Courtyard House: Home Alone

He bid farewell to Tang Baolin, left the municipal committee building, and used his spiritual power to look around his house. He found Wenxiu and the other two listlessly gathered in the kitchen, with Xia Yan pouting and muttering unhappily, "What's wrong with the young master? Why isn't he back yet? Does he not want us anymore?!"

"Don't overthink it. Why would the young master abandon us? He must be reluctant to leave his sister, so he's staying a few more days," Wenxiu said.

Xinyi stirred the porridge in the pot intermittently with a spoon and said, "I don't know when the young master will be back. Without him, food has no taste."

"You little rascal, are you having puberty?" Wenxiu suddenly poked Xinyi's arm with a laugh and teased her.

Xinyi's face flushed instantly. She raised her hand and slapped Wenxiu, saying coquettishly, "Wenxiu, what nonsense are you talking about? I think you're the one who's lovesick! You're so restless all day, your eyes always glancing towards the door!"

The two girls immediately started laughing and wrestling together, and Xia Yan, watching from the side, clapped her hands and joined in the commotion, filling the kitchen with lighthearted laughter.

Lin Yifan looked at the three girls making a ruckus inside the house, his heart warmed. With a thought, he teleported to the gate of the courtyard and knocked on the door.

The laughter in the courtyard stopped abruptly, followed by Wenxiu's voice: "Who is it?"

Lin Yifan smiled and replied, "Wenxiu, it's me, I'm back."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than hurried footsteps echoed in the courtyard, followed by the gate being flung open with a "whoosh," revealing three pretty girls standing inside, their eyes shining brightly.

Xin Yi was the first to react, rushing over to grab Lin Yifan's arm, her voice trembling slightly: "Young Master, you're finally back! We all thought you wouldn't arrive for several more days!"

Wenxiu followed behind, her hands still covered in flour, her eyes crinkling into crescents, her smile impossible to hide: "Young master, you must be tired from your journey. Come in quickly, the porridge is freshly cooked, and I've saved some good dishes for you."

Xia Yan squeezed to the front, tilted her little face up, and hummed, "I told you you'd definitely come back today, but they didn't believe me. Now that you've won, you have to buy me osmanthus cake from that shop in the south of the city as a prize."

Lin Yifan smiled and patted Xia Yan's head before following the three into the courtyard. The fatigue from the long journey immediately dissipated.

Once inside, a hot meal was quickly served. Lin Yifan was indeed hungry, so he ate two large bowls of food. The three girls sat around the table, watching him eat with unblinking eyes, chatting about the interesting things that had happened at home recently, even telling him about the new sprouts of the vegetables planted in the yard.

After eating and drinking his fill, Lin Yifan leaned back in his chair, watching the three girls clearing away the dishes around the table. Their eyes were full of smiles, and he felt at ease. The fatigue from his journey had finally dissipated.

He got up to go to the kitchen to help clean up, but Wenxiu pushed him out, saying that he was tired from the journey and should just sit and rest, and that the three of them could do the work.

Lin Yifan could only smile and sit back in the rattan chair, listening to the laughter coming from the kitchen. He felt that such a peaceful life was truly wonderful.

After they finished tidying up and came out, Lin Yifan took out the little trinkets he had brought back from the south and distributed them to the three girls: he brought Wenxiu a pretty silver hairpin, Xinyi a piece of scented soap from Southeast Asia, and Xiayan the osmanthus candy she had been longing for.

Xia Yan clutched the candy and jumped up and down with joy. Xin Yi held the scented soap and smelled it again and again. Wen Xiu stuck the silver hairpin in her hair, looked at herself through the glass of the courtyard gate, and her eyes were full of happiness.

After making a fuss for a while, it got late, and the three girls went back to their rooms. Before leaving, Wenxiu turned back to tell him that he was tired from the journey and should rest early, as the hot water had already been boiled and poured into the bathtub.

Lin Yifan responded, closed the door, and looked at the warm atmosphere of the room filled with their scent. The smile on his lips never faded. After traveling for so long, he was finally home.

A month has passed in the blink of an eye. People from the surrounding areas of Beiping began flocking to Beiping half a month ago, and the number of people entering the Beiping area every day is increasing.

"Xiao Fan, your idea is brilliant! Just like you said, those Japanese devils really did escort those civilians all the way here, as if they were afraid of losing someone along the way," Tang Baolin said with a smile while drinking tea.

Looking at Grandpa Tang's smiling face, Lin Yifan also smiled: "We know exactly what the Japanese are up to. They want to deplete our food reserves, but little did they know that 'Ghost' had already paved the way out."

Now that these people have come in, once they settle down, they won't be able to support themselves for long. In another six months, when our factory starts production and begins shipping, we'll not only be able to support these people, but we'll also have a considerable surplus.

Tang Baolin nodded, put down his teacup, pointed to the registration book on the table, and said, "As of yesterday, nearly 120,000 people have come in."

The able-bodied men and women were all assigned to various factories and construction sites, the elderly and children were placed in temporary shelters, and the young women were assigned to clothing factories and other suitable positions. Everything went smoothly and without any major problems.

The labor shortage has been largely resolved, but with more and more people arriving, the livelihoods of those who come later are now a problem.

Also, the weather has been getting hotter lately, and many people only brought a single layer of clothing when they came. I'm worried that there will be a significant shortage of cotton and fabric when it gets cold.

"Old man, you don't need to worry about the livelihood of the people. When the Japanese were here, they killed so many people. Most of the area around Beiping City was deserted. When new people come, we will organize them into a natural village of 100 households and let them reclaim wasteland and farm. We will provide seeds and livestock, and we will also provide food in the early stages."

In this way, we can solve their livelihood problem and also solve part of our food problem. After this year's autumn harvest, they will be able to be self-sufficient and even pay some of the grain tax to the city. In the long run, it is a sure-fire way to make money.

As for the shortage of cotton and cloth, there's no need to worry. I'll contact 'Ghost' to find a solution. Later, I'll contact the Soviet Union or the United States to exchange for a batch of textile equipment. That way, our clothing problem will be solved.

Upon hearing this, Grandpa Tang was immediately relieved and slapped the table, praising, "So you had already arranged everything. I was worried for nothing. With you here to keep watch, this old man can finally relax."

As the two were talking, Shi Tou came in from outside and handed over a telegram, saying that it had just been received by our telegraph operator and was sent by Kong Jie from the Independent Regiment.

Lin Yifan took the telegram and opened it. It was a reply from the Red Party headquarters. They not only agreed to the previous method of offsetting the payment with antiques and supplies, but also said that the headquarters had just received a batch of cultural relics unearthed from the Eastern Qing Tombs. They originally intended to exchange them for urgently needed supplies, which could be used to offset the payment for this batch of weapons.

The other party also said they hoped to arrange a time in the next couple of days to hand over the weapons and artifacts in person, and also to let the comrades from headquarters meet with Lin Yifan.