He Yuyang: The tough eldest brother of the courtyard house

On the day of Lidong (the beginning of winter), a thin layer of snow fell on Nanluoguxiang, and the bluestone pavement was covered with a layer of white frost, making a crunching sound when stepped on. He Yuzhu's martial arts school was bustling with activity. A dozen or so teenagers wearing cotton-padded coats were practicing horse stances in the courtyard, their breath steaming in the air, and their shouts could be heard all the way to the other end of the alley.

The martial arts school had been open for about half a year. At first, only a few neighborhood kids, including Yan Jiecheng, came to learn. Later, He Yuzhu's kung fu skills gradually spread. He was not only skilled in punches and kicks, but also taught honestly and never held back. Parents from nearby alleys were willing to send their children there, firstly to improve their physical fitness, and secondly to learn discipline, which was better than running wild on the streets.

"Stand still, all of you! Don't bend your knees!" He Yuzhu, wearing a dark blue short jacket, sweat beading on his forehead, held a rattan cane in his hand, but he didn't actually hit anyone. He only tapped lightly on anyone whose posture was incorrect. "In martial arts, morality comes first. If you can't even stand still, how will you protect your country in the future?"

The children were silenced by his scolding and stood even straighter. Yan Jiecheng stood at the front, his little face red from the cold, but he gritted his teeth and didn't move—his father, Yan Bugui, was stingy, but he was very supportive of his learning boxing, always saying, "If you learn it, you can protect your younger siblings."

He Yuyang happened to see this scene as he passed by the martial arts school, and a smile involuntarily crept onto his lips. His younger brother, who used to be impulsive, had become much more composed since becoming a "master."

"Brother, you're here!" He Yuzhu, with his sharp eyes, spotted him from afar and called out, "Perfect timing! My new sandbags are a bit loose, can you take a look at them for me?"

He Yuyang walked into the courtyard and was about to speak when three men strolled in from the alleyway. The leader was a scarred man wearing an ill-fitting leather jacket, which was open to reveal a greasy shirt underneath. He glanced at the children in the courtyard with a nonchalant look, and a roguish smirk played on his lips.

"This is He Yuzhu's martial arts school?" The scarred man leaned against the doorframe, spat, and said, "It doesn't look very impressive."

The children shrank back in fright. He Yuzhu frowned: "Who are you looking for?"

"Looking for you." The scarred man took two steps forward, followed by two henchmen who blocked the doorway. "I heard your martial arts school is doing quite well, collecting a lot of tuition fees a day?"

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"What's it to you?" He Yuzhu pulled the children behind him protectively. "If you want to learn boxing, sign up. If you don't, leave. Don't cause trouble here!"

"Making trouble?" The scarred man grinned, revealing yellowed teeth. "Young man, don't be so impulsive. I'm here to give you money." He pulled an iron ball from his pocket and twirled it in his hand. "This martial arts gym, I think it's pretty good, it just needs someone to 'protect' it. From now on, I'll invest. I won't have to lift a finger, I'll guarantee your safety, and we'll split the profits 30/70, I get 70% and you get 30%, how about it?"

Upon hearing this, He Yuzhu's temper flared. He had grown up in the alleyways and had seen thugs and bullies, but he had never seen anyone so arrogant. "You're dreaming! My martial arts school hasn't charged a single penny in tuition, what profit sharing are you talking about? Get out of here!"

"No tuition?" The scarred man raised an eyebrow. "What are you pretending to be so high and mighty for? Teaching for free? I bet you don't know the rules here!" He suddenly kicked a low stool next to him, which shattered with a crash. "I'll give you three days to think it over. Either pay up, or I'll smash up this lousy restaurant!"

"You dare!" He Yuzhu rolled up his sleeves and was about to rush forward when He Yuyang grabbed him.

"Brother! Don't stop me! This kind of scum doesn't know what's what until we beat him up!" He Yuzhu said anxiously, his face turning red and his neck thick.

He Yuyang ignored him, only looking at the scarred man with a calm but cold gaze: "My friend, always leave yourself a way out, so you can meet again in the future. It's easy to smash up a restaurant, but it's hard to clean up the mess."

The scarred man sized him up, his eyes flickering when he saw he was in a military uniform, but he still snorted defiantly, "So what if you're in a uniform? Don't think I'm afraid of you! Let me tell you, this area is under my jurisdiction, so if you know what's good for you, don't interfere!"

"Under your jurisdiction?" He Yuyang smiled. "How come I didn't know that Nanluoguxiang was under your jurisdiction? Was it appointed by the street office or approved by the police station?"

