Chapter 100

The person moved so quickly that they disappeared in no time. Gu Shi’an chased after them but only found a trail of wet footprints under the eaves of the front courtyard.

He made no fuss and returned to the house with a calm expression.

Inside, Lin Yao was changing Gu Doudou’s clothes after brushing his teeth and washing his face.

Gu Shi’an entered calmly and asked Lin Yao, “Has anyone strange shown up at the house recently?”

Lin Yao’s eyes brightened. She had been so busy these past few days that she had forgotten about it. She hurriedly dressed Gu Doudou, picked him up, and handed him two biscuits. “Uncle is awake now. Go play with him.”

Since it was Saturday, there was no school.

Gu Doudou giggled, showing his small teeth, and toddled off to the side room.

“Uncle, I’m here to play!”

In the side room, Gu Shidong was still in bed, but he had no choice but to get up and play with his little nephew when called.

In the east wing, Lin Yao closed the door and nervously reported to Gu Shi’an about the intruder.

Lin Yao spoke clearly and succinctly, recounting the incident in detail. When she finished, Gu Shi’an’s eyes turned cold upon hearing that someone had tried to poison the family’s water. He didn’t want to frighten Lin Yao, so his expression quickly returned to calm, with a look of understanding in his eyes.

Both Gu Shi’an and his wife were not to be trifled with: one was cunning and vengeful, the other skilled in feigning ignorance. After a discussion, they reached a consensus.

When they emerged from the room, Gu Shi’an was smiling while Lin Yao’s lips were curled into a cherry-like smile.

Gu Mancang seemed oblivious to the underlying tension and cheerfully invited his son and daughter-in-law to breakfast.

In the morning, the family was in a hurry to head out for work, so their breakfast was simple: steamed wheat flour buns from the night before, served with a sauce made from dandelions.

After breakfast, everyone went their separate ways.

From that day on, the county police launched a series of intense operations to capture enemy agents. In just a few days, many enemy agents hiding among the local populace were arrested and imprisoned.

The Second Aunt and her group, who had come to Yunshui County with the intention of avenging their sister, were thwarted before they could exact their revenge. The operatives they sent to track the Gu family and county officials were captured, leaving them with severe losses. The Second Aunt was forced to retreat in disgrace back to the northwest.

Other operatives were also apprehended while trying to follow their targets.

The enemy agent tasked with tracking Lin Yao was particularly unlucky. Under orders from the Second Aunt to not only poison the Gu family’s water but also to kill their child, he had to make sure the Gu family suffered immensely.

Fortunately, Gu Doudou’s good fortune saved him. On the rainy night when the enemy agent was ready to act, Gu Doudou insisted on sleeping with Xu Tangyuan at Old Xu’s house.

It was raining heavily outside that day, and Zhang Cuilan forgot to close the windows in her daughter-in-law’s room. The 2.2-meter-long bed in the room was soaked by the rain, and the quilt, pillow, and sheets could not be used for sleeping.

The family of three simply stayed at Old Xu’s house.

The enemy agent tried to sneak into Old Xu’s house, but Gu Shi’an, who had been on high alert, knocked him down with a rifle butt. The agent tried to make a desperate escape but was kicked heavily in the waist and crashed against the wall, causing chunks of plaster to fall.

Xu Xiangqian heard the commotion and ran out with a gun.

“Old Gu, what happened?”

Before Gu Shi’an could answer, the enemy agent, barely clinging to life, spat out blood and revealed his bloody teeth, saying, “Don’t get too smug. One day….”

“Ah!”

As the enemy agent was about to spew more threats, Daju jumped out from nowhere, waving his sharp little claws and scratching his face until it was covered with blood.

The enemy agent, clutching his face and wailing in agony, was swiftly subdued by Xu Xiangqian with a precise chop to the back of his neck. The man collapsed limply to the ground, much like a dead dog.

Xu Xiangqian dragged the unconscious enemy agent out of the house and, even in the dark and rainy night, couldn’t resist grumbling.

“Old Gu, this scoundrel is quite heavy. Come help me out!”

“……”

The next morning, the storm had passed, and the weather was clear and bright.

Having slept soundly through the night, Lin Yao stretched comfortably and, coming out of the house, exchanged morning greetings with Gu Chunmei.

Mother Xu brought out a plate of pan-fried buns and some millet porridge, calling the sisters to breakfast.

At the breakfast table, Gu Shi’an and Xu’s father and son were missing. Lin Yao asked about them and learned from Mother Xu that they had gone to the police station early in the morning to deal with the captured enemy agent and would not be back for breakfast.

