Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

Page 180

"here I am."

He Yuzhu untied his apron and stood to the side, then came out with Xu Huizhen. They saw Tie Dan standing in the yard with a police officer. Both of them were wearing white uniforms and looked very smart.

He Yuzhu was somewhat surprised that the two of them were dressed in uniforms and had come together, so they must have business to attend to. He quickly went up to greet them and then invited them into the meeting room.

Xu Huizhen poured some plum juice and brought it over before leaving and closing the door behind her.

Tie Dan said, "Zhu Zi, I have something serious to discuss with you this time, but don't be nervous."

He Yuzhu laughed and said, "Don't worry, I'm not nervous. The fact that you call me Zhuzi instead of Comrade He Yuzhu means that I haven't done anything wrong."

I just thought about it, and I realized that I only bought a little extra grain. I usually do things discreetly, so I wouldn't make a mistake like this.

All three of them laughed upon hearing this. Tie Dan said, "That's absolutely right. I just wanted to ask you about the situation this time."

"As long as I know about something, of course I will cooperate."

"That's right, we'd like to know about the feud between Comrade Yi Zhonghai and Comrade Xu Wude in your compound."

He Yuzhu was a little confused. After their last fight, the two of them seemed to have argued again and almost came to blows.

It was nothing more than that old incident. Xu Wude believed that Yi Zhonghai had reported him, causing him to be extorted for a thousand yuan.

He even caused unrest in his family. His wife scolded him for being an old man who was irresponsible, saying that his daughter was about to get married and he could still do such a shameless thing.

Yi Zhonghai lost a tooth after being punched once, which made him lose face. He didn't give Xu Wude a friendly look and wished he could knock out Xu Wude's tooth too.

The two of them work at the same factory and run into each other every few days, so they often exchange insults. It's unclear whether they've ever fought.

He Daqing heard all of this in the courtyard and told it to He Yuzhu and his wife as a topic of conversation at the gathering.

He Yuzhu said, "I know the two of them quite well, and they recently had a conflict."

He Yuzhu recounted from the beginning how Xu Wude was suspected of having an affair in the countryside, how he assumed Yi Zhonghai had reported him, and how the two of them ended up fighting.

Of course, He Yuzhu couldn't say that he was the one who reported it, and he even mentioned the old fitter in the report letter.

The effect was indeed incredibly good. Xu Wude and Yi Zhonghai were still suspicious of each other and had no idea that the mastermind behind it all was He Yuzhu.

While He Yuzhu was speaking, another police officer was taking a statement.

Tie Dan asked, "So you're saying there's a big conflict between the two of them?"

"Yes, and last time, Xu Wude's son, Xu Damao, tried to attack me with a knife. It was actually Yi Zhonghai who instigated it. It was only because Yi Zhonghai paid 1,500 yuan in compensation that Xu Wude and I didn't pursue the matter."

"Is that so?" Tie Dan asked.

He Yuzhu recounted what happened last time, and then said, "So the two of them had a conflict before. Everyone said that Yi Zhonghai was retaliating, which is why he wrote the report letter, trying to send Xu Wude to the police station."

He Yuzhu still doesn't know why Tiedan came to find him, but he still told her all about the grudges between them.

Then he asked, "What happened between the two of them?"

Tie Dan asked, "Do you remember that time when Yi Zhonghai was beaten up with a bruised and swollen face?"

"What's going on?" He Yuzhu asked.

Tie Dan said, "That day, Comrade Yi Zhonghai was leaving the factory with two packs of cigarettes and two bottles of Fenjiu liquor in his hands. After entering Dongzhimen and walking into the alley, he was beaten up with a sack over his head and his belongings were stolen. Comrade Yi Zhonghai called the police at that time."

Now that he heard that, He Yuzhu remembered that Yi Zhonghai had been beaten that day, and then a few days later, news spread that Xu Wude had committed adultery with a young widow.

He Yuzhu only knew that Yi Zhonghai had been beaten, but he didn't know that his belongings had been stolen.

You know, Yi Zhonghai did file a police report. Could it be that he has found a clue?

Q: "Has the case of Yi Zhonghai's robbery been solved?"

Tie Dan nodded: "Yes, the sales channel for the stolen goods in this case has been found, and the other party has confessed."

It's quite a coincidence that Xu Wude couldn't just take the things back to the courtyard house, otherwise Yi Zhonghai would definitely know that he did it.

Two bottles of Fenjiu liquor and two cartons of Zhonghua cigarettes cost more than twenty yuan, and Xu Wude was reluctant to throw them away, so he found a department store and sold them to them at a discount.

Xu Wude was in a state of excitement and did not notice the blood of Yi Zhonghai on the bottle. However, when the department store owner wiped it clean, he noticed it and assumed that the item Xu Wude had delivered was of dubious origin, given the recent spate of cases involving robbery and assault.

And that's how I came to remember Xu Wude's long, donkey-like face.

Recently, when the police cracked a theft and resale case, they arrested the department store owner who was responsible for reselling the stolen goods.

In order to atone for his crime and gain merit, the boss implicated Xu Wude, stating unequivocally that Xu Wude had robbed the place.

After all, the wine and cigarettes were in a net bag, and they were all thrown on the ground, covered in dirt and blood.

When the police checked, they found that Yi Zhonghai had lost two bottles of Fenjiu liquor and two cartons of cigarettes on that very day.

Now the owner has been found. This morning, when Tie Dan went to inform Yi Zhonghai to retrieve the lost items, he coincidentally ran into Xu Wude. With such distinctive long donkey-like face features, Tie Dan suspected that Xu Wude was the one who had knocked Yi Zhonghai's head off and stolen the supplies.

