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

Beiping.

Inside a secluded house.

"Viper" sat on the armchair, toying with two iron balls in his hands, making a dull clattering sound.

Standing in front of him was the tall spy who had threatened Xu Fugui.

"You mean the intelligence that Xu Fugui sent came true?" "Viper" didn't even lift his eyelids.

"Yes, sir." The tall man bowed respectfully. "Our men have confirmed it. There was indeed a gunfight near Lugou Bridge that night. A caravan, supposedly transporting penicillin, was attacked by unidentified armed men. Although they didn't capture anyone, the commotion was significant."

"Penicillin?" "Viper" sneered and opened his eyes.

His eyes, like those of a snake, were long, narrow, and cold.

"At this critical juncture, the Red bandits themselves are short of medical supplies, how could they possibly have the time to send penicillin to the city? I'd believe they'd send coarse cloth and dried sweet potatoes instead."

"What the superior means is..."

"This intelligence is too clean." "Viper" slammed the iron bullet onto the table with a loud thud. "The time, the place, the goods—everything matches up. But how did a movie theater operator know all this? Was a Red Army courier whispering in his ear?"

The tall spy didn't dare to respond.

"Viper" stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the gray sky outside.

"This Xu Fugui is suspicious. Either he's a bait deliberately thrown out by the Red bandits, or he has someone backing him."

"Well... sir, should we arrest him and interrogate him?"

"Idiot!" "Viper" whirled around, his eyes fierce. "Arrest him? What's the use of bringing back a clueless idiot? We'll alert him, scare away the people behind him, and then where will we find clues?"

"Yes! Your humble servant is foolish!" The tall man was terrified and broke out in a cold sweat.

"Send two men to keep a 24-hour watch on him." "Viper's" voice turned icy again. "Don't let him find out. I need to know who he meets each day, what he says, where he goes, even how many buns he eats. Investigate his entire social network."

"Especially," he paused, then said, word by word, "the people in that courtyard house."

"yes!"

……

Xu Fugui has been living in constant fear and anxiety lately.

Although he was temporarily safe under He Yuzhu's protection.

But the feeling of being choked never disappeared.

He lives like a puppet now.

A single thread was held in He Yuzhu's hand.

He always felt that another unseen thread was still connected to the "venomous snake."

That day, he went to work at the movie theater.

Just as I stepped out of the alley, I caught a glimpse of a cigarette vendor across the street from the corner of my eye.

The person looked unfamiliar.

Xu Fugui's heart skipped a beat. He didn't dare to look any longer and quickly walked away with his head down.

When we arrived at the movie theater, the security guard in the projection room was a new face.

The way the other person looked at him made him feel extremely uncomfortable.

All day long, he felt like there was a pair of eyes watching him from behind.

Rumors are on the back.

When he got home that night, he told He Yuzhu about it, and his voice was trembling.

"Master Zhu, I... I think I'm being watched."

He Yuzhu was chopping firewood in the yard.

With one swing of the axe, a piece of wood split open.

"It's a good thing." He didn't even look up.

"Huh?" Xu Fugui was confused again.

"He's watching you because he suspects you. That proves you're still a valuable lead to him." He Yuzhu stuck the axe into the stake and brushed the sawdust off his hands. "If he loses all interest in you, that means you're not far from death."

Xu Fugui broke out in a cold sweat upon hearing this, but he also felt that there was some truth to it.

"Then... what should I do?"

"What to do? Eat when you're supposed to eat, drink when you're supposed to drink, go to work when you're supposed to go to work, and brag when you're supposed to brag." He Yuzhu glanced at him. "You're still the same as before. No, you need to be even more like a petty scoundrel than before."

"Starting tomorrow, you will gamble with people."

"Gambling...gambling?"

"Yes. Lose money. The more you lose, the better." A barely perceptible smile appeared on He Yuzhu's lips. "Go drinking with people, get drunk and brag about knowing so-and-so in the police station and being able to get scarce supplies. Go flirting with widows and let everyone in the alley call you shameless."

Xu Fugui's mouth dropped open.

"Master Zhu, what... what's going on?"

"Would a greedy, lecherous, boastful, and gambling good-for-nothing be a Red Bandit spy?" He Yuzhu asked rhetorically.

Xu Fugui understood instantly.

This is to draw a portrait of the person who is keeping an eye on them.

A portrait of Xu Fugui, a good-for-nothing who can't be helped.

"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!" Xu Fugui was filled with admiration.

"Go ahead. Remember, act convincingly." He Yuzhu waved his hand.

……

The next two weeks.

Everyone in Nanluoguxiang knows that Xu Fugui, the movie projectionist, has gone mad.

He started gambling recklessly, losing all his savings.

He was drunk every day, causing a ruckus in the alleys, and would hug telephone poles and call out "brothers."

He even got into a fight over stealing clothes that his neighbor, Widow Wang, was drying, and ended up with his face covered in scratches.

Xu Zhaoshi cried and wailed at home every day, and Xu Damao didn't dare to go out and see anyone.

Madam Jia was the happiest, spending her days eating melon seeds and watching the Xu family make a fool of themselves at the door.

"Look at this! They used to be so arrogant, look at them now!"

The two spies responsible for keeping watch were going crazy.

Their daily reports were all pretty much the same.

"My goal is to lose 300,000 RMB at the poker table today."

"After getting drunk, the target claimed he wanted to marry the widow next door, but was chased away by her son with a broom."

"The target tried to buy alcohol on credit from the grocer, but was refused, so he sat on the ground and cried."

These reports were compiled and sent to "Viper".

"Viper" frowned more and more as he looked at the reports.

A week later, he summoned the tall agent.

"How's it going? Have you found any useful clues?"

"Reporting, sir, no." The tall man looked exhausted and helpless. "This Xu Fugui is a complete scumbag. We investigated all his social connections, and they're all just fair-weather friends and drinking buddies. As for that courtyard house, apart from that kid surnamed He who's close to his son, he basically has no contact with anyone else."

"Useless!" "Viper" cursed.

He paced around the room a few times in frustration.

Could it be that I'm just overthinking things?

Xu Fugui really just got lucky and happened to overhear that intelligence?

"Sir, we're already short-handed. How about... we stop monitoring him for now?" the tall man asked tentatively.

The "venomous snake" remained silent for a long time.

"Keep an eye on it for three more days," he said finally. "If there's still nothing after three days, we'll leave."

He was still unwilling to give up.

His intuition told him that things weren't that simple.

But he had no evidence.

three days later.

The surveillance has been lifted.

Upon receiving the news, Xu Fugui immediately ran over to tell He Yuzhu.

He had lost a lot of weight, but his spirits were better than ever before.

It's like undergoing a transformation.

"Master Pillar! The snake...the snake is gone!"

"Really?" He Yuzhu was braiding He Yushui's hair, her hands were very skillful. "The snake just went back into its hole. It's hungry, it'll come out again."

He raised his head and looked at Xu Fugui, his eyes calm.

"Uncle Xu, your acting was quite good. But don't get too caught up in the role."

Xu Fugui felt a chill run down his spine and quickly nodded.

He knew that he was just a pawn in He Yuzhu's hand.

This card is safe for now.

But He Yuzhu can launch an attack whenever he wants.

He himself clearly realized that only by clinging tightly to He Yuzhu could he survive in this chaotic world.

He looked at the boy braiding his sister's hair and felt a sense of peace for the first time.

The sky collapsed.

With this young master to handle things.