Chapter 69: Observing from the Shadows, Planning the Future

The welding torch's flame went out, Zhao Jianguo put the tools back into the iron box, and when the lid closed it made a "Clack!" sound. The room was empty, Night School had dispersed quietly, the tables and chairs were arranged neatly, and even the chalk dust had been swept clean. He didn't hurry to leave, stood by the window, and lifted half of the curtain.

The Courtyard was dark, only the small lamp by the restroom door stayed lit, the wind made the bulb sway, and shadows stretched and pulled across the snow. He stared for a while, then suddenly saw Lao Chen slip out of the house, his padded coat unbuttoned, his hat pulled low. He stood at the Wall Base for a moment, peeked toward the door, and then darted out.

Zhao Jianguo didn't move.

Five minutes later, Lao Chen returned, his hands empty, but his gait was off, as if he had held something in his hands and then handed it away.

Early the next morning, Zhao Jianguo carried a bucket to the restroom to mop the floor. The duty roster was posted by the door; he squatted down to read it, his brows gradually furrowing. Lao Chen's name appeared on different people's shifts for three consecutive days: today for Er Lengzi, the day before for Lao Liu, and the day before that for a rarely seen warehouse temp.

"Skipping a shift without a word?" he muttered to himself.

Sha Zhu passed by carrying a Meal Ticket, and heard: "Lao Chen? He's been very diligent lately, always scrambling to take over anyone's duty shift."

"Scrambling to do good deeds?" Zhao Jianguo sat up straight, "There's no such person."

He set the bucket down, went back inside and pulled out a small notebook that recorded Night School attendance. He compared it for a while and found that the few people Lao Chen had covered for hadn't attended class recently. More coincidentally, these people had previously been close to Yi Zhonghai—some had taken the cigarettes he slipped them, others had spoken up when his disciple was reassigned.

Zhao Jianguo closed the notebook and walked to the Kitchen doorway.

He Yushui was squatting to fix a pipe, looked up at the sound of footsteps and asked, "Anything?"

"Do me a favor." Zhao Jianguo squatted down, meeting her eye level, "In the next two days, go do a follow‑up visit and say you're checking whether the circuit modifications we taught last time have any leakage. Focus on Lao Liu, Lao Zhou, and Xiao Tian's households."

"Check what?"

"Not checking people, checking words." He lowered his voice, "See whose family mentions 'don't rely too much on Zhao Jianguo' or 'someone is feeding a line'."

He Yushui blinked, smiled, "Oh—technical follow‑up, and casually eavesdrop at the corner?"

"As long as you understand," he stood up, "Don't make a fuss."

Three days later, He Yushui came to find him, holding half a cigarette pack paper in her hand, on which several names were written.

"At Lao Liu's house, someone knocked on the window at night and said, 'The wind direction hasn't changed.'"

"Lao Zhou's daughter‑in‑law was chatting with me and suddenly said, 'Some people pretend to be selfless, but they actually just want power.'"

"Xiao Tian was the most direct, asking me, 'Is Zhao Jianguo trying to control each of us to death?'"

Zhao Jianguo spread out the cigarette pack paper, circled three names with a pencil, and drew a line connecting them to Wang Dehai's head.

"Keeper Wang Dehai?" He Yushui asked, "He and Yi Zhonghai have only met twice, right?"

"The key isn't whether he's familiar with Yi Zhonghai," Zhao Jianguo tapped the notebook, "It's that he controls the warehouse keys. Anyone wanting to pull a small stunt has to ask him for supplies. Coal, tin, Electric Wire—any of them can be quietly siphoned off."

"You mean, he's acting as a middleman?"

"Probably yes." He put the notebook away, "These people don't dare cause a big ruckus; they just mingle downstairs, blowing cold air, seeing if they can disperse our group."

He Yushui was silent for a moment, "How about telling the Security Section?"

"If we say it now, we lack evidence," Zhao Jianguo shook his head, "First, it's just idle talk; second, we have no hard proof. It would just make people say we're making a mountain out of a molehill and can't tolerate dissenting opinions."

"Then what do we do?"

"We shouldn't stay idle either." He stood up, "Night School will continue, but we'll add some new material."

That evening, Night School held class as usual. Zhao Jianguo stood at the desk, holding a piece of Electric Wire, a small bell, and a magnet.

"We're not repairing radios today," he said, "We're teaching a new gadget—a door magnetic alarm."

The people below were startled.

"What? An anti‑theft device?" Sha Zhu asked.

"Correct." Zhao Jianguo stuck the magnet onto the door frame, connected the Electric Wire to the bell, "When the door opens, the circuit completes and the bell rings. Simple, right?"

"Simple!" San Daye raised his hand, "I'll install one at my house!"

"All of them should install," Zhao Jianguo nodded, "First install at Qin Huairu, San Daye, and Jia Dongxu's households. Their kids are young, so they need extra protection."

No one objected. Which family doesn't cherish their children?

Privately, Zhao Jianguo called Jia Dongxu aside, handed him a sheet of paper: "Follow this; the bell's sound should be soft, not scare people, but still audible. Install at three households first, and tell me when you're done."

Jia Dongxu looked down, the diagram marked the battery location. He looked up, "Battery… enough?"

"I have one," Zhao Jianguo said lightly, "Just don't register it."

