Chapter 97 Self-taught Talent

He Daqing had secretly come to see He Yuzhu several times, each time tentatively asking if he could get some more supplies.

But He Yuzhu shook his head without hesitation each time, resolutely rejecting his father's suggestion.

"Son, the Japanese outside are much more well-behaved these days, so why are they acting differently?" He Daqing asked, full of confusion.

"Father, don't you think there's something strange about the current situation?" He Yuzhu asked in a deep voice.

"What's wrong? I don't see anything unusual," He Daqing said, frowning.

"Before the storm comes the calm, you must have heard that saying," He Yuzhu said slowly.

"But given the current chaotic state of affairs, it can hardly be considered peaceful at all..." He Daqing still couldn't understand.

"Let's wait patiently. This isn't urgent," He Yuzhu insisted firmly.

The father and son were talking quietly in hushed tones when Chen Shuxiang's voice suddenly came from the inner room.

"He Daqing, what are you and Zhuzi whispering about over there? Do you have to discuss something behind my back?"

"N-nothing," He Daqing quickly raised his voice, hurriedly trying to cover it up.

"I just wanted to chat with Zhu Zi about cooking skills. He can read now, so I was thinking of showing him my old cookbooks."

"He couldn't read before, so he couldn't understand what he was holding. Now he can learn to read."

"Oh, if you're going to give someone a recipe, just do it openly. Why do you have to whisper it to them?" Chen Shuxiang said with a hint of doubt.

"I was just afraid that if I spoke too loudly, I would disturb Yushui's sleep..." He Daqing casually made up an excuse.

"Alright, now that you've given me the recipe, let Zhuzi go back to his room and rest. It's getting late," Chen Shuxiang instructed.

"Okay, I'll listen to you." He Daqing dawdled into the inner room, retrieved the recipe, and reluctantly handed it to He Yuzhu.

"Thank you, Dad!" He Yuzhu smiled and steadily took it from her.

"Mother, I'll go back to my room now," He Yuzhu said to Chen Shuxiang.

"Go ahead and get some rest," Chen Shuxiang replied gently.

When He Daqing returned to the inner room, Chen Shuxiang looked at him and asked again.

"What, you're reluctant to part with a few old cookbooks for your own son?"

"It's not that I'm reluctant to part with a few cookbooks..." He Daqing said in a muffled tone.

"The problem is, this brat hasn't seriously learned any cooking skills from me at all."

"My son is so smart and quick-witted, can't he be self-taught?" Chen Shuxiang teased her husband with a smile.

"Alright, alright, you two are both amazing, I'm the most useless one," He Daqing replied helplessly.

He took off his coat, turned around, and lay down facing inwards.

"Look at you, arguing with your own son like this," Chen Shuxiang said with a helpless smile.

"I didn't," He Daqing stubbornly refused to admit.

"You still say you don't? Your son is more successful than you, and you're unhappy about that?" Chen Shuxiang continued to tease.

"I'm going to sleep. I'm not going to talk about this with you anymore." He Daqing simply shut his mouth and refused to say anything more.

"Okay, okay, go to sleep, I won't tease you anymore." Chen Shuxiang also put down her pillow and lay down.

In the days that followed, He Yuzhu lived a peaceful life at home and no longer went out to cause trouble.

There was no radio in the house to receive news, and the newspapers never published any current affairs news.

The people in the courtyard continued their peaceful lives as before, as if the outside world's turmoil had nothing to do with them.

Until the final victory in the war against the Japanese invaders was achieved, the news of the Japanese aggressors' unconditional surrender spread throughout Beijing.

He Yuzhu then became active again and began to implement his plan.

The Japanese army had long since stopped patrolling and guarding the streets, and those fake policemen and black-skinned dogs posed no threat to them at all.

He quietly emptied several banks in Beijing and left several corpses in the bank vaults.

Besides these, there were many other odds and ends that he looked down on, especially those useless military notes and cherry blossom coins.

He piled all the crop stalks left over from the harvest in the fields into the warehouse, filling it to the brim.

After that, he captured several members of the detective team and tortured them to extract the addresses of several notorious traitors.

He performed the entire process of eliminating evil and transporting supplies with remarkable ease and skill, without the slightest hesitation.

He only calmed down and became quiet after the new army officially entered the city and took over the government.

He continued to play the role of a well-behaved, sensible, and obedient son at home, without showing any sign of anything unusual.

One day, He Daqing returned home and casually mentioned something to his family.

