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

February, 1946.

The New Year is over.

The snow in Beiping City had not yet completely melted, and dark remnants of ice were piled up at the base of the walls.

The lively atmosphere of Nanluoguxiang has completely dissipated, and with a gust of wind, all that remains are the sighs of each household worrying about making a living.

A corner of the teahouse.

He Yuzhu held a covered bowl in his hands, his eyes fixed on the window, unfocused.

On the street, the newspaper boy was shouting at the top of his lungs, his voice hoarse, as if he had swallowed a handful of sand.

"Breaking News! Breaking News! Commissioner Li inspects the Health Bureau and declares his intention to rebuild the medical system in Beiping!"

He Yuzhu's lips twitched slightly.

reconstruction?

They'll probably tear it apart until not even a bone fragment is left.

A person sat down opposite me.

He was wearing a long gown, a slightly worn top hat, and carrying a birdcage.

It's the shopkeeper.

He placed the birdcage on the table and lifted the blue cloth cover.

The thrush inside chirped, its song clear and melodious.

"Have you heard?"

The shopkeeper's voice was very soft, blending into the surrounding noise, and could not be heard at all unless you listened carefully.

"Those guys have been dealing in a batch of goods recently."

He Yuzhu took a sip of tea without looking up.

"What goods?"

"Equipment for field hospitals."

The shopkeeper tapped his fingers lightly twice on the table, a soft tap.

"X-ray machine, operating table, shadowless lamp, and whole boxes of penicillin and anesthetics. These are all top-quality items left behind by the Japanese."

He Yuzhu's fingers stopped at the edge of the teacup.

This thing is precious.

Due to a lack of medical supplies on the front lines, many soldiers had to undergo amputations or simply wait to die because they lacked anti-inflammatory drugs.

If we could get our hands on this batch of goods...

"Where?"

"In Commissioner Li's hands."

The shopkeeper sighed, took out a neatly folded piece of paper from his pocket, and placed it under the teacup.

"He wanted to sell it to Americans. Exchange it for dollars, then for gold bars, and deposit it into his account abroad."

He Yuzhu pulled out the note and glanced at it.

The list only contains a few vague model numbers and quantities.

"What does the higher-ups mean?"

"Stop it."

The shopkeeper stared intently into He Yuzhu's eyes, his gaze unwavering.

"This shipment must remain in the country. This is an absolute order."

He Yuzhu crumpled the note into pieces and held it in his hand.

The shopkeeper left with the birdcage.

He Yuzhu sat for a while, then downed the cooled tea in one gulp.

Get up.

Go out.

……

Ghost city.

It was still dark, and the fog was thick; you couldn't see a person's face more than five steps away.

He Yuzhu, wrapped in a tattered cotton-padded coat and with his neck hunched, weaved among the stalls.

He's looking for Old Ghost.

The old man was squatting behind a stall selling old pocket watches, looking at something with a magnifying glass.

He Yuzhu walked over and squatted down.

"Do you have it in stock?"

Old Ghost didn't look up, and just snorted.

What kind of goods do you want?

"Used in hospitals."

Old Ghost's hand trembled slightly.

He put down the magnifying glass, raised his cloudy eyes, and looked He Yuzhu up and down.

"Dude, this is a pretty unconventional approach."

"Just tell me if you have it or not."

He Yuzhu took out a Yuan Shikai silver dollar from his sleeve and tossed it in his hand.

Hey~

The sound of silver coins clinking carried far through the mist.

Old Ghost swallowed hard and looked around.

"have."

He lowered his voice, leaned close to He Yuzhu's ear, and his breath reeked of tobacco.

"There's been some buzz on the black market lately. Someone's looking for big buyers, cash only, preferably US dollars. I heard the goods are pretty high-quality, all big stuff."

Who is selling it?

"I don't know. But these people are very tight-lipped; you can't usually get a word in edgewise."

Old Gui paused, his eyes fixed on the silver coin.

"However, I heard that the middleman is a lackey of a foreign comprador. He often hangs around the Legation Quarter."

He Yuzhu tossed the silver dollar into the old man's arms.

He got up and disappeared into the mist.

……

cinema.

Xu Fugui was working on the film in the projection room.

When He Yuzhu came in, he was startled and hurriedly stuffed a box of film rolls into the drawer.

"Pillar? What brings you here?"

"Uncle Xu, I'd like to ask you about someone."

He Yuzhu leaned against the door frame, took out a match, and lit a cigarette with a hiss.

"Who has Section Chief Ma been getting close to lately?"

Xu Fugui breathed a sigh of relief and raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

"Hey, I thought it was something serious, it scared me to death. That guy surnamed Ma has been acting all high and mighty lately."

He leaned closer, looking all mysterious.

"A couple of days ago, Commissioner Li booked out a whole theater to watch a movie, and Section Chief Ma was with a foreigner the whole time. That foreigner's name is William, and he's an American businessman."

"William?"

"Yes. I heard he's in the import/export business. Section Chief Ma was all over him, bowing and scraping like a grandson."

He Yuzhu exhaled a smoke ring.

Where did they go?

"After watching the movie, we went straight to the club in Dongjiaomin Lane. Section Chief Ma was drunk and was shouting at the entrance, saying something like, 'If this deal goes through, I'll be set for life!'"

He Yuzhu stubbed out his cigarette.

The clues match up.

……

Dongjiaomin Lane.

This area is the embassy district; the streets are swept clean, and there are Western-style buildings on both sides.

The guards standing at the gate, holding carbines, had their chins held high and looked down on everyone.

He Yuzhu didn't dare get too close.

He stood at the entrance of the alley across the street, pretending to be a shoemaker, with a broken wooden box in front of him.

A black sedan drove out.

It bears the embassy's license plate.

The car window was half-rolled down, revealing a white face.

That's William.

Sitting next to me was Commissioner Li.

Both of them had cigars between their fingers and were laughing.

He Yuzhu lowered his head, holding a shoe sole in his hand, and pretended to hammer nails.

The system interface popped up in my mind.

[Target identified: William Smith.]

[Identity: Post-war American commodity speculator.]

[Related Event: The theft and sale of medical equipment.]

He Yuzhu tapped his finger hard on the sole of his shoe.

Click.

The miniature camera made a sound from inside the sleeve.

I've noted down the license plate number.

The car turned a corner and entered the gate of the Li Mansion.

The door was closed tightly.

He Yuzhu packed up his stall.

It got dark.

The dim yellow light from the streetlights cast long shadows on the ground.

That batch of equipment was on the countdown to the transaction.

We have to be quick.

He turned and walked into the night.

The wind picked up, making the hem of my clothes flutter loudly.

It's an uphill battle.