Siheyuan: Reborn Silly Pillar, Taking Control of the Entire Courtyard

"Do you know where the pillar went?"

The old lady sat down on the threshold, pointed her withered finger out of the yard, and spoke with an unquestionable air of authority.

He Daqing shook his head vigorously, his brows furrowed, pacing back and forth anxiously, sweat beading on his forehead: "I don't know! That brat disappeared early this morning. I'm so worried, I just can't shake this feeling!"

"Why are you running around like that? Stay in the yard and wait here obediently!" The old lady glared at her, her voice suddenly rising several decibels.

"Grandma, my heart is in my throat, I can't sit still!" He Daqing was so anxious that he kept stamping his feet and rubbing his hands together, wishing he could turn the yard upside down right away.

The old woman snorted coldly, a fierce glint flashing in her cloudy eyes. She raised her hand and gestured sharply towards her neck: "Then you'll go and guard the main gate. If you encounter anyone who dares to lay a finger on the pillar, no matter who it is, deal with them to death!"

"I understand!" He Daqing nodded heavily, clenched his fist, turned around and strode to the courtyard gate. He stood there like a door god, guarding the gate from early morning until the sun was setting, without moving an inch.

Jia Zhangshi, who lived in the courtyard, loved to join in the fun. Her eyes darted around, and seeing He Daqing standing motionless at the door, she assumed he was waiting for someone to bring him something good, and she was so envious that she was itching to get it.

She peeked through the doorframe three or four times, finally unable to contain her curiosity. She waddled closer, a fake smile plastered on her face, and said, "He Daqing, who are you waiting for here? Did you get something good? If so, share some with me, I won't take it for free!"

He Daqing was already seething with anger, and her meddling only fueled his rage. His eyes widened, and he snapped, "Get lost! Have you nothing better to do all day? Go home and take care of your Jia Geng! He got beaten up a few days ago for running around outside, have you forgotten?"

Jia Zhangshi's smile froze instantly, and she immediately put her hands on her hips and started yelling, "He Daqing, are you deliberately trying to cause trouble? I'm trying to talk to you nicely, why are you swearing at me!"

"What?" He Daqing took a step forward, raising his fist menacingly, his knuckles cracking, his eyes terrifyingly fierce. "You really think I wouldn't dare hit a woman? I'm seething with anger right now, don't go looking for trouble!"

Startled by his fierce appearance, Jia Zhangshi trembled, her legs trembling. She spat out a curse: "Pah! You wretched cook! You just wait!"

After saying that, she took off on her short legs and scrambled back home like a gust of wind. She slammed the door shut as soon as she entered and hid inside, too afraid to show her face again.

When the steel rolling mill closed for the day, Jia Laonian, who lived in the courtyard, passed by the gate and saw He Daqing still standing guard there. Curious, he tentatively asked, "Daqing, what are you doing standing guard at the gate?"

He Daqing was agitated and waved his hand, "It's nothing, don't ask."

Seeing that his expression was off, Jia Laonian didn't dare to say anything more and slunk away. The other neighbors in the courtyard weren't familiar with He Daqing, and none of them dared to approach him.

Zhao Fengnian didn't come back on time today either. He Daqing was preoccupied with his son He Yuzhu and had no time to pay attention to anyone else. Normally, he and Zhao Fengnian would have at least asked about him, since they had some drinking buddies.

As evening approached, He Yuzhu crouched low and sneaked in through the dog hole in the corner of the courtyard wall. Just then, He Daqing walked into the courtyard through the main gate, a scene witnessed by Jia Zhangshi, who was peeking through the window.

Madam Jia was overjoyed. She covered her mouth and chuckled inside the house, pointing and whispering outside the window. She laughed at He Daqingbai for waiting all day without getting a single thing, only to be disappointed. She was a typical example of someone who rejoices in others' success while laughing at their failure, and she couldn't wait to see the He family make a fool of themselves.

After a hasty dinner at the He family home, He Daqing pulled He Yuzhu to a secluded spot in the backyard. Looking around to make sure no one was watching, he lowered his voice and impatiently pressed, "Yuzhu, tell your father the truth, what did you go out to do today? It couldn't be as simple as just hiding, otherwise you wouldn't have come back so late!"

He knew his son too well; he never did anything without being sure of success. This time, his secret trip out for a day must have been very fruitful.

He Yuzhu raised an eyebrow, fully aware of the situation, and deliberately spoke slowly: "Dad, I have indeed negotiated the deal, and I have the connections, but the problem is—how much money do we have? Even if we get it back, do we have anywhere to hide it?"

As he spoke, he glanced discreetly at the still space in his mind, which was already nearly half full of supplies, including food, dried goods, and canned goods. He felt quite confident.

