Courtyard House: The Road to an Industrial Power

A thin mist still hung over the alley in the early morning as Lin Weidong and Su Wanqing walked out of the courtyard house side by side.

"I'm going to the factory's data room to check some information. You go to the workshop and keep an eye on the assembly progress."

Lin Weidong spoke naturally, but his gaze subtly swept across the courtyard, confirming that the doors to the deaf old woman's and Widow Li's rooms were both closed.

After walking for a while, Lin Weidong and Su Wanqing turned and entered a quiet alley.

There were only a few early-rising vegetable vendors tidying up their stalls in the alley, and no one paid attention to his movements.

He quickened his pace, circled two street corners, and, taking advantage of the absence of anyone, quickly turned back.

I walked around the back wall of the courtyard to the side gate of the west wing, tiptoed in, hid behind the pillars, and held my breath.

The west courtyard was quiet, with only sparrows chirping in the corner.

Lin Weidong listened intently, and could clearly distinguish the movements of each household in the courtyard.

From Liu Haizhong's house came the sound of his second aunt clearing away the dishes, and from Yan Bugui's house came the rustling sound of something being rummaged through.

There was no movement at the deaf old woman's house.

He leaned against the shadow of the pillar, waiting patiently, his gaze fixed on the deaf old woman's door.

About half an hour later, people in the courtyard started leaving for work one after another, and the sounds of bicycle bells and greetings could be heard from the alley.

The deaf old woman's door finally creaked open. She leaned on her cane, peeked out and looked around for a moment. Seeing that there was no one in the yard, she slowly walked out.

Lin Weidong waited until the deaf old woman walked out of the courtyard gate before quietly following her, always keeping a distance from her.

They used the corners of the alley, the courtyard walls, and passersby as cover.

The deaf old woman walked slowly, stopping frequently to make sure no one was following her, before heading towards the courtyard house.

Lin Weidong saw her finally stop at the entrance of a dilapidated courtyard house, overgrown with weeds.

Lin Weidong hid behind a large tree not far away and watched as she knocked on the door. Someone inside answered and opened the door, welcoming her in.

After the courtyard gate was closed, Lin Weidong immediately went around to the back room of the courtyard.

The courtyard wall here is relatively low. He took a few steps and climbed up the wall with both hands and feet without making a sound.

He crouched down, walked around the wall to the roof of the central courtyard, lay on the tiles, and looked down through the gaps in the eaves.

In the courtyard, the middle-aged man who always played with a steel ball was standing under the eaves, with a half-smile on his face.

"The old lady arrived just in time; it seems she came because of what happened last night."

His tone was teasing, clearly indicating that he had anticipated the deaf old woman's intentions.

The deaf old woman slammed her cane down, making a dull thud on the ground, and looked at the person in front of her.

"Explain to me clearly why the assassination attempt failed!"

"I spent so much gold to hire capable people, not useless ones!"

"fail?"

The middle-aged man scoffed, "The men I sent were top-notch. If Lin Weidong hadn't had help from his family and carried guns, how could he have failed?"

"Help? Gun?" The deaf old woman glared at him, her cane thumping loudly on the ground.

"Why didn't you check beforehand? Now you've failed to kill him and even exposed your whereabouts. How am I supposed to clean up this mess?"

"Find out the truth?"

The middle-aged man also became angry, stepping forward and closing in on the deaf old woman. "You only said you wanted to kill Lin Weidong, but you didn't mention that two strong young men lived in his house, nor did you say he had a gun!" "Old lady, the people trained by the Imperial Household Department aren't gods. Are you going to blame me for this oversight?"

The deaf old woman's expression changed, her eyes instantly becoming complex, carrying a hint of annoyance at being hit where it hurt: "Is this all the Imperial Household Department is capable of?"

"It wasn't like this back when I was with that old hag!"

"Those were those days, now is now!"

The middle-aged man was completely enraged, his voice rising several decibels, "The other side was on guard and had a gun; it's already a miracle they escaped unscathed!"

"But you, Concubine, have you lost your mind?"

"They only think about revenge, without considering the actual situation. Do they still think it's the Qing Dynasty's domain?"

"Concubine", "Imperial Household Department", "Qing Dynasty"

These words exploded in Lin Weidong's ears like thunder.

He lay on the roof, his mind reeling with shock. It turned out that the deaf old woman was actually a remnant of the Qing Dynasty, and that she was connected with the remaining forces of the previous dynasty!

The deaf old woman was rendered speechless by the middle-aged man's retort, her face turning pale and then red.

She took a deep breath, suppressing her anger: "Stop talking nonsense, what's next?"

"Lin Weidong is already on guard; we must get rid of him as soon as possible, or things might get complicated."

The middle-aged man sneered: "I've already made arrangements. Three days from now, someone will pretend to be delivering goods."

"We'll infiltrate the R&D workshop of the steel rolling mill and strike while Lin Weidong is working overtime. This time we've prepared explosives, so even if he has guns and accomplices, he won't be able to escape."

"Explosives?" A ruthless glint flashed in the deaf old woman's eyes. "Fine! This time it must succeed. If it fails again, I won't forgive you!"

"Don't worry, this time it will be foolproof." The middle-aged man said confidently.

The deaf old woman said no more, turned and left, leaning on her cane.

Lin Weidong lay on the roof until he heard the sound of the courtyard gate closing, then slowly got up.

His eyes were grave. The conversation he had just overheard was incredibly revealing. These remnants of the Qing dynasty dared to use explosives; they were utterly depraved.

He didn't linger. He retraced his steps along the rooftop, jumped over the courtyard wall, and strode quickly toward the Municipal Public Security Bureau.

Halfway there, Lin Weidong grew increasingly frustrated. "We've already gotten so worked up, and we still have to hold back? There aren't any security cameras here!"

Lin Weidong paused, then turned and hurried toward the steel rolling mill.

Seeing Lin Weidong's angry face, Su Wanqing went to the workshop, grabbed some tools, and headed towards the military workshop.

Su Wanqing watched Lin Weidong leave with a worried expression. She knew he was definitely going to do something, but she didn't intend to ask.

Lin Weidong went to the military workshop and the materials warehouse and took away several kilograms of gunpowder.

He went to his private workshop in the steel rolling mill, and just before he was about to leave work, Lin Weidong came out carrying a cloth bag full of things.

Anyone with a keen eye would recognize this as a time bomb. Lin Weidong asked Li Huaide for the car keys, drove off, and left the steel mill.

Lin Weidong did not return to the courtyard house, but instead found a state-run restaurant for a meal. After finishing his meal, Lin Weidong checked the time and returned to his car to rest.

When it was completely dark, Lin Weidong started the jeep again and drove to an intersection not far from the courtyard house.

Carrying the cloth bag from the passenger seat, Lin Weidong made his way to the wall of the rear building.

Lin Weidong skillfully climbed over the wall into the courtyard and looked around.

Observations revealed that there were probably not many people in this courtyard, only about twenty, mainly in the central courtyard.

He then placed time bombs outside every room where the lights were on.