Courtyard House: Ten-year-old Master Zhu reorganizes the entire courtyard

A week after the "playing with fire" incident, things appeared calm on the surface in Beiping, but He Yuzhu knew that this was just the calm before the storm. In the summer of 1945, an atmosphere of anxiety and unease permeated the air, and the outcome of the war was becoming increasingly clear.

That day, he received an urgent summons from the "shopkeeper".

Still in the backyard of Moxianzhai, Manager Qin's expression was more serious than ever before.

"Apprentice, your warning about the financial collapse last time saved the organization from huge losses and allowed us to stockpile a large amount of supplies. You deserve a lot of credit." Manager Qin got straight to the point, first acknowledging He Yuzhu's achievements.

He Yuzhu nodded slightly, remaining silent and waiting for what was to come.

"Now, the organization needs you to carry out a more important task." Manager Qin took out a simple map from his pocket and spread it on the table. "Based on intelligence from various sources, the Japanese defeat may be within the next month or two. In order to deal with the possible chaos after the victory and to prepare for the upcoming War of Liberation, the organization has decided that we must stockpile more strategic materials, especially medicines and cloth."

His finger pointed to a red circle on the outskirts of the city on the map.

"This is a logistics warehouse of the Third Division of the puppet North China Security Army. According to our intelligence, it contains a batch of cotton cloth transported from the south, as well as a considerable amount of Western medicine. Most importantly, the guards here are puppet troops, not Japanese. Their discipline is lax, and they are afraid of death, making them the best targets for us."

Manager Qin looked at He Yuzhu with sharp eyes: "Your task is preliminary reconnaissance. I need you to find out everything about this warehouse within ten days—the number of guards, the rotation pattern, the weapon configuration, the internal terrain, and whether we can find an inside agent that we can use."

"Understood." He Yuzhu's reply was crisp and clear.

This task suited him perfectly. Instead of passively waiting for history to unfold, he decided to take the initiative and gain more leverage for the future.

Upon leaving Moxianzhai, He Yuzhu immediately activated his "Youth Intelligence Network".

The puppet army warehouse was a forbidden zone for adults, but for a group of children who roamed around the city and its outskirts all day, it was not a den of dragons or tigers.

He first found Zhang Ming, the tall, thin boy whose father was a railway worker.

"Zhang Ming, has your dad heard anything about transporting anything to the warehouse in the west of the city while he was on the railway recently?" He Yuzhu handed him a hard-earned piece of chocolate.

Zhang Ming thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up: "Brother Zhu, you know what, there really is! My dad was cursing the other day, saying that those soldiers took the best wagons and transported boxes and boxes of foreign cloth and medicine, saying they were for making uniforms and treating the officers. We laborers can't even get a drop of soup."

"Well done!" He Yuzhu patted him on the shoulder.

Next, he found Sun Zhiqiang, the son of the fake police station deputy director. Now, Sun Zhiqiang was as docile as a kitten in front of He Yuzhu.

"Young Master Sun," He Yuzhu addressed him with a hint of mockery, "can you find out something for me? Has there been any activity at the West City Security Forces' warehouse lately? For example, has your police station been patrolling that area?"

Sun Zhiqiang dared not delay, patting his chest and guaranteeing, "Brother Zhu, leave this to me! I'll eavesdrop on my dad's phone call as soon as I get back!"

Two days later, various scattered pieces of information were gathered at He Yuzhu's place.

The warehouse was guarded by a platoon of about thirty men. They worked in three shifts, rotating every eight hours. Their weapons were outdated Hanyang rifles, along with two Type 96 machine guns mounted on the guard towers on either side of the warehouse gate. The warehouse housed two large wolfhounds, but it was said that their feeding time was very fixed; they would be fed at four o'clock every afternoon and then become sleepy.

The intelligence was detailed, but not enough. He Yuzhu needed a breakthrough, someone who could get their hands on him inside the warehouse.

He decided to go and see for himself.

After changing into tattered clothes and smearing soot on his face, He Yuzhu transformed into a beggar struggling to make a living on the street. For three days in a row, he wandered around the warehouse's perimeter, a few hundred meters away, using his extraordinary observation skills to keep a close eye on every detail of the warehouse entrance.

Finally, he found a target.

A young guard in his early twenties. Every afternoon after his shift ended at five o'clock, this guard would not return to his barracks to rest like the others, but would always sneak out of the camp in a hurry and go into a small gambling den nearby. Moreover, He Yuzhu noticed that every time he came out of the gambling den, he looked dejected and lost.

A gambling addict!

And he's a gambler who's desperate for a win!

A cold smile curled at the corner of He Yuzhu's lips. This was the person he was looking for.

That night, he went to the ghost market in the western suburbs again and found the old ghost.

"Uncle Gui," He Yuzhu got straight to the point, "help me investigate someone. The sentry at the West City Security Army warehouse, named Li Si, is twenty-five or twenty-six years old and a gambler. I need to know which casino he's in and how much money he owes."

Old Gui looked at the increasingly unfathomable child before him, feeling a chill run down his spine. He dared not ask further, nodding and bowing repeatedly, "Don't worry, Master Zhu, I guarantee I'll get to the bottom of this within a day!"

Old Gui was very efficient. The news came back the next day.

Li Si owed a whopping fifty silver dollars in gambling debts at the "Treasure Bowl" casino in the south of the city. The casino had issued an ultimatum: if he didn't pay back the money within three days, they would chop off one of his hands.

He Yuzhu felt reassured after hearing this.

A perfect plan quickly took shape in his mind.

He took out two small yellow croakers from his pocket and placed them in front of the old ghost.

"Uncle Gui, take this money." He Yuzhu's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable authority. "First, send a clever person to 'Treasure Bowl' and buy Li Si's fifty-dollar IOU. Remember, make it look like a debt transfer between casinos, and don't let him know."

"Secondly, after you get the IOU, send another stranger to find Li Si. Tell him that his life is now in our hands. If he wants to live, he has to do something for us."

Old Gui was terrified and asked cautiously, "Master Zhu... what do you need him to do?"

A cold glint flashed in He Yuzhu's eyes.

"I want him to draw a detailed internal layout of the warehouse, including the location of all the supplies. Then, on the night of the operation, I want the sentry post he's in charge of to 'coincidentally' be drunk and fast asleep."

"After it's done," He Yuzhu paused, then threw out the final bait, "his fifty silver dollars debt will be wiped clean. We'll give him another twenty silver dollars and send him away from Beiping to make a living in the south."

Old Ghost gasped.

This series of combined tactics—coercion, enticement, and even a backup plan—was perfectly executed, leaving no room for error! Li Si had absolutely no chance to refuse!

Looking at the ten-year-old child before him, he felt a chill run down his spine. This was no child; he was clearly a cunning and shrewd old fox!

"Master Zhu is brilliant!" Old Ghost exclaimed sincerely, carefully putting away the two small yellow croakers as if they were precious treasures. "Just you wait and see, I'll handle this matter perfectly for you!"

He Yuzhu nodded, turned around, and disappeared into the night of the ghost market.

The prey has been targeted, and the trap has been dug.

Next, we just wait for the fish to bite, and then we haul in the net!

He wrote down the detailed steps of the entire plan using secret writing ink and dropped it into the dead letter box used to contact the "shopkeeper".

Now, everything is ready, except for the final push.