Courtyard House: I, the eldest son of the Jia family, have returned from the battlefield.

After seeing Director Wang and Director Chen off, Jia Zhangshi hurriedly approached her son, her eyes shining: "Dongming, what that director said... is it true? Your comrade's father really left the house to you?"

Seeing his mother's barely concealed anticipation, Jia Dongming smiled and said, "Mom, whether it's true or not, I'll take you to see it for yourself after I finish the formalities, then you'll know."

"well!"

Madam Jia nodded repeatedly, "We absolutely must go and see!"

Now that Qin Huairu has a bicycle, taking Banggeng to school in the morning has become her job.

Jia Dongming no longer needed to rush; he arrived at the steel rolling mill at exactly eight o'clock.

He had just entered the office when Guo Jianguo and Li Aijun followed him in.

Li Aijun closed the door and reported, "Chief, Zhao Jun has found out about the middle-aged woman that Guoping and the others were following yesterday."

Jia Dongming put down his briefcase and glanced at the two of them: "Tell me about it."

"The woman's name is Miao**, and she is a newspaper editor."

Her husband, Zhao Huiming, was the deputy director of Changping Commune.

The couple...does not have children yet.

Li Aijun paused, then added the last sentence.

After a moment's thought, Jia Dongming said, "Let Zhao Jun and the others leave the blacksmith shop first."

Concentrate manpower to keep an eye on Miao** and You Wan'an.

I need to know where they go every day, who they see, and what kind of people they come into contact with.

Li Aijun was taken aback: "Director, Mingxian the blacksmith shop has problems, why aren't you continuing to monitor it?"

"Ye Quanwang is an enemy agent; this has been confirmed."

Jia Dongming lowered his voice, but spoke clearly, "Yesterday, I followed the trail and found that Xiao Quan, the gatekeeper of the Jingshan Street scrap metal recycling station, was also one of them."

The blacksmith shop was merely a rendezvous point for relaying messages, not the main hideout.

What we need to do now is to uncover all those hidden contacts one by one, find out who's above Ye Quanwang—and then, take them all down in one fell swoop.

Li Aijun's pupils contracted slightly, and he slowly took a breath.

Li Aijun could hardly believe his ears.

Jia Dongming was astonished that he had single-handedly uncovered such significant clues. He urgently asked, "Chief, if we remove the surveillance on Ye Quanwang, where are we going to find his contact?"

Jia Dongming's expression was calm, but his tone left no room for doubt: "I will personally take over the Ye Quanwang line."

Your three teams must focus entirely on compiling lists of those targeted in the enemy's lower-level intelligence network.

"Yes! I will immediately inform Zhao Jun to adjust the deployment."

Li Aijun nodded emphatically and turned to leave.

"etc,"

Jia Dongming called him over, then turned his gaze to Guo Jianguo beside him. "Jianguo, your team has been watching that target in the backyard of Xue Ru Silk Shop on Qianmen Street all day. Have you found anything?"

Guo Jianguo immediately stepped forward: "Director, we've been keeping watch for a full twenty-four hours."

The people in that courtyard almost never went out, except for one middle-aged man who went to the market to buy vegetables every morning and stayed indoors the rest of the time.

We found through the local street office that the homeowner's name is Xie Jian, 47 years old, and he works in a cultural institution. His records show that he is currently recuperating from an illness.

However, observing his demeanor and gait, we could not discern any sign of illness.

Jia Dongming tapped his knuckles lightly on the table, and after a moment of silence, asked, "When he went to the market to buy groceries, who did he meet or speak with? Have you investigated their backgrounds?"

Guo Jianguo was stunned, and a cold sweat instantly broke out on his back.

He was so focused on keeping a close eye on Xie Jian that he completely overlooked their brief encounter at the market.

He quickly bowed his head: "Director, this was my oversight."

This point wasn't emphasized when the task was assigned; the team members only recorded Xie Jian's movements and didn't conduct background checks on the vendors in the market.

"Finish it right away."

Jia Dongming's tone suddenly turned stern. "Have all the people who participated in the surveillance yesterday go back and screen every single vendor Xie Jian came into contact with—even those who just handed over money and gave change."

I need to know if any of his accomplices are inside.

"Mingbai! I will personally lead a team back to investigate, and report back to you immediately with the results."

Guo Jianguo straightened his back and hurried away.

