Courtyard House: Home Alone

Before they knew it, it was the Lantern Festival. After today's celebration, Lin Yifan was preparing to leave. Upon hearing the news, Lin Yu'an had already moved a small stool and was waiting at the door of his room.

Seeing Lin Yifan come out, she tugged at his sleeve and asked, "Brother, are you leaving after the fifteenth? Can you take me with you to the north?"

Lin Yifan squatted down and peeled a piece of candy with glutinous rice filling for her. He rubbed her soft little face and told her that after they drove the Japanese devils out, he would come back and take her to the north to see the ice lanterns. He would also prepare a big house for her, the kind where she could run around and play as she pleased.

Yu An nodded as if she understood, but still held onto his clothes tightly, saying she wanted to stay with her brother a little longer.

During dinner, the family sat around in the main room making glutinous rice balls. Lin's mother put the jujubes she had prepared in advance into the glutinous rice balls and said that whoever found one would be blessed. Lin Yifan had just bitten into a glutinous rice ball when he bit into it and found the whole jujube inside. Yu'an clapped his hands and laughed, saying that his brother was the most blessed person.

After dinner, dragon lanterns were being played in the streets. Lin Yifan carried Yu'an to the street corner to watch. Along the way, there were children carrying lanterns walking through the streets and alleys, and the sound of firecrackers was constant. The whole street was filled with the festive atmosphere of the New Year.

Yu'an leaned on his shoulder to watch the dragon lantern, clutching the rabbit lantern Lin Yifan had bought for her. Her soft breath brushed against his neck. Lin Yifan watched the fireworks exploding in the sky and secretly made up his mind that he must drive the Japanese out as soon as possible so that such lively and peaceful events could continue every year.

When Lin Yifan returned home that night, he packed his belongings. His mother then stuffed a lot of homemade cured meat and sweet cakes into his bag, repeatedly reminding him to eat on time when he got there and not to work too hard.

Lin Yifan agreed to everything, and woke up shortly after lying down on the bed. He used his mind to place a 20,000 silver dollar note next to his mother's pillow, and glanced at his sleeping sister who was smacking her lips. Before dawn, he turned and left Ping'an Lane.

When Meng Zhuolin woke up in the morning, she saw the silver notes that Yu'an was playing with and knew that her son had left again. Her eyes immediately reddened, and she pulled Wang Ma, who came in to tidy up the room, her voice trembling slightly: "This child, he left early again, leaving behind so much money. How can he spend it all by himself outside?"

Lin Qiqing walked in, looked at the stack of silver notes, sighed, and patted his wife's shoulder: "Let him be. This child knows what he's doing. He's just worried that you'll be mistreated at home. As long as we live a good life, that's what puts his mind at ease the most."

Yu'an tilted her head and watched her mother cry. She ran over with the candy her brother had given her and stuffed it into Meng Zhuolin's hand: "Mom, eat candy. Eating candy will make you less sad. My brother said he'll come back and take me to see the ice lanterns after we drive away the Japanese devils."

Meng Zhuolin squatted down, hugged her daughter, wiped her eyes, and smiled as she tapped her little nose: "Yes, we'll wait for your brother to come back, and after we drive the Japanese away, our family can be together every day."

Lin Yifan teleported towards Beiping, making a detour to Shicheng along the way. He discovered that Shicheng was under the control of the North China Military Region, so he didn't stop and returned directly to Beiping.

As soon as he sat down at home, Yu Wenxiu, who was giving him a massage, said, "Young master, Commander Chen called early this morning and said that you should go to his place after you come back."

Lin Yifan understood immediately: Shicheng had been captured, and they were preparing to advance into the Northeast. He nodded, opened his eyes, and looked at her, saying, "I understand. I just got back. I need to go see Grandpa Tang this afternoon. Tomorrow, I'll go first thing tomorrow morning."

Just then, Xia Yan walked in: "Young Master, dinner's ready. Where shall we eat?"

"Bring it in, we'll eat in the main room. I need to rest for a while after I finish eating. Wenxiu, call me when it's three o'clock. I'll go check on Grandpa."

Yu Wenxiu smiled and agreed, then turned around and followed Xia Yan to get the food. Before long, a table full of steaming dishes was laid out, all of which were home-style dishes that Lin Yifan loved.

Lin Yifan didn't immediately sit down to eat. Instead, he looked at the three graceful women in front of him and said with a smile, "Another year has passed, and we've all grown a year older. Thank you for your company. You've worked hard at home. Here, these are red envelopes for you."

After saying that, he took out three red envelopes containing fifty silver dollars each from his backpack (space) next to him. He placed the silver dollars in Wenxiu's and the others' hands one by one.

Yu Wenxiu, Tian Xinyi, and Xia Yan knew his temperament, so they didn't refuse and each accepted the silver dollars.

"Sister Wenxiu, you should be twenty-one today, right? Xinyi and Xiayan are both nineteen. You've both reached the point where you should be getting married."

"Do you have someone you like? If you do, just tell me, and I'll definitely prepare a proper dowry for you and give you a grand wedding, ensuring you don't suffer any hardship."

Yu Wenxiu was stunned for a moment, then her cheeks flushed slightly. She gently bit her lip and shook her head. Tian Xinyi and Xia Yan also lowered their heads, blushing and remaining silent.

Seeing their expressions, Lin Yifan assumed they were too shy to speak up, so he smiled and advised, "We don't have that many rules in our family. You've been with me for so many years, I've long considered you family. If you have someone you like, don't keep it to yourself. Just tell us so we can discuss it."

After a long while, Yu Wenxiu raised his head, gritted his teeth and said in a low voice, "Young master, I... I don't plan to get married. I just want to stay at home with you and everyone else. That's fine."

Tian Xinyi and Xia Yan also looked up and nodded in unison, whispering in agreement: "We won't get married either, we'll just stay at home and keep the young master company."

Looking at the three women's reddened eyes and tight lips, Lin Yifan understood their thoughts perfectly. A thought struck him, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

After a moment of silence, he sighed softly, waved his hand, and said, "Let's eat first. There's no rush. We can talk about it later."

Seeing that he didn't ask any more questions, the three of them secretly breathed a sigh of relief, sat down next to each other, and served food to Lin Yifan. The lively atmosphere in the room gradually returned to normal.

He sat down and picked up his chopsticks, only to find a plate of his favorite braised pork knuckle on the table. He smiled and looked up at Xia Yan: "Did you just go out and buy this?"

Xia Yan nodded and served him a bowl of rice: "I know you like it, so as soon as you got back, I went to the old shop at the street corner and lined up to buy it. Try it, it's still hot."

Lin Yifan picked up a piece and put it in his mouth. The sauce was just right, and it was soft and tender without being greasy. He nodded and praised it a couple of times, and ate it with satisfaction.

After dinner, Lin Yifan rested on the daybed while Yu Wenxiu peeled oranges for him, talking about what had happened at home during the month he had been gone, including the pharmaceutical factory, steel mill, textile mill, garment factory, and machine tool factory.

Lin Yifan listened, nodding occasionally, while mentally planning the supply arrangements for the subsequent advance into Northeast China. Before long, he leaned back on the sofa and dozed off.

At three o'clock sharp, Yu Wenxiu gently woke him up and handed him the coat draped over the back of the chair: "Get up, we can get there right away, don't keep the old man waiting."