Chapter 48: Huang Shuhua

Li Aiguo took Shazhu to the Railway Police Station, completed a statement, stood up, and shook hands with Zhou Ke.

"Thanks for your trouble."

"Heh, with our relationship, why are you being so polite?"

Zhou Ke placed the statement into a filing cabinet and said with a smile, "With intentional assault, He Yuzhu will have to be detained for at least two or three years. The specific details will have to be decided by the higher-ups."

"There's no rush for that."

Li Aiguo stood up. "I have to officially report to the Locomotive Depot tomorrow, and I have some things to prepare, so I won't stay any longer."

"Alright, I'll see you out."

As Li Aiguo pushed open the door and walked out, he happened to run right into a female comrade.

The woman hadn't expected there to be an outsider in Zhou Ke's office.

A look of panic surfaced on her face, and her small hands moved to hide behind her back.

Unfortunately, it was too late; Li Aiguo clearly saw that she was clutching two apples in her hands.

It seemed this was the person Zhou Ke was currently seeing.

Li Aiguo sized her up. The young girl was pretty and refined, the type who would make a good wife and mother.

Li Aiguo joked, "Zhou Ke, is this your sister-in-law?"

"What sister-in-law? Call her Sister-in-law!"

Zhou Ke walked out with a grin, patted Li Aiguo on the shoulder, and introduced them: "Shuhua, my childhood friend, we grew up together. This is Comrade Li Aiguo, a train driver from the Qianmen Locomotive Depot."

"He's a future train driver. Hello, Sister-in-law."

"He... hello. I am Huang Shuhua, the publicity specialist for the Education Section of the Locomotive Depot," Huang Shuhua said, her face turning as red as a monkey's backside as she bit her lip.

"The Education Section? Liu Chunhua's department?"

"Huh? You know Director Liu? No, wait, Comrade Liu Chunhua has retired; she's not the director anymore."

Mentioning Liu Chunhua made Huang Shuhua look quite anxious.

She was a newcomer to the Education Section and was frequently bullied by Liu Chunhua on a daily basis.

Zhou Ke was aware of the situation and said with a smile, "My brother here played a major role in Liu Chunhua's downfall."

"You did? Right, right, I think I heard about it. They say Liu Chunhua was reassigned by the depot because she offended a train driver. So it was you!"

Huang Shuhua looked at Li Aiguo curiously, wanting to see what kind of extraordinary powers this train driver possessed.

Li Aiguo smiled modestly, "It was merely the keen insight of the depot leadership."

"Not bad, kid, your political awareness has improved quite a bit," Zhou Ke teased.

"Call me 'Brother,' otherwise I won't lend you my bicycle this weekend," Li Aiguo said, pulling a serious face.

"..." Zhou Ke was speechless.

Huang Shuhua laughed, "What bicycle?"

Only then did Zhou Ke remember that he was supposed to be giving Huang Shuhua a surprise.

He hurriedly nudged Li Aiguo toward the exit. "You have to officially start work tomorrow, you must be busy with many things. I won't take up any more of your time."

"What bicycle? Zhou Ke, are you being weird again?"

"Haha, you'll know when the time comes."

As Li Aiguo reached the stairs, he could still hear Huang Shuhua chasing after Zhou Ke to ask questions.

He shook his head with a bitter smile: Having a wife is truly a good thing.

By the time Li Aiguo returned to the courtyard, it was nearly noon.

Wisps of cooking smoke rose from the homes of some residents who used firewood, and the air was filled with a faint scent of hearth and home.

Just as he entered the main gate, Yan Bugui ran over and blocked his path. "Aiguo, I heard Shazhu was taken away by the railway police."

"That's true. I just finished making a statement."

"Look at what's happened. You're all from the same courtyard. Look at this, look at this..." Yan Bugui's face was full of regret.

He wanted to persuade Li Aiguo to let Shazhu off, but he couldn't bring himself to say it.

After all, Shazhu and the others had gone too far this time.

"Alright, Third Uncle. Now that we, the people, have become the masters, can we still be bullied by those landlords and bullies? Wouldn't the blood of our predecessors have been shed in vain?"

