Courtyard House: Starting in 1938, kill enemies and loot equipment.

As the morning mist dissipated, the bluestone pavement of Nanluoguxiang was warmed by the sun. Wisps of smoke rose from the chimney of courtyard house number 95, and He Daqing's shouts pierced the courtyard walls: "Yuzhu, chop the firewood! I'll bring your brother Zhou Ye a bowl of tofu pudding later!"

Zhou Ye had just finished washing up and was sitting under the eaves wiping an old wooden chair—it was from his ancestral home, and after being sanded with fine sandpaper soaked in spiritual spring water last night, the wood grain was even clearer. He planned to take it to the deaf old lady. Hearing He Daqing's voice, he looked up and smiled, "Uncle Daqing, no need to be so polite. I have some steamed buns here; just heat them up."

"That won't do!" He Daqing walked over from the middle courtyard carrying a rough porcelain bowl. The bowl contained tofu pudding sprinkled with scallions and drizzled with sesame oil. "Your aunt made this specially this morning, knowing you were busy until midnight last night, to help you recover." He handed the bowl over and lowered his voice, "Was it you who took care of things at Xishankou? I heard this morning that the 'ghosts' in the dilapidated temple are all gone, and the cultural relics that were lost before are also missing."

Zhou Ye paused in his scooping of tofu pudding, then smiled and changed the subject: "How would I know about these things? I just went to take care of some personal business last night. Try your sister-in-law's cooking, it won't taste good when it's cold." Seeing that he was unwilling to say more, He Daqing wisely didn't press him and turned to busy himself with chopping wood.

Just then, Xiaocao ran out with her schoolbag on her back, dew still clinging to her braids: "Brother, I'm leaving! Uncle Xu is waiting for me at the door." Passing He Daqing, she casually picked up a freshly steamed cornbread. "Uncle He, can I borrow a cornbread for breakfast?"

"Slow down, don't choke!" He Daqing shouted with a smile, looking at Xiaocao's back, and said to Zhou Ye, "This child is really growing more and more promising. He studies well and is sensible. He's much better than our Yuzhu."

Zhou Ye watched his sister's figure disappear at the alley entrance, his eyes filled with tenderness. He quickly finished his tofu pudding, moved the wooden chair to the backyard, and knocked on the deaf old lady's door: "Grandma, I brought you a chair. It's comfortable to sit and bask in the sun."

The old lady opened the door and her eyes lit up when she saw the polished wooden chair. "You child, you even made a chair for me?" She sat down, holding onto the chair, and tried to rock it. It was steady and solid. "This craftsmanship is even better than what you get in a carpenter's shop." Zhou Ye smiled and helped her put a cotton cushion under her knees. He secretly transferred a wisp of spiritual energy to her fingertips, and the old lady immediately felt a warm sensation in her knees, and her cough lessened.

"I just did some minor repairs, I'm glad you like them." After saying that, Zhou Ye turned and went back into the house—he was going to prepare for today's "big event": handing over the first batch of cultural relics to the cultural relics receiving point.

After closing the door, Zhou Ye had a sudden thought and took out three cultural relics from his system space: a Song Dynasty porcelain bowl, a Yuan Dynasty jade pendant, and a Ming Dynasty inkstone, which had been restored a few days ago. He wrapped them in an old blue cloth and put them in his cloth bag. He also took out a small bottle of diluted spiritual spring water solution—this was used to wipe the surface of the cultural relics to make them more lustrous without leaving any abnormal marks.

When they arrived at the temporary cultural relics receiving point in Beiping, Old Li was frowning and sighing over a pile of documents. Seeing Zhou Ye enter, he quickly stood up: "Brother Zhou, you've finally arrived! There was some activity at the dilapidated temple in Xishankou last night. We sent people to check, but they only found an empty temple. There's still no clue about the missing cultural relics. The higher-ups are pressing us hard."

Zhou Ye sat down, took out a blue cloth bag from his cloth bag, and gently opened it: "Brother Li, I have a few things here that I recovered from some stragglers through ancestral channels. Take a look and see if they are the ones we lost."

Old Li leaned closer for a look, and his eyes widened instantly: "This...this is a Song Dynasty official kiln porcelain bowl! And a Yuan Dynasty Hetian jade pendant! These are all cultural relics stolen a few days ago!" He carefully picked up the porcelain bowl and examined it against the sunlight. "The condition is like new, without a single scratch. How did you manage to get them back?"

"I was lucky. I ran into a few people who wanted to resell it, and I managed to buy it back after much pleading," Zhou Ye said casually, dipping his fingertip in the medicinal liquid and seemingly wiping the inkstone. "My family has been in the antique business for generations, so I know a bit about restoration. I just gave it a little cleaning when I got it back."

Old Li had long held Zhou Ye's "ancestral craftsmanship" in high regard, praising him repeatedly: "Brother Zhou, you are truly a hero in our cultural relics field! If these cultural relics were to flow abroad, the loss would be enormous!" He suddenly remembered something, lowered his voice, and said, "To tell you the truth, the higher-ups are planning to establish a special cultural relics protection committee, so these national treasures will have a special place to be stored in the future."

Zhou Ye's heart skipped a beat—this was the opportunity he had been waiting for. He nodded: "That's great. I still have some small items that I recovered before. I'll hand them over once your organization is established." He deliberately didn't mention the hundreds of national treasures in his system space, firstly because the time wasn't right, and secondly because he was afraid of arousing unnecessary suspicion.

Just then, a commotion arose outside the door, and a middle-aged man in a Zhongshan suit stormed in angrily: "Old Li, why haven't the appraisal reports for this batch of cultural relics come out yet? Foreign auction houses are all watching, and if this drags on any longer, they'll buy our cultural relics at a low price!"

