Siheyuan: At the beginning, I can integrate everything!

The loudspeakers at Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill were still playing the official document that had shaken the entire factory on a loop.

In Nanluoguxiang, the north wind, carrying fine snowflakes, stung people's faces.

But at the entrance of the Hongxing Courtyard.

The atmosphere was so heavy that it seemed even the wind couldn't penetrate.

"Halt!"

A rough, short, and penetrating command rang out in the alleyway in the early morning.

"Slap! Slap!"

The sound of uniform military boots closing in made the snow on the ground fly up.

Ten guards wearing heavy, grass-green cotton-padded coats without collar insignia and shiny steel helmets.

Under Chen Bing's leadership, they were like ten steel knives drawn from their sheaths.

It stood straight up in front of the gate of the Hongxing Courtyard!

Each of them held a gleaming black Type 56 semi-automatic rifle with a bayonet fixed horizontally in their hand.

Although the gun barrel was pointed downwards, it still exuded a fierce and bloodthirsty aura from the battlefield.

It seemed to be a tangible entity, instantly enveloping the entire courtyard!

These are not ordinary militiamen, nor are they the factory's security officers.

These are the elite selected from the most elite special guard regiment!

He is a true iron-willed warrior who has seen blood and killed people!

"First shift, double guard posts on both sides of the main gate!"

"Second shift, east wing of the front yard, cross-patrol, 24-hour surveillance with no blind spots!"

"Bullets loaded! Anyone trespassing into the restricted area without permission will be shot on sight if warnings are ignored!"

"yes!"

The ten soldiers roared in unison, their voices soaring into the sky.

"Click! Click!"

A series of crisp, cold clicks of the bolt being pulled back echoed through the empty courtyard, sending chills down one's spine.

In the courtyard, each household was preparing to light their stoves and cook breakfast.

Hearing the noise, many people curiously pushed open the door and peeked out.

This glance had a significant impact.

Almost everyone reacted in the same way:

His legs went weak, his vision went black, and the coal tongs and washbasin in his hands fell to the ground with a "clatter"!

Intermediate People's Court.

Because of her broken finger, Jia Zhangshi has been lying on the kang (a heated brick bed) groaning and moaning for the past few days.

I couldn't hold it in any longer this morning, so I put on a tattered cotton-padded coat.

Holding a stinking chamber pot, he pushed open the door, cursing and swearing, preparing to dump it into the ditch in the middle of the yard.

"What are these heartless bastards yelling about so early in the morning...?"

Madam Jia muttered to herself while rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

I had just stepped out the door when I looked up.

Her voice sounded as if it had been cut off by a pair of scissors.

She could see it clearly through the passageway.

The east wing of the front yard—the entrance to Zhang Huaimin's house!

Two soldiers, as straight as javelins, stood on either side!

The sunlight shone on the sharp, triangular bayonets of their rifles, reflecting a dazzling, cold glint!

And the cold, ruthless eyes of one of the soldiers, devoid of any human warmth.

He happened to pass through the corridor and locked onto her like a radar!

The meaning in his eyes was clear: If you dare to take one step forward, I dare to pierce a hole in your head!

"My...my dear mother, my fourth great-aunt..."

Madam Jia gasped.

His entire body of fat trembled violently as if he were being electrocuted.

She's almost sixty years old. Apart from witnessing the Japanese invaders entering the village back then, when has she ever seen such a large-scale scene with real guns and bullets?

The overwhelming fear caused her brain to shut down instantly, and her sphincter muscles completely lost control.

"Ouch!"

Jia Zhangshi's hands went limp.

The chamber pot, which was half-filled with yellowish-white substance, slipped from his hand.

With a "whoosh".

Without bias, it all landed on her own two thick legs and worn-out cotton shoes!

The stench instantly filled the air.

But Jia Zhangshi no longer cared about feeling nauseous.

She was so frightened that she scrambled to her feet, using both hands and feet, like a startled giant toad.

He slammed open his own door with a "bang" and tumbled into the house.

He bolted the door shut, hid under the covers, trembling, not daring to even breathe.

Yi Zhonghai's home.

Yi Zhonghai was holding half a hard, dry cornbread, preparing to go to the foundry workshop to start work.

I heard the sound of a bolt being pulled outside.

His hand holding the bowl trembled suddenly, and the scalding hot cornmeal porridge spilled onto the back of his hand, but he seemed not to feel it.

He walked to the window and peeked out through the crack covered with newspaper.

Just one glance.

Yi Zhonghai's already ashen face, already pale from the relegation, turned deathly white in an instant.

There was no color in her skin!

"This...this is like moving the troops into the compound!"

Yi Zhonghai's legs went weak, and he slid down the wall to sit on the ground.

He was breathing heavily, his heart feeling as if it were being gripped tightly by a large, cold hand.

he knows.

From that moment on, this courtyard house underwent a complete transformation.

This is no longer a matter of neighborhood disputes or something that the courtyard house manager can interfere with.

This is a true military restricted area!

Zhang Huaimin, who was five and a half years old.

She is no longer an orphan who needs others' sympathy and can be manipulated at will.

Instead, he was a living bodhisattva who was protected at the core by the state apparatus, guns, and bayonets!

"Don't mess with them... Absolutely don't mess with them..."

Yi Zhonghai muttered to himself, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.

He was even relieved that his previous schemes and plots had not succeeded.

Otherwise, it would be Yi Zhonghai standing under the gun now!

forecourt.

Yan Bugui was carrying a washbasin, preparing to wash his face.

When he saw the guards standing a few meters away from his house, he was so frightened that he almost poured a basin on his head.

He moved cautiously, like a thief, close to the base of his own wall.

He no longer dared to take his signature pigeon-toed gait.

As I passed the guard.

Yan Bugui's beady green eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses didn't even dare to glance at the muzzle of the gun.

He lowered his head and hunched over, like a lowly servant, even slowing his breathing as much as possible.

He was terrified that he might inadvertently attract the attention of these murderers and bring about his own demise.

The entire Hongxing Courtyard.

At this moment, an unprecedented, almost eerie silence descended.

There was no more of Jia Zhangshi's tantrums.

Without Yi Zhonghai's moral blackmail.

There are no more arguments between neighbors over trivial matters.

Everyone obediently stayed in their own little world.

They didn't even dare to speak loudly, and they walked on tiptoe.

They were afraid of breaking the silence forged by steel and bullets.

At this time.

In the very heart of this military restricted area.

The east wing of the front yard.

Sunlight streamed through the clean glass windows and fell on the warm kang (heated brick bed).

Zhang Huaimin was wearing that newly made red cotton-padded jacket.

Holding a cup of steaming, high-purity milk that she had redeemed from the system space.

He moved a small stool and sat on the threshold of his house.

He sipped his milk slowly and deliberately.

His clear, large eyes looked past the guards standing ramrod straight outside the door.

Looking at the tightly closed doors in the middle and back courtyards.

Looking at those beasts who are usually so aggressive, but now cowering in their rooms like quails.

A naive yet meaningful smile slowly crept onto Zhang Huaimin's lips.

He turned his head and looked at Chen Bing, who was standing to the side with a cold expression.

"Brother Chen, look."

Zhang Huaimin pointed to the quiet and peaceful courtyard, and a clear child's voice rang out in the cold wind.

"This yard is finally clean."