The Courtyard House: The Little Red Devil Returning from the Peninsula

The sound of wheels outside the stone kiln echoed all night long.

The sky was just beginning to lighten when the last mule cart entered the gate.

There was no military flag on the cart, only oilcloth, hemp rope, and a layer of yellow dust that hadn't been brushed off. The driver, with his whip tucked under his arm, jumped down, glanced at Zhao Gang first, then at Zhao Weiguo.

"Commander, everything from east of Shouyang is here."

Zhao Gang didn't reply. He walked to the first car and reached out to lift the tarpaulin.

Steel was pressed against the truck bed, its edges still stained with black ash. Copper wire was coiled up in circles, next to which were a dismantled generator and several metal boxes. The boxes had Japanese seals on them, which had been peeled off and then re-tied with hemp rope.

"Who touched it?" Zhao Gang asked.

The veteran driving the cart pointed to the wounded behind him: "There was a mule that was lame on the road. We opened a box of medicine and applied it to its leg. We didn't touch the rest."

Zhao Gang nodded and wrote in his notebook: One box of medicine, some to be used en route, exact quantities to be recounted.

After he finished writing, he handed the pencil to the messenger next to him.

"Keep this record. Don't be afraid of the trouble or the mess. One less box is one less box. Nobody should try to fool anyone with the inventory later."

Zhao Weiguo stood beside the vehicle, not looking at the steel first, but at the generator.

There were bullet holes in the outer casing, and a piece was missing from the edge of the flywheel. The two engineers' arms were shaking as they unloaded it from the vehicle. It wasn't from exhaustion, but from fear of damaging the last usable power unit.

Zhao Tieshan squeezed through the crowd, his hands still covered in kiln ash.

"The generator's power is insufficient."

"Can we bring the mothership?"

"It can run idle, but it has to stop when it gets a load."

Zhao Tieshan squatted down and patted the generator casing.

"This thing was originally intended for station lighting and water pumping. It's not quite right for powering the main engine. The bearings are also subpar; they overheat when the speed increases."

"How much difference?"

"It's hard to say. Thirty percent, maybe forty percent."

"Then let's calculate it at 30%," Zhao Weiguo said. "Let's do what we can first."

Zhao Tieshan looked up: "What do you want to do first?"

"The spindle, bearings, measuring tools, and those few things on the blueprints that we can't make now."

Zhao Weiguo reached out and touched the cross-section of the steel.

"Make the rest yourself."

Zhao Tieshan did not agree immediately.

Everyone in the stone kiln knew that Zhao Weiguo possessed some things they didn't understand. But knowing was one thing; when it came to actually building an arsenal from a few blueprints and a pile of captured supplies, no one dared to make a definitive statement.

Especially this mother machine.

It's not a cannon, nor a truckload of bullets. Once assembled, it consumes steel, electricity, manpower, and a tremendous amount of time. If even one dimension is wrong, every barrel and every shell casing that comes out afterward could become scrap metal.

Zhao Weiguo withdrew his hand.

"Separate the items first."

Zhao Gang looked up.

"Combat spoils, military supplies consumed, and civilian relief, three columns."

"Military supplies need to be further subdivided."

"Ammunition, medicine, vehicles, industrial materials."

"Industrial materials are further divided into steel, copper, and power components." Zhao Weiguo looked at Zhao Tieshan. "Give me the parts list for the mother machine this afternoon. It's not an estimate, but a list that details every single bolt."

Zhao Tieshan grinned: "You really are using me as a factory director."

"You always were."

"And where is the factory located?"

Zhao Weiguo turned and pointed to the stone kiln.

"Inside the kiln."

The stone kiln is not a room.

It was originally a kiln for firing bricks and storing grain. Later, side caves, ventilation ducts, and a back door to block out the firelight were added. A few days ago, Zhao Tieshan led people to compact the bottom of the kiln and dismantle several steel rails from an abandoned railway station, burying them in the ground as a foundation.

The conditions were as rudimentary as could be.

However, the strongholds along the Zhengtai Railway were rudimentary. The Japanese soldiers there were unwilling to believe that a group of Eighth Route Army soldiers from the mountains could nail the railway shut at night, and even less willing to believe that the equipment they considered scrap metal would be reused.

"Where have the reinforcements from Taiyuan gone?" Zhao Weiguo asked.

Gardenia came from behind, her feet covered in mud.

