Courtyard House: A System Connecting Two Worlds, Resources for the Nation

Old Zhou scratched his head awkwardly and smiled, "It's alright, it's alright. We're all family. Our birth year doesn't matter. What's important is that we get along well in the future."

"Alright, just shut up!"

Ms. Li also calmed down and reverted to her true nature as a Northeastern woman. She slapped Lao Zhou's arm, then glanced at the five women, and a smile immediately spread across her face.

"Girls, Zhou Feng's dad and I just came to visit you. Please don't be shy, make yourselves at home. If this kid dares to bully any of you... just tell me, and I'll deal with him!"

"Thank you, Mother."

Bai Ling was the first to respond with a smile.

She was initially unfamiliar with Zhao Pan'er and the others' usual etiquette, but once she learned it, she reacted quickly.

We can't let Zhao Pan'er be the one to have all the credit.

Behind her were two women, Qin Jingru and Lou Xiao'e!

If she is overwhelmed by Zhao Pan'er's performance, what will happen to her own sisters?

Zhao Pan'er smiled slightly.

She and Bai Ling lived in different eras, so they viewed things from different perspectives.

In the Song Dynasty's imperial harem, vying for the emperor's favor was perfectly normal. As long as no scheming or underhanded tactics were used, everyone could win the emperor's and empress dowager's favor through their own abilities, which was perfectly acceptable.

The atmosphere in the living room gradually relaxed, and everyone ate fruit and chatted.

In the minds of elders in Northeast China, the highest form of hospitality is not going to a restaurant, but cooking at home. So Ms. Li took the initiative to arrange it.

"Mom, if you need to buy groceries, let Third Aunt go with you."

Seeing that Ms. Li was about to leave, Zhou Feng took the initiative to say something.

A smile immediately appeared on Sun San Niang's face, and she rushed out of the kitchen.

Ms. Li did not refuse; she also knew Sun San Niang's identity as a cook from the original video of "Meng Hua Lu".

Even the Emperor of the Song Dynasty praised her cooking highly; perhaps they will even be able to enjoy a royal banquet tonight!

Zhou Feng and Lao Zhou sat facing each other at the tea table, while Zhao Pan'er served them tea.

"What are your plans for the future?"

Old Zhou glanced at Zhao Pan'er and asked directly.

The fact that her son had brought this girl into the real world meant that he completely trusted her.

Since that's the case, he won't try to hide it.

"My progress bar for this double-door system is currently at 97.6%, and I'll be able to upgrade soon. If things stabilize in the next world, I'd like to bring you and Mom over as well."

Zhou Feng looked at Lao Zhou intently, his expression very serious.

The latter pursed his lips, stared at Zhou Feng for a long time, and then shook his head with a wry smile: "Let's talk about this later. Neither your mother nor I really want to leave."

Why?

"It's hard to leave our homeland! We've lived in Northeast China our whole lives. Now your mother has retired, and I'll be retiring soon too. Why bother going to other places? Do you know why so many kids from Northeast China go to the South, but the older generation stays behind?"

Old Zhou picked up his teacup and took a small sip.

"In your young people's words, if you go to the South, you won't have a social circle of your own except for your children. I'm okay, but your mother definitely won't be able to stand the loneliness. In the Northeast, she can play cards, go to spas, and get massages with her old friends. You're talking about going to another world? We don't know what it's like there. Are you expecting us two old people to go there and make friends on our own? We don't have that kind of ambition."

Zhou Feng's mood instantly dropped.

He knew perfectly well that his father's words were the most sincere, but he was truly worried about his parents' safety.

Originally, while he was expanding his territory abroad, the organization in this world was protecting the safety of his parents and Tao Muyao. Although it wasn't written down, it was definitely a tacit understanding shared by both sides.

But from the moment he discovered the bugging device, that tacit understanding was broken, and he could no longer trust the organization as much as before!

To put it bluntly, he now harbors some wariness towards Tie Jianguo and Bai Lang, who are following behind him.

"Alright, we'll see when the time comes. Maybe there'll be a solution in the next world you go to?"

Old Zhou leaned back comfortably on the sofa.

