Courtyard house: Just the right amount of pressure, leaving you bewildered but not brain-damaged.

Five days later, Gao Xiaosheng patrolled with Li Shuguo as usual.

"Why haven't you smiled lately? Are you just naturally averse to smiling?"

With a cigarette dangling from his mouth, Gao Xiaosheng made light of the situation by teasing Li Shuguo.

"Don't talk about me, you're no different." Li Shuguo rolled his eyes at Gao Xiaosheng.

The two looked at each other, shrugged, and smiled wryly.

In the past few days, Gao Xiaosheng has tried every possible method, but there has been no progress at all.

Apart from his colleagues in the security department, he didn't know anyone at the factory.

Sun Youtian and He Yuzhu in the courtyard were willing to help, but one of them was an apprentice who had only been working there for half a year and followed his master around every day with very little freedom.

He Yuzhu said that the cafeteria was a gathering place for news, but who would publicize something as trivial as stealing scrap?

Li Shuguo complained every day that Gao Xiaosheng had led him astray, but he didn't give up and give up. He asked all the workshop workers he knew, and he did gain something, but they were all mid-level workers in the main workshops, and he didn't dare to move.

"Ugh."

"Ugh."

With two sighs, the two unfortunate brothers listlessly measured the factory perimeter wall with their own two feet.

After having lunch at the third canteen, Gao Xiaosheng rode his bike home as usual.

Section Chief Zhou said that during the investigation, Gao Xiaosheng only needs to participate in two routine patrols, and he can arrange the rest of his time as he sees fit.

"Brother Sheng, you're back."

He Yushui opened the door for Gao Xiaosheng, peeked into the empty front yard, and mysteriously closed the door and bolted it shut.

"What's wrong? Why are you acting so suspiciously?" Gao Xiaosheng parked his bicycle and poured himself a glass of water.

"Brother Sheng, weren't you investigating the steel mill workers stealing scrap a few days ago? I have some important information here."

He Yushui held her head high, a proud expression on her face.

"Oh? What information? Tell me about it." Gao Xiaosheng smiled and rubbed Yushui's head.

"Hey, I'm serious, Brother Sheng, be serious."

He Yushui usually enjoys Gao Xiaosheng's intimate gestures, but not today. Her current role is that of the leader of the children's corps in courtyard number 95, and she is preparing to report important enemy information.

"Alright, Comrade He Yushui, please tell us your intelligence."

Gao Xiaosheng cooperated very well, sitting up straight with a proper attitude, and even deliberately lowering his voice.

He knows how to separate work from life.

No matter how difficult things get at work, once I get home, I forget about them all.

Of course, this is also thanks to He Yushui, the younger sister he snatched away.

Otherwise, there's no one to talk to at home, and all you can do besides daydream is think about work.

"Yes." He Yushui stood at attention, albeit somewhat awkwardly.

"Brother Sheng, this morning I heard from Liu Guangtian that Second Uncle scolded First Uncle and Jia Dongxu at home last night."

"Oh?" Gao Xiaosheng looked at He Yushui with slight surprise.

I didn't expect the little girl to be so resourceful; she managed to win Liu Guangtian over so quickly.

"What did Liu Haizhong say?"

He Yushui sat down next to Gao Xiaosheng and whispered, "Second Uncle said that First Uncle doesn't know how to teach apprentices. The apprentice he took on didn't learn much of the craft, but instead learned to steal chickens and dogs."

"Huh? Sneaking around? Jia Dongxu? How did Liu Haizhong know?"

Gao Xiaosheng became interested; perhaps this information about the rain was actually quite important.

"Hmm, let me think, Liu Guangtian told me a lot..." He Yushui scratched her hair, pursed her lips and tried hard to recall.

"I remember now. Second Uncle said that a few days ago Jia Dongxu asked First Uncle for a free cigarette. The day before yesterday, he pulled out a pack of, uh, economy cigarettes from his pocket."

"Yesterday was even worse, they smoked some kind of cheap cigarettes."