She handed Zhao Weiguo a piece of paper that had been folded three times.

"The reinforcements from Taiyuan passed the first contact point last night. There were cars in front, followed by infantry. So far, they have only managed to reach one battalion and two puppet army units."

"How long will it take to get to Shouyang?"

"If all goes well, two days. If the road has been bombed, it might take three days."

"Do they know about stone kilns?"

"I don't know about Shiyao, but I do know that there are captured supplies being transported back from this area."

Zhao Weiguo folded the paper back.

"Then I know."

Gardenia did not refute.

What she feared most in intelligence work was this kind of vague knowledge. The enemy didn't need to know where the caves were; they only needed to know that a shipment was heading into the mountains, and they would search the vehicles, arrest people, and question the villages along the way.

Zhao Gang closed the ledger.

"Should we move first?"

The people in the kiln paused for a moment.

Relocation means dismantling the mother machine, demolishing the foundation, and finding a new location for the newly laid ground. It's impossible to restore it within three days.

Zhao Tieshan didn't speak, but placed his palm on the generator.

Zhao Weiguo looked at the entrance of the stone kiln.

"I won't forward it."

"The enemy will arrive in two days."

"So let's light the fire today."

Zhao Gang stared at him: "It's not finished yet."

"Even if we can't finish filling it all out, we still have to fill it out."

"What should I do if there's an accident?"

"Stop the machine. If someone dies, make a note of their name; if it breaks, disassemble and rebuild it."

Zhao Weiguo paused.

"But we can't use it forever just because we're afraid it will break."

As soon as those words were spoken, the people in the stone kiln began to move again.

Engineers dismantled the station's drive wheels, artillerymen sawed an old wooden table into a measuring table, wounded soldiers who could walk stripped copper wire from its sheath, and village carpenters carried wooden wedges and hammers into the kiln. No one shouted slogans, and no one called it some great project.

All they knew was that the Japanese troops in Taiyuan were on their way.

The mother machine had to start up before the Japanese arrived.

When Zhao Weiguo reached the bottom of the kiln, Zhao Tieshan was holding a level and touching the ground.

"The left side is two points lower."

"Steel pads".

"We don't have enough steel sheets."

"Cut off that batch of scrap cannon barrels."

Zhao Tieshan looked up: "That's a cannon barrel."

"Those that are cracked can't be used in cannons."

Zhao Tieshan gritted his teeth and pointed to the corner: "There are three over there, cut one first."

Cut all three.

"You're quite generous."

Zhao Weiguo squatted down and looked at the thin crack in the foundation.

"For the machine to turn, the foundation must not shake."

"Know."

Zhao Tieshan lowered his head and continued adjusting the level.

Half an hour later, the main shaft was hoisted up.

It was a black steel shaft that wasn't very thick, its surface not polished enough, and there were two small knife marks near the end. It came from a core component redeemed through the system; Zhao Weiguo hadn't redeemed the entire set, only the part that the base couldn't process for the time being.

Both the number of redemptions and the points are limited.

More importantly, he didn't want everyone to develop the habit of waiting for things to fall from the sky.

Once the spindle was in place, Zhao Tieshan used a feeler gauge to carefully check for gaps. The feeler gauge was newly made, and the edges of the thin sheet were not perfectly even. He tried three times before he was able to write down the numbers on a piece of paper.

"It's off-center."

"How many?"

"The beginning and end are slightly off by a fraction."

"Can it be transferred?"

"able."

"Then let's transfer it first."

"Commander Zhao," Zhao Tieshan raised his face, "if you want it to live longer, don't mistake its ability to be transferred for its competence."

The kiln fell silent for a moment.

Zhao Weiguo looked at him and nodded.

"you're right."

He walked to the kiln entrance and said to Zhao Gang, "Remember this rule: separate usability from quality, and quality from durability."

Zhao Gang wrote these words on his notebook.

In the afternoon, the first round of assembly was completed.

Four men carried the generator in, the power cord was hung along the wall, and the switch was a modified old telephone switch. Zhao Tieshan led a group to lubricate the bearings, while Lao Zhou returned from the outside line, followed by a battalion of soldiers.

"There's been another move in Taiyuan," Old Zhou said. "The striker has been changed to the motorcade team; they're moving fast."

"What are your arrangements?"

"There are two roads southeast of Shouyang, one team on each side. If they really want to come over, I'll lead them into the ditch first."