"Who is a landlord or a bully? You can't say such things recklessly."

Yan Bugui's face turned pale with fear. He took a step back and gave an awkward laugh. "I just remembered, I have some homework to grade. I'll be going now."

He turned around and scurried into his house.

He was afraid that if he said a few more words, he would also become a "landlord or bully."

Li Aiguo chuckled at Yan Bugui's retreating back and turned to walk toward the back courtyard.

Yi Zhonghai, Mother Jia, and Liu Haizhong were gathered under the old camphor tree in the middle courtyard, discussing something.

Seeing Li Aiguo approach, they all immediately fell silent.

Their eyes flashed with a mixture of anger, fear, and hatred.

"Everyone, having a chat, are we?"

Li Aiguo greeted them cheerfully and walked into the back courtyard with his hands behind his back.

*Tsk!*

Watching his back, Mother Jia spat on the ground, her face full of malice. "That kid surnamed Li is truly too much. Matters in our courtyard should be settled within the courtyard. Him seeking help from the Railway Police is just breaking the rules."

"Stop talking!" Yi Zhonghai pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "It was the Railway Police who took him away this time. Even Old Lady Deaf can't do anything about it; she's currently making a scene with me, demanding his release!"

"Old Lady Deaf is not the concern. The key is, if Shazhu is in there and decides to rat us out, what will we do then?"

Liu Haizhong stood there with his protruding belly, his greasy cheeks etched with worry.

He was feeling some regret.

He shouldn't have coveted that half-room from the Li family in the first place.

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of Yi Zhonghai and Mother Jia turned sour.

Mother Jia said coldly, "He won't. Shazhu is a fool; he won't talk."

"The fences on the railway are different from those in the local areas," Liu Haizhong said irritably. "I heard that prisoners there have to carry shovels to repair the railways. That work is incredibly heavy; Shazhu definitely won't be able to handle it!"

Yi Zhonghai nodded. "Old Liu's concerns make some sense. We have to be on guard."

As he spoke, he hesitated. "But since Shazhu is locked up inside and not allowed to see outsiders, we have no way to test the waters."

Liu Haizhong's eyes darted around. "How about this: we go find Li Aiguo and admit our mistakes. As long as Li Aiguo doesn't pursue it, even if Shazhu turns on us, it won't be a big problem."

"If you want to go, go ahead. This old woman will never bow her head to that little thief Li Aiguo."

Mother Jia stood up as she spoke. "This mess was caused by you lot. I'm out!"

With that, Mother Jia turned and headed back to the Jia house.

With a loud *bang*, the door was slammed shut.

Seeing this, Liu Haizhong also stood up and said, "Old Yi, we won't reach a conclusion just by discussing it. We'll have to take it one step at a time."

"For the time being, don't go provoking Li Aiguo."

Being lectured by Liu Haizhong made Yi Zhonghai somewhat unhappy, but now was not the time to lose his temper.

He nodded and said, "I know. Let's stop talking. I still have to find a way to appease the old lady."

Watching Yi Zhonghai hurry toward the back courtyard, Liu Haizhong shook his head with a bitter smile. "A bunch of forty and fifty-year-old seniors, being played by a young punk. What a joke!"

Filled with frustration, Liu Haizhong returned home and stared blankly at the doorway.

Before long, Liu Guangtian, who had been running wild all morning, returned.

He walked to the door, suddenly stopped, and poked his head inside to look.

When he saw Liu Haizhong sitting there imposingly, with a fire poker placed beside him...

Liu Guangtian cautiously stepped his right foot over the threshold and forced a smile. "Dad, I didn't step with the wrong foot this time, did I?"

The last time Liu Guangtian was beaten, the reason was quite bizarre: it was because he had stepped in with his right foot when entering the house.

"This time you should have stepped with your left foot first! Wrong again! Go lie down over there!"

Liu Guangtian:...

A smile can only be transferred, not disappear.

The smile on Liu Guangtian's face was transferred to Liu Haizhong's face.

Looking at the grinning Liu Haizhong, he gritted his teeth, lay face down against the wall, and stuck his butt up.

(End of Chapter)