Old Li blushed and quickly explained, "Director Wang, it's not that we're slow, it's just that some of the cultural relics are too badly damaged and no one can repair them."

The middle-aged man glanced at the porcelain bowl on the table, his eyes lighting up: "Isn't this the stolen official kiln porcelain bowl? How did it get repaired so well?"

"It was this Brother Zhou who repaired it; his skills are superb!" Old Li quickly introduced. Director Wang immediately looked at Zhou Ye, his attitude softening considerably: "Sir, could you please help repair a batch of damaged cultural relics? A generous reward will be given upon completion."

Zhou Ye pondered for a moment—this was a perfect opportunity to integrate into the official cultural relics protection system, allowing him to discreetly restore national treasures while paving the way for future handover. He nodded: "Director Wang, you're too kind. Protecting national treasures is my duty, and I will do my best."

After leaving the receiving point, Zhou Ye didn't go straight back to the courtyard house. Instead, he went around to the outskirts of the city and used his spiritual sense to scan the area. Only after confirming that no Japanese remnants had been missed did he return with peace of mind. Passing by the general store at the alley entrance, he bought some candy and fabric—the candy for the children in the courtyard, and the fabric to make new clothes for He's wife and the deaf old lady.

It was already noon when Zhou Ye returned to the courtyard house. He Yuzhu, Xu Damao, Liu Guangqi, and a few other children were squatting in the corner playing marbles. Seeing Zhou Ye return, they immediately surrounded him: "Brother Zhou Ye, did you buy candy?"

Zhou Ye smiled and handed out candies to them, saying, "Eat slowly, don't fight over them." Xu Damao unwrapped a candy and popped it into his mouth, mumbling, "Sister Xiaocao got first place at school again today, and the teacher even praised her!"

Zhou Ye was overjoyed and was about to speak when he saw Xiao Cao walk in with her schoolbag on her back, her face beaming with excitement: "Brother, I'm back! The teacher said I can take the elementary school graduation exam early, and if I pass, I can go straight to junior high!"

"That's amazing!" Zhou Ye ruffled her hair and handed her a piece of fabric. "I'll make you a new dress to wear for your graduation exams."

Little Grass's eyes lit up. She took the fabric, touched it, and asked through the telepathic connection, "Brother, did the handover of the cultural relics go smoothly?"

"It went quite smoothly," Zhou Ye's voice echoed in her mind. "They're going to set up a cultural relics protection committee, which will make the handover easier in the future. I also promised to help them restore a batch of cultural relics, so we can take this opportunity to gradually hand over some of the smaller items we have."

As the brother and sister were talking, Jia Zhangshi came out of the house carrying a basin of clothes. When she saw the fabric in Xiaocao's hand, she said sourly, "Oh, you bought new fabric again? Zhou Ye, you really dote on your sister. Our Dongxu is almost graduating from junior high school and has never worn new clothes."

Zhou Ye ignored her and pulled Xiao Cao into the house. As soon as the door was closed, Xiao Cao took out a small bottle from her spatial storage: "Brother, this is a calming medicine I made with spiritual plants for Sister He Yushui. She cried half the night last night, and Aunt He didn't sleep well either."

Zhou Ye nodded: "Go deliver it. Remember to say you bought it from the pharmacy, don't give yourself away."

Xiao Cao ran to the courtyard with the bottle, where Mrs. He was holding the crying Yu Shui, looking worried. "Aunt He, I brought some calming medicine for Yu Shui. It works really well." Xiao Cao handed over the bottle. "I couldn't sleep before, so my brother bought me this, and it worked right away."

With some skepticism, Mrs. He poured out a little medicine and fed it to Xiaoyushui. Soon after, Xiaoyushui stopped crying and fell into a deep sleep. Mrs. He was overjoyed: "This medicine really works! Xiaocao, thank you so much!"

The little grass smiled and shook its head: "You're welcome, Rain Sister, just sleep well."

Back in the east wing, Zhou Ye stared blankly at the list of cultural relics in the system space. The hundreds of national treasures in the space, from "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" to Tang tri-colored horses, each carried the cultural heritage of China. Looking at the list, he said to Xiao Cao, "These national treasures are treasures left by our ancestors. We must protect them well, and when the country is stable, let them all return to where they belong."

Xiaocao nodded and sat down beside him, looking at the list together: "Brother, let's protect them together. In the future, we can take Sister Yushui and Brother Yuzhu to see these cultural relics and tell them that these are our country's treasures."

Sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating the siblings' faces and the list of cultural relics on the table. In the courtyard, the sounds of He Daqing wielding his cleaver, children's laughter, and the coughing of the deaf old woman mingled together, creating a warm and lively atmosphere typical of peaceful times.

Zhou Ye knew that although the remnants of the Japanese army had been eliminated, the road to protecting the treasures was still long. There might still be storms in the future, and there might still be forces coveting the national treasures, but as long as he and his sister worked together to protect the secret of the golden finger, the warmth of the courtyard, and the righteousness of their country, they would surely be able to bring these national treasures back to light and ensure the continuation of Chinese culture.

He gently closed the list, stood up and walked towards the door: "Come on, Xiaocao, let's take some fruit to the old lady. She's been saying she wants to eat pears for days."

As the sun sets, the brother and sister walk side by side on the stone path of the courtyard, carrying baskets full of fruit and wearing peaceful smiles. The night sky over Beiping is clear and bright, and the story of protecting treasures and safeguarding their home continues to be written in a new chapter within this courtyard filled with the smoke of cooking fires.