Courtyard House: Home Alone

The cemetery administrator had already received a call from Zheng Shucheng and was waiting at the entrance. When Lin Yifan arrived, he quickly led him inside, explaining the location of each area as they walked.

Lin Yifan followed along, looking around, and finally chose a sunny spot in the front row of the cemetery, backed by a mountain. The place was spacious and had a good view, just right for his father to rest in peace.

After choosing a location, the administrator helped him finalize the auspicious date for the burial. Three days later, all the procedures would be handled by the city government, so he wouldn't have to worry about it.

After thanking them, Lin Yifan left the cemetery and drove back to the East Wing.

As soon as they entered the courtyard, Meng Zhuolin came to greet them. Lin Yifan told her about the chosen burial site, the set date for the burial, and that her husband wanted to meet with her and her son.

Meng Zhuolin nodded with red eyes, holding her son's hand and choking back tears, saying, "Good, good. If your father knew that he could be admitted to the Martyrs' Cemetery and that he could be recognized by the teacher, he would surely be at peace."

Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Lin Yifan had arranged for the honor guard to be present in advance. He had prepared his father's remains early and accompanied his mother and sister, along with Wenxiu, who was dressed in plain white, to the cemetery.

The burial ceremony was simple and solemn. Mr. Lin specially sent comrades from the Central Committee to pay their respects. Many veteran comrades who had fought alongside Lin Qiqing also came to pay their respects. They bowed deeply to the tombstone to send off this hero who had been hidden in the darkness.

After the ceremony, the others gradually dispersed. Lin Yifan stood with his mother in front of the tombstone for a long time. Meng Zhuolin touched her husband's name on the tombstone and whispered a lot of everyday things before pulling Lin Yu'an by the hand with tears in her eyes and following her son out of the cemetery, turning back to look at him every few steps.

Two days later, Lin Yifan changed into a clean Zhongshan suit and drove with his mother and sister to Haizi to see his teacher.

The gentleman was already waiting in the reception room. When he saw them come in, he quickly got up to greet them, grasped Meng Zhuolin's hand tightly, and said earnestly, "Comrade Zhuolin, Comrade Qiqing is a hero of the Party and the people. We will never forget his contributions to the revolutionary cause."

Meng Zhuolin held back her tears and shook hands with the teacher. The teacher then invited everyone to sit down and asked about Meng Zhuolin and Yu'an's future plans. When he learned that they planned to stay in Beiping, he smiled and nodded, saying that they could raise any difficulties they encountered and the organization would do its best to resolve them.

After chatting for about half an hour, the gentleman finally looked at Lin Yifan, who had been sitting to the side, and asked about the case in Wudu. Lin Yifan did not hide anything and told him about his rescue in Wudu and how he had taken the supplies hoarded by the Mao Renfeng and Kong Song families. He added with a smile at the end, "I have already arranged for people to send those supplies to the base and the front line. They will be enough for the brothers to use for a while."

After listening, the man laughed heartily, slapped his thigh, and said, "You ghost! You've really messed up the bald guy and his gang. I bet they'll be heartbroken for months. You did the right thing. That money was just plundered from the people; it's only right to use it for the revolutionary cause."

After sitting for a while, the mother and son, afraid of delaying their husband's work, got up to say goodbye. The husband saw them all the way to the door and even had someone bring a lot of nutritional supplements for the child, which he then gave to Lin Yu'an before waving goodbye to them.

As the car drove back, Meng Zhuolin looked out the window at the bustling city of Beiping, and his shoulders and back, which had been tense for more than a decade, finally relaxed. Leaning back in his seat, he looked at his smiling son and daughter beside him and sighed softly: "Now, your father can truly rest easy."

Two days later, Yu'an, carrying her new schoolbag, was taken to school by Lin Yifan. After all, it wasn't a good idea for the child to stay at home all the time; going to school was the right path.

When she was in Chongqing, her parents taught her. Yu'an lived up to expectations and did very well on the entrance exam. She was directly admitted to the fifth grade and studied with her classmates.

After settling his mother and sister in, Lin Yifan finally had some free time. He spent his days at home talking to his mother, helping her with her hands, and occasionally helping his sister with her studies. His days were peaceful and uneventful.

But he didn't sit idle either. He continued to use his abilities to help the organization eliminate the remaining spies and secret agents in Beiping, making the city's order more and more stable day by day.

That morning, Lin Yifan was looking at flowers in the yard with his mother after breakfast when there was a knock at the door. Xia Yan ran to open the door, and Manager Zhou came in.

