Courtyard House: Home Alone

Lin Yifan quickly walked a few steps to the door and knocked. Hearing the knock, Xia Yan, who was standing nearby, rushed to the door. After confirming that it was Lin Yifan, she quickly opened the gate and said with a smile, "Young Master is back! We have guests at home. He said he's the boss of Lou's Steel Rolling Mill and wants to see you. Sister Wenxiu invited them to the main room."

Lin Yifan smiled and nodded, stepping through the courtyard gate. As he walked towards the main room, he casually asked, "How long have they been here? Did they say what they wanted to see me about?"

Xia Yan followed behind and replied, "They've been here for almost half an hour. They only said they had something important to tell you in person, but they didn't tell you what it was beforehand."

As they spoke, the two had already reached the entrance of the main room. Lin Yifan lifted the curtain and went in. Lou Zhenhua and his wife quickly stood up. Tan Yali, who looked to be about twenty-three or twenty-four years old, was wearing a dark green cotton cheongsam, and her jade-like legs in stockings were faintly visible. She greeted them with a charming smile: "Young Master Lin is finally back. We apologize for disturbing you by coming here today."

Lin Yifan gestured for them to sit down, smiling as he said, "Boss Lou, please sit. You and your husband are rare guests. May I ask why you've come to see me today...?"

Lou Zhenhua immediately stood up upon hearing the voice and greeted him with a smile: "Young master, my wife and I came here to wait for you for a while. We hope we haven't delayed your business. We heard yesterday that you returned to Beiping, so we thought we'd come and pay you a visit."

Tan Yali also stood up and gave Lin Yifan a slight bow.

Wenxiu smiled and pulled Lin Yifan over: "Mrs. Lou just told me a lot about the interesting things in the south. Please sit down, I'll go get you some more tea."

Lin Yifan offered him a seat and, after sitting down, asked, "Boss Lou is a very busy man; you must have come here today for something. You might as well just say it directly."

Lou Zhenhua smiled and said, "Since you're so straightforward, I'll get straight to the point. As you know, I own a steel rolling mill, which has been operating for several years now."

Originally, all my raw materials were imported from abroad. As you know, the supply of steel from abroad has become increasingly tight in recent years. My factory has been barely surviving until now, and I really have no other choice.

This reminds me of the steel mill run by "Ghost". I know you are "Ghost's" only spokesperson. I wonder if I could put in a good word for you with "Ghost" and get him to release the steel supply to our steel mill?

"Rest assured, as long as you help me accomplish this, I, Lou Zhenhua, will certainly reward you handsomely." After saying this, he took out a brocade box from his briefcase and pushed it in front of Lin Yifan.

Lin Yifan glanced at the brocade box on the table but didn't reach out to touch it. He just smiled and said, "Boss Lou, you don't actually need to ask me for favors. The rules that 'Ghost' has set now are..."

As long as they are legitimate Chinese businesspeople who are willing to work together to develop domestic industries, we are willing to supply steel freely at market prices, and we will never deliberately hoard or inflate prices.

Lou Zhenhua was taken aback upon hearing this, clearly not expecting it to go so smoothly, and quickly followed up with, "Really? Then what about my end...?"

"Go back and have the purchasing manager register directly with the steel mill's supply department. Just follow the application process. As long as the qualifications are verified, it will be approved quickly."

As Lin Yifan spoke, he pushed the brocade box back, "But you can take this back. The rules can't be broken. If I accept your things, and everyone else follows suit, wouldn't the rules of 'Ghost' be in chaos?"

Lou Zhenhua's face flushed red. He quickly put away the brocade box and rubbed his hands together somewhat embarrassedly. "I didn't think it through. You're so fair, young master. I'll go back and do it according to the rules. Thank you so much."

Tan Yali chimed in with a laugh, "I told you that Young Master Lin is a man destined for great things, he wouldn't care about our little token of respect. But you insisted on taking it, and now you've met your match."

As she spoke, she turned to Lin Yifan, "Actually, we came here today with another small favor we'd like to ask you, young master. Our husband's youngest son is graduating from middle school this year and wants to apply to the *Military Academy, but we've tried contacting several people without success. We'd like to ask you to put in a good word for us, young master. I wonder if it would be convenient for you?"

"Boss Lou's youngest son?"

Lin Yifan looked at Lou Zhenhua and Tan Yali with a puzzled expression.

Lou Zhenhua knew Lin Yifan hadn't understood, so he quickly explained, "Young Master, that's my child with the First Madam, and he's fifteen years old this year. My child with Yali is a girl, and she's only four years old this year."

This kid has been brave since he was little. He trained a few moves with my bodyguard and is determined to fight the Japanese. He refuses to stay at home and take over the business.

I couldn't persuade him otherwise, and I thought it was a good thing that a young man had such a patriotic heart, so I thought I'd ask you, young master, to help me make a connection so that he could go to the military academy to learn some skills and maybe one day go to the front lines to kill the Japanese. That way, our Lou family could contribute to the country."

Lin Yifan nodded after listening and said with a smile, "It's not difficult to say. The Military Academy is currently under Commander Chen's jurisdiction. I'll give Commander Chen a heads-up and ask the person in charge of recruitment to pay more attention. As long as the child is physically fit and can pass the academic exam, he will naturally be able to get in."

I won't make any special exceptions for you, as that would break the rules of the Military Academy. How about this?"

Lou Zhenhua nodded quickly: "No problem, no problem. As long as we can give him a chance to take the exam, we won't ask for anything else. If our child doesn't live up to his potential and fails the exam, that's his own fault, and we will never blame anyone."

Lin Yifan smiled and said, "Then it's settled. I'm leaving today and won't be back for a few days. I'll let them know when I get back. Just tell the child to prepare for the exam."

Lou Zhenhua and his wife quickly stood up and thanked Lin Yifan repeatedly. After sitting for a while, seeing that Lin Yifan still had things to prepare, they tactfully got up and said goodbye.

As soon as Lou Zhenhua and his wife left, Xia Yan and the other two surrounded him. Xia Yan and Xin Yi each hugged one of his arms, while Wen Xiu looked at him resentfully.

Lin Yifan knew they must be unhappy to see him leaving so soon after his return, so he smiled and ruffled Wenxiu's hair, then pinched Xia Yan and Xinyi's cheeks: "Once we take over Northeast China and drive the Japanese out completely, I'll stay home and keep you company. I won't go anywhere else, okay?"

Wenxiu reached out and punched him in the chest, scolding him, "Who stopped you from doing your job? We just can't bear to see you go on another risky trip. You must be very careful out there and remember to send us telegrams to let us know you're safe."

Xinyi nodded in agreement and whispered, "That's right, young master. I heard that the Japanese have been in Northeast China for more than ten years. There are Japanese soldiers everywhere there. Don't fight them all by yourself. Take more of your brothers with you."

Lin Yifan agreed to each of their requests, chatted with them for a while, and then started packing his things for the trip. After packing, he hugged and comforted the three girls for a while before carrying his things out and driving towards Tianjin.