Courtyard House: Home Alone

He found a hidden sentry left by Qi Haishan at the village entrance, greeted the sentry with a gesture, and then walked into the village.

His mental energy had already locked onto Qi Haishan and the others in the first thatched hut. He arrived at the door of the thatched hut and knocked: "Haishan, it's me, Lin Yifan."

Hearing his voice, the dilapidated wooden door opened from the inside, and it was Qi Haishan who opened it. Seeing Lin Yifan, he smiled excitedly: "Young Master, come in quickly!"

These people were already immune to Lin Yifan's elusive nature, and they weren't surprised at all that he appeared at the door just five minutes after sending the telegram.

Upon entering the house, he saw five more men inside and asked, "Are the others scattered throughout the fishing village?"

"Yes, young master, apart from the six sentries on the outer perimeter, the others are scattered among the other fishermen's homes," Qi Haishan nodded and said.

"You've run out of food too?"

"We're alright. I bought some dried fish and cornmeal from the fishermen. But they don't have any food either, so... it's all my fault. I didn't think things through carefully enough, and now my brothers are starving." As he spoke, Qi Haishan lowered his head.

Lin Yifan patted his arm: "Alright, don't blame yourself. No one is perfect. This is in Japanese-controlled territory. It's already quite an achievement that you were able to gather so many people."

I brought all the food and supplies; they're right outside the yard. Tell the villagers to cook quickly and make sure everyone's full before we start our operation tonight.

I'm going to the mountains to deliver some food to them. I'll bring them out at 6:00 PM sharp, and we'll meet at the intersection leading to the city at 6:30 PM. We'll be at our ambush point outside the city at 7:00 PM sharp.

Qi Haishan's eyes lit up immediately, and he quickly replied, "Alright! I'll arrange for people to get to work right away!" With that, he led a few of his brothers to the gate of the courtyard to receive the grain.

Lin Yifan took out two bags of 100-jin flour, two large pieces of marinated pork, and a basket of pickled vegetables from the storage space, enough for these 30-plus people to have two full meals.

Looking at the grain piled up outside the courtyard, Qi Haishan was so excited he could barely speak, rubbing his hands repeatedly: "Young master, you've thought of everything! Now all the brothers can have enough to eat and have the energy to work!"

Lin Yifan patted him on the shoulder, telling him to have the brothers check their equipment after dinner and to explain the route to them in advance. He said he would go to the mountains to deliver food to the other brothers. After saying that, he turned and left the courtyard, teleporting to the mountains according to the location given by Qi Haishan.

The hiding places of these brothers in the mountains were not far apart. He had "seen" them when he was in the small fishing village. He teleported to the vicinity of the hidden sentry post at the mountain pass and then walked towards the sentry post.

When the sentry saw that it was Lin Yifan, he was very excited and was about to stand up when Lin Yifan stopped him with a gesture. He gestured to the sentry to continue lying in wait, while he walked inside.

As they approached the cave where they were hiding, he took out fifteen large iron pots from his spatial storage. These were spoils of war that he had usually kept in a corner of the storage and had almost forgotten about. Today, he decided to use them.

Then he took out 1,500 catties of rice, 1,500 catties of flour, and more than 1,000 catties of cured meat, piled them together, and then went inside.

He hadn't gone far when he was spotted by the sentries inside. When they saw it was Lin Yifan, they quickly shouted to the back, "Young master is here! Go and call Instructor Shen!"

When Lin Yifan arrived at the first cave, Shen Jingbo, who was inside, came out to greet him: "Young Master, what brings you to the mountains?"

"If I hadn't come, you would have all starved to death in the mountains. I brought food, it's just ahead. Quickly tell people to bring it over, set up a pot and cook, make sure everyone is full, and make some dry rations to take with us. We'll set off tonight," Lin Yifan patted Shen Jingbo's arm and joked.

Upon hearing this, Shen Jingbo's eyes lit up instantly, then dimmed again: "Young master, we're right under the Japanese devils' noses. If we start a fire now, they'll easily discover it, and then..."

"With me here, what are you worried about? Hurry up and make the most of the time. Don't blame me if you're still hungry when it's time to move out."

Upon hearing this, Shen Jingbo immediately shouted into the cave, and seven or eight men rushed out to help him carry grain to the mountain pass.

Everyone's eyes reddened as they looked at the mountain of rice, noodles, and cured meat. They had been surviving by digging up wild vegetables and roots for the past few days and were so hungry that their legs were weak. They never expected that Young Master Lin would bring such a large amount of food, enough for everyone to eat to their heart's content.

Everyone hurriedly moved the grain, found some stones to set up the iron pot, and fetched spring water to start a fire and cook. Before long, the aroma of rice and meat filled the valley, and many people secretly wiped away tears.

Lin Yifan watched as everyone was busy cooking, then pulled Shen Jingbo aside and explained the defense deployment of Lushun City that he had scouted during the day. He also explained the operation plan for the night to him, telling him to gather everyone together after he had eaten, check and organize the equipment, and wait to set off. They would descend the mountain at six o'clock sharp.

Shen Jingbo carefully wrote down all the arrangements and patted his chest to guarantee that there would be no mistakes. Lin Yifan nodded, found a clean rock to sit on, and waited for everyone to finish cooking. He also went over the action plan in his mind to make sure there was nothing he had missed.

Before long, the first pot of rice was cooked. The moment the chef lifted the lid, the fragrant aroma of rice mixed with the smell of meat spread out, making the brothers squatting around swallow their saliva.

Seeing everyone staring intently at the pot, Lin Yifan smiled and waved his hand: "Don't just stand there, get to work and serve your rice. Eat as much as you want today, it's all you can eat."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone gathered around with laughter, each holding a porcelain jar filled with rice. Before it had even cooled down, they started eating it heartily with the salty and fragrant cured meat. The men, who hadn't had any proper food for days, were so moved that tears almost fell into their rice jars.

Lin Yifan also filled a bowl and sat down to eat with Shen Jingbo. While eating, they checked several details of the operation to make sure everyone understood their mission.

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill and packed up their equipment, it was almost six o'clock. Shen Jingbo blew the assembly whistle, and the more than 1,560 brothers quickly lined up in neat rows. Everyone had eaten their fill and had short guns tucked into their waistbands. They were nowhere near as weak from hunger as they had been a few hours earlier.

Lin Yifan stood up, glanced at the group, nodded in satisfaction, and said, "Alright, everyone, follow me down the mountain and head to the meeting point according to the pre-arranged route."

After saying that, he walked at the front of the group, leading them down the mountain path. Without any accidents, they arrived at the intersection where they had agreed to meet Qi Haishan in less than half an hour. Qi Haishan and his thirty-odd brothers were already waiting there. When they saw the group coming, they quickly came to greet them.

"Haishan, are you all ready?" Lin Yifan asked.

Qi Haishan patted the gun at his waist and replied loudly, "Everything is ready. Everyone has checked their equipment and memorized the route. We're just waiting for your order to move out!"