Siheyuan, Shazhu: I have both parents in this life

Chapter 137 Rest, Mistakes, Turbulence in the Courtyard

Those who had evacuated in advance were also shocked by the explosion. If they hadn't known that it was their own people who used explosives, they would have thought that the enemy's heavy artillery had blown up the position. This commotion was much greater than that of a 155mm howitzer. They were basically veterans of the three major campaigns, so they had this much experience.

He Yuzhu and his men quickly caught up with the team ahead, but he was speechless when he saw the equipment the soldiers were carrying. Mortars and bazookas that had run out of shells and rockets were also being carried.

Heavy machine guns and light machine guns were also mounted on sleds and squeezed together with the wounded.

The equipment of the last small group of enemies they had eliminated earlier was also brought along; except for the seriously wounded, all the soldiers were laden with it.

"Will this make us go fast? Let the soldiers throw away the ones they don't need," He Yuzhu said to Xiong Jie as he ran to the sled.

"The soldiers couldn't bear to lose it."

“If we run out, we’ll just go and rob more. At this marching speed, we won’t be out of these mountains by dawn,” He Yuzhu said.

"It's really going to be a waste." Xiong Jie was also reluctant to part with it.

"leave."

"Could you leave some?"

"A platoon and a half of soldiers, plus half wounded, look at how much heavy firepower they brought? Keep the configuration of a platoon, and discard the rest."

"Alright, here you go. I'm appointing you as the temporary commander of this team." Xiong Jie closed his eyes and became the hands-off manager.

"Then why don't you announce it?"

"Alright." Xiong Jie reluctantly stopped the team temporarily and announced the order.

Then, our Commander He's first order was to drop the weapons that were no longer available. Some soldiers clung to them and wouldn't let go, but He Yuzhu kicked them, snatched them, and threw them away.

The soldier shed tears as he looked at the things being thrown away, but He Yuzhu pretended not to see it, thinking, "Why bother with these burdens?"

But when the team had moved forward a bit, He Yuzhu used the excuse of going to the water to collect the supplies again. He was gone for a while, and the soldiers thought he was reluctant to go back to check on things. When he came back, their gazes towards him were much better.

Fortunately, the soldiers did not forget to bring their food. They ate breakfast during the march and the column did not stop until noon. This march covered nearly 20 kilometers, and He Yuzhu admired the soldiers' willpower.

Keep in mind that they had been fighting all night, and many of them were still injured. Those who were not injured had to carry the seriously wounded.

During the lunch break, Wu Qianli woke up. He was a little agitated when he heard that the position had been abandoned, but he fell silent when he saw the short ranks and the few missing company commanders and political instructors.

Then they contacted the division headquarters via radio. The division headquarters inquired about their movements and the situation of the previous night's battle. After listening, there was a long silence on the other end.

In the end, he only said, "You've worked hard. Make sure Xiong Jie brings the rest of them back."

It took the small team three days to rejoin the main force of the division. During that time, they also encountered several small groups of South Korean and American troops that had been scattered.

When they returned to the division, these four companies would barely make up a platoon.

Xiong Jie was injured again, as was Mei Sheng, so He Yuzhu, an outsider, was also treated as one of their teachers.

Of course, he was just a regular soldier. After a few days, He Yuzhu couldn't hold on any longer and went straight to sleep when he got to the camp.

When he woke up, he learned that his army had been decimated. The seriously wounded had been sent back to China the day before. His soldiers were also supposed to return home to rest, but conditions did not allow it. They would instead go to a place called Hamhung on the northern peninsula to rest.

Upon hearing that he needed to rest, He Yuzhu went to find someone and explained that he was from another army and requested to return to his original unit. The problem was that his army was too far away to send him back. Moreover, the person in charge of calculating battle losses, upon hearing that he was a combat hero, advised him to stay. As for He Yuzhu's original unit, they would coordinate with them, mainly because their division had suffered too many losses this time, especially among the grassroots officers.

Since they couldn't go back, what could they do? He Yuzhu agreed, and so He Yuzhu led the remaining 10 or so men on the road to Xianxing.

It took five or six days to travel, during which time we had to avoid planes and there were no cars available.

The rest period requires replenishment of troops. Several companies either lack political instructors or are in the hospital, so they haven't been replenished yet. They're told that they'll be replenished once the company commanders and political instructors return to their posts and the new company commanders and political instructors sent from above arrive.

What He Yuzhu didn't know was that his impulsive act of hitting someone, while satisfying, would bring a lot of trouble to his family.

Originally, there was nothing wrong; it could have been resolved with some coordination between the military units.

The problem is that things are a bit chaotic now, and we don't know which link went wrong. His secondment letter was lost. It wasn't until the end of the Fourth Campaign that the 6th Army reported him missing. After the headquarters compiled the information, they notified him to return to China.

The Military Control Commission of Beijing took this matter very seriously, and the He family was naturally reassured and received a missing persons notice.

Chen Lanxiang held He Yushui and her son and cried uncontrollably, feeling as if the sky had fallen.