Jia Dongxu asked no further, tucked the diagram away and left.

Two days later, the bell at San Daye's doorstep rang once. In the middle of the night, the door opened a crack, then closed, and the bell "ding"ed.

San Daye heard it, threw on his coat and rose, opened the door and saw no one outside, but two sets of footprints in the snow, one in and one out.

He kept quiet, and the next morning found Zhao Jianguo, whispering, "Someone touched our door!"

"I know," Zhao Jianguo nodded, "The bell rang, I heard it."

"Then how could you still be sleeping?"

"That's exactly the effect I wanted," he smiled, "He comes once, realizes there's a sound inside, and next time he'll have to weigh his actions."

San Daye stared blankly, then grinned, "High, really high. This works better than the joint patrols."

Zhao Jianguo gave no reply, just opened the notebook to a page and wrote "Warning Node: 3".

At noon that day, he summoned the Night School core members to the Kitchen, where a pot of tea and several large bowls were set on the table.

"Our Courtyard is now spotless, and the classes are lively," he said bluntly, "But let me ask—if one day I'm gone, how many days could this setup hold up?"

Sha Zhu was gnawing on a mantou and nearly choked, "Where are you going?"

"I'm not saying I'm leaving," Zhao Jianguo waved his hand, "I'm saying we need a contingency. People get tired, get sick, get old. The Rules Sign can't rely on a single person."

He Yushui nodded, "You want to institutionalize it?"

"Pretty much." He took out a sheet of paper, spread it on the table, "I've written three goals: First, each person should master at least one craft; second, public affairs rotation should be written into the schedule, whoever doesn't work, their class stops; third, establish an emergency Mutual Aid Group, so if any family has trouble, everyone pitches in together."

San Daye listened attentively, tapping the paper with his finger, "The third point is good. I fell a couple of days ago; if Qin Huairu hadn't seen me, I wouldn't have known how long I'd been down."

"Then we'll start with these three," Zhao Jianguo said, "It's not a command, it's a rule we set together."

Sha Zhu finished the last bite of mantou, wiped his mouth, "Isn't it fine as it is? Why do we have to make so many changes?"

"It's good for now," Zhao Jianguo pointed at the half‑collapsed shed in the Courtyard corner, "This winter's snow is light, but if next year a heavy rain comes and the roof collapses, what about people getting hit? We need to think ahead."

"Then what do you plan to do?"

"Let's start by repairing the shed first," he said, standing up. "I'll provide the materials; whoever does the work will count as volunteer labor and be recorded in the rotation. Once it's fixed, it'll be considered the first 'mutual aid project'."

In the afternoon, Zhao Jianguo took Jia Dongxu and Sha Zhu to the factory and hauled two carts of old lumber and sheet metal. San Daye, leaning on a cane, directed the work; Qin Huairu brought water, and He Yushui was in charge of measuring dimensions. Lao Chen watched from a distance for a while, didn't leave, and after a moment came over holding a hammer: "May I lend a hand?"

"Just in time," Zhao Jianguo said, handing him a basket of nails. "The pillar on the east side is unstable; keep an eye on it."

Er Lengzi was also sweeping snow nearby; halfway through, he leaned the broom against something, walked over, lifted a log, and headed toward the wall.

No one asked him.

By the third day of repairing the shed, the doorbell rang again at night.

This time it was from Qin Huairu's house.

When Zhao Jianguo heard the noise, he got up, wrapped in his cotton coat, and walked to her door; the bell was still gently swaying. He crouched down to look and found a slip of paper tucked under the door gap, its characters crooked:

"When people leave, the tea cools; don't get too smug."

He neither tore nor burned it; he folded the slip neatly and slipped it into his pocket.

Early the next morning, he went to the kitchen as usual to boil water and tossed the slip into the furnace. The flames curled, and the writing vanished.

Sha Zhu came in, saw him standing by the stove, and asked, "Anything?"

"Yes," Zhao Jianguo said, looking at the fire. "But it's not urgent."

"Then why are you burning this?"

"Burn a bit of coolness," he said, closing the stove lid. "Some people think we're already warm, so they should relax. Actually, this is just the beginning."

At noon, a new session of the Night School began.

Zhao Jianguo stood at the desk, and behind him the blackboard bore the seven characters "Siheyuan Three-Year Plan".

"Starting next week, the Night School will be split into two classes," he said. "During the day we teach women and children basic circuitry; at night we teach adult male workers modification techniques. Once each person completes twenty hours, we issue a 'Technical Certificate' that the factory recognizes, counting as extra work hours."

A murmur rose from the crowd below.

"Is that for real?" Lao Chen asked.

"I've spoken with the factory," Zhao Jianguo said. "As long as you're willing to learn, I'll be willing to report it."

San Daye slapped his thigh excitedly: "My grandson will come next year! Let him get a certificate too!"

"Welcome," Zhao Jianguo nodded. "Not just him; any child whose family wants to learn, I'll teach them."

After class, Jia Dongxu stayed behind and whispered, "The doorbell's installed; we've tested it at three houses, and it rings."

"Good," Zhao Jianguo took two dry cells from the drawer. "Make two more, install them in the coal store and the kitchen's back window. Keep the locations concealed, run the wires along the wall base."

"Still not registering?"

"No registration," he handed over the batteries. "The system will be missing two cells; no one will know."