The Beginning of a Courtyard House: Sixty Years of Internal Strength

Unexpectedly, Jia Dongxu finally recovered at this moment. He cursed himself inwardly for being too hasty and coming out too early. He also regretted that his mother hadn't stopped him and had only been watching the commotion from outside.

Of course, Jia Zhangshi wasn't stupid. She had known He Daqing for many years and knew this scoundrel very well. He didn't care who you were; if you went up to him, you would get beaten up.

"He Daqing, how dare you hit my master! Go call the police right now and have you arrested!" Jia Dongxu shouted, barely suppressing his fear.

Yi Zhonghai was in so much pain that he couldn't speak and his mind hadn't processed what was happening.

Li Cuilan reacted quickly, "No, Dongxu, there's no need to call the police. It's all a misunderstanding. We'll clear things up after we talk it out." With that, Li Cuilan helped Jia Dongxu out and sent him home.

Li Cuilan stood in the doorway, looking at everyone, and said helplessly, "Alright, everyone, please disperse. This is all a misunderstanding."

Seeing that the crowd had only taken a few steps back and had not dispersed, Li Cuilan sighed helplessly.

She drew the curtains when she got home. At that moment, Li Cuilan noticed that Yi Zhonghai hadn't recovered and kept waving at her; she immediately understood what he meant.

After pouring tea for the two of them, Li Cuilan moved a stool, walked out the door, and sat down directly at the entrance.

Seeing Li Cuilan's posture, everyone knew she was going to guard the gate, so they moved a little further away and strained their ears to see if they could hear anything.

It took Yi Zhonghai a while to recover inside the room. He then spoke fiercely, "He Daqing! Have you had enough? If you continue like this, we'll fight to the death. I'll report you for cooking for the Japanese back then. Aren't you afraid of being shot?"

Yi Zhonghai had already figured it out. He Daqing was absolutely certain that it was he who wrote the threatening letter.

"Yi Zhonghai! I might be afraid of anyone else, but I'm not afraid of you at all. Don't forget who it was back then, following the Japanese around like a puppy to learn their technology."

If you hadn't reported Zhao Tietou from the same workshop back then, how could you have had the chance to learn the technology?

"Tie Tou was executed for this very thing. If you're not afraid, go ahead and call the police. We'll see if you live or die then." He Daqing stared back defiantly at Yi Zhonghai.

When Yi Zhonghai heard He Daqing mention Tie Tou, cold sweat poured down his forehead. How could that be? How did He Daqing know about what happened back then? I did it very discreetly.

"You're talking nonsense, it wasn't me at all, you're slandering me." Yi Zhonghai tried to remain calm, speaking in a hoarse voice.

"Slander? I saw that whistleblower letter from back then. Don't forget who I cooked for."

"When I saw that letter of complaint, I recognized your handwriting immediately. Guess where that letter is now?" He Daqing stared intently at Yi Zhonghai.

Yi Zhonghai's face immediately darkened further. How could this be? Didn't the Japanese say that they would destroy anything reported?

At this moment, the neighbors all pricked up their ears to eavesdrop, but the two were talking so softly that no one could hear them at all.

Li Jianguo heard it all clearly; after all, sixty years of internal energy was no joke.

He never expected this. Yi Zhonghai had done something like this before, but he didn't know Li Tietou's true identity. Was he an undercover agent or something? Neither of them explained clearly.

"What nonsense are you talking about? I have no idea what happened. I really didn't do it." Sweat was dripping from Yi Zhonghai's forehead at this point; it was hard to tell whether it was from pain or fear.

"Hmph, Yi Zhonghai, you're still pretending with me. I still have the original letter of denunciation. Those Japanese devils didn't care about the letter at all; they just read the contents and threw it in the trash."

"I retrieved it. Do you think you'll be executed if I hand this evidence over to the police? Just because you wanted to learn the skills, you caused the death of a coworker. Let me tell you, I might not die, but you're definitely going to die." He Daqing threatened with a sly smile.

"Old He, let's talk this out. I know I was wrong. I'll return all the money to you and even compensate you with a large sum. Can you give me back the letter of complaint?" At this point, Yi Zhonghai softened his stance.

He knew that He Daqing was very popular with the Japanese soldiers because of his excellent cooking skills, and often delivered meals to the Japanese officers, so he dared not gamble.

"Hmph, don't give me that. It's only right that you pay me back. I'm not giving you any. You still have dirt on me. And about Sha Zhu's matter, if you ever scheme against the He family again, I'll report you immediately," He Daqing threatened.

In fact, he didn't actually write a letter of complaint; it was just to scare Yi Zhonghai. At the time, he did see it and knew that it was written by Yi Zhonghai.

However, the Japanese had kept the whistleblower letters very well, and he had no way of getting in touch with them.

"Tell me, what do you want in return for the whistleblower letter? I'll give you your newspaper, and you give me the whistleblower letter. I'll also give you a large sum of money, how about that?" With a matter of life and death before him, Yi Zhonghai decided to give up his money.

There will always be a chance to get it back in the future. After all, I only have one copy of my whistleblower letter. As long as I look carefully, I can always find He Daqing's newspaper.

"Yi Zhonghai, Yi Zhonghai, you still dare to try and fool me? There are plenty of newspapers out there. The whistleblower letter is your death warrant; I absolutely will not give it to you."

"Say no more. Five big yellow croakers, and give me back everything I left, and this whole Sha Zhu thing will be over. As long as you don't scheme against Sha Zhu again and you seal the whistleblower letter, I won't let it see the light of day again." He Daqing made an outrageous demand.

"Impossible! I don't have that many gold bars at all! I'll give you more money if you want, but I don't believe you dare to report me. Don't forget, I have leverage over you too. I don't believe you dare to fight me to the death." Yi Zhonghai exploded upon hearing this.

"Without this trick, who are you trying to scare, Yi Zhonghai? The newspaper incident might only get you a few years in jail, but you're dead for sure, and you even dared to plot against me."

"You definitely have the money. Don't think I don't know about your relationship with the old lady. She's got plenty of money. If she asks you one last time and you don't give it to her, then there's nothing more to say. I'm turning around and leaving." He Daqing glared fiercely at Yi Zhonghai.

Yi Zhonghai took several deep breaths, trying to calm himself down. "Fine, I've already sold the job. I'll give you the money and the gold bars. But you absolutely must hide the whistleblower letter." Yi Zhonghai finally compromised; after all, it was true, and he would definitely be executed.

He initially intended to detain his coworker for a few days, but the Japanese were ruthless; they executed him for stealing steel materials.

"Fine, I'll be waiting for you at home tonight. If you dare to play any tricks again, I'll report you immediately." Without waiting for Yi Zhonghai, He Daqing pushed open the door and went back to his own home.

After listening to their conversation, Li Jianguo couldn't help but admire Yi Zhonghai; he was truly a remarkable person.