The Ming Family Arrives

After making the rounds, he returned to Wang Residence a little after eleven. It was only because he had gone himself; otherwise, with only Liu Yitong there, they might have dragged things out even longer. The Japanese operated on the principle of suspecting everything, endlessly pestering and probing. That was what made them so annoying.

No one had gone to bed yet. Even Uncle Wu and Auntie Liang, the old couple, had stayed up waiting for midnight to pass. It was the same now—the fireworks overhead had not stopped for a moment, exploding with constant bangs. At their age, they slept lightly and could not rest properly anyway. The guards were drinking and playing cards in the gatehouse, while inside, Yu Manli sat on the sofa in loose pajamas, listening to the radio's Spring Festival special while reading. The old couple knitted sweaters nearby. They simply could not sit idle; with the lights on, they always wanted something to do.

Over the past two years, the old couple had knitted two sets of sweaters and wool pants each for Wang Yan and Qi Si, as well as clothes for themselves. They had nowhere else to send the rest, so they asked the thugs guarding the place whether they wanted any. Those men hardly lacked such things, so Qi Si later had the old couple knit sweaters for the little beggars who had already started school.

Only part of the food had been prepared earlier, so when Wang Yan and Qi Si returned, they had another hot meal.

While they were eating, Yu Manli trotted over and asked curiously, "How did it go?"

"They suspect the Military Statistics Bureau did it. Twenty-three people died in total. Wang Fuqu was shot in the head at close range. Three merchants who had followed