Courtyard House: Home Alone

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the main gate of the Tang family mansion was wide open, with two large red lanterns hanging at the entrance, swaying gently in the morning breeze. Butler Zhang was waiting at the gate early this morning to welcome those who came to pay their respects.

Upon seeing Lin Yifan and his three companions, he greeted them with a beaming smile from afar: "Happy New Year, young master! Your father has been talking about you all morning, saying you were sure to come and pay your respects!"

The main hall of the Tang residence was warm and inviting. On a rosewood table sat an eight-treasure box filled with candied fruit, melon seeds, walnuts, and other dried fruits. Tang Baolin, dressed in a dark blue robe, was sitting in a grand chair drinking tea. Upon seeing Lin Yifan enter, he immediately put down his teacup and rose to greet him.

"Huaijin is here! Please have a seat!"

Tang Erhe's gaze fell on the three girls, and his smile widened. "These girls are growing more and more beautiful. Here, each of you will receive a red envelope to wish them a happy new year."

Wenxiu, Xinyi, and Xiayan all curtsied in unison, and politely thanked him as they accepted the red envelopes. Lin Yifan observed this, thinking to himself that these girls, who had been with him for over half a year, hadn't forgotten the etiquette of a wealthy family.

"Grandpa Tang, Happy New Year!"

Lin Yifan took the gift box from the maid. "It's a small token of my appreciation. It's some pastries from Daoxiangcun, and some tea that a friend gave me. It's not a particularly expensive variety, but it's the first harvest of spring tea, and the taste is quite refreshing."

Tang Erhe lifted the tin lid of the tea canister, and a refreshing aroma wafted out. He squinted, sniffed, and nodded, saying, "Good tea, much better than those adulterated with flavorings on the market. Huaijin! This is truly excellent."

"Alright, don't stand, come and sit down. And you three girls, you're all guests here to wish me a Happy New Year, so don't stand, sit down with me."

Wenxiu and the others glanced at Lin Yifan, and seeing that he gestured for everyone to sit down, they sat down on the side. The old man had the servants serve tea, and looked at Lin Yifan with a smile: "Huaijin, I was really too busy before the New Year. I was thinking of going to your place, but I thought you would definitely come on the first day of the Lunar New Year, so... I didn't rush to go."

Now that you're here, I'll tell you about the deal I made with those foreigners. After saying that, he glanced at the maid beside him: "Take Wenxiu and the other two to the side room and give them some snacks."

The servants responded and led the three maids to the west wing. Before leaving, Wenxiu glanced back at Lin Yifan, and seeing him nod slightly, she followed him with peace of mind.

Only Tang Erhe and Lin Yifan remained in the main room. The old man added hot water to the purple clay teapot, and the color of the tea soup changed from light to dark, with wisps of steam rising between the two of them.

"Huaijin, before the new year, I reached an agreement with several consuls and businessmen from Britain, the United States, Germany, and France, especially Smith from the United States, who promised to provide us with equipment for power plants and steel mills."

And I guarantee it's at least 80% new. My current concern is the shipping.

It was through this negotiation with the foreigners that I realized that penicillin was more precious than gold in their eyes.

Especially the Japanese; they were actually willing to pay double the black market price for our penicillin. Although the Japanese had signed an agreement with us, money can be a powerful motivator, and no one could guarantee that the Japanese wouldn't have malicious intentions. The key point was that our delivery point with the foreigners was at the Tianjin dock.

Tang Erhe lowered his voice, "Also, they all want to obtain exclusive distribution rights in their respective countries..."

"Exclusive agency?"

Lin Yifan tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest of the chair twice, the rhythm as steady as the falling beads of an abacus.

"Mr. Tang, what was your response regarding the exclusive agency agreement?"

"Me?" Tang Erhe picked up his teacup but didn't drink it immediately. "I told them I couldn't make the decision; we had to wait for Huaijin to arrive. Those foreigners' faces immediately fell, especially that Englishman John; he was completely rude."

Lin Yifan smiled, a smile carrying a youthful sharpness: "Just pull them down. The more eager they are to get it, the more valuable the deal is."

"you mean……"

"Exclusive agency agreements are negotiable," Lin Yifan leaned forward slightly, "but not by country, but by continent. One agency in Europe, one in the Americas, one in Asia, and we'll put Australia and Africa on hold for now. Whoever offers the best terms will take the lion's share."

Tang Erhe's eyes lit up, his teacup hovering in mid-air: "What a brilliant divide-and-conquer strategy! Let them fight it out themselves, and we'll reap the benefits?"

"more than."

Lin Yifan took out a folded piece of paper from his pocket, which unfolded into a simple hand-drawn map. "Grandpa Tang, take a look. This is a rough sketch of the various transportation lines."

Tianjin Wharf was the closest, but also the riskiest—it was the headquarters of the Japanese North China Area Army, only a little over a hundred li (about 50 kilometers) from Beijing, neither a long nor a short distance.

Tang Erhe leaned closer to examine the map and saw several winding lines marked with cinnabar ink, some connecting to the direction of the Taihang Mountains and others meandering into the depths of the Bohai Bay.

"This is……"

"Land routes, water routes, and sea routes."

Lin Yifan pointed to a recessed area in the Bohai Bay. "Here, in Caofeidian, ships of up to a thousand tons can enter at high tide. Foreign cargo ships don't need to go to Tianjin Port; they can unload here, and we can transfer the cargo in batches using small boats, traveling along the Daqing River and Ziya River, all the way to Baoding."

"Caofeidian?"

Tang Erhe frowned. "That place is very desolate, and I've heard there are pirates there too."

"Pirates are easy to deal with."

Lin Yifan's voice softened, "I personally handled the first two equipment transactions. You just need to arrange for the pharmaceutical factory to prepare the medicines, and also arrange for personnel to prepare to take over the equipment."

After the New Year, the committee's main task was to select sites for power plants, steel mills, and grain depots.

Once the site is selected, construction will begin. These are all major events concerning the national economy and people's livelihood, and cannot be taken lightly.

Power plants need to be close to water sources, but not too far from urban areas; power transmission line losses must be factored in. Steel mills are even more demanding; ore, coke, and transportation—if any link in the chain breaks, production will stop. Grain depots are simpler, but moisture-proofing, rodent-proofing, and fire prevention are all crucial considerations.

Tang Baolin stroked his beard, his gaze falling on the locations circled in ink on the map: "Huaijin, have you made any progress on these site selections?"

"I have a general idea."

Lin Yifan moved his finger to the northwest corner of the map, "I've set my sights on the power plant in the area of ​​Guanting Reservoir on the upper reaches of the Yongding River."

The steel mill has to move to Qianxi, where there are iron ore deposits. Although the grade isn't top-notch, it's closer to Beiping (Beijing).

"Qianxi..." Tang Erhe hesitated for a moment, "That's a mountainous area; construction there won't be easy."

"That's why we need to act early."

Lin Yifan put away the map. "We'll send people to survey the area once the ice thaws in the spring, and at the same time recruit craftsmen from Tangshan and Tianjin. Old Master Tang, this matter still requires your involvement—your reputation in Beiping is more effective than mine."

Tang Baolin laughed heartily, ripples spreading across the surface of his teacup: "You little rascal, you've got a good plan! Fine, I agree. But..."

He suddenly stopped smiling. "Huaijin, there's something I need to ask you. What exactly is your relationship with 'Ghost' regarding this penicillin?"