He Yuyang: The tough eldest brother of the courtyard house

On the night of the fourteenth day of the first lunar month, the moonlight was mostly obscured by thick clouds, and the alley was so quiet that only the whistling of the wind through the treetops could be heard. He Yuyang had just finished sweeping the snow out of the yard when he heard three short and one long knocking sound outside the wall—this was the secret signal he and Old Wang had agreed upon.

His heart tightened, and he quietly opened the side door, putting on a thick cotton-padded coat. Standing outside was a man dressed in coarse cloth, his face covered in mud and ash, but his eyes were surprisingly bright. It was Xiao Li, Old Wang's liaison officer.

"Brother He, something's happened." Xiao Li's voice was extremely low, filled with barely concealed anxiety. "The Xishan stronghold was attacked by the Japanese the day before yesterday, and more than a dozen comrades were injured. All the medicine and bandages are gone, and now we can't even find disinfectant alcohol. If we don't find a way soon, I'm afraid..."

He Yuyang's heart sank. The Xishan outpost was Lao Wang's most important transit point on the outskirts of the city; if something went wrong, the supply lines to the front lines would be cut off. He pulled Xiao Li towards the courtyard: "Let's talk inside, it's cold outside."

Inside, Liu Yan was already asleep, while He Daqing was still checking the grain shop's accounts by the light of an oil lamp. Seeing He Yuyang bring in a stranger, he tactfully tidied up the account books: "I'll go check if Zhu Zi is fast asleep."

"Uncle, don't be shy." Little Li pulled an oilcloth bag from his pocket, opened it to reveal a hand-drawn map. "This is the new location of the stronghold, about three miles from the old forest in the western mountains. Comrade Old Wang asked me to ask you if... if you could spare a little more medicine?"

He Yuyang answered without hesitation: "Yes. But the city gates are heavily guarded right now, how can we send it over?"

"Didn't Master Zhou from the martial arts school say he was taking his apprentice to Xishan for training?" Xiao Li's eyes lit up. "You can use the excuse of sending your younger brother to school to go into the mountains with the group, and we'll meet you halfway there."

He Yuyang thought about it and agreed that it was indeed a safe approach. Zhou Zhengguo's martial arts school went to Xishan for training every spring, taking more than a dozen students with them. Although it was a large target, it wouldn't easily arouse suspicion. He nodded and said, "Let's do it this way. I'll tell Master Zhou first thing tomorrow morning that we'll leave the day after tomorrow. I'll prepare the medicine overnight, and you can come and pick up the list at this time tomorrow night."

Xiao Li left, thanking him profusely. He Yuyang closed the door and went into his small room. By the moonlight, with a thought, the shelves in his space were clearly displayed before him—glass bottles of penicillin, bandages, disinfectant alcohol, and several boxes of hemostatic powder, all of which he had specially stockpiled. He carefully counted out enough for half a month, added two boxes of compressed biscuits, wrapped them in layers of waterproof tarpaulin, and hid them in a hidden compartment in the stove hole.

After finishing all this, it was already dawn. He was just about to take a nap when a heart-wrenching cry suddenly came from the front yard. Upon closer listening, he realized it was coming from Yi Zhonghai's house.

He Yuyang's heart skipped a beat. She put on her coat and went to the courtyard gate. She saw the neighbors gathered in the front yard, pointing and gossiping. Madam Jia Zhang stood at the gate, hands on her hips, her face filled with undisguised schadenfreude: "Serves him right! He always acted like a big shot, now look what happened! He's destined to be childless!"

He squeezed through the crowd and was nearly stunned by what he saw—Yi Zhonghai lay on the door panel, his face ashen, his lower body soaked in blood, and twisted wounds visible where his trousers had been torn. His wife, Li Xiujuan, was crying beside him, her hair disheveled, her voice almost hoarse: "My God... how are we going to live like this...?"

"What's going on?" He Yuyang grabbed Yan Bugui, who was standing next to him.

