Chapter 81: Ashes to Ashes

Before leaving, He Yuzhu specifically took a detour to come to He Ji Restaurant.

As soon as he stepped into the kitchen, that unique spicy and numbing aroma of Boiled Fish rushed to his nose.

He saw He Daqing holding a large ladle, enthusiastically instructing Lao Lü: "The oil, it has to be heated until it smokes blue; only then will the Boiled Fish you make have the most authentic flavor."

At this moment, Chen Wenjun walked over with a beaming smile; she grabbed He Yuzhu and dragged him into a private room.

Chen Wenjun said happily: "Zhuzi! The business at our restaurant is so hot, the threshold is almost being flattened, and the turnover has even tripled!"

"Then we've made a fortune!" He Yuzhu was also very excited; going from no business to a booming business in just under a month was truly not easy.

"But, there is one thing I have to tell you. Recently, there have always been some suspicious-looking people loitering around the shop. My father is very worried, and he has been staying at the shop these past few days."

After hearing this, He Yuzhu's expression tightened. He pondered for a moment and said: "I will leave you a gun and a few Hand Grenades later. If ordinary people come to pick a fight, don't pay them any mind. If they come for your life, then don't be polite—just open fire."

Chen Wenjun nodded solemnly and said: "I know what to do, Zhuzi. Where are you going this time?"

"Helping Miss Liu handle some matters in Nanjing." As He Yuzhu said this, he gestured toward the kitchen with his chin, "If my father leaves, you have to keep a closer eye on the kitchen; you absolutely cannot cut corners. As for the waiting staff, just leave it to those two employees; they have more experience than you."

Chen Wenjun nodded obediently: "You can go with peace of mind. Pay attention to safety on the road. Don't worry about the shop; I know what to do."

He Yuzhu then left Chen Wenjun a Box Cannon, two hundred rounds of ammunition, and five Hand Grenades.

The next day, before the dawn had broken and while the pitch-black night still shrouded the earth, He Yuzhu hurried to Liugongguan.

At this time, Liu Rusi had already finished packing. She was wearing a camel-colored wool military overcoat; the well-tailored coat made her figure look exceptionally upright.

Her hair was combed without a single strand out of place, smooth and neat, and paired with that bright and moving face, at first glance, she looked exactly like a female secret agent who had walked out of a movie.

As soon as He Yuzhu saw her, he was actually stunned into a daze.

Liu Rusi raised her hand and gave him a light punch, chiding: "What kind of madness are you having?"

"Sister, you look so good in a military uniform, you've made me look like a fool!" He Yuzhu leaned in with a cheeky grin, "Sister, with this look, you are definitely the number one beauty of the Republic of China!"

"You and your glib tongue!" Liu Rusi laughed and scolded, "If you handle this errand well, when we return, Sister will find you a maidservant."

"I don't want that!" He Yuzhu winked and responded, "Why don't you come with us to Shanghai, Sister! I heard that Paramount is full of Western-style girls; take me to see the world!"

"You haven't even grown your hair out yet, and you want to learn to visit dance halls like others?" Liu Rusi sneered, then her expression turned serious, and she said sternly, "Speaking seriously, is everything at your home arranged? This trip will take half a month."

"It's all set! How many people are we going with this time?"

"Including the people from the Military Statistics Bureau station, there are seventy people in total." Liu Rusi looked up at the gray sky and said, "You are driving the trucks to Nanjing and transporting a batch of supplies along the way. It's the middle of winter, and the road won't be easy. Did you bring enough clothes?"

"I brought them all; didn't you see I'm even carrying a suitcase!"

As they spoke, the two walked to the courtyard gate.

He Yuzhu was quick-witted and agile; he leaped into the driver's seat in one bound and said ingratiatingly: "Sister Pingping, let me practice today, won't you? In case you aren't around one day, I can be the driver for Sister, right?"

Pingping had been in a bad mood these past few days and found He Yuzhu an eyesore in every way. Hearing this, she simply gave up her seat, thinking to herself that she had to watch this kid make a fool of himself.

Seeing this, Liu Rusi stomped her feet in anxiety: "Zhuzi, don't mess around! I still want to live a few more years!"

Who would have thought that under Pingping's simple instructions, He Yuzhu actually started the car and got it steadily on the road.

Seeing that He Yuzhu seemed to have no problem driving, Liu Rusi got into the car and couldn't help but exclaim: "Not bad! Zhuzi, you learn things way too fast!"

"What's hard about this? I really don't understand why some people treat driving as some kind of amazing craft! If you ask me, put a piece of meat on the steering wheel, and even a dog could drive."

Before he could finish speaking, He Yuzhu received a heavy rap on the back of his head from Pingping, who scolded him irritably: "Just showing off how capable you are, right?"

