Courtyard House: Home Alone

He Daqing's voice came from inside: "Who is it?"

"Uncle He, it's me! It's Xiao Fan. I just got back, I came to see Zhu Zi."

The door creaked open, and He Daqing, wearing a patched old cotton-padded coat, looked surprised and delighted. "Xiao Fan? You're back, kid! Come in, it's cold outside." He stepped aside to let Lin Yifan in, then turned back and called out to the inner room, "Zhu Zi! Come out quickly, see who's here!"

There was a rustling sound inside the room, and soon a chubby-faced boy came running out from the inner room. It was He Yuzhu.

When he saw Lin Yifan, his eyes widened instantly, all sleepiness vanished from his face, and he rushed to Lin Yifan, grinning, "Brother Fan! You're finally back! I thought you'd forgotten about me!"

Lin Yifan reached out and ruffled his hair, laughing, "How could I forget? I'm back now. How's your training these past few days? Have you been slacking off?"

He Yuzhu puffed out his chest and patted it, saying, "Brother Fan, don't worry, I practice every day exactly as you taught me! I haven't slacked off at all! You can test me if you don't believe me!"

He Daqing chuckled from the side, "This kid has been quite diligent these past few days. He gets up before dawn every day to practice, keeping me up at night." Though it was a complaint, his tone was full of satisfaction.

Lin Yifan smiled and nodded, his gaze sweeping over the small room. The room was simply furnished with a square table, a few benches, an old wardrobe against the wall, and some miscellaneous items piled in the corner, but it was all kept clean and tidy.

He Daqing gestured for Lin Yifan to sit down and poured him a bowl of hot water: "Xiao Fan, how many days will you stay this time? How is your master?"

"Yes, Master is doing well. I plan to stay at home for a few days this time." Lin Yifan took the bowl of water, warming his hands with it. "Uncle He, is everything alright at home?"

"Okay, okay, thanks to you, everything is fine."

He Daqing sighed, a trace of worry flashing across his face. "It's just that the world is not peaceful. People are being killed every day, and prices are rising sharply. Life is a bit tight."

He glanced at He Yuzhu and said, "That kid Zhuzi is so ambitious. I was thinking of sending him to school when he's your age."

But with all this war and chaos, and schools opening and closing intermittently, who has the mind to study? Just surviving is a blessing.

He Yuzhu, listening nearby, retorted defiantly, "Dad, I'm not going to school! I want to learn skills from Brother Fan, so I can be like 'Ghost,' killing traitors and fighting Japanese devils!"

He Daqing glared at him, annoyed. "You brat, all you know is fighting! Xiao Fan has real skills, do you think you can learn that? You should work on building up your strength first!"

Lin Yifan smiled and smoothed things over: "Uncle He, it's good that Zhuzi has this intention. In this world, it's always good to learn some skills for self-defense. He has good potential and is willing to put in the effort; he'll be successful in the future."

He Daqing sighed, "Well, I hope so. By the way, Xiao Fan, you haven't eaten yet, have you? Want to grab something to eat here?"

Lin Yifan quickly waved his hand: "No, Uncle He, Grandpa Zhang and Aunt Zhang are already working on it for me. I just came to check on the pillar."

He turned to He Yuzhu, "Zhuzi, come out with me for a moment, I'm going to test your studies these past few days."

"Okay!" He Yuzhu replied excitedly and followed Lin Yifan out of the house.

The two arrived at the open space in the central courtyard. He Yuzhu immediately struck a pose and said impatiently, "Brother Fan, how's my horse stance?" As he spoke, he spread his legs and firmly assumed a horse stance. Although it was still a bit immature, it was much more standard than it had been a few days ago.

Lin Yifan walked around him, carefully observing his posture, occasionally adjusting the angle of his knees and the straightness of his back with his hands. "Hmm, you've improved. Open your knees out a little more, pay attention to sinking your hips. Yes, like that, hold it, and feel the power in your lower body."

He Yuzhu gritted his teeth and persevered, and fine beads of sweat soon appeared on his forehead, but his eyes remained unusually focused.

Lin Yifan could sense that there were people watching from behind several windows in the central courtyard. He was too lazy to check on them, and continued to instruct He Yuzhu: "Very good, focus your energy in your dantian, imagine your feet are rooted in the ground, not moving an inch. Remember, the horse stance is the foundation. If the foundation is not solid, no matter how fancy the later skills are, they will be useless."

As he spoke, he gently nudged He Yuzhu's shin with his toe, "Stay steady, don't sway."

He Yuzhu gritted his teeth, his face turning red, and stubbornly refused to sway. Lin Yifan nodded in satisfaction; this child was not only energetic but also willing to work hard—a promising talent.

Seeing his earnestness, I nodded in satisfaction and taught him a few new boxing moves, demonstrating and explaining the key points as I went.

"For this punch, you need to pay attention to twisting your waist and rotating your hips, sending out all the power from your whole body, not just relying on your arm strength..."

He Yuzhu studied very diligently, imitating each move perfectly. He would ask questions immediately when he encountered something he didn't understand, and Lin Yifan would patiently correct him again and again.

In the courtyard, two boys, one sweating profusely and the other giving careful guidance, were bathed in the dim moonlight, creating a tranquil yet hopeful scene.

In the adjacent room, Zhang Cuihua was looking at the two people in the courtyard through the window, muttering, "Two little rascals, what are they doing, making a ruckus in the courtyard in the middle of the night instead of sleeping? Aren't they afraid of disturbing the neighbors!" Zhang Cuihua snorted and stopped talking, but her gaze remained fixed on the window.

Lin Yifan wasn't oblivious to the commotion around him, but he didn't care. His mind was now solely focused on how to quickly strengthen his power to prepare for the impending storm.

Teaching He Yuzhu martial arts is both fulfilling a promise and cultivating a capable person. This child is kind-hearted and tenacious; with a little guidance, he will surely achieve great things in the future.

As for his mother, with Lin Yifan by her side, she certainly wouldn't let her leave her children so soon. In fact, Lin Yifan had secretly added a suitable amount of spiritual spring water to her bowl several times while she was eating, and her complexion had improved considerably.

Later, when the rainy season arrives, we can persuade He Daqing to send her to Peking Union Medical College Hospital, and then everything will be fine. With Han Fengzhi, He Daqing won't go to Baoding, and half of the petty squabbles in the courtyard will be ruined.

"Alright, that's enough for today." Seeing that He Yuzhu was indeed exhausted, Lin Yifan stopped the training. "Remember what I taught you, go back and think about it carefully, and continue tomorrow morning."

"Thank you, Brother Fan!" Although He Yuzhu was sweating profusely and panting heavily, his face was beaming with excitement as he nodded vigorously.

Lin Yifan patted him on the shoulder, "Get some rest." After saying that, he turned around and prepared to walk towards Grandpa Zhang's house in the front yard.