Chapter 862: Life in Critical Condition

He Yuzhu sighed, "Nowadays, there aren't many old people left in our courtyard. I used to find Jia Zhangshi annoying as hell, but these years, after she moved out with Jia Dongxu to the housing provided by the steel mill, there's no one left to curse in the street, and I've actually become a bit unaccustomed to it."

Yi Xiaotian laughed, "Brother Zhuzi, my dad said that back in the day, Jia Zhangshi even wanted to go report your family to the collaborators. Is that true?"

He Yuzhu nodded, "It is. If it hadn't been for Chen Daya's Apprentice, Ma Yan, breaking her leg back then, our family really would have been dragged off."

"She really is wicked enough!" Yi Xiaotian said.

"Who's to say she isn't? But it was also that man-eating society that forced people to become like that," He Yuzhu sighed and said.

"Brother Zhuzi, we've finished renovating the houses for the old neighbors; do you think those old folks will all come back?" Yi Xiaotian joked.

"If we provide meals, I reckon quite a few might come back," He Yuzhu said.

"Actually, running a canteen wouldn't be much," Yi Xiaotian said.

He Yuzhu smiled, "Let nature take its course. For the people in our courtyard, the more you give them, the more they'll demand."

Yi Xiaotian nodded, "My dad says the same. Actually, I discussed this with He Zheng, and he doesn't really approve either. He'd rather give Auntie Wang some sponsorship to help her run the Old Age Home well than organize it himself."

He Yuzhu patted his shoulder, "For this project, beautify the courtyard and fix up the garden, restoring it to the way it looked when it was a prince's mansion."

Yi Xiaotian said, "Don't worry, Brother Zhuzi, I will definitely get this done."

"Good, then I can rest easy," He Yuzhu said, and then he returned to the East Cross Courtyard.

As soon as He Yuzhu entered, Chen Xueru came up with a smile, "Zhuzi, Fang Deng just came by to say that she and He Xiao are getting married!"

His eyes lit up, "That's great! Didn't she need eight years to graduate? This is only the seventh year, right?"

Chen Xueru laughed, "They can get married once they reach their sixth or seventh year."

He Yuzhu asked, "When are they planning to hold it?"

"This year on the eleventh."

He Yuzhu nodded, "Did Lou Xiao'e leave all the wedding arrangements to you?"

Chen Xueru nodded helplessly, "I really chose my friends poorly; she pushed all the troublesome work onto me, making it seem like my own son is the one getting married."

He Yuzhu sighed, "Why are you digging up old grievances again?"

Chen Xueru laughed instead, "I really don't blame Xiao'e. Given her family's situation back then... choosing you was the best option..."

He Yuzhu comforted her, "The stable situation our family has now is all thanks to you. You win people over with virtue."

Chen Xueru said, "Don't flatter me; I'm not that good. Sometimes I get angry inside, especially when you don't care about our son."

He Yuzhu felt he was being wronged.

"Am I not good to He Zheng?" He spread his hands, looking helpless, "How many times has he made mistakes? Look at He Mu; from start to finish, he never asked me for any help."

Chen Xueru sneered, "Do you think I'm stupid? You know how much money you made from the stocks you invested in years ago; you gave half of it to him. You've already helped him as much as you could..."

Seeing that Chen Xueru was starting to talk about these old stories again, He Yuzhu opened his mouth, then closed it, and spread his hands, "Fine, you're right! You're always right; I can't win an argument with you."

Just then, his cell phone suddenly rang.

He saw it was Jiang Mei's number, and his heart tightened.

"Brother Zhuzi, come over quickly! Liu Siman has been stabbed, it's very serious... I don't have full confidence in this surgery."

A "buzz" went off in He Yuzhu's head, and blood rushed to his brain.

He knew that Man Yatou was attending the national chip exchange conference today.

Before the meeting, she had even sent him a message: "Siqiang, our smartphone chip has already succeeded in the Laboratory..."

"Jiang Mei, what do you need me to do? Or what should I prepare? Just tell me! For example, mobilizing more people to donate blood..." His voice had changed.

"I have less than a fifty percent chance of success with this surgery... I don't know what you can do. I just hope you come over to give her strength," Jiang Mei said in a muffled voice.

He Yuzhu gripped his phone tightly, "I understand, I'm coming right now."

After hanging up, his whole body was trembling. He didn't know if it was because he was old or because he cared too much about this person.