Yan Bugui sighed, his voice extremely low: "He got beaten up by the Japanese last night. I heard he went to deliver a gift to the Japanese translator at the grain shop in the middle of the night, intending to report your father, but he ran into a patrol team on the way, and somehow a conflict broke out, and he was hit with a gun butt..." He glanced at Yi Zhonghai's lower body, "He's crippled."

He Yuyang's heart was in turmoil, but he remained calm. He had long known that Yi Zhonghai had dealings with the Japanese, but he hadn't expected the other party to be so ruthless. Just then, Li Xiujuan suddenly rushed over, grabbed his arm, and cried, "Yuyang, you're a sensible child! What kind of situation is this...? Our Lao Yi just wanted to speak up for justice, and this is how it ends up..."

She cried her heart out, her eyes filled with despair. He Yuyang looked at her and suddenly remembered what had happened a few years ago—when Li Xiujuan first married into the family, she was also a pretty girl with delicate features, but because she hadn't been able to conceive, she was gossiped about countless times by Yi Zhonghai and the neighbors. Yi Zhonghai always told others that she was "weak," but secretly she had suffered a lot of mistreatment.

"Aunt Li, let's get Master Yi to the clinic first." He Yuyang helped her to her feet. "If we delay any longer, he might really die."

The neighbors hurriedly carried the door panel towards the clinic. Watching Li Xiujuan's staggering figure, He Yuyang made a decision.

That afternoon, He Yuyang used the excuse of going to the clinic to buy ointment for He Yuzhu's abrasions to find Li Xiujuan, who was waiting outside the ward. She was sitting on the steps in a daze, her eyes red and swollen like walnuts.

"Aunt Li," He Yuyang handed her a hot steamed bun, "have something to eat."

Li Xiujuan took the steamed bun, tears welling up in her eyes again: "Yuyang, why am I so unlucky... I've been married for five years and haven't gotten pregnant, and now he's like this, my life is so miserable..."

"Aunt Li," He Yuyang interrupted her, his voice calm yet powerful, "have you never thought about why you can't get pregnant?"

Li Xiujuan was stunned for a moment: "Old Yi said it's because I'm weak..."

"He lied to you." He Yuyang looked into her eyes and said, word by word, "A couple of years ago, my father was the manager of a restaurant and saw Master Yi go to get medicine. The medicine wasn't for his health at all; it was for himself—he injured himself in a fight when he was young and has long since lost his fertility."

Li Xiujuan was struck dumb, and the steamed bun in her hand fell to the ground with a "thud": "You...you're talking nonsense! How could he..."

"I'm not making this up." He Yuyang took out a small paper packet from his pocket, inside which were a few pieces of dried medicinal residue. "I found this while cleaning the backyard of the grain shop a while ago. It's exactly the same as the medicinal residue that the restaurant waiter threw away back then. If you don't believe me, take it and ask a knowledgeable doctor."

He paused, then continued, "He was afraid of being laughed at for being childless, so he shifted all the blame onto you. All the grievances you've suffered over the years, the scorn of the neighbors, are all his doing. Yesterday, when he went to give gifts to the Japanese, he was trying to climb up the social ladder by stepping on our family, and now he's reaping what he sowed."

Li Xiujuan stood there blankly, her face alternating between pale and flushed. Those nights when Yi Zhonghai mocked her, those days when the neighbors gossiped about her, those times when she secretly wiped away tears of grievance—all of it now had an answer. She suddenly covered her face, letting out a suppressed sob, not of sadness, but of years of pent-up anger and despair.

"Thank you, Yu Yang... thank you for telling me all this..." She cried for a long time before raising her head, the confusion in her eyes replaced by a resolute determination. "I know what to do."

He Yuyang didn't say anything more and turned to leave the clinic. He knew that Li Xiujuan's road ahead would be difficult, but at least she wouldn't have to live in lies anymore.

Back home, He Yuyang told Zhou Zhengguo about his plan to take He Yuzhu to Xishan for training. Zhou Zhengguo, who valued the He brothers, immediately agreed: "It'll be a good opportunity for Zhuzi to hone his courage. However, the mountains are not safe, so you two must stay close to the group and not wander off."

"Don't worry, we know what we're doing."