"Don't destroy the stone kiln."

Old Zhou glanced into the depths of the cave dwelling.

"You really treat this thing like your lifeline."

"It's more troublesome than your lifeline," Zhao Weiguo said. "If you lose your life, you can replace it with someone else, but if the motherboard breaks down, you have to start all over again."

Old Zhou chuckled, but the smile quickly faded.

"Then I'll guard it for you."

"If you can't hold out, retreat. Don't use people to fill the gaps."

"Know."

"You don't know," Zhao Weiguo looked at him, "Starting today, there will be three layers of fire outside the kiln. The first layer will delay, the second will issue a warning, and the third will engage in combat. Whoever leads the Japanese to the kiln entrance, Zhao Gang will remember their name first."

Zhao Gang didn't even look up: "I've already noted it down."

Old Zhou touched his nose.

"Commander, you're setting more and more rules."

"If there are too many people and too few rules, people will die."

The mothership was ignited for the first time before nightfall.

Zhao Tieshan stood beside the switch, sweat dripping down his nose. He didn't immediately flip the switch, but instead glanced back at Zhao Weiguo.

"If the spindle vibrates, immediately cut off the power."

"You decide."

"I'll do it."

Close the switch.

The generator coughed first.

The light bulb in the cave dimmed, and the main shaft slowly began to turn. The steel wheel and belt meshed together, producing a dry, grinding sound.

The first lap is over.

On the second lap, the ground began to tremble.

Zhao Tieshan's hand was already on the guillotine.

"Stop," Zhao Weiguo said.

The switch was pulled open.

The belt was still swinging due to inertia, and the main shaft stopped very slowly. A clod of dust was shaken off from the corner and landed on Zhao Tieshan's shoulder.

"Foundation resonance," Zhao Weiguo said.

Zhao Tieshan wiped away the dust: "You figured it out?"

"The wall is shaking."

"I also saw the wall shaking."

"Then fill in the cavity under the wall."

"If I fill it out, I'll have to find a new level."

"Finish it tonight."

Zhao Tieshan stared at the main axis for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled.

"Do you know what the most troublesome thing is?"

"explain."

"It really can spin."

Zhao Weiguo didn't laugh.

Zhao Tieshan, however, had already led his men to dismantle the foundation.

The second ignition took place at midnight.

This time, the main shaft rotated slowly, but steadily.

Zhao Tieshan placed a steel billet under the blade, his arm taut like a rope. The blade cut into the steel, and sparks flickered out of the kiln.

No one spoke.

A standard gun barrel blank was finally pushed out from under the mother machine.

It cannot be fitted with a gun yet, and the inner wall still needs further fine grinding. However, the outer diameter, length, and end face have already fallen within the range of the measuring tools.

Zhao Gang spread out his notebook.

"serial number?"

Zhao Tieshan picked up the chalk and wrote on the wooden sign: No. 1 gun barrel blank.

Next, the first shell casing was fed into the stamping die.

When the mold fell, it sounded like a muffled thunderclap in the cave.

The shell casing came out with a fine crack along its edge.

Zhao Tieshan picked it up and looked at it against the light.

"Scrap metal."

Someone nearby turned pale.

Zhao Weiguo reached out and took it, running his fingertip across the crack.

Why did it crack?

"The copper plate was not annealed enough, and the stamping was too rapid."

"Redo it."

"We only have enough materials for two uses," Zhao Gang said.

Zhao Weiguo looked at the mother machine that was still spinning.

"Then let's make the second one a qualified product."

Zhao Tieshan readjusted the mold.

This time, the stamping speed was slowed down, and the copper plate was heated first before being put into the mold. When the second shell casing fell, the edge was intact and there were no cracks at the bottom.

Zhao Gang took it in his hand and tapped it.

The sound was crisp and clear.

"qualified."

Finally, someone in the stone kiln let out a sigh of relief.

Zhao Weiguo took the shell casing from him and put it into his pocket.

"Tomorrow, let the Japanese inspect the goods for us."

Outside the kiln, the wind was blowing from the direction of the Zhengtai Line.

Further away, the sound of car engines could be heard, intermittently, carried into the night across the mountain ridges.

Reinforcements from Taiyuan are on their way.

Inside the stone kiln, the machine was still running. Zhao Tieshan hadn't stopped it, and Zhao Gang hadn't closed the ledger. They still had to produce the next batch of qualified parts before dawn.