Chapter 123 Is this alright?

"Then you absolutely can't go. What if a fight really breaks out? Those people are all reckless thugs who don't care about their lives." Zhao Xiaonian's tone was full of worry.

He Yuzhu smiled, his tone carrying a hint of confidence: "Hehe, Brother Xiaonian, I forgot to tell you, I've made some progress in my family's Tongbei Quan."

Zhao Xiaonian was still uneasy. He raised his hand and made a shooting gesture, saying solemnly, "They might still be carrying this thing on them."

Seeing this, He Yuzhu softened his tone and reassured him, "I'll just follow them from a distance to see where they're going. Once I figure out their location, I'll come back and tell Master. Is that alright?"

Zhao Xiaonian was still worried and repeatedly instructed, "Then you must be extremely careful. If you don't return within an hour, I will go find your master immediately."

He Yuzhu quickly agreed, "Okay, okay, come with me and help me identify which people they are."

"Walk."

The two left the kitchen together and walked to the food delivery area. Zhao Xiaonian quietly pointed out the group of people to He Yuzhu.

After seeing clearly, He Yuzhu turned around and walked quickly towards the back door.

He went out the back door, found a secluded corner, and took out a change of clothes and a few small items from his storage space.

He made a simple disguise and then quickly walked to the entrance of Hongbinlou.

He pretended to be a passerby and slowly followed behind the group of people who had just come out of the building.

Those people had no idea that anyone was following them, and they swaggered along without the slightest suspicion.

He Yuzhu followed them for about ten minutes before the group turned into a quiet alley.

He watched from afar as the group of people walked into a courtyard in the alley, then squatted down at the entrance of the alley and quietly observed them.

Over the next half hour, three more groups of people entered the courtyard.

The larger group had four or five people, while the smaller group had only one person. All in all, there were about ten people.

With so many people around during the day, it was clearly not the best time to take action.

He Yuzhu memorized the exact location of the courtyard, turned around and circled the streets several times to make sure he wasn't being followed, before heading back towards Hongbinlou.

After he returned to Hongbinlou, Zhao Xiaonian went into the kitchen to check if he had come back. When he saw that he had returned safely, a look of relief immediately appeared on his face.

He Yuzhu smiled at him without saying anything more, and then the two of them went about their own business.

Zhao Xiaonian didn't come over again until the lunch break was over and everyone was sitting down to eat.

"Zhu Zi, what exactly is going on here?"

He Yuzhu pondered for a moment and said, "It's really hard to say for sure. Those people were wandering around in the alley, and I lost them because I was careless."

Zhao Xiaonian quickly advised, "I think we should just let it go. We should tell your master as soon as possible. If they really come to our door to cause trouble, it will be a real problem."

He Yuzhu shook his head: "Let's wait and see for a while. Maybe they weren't even after me at all."

He paused, then added, "You forgot? You know the level of portraiture these days; it's not like a human drawing, it's practically an abstract art piece!"

Zhao Xiaonian thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement, saying, "You're right. Look at those wanted posters outside the police station—not a single one of them even looks like a human being!"

"You bet! The skills of those artists are just...unworthy of praise!" He Yuzhu couldn't help but complain.

"But then again, you should still be careful. If something seems off on your way home from get off work tonight, just call a rickshaw. It's not like you can't afford it—I know that perfectly well."

"You're already qualified to work in the kitchen now," Zhao Xiaonian reminded him as always.

He Yuzhu replied with a smile, "Alright, thanks for your concern, Brother Xiaonian!"

Zhao Xiaonian patted him on the shoulder: "We're brothers who grew up together, it's too formal to talk like that, it'll hurt our feelings. Hurry up and eat while it's hot!"

"Alright, let's get started!"

That evening, after finishing work, at Zhao Xiaonian's repeated urging, He Yuzhu actually hailed a rickshaw and headed home.

As soon as the door was opened, Xiao Zhi swarmed around like a cheerful little sparrow, chattering incessantly. Clearly, she was feeling incredibly bored being alone in this empty house.

If He Yuzhu hadn't specially brought her a set of comic books to keep her entertained a while ago, this girl would probably have gotten sick from boredom long ago.

Back when I lived by the sea, life was tough, but at least I was free and unrestrained.

Now, she's like a bird trapped in a cage, only feeling a little warmth in the house when He Yuzhu comes home from get off work.

He Yuzhu reheated the leftovers he had packed from the restaurant and put them on the table.

That's right, He Yuzhu's skills have now reached the point where he can openly bring restaurant food home.

The two of them ate the steamed buns made by Xiaozhi herself with great relish.