He Daqing's eyes widened instantly, his breathing quickened, and he grabbed He Yuzhu's arm, his voice filled with urgency and expectation: "Yuzhu, tell your father the truth, what kind of important person do you know? Why is he taking such good care of you for no reason? Can you introduce him to your father?"

Upon hearing this, He Yuzhu was secretly delighted, thinking to himself: "Well, my father has his eye on my channels and wants a piece of the pie."

But where would he get his hands on any influential connections? He risked his life to get all those things back from the Japanese. If his father were to go out and become a middleman, trading everywhere, and if he were to be spotted and investigated, it would be no joke. The whole family would suffer. Could they just run away?

Moreover, his space is filled with gold and silver treasures like small mountains, he is not short of money at all, and there is no need for him to take such a big risk.

He Yuzhu gently shook off his father's hand, his tone becoming more serious: "Dad, don't ask who I know. Knowing too much is not a good thing, and you might implicate me later. It's fine for us to secretly store some goods to make a living, but if you want to go out and do business, that's absolutely not allowed!"

"Why not?" He Daqing immediately became agitated, stubbornly arguing, "Your father knows quite a few people in Beijing, I have connections, how could something like dealing in some stuff go wrong?"

"Give me a break!" He Yuzhu rolled her eyes without hesitation, her words succinctly revealing the truth. "Those people you're talking about, aren't they just people you cooked a few meals for before? In their eyes, you're just a cook; they have no reason to take risks for you!"

"You brat! How dare you talk to me like that?" He Daqing was speechless, and in a fit of rage, he raised his hand and slapped He Yuzhu hard across the neck.

"I'm making you face reality!" He Yuzhu rubbed the back of his head, completely unfazed, his tone becoming increasingly serious. "If we bring the stuff back and use it ourselves, there won't be any problems. But if you dare to resell it, and the inspectors find out, which of the people you know will stand up for you?"

He Daqing was speechless when asked the question, and could only snort in dissatisfaction.

"Don't be so defiant!" He Yuzhu pressed on, "The other day, the security guards came to the compound a few times, and you still had to obediently pay them off. If something really happens, who will you rely on?"

"I'm not going to stoop to the level of those stinky patrolmen!" He Daqing retorted stubbornly.

"Fine, whatever you say." He Yuzhu was too lazy to argue with him and directly set the rules, "Anyway, I'm telling you this: you can keep the stuff for your own use, but you absolutely cannot sell it!"

He Daqing nodded in agreement on the surface, but in his heart he was already scheming: "You brat, once the stuff is inside the house, won't I be the one in charge? Can you really keep an eye on it?"

He Yuzhu was incredibly clever; he saw through his father's wicked intentions at a glance and couldn't help but sneer.

"Hehe, Dad, don't get any funny ideas." He Yuzhu crossed his arms and said slowly, "Once we get the stuff back, I'll have my mom keep a detailed account book, recording every single detail of what went in and out, so no one can get away with anything."

He Daqing's face stiffened, and he hurriedly retorted, "I just wanted to earn more money for the family! These days, who doesn't want more money? Every single thing you brought back is valuable. You can get a lot of money selling them!"

He was only telling half the truth. One half was that he wanted to add money to his family, and the other half was that he wanted to keep the money for himself and have plenty of cash on hand.

"You're saving money on the side?" He Yuzhu looked at him amusedly. "You eat and drink at home all the time, where do you have anywhere to spend it? What's the point of keeping money except to cause trouble?"

"How dare you talk like that, child! How can you speak ill of your own father like that?" He Daqing's face turned red, both angry and annoyed.

"Alright, alright, I'm exhausted after a long day, my whole body aches, I'm going back to my room to sleep." He Yuzhu was too lazy to argue any further, and waved his hand. "Let's talk about getting things done in a few days, there's no rush."

After saying that, he turned to leave.

"Get lost! Just seeing you makes me angry!" He Daqing said irritably.

"Alright! I'll get out of here right now!" He Yuzhu replied with a grin and ran off in a flash, leaving He Daqing stomping his feet in anger.

After He Yuzhu left, He Daqing took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and took a deep drag. Amidst the swirling smoke, he muttered with a worried expression, "That brat, he's getting more and more uncontrollable. He's got more tricks than a honeycomb briquette; it's impossible to fool him with a single word. What am I going to do now… I'm so worried!"

After finishing his cigarette, He Daqing's anger had mostly dissipated. He figured there was no point in arguing with his son, so he couldn't help but laugh self-deprecatingly, shake his head, and go inside to wash up and go to bed.

Meanwhile, Zhao Fengnian from the front yard didn't leisurely return until eight or nine o'clock in the evening. His face was flushed, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up in a smile, clearly indicating that he had encountered a very happy event.

The neighbor who opened the door for him, seeing his appearance, asked curiously, "Fengnian, coming back so late today, is something good happening?"

