Courtyard House: A System Connecting Two Worlds, Resources for the Nation

After arranging things at the police station, Chief Zhao wiped the sweat from his forehead and glanced at Zhou Feng's expression.

Who knew that this man's emotions were completely unreadable on the surface?

But the more this happened, the more uncertain he felt.

"Comrade Zhou Feng, what do you think... shall we go over now?"

Director Zhao tentatively asked a question, and Zhou Feng nodded.

The guy who got arrested was named Yan Yan. Two comrades from the Special Operations Department sandwiched him between them, and he was now behaving like a quail.

Having been held at gunpoint once and forced to walk a long way, he now has to embarrass himself at his father's workplace. He has lost all face and dignity, and has no right to act arrogantly anymore.

Qin Jingru followed behind Zhou Feng, her face flushed and her eyes shining.

This was the first time in her life she had experienced something like this.

Someone robbed me at knifepoint, then pulled out a gun to scare me, took me to the police station, and now they want to go to my workplace to find my parents.

If this were taken back to the commune, she could brag about it for three years!

Although Yu Li was more composed than Qin Jingru, she couldn't help but look around. The two of them linked arms and silently followed behind Zhou Feng, neither of them intending to leave first.

She was also curious about Zhou Feng's background, as he carried a gun and had two bodyguards with him.

When the police station chief saw him, he was even more obsequious and polite than Xu Damao in the courtyard.

The group left the police station and walked east along the alley.

A few old men were playing chess by the wall, and when they saw this scene, they all craned their necks to look in this direction.

"Hey, which company's had trouble this time?"

"They don't look like ordinary people, those two with guns..."

"Alright, I'll watch and talk less to avoid trouble."

The old men muttered a few words and then pulled their heads back inside.

Director Zhao led the way, explaining to Zhou Feng as they walked: "Yan Yan's father is Yan Ziqiang, a section chief in a factory under the Machinery Bureau. He was a meritorious soldier on the battlefield, crawling out of a pile of corpses, and still has two pieces of shrapnel in his body. I know him; he's a truly upright man, but... he's just too busy with work and hasn't disciplined his child enough."

Zhou Feng listened without responding.

Director Zhao glanced at him again and sighed inwardly.

He's a father too, and he knows how a father feels when his son gets into trouble.

But he really couldn't cover this up.

Armed robbery, and they even dared to rob Zhou Feng! If this really goes too far, it's uncertain whether he can even save his life!

As I was walking, I suddenly heard the sound of a car behind me.

After the two jeeps came to a stop, several figures quickly got out.

Leading the way was a middle-aged man in a Zhongshan suit. He was not tall but very sturdy, and his face was extremely serious.

He was followed by six people: five men and one woman.

Bai Ling's eyes swept over the group of people in front of her, and then instantly fixed on the two female comrades following behind Zhou Feng and his group.

Qin Jingru was talking to Yu Li with her head down. The two were standing very close to each other, arm in arm, and their eyes were still glancing at Zhou Feng.

Bai Ling, who had been walking briskly forward, suddenly stopped, her expression frozen as if someone had pressed the pause button.

Sun Yue, who was walking at the front, reacted quickly and stepped forward: "Comrade Zhou Feng, we rushed over as soon as we received the news. Is everyone here?"

Zhou Feng nodded, glancing at Bai Ling out of the corner of his eye. He saw her standing there motionless, her expression a mix of emotions.

"Everyone's here. We're out with Director Zhao to investigate the weapons. Section Chief Bai is here too!"

Zhou Feng took the initiative to greet him, his tone quite natural.

Bai Ling's lips moved, but she didn't make a sound.

Sun Yue coughed lightly and nudged her with his elbow: "Comrade Bai Ling?"

Bai Ling then snapped out of her daze, quickly composed herself, and adopted a businesslike demeanor: "Comrade Zhou Feng, thank you for your hard work. We have a preliminary understanding of the situation; you can handle the rest."

These words were quite polite, but they were completely inconsistent with the relationship between the two of them. Even Director Zhao could hear the sense of distance in his tone.

He looked around, and although he felt there was definitely something going on, he decided to just pretend he didn't see it.

Qin Jingru didn't care much, and didn't have many ulterior motives.

Yesterday, Zhou Feng broadened her horizons, introduced her to Deputy Factory Director Li Huaide, and today he bought her a watch and a woolen coat, which completely opened the girl's heart.

Based on what Jia Zhangshi had told her earlier, she hurriedly ran out of the room.

Looking back now, I realize I felt more shy than resistant.

So she didn't consider Bai Ling a rival in love at all, which is why she waved to her and said, "Comrade Bai Ling, you've finally arrived! That was terrifying! Those guys were carrying knives..."

He could only say half of what he was going to say before he couldn't continue.

