Courtyard House: Home Alone

The description states that once you redeem "Advanced Reconnaissance," you will receive an early warning of any malicious intent directed at you. This warning is not a vague feeling, but rather a precise location of the individual and a general understanding of their level of malice and potential threat methods.

For example, if someone were secretly spying on him within a 530-meter radius with malicious intent, Lin Yifan would immediately recall the location and number of the spy, as well as a prompt similar to "moderate threat: surveillance and waiting for the right moment."

In addition, there is a general early warning system, which means that if a certain group takes malicious actions against him, Lin Yifan will also receive an early warning.

This undoubtedly gives him a significant advantage in mitigating risks and making advance plans in complex environments.

Especially in today's chaotic Beiping and turbulent China, with "advanced reconnaissance," he is like having an extra pair of eyes that can see into people's hearts. Any conspiracy or trickery against him can hardly escape his perception.

After upgrading his skills, Lin Yifan felt much lighter and more relaxed, as if he had gained a deeper level of control over his surroundings.

He smiled with satisfaction; the 10,000 system points were well spent! With these trump cards, he was confident he could handle any situation in Beiping, no matter how chaotic things became.

After doing all this, Lin Yifan checked his watch. It was already nine o'clock in the morning. Today was the first day of the Lunar New Year, and he had to go out to wish his neighbors in the courtyard a Happy New Year.

He exchanged for two more sets of thermal underwear, put on a brand new stand-up collar school uniform (the spoils from the previous two days), and then flashed out of the space, returned to his room, and lit the stove first.

Lighting the stove is much easier now than before. There are dozens of barrels of kerosene seized in the space. Just add a little bit to the wood, and it will light instantly. After pressing down a few mouthfuls of coal on top, I open the door and walk out of the house.

His first stop was, of course, the deaf old lady's place. Although she wasn't the oldest person in the compound, she was the landlady, and because of her, she was indirectly protecting the ordinary residents of the entire compound.

Lin Yifan arrived at the deaf old woman's door, knocked, and called out, "Grandma Long! Are you awake? I've come to wish you a Happy New Year!"

A rustling sound came from inside the house, and then the door creaked open. The deaf old woman peeked out, and when she saw Lin Yifan, her cloudy eyes immediately lit up with a smile, and the wrinkles on her face smoothed out: "It's Xiaofan! Come in, come in! It's cold outside."

Lin Yifan smiled and followed the deaf old woman into the house. A coal stove burned inside, making it warm and cozy, a stark contrast to the cold outside. The old woman's house wasn't large, but it was clean and tidy, with a slightly yellowed "福" (good fortune) character pasted on the wall.

"Grandma Long, Happy New Year! Wishing you good health and all the best in the new year!" Lin Yifan bowed respectfully to the deaf old woman.

"Alright, alright, good boy, sit down, sit down." The deaf old woman took Lin Yifan's hand and made him sit on a small stool by the stove. She then poured him a cup of hot sugar water. "It's so cold. Drink some sugar water to warm yourself up."

Lin Yifan took the water glass, holding it with both hands, feeling the warmth in his palms: "Thank you, Grandma Long. Did you sleep well last night?"

"Good, good, I'm so glad I ate the dumplings your Uncle Yi sent yesterday, I slept so well." The deaf old lady couldn't stop smiling. "Xiao Fan, it's not easy for you to be here all alone. It's almost New Year's, don't neglect yourself."

"I know, Grandma Long, don't worry," Lin Yifan replied with a smile, but in his heart he was thinking that beneath this kind face, the "Old Buddha" was ruthless enough to make you shudder. Of course, Lin Yifan also thought of her face when she ordered the betrayal of her own parents.

Lin Yifan chatted casually for a few more minutes, asking about the deaf old woman's health. She answered all his questions and seemed to be in good spirits. Seeing that it was almost time, Lin Yifan got up to leave: "Grandma Long, you rest now. I'll go wish Grandpa Zhang and the other neighbors a Happy New Year."

"Okay, take care on the way." The deaf old woman grabbed a few pieces of candy, stuffed them into Lin Yifan's pocket, and then saw him to the door, not forgetting to give him some advice.

Leaving the deaf old woman's house, Lin Yifan went straight to the front yard. Grandpa Zhang's door was ajar, and the sounds of children laughing and playing could be heard from inside. Lin Yifan knocked on the door: "Grandpa Zhang, are you home? I've come to wish you a Happy New Year!"

"It's Xiao Fan! Come in quickly!" Grandpa Zhang's voice came from inside the house.

Lin Yifan pushed open the door and went in. He saw Grandpa Zhang playing cat's cradle with his grandson, and Grandma Zhang sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed) sewing shoe soles. Seeing Lin Yifan come in, Grandma Zhang quickly put down her work and greeted him, "Little Fan is here, come and sit down."

"Uncle Zhang, Aunt Zhang, I wish you both a Happy New Year and a happy family!" Lin Yifan said with a smile.

"Great, great, great! Congratulations to you too!" Grandpa Zhang's eyes narrowed into slits with laughter. "Xiao Fan, was that person who came yesterday sent by your father to see you?"

Lin Yifan's heart skipped a beat, realizing that Grandpa Zhang was referring to Yang Maoqing (Yang Weimin).

He remained expressionless, revealing just the right amount of shyness and gratitude: "Yes, Uncle Zhang, my dad asked someone to bring some things over and gave me some money so I could have a good New Year."

"Thanks to you for bringing him in yesterday." He deliberately emphasized "bringing things" and "giving money" to confirm Yang Weimin's identity as a "parent's friend" and to express his gratitude to Grandpa Zhang.

Grandpa Zhang said "Oh," nodded, seemingly relieved of some of his doubts, and then added, "That's good, that's good. It's not easy for you, a young person, to be out there. If you have any difficulties, just tell Grandpa, don't bear it all by yourself."

"And your parents, they don't even come back to see you during the Lunar New Year." The tone carried a hint of concern from an elder for a younger person.

"They have no choice; they're busy with work," Lin Yifan said, echoing Grandpa Zhang's words, a hint of longing for his parents flashing in his eyes. "But with you and the neighbors taking care of me, I'm doing fine. By the way, where are my Uncle Zhang and his wife?"

"Your Uncle Zhang and Aunt Zhang went back to their parents' home to pay New Year's visits early this morning, and they probably won't be back until the afternoon. They were originally planning to take Xiao Niu with them, but we stopped them because of the chaos outside," Aunt Zhang continued.

Lin Yifan chatted with the elderly couple for a while, playing with their grandson, Xiao Niu, and the atmosphere was very harmonious. He could feel that Grandpa Zhang and his wife genuinely cared about him, which was a rare warmth in the cold and impersonal courtyard.

After leaving Grandpa Zhang's house, Lin Yifan went to He Daqing's house in the Central Courtyard. He Yuzhu was talking with his father, He Daqing. When he saw Lin Yifan come in, He Yuzhu immediately exclaimed, "Brother Xiaofan, you've finally come to wish us a Happy New Year! My dad was just talking about you!"

"Uncle He, Happy New Year! May you have boundless happiness and longevity!" Lin Yifan bowed deeply to He Daqing.