The current shopkeeper, Zhou, is the director of the Military Control Commission in Dongcheng District. After entering the door, Xia Yan led him to Lin Yifan and his mother.

"Manager Zhou, no! I should call you Director Zhou now. Director Zhou, you're so busy these days, how come you have time to come here? Is there something you need?" Lin Yifan invited him to sit down under the grape trellis.

Director Zhou did not answer him immediately, but looked at his mother and said, "You must be Comrade Meng Zhuolin?"

Meng Zhuolin quickly stood up, smiled and nodded, "I am Meng Zhuolin, Director Zhou, please have a seat."

Director Zhou quickly waved for her to sit down, and then sat down himself. He took out an official document from his briefcase and handed it to Meng Zhuolin with both hands: "Comrade Zhuolin, this is the appointment document that just came down from the Central Committee."

"Considering your extensive experience in underground united front work and your recent full recovery, the organization would like to invite you to serve as the chairperson of the Women's Federation in the Dongcheng District, to participate in the construction of Beiping."

Meng Zhuolin was stunned for a moment, her fingertips trembling slightly as she ran her fingers over the document cover. She looked up at Lin Yifan beside her, then at Director Zhou, her eyes slowly reddening: "I... I can still come out and work for the organization? I thought I had been through so much, and my body couldn't take it anymore."

Director Zhou smiled and said, "The organization is aware of your situation. This position doesn't require you to be in the office all the time. It's just that you rely on your qualifications and experience to help us coordinate some things. If you get tired, you can rest at any time. The organization has no problem with that."

Lin Yifan also smiled and advised, "Mom, this is the organization trusting you. You're probably bored staying at home every day. Going out and doing some work will help you relax. Do what you can, and if you get tired, we can rest. There's no burden on you."

Meng Zhuolin took a deep breath, wiped her eyes, and nodded heavily: "Okay, I agree. I will obey the organization's arrangements. As long as I can contribute to the construction of the new Beiping, I will definitely do my best."

Director Zhou stood up with a smile, shook Meng Zhuolin's hand and said, "That's great. I'll go back and give a reply to the higher-ups. I'll have someone send you the relevant materials in a couple of days."

"Oh, right, young master, there's something else the organization would like to ask for your help with, but I don't know..."

Lin Yifan looked at Director Zhou and said, "Just say what's on your mind."

"A while ago, we conducted a comprehensive survey in Beiping, and the results showed that you own a total of seventy-three courtyards."

More than half of them are occupied by employees of the factories of "Ghost". There are also 33 courtyards that are still empty, especially the former Prince Gong Mansion. The land deeds and house deeds are in your name and a name named Lin Yu'an. That place has the largest area and the most houses.

"Look, could we... rent it to the government? Because housing is so scarce in Beiping right now, and we don't have the money to build, so I..."

Lin Yifan laughed after hearing this and waved his hand to interrupt him: "Director Zhou, why are you being so polite with me? If the organization needs a house, just say so. Why make a special trip?"

I'll keep three of those small, empty courtyards; I can entrust the others to you for rent. However, that former Prince Gong's Mansion was something I promised my sister I'd buy for her, so I need to consider its future arrangements."

Director Zhou breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this, but was also a little embarrassed: "Thank you so much, young master. This solves our urgent problem. Thirty or so houses can accommodate many cadres and their families who have come from outside the city. Don't worry, I will definitely remember this and will report it to my superiors properly later."

Meng Zhuolin nodded in agreement: "That's right, Xiao Fan is right. Houses should be used by those who need them; it's a waste to leave them empty."

Director Zhou sat for a couple more minutes, finalized the handover time, and then got up to leave. Lin Yifan saw him to the door, and as he turned back, he saw his mother sitting under the grape trellis: "Xiaofan, you really bought your sister a big yard? Are you going to keep three more yards?"

Lin Yifan sat down next to his mother and said with a smile, "Of course, how could I be careless about what I promised my sister? I reserved those three courtyards for Wenxiu and the others, so they can be settled in later."

Meng Zhuolin smiled and patted his hand: "I knew you were thoughtful. These girls have been with you for so many years and have always been well-behaved. It's really time to settle them down properly."

Just then, Lin Yu'an skipped in from outside, carrying his schoolbag. As soon as he entered, he exclaimed that he was hungry. Xia Yan quickly went to the kitchen and brought out some snacks. The family sat down around the grape trellis to talk, dappled sunlight filtering through the grape leaves, filling the yard with a peaceful and warm atmosphere. (The End)