"Anyway, what Uncle Er means is that Jia Dongxu has given all his money to Zhang, the clerk of the street office, so it's abnormal for him to smoke economy cigarettes, let alone the more expensive ones from Qianmen."

"The money definitely didn't come from any legitimate source; it must have been stolen or robbed."

"My second uncle said that Jia Dongxu is such a small guy that he can't even beat a woman, so the only possibility left is that he stole money."

When Gao Xiaosheng heard the words "little chicks," he finally couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Haha, Rainwater, you've done me a huge favor. This information is very important, no, it's extremely, extremely, extremely important."

"Really, Brother Sheng? Hehe." He Yushui's big eyes narrowed into slits with happiness, and she grinned, revealing eight small white teeth.

Gao Xiaosheng nodded emphatically, "Of course, would I lie to you? Bring Liu Guangtian a piece of candy tomorrow and tell him to report any news immediately."

He Yushui shook her head, "No need, Brother Sheng. I told him that if Second Uncle beats him up in the future, he should quickly find a way to run to the front yard. You will protect him."

"Yes, no problem. The candy should still be given. We'll be fair in our rewards and punishments."

"Rain, what reward do you want? Just say it."

"How about I take you for a bike ride to Di'anmen Department Store now?"

As Gao Xiaosheng spoke, he got up to push the cart.

He Yushui quickly grabbed Gao Xiaosheng's arm and shook her head repeatedly, "I don't want to. I ate a piece of milk candy after lunch today, consider it a reward."

She's the leader of the children's corps, how could she accept a reward? That would make her no different from the other members.

"Alright, I'll go to the market and buy more meat later. We'll have braised pork for dinner, and I'll invite your brother and Sun Youtian too."

After Gao Xiaosheng finished speaking, he sat back in his chair, rested his chin on his hand, and fell into deep thought.

He Yushui glanced at Xiao Sheng, tiptoed back to her seat, trying not to make a sound, gently picked up her pencil, and continued her struggle with her homework.

The final exams are in two days, and she needs to do well to live up to the title of group leader.

Gao Xiaosheng was figuring out how to catch Jia Dongxu in the act.

Setting goals is only the first step; there is still much work to be done.

Of course, everything is difficult at the beginning, and taking the first step is of utmost importance. The information provided by the rain did indeed help him solve a major problem.

The most direct method would be to search them directly after get off work, but Gao Xiaosheng ruled that out first.

If Jia Dongxu had any sense, he wouldn't be smuggling in scrap every day. If they find nothing, the security department would become the target of everyone's criticism.

Searching is definitely necessary, but it's important to prepare thoroughly beforehand.

Gao Xiaosheng carefully calculated and summarized the entire process.

24-hour surveillance is essential.

It's relatively simple during work hours; just tell your colleagues and ask the gatekeeper to keep an eye on things.

On the way home from get off work, he could only rely on Sun Youtian, and at most, Li Shuguo could follow him from a distance.

There couldn't be any gaps in the evening either, so Gao Xiaosheng planned to do it himself to ensure that Jia Dongxu didn't have a chance to leave the yard alone before nine o'clock.

The surveillance was a means to an end; the goal was to locate the scrap yard where Jia Dongxu sold the stolen goods and obtain concrete evidence.

This also allows us to roughly determine the frequency with which Jia Dongxu smuggles waste, so as to choose the best time to search him.

The more Gao Xiaosheng thought about it, the more he felt that Jia Dongxu was the best "sacrifice" to "warn the monkey," perfectly meeting all the conditions proposed by Section Chief Zhou.

He was a third-year apprentice in the logistics workshop, a marginal figure in the peripheral workshop. Apart from Yi Zhonghai, probably no one cared about him, and naturally no one spoke up for him.

The theft of waste materials likely started in the last few days and is unlikely to cause serious or huge economic losses to the factory. The security department can handle the matter leniently and avoid a situation where a heavy sentence would cause panic among the staff.

From this perspective, Jia Dongxu is simply the "chosen one," and there is no more suitable "weakling" than him.