Courtyard House: Home Alone

Meanwhile, at the Tang residence, Lin Yifan looked at Tang Baolin's haggard face and felt a pang of sorrow. "Grandpa, it was my oversight. The affairs of Beiping are numerous and complex; I shouldn't have let you shoulder them all alone. You called me here today because..."

As they spoke, Lin Yifan added some spiritual spring water to the old man's teacup with a thought. Next, it was time to consider the management of Beiping.

"Xiao Fan! I'm an old man, but being able to do something for the people of Beiping makes me feel good. As for you, you've been running around these past few days, and you've lost weight." Tang Baolin picked up his teacup, took a sip, and his cloudy eyes suddenly brightened. "Hmm! This tea today…"

"Grandpa!" Lin Yifan casually changed the subject, "You were in such a hurry to see me, has something happened?"

Tang Baolin put down his teacup, the wrinkles on his face smoothing out before quickly gathering into deeper furrows: "Xiao Fan, the Japanese have sent a letter saying they've dispatched a special envoy to see me to discuss the safety of the people of Beiping."

He sneered, "These beasts, they didn't care about the people when they were killing them, and now they're using the people as an excuse."

"When?"

"I've set the time and place: this morning, at Zhimeizhai."

Tang Baolin put down his teacup and continued, "In addition, the visitor also said that the main purpose of this meeting was to ask what conditions 'Ghost' would have to stop the killing of the Japanese devils."

So, the reason I urgently called you over is to ask you how to negotiate with the Japanese devils.

Lin Yifan's fingers gently traced the rim of the teacup, his gaze fixed on the old locust tree outside the window. The March wind rustled the new leaves, as if whispering something.

"Old sir," he began slowly, his voice a few decibels lower than usual, "tell me first, how much do you know about this Shimizu Tosan?"

Tang Baolin shook his head and said with a wry smile, "We know nothing about him. Xiao Fan, we have some intelligence, but it all came from Manager Zhou. It turns out... we've never done this before."

Lin Yifan frowned slightly. "Grandpa, these kinds of negotiations can't be accomplished in just one or two rounds. The main reason you're going today is to find out what the Japanese are up to."

I estimate that their primary objective is to find the "ghost." The Japanese are terrified of the "ghost," but so far, they don't even know whether the "ghost" is male or female.

We often say that the most terrifying enemy is the unknown one. Sir, just go ahead as usual and see what the Japanese devils are really up to.

Only by knowing their purpose can we figure out a way to deal with them. Also, I think the Japanese will definitely intensify their surveillance on you, so you need to be careful yourself.

As for assassinating you, I think that's unlikely, because their target is "Ghost," and they even want to use you to find "Ghost."

"Okay, I understand. I specifically called Zhao Gang back from the pharmaceutical factory today, and I'll take him there in a bit."

"Old man, don't worry, I'll have someone clean up the trash around you. The Japanese devils thinking they can find 'Ghost' through you are delusional."

Lin Yifan stood up, walked to the window, his back to Tang Baolin, and said in a soft but clear voice, "But you must remember, no matter what the Japanese say, don't agree to it easily."

The "ghost" was a sword hanging over the heads of the Japanese invaders; as long as the "ghost" was around, they dared not make any rash moves in Beiping.

Tang Baolin gazed at the young man's retreating figure and suddenly felt that the figure was even more unfathomable than when they first met. He picked up his teacup and drank the rest of the tea in one gulp. The refreshing sweetness seeped from his throat all the way to his heart, and even made him feel more energetic.

"Xiao Fan,"

He set down his teacup, the porcelain bottom striking the wooden table with a crisp sound. "I've lived for sixty-three years, and I've seen my share of storms. Just go ahead and do it; my old bones can still handle it."

Lin Yifan turned around, his face already regaining its usual composure.

"Xiao Fan," Tang Baolin said, his eyes, though beneath his white eyebrows, were as clear as a young boy's, "who exactly is this 'ghost'?"

Lin Yifan smiled slightly, a strange sense of detachment in his smile, as if he were observing everything from a great distance: "Grandpa, who 'Ghost' is is unimportant. What's important is that the people of Beiping need this knife, and the knife will never need to know why it exists."

Tang Baolin paused for a moment, then burst into laughter, the sound shaking the dust off the windowpane: "Good! What a brilliant 'a knife doesn't need to know why it exists'! Xiao Fan, you put it so clearly, much better than this old man who's practiced boxing his whole life."

He stood up, stretched his limbs, and his joints cracked slightly: "Zhao Gang! Zhao Gang!"

Zhao Gang entered in response, first greeting Lin Yifan, then approaching the old man. "Master, what are your orders?"

"Go, check the private rooms of our 'Zhimeizhai' restaurant again, especially the back windows and the stairwell. Also, have the men keep a close watch on the road from Xizhuan Hutong to Dongjiaomin Lane, making sure no one can cut off our retreat."

"Yes!" Zhao Gang turned to leave, but Lin Yifan stopped him: "Brother Zhao, wait a moment. You just stay with the old man for a while. I'll take care of the rest. I want to see how many tricks the Japanese still have up their sleeves in Beiping."

"Yes, young master, I understand."

Lin Yifan turned to Tang Baolin and said, "Grandpa, you can go without worry. I will arrange for people to protect you."

Zhao Gang straightened his back, his gaze quickly sweeping between Lin Yifan and Tang Baolin, before finally nodding heavily. "Master, young master, then I'll go to the front yard to prepare the carriage." Zhao Gang clasped his hands in a salute, and as he turned, his cloth shoes made a steady sound on the blue brick ground.

Tang Baolin watched his apprentice's burly figure disappear outside the moon gate, then suddenly lowered his voice: "Xiao Fan, Zhao Gang is an honest boy, there are some things..."

"Don't worry, sir."

Lin Yifan continued, "Brother Zhao is your personally trained disciple, and he's trustworthy. However, I'll make other arrangements for the area around Zhimeizhai today."

"Xiao Fan, these methods of yours..." He paused, but ultimately didn't ask.

Lin Yifan, however, had already sensed his hesitation and smiled slightly: "It's getting late, old man, you should set off."

Remember, whatever Shimizu Tousan says, just listen; there's no need to rush to respond. The initiative in negotiations is never in the hands of the one who talks the most.

Tang Baolin straightened his long robe and held the sandalwood cane he never parted with in his palm. The cane looked ordinary, but it actually contained a fine steel short sword, a token passed down from the founder of the Xingyi School.

He walked to the door, then suddenly turned back: "Xiao Fan, if that Dong San from Qingshui really uses the safety of the people as a pretext, how should I respond?"

"Just ask him,"

Lin Yifan's voice came from the window, tinged with coldness, "Ask him if the three hundred floating corpses at Tianjin Wharf count as a matter of public safety. Ask him if the burned-down villages outside Shicheng count as a matter of public safety. Old man, the islanders' 'peace' has always been written with bayonets."

A glint of light flashed in Tang Baolin's cloudy eyes, followed by a loud laugh: "Good! Good! I'll go and meet this islander right now, and see if his tongue can turn black into white!"