These words struck a nerve with the scarred man, whose face darkened. "Enough nonsense! I'll be back in three days, and don't blame me for being impolite then!" With that, he strode away with his two henchmen, deliberately bumping into the doorframe as he left, causing the snow on it to fall in a flurry.

"Brother! Why won't you let me hit them?" He Yuzhu said angrily, "These kinds of people deserve a beating!"

"Will beating him up solve the problem?" He Yuyang patted him on the shoulder. "They dare to be so arrogant because they must have powerful backers. If you beat him up, what if ten or eight show up tomorrow? Can you handle them?"

The children were quite frightened, and their parents rushed over upon hearing the news, all talking at once:

"Isn't that Scarface from Xisi? I heard he used to be a Kuomintang soldier and has a bloody record!"

"That's right, he even tried to extort money from the grocery store in the next alley the other day. The police came, but he ran away; they couldn't catch him!"

"Yuzhu, why don't you close the martial arts school for a few days? Let's not get into trouble..."

Hearing these words, He Yuzhu's face flushed red and then paled. His anger dissipated, leaving only frustration. He looked at He Yuyang, his eyes pleading, "Brother, what should we do? We can't just let them extort us, can we?"

"Don't worry, I'm here. I won't wreck your restaurant." He Yuyang smiled reassuringly, then said to the parents, "Don't be afraid, everyone. I'll handle this. I promise it won't interfere with the children's boxing lessons."

Seeing his confident tone and knowing that he was a regimental commander in the army, the parents felt much more at ease, thanked him, and took their children home.

The courtyard fell silent. He Yuzhu squatted on the ground, looking at the broken stool, and muttered, "It's all my fault for being useless..."

"It's none of your business." He Yuyang picked up a stool leg. "These remnants should have been cleaned up a long time ago." He paused, "You clean up the martial arts school first, I'm going out for a bit."

He Yuyang didn't go home; he went straight to the neighborhood office. Old Wang, who was in charge of public security, was a retired soldier, and they were fairly familiar with each other. "Old Wang, isn't there a scarred thug around Xisi?"

Old Wang frowned upon hearing this: "You mean Zhao Sanba? He's no good! He used to be in the Kuomintang Youth Army, but after the army disbanded, he gathered a bunch of people to extort money and blackmail people around here. He even has the blood of one of our underground couriers on his hands, and we still haven't caught him!"

"He just went to my brother's martial arts school to extort money, saying he wanted to invest and share in the profits," He Yuyang said.

"He's gone too far!" Old Wang slammed his hand on the table. "He's openly challenging our new society! I'm reporting this right now and having him arrested!"

"Don't rush," He Yuyang stopped him. "This guy is quite skilled and very slippery. If we grab him directly, he might get away and we could even hurt someone. I have a way to catch him and also follow the trail to see if he has any accomplices."

He whispered a few words in Old Wang's ear, and Old Wang's eyes brightened, nodding repeatedly: "Great idea! Let's do it!"

After leaving the neighborhood office, He Yuyang went to the military base. He knew that the troops were cooperating with the police to eliminate remaining spies and would patrol the area at night.

He Yuyang didn't get home until it was completely dark. Seeing that he looked calm and didn't seem to be in any trouble, Liu Yan was relieved: "That thug didn't cause any more trouble, did he?"

"It's alright, Dad, Mom, don't worry." He Yuyang ladled out a bowl of hot soup. "Where's Yuzhu?"

"He didn't come back from the martial arts school, saying he wanted to stay and watch over it." He Daqing sighed. "That kid is just too stubborn."

"I'll go check on him." He Yuyang finished her soup, put on her coat, and went outside.

A kerosene lamp was lit in the martial arts school. He Yuzhu was fixing a stool with a hammer. When he saw him come in, he looked up and said, "Brother, what brings you here?"

"I brought you some food." He Yuyang handed over a package of oil paper containing freshly baked pies made by Liu Yan. "Don't stay up too late. You can't keep out bad guys just by guarding them."

He Yuzhu took a bite of his pie and mumbled, "I just can't sleep... Brother, do you think that scarred guy really dares to come and wreck the restaurant?"

"Even if they come, we're not afraid." He Yuyang sat down next to him. "Remember, you can't deal with these kinds of people with just your fists. They're not afraid of your ability to fight, they're afraid of the law, afraid that our new society won't tolerate them."

He Yuzhu nodded, seemingly understanding, "But aren't they afraid of the police?"

"That's because we haven't caught them red-handed yet," He Yuyang smiled. "Once we have, let's see if they're scared."

The two chatted for a while, then He Yuyang told He Yuzhu to go home and rest, while he stayed at the martial arts school. He sat on a stone bench in the courtyard, wiping a dagger by the moonlight—it was one he had brought back from the battlefield, and it was very sharp.

