Courtyard House: Home Alone

Yi Zhonghai held considerable authority in the compound, and his words were even harsher. Although Jia Zhangshi was resentful, she dared not throw a tantrum as before, only muttering under her breath, "So my meat was just wasted? I paid for it..."

Yi Zhonghai looked at Lin Yifan and softened his tone: "Xiao Fan, Aunt Jia's family lost some meat, so she was anxious and spoke a little harshly. Don't take it to heart."

Then he turned to Jia Zhangshi, "Sister-in-law, how about this, I'll ask around the yard for you first, see if anyone else has seen any clues. If we really can't find anything, you see..."

He paused, seemingly considering his words, "I'll cover the cost of this meat for you first, consider it a loan. You can pay me back when you're better off. What do you think?"

Lin Yifan glanced at Yi Zhonghai with some surprise. He hadn't expected Yi Zhonghai to offer to cover the cost himself.

This Yi Zhonghai, is either genuinely kind-hearted, or... trying to win people over with this opportunity, or...?

When Jia Zhangshi heard that Yi Zhonghai was willing to pay the money, her eyes lit up immediately, the gloom on her face vanished, and she immediately put on a smiling face: "Oh! You are so considerate of me, Xiao Yi! How could I let you spend so much money..." She said she was sorry, but her tone was full of taking it for granted.

"It's only right for neighbors to help each other out."

Yi Zhonghai waved his hand. "Alright, that's settled then. Aunt Jia, stop nagging Xiao Fan. Xiao Fan, you can go home now."

Lin Yifan nodded. He knew that Yi Zhonghai was trying to resolve the issue peacefully. Although the result was somewhat frustrating, having been unjustly slandered, he was at least free from the immediate trouble.

He said to Yi Zhonghai, "Thank you, Uncle Yi." Then he looked at Jia Zhangshi with a cold gaze, "Aunt Jia, I hope you will investigate thoroughly before speaking, and not wrongly accuse innocent people."

After saying that, he didn't linger and turned to walk out.

Stepping out of Jia Dongxu's house, Lin Yifan took a deep breath of the outside air, feeling as if he had been suffocating inside.

Jia Zhangshi's unreasonable demands, Jia Dongxu's bullying, and Yi Zhonghai's seemingly fair but actually conciliatory mediation... the waters of this courtyard were deeper than he had imagined.

He knew that after this incident, Jia Zhangshi would definitely not let it go and would inevitably cause him trouble again in the future.

As for Yi Zhonghai, he seemed to be helping him, but in reality, he might have been trying to maintain his own public image and do Jia Gui a favor, since Jia Gui had brought him to work at Lou's Steel Rolling Mill.

Lin Yifan rubbed his temples. It seemed that surviving in this compound really required taking things one step at a time and being very careful.

He must improve his strength as soon as possible, not only his mental and spatial abilities, but also his ability to stand firm in this era.

Back home, Lin Yifan closed the door, temporarily putting aside his earlier unpleasantness.

The most urgent task is to solve the problem of food and clothing first, and then slowly plan for the future. He glanced at the spiritual spring space, which was perhaps his greatest asset in this era.

If we want to live a good life, we have to start with the Japanese. I need to go out and scout things out tomorrow. I'll start with the Japanese civilians. These people do all sorts of things, like smuggling, drug trafficking, and espionage. They must have a lot of ill-gotten gains.

We'll bring back some money and supplies to improve our lives, and also teach those wicked Japanese devils a lesson.

Having made up his mind, Lin Yifan's eyes became firm.

He began pacing around the room, carefully recalling the information from the original owner's memories about the Japanese expatriate communities in Beiping, as well as those potential "easy targets."

The sky outside the window gradually darkened, and the courtyard slowly quieted down, with only the occasional bark of a dog and the indistinct laughter of neighbors.

Lin Yifan cooked himself some porridge, then went to his parents' room and found the thirteen silver dollars they had hidden.

He stored the ocean into his spatial dimension. There were too many things missing in the space, so he had to act quickly, otherwise his life as a child alone might not be easy.

After finishing dinner, Lin Yifan closed the door and put his bed directly into his spatial storage.

It's too cold outside; it's much more comfortable to sleep in my own space. He quickly washed up and lay down on his bed. The overall improvement in his mental strength and physical constitution, coupled with the fact that he had just obtained the system today, made it a little difficult for him to fall asleep.

So he decided to take a closer look at Qian Liugen and his wife to see what they did for a living. Lin Yifan enveloped the room with his domain and found that only Qian Liugen was in the room, peering out from behind the window, while their bed had been moved to the side.

Chen Zhirong must have gone to the basement. He didn't pay much attention to Qian Liugen, but focused his attention on the basement. There he saw Chen Zhirong sending a telegram, with a telegram sheet spread out on the table.

Lin Yifan focused his mental energy on the telegram again. He was only a little curious at first, but when he saw the contents of the telegram, he was immediately filled with rage.

Chen Zhirong was reporting news about his parents to the Military Intelligence Bureau headquarters. It turned out that Qian Liugen and his wife had accidentally discovered that their father was the underground party leader codenamed Canglang.

So, at the old lady's behest, they leaked this information to the Japanese Special Higher Police. In order to protect the old lady and their hideout, they deliberately exposed a safe house, saying it was the residence of the Canglang couple.

However, for some unknown reason, the Special Higher Police failed to capture Soro, and they hope that headquarters will pay close attention to Soro's future movements.

Damn Kuomintang agents! I was going to let you off the hook for now since you're fighting the Japanese too, but you're really asking for it! And that deaf old lady, I never imagined you were hiding so well.

"Ding! System task triggered. Task options: 1. Kill Qian Liugen and Chen Zhirong within 24 hours. Task completion reward: [Bajiquan Skill (Beginner)], [Constitution Enhancement Pill (Beginner)] x1."

2. Release Qian Liugen and Chen Zhirong, allowing them to contribute to the war effort. Rewards for completing this task include 1 jin of rice and a seed gift pack. Please make your choice within five minutes.

Is there even a choice? Even a child knows the answer. Oh right, I almost forgot, I am a child myself. "Choose 1! Choose 1!" Lin Yifan muttered to himself.

Having made his choice, Lin Yifan couldn't help but sigh. The first target he had to kill in this world was neither a Japanese soldier nor a traitor, but a Kuomintang agent. Well, he would deal with these people sooner or later.

Next, he began to consider how to deal with these two Kuomintang agents. His only reliance and trump card was the space, so he would see how to make good use of it to complete this system mission.

In addition, we need to see if we can get anything out of them, especially about the Japanese and traitors. They happen to be our next target, which will save us a lot of trouble.