After Tie Dan explained the situation, He Yuzhu said, "It seems that Xu Wude is the robber."

Then he asked, "Did you arrest Hulwood?"

Chapter 133 Comrade Xu Wude, come with us to the police station!

Tie Dan said, "Not yet, we're here to ask you about the situation."

Seeing that He Yuzhu was a little stunned, Tiedan explained a few words. Although the department store owner had revealed the seller, after a long time, he only remembered that the seller had a long donkey face. At that time, there was no portrait technology, so it was just his description.

Today, Tie Dan intuitively believes it belongs to Xu Wude, but there's no other evidence. He can't just arrest the person first and then let the boss point it out.

After all, based on his description, it would be easy to catch a lot of people on the street. We had to do a thorough investigation first before asking He Yuzhu to find out what was going on.

Now that it's confirmed there's enough conflict between Xu Wude and Yi Zhonghai, Xu Wude has a motive to retaliate against Yi Zhonghai, rob him of his belongings, and then sell them.

He Yuzhu then realized that Xu Wude had also committed robbery. He guessed that Xu Wude thought he was just retaliating and probably didn't realize that this was robbery.

He Yuzhu thought for a moment about the charge of robbery and asked, "Can Xu Wude's case be considered robbery?"

If he's convicted of robbery, he could easily spend ten or eight years in jail. If he's ever in a gun-wielding situation, it's perfectly normal for him to be given a peanut as a punishment.

He Yuzhu was somewhat taken aback. Could Xu Wude be executed?

If that were the case, I would feel uneasy and wonder if I would have nightmares at night.

Tie Dan thought for a moment and said, "If he stole it, we should distinguish his circumstances. According to your statement, Xu Wude had a desire for revenge, so he put a sack over Yi Zhonghai's team and beat them up, and then stole their things."

“If he hadn’t robbed anyone else, the charge would be much lighter, as it would be considered retaliation, and he would probably be given a lenient sentence. But if there were other robbery incidents, then the matter would be much more serious, and he would truly be a robber.”

Now He Yuzhu understood. Thinking about it, it made sense. Xu Wude's crime wasn't a robbery without purpose; it was just a vengeful act. Based on that alone, Xu Wude didn't deserve to die.

"Alright, we've learned about Xu Wood's situation. You'd better keep your mouth shut for the next two days, and don't reveal anything to anyone."

He Yuzhu nodded: "Don't worry, even if Huizhen asks, I won't tell."

Then he asked, "When can we arrest Xu Wude?"

“I’ll write a report and request the arrest of Xu Wude as soon as I get back.”

He Yuzhu saw the two of them out of the shop and went back into his office. Xu Huizhen followed him in and asked, "Zhuzi, what did Master come over to say?"

“In this case, I can’t disclose this information to you.”

Xu Huizhen pouted and said, "What's with the smug look? It's like I need to know."

He Yuzhu just smiled and then asked about the shop's situation.

With the restrictions on purchasing grain, He Yuzhu's business suddenly boomed. He couldn't even sell enough steamed buns in the mornings, but the daily limit was only 100 jin of flour, and once that was gone, there was none left.

Moreover, He Yuzhu would set aside a portion of the 100 jin of flour as his daily ration.

The grain coupon system has not yet been implemented; it is just a rough and ready management system.

Just like how grain stores sell dried noodles, only purchases exceeding one jin (500g) are recorded on the flour purchase certificate. If you only buy half a jin of dried noodles, it doesn't need to be recorded. This way, ordinary people can still buy dried noodles even if it's just a little more troublesome.

As it was almost time to leave work, He Yuzhu couldn't sit still any longer, so he said goodbye and went back to the courtyard house.

I first went to the Intermediate People's Court to see my younger brother, and handed the gifts I brought to Wen Yuping. Seeing that everyone was normal, it seemed that Xu Wude had not yet been formally arrested.

He Yuzhu opened the front yard to find Qian Datong's house. This house had been rented out before, but after a while, it fell into a terrible state. Recently, the tenant bought a house and terminated the lease, so He Yuzhu stopped renting it out.

After cleaning up the place, the third aunt came over with the fourth daughter, Yan Jiedi, and chatted for a few minutes. Then the courtyard welcomed the crowds of people leaving get off work.

When Yi Zhonghai entered the courtyard and saw He Yuzhu there, he snorted, turned his face away, and then went into the middle courtyard.

Shortly afterward, Xu Wude and Xu Damao entered.

Xu Wude laughed and said, "Hey, Pillar's back. Want to grab a drink tonight?"

"Thank you, Uncle Xu. I'll leave after I've finished cleaning."

He Yuzhu thought to himself, "You're all smiles now, but you might be facing a bill tonight, and Yi Zhonghai might even send you to jail for free."

No, you're wrong. At this point, prison food wasn't free. You had to do labor every day, and you'd get paid for it. It was similar to going to work, except your personal freedom was restricted.

Xu Wude exchanged a few polite words and went into the Intermediate Court, while Xu Damao, that scoundrel, stayed behind.

Xu Damao is 17 years old this year and has grown up. He is just thin, which makes his face look longer.

He Yuzhu glanced at Xu Damao, who was still standing there, and asked, "What are you still doing standing here?"

Xu Damao said, "Why do you always speak so rudely when we meet? I have something important to ask you."

What good things could you possibly say?

Xu Damao asked with a smile, "I'd like to ask you, how many kilograms of flour can you buy a month now?"

"Eight catties, what's wrong?"