***

Just after nine o'clock in the morning, a girl with two braids rushed into the courtyard, panting, and went straight to the front door of the main house. Her voice trembling with tears, she cried out, "Sister! Sister, are you home?"

Yu Li was about to go out to find some odd jobs when she heard the noise and opened the door. She saw her younger sister, Yu Haitang, running around with her face flushed and her forehead damp with sweat. Her heart skipped a beat: "Haitang? Why are you in such a panic? Has something happened at home?"

Yu Haitang grabbed Yu Li's arm, tears streaming down her face: "Sister! Mom... Mom suddenly fainted! Dad and I took her to the hospital, and the doctor said she has a growth in her brain and needs immediate surgery, which will cost over two hundred yuan... We've scraped together about fifty yuan, and Dad told me to come and find you to help!"

Yu Li felt a buzzing sound in her ears and her vision went black.

She managed to compose herself, rushed back into the house, and pulled an old handkerchief pouch from under the kang mat. Unfolding it layer by layer, she found neatly folded loose bills inside. "I have seventeen yuan and sixty cents here. Take this back to Dad."

She shoved all the money into Yu Haitang's hand, her voice trembling, "I'll go... I'll go ask Jie Cheng's dad for some money right away, and get it to the hospital as soon as I have it!"

Clutching the warm roll of small bills, Yu Haitang nodded vigorously: "Sister, hurry! Mom needs the money to save her life!"

After saying that, he turned around and ran out of the yard.

Yu Li stood there blankly for two seconds, then suddenly came to her senses, turned around and went to the next room.

The third aunt was dusting inside the house when she saw Yu Li burst in with a pale face, and she paused in her work.

"mom,"

Yu Li's voice was urgent and low, "Do you have any money on hand? Can you lend me thirty-five yuan first? I'll pay you back slowly as I earn more money from my work."

The third aunt had already heard Yu Haitang's cries in the courtyard.

A troubled look crossed her face as she rubbed her hands together. "Lily, it's not that Mom doesn't want to help you... all the money in the house is with your dad. Where am I, a mere woman, supposed to conjure up thirty-five yuan for you?"

Yu Li bit her lip.

Yes, Yan Bugui was in charge of the Yan family, and the key to the money box was always tied to his belt.

Without saying another word, she turned and ran outside, shouting, "I'm going to school to find Dad!"

Seeing Yu Li rush out the door, the third auntie remembered her mother's serious illness and couldn't help but mutter, "She has a tumor in her brain. How can this disease be cured? It's better to use the money to buy some good food than to throw it away in the water."

Just as Yu Li was about to step out of the courtyard, those few muttered words drifted into her ears. She paused, involuntarily turning back to look at the door of the Yan family, a cold hatred burning in her eyes.

In a first-grade classroom at Hongxing Elementary School, a teacher hurriedly poked his head in and whispered to Yan Bugui, who was lecturing, "Teacher Yan, there's a woman outside looking for you. She says she's your daughter-in-law and has something urgent to tell you."

Yan Bugui was taken aback for a moment, then put on a smile and said to his colleague, "Teacher Zhou, could you please keep an eye on things for me for a few minutes? I'll be right back."

He jogged to the school gate and saw Yu Li pacing back and forth outside. His heart sank, and he quickly went up to her and asked, "Yu Li, why did you come to the school? Did something happen at home?"

On her way from the Yan family home to Hongxing Elementary School, Yu Li had already made it clear in her mind that her hopes of borrowing money from her father-in-law were slim.

But when a person is in dire straits, they will grasp at even the slightest glimmer of hope—that's exactly what she came for.

Her forehead was damp with sweat, and seeing the concerned look on Yan Bugui's face, she hurriedly said, "Dad, everything's alright at home."

It was my mom... She fainted while working this morning.

He was taken to the hospital, where doctors said it was a brain tumor.

"My in-laws' mother has contracted this disease!"

Yan Bugui was startled at first, then seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, before his expression turned worried again. "Then why didn't you stay at the hospital with me? Why did you come to the school...?"

Yu Li didn't catch the evasiveness in his words, and only said anxiously, "The doctor said I need to have surgery immediately, and the surgery will cost more than two hundred yuan. My family can only scrape together about one hundred yuan... Dad, could you lend me thirty-five yuan? I'll pay you back every month."