As a result, after the military control committee left, the news was spread by a few gossipy women in the front yard that He Yuzhu had deserted from the battlefield and might have even surrendered and become a traitor.

Then everyone in Nanluoguxiang knew that a deserter had come from No. 95 courtyard, and that he might have even defected to the enemy.

Chen Lanxiang spent her days in tears, and even the children in the front yard who used to play with He Yushui stopped playing with her.

He Yushui, the younger sister who was also called a traitor by the children, fought with them while crying. But she was no match for them, as there were too many of them.

After returning, he complained to He Daqing. In the past, He Daqing would have gone to his door to confront him long ago, but this time He Daqing remained silent and kept smoking.

"My brother is not a deserter, not a traitor, sob sob sob."

"No, my Zhuzi isn't!"

Not to mention He Yushui, even Xu Damao and Xiaoman were ostracized at school, just because the children in the compound went to the school to say so.

After Xu Damao beat several children, his parents were called in. Then Xu Fugui told Xu Damao not to go to the He family anymore, and he also told Xu Xiaohui not to go.

Xu Damao was naturally unhappy, but he hadn't gone out to work and still had to rely on his family. He couldn't fight against his family's influence.

Those in school who had a crush on Xiaoman thought their chance had come when they learned that He Yuzhu had gotten into trouble, because Xu Damao had said that she was his sister-in-law, and his only brother was He Yuzhu. So they started waiting for Xiaoman after school.

After beating up several groups of people, Xu Damao declared that anyone who dared to provoke Xiaoman again should not blame him for being impolite.

Xiaoman had already thought it through. If something really happened to He Yuzhu, she would move out of the Wang family's house and live in He Yuzhu's house. She wanted to take care of Brother Zhu's parents in their old age.

This little thought naturally didn't escape Wang Cuiping's notice. She wasn't the Wang Cuiping who had just arrived in Beijing anymore. She had been the deputy head of the investigation department for over a year and had seen all kinds of people and things.

She knew Zhu Zi very well. She had become familiar with Wang Hongxia and they had talked a lot. She even guessed that He Yuzhu had once helped the organization, but she didn't know what it was about.

She told Xiaoman, "You know how capable your brother Zhuzi is. He's just missing. Even if others desert, he won't. Just focus on your studies and wait for him to come back."

"Aunt Ping, really?" Xiaoman asked, her eyes filled with tears.

"Even if you don't believe him, you should believe him, right?" Wang Cuiping affectionately stroked Xiaoman's head. "Waaah!"

Wang Cuiping also burst into tears, wondering what had happened.

"Mommy, don't cry. Sister, don't cry. Siyu, be good. Siyu, be good!" Wang Siyu didn't understand much. When she saw Xiaoman crying, she thought she had offended her by being disobedient.

"Okay, okay, Mommy, don't cry. Siyu is a good child." Wang Cuiping wiped away her tears and picked up Wang Siyu.

Xiaoman quickly wiped away her tears.

Because of He Yuzhu's matter, Wang Hongxia also asked Zhao Fengnian to find out what was going on by contacting the 6th Army.

Zhao Fengnian had searched for He Yuzhu, his former superior and his comrades. The information he finally found out was that He Yuzhu had indeed gone missing on the battlefield, but he hadn't deserted because he had performed very bravely on the battlefield. As for the idea that he had defected to the enemy, that was a joke. Another thing was that many soldiers had gone missing on the battlefield in the past few months, and some of them had already returned to their units. He was told to wait a little longer.

Upon receiving the news, Wang Hongxia asked Zhao Fengnian to inquire why the army had not been awarded merit despite its good performance on the battlefield. She was quite familiar with the 6th Army, as it had operated in the vicinity of Beijing and Tianjin before its reorganization.

It didn't seem like he wouldn't report credits to his subordinates, but when Zhao Fengnian told Wang Hongxia the inside information he had heard, she was speechless.

He thought to himself, "Zhu Zi is really unlucky."

Then she instructed Zhao Fengnian to find out more about He Yuzhu's company by asking someone to do so.

This is no easy task. The fighting is still raging ahead. He Yuzhu's original company wasn't a strike company like the 7th Infiltration Company. Radios were only provided for completing special missions.

After Wang Hongxia told the He family the news, the old lady, who had been silent since learning that her eldest grandson was missing, spoke for the first time: "Did you hear that? Who can say for sure about the war on the front lines? Our Zhuzi is not a bad guy, he would never desert."

“We know that, old lady, that’s our son. We believe him, but others don’t,” He Daqing sighed.

"Don't worry about what outsiders say. Let's just live our own lives and wait for Zhuzi to come back." The old lady knew very well how powerful gossip could be and how easily rumors could spread. She just hoped that there would be news about her eldest grandson soon.

She didn't believe that her eldest grandson had died in battle or surrendered. How old was her grandson back then? He was only 10 years old. He was able to bring things back for the family. Those were Japanese soldiers. Could the ones on the peninsula be even more ruthless than the Japanese soldiers back then?
The He family kept a low profile, but the people in the front yard started to act arrogantly. The first to cause trouble was Jia Zhangshi. What did she want to do? Of course, it was the house.

