Chapter 44: Shazhu is about to come out

Early morning.

The morning sun hung low over the tube-shaped apartment buildings, scattering flecks of golden light across the capital.

The streets, silent all night, came to life.

At the entrance of the Courtyard Police Station.

The deaf old lady, Yi Zhonghai, Auntie Yi, Jia Zhangshi, Qin Huairu, Jia Dongxu, and He Yushui were all standing on tiptoe, peering into the station.

"Why hasn't Shazhu come out yet?" Yi Zhonghai frowned, looking somewhat worried.

"Old Yi, stay calm. Those old friends I'm looking for are all prominent figures; they have influence in the bureau."

The deaf old lady crossed her arms, pursed her lips, and said, "If this were before the Liberation, they would have personally escorted Shazhu back to my house."

"Yes, yes, yes, everyone knows how formidable you are, old lady!" Yi Zhonghai smiled and gave a thumbs-up.

They waited for a long time, but Shazhu did not appear.

The people at the entrance couldn't stand the wait any longer and began to wander about.

"Look at how much face Shazhu has, making all of us wait for him alone."

Jia Zhangshi leaned against the wall of the guardhouse, her face full of indignation, as she casually spat a few times.

The droplets of saliva caught the wind, drifted through the window, and landed in a chipped enamel bowl, falling into the thin porridge.

Watching the tiny ripples forming in the porridge bowl, the guard uncle, who was eating with chopsticks, turned dark-faced.

*Slap!*

He slammed his chopsticks onto the table, poked his head out of the window, and shouted angrily, "I say, you lot! The station starts work at eight. Even if they are releasing someone, it won't be until nine. Go find somewhere else to rest for a bit."

"It doesn't matter, we'll wait right here."

Yi Zhonghai gave a sheepish laugh and turned to give Jia Dongxu a meaningful look. "Dongxu, go quickly and offer the uncle a cigarette."

"Master, I forgot to bring cigarettes today, you see..." Jia Dongxu patted his jacket pocket, turned it inside out, and gave an embarrassed smile.

Yi Zhonghai frowned.

He had clearly seen Jia Dongxu smoking just a moment ago, and now he had "forgotten" his cigarettes?

This boy was good at everything.

Except he was just as stingy as Jia Zhangshi.

If he weren't so obedient, Yi Zhonghai really wouldn't want him as a son.

Jia Zhangshi was already impatient and loathed Yi Zhonghai's mannerisms. She curled her lip

"He's just an old man guarding a gate. He's wasting food just by being alive; is there any need to show him respect? I'll stand wherever I want, does he have a say in it?!"

"Not only will I stand here, I'm going in."

As she spoke.

Jia Zhangshi gave a triumphant smile, wiggled her hips, and walked briskly toward the main entrance, stepping one foot over the threshold.

The guard uncle was old, but his hearing was sharp.

He heard everything Jia Zhangshi had just said loud and clear.

"Comrade, please register before entering."

"Hey, you there, the old lady with the flower in her hair, I'm talking to you!"

"No registration, no entry!"

Jia Zhangshi's eyes darted around as if she had thought of something.

She jumped over the threshold, then jumped back out, then jumped back in...

Mockingly, she said, "Hey, I'm in, I'm out, I'm in again, I'm out again, hit me! Go on, hit me, you idiot!"

"..."

The guard uncle could no longer endure it. His gray hair stood on end, and his eyes bulged like copper bells.

He pulled a dark object from a drawer and strode out of the door.

*Clack.*

The black muzzle of a gun was pressed against Jia Zhangshi's forehead.

A chill traveled from her forehead down her spine to her entire body. Jia Zhangshi instantly turned into a statue, frozen at the entrance.

Following the barrel of the gun with her eyes, Jia Zhangshi saw the guard uncle's furious face and his finger resting on the trigger. She nearly peed herself from fright.

She stammered in a frantic defense, "Old man—no, Comrade, I was just joking. I had no ill intent, there's no need to use a gun..."

"Joking? Is the police station a place for your jokes?"

The guard uncle had never encountered someone so audacious, and he was driven to a state of extreme rage.

Did she really not take him seriously as a guard? He was a regular officer with official status and a gun.

Seeing that Jia Zhangshi had caused trouble again, Yi Zhonghai pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance and said to Jia Dongxu, "Dongxu, go save your mother."

"I don't dare..."

From a distance, Jia Dongxu could feel the murderous intent radiating from the guard uncle and couldn't help but shiver.

*Truly useless...*

Yi Zhonghai grumbled inwardly and looked up at the deaf old lady.

The old lady's eyes were slightly squinted, as if she saw and heard nothing at all.

She was playing deaf and dumb again.

Seeing that the old lady had no intention of getting involved, Yi Zhonghai could only walk forward with a sheepish smile and pull a cigarette from his pocket to offer.

"Comrade, Jia Zhangshi is old and a bit confused. Please let this one slide."

"Being old means you can do whatever you want? What are you doing? I'm not smoking!" The guard uncle waved him off with righteous indignation.

Yi Zhonghai smiled thick-skinnedly, "We are all residents of the courtyard, all citizens. Please show some leniency."

"Citizens? Does she look like a citizen to you? I think she's trying to storm the station—she's an enemy!"

In this era, in remote areas, the situation was not yet stable, and incidents of dissidents storming government offices occasionally occurred.

The guard uncle wasn't exactly making things up.

"You're being too harsh..."

Seeing the old man escalating the matter, Yi Zhonghai quickly nudged Jia Zhangshi with his elbow. "Zhang Erhua, apologize to the uncle, quickly!"

"Huh?"

Jia Zhangshi's mind was a complete blank.

Once she snapped out of it, the malice on her face had vanished without a trace.

She instinctively began bowing repeatedly to the guard uncle.

"Comrade, I am truly sorry, so sorry..."

"This old woman is senseless, please forgive me this once."

"Senseless, senseless..."

"Forgive me, forgive me..."

Just then, a series of footsteps sounded, and Shazhu was escorted out from the inside.

Yi Zhonghai recognized the leading officer.

His name was Wang Zhenshan, the father of He Yushui's classmate Wang Xinmin, and a minor official in the police station.

Wang Xinmin often came to Shazhu's house to play.

Judging by the boy's affection for He Yushui, he likely had feelings for her.

Yi Zhonghai's eyes darted around, and he quickly gave He Yushui a meaningful look.

He Yushui originally didn't want to get involved in the Jia family's affairs.

Before Qin Huairu married into the Jia family, Shazhu had acted like an older brother to her.

At that time, Shazhu had taken over He Daqing's job as a ninth-grade chef, earning thirty-two yuan a month.

Even without bringing home leftovers from the canteen, that money was enough to ensure the two siblings never went hungry.

But.

Ever since Qin Huairu married into the Jia family, Shazhu had acted as if he had lost his mind, following Qin Huairu around all day.

All the good food and drink in their house were given to Qin Huairu by Shazhu.

The money he lent out was countless, and he never recovered any of it.

As his younger sister, she could only drink cornmeal porridge, and sometimes she would go hungry for two meals a day.

If it weren't for the neighborhood aunties seeing her misery and adding an extra bowl of water to their cooking so she could have a mouthful from the pot, she would have starved to death long ago.

Otherwise, He Yushui wouldn't be as thin as a bamboo stick.

The aunties in the courtyard were all worried about how she would feed her own children in the future.

Seeing He Yushui's hesitation, Shazhu roared at her, "Yushui, don't you see Auntie Jia is in trouble? Why aren't you going up to help!"