Liu Rusi laughed until she had to rub her stomach, teasing: "Good for you, Zhuzi, are you waiting here to get back at Pingping? She's cold to you because she's on her period; during this time, she looks at everyone like they owe her money. You're holding a grudge?"

"Miss, why are you telling him this? A little brat! What does he understand?" Pingping said crossly.

"I understand, I understand!" He Yuzhu patted his chest, looking smug, "It just means she can have babies, right!"

"You little rabbit, you know quite a lot!" Liu Rusi laughed and scolded.

He Yuzhu drove the car out of Yongdingmen, then parked the car on the side of the road, waiting quietly to meet up with the main force.

Seeing that the appointed time was almost up, neither of the two groups had arrived yet. Liu Rusi was burning with anxiety, constantly looking at her wristwatch, muttering: "What's going on? Why haven't they arrived yet?"

Not long after, seven military-green trucks rolled through the dirty snow, roaring over, and with a "Screech—", they braked steadily at the city gate.

A capable-looking officer jumped off the lead truck, ran all the way to Liu Rusi, and gave a crisp salute: "Miss Liu! Liu An reporting for duty!"

Liu Rusi nodded slightly and introduced: "Thank you for your hard work, Battalion Commander Liu. This is my younger brother, He Yuzhu; please look after him on the road."

He Yuzhu hurriedly handed over a pack of Old Knife Brand cigarettes and said with a face full of smiles: "Battalion Commander Liu, please take care of me from now on!"

Time ticked by second by second, but the people from the Military Statistics Bureau still hadn't shown up.

A trace of anxiety gradually appeared on Liu Rusi's face; she kicked a small stone on the ground out of boredom, as if trying to vent the irritability in her heart in this way.

As for He Yuzhu, he seemed to have sensed something; he was chatting happily with Battalion Commander Liu, and the two were laughing and joking constantly.

Meanwhile, outside Liu Xiaohua's courtyard, Captain Ma of the Military Statistics Bureau Action Team was pounding on the door in a rage.

"Bang bang bang bang bang..."

He cursed while pounding: "You turtle grandson, we agreed on everything yesterday, what are you playing dead for today?" After saying this, he spat on the ground.

At this time, a hothead volunteered: "Boss, don't wait for him to open the door, I'll climb over the wall and open it!"

"Be quick about it!" As soon as Ma Mingyuan finished speaking, he heard a "Boom" from the west wing of the courtyard, and raging flames shot up.

"Fire!" Tie Lin shouted at the top of his lungs, and this shout startled everyone.

Before anyone could react, he turned and ran toward the street corner, shouting: "I'm going to find a water bucket in the car!"

Ma Mingyuan was so angry he stomped his feet and cursed: "Tie Lin, you damn coward! Brothers, charge in with me to put out the fire! No matter what, you must get Liu Xiaohua out for me."

With that, he kicked the courtyard gate open, and more than twenty people swarmed into the courtyard.

Tie Lin ran to the back of the Jeep, pretending to look for a water bucket, while muttering: "A bunch of blockheads, can't you smell the kerosene all over the courtyard? If you're looking for death, don't blame anyone else!" After putting on a show for a while, seeing that no one was paying attention to him, Tie Lin simply stopped acting.

He just climbed into the driver's seat, crossed his legs, and leisurely started cracking melon seeds.

Just as Ma Mingyuan and his group were all gathered in front of the burning west wing—

"BOOM!!!!!!!!!!!" A heaven-shattering, earth-splitting roar, as if the entire earth trembled three times.

A huge mushroom cloud shot up with a "poof," instantly swallowing the entire courtyard.

The heat wave, carrying broken bricks and tiles, splattered everywhere like cannonballs, and several neighboring courtyards also collapsed in a heap with a crash.

Tie Lin, along with his vehicle, was sent flying by the blast wave, tumbling several times on the ground before finally overturning.

Tie Lin struggled to crawl out of the car, his ears buzzing and his head feeling dizzy and heavy.

The smoke and dust had not yet fully dissipated when, in the ruins of the neighboring courtyard, a stone slab began to move slowly.

Before long, a disheveled Liu Xiaohua crawled out from underneath.

He looked around vigilantly for a moment, then quickly ran off into the distance.

About an hour later, a small sedan slowly drove up to the city gate.

A short man got out of the car, hurried over to Liu Rusi's ear, and spoke in a flustered, red-faced rush.

Upon hearing this, Liu Rusi's face turned deathly pale in an instant.

She lunged in front of He Yuzhu, glared at him with a complex expression for a long time, then suddenly raised her leg and kicked him in the shin, shouting angrily, "He Yuzhu! You really are a jinx reincarnated!"

"Sister, why are you kicking me?" He Yuzhu asked with a look of complete innocence.

"Do you have any idea? The 70-plus people guarding Liu Xiaohua and the 20-plus members of the Action Team were all blown to death; this has become a huge mess!"

"Were any of your people among them?" He Yuzhu pressed.