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

Upon hearing this important clue, Xiao Li quickly wrote it all down.

"Yi Zhonghai, is there anything else you want to report?"

"Officers, that's all for now. Let me think about the rest first, and I'll tell you when I've thought it through."

"Alright, Yi Zhonghai, take your time thinking about it. We'll put your case on hold for now."

After we've investigated all the matters you reported, we'll assess your merits and then decide on your sentence.

"Okay, officer, if all of this is true, how many years can I get off the list?"

Xiao Li's master spoke up.

"If Yi Zhonghai's case is true and all of them are investigated, his sentence could be reduced by about 20 years."

It depends on the veracity of the report and the size of the group. If you report other things, the reduction might be even greater.

Yi Zhonghai thought to himself that it had only been 20 years, so he would have to serve another 20 years or so in prison. He gritted his teeth and said something else.

"Officer, my workshop director is probably a spy."

I don't know what methods he used, but even after the public-private partnership, he was still the workshop director.

He had hinted at it to me before, but I never agreed.

He knew that I often suppressed some of my apprentices and committed acts of violence and injury, and he even used these things to threaten me.

I countered with a threat: "If he dares to report me, I'll report him for being a spy."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Li and his master immediately exchanged a surprised glance.

"Yi Zhonghai, you said you'd develop the network, you'd be the downline, but you didn't agree to that. Are you sure?"

If we find out that you've been recruited by them, you'll be executed.

"Officer, I'm telling the truth, I absolutely did not agree."

But he also had leverage over me, which is why he felt safe, thinking I wouldn't dare call the police.

"Okay, I understand. We'll investigate Yi Zhonghai. Is anyone else here?"

"It's gone, officer, it's really gone."

"Okay, you can go down and wait for news."

After having Yi Zhonghai taken away, Xiao Li breathed a long sigh of relief, his eyes gleaming as he looked at his notebook.

"Master, we've struck it rich! We've really struck it rich this time! If this is all true, we'll get at least a second-class merit award!"

"I really didn't expect that Yi Zhonghai, that bastard, would know so much."

"Let's go investigate quickly. First, arrest his workshop director. I'm afraid he'll escape after learning of Yi Zhonghai's arrest."

The two were too late. The day after Yi Zhonghai was arrested, his workshop director disappeared, along with his wife and children.

Xiao Li was so angry that he pounded his chest and stamped his feet.

"Master, he got away really fast. That guy is definitely a spy."

After returning to the police station, the two quickly inquired about the other teams.

"Did anyone else run away? How are the Japanese doing?"

The other working groups brought good news; the others hadn't run away and were being watched.

He stood there dumbfounded, finally receiving the news that his father, He Daqing, had been arrested. He then hurriedly took his sister to the detention center.

The two met He Daqing, who was wearing handcuffs, in the visiting room.

He Yuzhu and his sister immediately had tears in their eyes.

"Father, how did you get arrested?"

"Zhu Zi? I've been really badly wronged by Yi Zhonghai. It's definitely because of that old bastard who offended me."

Someone reported Zhao Tietou's affairs, which is why our family was implicated.

The issue of our family's political background was also discovered, and the police arrested Dad.

"Dad, family background? What problem could our family background have? Aren't we all three generations of farm laborers?"

"Oh dear, you silly boy, how could a farmer possibly have three large tiled houses in the middle courtyard?"

And then there's Tan Jiacai's culinary skills. These are proper official dishes; how could ordinary people afford them?

I only asked someone to change my background information hoping to get away with it, but I never expected to be implicated and have my story uncovered.

Sha Zhu said angrily.

"I was wondering why that old geezer Yi Zhonghai was arrested. It turns out someone reported him."

"Father, Zhao Tietou, what exactly happened?"

He Daqing then recounted Yi Zhonghai's report against Zhao Tietou.

"Father, Yi Zhonghai actually killed someone, that's terrifying."

"Zhu Zi, without evidence, we don't know how the case will be judged. Yi Zhonghai might be executed. Don't concern yourself with the Yi family's affairs."

"You should settle down and live a good life, take good care of your sister, and come visit me when you have time. I estimate you'll be sentenced to a few years."

"Okay, Dad, I understand."

Moved by the scene, Sha Zhu also started to cry.

"You must take good care of your sister. Don't get involved in Yi Zhonghai's affairs anymore, it will implicate you."

He Daqing was still worried and continued to give instructions.

Sha Zhu nodded quickly.

"Don't worry, Dad, I definitely won't get involved."

These past two days, Li Cuilan has been trying to see Yi Zhonghai, but he hasn't been allowed to visit her, which has left her feeling very anxious.

Li Jianguo is unaware of Yi Zhonghai's situation; he's been living a comfortable life lately.

Basically, he just spent time with Chen Xueru and Yao Yao, waiting for Yi Zhonghai's verdict.

After a month-long investigation, the operation finally came to a head. The old lady had given everyone a hard time; she was paralyzed, and they couldn't very well carry her back to the police station.

The person who committed the crime in the middle has not been found, so we had to deal with other important matters first. Zhou Lin, the deputy director of the lathe workshop, Morikawa Sakura, and Wang Dahai were all arrested.

They directly uncovered three lines: two from the Japanese, one from the skinheads. There were so many spies back then.

Xu Fugui was dealt with last, after all, crippling someone was a minor case compared to the espionage case.

That morning, Li Jianguo was planning to take Yaoyao to the park for a boat ride when several police officers arrived.

Li Jianguo was stunned and had no idea what was going on. He quickly grabbed Yao Yao and followed the police to the backyard.

The police barged directly into the Xu family's house.

"Xu Fugui, this is an arrest warrant. We are now formally arresting you. Come with us."

Xu Fugui, having seen many big scenes, remained relatively calm. He glanced at his wife, and Xu's mother immediately understood that he was being asked to go find Lou Bancheng.

Xu Fugui was handcuffed and taken away.

At this moment, Xu Damao and his sister were clearly panicked and looked anxiously at their mother.

"What exactly happened to Mom?"

"Alright, Da Mao, you stay home with your sister. I'll go and find out more."

After saying that, Li Cuilan hurriedly went out and headed straight for the Lou family.

Li Jianguo also found it strange, as he had not reported Xu Fugui, so how could he have been arrested?

To find out the truth, he told Yao Yao to wait at home while he went to the tea stall to continue drinking tea and reading the newspaper.

After the police took Xu Fugui to the police station, they began interrogating him.

"Xu Fugui, right? The projectionist at the steel mill?"

"That's right, officers. I don't know why you're looking for me. I'm just an ordinary worker."

"Just ordinary? You're anything but ordinary, Liu Chuan. Do you know this person?"