Courtyard House: Home Alone

Chen Gongshu smiled and nodded: "Then I'm relieved. I'll send him a message right away. Oh, there's something else. Grandpa Tang wants you to visit him when you get back. He says he has something important to discuss with you."

"Alright, I'll visit the old man as soon as I get back to Beiping. I also need to clarify things with him in person about this batch of weapons." Lin Yifan put down his teacup and agreed.

At this moment, after Chen Gongshu finished reporting on recent events, Tang Juye glanced at Lü Wei and Sun Xiwei beside him. The three of them stood up and bowed to Lin Yifan: "Young Master, thank you for bringing our families here. We will definitely..."

"Work hard with 'Ghost,' and we'll never let you down for saving our lives and taking care of us. From now on, we brothers will face any danger without hesitation."

Lin Yifan quickly reached out to help the three of them up, and said with a smile, "We're all on the same side, so there's no need for such formalities. Your families should have been brought here anyway. You're all fighting the Japanese on the front lines, so your families back home can't be harmed. Just keep up the good work and kill more Japanese soldiers."

The three of them sat down again, their eyes red with tears, their admiration for Lin Yifan growing even stronger. They then finalized the arrangements for sending their families to Beiping in batches, deciding that the first group would depart the next day. After confirming there were no other oversights, they got up to say goodbye.

Lin Yifan packed up and, early the next morning, joined the first group to set off for Beiping.

Lin Yifan rushed to the Municipal Committee as soon as he got off the train back in Beiping. He had been away for more than a month and knew that his grandfather must have a lot of things to deal with.

He greeted Shi Tou, who was standing at the entrance of the committee, and then went straight to Tang Baolin's office and knocked on the door.

From inside came Old Master Tang's familiar voice: "Come in."

Lin Yifan pushed open the door and walked in, and saw Tang Baolin wearing reading glasses, sitting behind his desk reviewing documents. When he saw him come in, Tang Baolin quickly put down his pen, took off his glasses, smiled and invited him to sit down, and even got up to pour him a cup of tea.

"You're finally back, kid. I've got a ton of things piled up here, just waiting for you to come back and make the decisions," Tang Baolin said with a smile, sitting back in the main seat and holding his teacup.

Lin Yifan took the tea and smiled, "Thank you for your trouble, sir. We took a detour and were delayed for a few days. I've picked up all the family members who came from the south. The first batch has already come with me, and the rest will arrive in batches over the next few days."

Grandpa Tang nodded: "You handled this matter beautifully. I knew you would be able to handle it without any problems."

"By the way, what about those weapons from the Soviet Union, and those dozens of tanks? These past few days, Commander Kong and Political Commissar Xiao have been taking turns asking what your plans are for them."

"These things were originally prepared for them. Although I won the bet, I still need to contact the top leaders of the Red Party first, so that they don't think our things came too easily."

Have someone contact Commander Kong later and ask him to come over tomorrow. I'll explain the situation to him in person and make sure he completes all the necessary paperwork.

"But those tank drivers still need to be trained by themselves as soon as possible; I don't have that many drivers available for them." Lin Yifan said to Grandpa Tang with a smile, holding a cup of tea.

"That makes sense. Xiao Fan! Commander Kong and his men have been busy for over a month. I heard they've recruited over 30,000 new soldiers alone, which has made it a bit difficult for our factories to find workers."

Furthermore, our grain depots have been completed, and several factories have broken ground. The engineering and technical personnel from the United States have made great contributions.

In particular, the Chinese technicians are incredibly hardworking and generous, teaching our local workers how to do the skills. Now, our own workers can handle many basic tasks.

By the way, that large arms factory you mentioned before, the foundation work is already finished. According to the blueprints you provided, the reinforced concrete structure has already reached the second floor. It should be completed and put into production in a few more months.

Lin Yifan was pleased to hear this. Everything was progressing according to plan. As long as the arsenal could be put into production smoothly, they would be able to produce their own weapons and ammunition, no longer relying entirely on the stock in their space and equipment traded from outside. Supporting a larger anti-Japanese force would be no problem at all.

He put down his teacup, looked at Tang Baolin, and asked, "Is there anything else? Besides these construction matters, have the Japanese made any new moves lately?"

"The Japanese have been very well-behaved lately, perhaps they've been frightened by the 'Ghost's' actions in Tianjin. By the way, the Jewish quarter you mentioned is almost finished."

Everything there has been built as you described, in a closed-off manner, for future management. The entrance and outer guard posts are already completed, and security personnel are in place. It's just waiting for the Jews to arrive so they can move in immediately. Space has also been reserved for the supporting facilities, including a school, clinic, and small shops, which can be set up at any time.

Grandpa Tang flipped through the documents on the table and continued, "By the way, the school building for the medical and nursing school you mentioned earlier is all ready."

The first batch of over two hundred students has already started classes. Most are locally recruited, educated female students, with a dozen or so nurses from the south volunteering as instructors. The progress is much faster than we expected.

Lin Yifan nodded upon hearing this. The fact that everything was progressing so smoothly was reassuring. After a moment's thought, he asked, "Are all the houses in Dongjiaomin Lane ready? Once the families arrive in batches, can they move in directly?"

"It's all been tidied up and cleaned up, and all the furniture is in place. As soon as people arrive, they can move in. No one will be left to sleep outdoors."

"By the way, the biggest problem now is manpower. With so many factories starting construction all at once, there are reports of staff shortages everywhere. Wages have also increased significantly!" Tang Baolin said helplessly.

"Old man, actually, what China has in abundance is people. In the Central Plains and in the surrounding Japanese-occupied areas, there are too many people who want to escape the clutches of the Japanese."

They just don't know that our Beiping is almost a paradise on earth. So what we need to do now is find a way to let them know.

In addition, several routes to Beiping should be opened so that people in the occupied areas can be safely transferred here in batches.

We have many factories here, which are perfect for absorbing these young and strong people who have fled here. Men can work in factories, and women can work in medical and nursing schools or garment factories. The elderly and children can also be resettled.

This solves our manpower shortage problem and also provides a way for ordinary people struggling under the clutches of the Japanese invaders to survive—a win-win situation.

Old Master Tang's eyes lit up, and he immediately slammed his hand on the table: "This is a great idea! How come I didn't think of that before? We're short-handed, and so many people outside are struggling to survive. It's perfect to bring them over. As long as they come, we can always find them work."

I'll have my subordinates arrange this later, contacting various underground organizations to help mobilize them, indicating routes to those willing to come, and arranging for rendezvous along the way.

"No! Grandpa, that's just a middle-ground strategy. I have a better one. We'll have the Japanese deliver it to us, and we'll protect them along the way," Lin Yifan said mysteriously.