I Have a Lake as I Walk Through the Courtyard

The deliveryman was quickly dragged over from his mother-in-law's house by Li Mingwei. His legs went weak as he listened to the situation on the way. He went through everything clearly in his mind and finally felt a little more confident.

"Sun Yanbin! What's going on with this registered letter? Why are the recipient's and signatory's names different?"

"Director Hu, it's like this! The recipient's name is Yi Zhonghai, an old man from that courtyard. When it was delivered, the recipient, He Yushui, was just a child. Yi Zhonghai promised to pass it on to me before I gave it to him!"

Hearing these words, Yu Shui, who was standing nearby, was already in tears. "When did you start sending them?"

Sun Yanbin recalled for a moment, "It must have been more than 10 years! I remember it started in the 1950s!"

"It started in February 1952! It's been a full 10 years now! The victims haven't received a single letter, even though it was registered mail!"

Director Hu slammed his hand on the table, and Sun Yanbin collapsed to the ground in fright. "Director, I really didn't know! The 10th Company has never had any problems, I thought there wouldn't be any! It's become a habit, I really didn't know this would happen!"

"You don't know? You don't know? That's it! The girl standing in front of you is He Yushui! Do you know how old she was back then? She was only 8 years old! That was her living expenses! You're such a bastard!"

Sun Yanbin turned pale upon hearing this and immediately knelt before He Yushui. "This was my mistake, I really didn't know! Please give me a chance, I can't lose this job!"

"Give you a chance? Then who gave her a chance? She was only 8 years old back then. Do you know how important this money was to her? He didn't receive a single letter in 10 years! And you think you can just brush it off with a simple 'it's a habit'?" Lin Feng was furious just thinking about it.

"Do you know how an 8-year-old girl survived?"

As soon as Lin Feng finished speaking, Sun Yanbin collapsed like a lump of mud, and Director Hu was also sweating profusely, staring expectantly at Captain Zhao.

Captain Zhao's lips curled into a slight smile, which he tried hard to suppress. "The evidence is complete, and the facts are clear! Prepare to arrest them at No. 95! Also, notify the Public Security Bureau in Baoding, Hebei, to contact the local street office and have He Daqing escorted back to Beijing! And Sun Yanbin, right? You'll be coming with us too!"

Upon hearing Captain Zhao's words, Director Hu raised his hand, then let out a long sigh and lowered it. After everyone had left, Director Hu walked into the business hall and grabbed Li Mingwei, who was still on duty.

"Starting tomorrow! You're going to sweep the floor for me, and that's it! You bastard, you've really screwed me over!"

The police acted quickly, and Yi Zhonghai and Sha Zhu were soon taken to the police station together. Along with the two of them came an iron box, which was found during a search of Yi Zhonghai's house.

Captain Zhao was beaming with pride; the entire investigation had been incredibly fast! After making some promises over the phone, he hung up and sat down happily. "He Daqing will arrive tonight! They've agreed to personally escort him back by car. You two go and interrogate him tonight! Get all the evidence in order and nail him to the ground."

"Is the captain in such a rush?"

"You know nothing! Every minute we delay means one more minute of suffering for the victim!"

The young policeman's lips moved slightly. "Understood, Captain, I'll take care of it right away!"

After the young policeman left, Captain Zhao stroked his chin. "That little brat dared to talk about me behind my back..."

The courtyard was in an uproar. On the second day of the Lunar New Year, the police entered the courtyard and took two people away! An elderly woman and a grandmother were stopped at the entrance of the police station. No news came out from inside, and the two were as anxious as ants on a hot pan.

At this point, Lin Feng was no longer needed. The police had given him a gag order and quietly let him out through the back door! Lin Feng glanced at the building, a sense of unease creeping into his heart. "I'll never come back here again..."

Inside the interrogation room, Yi Zhonghai was alone, pressed between two men. Faced with irrefutable evidence, tears streamed down his face.

"Officer, that wasn't my intention! They were just kids back then, and I was the one who helped them out! I didn't mean to take their money; I was just keeping it safe for them! I'm just a level 8 worker, earning a little over 100 yuan a month. How could I possibly embezzle such a small amount of their money? I'm innocent!"

The police officers exchanged glances; this bizarre statement had shattered their worldview, and what's more, this guy said it with such self-righteousness.

"We only focus on the facts! Custody only qualifies as safekeeping if the parties involved are aware of and permit it, but to our knowledge, these two siblings seem to be unaware of it!"

Yi Zhonghai trembled violently, his face pale. Faced with the police's questioning, he was at a loss for words. "Officer, there must be some misunderstanding. If I were to embezzle their money, would I have helped them?"

The young policeman paused in his writing. "Then tell me, how have you been helping them all these years?"

Hearing this, Yi Zhonghai breathed a sigh of relief. "I am..." His urgent tone suddenly stopped, and Yi Zhonghai thought for a long time. "Over the years, I have never stopped guiding him! I have also cared about his work and life; I treat him almost like my own son!"

"What about material support?"

Yi Zhonghai raised his handcuffed hands and scratched his head. "Since He Yuzhu started working, we've been able to support ourselves materially for a long time."

"What about before he started working? As far as we know, there was a two-year gap in his career! How did you support him?"

"Let me think, let me think!" Yi Zhonghai remained silent for a long time. "When I saw that my brother and sister had nothing to eat, I would have my wife bring them some food! I was the only one in the whole yard who gave them food, you know how precious food was back then!"

With a loud bang, the young policeman slammed his hand on the table, his breathing becoming erratic. "This is what you call support?! I think you're the one who caused the suffering of these two siblings! Yi Zhonghai, you are unforgivable!"

"Xiao Zhang, calm down!" The policeman next to him pulled his colleague back into his chair. The young officer glared at Yi Zhonghai, his eyes blazing with fury. "If I weren't wearing this uniform, I would have beaten the bastard up!"

"Alright, alright!" The speaker handed the written statement to Yi Zhonghai. "If there are no problems, just sign it!"

The police officer's sudden outburst made Yi Zhonghai's hands tremble. His hand holding the confession shook uncontrollably. After reading it for a long time, the police officer brought out an inkpad and made him press his thumb on the confession.

The pages of confession were covered in red dots. Looking at the two blank sheets of paper, Yi Zhonghai felt as if they weighed a ton. When the police took the papers away, Yi Zhonghai felt as if all his strength had been drained, and he was dragged out of the interrogation room by two police officers.