Siheyuan (traditional courtyard house): Don't touch my parents!

Chen Shuxiang shook her head with a wry smile, her face full of helplessness.

"Sigh, I specifically asked the boss today."

"Those ewes that can produce milk are too precious; they were all snatched up and taken away by those little devils long ago."

"Ordinary people like us simply can't get our hands on one."

"Looks like our daughter's food supply is in jeopardy; she's really going to suffer now."

He Daqing sighed heavily and carefully took the item from his wife's arms.

He Yushui, with her eyes closed and her little hands flailing wildly in mid-air.

"Don't rush, don't rush, this kind of thing doesn't just happen overnight."

"Maybe it will just appear naturally in a couple of days!"

Chen Shuxiang gently comforted the baby in her arms, her hand softly patting the infant.

"Yes, I hope everything goes well."

"But I didn't bring back anything decent today."

"After what happened yesterday, all the merchants on the street were so scared that they hid away."

He Daqing's brows furrowed tightly.

"Is the situation that serious?"

Chen Shuxiang looked very surprised.

"That's right! The place I went to yesterday was actually in the suburbs."

"I heard the city is under martial law."

"I don't know which expert did it, but I heard they killed more than a dozen Japanese soldiers in one night."

"Oh dear! Did the person who did this get caught?"

"I don't know."

"But I heard that even the Bald Army's men suffered heavy losses last night, losing quite a few men."

He Daqing lowered his voice, his expression extremely solemn.

"Will you be fine going to work today?"

"If it's really not safe, let's take a few more days off to rest."

"No, no, I've already taken too much time off this month."

"If we keep inviting people like this, we won't even be able to keep our dividends."

He Daqing shook his head vigorously.

He is now considered a pillar of Fengzeyuan, although he does not own any shares.

But many customers come specifically for his cooking skills, so the owner gives him a share of the profits each month based on the turnover.

"Is everything really alright outside now?"

"It looks like there's no martial law in place, and I haven't seen any checks."

"I guess those guys from last night have already been arrested."

"Alas, this world is truly a terrible place!"

Chen Shuxiang let out a long sigh.

He Yuzhu was in the kitchen and heard the entire conversation between the two.

The Bald Party members have been dealt with, but what about the Rabbit Party?

"Should we check out Black Sesame Alley tonight?"

He Yuzhu secretly made plans in his mind.

"Brother Zhu, what are you spacing out for? I've called you several times."

Xu Damao reached out and shook his arm.

"Huh? Oh, what's wrong?"

"Can I have dinner at your place tonight?"

Xu Damao stared at him expectantly.

"You little glutton, just ask my dad later, and if he agrees, it'll be fine!"

"Hey, Brother Zhu, could you ask for me? I'm too scared..."

"Alright!"

Seeing Xu Damao's greedy look, He Yuzhu had no choice but to agree.

"Brother Zhu is the best!"

He Yuzhu accepted the "good guy card" but couldn't help but ponder it.

Is this guy's skill at charming girls something he developed from a young age?

After dinner, Xu Damao was taken away by Zhao Cuifeng, who had rushed back.

Zhao Cuifeng repeatedly expressed her gratitude along the way, saying thank you to the He family for taking care of her son and providing him with meals.

He also said that he would ask Xu Wangcai to treat He Daqing to a couple of drinks later.

He Daqing didn't stand on ceremony either.

He and Xu Wangcai actually get along quite well; they both have a "wild" way of thinking.

They often managed to get their hands on some rare items, and they used to get together for a couple of drinks.

They hadn't drunk together for quite some time because their children had gotten into a fight.

After Xu Damao turned and left, He Yuzhu returned to the side room alone.

He bent down to add a piece of coal to the stove, then turned and crawled into the warm bed.

I need to get plenty of rest right now, as I need to head to Heizhima Hutong to scout out the location tonight.

He had never been to that place before, and only knew a vague general direction. He had to find out the route first.

Of course, if you're lucky enough to take out a few traitors and Japanese devils along the way, that would be even better.

He was lying in bed, half asleep, when he was jolted awake by a strong urge to urinate.

He took out a lighter from his personal storage space, lit it, and glanced at the time: 9:19 PM.

He listened intently to the sounds outside; it was so quiet that he could hear the faint cracking of coal in the stove.

He Yuzhu slowly got up, put on his clothes one by one, and wrapped himself up tightly and warmly.

He quietly slipped out of the courtyard house, following the route he had scouted out the night before, and took out the bicycle he had ridden the day before.

Heading north along Nanluoguxiang, he pedaled his bicycle forward quickly with all his might.

But when he reached a wide main road, he suddenly came to his senses.

Oh no, I've gone too far! We're already on Gulou East Street.

Fortunately, there were few pedestrians on the road late at night, so he immediately turned his bike around and rode back.

This time he dared not pedal too fast, and stopped to check the road signs at every intersection.

Xiaojuer Hutong, Juer Hutong... After several twists and turns, we finally arrived at Heizhima Hutong.

He first rode his bicycle eastward along the alley, but found that the house number did not match.

I had no choice but to turn back and continue riding westward into the alley.

After riding a few dozen meters further, he suddenly squeezed the brakes and retracted the bicycle into his storage compartment.

Then, he quietly pressed himself against the cold base of the wall.

A series of footsteps approached from afar—and it was the sound of more than one person.

Not long after, a man wrapped up tightly came into his view.

The man was wearing a thick cotton robe, a dark gray scarf, and a top hat.

The waist area was bulging, clearly concealing a weapon for self-defense.

About ten meters behind him was a woman.

The woman was also fully armed: a thick cotton-padded coat and cotton-padded trousers, with a scarf tightly wrapped around her face, revealing only her eyes.

At such close range, even the crunching sound of her footsteps on the snow could be heard clearly.

The two of them are clearly in cahoots.

After the two men walked past, He Yuzhu dared not make any rash moves.

Even the slightest movement in the snow makes a very noticeable noise.

He gritted his teeth, lay down on the snow, and slowly crawled forward.

He maintained a safe distance of about seven or eight meters from the woman throughout.

The two people ahead walked another hundred meters or so.

The woman suddenly left the middle of the alley and slipped into the shadows at the corner of the wall.

Upon seeing this, He Yuzhu immediately stopped what he was doing and held his breath.

Then a rhythmic knocking sounded, followed by a few indistinct words of conversation.

Because they were so far away, it was impossible to hear what they were saying.

The woman then slowly moved her feet along the base of the wall.

It remained parked at the entrance of a courtyard, refusing to move an inch.

He Yuzhu also closely followed her movements and adjusted his own posture.

When she moved, he moved with her; when she stopped, he immediately bent down.

Just then, a series of chaotic footsteps came from nearby.