This sofa is much more comfortable than the one at my hometown. And while Ms. Li goes out to buy groceries, he can even lounge around like Ge You. It's so comfortable!

Not long after, Ms. Li and Sun San Niang also returned.

The two worked together very well in the kitchen, one cooking and the other assisting.

Bai Ling was peeling garlic nearby, while Zhao Pan'er was brewing tea for Zhou Feng and his son in the living room.

Qin Jingru and Lou Xiao'e were responsible for serving and plating the dishes, working busily yet in an orderly manner, their tasks complementing each other perfectly.

While Zhou Feng was enjoying a relaxed atmosphere at home, the atmosphere in the conference room of the Fuxing Road compound was extremely tense.

The lights in the conference room stayed on from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. There were about a dozen people sitting on both sides of the long table, and a lot of smoke kept rising from the fingertips of several heavy smokers, only to be drawn away by the fresh air system.

The man sitting at the head of the long table had a thin investigation report pressed under his palm, which detailed the findings of tracing the source of the listening devices found in Zhou Feng's parents' house.

Given the current state of technological development in China, once the entire nation's energy is mobilized, thoroughly investigating a matter becomes extremely simple.

Moreover, not all forces did such a thing, so those forces that adhered to the rules and did not cross the line also did their best to cooperate with the superior's investigation, tracing the whole matter back to its source from frequency characteristics, circuit chains, and installation methods.

Unfortunately, the name that was finally chosen was the very reason that person and a group of senior executives stayed in the conference room for so long.

"He's one of our old comrades, I really didn't expect that we'd end up tracing his background."

The elder sighed. If we're talking about familiarity, no one knows the other party better than him. In fact, with his support, the Seven Warlords of the Sea might not be unable to join.

I never expected him to do something like this at a time like this.

Hearing the sigh, a high-ranking official sitting to the right raised his hand: "Sir, I have a question. Given this comrade's current rank, a little further promotion would put him in the highest decision-making level. Is it really an overreaction to deal with such a cadre simply because a listening device was planted in his home?"

Even a wrecked ship has three nails left, and this ship hasn't sunk yet, so naturally some people want to try to salvage it.

Upon hearing this, the people on both sides of the conference table exchanged glances, their expressions quite complex.

Some people wanted to take this opportunity to cause trouble, some felt a sense of shared sorrow, and most people frowned and remained silent.

This matter is neither a big deal nor a small one.

If you have no connection to it, it's best not to get involved.

"Making a mountain out of a molehill? Minister Chen, your statement is rather biased!"

Before the other person could answer, Lin Su stubbed out his cigarette and looked up.

"Why did he wiretap Zhou Feng's parents' house? Simply to find out Zhou Feng's movements! And what was the purpose of finding out Zhou Feng's movements? To control him? Zhou Feng currently represents all the interests of our entire Dragon Kingdom on two fronts, and even more in the future. You call this making a mountain out of a molehill?"

"Furthermore, even without information from another world, the recordings he eavesdropped on contained ample data about Zhou Feng's parents' daily routines, the people they interacted with, and their travel habits. Do you understand the risks that would arise if any other force were to obtain this information?"

"To take it a step further, we are currently advancing an international futures trading plan involving hundreds of billions of US dollars. The biggest risk of this plan lies in the supply-side stability of Comrade Zhou Feng. Now you're telling me that, when he just discovered that his home had been bugged and his trust in us has plummeted to rock bottom, you're actually thinking that this isn't serious?"

"I can tell you clearly that I even intend to prosecute this as leaking state secrets and treason!"

The department head, Chen, was silent for a few seconds, then sighed: "Director Lin, I understand how much importance you attach to this matter, but I also have a question. Since Comrade Zhou Feng began cooperating with the organization, you've been solely responsible for all key communications—resource allocation, information synchronization, even progress reports from the other world—all bypassing the existing departmental structure. Of course, there's a need for confidentiality, but isn't this another kind of risk in the long run?"

"Even from a proactive perspective, if one day Comrade Zhou Feng becomes unwilling to cooperate with us for some reason, and we can't find a replacement, shouldn't we be more aware of the situation? Shouldn't we establish some checks and balances? Otherwise, how can we trust him?"

Chen Bu didn't say it very clearly, but everyone present understood what he meant.