Jia Dongxu is already 21 years old, the age to get married, and Jia Zhangshi started looking for a matchmaker last year.

However, Jia Zhangshi's requirements were not low; the girl had to be from Beijing and have a job, because her family had two workers who earned money.

After the new currency was issued, Jia Dongxu's apprentice wages were actually much higher than when they were paid in silver dollars. The Jia family's life was indeed better than before, and this was the source of Jia Zhangshi's confidence.

During that year, he met several men in Beijing. The girls would come excitedly when they heard that his family had two workers.

Jia Dongxu was a presentable man, but the girl couldn't find anything wrong with him.

But when they saw his two rear rooms, most of them immediately refused after returning home. Those who didn't refuse were either unemployed or needed financial assistance.

Madam Jia looked down on the latter two; she always believed her son was the best in the courtyard.

Spurred by the house, Jia Zhangshi went to find even more matchmakers, but of course, the results were all similar. She even offended the matchmakers because she wouldn't pay them if the relationship didn't work out.

Who would want to run errands and not even get paid for their hard work?

After He Yuzhu's accident, Jia Zhangshi set her sights on the east wing of the central courtyard. That house was originally He Yuzhu's residence and was very well decorated.

Madam Jia thought that now that He Yuzhu had gotten into such trouble, the He family had to lower their heads and behave themselves. The old lady in the backyard relied on the He family, so she would definitely have to deal with the house to avoid trouble.

So she persuaded Jia Laonian to go and talk to them. Jia Laonian was initially unwilling, even though something had happened at the Intermediate People's Court, he didn't want to offend them.

But they couldn't resist Jia Zhangshi's pressure regarding their son's marriage, so the couple went to the old lady.

As soon as the old lady saw the two of them arrive, she knew they were up to no good.

As expected, Madam Jia's opening remarks were infuriating: "Old Madam, could you rent our family this east wing room in your central courtyard?"

"That's the house of the pillars."

"Your eldest grandson is not coming back. Even if he does, he'll be stuck in jail, and he might even get shot."

"Get out!" The old lady raised her cane to strike.

"You old bastard, you won't rent it, but you still hit people? Just you wait, you'll suffer for what happened to your grandson. I'll wait and see what happens to you and the He family. Don't come begging to us then." Jia Zhangshi grabbed Jia Laonian and ran away, cursing as she ran.

"Bang! I'll tear your rotten mouth apart!" The old woman's cane flew out and smashed against the door.

"Hmph, let's see how long you can hold out. We'll see," Jia Zhangshi said.

The Xu family lived nearby, and Zhao Cuifeng was at home. She had originally wanted to go out, but after hesitating for a long time, she sighed and didn't go out.

"Mom, is that Aunt Jia from the front yard?" Xu Xiaohui asked.

Shh, don't let them hear.

"That's right, my brother and Sister Yushui said their family is the worst. It was Aunt Jia who spread the story about Brother Zhuzi."

"Don't tell anyone outside. If she finds out, she might kidnap you and sell you." Zhao Cuifeng threatened Xu Xiaohui.

"Mmm!" Xu Xiaohui covered her mouth in fright.

If you ask why the two from the Jia family weren't stopped in the courtyard, it's because Wang Cuiping was working overtime, and Chen Lanxiang was helping her take care of the children inside the house. Recently, Chen Lanxiang has also rarely appeared in the courtyard.

As for Xiaoman and He Yushui, they knew Chen Lanxiang was in a bad mood, so they stayed home with her.

He Daqing was constantly being pointed at and talked about at the factory, and even finding someone to introduce him to a banquet was difficult. Today, he finally found one, but the host knew he was the one who negotiated the price down. The money was a bit less, but it was better than nothing. He went out to prepare the banquet.

As for Xu Damao, his father has been dragging him to learn how to project movies on his days off recently. He was initially quite interested in it, since it was a new and exciting thing.

Little did he know that his father had originally planned to wait two years, but brought it forward so that he wouldn't have to stay in the yard. Xu Damao certainly wouldn't be watching over things if something happened to the He family, but Xu Fugui really didn't want his son to get involved.

He told himself, "It's not that he's heartless, it's just that everyone is trying to protect themselves right now. If the He family really falls on hard times in the future, we can always find a way to help them out."

Jia Zhangshi's search for a house was just the beginning. More people came to inquire about the houses in the courtyard. Some were from the steel mill, and others were from nearby courtyards with large populations. They all assumed that He Yuzhu had rented the houses in the middle courtyard. Now that he was gone, surely the houses should be rented out, so why were they left empty?

You think Jia Zhangshi's words are harsh enough? There are even more bizarre ones. Renting is a nice word, but there are also those who use the guise of renting to extort money.

Of course, He Daqing dealt with all of them, or Wang Cuiping took them back and gave them a severe lesson. This made those who had designs on them realize that the He family was not someone that anyone could mess with.

(End of this chapter)