Upon hearing "thirty-five yuan"

Upon hearing this number, Yan Bugui's face immediately fell. "Yu Li, you know the situation at home."

"With my meager salary, I have to support seven people; where would I find the extra money?"

As he spoke, he reached into his pocket and rummaged around for a while before finally pulling out a crumpled one-yuan bill. He handed it over, his fingers still reluctant to let go. "This... take it and use it for now."

Having been a daughter-in-law of the Yan family for so long, how could Yu Li not know the family's background?

When she saw that Yan Bugui had only taken out one yuan, she was completely dumbfounded.

The glimmer of hope in his eyes vanished in an instant.

Her voice turned cold: "Dad, you can keep this one yuan."

I went to the grain station to find Jie Cheng and see if he could borrow some from his coworkers.

Watching his daughter-in-law's retreating figure without turning her head, Yan Bugui secretly rejoiced.

He breathed a sigh of relief, almost saying to his own chest, "Thirty-five yuan, that's almost a whole month's wages for me."

What are the chances of curing my mother-in-law's illness? Isn't this just throwing money away?

Instead of doing that, why not buy something nice to make the old man's final days more comfortable? I really don't know what my in-laws were thinking.

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly into the guardhouse window.

The old gatekeeper heard every word, curled his lip in disdain, and muttered, "He's always late or leaving early, but I never expected him to be so heartless."

My daughter-in-law is like this when she comes to borrow money to save her life... If she dares to sneak out early again, I'll report her to the principal.

Yu Li left the school and ran all the way to the entrance of the grain station, where she saw Yan Jiecheng sitting on the steps chatting with several coworkers.

She waved and called out, "Jie Cheng! Come here for a second, I need to talk to you!"

When the workers heard the woman's voice, they all turned to look.

Seeing Yu Li standing not far away waving, some people started laughing and making a fuss.

One of Yan Jiecheng's close friends sidled up to him, winking and saying, "Hey, a girl's looking for you! Pretty good-looking!"

Another person laughed, "Is he your boyfriend? Why don't you introduce him to everyone?"

Yan Jiecheng saw Yu Li and looked surprised. He quickly walked up to her and asked, "What are you doing here? Weren't you supposed to be helping out at the neighborhood office today?"

Yu Li grabbed his sleeve, still catching her breath: "Jiecheng, my mother is in the hospital and needs to have surgery immediately."

My dad doesn't have enough money. How much do you have? Give it to me to pay for the surgery.

Yan Jiecheng's scheming nature surpassed even that of his father, Yan Bugui.

Upon hearing that his mother-in-law was sick and needed money, he didn't even bother to ask what was wrong and immediately retorted, "Yu Li, you know how little I earn from odd jobs. After paying for food and rent, I'm penniless."

"How about... you try going to my dad's school?"

Yu Li hadn't expected her father-in-law to ask for help from her husband; she truly regarded him as her last resort.

But she never expected that this man, with whom she had shared a bed for more than two years, would not only ignore her mother's illness when her life was hanging by a thread, but would also find an excuse to completely shirk responsibility.

At that moment, she suddenly felt that the face in front of her was terrifyingly unfamiliar—she had truly seen through the cold-bloodedness in the Yan family.

Yu Li, her heart utterly broken, glanced coldly at Yan Jiecheng before turning and walking toward the hospital.

The resentment hidden in that glance was as deep as a bottomless well.

Jia Dongming sat alone in his office. He had just finished his work when his thoughts drifted back to the case of the enemy spy at the blacksmith shop.

The clues are now clear. If the blacksmith shop, Ye Quanwang's residence, and Xiao's family are searched at the same time, the evidence will likely be obtained.

Ye Quanwang hasn't even thoroughly investigated his superiors and subordinates yet, and arresting people now might disrupt his plans.

He hesitated for a moment, but ultimately suppressed the urge to act immediately.

Thinking of the bag of Dongxi buried under the Ye family's land, Jia Dongming's eyes darkened.

Why not take advantage of Ye Quanwang's absence at the shop, sneak into the courtyard, dismantle the fuse first, and then go to Xiao Quan's house to investigate? Maybe we can find out some other clues.

Having made up his mind, he gave instructions to the office, hopped on his bicycle, and left the steel rolling mill.

After riding just two streets, Jia Dongming spotted a familiar figure—it was Yu Li.