In the middle of the night, faint footsteps echoed through the alley. He Yuyang opened his eyes and saw three dark figures sneaking over. It was Scarface and his two henchmen, carrying sticks and stones.

"This is it, smash it!" Scarface shouted in a low voice, and swung a stick toward the window.

With a loud crash, a large hole appeared in the window paper. But before they could do anything else, a series of hurried footsteps and flashlight beams suddenly came from the alley entrance.

"Don't move! Police!"

Scarface was startled, cursed "bad luck," and turned to run, but was stopped by police officers who rushed towards him. He tried to resist, but a policeman swiftly subdued him and pinned him to the ground, rendering him unable to move. His two henchmen didn't escape either, and were quickly subdued.

"Zhao Sanba, you can't escape now!" Old Wang walked over with handcuffs. "You think you can get away with changing your name? It's time to settle the score for killing the underground courier back then!"

Upon hearing this, Scarface's face turned pale instantly, and he collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

Just then, He Yuyang emerged from the martial arts gym, followed by several patrolling soldiers who had rushed over upon hearing the commotion. "Director Wang, have you caught him?"

"We caught him! Thanks to your reminder that he might come tonight!" Old Wang said with a smile. "This kid really was a remnant Kuomintang spy, and he has a murder case on his hands. This time we've caught him red-handed!"

The soldiers took the three scarred men away, and the alley returned to silence, with only the broken window paper fluttering in the wind.

He Yuzhu was awakened by the commotion outside. He ran over and saw the yard was in a mess. He quickly asked, "Brother, what happened? Is Scarface here?"

"He's here, the police have arrested him." He Yuyang pointed to the stick on the ground. "He's not just a thug, he's also a spy who killed our comrades."

He Yuzhu stood there, stunned, unable to process what had happened for a long time. He had initially thought it was just a typical case of local thugs causing trouble, but he hadn't expected such a powerful figure behind it all. "Then... how did he get arrested? The police arrived at such a convenient time..."

"Unfortunately," He Yuyang looked at him seriously. "I was the one who called the police, telling them that this person might be a spy, and also asking the patrolling soldiers to keep an eye on this area. Dealing with this kind of person requires brains, not just fists."

He Yuzhu finally understood. He had always thought his brother's greatest strengths were his marksmanship and physical skills, but now he realized that his brother's true prowess lay in this subtle and meticulous planning. He could uncover the other party's background in advance, contact the police and the military, and lure bad guys into his trap—this was far more effective than simply beating someone up.

"Brother, I understand." He Yuzhu scratched his head, his face a little hot. "I was too reckless before."

"Good to know." He Yuyang patted his shoulder. "Practicing martial arts is to protect yourself and the people around you, but true strength is knowing when to strike and when to use other methods. If you want to keep this martial arts school running, you will inevitably encounter problems in the future. You need to learn to stay calm and think things through."

"Yes!" He Yuzhu nodded heavily, his admiration for his brother growing even stronger.

The news of Scarface's arrest spread throughout the alley early the next morning, and the neighbors were overjoyed.

"He should have been arrested long ago! He's a menace!"

"Commander He really knows how to handle things; he took care of them without making a sound!"

"Yuzhu's martial arts school is safe now, my son can continue his studies!"

Yan Bugui specially brought a bottle of wine to the He family's house, insisting on treating He Yuyang to a drink: "Yuyang, thanks to you! Otherwise, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to complete my studies. You don't know, that scarred man used to be someone no one dared to mess with in Xisi, but I never expected him to fall into your hands!"

"It's all what I should do," He Yuyang said with a smile, declining. "Catching spies is the job of the police and the military; I just lent a hand."

Liu Yan smiled and said, "He's always been meticulous since he was little, and he knows exactly what he's doing."

He Yuzhu was repairing windows at the martial arts school when he heard the neighbors' praise. He felt pleased, but he didn't forget his brother's words. As he nailed the planks, he said to the children watching, "When you learn martial arts, you not only need to train your strength, but also your discipline and your mind! Otherwise, no matter how strong you become, you'll just be a brute!"

The children nodded as if they understood, and their eyes looked at He Yuzhu with a hint of admiration.

The afternoon sun shone through the newly pasted paper windows into the martial arts school, casting a warm glow on the children's earnest stances. He Yuyang stood at the gate, watching the scene inside, a smile playing on her lips.

He knew this was just a small episode in life, but for He Yuzhu, it might be an opportunity for growth. Life in Nanluoguxiang was like this, full of life and ups and downs, but as long as the family was together, the neighbors helped each other, and there was the stability of this new society, no matter how big the obstacle, it could be overcome.

The shouts of children could be heard in the distance, clear and powerful, as if declaring that this hard-won peace would be well protected.