Bai Ling looked at her expression; although she was smiling, her eyes were so cold they were almost freezing, making Qin Jingru shiver involuntarily.

Yu Li quickly tugged at her sleeve from behind and whispered, "Alright, alright, stop talking."

Qin Jingru was still a little confused, and turned to look at her: "What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?"

Yu Li didn't say anything, but gestured with her chin towards Bai Ling and then looked at Zhou Feng.

She genuinely didn't understand what Qin Jingru was thinking.

She knew all about what was going on between Zhou Feng and Bai Ling.

At this point, what should you say?

Qin Jingru didn't even feel guilty. Instead, she straightened her back and smiled at Bai Ling, saying, "Comrade Bai Ling, you go about your business. We'll just follow Brother Zhou Feng and not cause any trouble."

Heh... Brother Zhou Feng...

Bai Ling pouted and ignored him, turning to Sun Yue: "Director, let's go together then."

Sun Yue nodded: "Let's go."

The group resumed their journey, and the atmosphere became considerably more subtle than before.

Bai Ling walked at the front, taking big, fast strides, as if she were competing with someone.

Director Zhao jogged after her to give her directions, sweat beading on his forehead.

He wasn't walking these few steps because he was tired; it was mainly because the atmosphere in the group was a bit strange!

Yan Yan was held in the middle, and his legs were a little weak.

Although he was a scoundrel, he was still educated and not stupid. After seeing the way Sun Yue and the others were acting, he knew that he had really messed up this time!

Qin Jingru, lagging behind, tugged at Yu Li's sleeve and whispered, "Sis, why do I feel like Comrade Bai Ling and Brother Zhou Feng don't get along? What's wrong with them?"

Yu Li rolled her eyes at her: "Why are you bothering with their business? That's between the two of them."

This silly girl has no guile at all.

"I was just asking," Qin Jingru muttered. "I noticed the way she looked at me was off, like I owed her twenty yuan."

Yu Li almost burst out laughing at her words, and quickly covered her mouth: "Alright, alright, he's a leader from the Municipal Bureau, what money do you owe him? We'll just follow behind and watch."

Qin Jingru gave an "oh," but her eyes secretly glanced at Bai Ling's back.

If, as Jia Zhangshi said, she is prepared to become Zhou Feng's concubine, then will she have to call Bai Ling "elder sister" in the future?

Although she already had a plan in mind, she still felt a little uneasy.

The No. 1 Parts Factory of the Machinery Bureau is not far from the police station, only about a 20-minute walk away.

There were two iron gates at the factory gate. An old man was sitting in the guardhouse. When he saw a large group of people walking over, he was taken aback at first. But when he saw that it was Director Zhao walking in front of him, he quickly stood up and went out to greet them.

"Director Zhao? What's going on here...?"

"Where's Lao Yan?" Director Zhao asked directly.

"Section Chief Yan? Someone just came to tell him to wait at the gate. He's been out for a while now." The old gatekeeper pointed outside. "Look, isn't he right there?"

Everyone looked in the direction he pointed, and sure enough, there was a person standing under the big tree outside the factory gate.

The man was in his forties, tall, and stood very straight; he looked like a former soldier.

He wore a blue cloth jacket, his facial features were hard and his lips were tightly pursed, giving him a stubborn look.

But now, the expression on his face is more of a wry smile.

Yan Ziqiang stood under the tree, his hands behind his back, his fingers clenched so tightly they turned white.

When he received the message delivered by Director Zhao, he knew that something had happened, and it was no small matter.

When they saw a group of people walking from the other end of the alley, with a dejected young man in the middle, they were even more certain of what had happened.

That's his son!

Despite the distance, he recognized the way the person was walking and the clothes they were wearing at a glance.

Director Zhao quickened his pace to greet him, and just as he was about to say something, Sun Yue had already walked up first.

"Comrade Yan Ziqiang?" Sun Yue's voice was not loud, but every word was clear. "I am Sun Yue, the director of the Special Operations Division. I am here to investigate a case of armed robbery with the intent to harm a key state protected person."

As soon as he said that, Yan Ziqiang's face turned pale.

His lips trembled, as if he wanted to say something, but he couldn't utter a sound for a long time.

Special Operations Division... Director...

Although he knew that the boy in his family didn't usually do anything good, he could always find connections to suppress it.

He's been a soldier for so many years, he's been through gunfire and bullets, what kind of battles hasn't he seen?

But he really didn't expect his own son to give him such a big surprise today.

He used the military dagger he kept as a souvenir to rob a key state-protected person, and even attracted the attention of the head of the Special Operations Unit…

Yan Ziqiang took a deep breath, trying to calm his voice: "Director Sun, he...he didn't hurt anyone, did he? Handle it however you need to!"