An enemy agent had been captured last night?

Lin Yao and Gu Chunmei exchanged surprised glances, clearly taken aback.

*

In May, the courtyard after the rain was fresh and invigorating.

Gu Shi’an had been busy at the police station all morning. Around eight o’clock, the family of three returned to the courtyard from Old Xu’s house.

Zhang Cuilan was bustling about, hanging the wet blankets and quilts out to dry. Gu Doudou, wearing adorable split-crotch pants, sat on a bamboo mat in the courtyard, playing with some small wooden duck carvings and making noises. Lin Yao, after tidying up the house, opened the window and took a deep breath of the fresh air, enjoying the greenery around.

She had just interrogated Gu Shi’an and learned about the previous night’s events.

Zhang Cuilan, upon hearing about the incident, was deeply worried. She held Gu Doudou tightly, cursing the enemy agents with strong language.

Lin Yao was usually mild-mannered, but her anger led her to make harsh curses. Despite her usual restraint, her words were filled with frustration, indicating her determination to seek justice for her family.

Gu Shi’an couldn’t help but smile, which Lin Yao noticed and used as an opportunity to playfully pounce on him, leading to a playful scuffle. However, she quickly shifted to a serious tone, reminding him to go to work.

Gu Shi’an was sent off to work while Lin Yao took Gu Doudou outside to feed the rabbits. During feeding, Gu Doudou’s little head drooped with sleepiness.

Lin Yao carried the sleepy child back inside for a nap.

Zhang Cuilan and her husband checked the calendar and realized it was time for their monthly trip to buy grain. They took their grain book and money, pushed the wooden cart to the grain station, and reminded Gu Shidong to behave himself at home.

Gu Shidong promised to behave.

The old couple checked the east wing of the house, and Zhang Cuilan, before leaving, noticed the increased number of enemy agents in the area. She realized how dangerous it had become with such enemies so close to their home.

This caused fear among the neighbors. Gu Mancang reassured Zhang Cuilan, “Even if there are more enemies, we’ll catch them all. Don’t worry.”

Zhang Cuilan felt relieved and went on her way with the wooden cart.

By noon, the old couple returned home, sweaty and tired from their trip. After drinking the water provided by their daughter-in-law and wiping their faces with damp towels, they finally caught their breath.

Despite the ongoing national challenges, Yunshui County remained relatively peaceful. However, in the North China Plain and southern provinces, natural and man-made disasters continued, forcing many to beg for food.

In this unstable social environment, some opportunistic disaster victims, unable to obtain food for themselves, cruelly broke their own children’s legs to use them as beggars. Others, unable to harm their own children, kidnapped other people’s children, maiming them to force them into begging.

In Yunshui County, the situation was controlled, but in provincial capitals and large city train

stations and docks, such behavior was less regulated.

The old couple was shocked to see a young boy dragging his leg and begging on the streets of Yunshui County. Behind him were several ragged adults who were beating him. Seeing this, Zhang Cuilan could not stand it and scolded the disaster victims, who quickly fled.

Gu Mancang, upon learning the boy was not from the same village as the adults but had been stolen from human traffickers, bought two sesame seed cakes and a bowl of water from a state-run restaurant for the starving child. The boy, though clearly malnourished, expressed his thanks before carefully eating the food.

After the child had eaten, Gu Mancang and Zhang Cuilan took him to the police station, asking their son to help find the boy’s parents. The thought of such a good child being lost was troubling for any parent.

Zhang Cuilan, having caught her breath, sighed deeply and remarked, “People are all made of flesh and blood. How could those people do such a wicked thing?”

Gu Mancang remained silent, reflecting on the harsh reality of the old society, where such inhumane acts were all too common.

“That child has no home and no job, so pitiful. Yao Yao, before the child finds his family, you don’t have to worry about his food and lodging at the Public Security Bureau. Our family will pay for his living expenses. Do you think this is okay?”

At this point, Zhang Cuilan felt a bit embarrassed for making the decision on her own without consulting her daughter-in-law, so she quickly added an explanation.

Hearing about the little boy’s plight, Lin Yao felt sympathy and had no objections. She nodded in agreement and sweetly remarked that her mother-in-law’s action was quite chivalrous.

“What chivalry? You just know how to make me happy.”

Zhang Cuilan smiled widely.

At the same time, news spread from the Sun family in the town that Lin Hongna was pregnant with her second child.