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

Winter break is almost over.

It's really cold today.

The row of vendors selling roasted sweet potatoes and candied hawthorns at the school gate have all disappeared.

Instead, a middle-aged man in a gray long gown and sunglasses appeared.

This person has been loitering around the door for two days.

They don't buy anything, and they don't wait for anyone.

He just stood there, his eyes behind his sunglasses fixed on every student coming in and out.

Occasionally, he would stop one or two shady-looking guys, offer them a cigarette, and ask them a few questions in a low voice.

Second floor classroom.

He Yuzhu leaned against the window, the pen in his hand spinning rapidly.

He stared at the man in the gray long robe for a long time.

That posture, that chilling aura.

Can't go wrong.

spy.

He's not one of those incompetent bums who just coast along in the police station; he's a professionally trained expert.

"Master Zhu".

Young Master Sun slipped in through the back door, his face deathly pale.

"We've figured it out. He claims to be an investigator from the Social Affairs Bureau, but he's actually an outsider for the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics. He's looking for the leader from that day, and he still has photos of Zhang Ming and Li Qiang in his hand, asking around everywhere."

He Yuzhu stopped writing.

Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (CBIS).

These mad dogs have a really good nose.

The matter from last time has just been suppressed, and these people clearly have no intention of letting it go. They're not daring to arrest people openly; they're planning to play dirty tricks.

"Who else did he ask?" He Yuzhu didn't even turn his head.

"I asked Wang Debiao's cronies. Those bastards! Although they didn't know it was you who did it, they spilled all the beans about how Zhang Ming and Li Qiang always hung out together."

Young Master Sun wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Master Zhu, how about we let Zhang Ming and the others hide for a bit?"

"Hide? Where to hide?"

He Yuzhu put the pen cap back on.

Snapped.

A crisp sound.

"You can hide from the first day of the month, but you can't hide from the fifteenth. The more you try to hide, the more guilty you seem."

"What should we do then?"

"The darkest place is under the lamp."

He Yuzhu stood up and slung his schoolbag over his shoulder.

"Come on, take me to see those two silly boys."

……

At the base of the playground wall.

Zhang Ming and Li Qiang were squatting on the ground, drawing circles with tree branches.

The man in the gray long robe had been loitering by the door for days; they weren't blind, they'd seen him long ago.

I felt uneasy.

Upon seeing He Yuzhu approach, the two of them jumped up as if they had seen a savior.

"Brother Zhu! What do we do now?"

Zhang Ming was so anxious that he kept rubbing his hands together.

"That guy is definitely lying in wait for us. Maybe we should go back to our hometown and lay low for a while?"

"Go back to my hometown? The checkpoints on the road are even stricter. Once I'm detained, I'll be left with no one to turn to."

He Yuzhu squatted down, bringing his line of sight to the ground.

"Do you want to earn money during winter break?"

"what?"

The two were stunned.

We're in such dire straits, why are we still talking about money?

"My dad's restaurant is very busy during the Chinese New Year. They need help in the kitchen, like chopping vegetables, washing dishes, and serving customers. They provide room and board, and the pay is quite good."

He Yuzhu spoke in a flat tone, as if he were talking about a trivial matter.

"That place is crowded and has many eyes, so it's actually the safest. Hundreds of people come and go every day. Even if a spy wanted to keep watch there, they would be exhausted and still not be able to see them all."

Zhang Ming and Li Qiang exchanged a glance.

"Will this work?"

"Strip off your student uniforms, put on waiter's uniforms, and who will recognize you as students who caused the student unrest?"

He Yuzhu stood up and dusted off his hands.

"Whether you go or not, it's just a matter of saying yes or no."

"go!"

The two spoke in unison.

……

That afternoon.

Xidan Restaurant.

The kitchen was steaming hot, and He Daqing was standing with his hands on his hips, cursing loudly.

"You lazybones! Get your hands dirty! If you miss tonight's banquet, I'll skin you alive!"

He Yuzhu led two boys wearing ill-fitting cotton-padded jackets in.

"father."

He Daqing turned around.

Upon seeing her son, the fierce expression on her face softened, and her anger subsided by half.

"Why are you here? Aren't you at home studying?"

"I'll send you two strong laborers."

He Yuzhu pointed behind him.

"My classmate comes from a poor family and wants to earn some tuition fees during winter break. He's honest and hardworking."

He Daqing glanced at him up and down.

It looks quite sturdy, but it has too much of a bookish air about it, with delicate skin and tender flesh.

"Can you chop vegetables?"

"Yes! I do it often at home!"

Zhang Ming nodded quickly, bending over like a shrimp.

"Alright. Since Zhu Zi brought them, they'll stay. Let's make this clear from the start: if you don't do a good job, you're fired."

"Thank you, Uncle! Thank you, Uncle!"

The two were as if they had been granted a pardon.

He Yuzhu pulled his father aside and lowered his voice.

"Dad, please keep an eye on these two. Don't let anyone bully them, and don't let them run around."

He Daqing was a shrewd man who had spent most of his life in Beijing.

Upon hearing this, and glancing at the expressions of the two boys, he understood perfectly well what was going on.

"Did you get into trouble?"

"It's alright. We'll just lay low for a while."

He Daqing snorted, exhaling two rough breaths from his nostrils, and didn't ask any further questions.

"Alright, get lost. I'll take care of things here."

……

a few days later.

The man in the gray long gown was still loitering around the school gate.

Unfortunately, the school was on holiday and the gates were closed.

The person he was looking for seemed to have vanished into thin air.

He also visited Zhang Ming and Li Qiang's homes, but the adults there only said that the children had gone to visit relatives, and they didn't know anything about the specifics.

Beiping is such a big city, with millions of people.

Finding two teenagers is as difficult as climbing to heaven.

The kitchen of Xidan Restaurant.

The area was shrouded in mist.

Zhang Ming was covered in sweat, his hand trembling as he chopped potatoes with a cleaver. Li Qiang was washing dishes nearby, his sleeves rolled up high.

The two were exhausted and their backs ached, but they felt at ease.

Here, no one checks IDs, no one asks about your background.

There are always vegetables to chop and dishes to wash.

That man in the gray long gown had eaten once in the restaurant's lobby.

Zhang Ming was passing by with a plate when his heart pounded in his ribs.

But the man just kept his head down, eating his noodles, without even lifting his eyelids. He didn't even glance at the young waiter, who was covered in grease and had cigarette ash on his face.

It's dark under the lamp.

He Yuzhu sat at a table in the corner, holding a teacup in his hands.

This world...

Sometimes the most dangerous place is actually the safest.

If you're willing to bend down and bury yourself in the mud, no one will be able to find you.