Seeing his face turn deathly pale, Chen Xueru asked hurriedly, "Zhuzi, did something happen to Man Yatou?"

"Man Yatou was stabbed, she's in critical condition... Someone wants to disrupt the progress of our mobile phone chips... I had a premonition... Several influential overseas media outlets have already reported on this; those hostile forces can no longer sit still..."

He walked out while speaking, his mind already a chaotic mess.

Man Yatou was someone he had brought up himself; one could say she had surpassed her master, with technical skills even better than his own.

If something happened to her...

This project might be delayed for several years. But what he knew even more clearly was that he couldn't accept it emotionally. She wasn't even fifty yet, the golden age for scientific research.

He Yuzhu rushed out the door, got into his car, and floored the gas pedal.

The car shot out of the parking lot like a madman, speeding through the streets.

But just his luck—it was completely jammed at an intersection.

The taillights ahead were a sea of red, and the sound of horns blared one after another.

He Yuzhu slammed his fist against the steering wheel.

He couldn't wait.

He opened the car door, abandoned the car right by the side of the road, and vaulted over the wall.

It had been decades since he had used this kind of Kung Fu of leaping over roofs and vaulting over walls. But today, he couldn't care about that.

He bounded over houses and ridges as if walking on flat ground.

The wind whistled past his ears; he had only one thought in his mind: faster, just a little faster. Man Yatou is waiting for you.

His heart felt like it was being gripped tightly by a giant hand, squeezing until he couldn't breathe.

It took him only five minutes to scale the wall of the Beijing Hospital.

An old man pushing a bicycle only felt a shadow flash before his eyes and was so scared his eyes widened, "Is... is this a person or a ghost?"

He Yuzhu had no time to pay him any mind; with a light tap of his feet, he bounded up to the third floor in a few steps.

In front of the operating room, the light was on.

The three words "In Surgery" were glaringly red.

Standing at the doorway were Man Yatou's two assistants and two Bodyguards; all four were covered in blood, as if they had just come off a battlefield.

One of the assistants, named Sun Tao, was leaning against the wall, trembling.

He Yuzhu grabbed him by the collar: "What happened?"

Sun Tao's lips quivered: "General Manager He... I'm sorry... We had just reached the hotel entrance when, out of nowhere, two people lunged from the car. If it weren't for the fact that General Manager Liu has been practicing Kung Fu, she would have died right there..."

"Where is she wounded?"

"A knife wound to the abdomen, a knife wound to the chest..."

He Yuzhu let go, his knuckles cracking as he clenched his fists.

In that instant, his eyes turned red.

The abdomen, the chest. Both were vital points.

He Yuzhu's mind was replaying the scenes of his interactions with Man Yatou over the years, and his mouth didn't stay idle either: "Did you catch the people?"

Sun Qiang shook his head: "No. Those two people had high-level Kung Fu, like the kind who crawled out of a pile of dead bodies on a battlefield. They worked without any hesitation, and as soon as they saw they hadn't succeeded, they fled immediately. But judging by their builds, they looked like people from Southeast Asia."

Southeast Asia.

He Yuzhu closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, his eyes were filled with cold murderous intent.

He took out his phone and dialed Tian Dan's number.

"Dan. You know that Liu Siman has had an accident, right?"

Tian Dan said: "I have already notified the Municipal Bureau, and they have set up surveillance at the airports and train stations. Don't worry, they won't be able to escape..."

"Do you need me to call Secretary Liu and set up a nationwide dragnet?" He Yuzhu asked.

Tian Dan was silent for a few seconds: "No need, I have already contacted the higher-ups, and they are very supportive. I will arrange everything."

He Yuzhu said in a hoarse voice: "I will wait for Man Yatou's surgery to finish, then I will handle this matter personally. If I find out who it is—if it's a corporate act, I will destroy their company; if it's a state act, I will make sure they have no peace... They must be living too comfortably, coming to provoke me again."

These words were very heavy. Most people would just think he was bragging, but Tian Dan had known him for so many years and knew that He Yuzhu was truly enraged this time.

Tian Dan grew anxious: "Zhuzi! Don't be too impulsive, I haven't seen you like this in so many years..."

He Yuzhu interrupted her: "This time, it's a fight to the death. Besides, since Secretary Liu has retired, I have no more reservations."

Tian Dan took a deep breath on the other end: "No. You must have a strategy. I will call Liu Rusi immediately and have her come to be with you; you are a bit out of control right now."