He Yuzhu taught her how to steam buns step by step—when this girl first came, she knew nothing about anything except how to cook porridge.

He also taught her how to make a few cold dishes and stir-fried vegetables, otherwise, when she was at home, she would either eat dry cornbread with pickled vegetables or drink thin porridge with pickled vegetables, and her life would be bland and tasteless.

At this time of year, there are already some fresh seasonal vegetables on the market. Every day, just as dawn breaks, He Yuzhu pretends to go out for a walk, but in reality, he takes out various vegetables and grains from his spatial storage and secretly hides them in a basket to bring back.

As for whether these things taste better than what you buy in the market, Xiao Zhi has absolutely no idea.

From as far back as she can remember, she has almost never eaten food bought with money. She usually relies on digging for wild vegetables and picking wild fruits to barely fill her stomach.

After finishing her meal, Xiaozhi quickly cleared away the dishes and took them to the kitchen to wash.

After washing the dishes, she moved a small stool, sat down next to He Yuzhu, gently tugged at his arm, and said softly, "Brother Zhu, I have a small request, could you please grant it?"

He Yuzhu said helplessly, "Just say what you want to say, don't keep pacing me around, it makes me dizzy." He was already used to Xiaozhi's coquettish tricks, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart that the little girl was born to be cute and charming.

Xiao Zhi's eyes lit up: "Then I'll really speak up!"

"Go ahead and say it, I'm listening."

"I've read that comic book set over and over again. Could you go and buy me a new one?" Xiao Zhi had no concept of these common sense things and had no idea that a set of comic books might cost as much as an average family's living expenses for a year.

He Yuzhu smiled and said, "Is that all?"

Xiao Zhi quickly added, "And, and... I want to learn needlework. Could you buy me some scraps of fabric and needles and thread?" As she said this, her face flushed slightly, and she seemed a little embarrassed.

He Yuzhu readily agreed: "Sure, no problem. By the way, how well do you recognize those characters I taught you before?"

Xiao Zhi said with a smug look on his face, "I've memorized all the words I just learned yesterday!" His expression seemed to say, "Come and praise me, I'm so smart."

He Yuzhu simply satisfied her vanity: "Xiao Zhi is really smart and clever, a real little devil." Otherwise, this girl would have kept pestering him until he praised her before she would stop.

It has to be said that after not going out in the wind and sun for more than a month, this girl's skin has actually become much fairer, and her originally frizzy short hair has grown a little longer. In a while,

She'll probably be able to tie her hair into little braids soon—and she really does look more and more like Shen Juxian from "Peking Opera Blues".

However, after Xiao Zhi became familiar with He Yuzhu, her personality became increasingly clingy, often giving him a headache: This is not a maid who comes to serve people, but clearly a little devil who is always bothering people.

"So when are you planning to buy me new comic books, needles and thread, and scraps of fabric?" Xiao Zhi pressed on.

"If I'm free tomorrow, I'll bring it back for you on my way."

Xiao Zhi immediately held up her little finger: "Pinky promise! If you dare to go back on your word and not buy it, I'll cry right here and now, until you feel sorry for me!"

He Yuzhu teased her deliberately, "Then you should cry for me now. I've never seen you cry before."

Xiao Zhi turned her head away angrily: "Hmph, I'm ignoring you! You stinky Zhuzi brother, you bad Zhuzi brother, you only know how to bully honest people!"

He Yuzhu laughed and said, "Hey, don't you have any self-awareness as a maid? You're talking bad about me to my face. You're getting bolder and bolder."

"Hehehe—" Xiao Zhi made a face at him, sticking out her tongue and acting cute.

"You brat, you're getting more and more disrespectful!" He Yuzhu laughed and lightly flicked her forehead.

"Ouch!" Xiao Zhi covered her forehead, her eyes immediately reddening, and glistening tears welled up in her eyes.

Helpless, He Yuzhu had no choice but to take out two pieces of fruit candy and coax and trick her until she calmed down.

Then, he taught Xiaozhi to recognize some characters for a while, and she even pestered him to tell her a long story. Only then was Xiaozhi satisfied and returned to her room with many glances back.

He Yuzhu also blew out the lamp, lay down on the kang (a heated brick bed) fully clothed, and closed his eyes to rest.

Around 10:30 p.m., He Yuzhu, who seemed to have fallen asleep, suddenly perked up, quietly got out of bed, changed into an inconspicuous black outfit, and tiptoed out of the room.

The wall of the courtyard where he now lives is not very high. He grabbed the edge of the wall with one hand, jumped up easily, and with a little leverage, climbed over the wall. Then he jumped down from the other side and slipped out of the alley along the shadow of the wall.