Sun Yue glanced at him and nodded: "Let's verify the situation first."

Bai Ling stepped forward, holding a small notebook and a pen in her hand: "Comrade Yan Ziqiang, do you have a Type 56 triangular bayonet at home?"

Yan Ziqiang closed his eyes: "Yes."

"Where did you get this bayonet?"

"I brought it back from the army. I used this all the time on the battlefield. When I was discharged, I kept it as a souvenir."

Yan Ziqiang's voice was very low.

This era was a special period, and it was common for veterans to keep the military bayonets they brought back from the battlefield as personal souvenirs at home, which was not considered a violation of regulations.

Bai Ling jotted down a few notes in her notebook: "Where is this military knife usually kept?"

"It was locked in a closet at home. I carry the key with me." Yan Ziqiang paused abruptly, his facial muscles twitching slightly. "Was it...was it Yan Yan who stole it?"

Bai Ling didn't answer, but asked again, "Are you aware of this?"

"I..." Yan Ziqiang opened his mouth, wanting to say that he didn't know, but he swallowed the words back.

He recalled that last month, Yan Yan had been rummaging through drawers and cabinets looking for something, asking him where the cabinet key was.

He was looking at documents at the time, didn't even look up, and casually tossed the keys over...

"It's my fault." Yan Ziqiang's voice was a little hoarse. "I... shouldn't have given him the key."

Bai Ling glanced at him, offered no words of sympathy, and continued, "Does Yan Yan have any other bad habits?"

Yan Ziqiang remained silent for a while before saying, "He's not very obedient. His mother passed away early, and I've been raising him alone, busy with work, so I haven't had time to supervise him. He... he hangs out with those kids and has picked up some bad habits. He's gotten into fights and stolen things a few times before, and the police have come to see him..."

At this point, he suddenly looked up at Bai Ling: "But he used to only do small-scale stunts. I really didn't know he would... would go and rob someone with a military knife! If I had known, I would have broken his legs!"

The last sentence was spoken so loudly that everyone nearby could hear it.

Yan Yan shrank back and muttered softly, "Dad..."

"Shut up!" Yan Ziqiang whirled around, his eyes bloodshot. "You still have the nerve to call me Dad?!"

Yan Yan trembled in fright and dared not utter another sound.

How could he stand that the weapons meant to protect his country were being used for robbery and plunder?

Bai Ling closed the notebook and glanced at Sun Yue.

Sun Yue nodded slightly, signaling her to continue.

"Comrade Yan Ziqiang, the situation is basically clear."

Bai Ling's tone wasn't harsh, but Yan Ziqiang's forehead was already sweating.

"Although this bayonet was a personal souvenir you brought back from the military, Yan Yan stole it and used it for illegal and criminal activities. According to regulations, this is a very serious matter."

Yan Ziqiang swayed and reached out to grab a tree trunk beside him.

Director Zhao was anxiously wringing his hands. He and Yan Ziqiang were old comrades-in-arms, and he knew the man's temper.

"Old Yan..." Director Zhao had just opened his mouth when Yan Ziqiang waved his hand to stop him.

"Old Zhao, stop talking." Yan Ziqiang's voice sounded like it was being squeezed out of his throat. "It's my fault for not disciplining my son properly. We should do what we have to do."

Director Zhao opened his mouth, but in the end he sighed and stepped aside.

Sun Yue glanced at the sky and said to Bai Ling, "Take the person back first for further investigation."

Bai Ling nodded, then turned to the two comrades from the Special Operations Unit and said, "Take them away."

Two comrades stepped forward, one on the left and one on the right, to restrain Yan Yan.

Yan Yan panicked completely at this point, her legs went weak, and she cried out in a sob, "Dad! Dad, save me! I don't want to go to jail! I know I was wrong! I'll never do it again! Dad—"

Yan Ziqiang stood under the tree, motionless, as if he had been nailed there.

The sound grew fainter and fainter until it disappeared at the end of the alley.

He could only slowly squat down against the tree trunk, covering his face with both hands.

Director Zhao sighed, walked over and squatted down next to him, patting him on the shoulder: "Old squad leader, Xiao Yan has caused too much trouble this time. It's beyond what the two of us brothers can handle for him."

Yan Ziqiang didn't say anything; his shoulders were shaking.

Director Zhao added, "Don't be too anxious. The child is still young. He needs to be punished and educated as needed. He'll eventually..."

"That's not what I'm worried about," Yan Ziqiang's muffled voice came from behind his hands. "I...I feel ashamed. I've let the organization down, I've let the army down. I brought the bayonet back as a memento, to remember my fallen comrades. But my son used it...used it to rob..."

He couldn't continue.

Director Zhao didn't know what to say, so he could only squat there and keep him company.