... it was set by you and your accomplices!"

Lou Bancheng fell to his knees with a "thump," tears streaming down his face: "Commander, please see clearly! My godson Lou Gang is a Communist! He colluded with bandits; not only did he rob the Imperial Army's funds, he even took away my last bit of survival money! If you can catch him, execute him on the spot; I will never collect the body!"

The Commander grabbed him by the collar: "Enough nonsense! Prepare another one hundred thousand Big Ocean!"

"Even if I go bankrupt, I can't scrape together one hundred thousand Big Ocean!" Lou Bancheng collapsed on the ground, "I will offer my company to the Imperial Army, I only ask to keep my miserable life..."

"Fifty thousand! At least fifty thousand!"

"There really isn't a cent left! The factory has stopped production, and the working capital has been hollowed out..."

The Commander roared: "Don't forget you are called Lou Bancheng! Are all those industries just for show?"

"Take them all!" Lou Bancheng cried bitterly, "Lou Gang caused the death of my own nephew! If you don't believe me, go investigate! The Communist Party cannot tolerate someone like me; how could I possibly help them?"

This tearful performance finally moved the suspicious Commander.

He waved his hand irritably: "The front line is in urgent need of money! You must find a way!"

Lou Bancheng hurriedly kowtowed: "I will donate the steel mill to the Imperial Army for free! I'll handle the paperwork tomorrow!"

The Commander stared at him coldly: "If any half-truth is discovered during the investigation, your whole family will be executed!"

Lou Bancheng walked out of the Military Police Headquarters with a staggering gait, looking up at the gray sky and letting out a long sigh of relief.

The Japanese shifted their focus to hunting down the Communist Party; the Huang Daxian case was finally over, and He Yuzhu would be able to have a peaceful New Year.

On the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, the He Family returned to the Siheyuan.

Seeing He Daqing return safely, the neighbors were all surprised and gathered around.

"Daqing, you didn't die! That's great!" Yan Bugui said insincerely.

"It couldn't have been easy to escape from the Martial Arts Assembly!" Yi Zhonghai sized up He Daqing.

While the adults exchanged pleasantries, He Yuzhu smiled and handed out candy to the children.

Afterward, he began to deliver New Year gifts to the families he had borrowed money from: not only did he repay the principal, but he also gifted extra pork belly, fine two-grain flour, candy wrapped in red paper, and precious brown sugar.

In the Houyuan, Old Man Ma held five jin of meat, ten jin of two-grain flour, and a bag of candy, repeatedly declining: "Zhuzi, this gift is too heavy; I can't accept it."

"Please just accept it; it's only right."

Old Man Ma's little granddaughter Ma Yan stared at the fatty pork and drooled: "Grandpa, can we eat meat at noon?"

"You greedy girl, the meat is to be saved for the New Year."

He Yuzhu said with a smile: "No need to wait; today is the New Year."

Old Man Ma patted his head: "I was so happy I even forgot it was the New Year!"

Aunt Yi looked at the meat and brown sugar in her hands and asked with some concern: "Zhuzi, where did you get the money?"

"Don't worry, it's all money provided by Xu Fugui!" He Yuzhu said.

"This, is there a story behind this?"

"I'll tell you another day; I'm too busy today!" He Yuzhu said.

Some were happy, some were sad.

Lao Jia, who was out of work at home, didn't buy meat at all. He only bought one jin of eggs, and that was his New Year.

The other men working at the Rolling Mill were no better off; they had all received notice that the factory was temporarily closed, which meant there would be no work after the New Year, making everyone's mood quite heavy.

Jia Zhangshi stared at the meat and white flour in He Yuzhu's hands, so jealous she wished she could snatch them away.

In the front yard, Yan Bugui happily opened the gift box, only to find nine steamed buns neatly arranged inside.

He ran angrily to He Yuzhu's door and knocked.

He Yuzhu walked out with a grin: "Teacher Yan, what is it?"

Yan Bugui slammed the box onto the stone table: "Zhuzi! This isn't fair! Back then, my family only had three steamed buns left, and I gave them all to you. Is this what you're paying me back with?"

"Teacher Yan, that's not right of you to say. You lent me three steamed buns, and I returned nine to you. How are you still not satisfied?"

"Then why did the families of Lao Wang, Lao Li, and Lao Yi all receive so many gifts?"

He Yuzhu said calmly: "What they lent me were Big Ocean coins. The Wang family lent me two, Uncle Yi lent me three, and even the poorest Ma Family lent me one. And you? You gave me three steamed buns."

Yan Bugui was momentarily speechless.

He Yuzhu continued: "Teacher Yan, we must have a conscience. If you were truly poorer than Grandpa Ma's family in the Houyuan, I would have nothing to say. But you aren't. A light gift can carry heavy intentions, but that requires sincerity. You aren't short on money, yet you only lent me a few steamed buns and still want a generous gift. Is that even possible?"

"I think you just look down on me!" Yan Bugui persisted relentlessly.

He Yuzhu swept his gaze over the crowd watching the commotion in the courtyard and said crisply: "Let's just say that's the case!"