Even though his tone was gentle and his demeanor relaxed, the implication was that Lin Su was being too soft on Zhou Feng, even to the point of giving up the initiative!

Lin Su didn't rush to refute after hearing this. Instead, he picked up the tea in front of him, took a sip, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

"I support Minister Chen's suggestion to establish a system of checks and balances, but right now, this ability to pass through doors is unique to Comrade Zhou Feng. Minister Chen, how do you intend to check and balance this?"

Chen opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Lin Su continued, "How many comrades have we sent to the other world? They're using the equipment there, running the machines to mine the ore, and all communication with us depends on Zhou Feng! If we break ties with him, those people from the other world will never be able to come back, and any future development will be completely cut off."

"Who will open the door then? Director Chen, are you going to go? Or are you planning to just arrest his parents and coerce him? Have you forgotten the organization's principles?"

"Everyone only sees the rank of the leader who is about to be punished and questions whether this is making a mountain out of a molehill, but does anyone really understand how serious the consequences of this matter will be?"

Lin Su's rhetorical questions silenced everyone present, who remained silent. Instead, one of them sighed, "Comrade Lin Su, don't treat your comrades like this. Let's talk things out."

"Sir, I have no choice but to be anxious! Zhou Feng didn't even use the car assigned to him by the organization when he came back to Beiping this time, which makes his attitude towards us very clear! We can't afford to make any mistakes at this time!"

Hearing Lin Su's somewhat anxious tone, one of the leaders opposite him chuckled.

"Director Lin, are you the director of the organization, or just Zhou Feng's subordinate? It seems you haven't even had anyone keeping a close eye on Zhou Feng?"

"What do you mean? You mean about him going shopping?"

Lin Su's expression was rather unpleasant.

"It wasn't just shopping; Zhou Feng even brought back several women from other worlds. How could you not investigate, deal with, or question people from other worlds like these? This is blatant dereliction of duty!"

The officials on the other side promptly began to label Lin Su.

How could they not know how important Zhou Feng is to the Dragon Kingdom?

However, ever since Zhou Feng was discovered, Lin Su has been in single-line contact with him, and all intelligence information must first go through Lin Su.

This has caused many people to feel jealous.

As the old saying goes, "It is not scarcity that is to be feared, but inequality."

The various factions now share this sentiment to some extent.

Lin Su, who had Zhou Feng firmly under his control, became the target of everyone's criticism.

"You still want to interrogate the people around Zhou Feng? Do you really think he's too close to us? And you want to push him away?"

"Push it away? Director Lin! The continuous stream of resources transmitted back from the other world is more than enough for our Dragon Kingdom, and there's even a surplus to store. Given that, why should we continue to fawn over Zhou Feng? Remember, he still needs our support for his logistics in other worlds!"

"So, for the sake of short-term gains, you're willing to push Zhou Feng, who can continuously provide financial support to the Dragon Kingdom, to the opposite side?"

Lin Su, his face grim, glanced at the other man and slowly said, "I'll only say one thing: Comrade Zhou Feng's ability is called 'Double Door Passage.' Don't forget, doors can be opened and closed!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Su slowly took his seat, and all eyes in the room were on him.

A few people wanted to speak, but after hesitating for a few seconds, they kept quiet.

"Alright, what you all say makes sense, but for now, I suggest that the comrade in question be dealt with as Comrade Lin Su suggested—for treason. As for Comrade Zhou Feng's parents, let's establish a clear rule: no individual or organization may contact Comrade Zhou Feng's parents or family privately under any pretext. Anyone found doing so will be dealt with as if they were leaking state secrets, with no upper limit!"

With that person making the final decision, things became much easier to discuss afterwards. Finally, at the end of the meeting, that person turned to Lin Su: "We definitely need to deal with this person seriously. But you can also do more for Comrade Zhou Feng. Take charge of communicating with him and tell him that the Dragon Kingdom's trust in him has never changed, and that the agreements signed previously remain valid. Put his mind at ease."

"Yes, boss, I understand."

As Lin Su stepped out of the conference room, he let out a long sigh.

Given this situation, it would be difficult for him to repair his relationship with Zhou Feng!