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

Because the police had already discovered that He Daqing had changed his social class, the group took their weapons and went straight to the restaurant, heading towards the kitchen.

He Daqing was cooking when he was handcuffed, completely bewildered.

This time, he didn't even have a chance to go home to get his clothes; they just took him straight to the train station.

"Officer, is there some misunderstanding? I'm a law-abiding citizen, I have a good citizen certificate."

Seeing the police's attitude, He Daqing was completely terrified and blurted out the words without thinking.

The police officer glared at He Daqing.

"What are you talking about? This is the people's country now. A certificate of good citizenship? Do you want to go back to the days of Japanese rule?"

He Daqing was so frightened by those words that his legs went weak.

"No, no, absolutely not. I was in a hurry and said the wrong thing."

"Alright, I'm taking you back to Beijing. Now, think back to what you did wrong."

They soon arrived at the police station in Beijing and handed He Daqing over.

He Daqing was taken into the interrogation room.

I was terrified the whole way and kept wondering what went wrong with me.

That shouldn't be the case. I didn't do anything wrong, so how could I have been arrested? Could it be that Yi Zhonghai reported me? He probably wouldn't dare.

The police officer slammed his hand on the table.

"Confess and you'll be treated leniently; resist and you'll be punished severely. He Daqing, quickly explain your problems clearly. You should know the Party's policies."

Upon hearing this, He Daqing trembled with fear.

"Officer, I really didn't do anything! What do you want me to confess to?"

"He Daqing didn't expect that he would still be dishonest now."

Your secret has been exposed. What happened between you and the Japanese back then? Tell them everything honestly.

If you dare to hide it any longer, you'll be shot.

He Daqing was already cursing in his heart: Damn Yi Zhonghai, he actually dared to report me.

"Officer, I really didn't do anything, I'm just good at cooking."

Back then, when I was under the command of the Japanese, I only cooked a few meals.

"I didn't do anything else. There were so many people working for the Japanese in Beijing; we couldn't all be executed."

"Here's a hint for you, Yi Zhonghai."

He Daqing, are you still not going to talk? If we didn't have solid evidence, would we have let you come?

We've already investigated everything you've done, so confess now.

"Yi Zhonghai's matter has nothing to do with me. I don't know anything about it."

He Daqing was so scared this time that he wet his pants.

Could they have really found Zhao Tietou? This involves a life, and he could really be executed.

He Daqing still harbored a sliver of hope. Since the police hadn't explicitly stated it, they probably weren't referring to Zhao Tietou.

Should he stab Yi Zhonghai in the back, since Yi had reported him for cooking for the Japanese?

But I'm still a little worried that Zhao Tietou's matter might implicate me.

When Zhao Tietou was arrested, He Daqing also spoke ill of him to the officers, taking advantage of his misfortune.

Who told Zhao Tietou to call himself a lackey who only knew how to lick the assholes of Japanese devils?

While He Daqing was feeling lost and his mind was wandering,

The police saw that he had wet his pants from fright, so they knew he should behave himself, but they didn't mention the whistleblower letter at all.

"Let me remind you, you bribed the officer to change your family's class status, so how can your family be classified as farmers?"

There are also those who voluntarily serve the Japanese and those who are forced to do labor, but they are different. You are actively trying to curry favor with them every few days, which is Er Gouzi's behavior.

Concealing evidence is also a crime. Confessing now will be considered a meritorious act; this is your last chance.

He Daqing's heart skipped a beat; he hadn't expected that his background would still be discovered.

"I confess to the police that my family is indeed not farmers. I paid money to lie about our family background."

But I didn't try to curry favor with them back then; it was all forced upon me by the Japanese."

Of course, He Daqing couldn't admit that Er Gouzi had been executed quite a few times.

At the time, showing hospitality simply meant cooking a few more dishes; I didn't give them any money.

"Hmm, there are other questions. Why didn't you mention the matter of hiding evidence?"

Let me remind you, do you remember what happened with Zhao Tietou?

He Daqing was stunned, not expecting that the police were actually talking about this matter.

They quickly bowed and scraped, trying their best to distance themselves from the situation.

"I remember now, I remember now. But officer, this really has nothing to do with me."

"It was all Yi Zhonghai's doing. He's the one who reported it, not me."

He Daqing decisively sold Yi Zhonghai, and at the same time silently prayed in his heart, "Buddha, please protect me and don't let them find out about me."

"Knowing that you didn't report it, even if it wasn't you, don't you have anything to say?"

"Isn't the whistleblower letter in your possession? We've been talking for so long, and you haven't mentioned the whistleblower letter at all."

He Daqing was taken aback. How could the police think that the tip-off letter was in my hands? Could it be that someone overheard us during the negotiation?

He Daqing quickly offered an explanation.

"Officer, the matter of the whistleblower letter was just to scare Yi Zhonghai. I don't have that whistleblower letter at all."

The police officer was so angry that he slammed his fist on the table.

"He Daqing, don't joke with me. Tell me honestly, where is that letter?"

He Daqing began to sob, trembling.

"Officer, I really didn't write a report. I really lied to Yi Zhonghai."

The police recognized him from his appearance and told him the truth, but still wanted to try, since there were still issues regarding his political background that hadn't been resolved.

"Alright, let's lock you up for now. Think it over. If you've made up your mind, come back to us."

He then took He Daqing away, and Xiao Li became troubled at this moment.

"Master, it seems that He Daqing wasn't lying; he really didn't have a report."

"Don't worry, Zhao Tietou's identity has been investigated and he is not a member of our party."

He was just an ordinary worker, but something was reported against him, and they still haven't found out.

"Master, Yi Zhonghai might not be able to explain Zhao Tietou's matter easily."

The main problem is that we don't have concrete evidence right now, and we only have He Daqing as a witness, so we can't convict Yi Zhonghai at all.

However, several victims have already been identified for hiring thugs to injure people, and they all claim it was him. All that's needed is to arrest and interrogate Yi Zhonghai's apprentice's wife.

We can definitely find evidence, so let's use that as an excuse.

"Arrest him first; the serious injury alone could get him a few years in prison."

At this moment, Xiao Zhou from the office spoke up.

"What's so difficult about that? Just arrest Yi Zhonghai and interrogate him, and we'll definitely get the answer."

At this moment, Captain Sun interrupted him.

"Xiao Zhou, don't bring your old habits into the present."

Our Party does not allow torture to extract confessions. There must be witnesses and physical evidence, and the chain of evidence must be sufficient. Don't use any of these unnecessary things.

New people, new things, a new country—we can't come here the way we did during the Japanese invasion.