It is said that the new regime is about to take over the entire city of Beijing, and many places in the city are preparing grand welcoming ceremonies.

None of the He family members were interested in such a scene, and seeing this, He Daqing didn't bring it up again.

The ceremony for the army's entry into the city was grand and solemn, attracting many onlookers from the city.

However, no one in the courtyard was willing to go out and join in the fun, as everyone felt that this matter had nothing to do with their own family.

However, the new regime found it extremely difficult and troublesome to take over the various assets left behind by the Japanese.

Whether it was the major banks or the wealthy foreign firms, there was hardly any decent wealth or goods left inside.

The person in charge of receiving the goods pressed for an explanation, but the staff who had stayed behind looked puzzled and asked in return.

"Weren't these things taken away by your people earlier?"

"Our people? When did our people touch these things?" The receiving personnel looked completely bewildered.

"Just before your army marched into Beijing! Who else could it be but you?" the other side said confidently.

So the new regime immediately launched an investigation, but where should they begin?

The original Japanese and puppet intelligence organization had long since collapsed and disintegrated, leaving only a few insignificant figures.

Finding clues from this is incredibly difficult; there's simply no way to investigate.

Immediately afterwards, they shifted their investigation focus to underground party organizations and various gangs in the city, conducting a thorough search.

Those who had witnessed the methods of these people wished they could flee the city immediately and stay far away.

These people are even more greedy and brutal than the Japanese of that time; they even want to squeeze every last drop of profit from the houses and land of ordinary people.

Investigators also came to the courtyard to conduct a search, but Xu Wangcai managed to get away with it by using Boss Lou's name.

They secretly slipped a lot of money to bribe them before they could barely get rid of these people.

Without this kind of bribing, the families in the courtyard house would probably have been skinned alive.

During this period, Yi Zhonghai also became much more well-behaved and restrained, probably because his godfather's business was affected.

Now he goes straight home after get off work every day and no longer lingers outside for even a moment.

After some time, the action that He Yuzhu had hoped for after sending that telegram was finally successfully completed by both parties.

He Yuzhu saw the relevant information prompt on the system panel.

[Information Announcement: Mission complete; special rewards cannot be issued!]

[Note: The two radio stations receiving the message will be retained, awaiting the host's next intelligence command!]

He Yuzhu looked at the notification and couldn't help but feel speechless.

Those two radios were actually preserved, and they will most likely never be needed again.

What frustrated him even more was that he was unable to receive the highest-level merit reward promised by both parties.

Even if the Kuomintang's reward were received, it would only be something to talk about decades later.

However, the rewards from the Communist Party were a crucial factor in saving lives at critical moments.

In fact, He Yuzhu had hardly had a moment's rest since the Japanese surrendered.

Before he could even speak, He Daqing had already anxiously come over.

After the father and son had a private discussion, He Daqing asked Chen Shuxiang to inquire with the old lady in the backyard.

I'd like to ask if there are any secret rooms or hidden places in the yard where I can hide things.

After listening, the old lady slowly replied, "There is such a place."

"But there are some of my personal belongings inside, so I can't easily move them out."

The old woman did not specify the exact location of the secret room, nor did she mention what was inside.

But since she said that, it's clear that the place can't be made available for their family.

Seeing this, Chen Shuxiang didn't press the matter further, lest she upset the old lady.

Instead, the old lady looked at her and took the initiative to ask, "Shuxiang, is there something important you need to store?"

"Grandma, it's not anything particularly important," Chen Shuxiang replied, following the answer the whole family had already agreed upon.

"There are some items that are inconvenient to store in the cellar, so the Qing Dynasty wanted to stockpile some grain and daily necessities."

"Are you short of money at home? I've troubled you a lot, old lady, so please count me in," the old lady said kindly.

"If I ever really need money in the future, I will definitely ask you for help," Chen Shuxiang replied with a smile.

"Alright, if you need money, just say so. I still have some savings." The old lady nodded and said.

"Okay, I've got it." Chen Shuxiang obediently agreed.

"Have you decided where to put these things?" the old lady asked with concern.

"Since it's inconvenient for you to make room here, we're planning to dig a cellar under our own house," Chen Shuxiang said after thinking for a moment.

"That's fine too. When you're digging the cellar, you can bring rainwater and stay here for a few days."

"If it's convenient to dig, you can also dig a small cellar under my house."

"Don't put everything in one place; it's safer to store things separately," the old lady advised.

"You've thought of everything so thoroughly, we hadn't considered any of that," Chen Shuxiang quickly thanked him.