Zhao Fengnian just smiled mysteriously, gave a vague reply, and didn't dare to say another word before quickly returning to his room.

As soon as he got off work today, he noticed that something was wrong outside. He rushed to the meeting place and learned some earth-shattering news as soon as he arrived—it was fantastic news!

If it weren't for strict organizational discipline preventing them from making a fuss, they would have raised a glass to celebrate on the spot. But this incredible good news also came with huge risks. The higher-ups issued a direct order for everyone to lie low, strictly prohibiting any outside activities, and awaiting further instructions.

He spent the entire afternoon notifying each contact point, running around until his legs were about to give out, which is why he didn't get back until so late.

Back in the house, Zhao Fengnian was so excited he couldn't sleep. His heart was pounding. He rummaged through drawers and cabinets, pulled out half a bottle of his treasured liquor, grabbed a handful of peanuts, sat on the kang (heated brick bed), and sipped the liquor while grinning foolishly, his mind replaying the good news from the day.

It wasn't until he had drunk half a bottle of liquor, feeling the effects of the alcohol and his head spinning, that he finally managed to lie down. Even after falling asleep, an uncontrollable smile remained on his lips.

On the other side, He Yuzhu returned to his side room, closed the door, and after confirming that no one was around, he immediately silently summoned the system panel.

The moment his gaze fell on the panel, he couldn't help but let out a soft "Huh," a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

[Main Quest: Assassinate Commander-in-Chief of the Small Life Expeditionary Force "Gucheng Zao Da", Completed!]

[The task rewards have been distributed in advance!]

[Random Mission: Eliminate the "Little Days" soldiers. Completed!]

[Mission Reward Statistics: A total of 289 low-ranking soldiers were killed, including 1 colonel, 2 majors, 35 junior officers, and 250 officers below the rank of junior officer.]

[Reward Distribution: One acre of ecological space – fishpond, and telegraphing skills (Mastery)]

He Yuzhu stared at the notification at the end of the panel, his lips twitching, utterly speechless: "What's the system up to now? Those lowly soldiers are worthless! We killed so many, and all we get is a fishpond? The fishpond is alright, but what the hell is this 'messaging mastery' thing?"

He frowned, muttering to himself, "I don't have anyone to contact, and I don't have a radio. Who would know what frequency or password this is? This skill is so useless; the system must not have anything good in mind!"

Despite his complaints, He Yuzhu still managed to sever a sliver of his consciousness and enter the ecological space.

Sure enough, a fishpond the size of an acre appeared out of nowhere in the space. However, the fishpond was completely dry, without a single drop of water, just like a swimming pool that had been emptied of water. The uneven bottom was clearly visible.

He Yuzhu shook his head helplessly. With a thought, he created a branch on the ever-flowing stream in the space, and the trickling water immediately flowed along the ditch and slowly poured into the dried-up fishpond.

After finishing those things, he didn't bother with them anymore.

Anyway, there are no live fish, aquatic plants, shrimp, crabs or other aquatic creatures in the fishpond right now, so filling it with water won't help. As for where the stream water eventually flows to, he has never worried about it. The water in his space seems to be endless and can never be used up. Even if the fishpond is full, there is no need to worry about it overflowing. He can deal with that when he gets some fish fry.

After leaving the ecological space, He Yuzhu retreated into his own quiet space and began to take stock of his supplies.

Anyway, I've already spoken to his dad and we've agreed on the supply, so I might as well organize things in advance so I have a clear idea of ​​what's going on.

The space was crammed full: dried chickens, ducks, rabbits, and fresh fish were neatly stacked; canned meats and fruits were piled up like small mountains; cured meats and sausages were shiny and their aroma seemed to waft through the space; rice and flour filled several large sacks; and there were also plump soybeans and crunchy peanuts produced in the space itself.

He Yuzhu calculated the time with his fingers and realized that the corn planted in his space should be ripe by now, which would bring in another batch of grain.

The corn cobs are too big to be used directly. We have to wait until they are harvested and then try to thresh and grind them into cornmeal in the air. This way, it will be easier to take them out and less likely to arouse suspicion.

After rummaging around in the space for a while and finishing taking inventory of the supplies, He Yuzhu found himself with nothing to do again.

He picked up a Kangxi Dictionary from the kang (a heated brick bed), flipped through a few pages at random, and before long, his eyelids began to droop as drowsiness overwhelmed him.

Before falling asleep, he silently recited in his mind, choosing to absorb dictionary knowledge, and the next second, he fell into a deep sleep.

In his dream, he seemed to have returned to an ancient private school, where an old man with white hair and beard sat in front of him, holding a ruler, teaching him word by word with earnestness. The obscure words and ancient knowledge poured into his mind like spring rain.