Chapter 65: Building a Wall
Gu Qiuhan's icy voice in the receiver seemed to still vibrate on his eardrums. "Black Spider Mark", "fight until death", "drag everyone to hell"... Every word was like a poisonous ice spike, piercing deep into Xie Shiyu's heart.
He slowly put down the receiver, and the heavy "click" sound was particularly harsh in the sudden silence of the dawn.
Cheng Tuan came in from outside and saw his expression, and asked casually, "What's wrong?"
Gu Qiuhan repeated what he had said to him on the phone just now. This was not his private matter. That Zhao Laosi was a wanted criminal who could endanger public safety at any time.
Cheng Tuan's face darkened upon hearing this. "Don't worry, I will have the guard company increase patrols. The safety of the soldiers' families will not be compromised."
"Thank you, Commander!" Xie Shiyu saluted.
"Alright, this isn't targeting your family alone." Chen Tuan waved his hand nonchalantly, "Go back."
When Xie Shiyu entered the house, his little daughter had just woken up and was waving her hands to play with her mother, while her brother next to her was still sleeping soundly.
Hearing him come in, Gu Qiuyue looked up, her clear eyes silently looking at him, filled with panic and silent questions. That dependent look made Xie Shiyu's heart feel like it was being gripped by an invisible hand.
"Big Brother called," he forced his voice to sound deep and steady. He walked over to his wife and wrapped his broad palm around her slightly cold hand, conveying an undeniable strength. "That pattern is called the 'Black Spider Seal,' a death warrant used by a very brutal gang abroad. Zhao Laosi is colluding with them. This is...very troublesome."
He omitted the terrifying words "fight till death" and "drag everyone to hell," but the heavy shadow between his brows said it all. "Mom and Dad are safe. My eldest brother said he'll be there as early as tomorrow night."
Gu Qiuyue's face instantly lost all color, and she subconsciously pressed her cheek against the soft swaddling clothes of her daughter in her arms, as if that was the only source of warmth. The little girl in the swaddling clothes was completely unaware of the wind and rain, smacking her lips and falling into a deep sleep again. This tranquility formed a heart-wrenching contrast with the invisible murderous intent around her.
"Don't be afraid," Xie Shiyu's voice sank, with a firmness as rock, "With me here, the courtyard wall can be built today. I will guard the house. You, stepmother, Dabao and Xiaobao, don't leave the yard, stay in the house." His eyes swept across the window lattice, sharp as an eagle, as if they could penetrate the thin morning light and pierce the evil spirits lurking outside.
The logistics department was surprisingly efficient. Just after breakfast, several soldiers in army green overalls arrived on a cart, bringing in earthen bricks. They unloaded them with a clang at the entrance to the Xie family's courtyard. The crackling sound of dismantling the old fence soon followed, startling a few early-rising sparrows from the wall.
The noise was like a magnet, immediately attracting several neighbors. Wu Cui from next door was among them. She was still wearing the blue cloth shirt that was washed white and had patches on the elbows. She leaned against the door frame of her house, holding a handful of pumpkin seeds in her hand, cracking them loudly, while her eyes were like searchlights, scanning the movements in the Xie family's yard, the busy soldiers, and the piles of building materials.
Mrs. Zhang and the others had long known that Gu Qiuyue wanted to build a wall, so they were not surprised. Mrs. Chen even said, "It's good this way, so that Wu Cui won't be staring at your things every day. Otherwise, I'll ask Lao Li to build a wall around our house to prevent that person from staring at the things I bought every day." The person she was referring to was naturally Wu Cui.
Although she had not been there for long, half of the sisters-in-law and aunts had experienced her shamelessness. She would forget to buy whatever delicious food your family made, and then come to borrow a bowl. At first, some people would lend her money because they knew she was new, but later her excessive approach made everyone stay away from her.
At this moment, everyone in the room heard a drawn-out, "Hey, hey!"
Everyone in the room felt a headache, and then they heard Wu Cui's voice with exaggerated exclamation, "Deputy Captain Xie's family is different. They can build a wall as soon as they say it, and they are so fast! Wow, look at these bricks, they must have cost a lot of money, right? Will the government cover it?" The envy and jealousy in her tone was so strong that it seemed like acid water could almost drip out.
Mrs. Zhang shook her head. "Listen to how sour your tone is. You just keep saying sour things all day long. How come you haven't become a lemon?"
Everyone in the room laughed when they heard this. Sister Chen teased the twins in the crib, "Why are you bothering her? Be careful or she'll come back to haunt you."
Several people sat there until almost noon before going home to cook.
Gu Qiuyue moved the small bed to the window and chatted with her mother-in-law who was sitting there doing needlework. Xie Shiyu didn't let her go out, nor did he let his mother go out. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law sat in front of the window and talked.
Wu Cui was sharp-eyed and spotted her through the gap in the bamboo fence that had just been removed, making it look even more sparse. She immediately raised her voice, a little too enthusiastically: "Sister, aunt, it's so boring to be stuffy in the house, come out and get some fresh air!
Look at this wall, how thick and imposing it is. It will be inconvenient for our two families to chat and visit each other in the future." These words sounded like concern, but upon closer inspection, they seemed like a sugar-coated temptation, mixed with a bit of loss of separation.
Gu Qiuyue felt uncomfortable under the gaze, but she smiled as if nothing had happened, "We are just neighbors. We see each other every day. It's not about being inconvenient or inconvenient." After she said that, the baby in the crib cried at the right time, and Gu Qiuyue hurriedly lowered her head to comfort him.
Wang Xiulan glanced at Wu Cui's curious look outside the window, and her brows immediately twisted into knots. She whispered to her daughter-in-law, "This woman has evil intentions. The way she looks at people is like hooks. It's better to stay away from her. She's like a dog-skin plaster, once you stick to her, you can't get rid of her." She instinctively felt a kind of restlessness under the materialistic greed.
Xie Shiyu, who was in the kitchen, looked coldly at the little "performance" outside the window.
Wu Cui's undisguised prying eyes, her excessive "attention" to the milk powder cans and the smell of meat in the kitchen, and every stinging "envy" seemed to confirm his suspicions. Combined with the description of her cousin Wang Li, who had "wandering eyes," "borrowed paper and pen," and "wandered around the archives asking for information," it was almost certain:
Wang Li was the one who drew the map of the family compound for Zhao Laosi, and Wu Cui, this "cousin", moved in at such a "coincidental" time and her words and actions were so "deliberate". She was definitely not an innocent spectator in this dangerous game of chess.
The earthen wall was built very quickly. Before noon, it was waist-high. The young soldiers began to clean the foundation on the side close to Wu Cui's yard. They needed to work close to the remaining low earthen foundation. Xie Shiyu was worried, so he extinguished the fire on the stove and stood in his own yard close to the border. He seemed to be monitoring the progress casually, but in fact, all his senses were on high alert, and he was closely scanning the movements in the neighboring yard with the corner of his eyes.
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