Courtyard House: Home Alone

Grandpa Zhang closed the door and lowered his voice, "Young master, you don't know, things haven't been peaceful in Beiping these past two months. The Japanese are doing this 'Iron Wall Encirclement,' they built a lot of pillboxes around us a month ago, completely surrounding Beiping."

Grain, salt, and nothing else could be transported in, which greatly worried the old man. He sent out many people, but it was all in vain, and two men were even killed by the Japanese.

Lin Yifan frowned slightly: "Is all the equipment at the pharmaceutical factory installed? Can we start trial production now?"

"They said it's trial production today, but I don't know the specifics. The old man puts Zhao Gang in charge of things over there."

The furnishings in the main hall remained unchanged, and the painting "Pine and Crane for Longevity" on the wall was still the one Old Master Tang received on his 70th birthday. Lin Yifan sat down in the armchair, but his spiritual power had already spread westward like a tide, crossing the city wall and reaching the pharmaceutical factory in the western suburbs.

The outline of the pharmaceutical factory gradually became clear—the walls had been raised and widened, with two watchtowers on each of the four sides, and three bunkers built along each side of the walls. The front was the office area, the middle was the production workshop, and the back was the warehouse and dormitory.

His "vision" continued to extend downwards, where underground construction was in full swing, and judging by its scale, it was even larger than he had requested.

"Forget it, I'll go myself." Lin Yifan stopped the old butler who was preparing to make tea: "Uncle Zhang, don't bother, I'll go to the pharmaceutical factory too."

"That's fine, that's fine too."

The old steward nodded repeatedly, "Young master, please be careful on your journey. Things are not peaceful outside the city these days. I heard that the Japanese devils in the southern suburbs are not far from us."

Lin Yifan nodded slightly, stood up, and walked out. He didn't choose to teleport directly there—in broad daylight, with so many people and eyes at the pharmaceutical factory, appearing out of nowhere would inevitably cause a commotion.

He scanned the surrounding area with his spiritual power, found a secluded alley, took out the Ford from his spatial storage, started the engine, and drove west.

The streets of Beiping were much quieter than they had been two months ago. Long queues formed outside grain stores, and the shopkeepers hung up "Sold Out" signs with long faces.

The rickshaw puller, pulling his empty rickshaw, swayed slowly under the scorching sun. When he saw this gleaming rickshaw, his eyes held both envy and indifference.

Many new shacks have been built at the foot of the city wall, where refugees with their families huddle in the shade, staring blankly at passersby.

The disastrous consequences of the "iron wall encirclement" were already evident. Lin Yifan's fingers tightened slightly around the steering wheel. How long could Okamura Yasuji's order to cease hostilities last? Once the Japanese high command discovered the commander's disappearance, they would inevitably restart the blockade.

He might only have a few days left. In these two days, he must break through the Japanese blockade.

As Lin Yifan exited Xizhimen, the police at the checkpoint stopped the car. Lin Yifan rolled down the window, and the policeman, seeing it was him, immediately bowed and said, "Young master, are you going out?" He waved to the other two officers to remove the roadblock and let him pass.

The pharmaceutical factory is located in a low-lying area in the western suburbs. It was originally the site of a gunpowder factory run by the Westernization Movement in the late Qing Dynasty. Now, it is surrounded by high walls, and the guards on the four corner watchtowers are armed with live ammunition.

As soon as Lin Yifan's car arrived at the main gate, Zhao Gang came out to greet him with two security guards.

"Young Master!"

Zhao Gang's voice was filled with barely suppressed excitement. He had clearly lost weight in the past two months, his eyes were sunken, but his back was ramrod straight. "You're finally back! Grandpa Tang and the others are in the workshop. Dr. Chen has already arranged for trial production! He said the medicine will be ready in just over an hour."

Lin Yifan got out of the car, his gaze sweeping over the firing ports on the wall and the sandbag fortifications at the base of the wall: "The defensive fortifications are well-constructed."

"It was modified according to the drawings you provided."

Zhao Gang lowered his voice, "The underground construction has also started. They've dug the main passage and three storage rooms, as well as two laboratories, and two ventilation shafts. It's just..."

He hesitated for a moment, then said, "The problem is that cement and steel are hard to get; the Japanese have sealed off the area too tightly."

"I've already arranged the materials. I'll have Shi Tou start sending them over tonight."

"Young master!" Zhao Gang's eyes widened. "You mean...?"

"A batch of goods just arrived in Tianjin," Lin Yifan said casually, as if he were just talking about an ordinary trivial matter.

"The steel, cement, and those equipment parts you're missing are enough to triple the size of the underground project. Stone knows the way; have him lead the team to transport them overnight."

Zhao Gang's Adam's apple bobbed. In the past two months, he'd nearly broken his legs and even lost two of his men trying to get a truckload of cement. This young man, on the other hand, had gone out for a stroll and solved the most difficult problem with a single, casual remark.

He opened his mouth, but ultimately just nodded emphatically: "I'll go arrange it right away!"

"No rush," Lin Yifan raised his hand to stop him. "Take me to see the trial production first."

As Lin Yifan passed through the office area, his mental energy had already quietly seeped into the ground. The main passage was three meters wide and two and a half meters high, with a 30-centimeter-thick reinforced concrete roof. There was a blast door every ten meters.

Of the three storage rooms, two were sealed to prevent moisture from affecting the pharmaceutical raw materials, while the other was filled with pharmaceutical equipment transported from Tianjin.

In the two laboratories, Dr. Chen's team was adjusting the instruments, and the clinking of glassware echoed in the empty underground space.

"Faster than expected." He withdrew his mental energy and said to Zhao Gang beside him.

"The brothers worked in three shifts, without a single day off," Zhao Gang said with pride. "Dr. Chen said that the standards of this underground fortification are even more solid than the air-raid shelters he's seen in Germany."

A faint herbal scent filled the production workshop. Grandpa Tang stood in front of the central control panel, his gray hair trembling slightly in the steam.

Beside him were Shi Tou and several factory security guards. Everyone was staring at the tablet press imported from Germany, watching the first tablet slide out of the outlet.

"Good! Good!" Old Master Tang picked up the white round tablet and examined it against the light. "The color is uniform, and the hardness is just right. Dr. Chen, the quality of this painkiller is no worse than the imported ones from Shanghai!"

"Old man,"

Dr. Chen adjusted his glasses, his eyes behind the lenses bloodshot. "This is just trial production; mass production will require adjustments to the pressure parameters. Also,"

He lowered his voice, "The raw materials are only enough to last half a month, especially those imported auxiliary materials, which are simply unavailable in Beiping."

"I'll take care of the ingredients."

Lin Yifan's voice made everyone turn around. Old Master Tang's hand trembled, almost dropping the pills, but he strode forward, his eyes reddening: "Yifan! You brat! You've been out of touch for over two months! Do you even know how much this old man..."

I'm sorry to have worried you.

Lin Yifan supported the old man's arm, feeling the slight tremor. "Grandpa, I went to Wudu and found my parents. I came back after my mother gave birth to my sister."

On my way back, I went to Shanghai and Tianjin, which took a few days. So, I came straight here as soon as I got back.