The next morning, the martial arts group set off. A dozen or so teenagers, carrying backpacks, followed Zhou Zhengguo, heading towards West Mountain in a large group. He Yuyang carried a heavy-looking bundle containing medicine wrapped in oilcloth. He Yuzhu, unaware of the situation, excitedly joked with his fellow students, "Brother, I heard there are wild rabbits in the mountains. Can we catch one and roast it?"

"Behave yourself." He Yuyang patted his head. "Master said this is a training exercise, not a hunting trip."

Halfway there, Zhou Zhengguo told the group to rest in a dilapidated temple at the foot of the mountain. He Yuyang made an excuse to find a water source nearby, picked up his bundle, and went into the woods. Following the map given to him by Xiao Li, he walked about two miles and sure enough, he saw three men in camouflage uniforms waiting for him under an old locust tree.

"Brother He?" The man at the head of the group was Old Wang. He had lost a lot of weight since the last time they met, and there was a new scar near his eye.

"Brother Wang," He Yuyang handed over the bundle, "everything is inside, please check it."

Old Wang took the bundle, opened it, and his eyes instantly reddened: "Penicillin...and so much gauze...Yu Yang, you really saved our lives!"

He led He Yuyang toward the stronghold. After passing through a dense forest, a dozen or so caves came into view, their entrances camouflaged with branches, through which firelight could be faintly seen. Several wounded men, dressed in thin clothes, lay on stone beds covered with dry grass. Some had blood-soaked bandages wrapped around their arms, and some had legs swollen like buckets, yet not one of them groaned.

"The day before yesterday, the Japanese launched a surprise attack, and we lost seven comrades. All our medicine was burned." Old Wang's voice choked with emotion. "If we had waited any longer, these wounded soldiers..."

He Yuyang watched all this, his heart feeling heavy. He had always known the front lines were tough, but he hadn't imagined it would be this bad. He pulled out the last pack of compressed biscuits from his pocket and handed it to a little girl next to him who was feeding water to the wounded: "Share this with everyone."

The little girl timidly accepted it and said, "Thank you, brother."

"Yu Yang, I can't thank you enough." Old Wang grasped his hand, his palm as rough as sandpaper. "Once we get rid of the Japanese chickens, I'll definitely bring my comrades to kowtow to you three times."

"What are you saying, Brother Wang?" He Yuyang shook his head. "It's all what I should do. I have something to do, so I'll head back now. This is the code for next time. If you need anything, have Xiao Li use this to find me."

He drew a simple symbol, then turned and walked back. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, illuminating his mud-caked shoes. Suddenly, he realized that the burden on his shoulders was heavier than he had imagined.

Back at the dilapidated temple, the group was just about to depart. Zhou Zhengguo frowned when he saw him return and asked, "Why did you take so long?"

"I'm lost." He Yuyang smiled. "All the trees in the mountains look the same."

He Yuzhu leaned closer: "Brother, did you find any water? I'm dying of thirst."

"They're up ahead." He Yuyang patted him on the back. "Come on, catch up with the group."

On the way back, He Yuyang didn't say much. He watched his junior brothers playing around, looked at Zhou Zhengguo's steady back, and thought of the wounded comrades in the cave. He knew in his heart that in this chaotic world, no one could remain unscathed. All he could do was protect his family, safeguard those around him, and offer a helping hand and warmth to those struggling in the darkness.

As he approached the alley entrance, he saw Li Xiujuan emerge from the clinic carrying a small bundle on her back. Her face was free of tears, and her eyes were as calm as a deep pool. When she saw He Yuyang, she paused for a moment, then bowed slightly and turned to walk out of the alley.

He Yuyang knew that she was gone and would never come back. As for Yi Zhonghai, that scheming man, he was ultimately left all alone, lying on a cold hospital bed, waiting for the bitter fruit he had sown.

Night fell again, and the lanterns in the alleyway lit up. He Yuyang stood at the courtyard gate, looking at the moon that had finally broken free of the clouds, and let out a long sigh of relief. Tomorrow would be a new day. And his journey had only just begun.