Courtyard House: I Have Countless Bodyguards

In the living room, Liu Jianguo was not idle.

He solemnly instructed Li Bing:

"The closer it gets to the Lunar New Year, the more we must be vigilant about factory safety. Tonight, none of us should drink too much."

After the New Year's Eve dinner, Li Wu, Li Liang, and Li Cheng, the three of you must take turns on duty to ensure continuous patrols of the factory area, especially the warehouses and key workshops.

His gaze swept over the three of them, and his tone became more forceful:

"This is a critical period for me to shed the word 'agent' and officially become the head of the company. I can't afford any mistakes! I don't trust anyone else to ensure the safety of the factory; I can only rely on you guys."

After finishing his business, Liu Jianguo suddenly remembered something and instructed Li Bing:

"Li Bing, go to the Intermediate People's Court and see if He Yushui is home. If she's alone..."

He paused, and thinking of how the little girl had drunk cold water to stave off hunger that day, his heart softened slightly.

"...Let's just call her over for a hot meal. If her brother He Yuzhu is here too, then forget it."

He didn't want to cause any unnecessary trouble or create any misunderstandings for Sha Zhu.

Li Bing accepted the order and quickly passed through the moon gate to the central courtyard. The He family's house was lit by a dim yellow light, and the door was ajar.

Li Bing peeked out and saw 11-year-old He Yushui sitting alone on the cold edge of the kang (a heated brick bed). Her small body was huddled up, staring blankly at the empty room. Her shadow was long under the lamplight, making her look particularly lonely.

Li Bing knocked on the open door and asked, "Yushui, are you home alone? Where's your brother?"

Startled by the knocking, He Yushui looked up and saw Li Bing. She forced a knowing smile, but couldn't hide her disappointment. Her voice was hoarse, trying to sound strong.

"It's Brother Li Bing... My brother went to Uncle Yi's house for New Year's Eve dinner. Uncle Yi said he needed to talk to him. He said... he'll bring some back for me after he finishes eating."

This statement is less of an explanation and more of a form of self-comfort.

Li Bing knew perfectly well that Yi Zhonghai had indeed asked Sha Zhu to eat, but whether he would remember to bring food back for his sister, and how much, was another matter entirely.

He softened his tone: "Don't wait, Director Liu asked me to come and get you. Go to the east courtyard, there's something I need you to do."

He Yushui was stunned for a moment. She was a little afraid of the imposing Director Liu, but she believed more that Uncle Liu, who had been feeding her and making her do "work" these past few days, was a good person.

She didn't ask any more questions, just obediently hummed in agreement, jumped off the kang (a heated brick bed), and followed Li Bing out of the deserted house, heading towards the warm and bright east courtyard.

Stepping into the main room of the east courtyard, a warm and fragrant aroma of meat wafts over you, a stark contrast to the cold pots and stoves in your own home.

Looking at the sumptuous dishes on the table and the few people sitting around it, He Yushui stood somewhat awkwardly at the door and asked in a low voice:

"Director Liu... is there something you need from me?"

Liu Jianguo put down his chopsticks, pointed to a stool that had been specially added to the table, and spoke in a calm but firm tone:

"It's nothing serious, just asking Li Bing to go and check on you. If you're feeling lonely at home alone, he can come over and have New Year's Eve dinner with you."

It's the Lunar New Year, and it's so lonely for a child to be alone by himself. Just sit down, it's a simple matter of adding another pair of chopsticks.

This simple sentence was like a needle, instantly piercing the strong shell that He Yushui had been trying so hard to maintain.

Thinking about how her brother was enjoying a life of luxury at other people's homes while she was left in her own cold, cramped house waiting for scraps, and then comparing that to the steaming hot meal in front of her and Director Liu's seemingly casual yet heartwarming gesture, He Yushui's nose tingled, and tears streamed down her face like broken beads. She choked up and couldn't utter a single word.

Fortunately, she had been coming to "clean" frequently these past few days and had become familiar with Li Bing and Qin Huairu. She knew that these people were cold on the outside but warm on the inside and wouldn't really do anything to her.

In the past, given her timid and sensitive nature, she would have rather starved to death than come to Director Liu's house for a meal alone.

At this moment, with Qin Huairu's gentle comfort and the hot towel she was given, she slowly stopped crying and was pulled to sit at the dining table.

Qin Huairu herself came from a poor background, and seeing He Yushui like this, she felt the softest spot in her heart.

She quickly pulled He Yushui to her side, took a handkerchief to wipe her tears, and placed a large piece of braised pork in her bowl, saying softly:

"Don't cry, raindrops! It's bad luck for golden tears to fall during the New Year. Come on, eat meat, all you can eat today!"

Her comforting words gradually put He Yushui at ease.

The New Year's Eve dinner took place in this slightly complicated yet exceptionally warm atmosphere.

Outside the window, the clock struck midnight, and the entire city of Beijing was engulfed in the sound of firecrackers bidding farewell to the old year and welcoming the new.

At that very moment, the system notification sounded in Liu Jianguo's mind right on time!

[Ding! Detected that the host has experienced a significant time node—the Spring Festival of the Year of Yiwei (2015), successfully establishing a foothold in this plane. Annual special reward issued!]

[Reward 1: 100 Absolutely Loyal Death Summoning Slots! New Feature: Death Summoners of the same origin can generate a weak sensory connection at close range, making them easier to identify.]

[Reward Two: Special Structure – Spatial Anchor Gate! Function: Allows the placement of a spatial gate at any location within this plane. This gate permanently connects to the host's small world. Passing through the gate has no effect on the host or units marked by the host (such as assassins). Passing through unmarked units will trigger an alarm. The gate can be remotely destroyed by the host using core permissions within the small world.]

Upon seeing these two rewards, especially the description of the "space gate," Liu Jianguo's heart pounded, and he was so excited he almost jumped out of his chair! This was simply a strategic-level life-saving and developmental artifact!

After the New Year's Eve dinner, He Yushui, her belly round from eating, was driven home by Li Bing with profuse thanks.

After Qin Huairu, Li Bing, and the others finished cleaning up the dishes, they all went to rest.

Liu Jianguo, however, was wide awake. He went into his study alone and eagerly began to carefully study the specific functions and limitations of the two newly acquired awards.

After repeatedly "reading" the system's explanation and simulation, Liu Jianguo figured out the key mechanism of the space door: Once the door is placed, he usually needs to go to the door in person to retrieve it.

However, as the ruler of the small world, he possesses the highest authority—he can consume the "world power" of the small world (a concept similar to energy accumulation), remotely and forcibly sever the connection between the space gate and the current world, and guide the energy to completely destroy it without leaving a trace.

This discovery made him gasp for breath.

What does this mean? It means he can choose an absolutely safe and secluded location (and even find a way to send it abroad in the future) to place the portal!

In this way, he can use the small world as a transit point to achieve instant teleportation over extremely long distances, ignoring all obstacles!

More importantly, when his assassins are on dangerous missions, if they are exposed or in danger, they can directly hide in the spatial portal and enter a completely safe small world.

He no longer needs to personally travel to the vicinity to bring people into the small world, as he used to.

This greatly enhances mobility and safety.

It can be said that as long as he doesn't recklessly expose the core secrets of the small world, he is practically invincible in this era.