Courtyard House: I Rely on Time-Space Trade to Build a Nation

February 2, 1954, Lunar New Year's Eve.

Zhao Ping'an came out of the conference room.

Footsteps sounded behind me; it was the leader's secretary, Xiao Li.

"Minister Zhao, the leader asked me to ask you if you'd like to spend the New Year at his place tonight?"

Zhao Ping'an smiled and waved his hand, declining the task that had been temporarily assigned by the system.

"Please thank your boss for me. I have plans for this year."

Xiao Li was taken aback for a moment, but didn't ask any more questions, nodded and left.

Zhao Ping'an got into the jeep and carefully read the task suddenly given to him by the system.

Suddenly, that familiar mechanical voice echoed in Zhao Ping'an's mind.

[Task Released: Sharing Joy with the People]

[Task objective: On New Year's Eve, enjoy a reunion dinner with characters from the stories of "The Courtyard House" and "Endgame" to celebrate the New Year together.]

[Mission Rewards: 3 An-12 transport aircraft (including design drawings and technical documents); a complete set of An-22 transport aircraft drawings and technical documents]

[Task deadline: Before 24:00 tonight]

Zhao Ping'an couldn't help but feel excited. This was the airplane he had always dreamed of; the system's exchange price was over 100 million per unit.

It would have been really expensive to redeem them myself, but now it's great, you can get three aircraft in one meal, plus information on future models.

Zhao Ping'an wished he could kiss the system. Then, he couldn't help but feel a little too greedy.

If we had this two weeks ago, we would have trained pilots ourselves and then sent Liu Dazhu and others by plane. Why would we need to travel by land?

Zhao Ping'an got into the car, and his bodyguard Zhang Dashan started the engine.

"Commander, where are we going?"

"Let's go to our industrial park's Beijing office first."

The Beijing office of the Northeast Industrial Zone is located near Dongsi Archway, in a three-story building with a sign hanging at the entrance.

When Zhao Ping'an entered, the people on duty were playing cards. Seeing him come in, they were startled and quickly stood up.

Zhao Pingan waved his hand.

"It's Chinese New Year, relax a bit. Have you guys on duty distributed the New Year's gifts yet?"

The supervisor on duty quickly nodded: "Yes, yes. Triple pay and double the New Year's gifts, they were distributed this morning."

Zhao Ping'an nodded and spoke.

"Give me half a pig, fifty catties of beef, and some vegetables. I'll sign the receipt, and you can load them onto the truck for me. I need them."

The director quickly called for help. After they finished moving the items, he ran back, followed by a middle-aged man wearing an apron.

"Minister, this is the best craftsman among the three chefs on duty today."

"You're spending the New Year alone, why don't you let him come along and help out?"

Zhao Ping'an glanced at Chef Li, then at his bodyguards. While all of them could cook—a standard skill for Zhao Ping'an's bodyguards—it was certainly not as good as the master chef's cooking.

"Okay. Then I'll trouble you, Master Li."

Chef Li smiled憨厚ly: "No trouble at all, it's my duty to cook for the leader."

Before five o'clock, three jeeps were parked in front of No. 95 Nanluoguxiang.

Upon entering, I saw Mei Yan and He Xiuping preparing New Year's Eve dinner with their two adopted children, Da Bao Ya and Xiao Wu Zi.

Thanks to Zhao Ping'an's efforts in promoting infrastructure development, every household in Beiping now has lights installed, and electricity costs are very low.

As soon as it got dark, every household turned on their lights, and thousands of homes were ablaze with light.

As soon as Zhao Ping'an got out of the car, the two children rushed out.

"Uncle Zhao!"

Big Tooth and Little Five each grabbed one of his legs.

Zhao Ping'an smiled and patted their heads, then casually exchanged some milk candy from the system and stuffed it into the hands of the two children.

"You've grown taller. Do you miss your uncle?"

"Yes!" the two children said in unison, then took the candy and thanked him, "Thank you, Uncle!"

Mei Yan and He Xiuping came out of the courtyard. They greeted Zhao Ping'an with smiles.

"Mr. Zhao, you've arrived."

Zhao Ping'an nodded.

"I'm spending the New Year alone, just wanted to freeload a meal. Hope that's not bothering me?"

He Xiuping smiled and said, "We couldn't be happier to hear that."

Zhao Pingan then said to He Xiuping, "By the way, tell the people at the courtyard house that we'll celebrate the New Year together. I have plenty of meat and vegetables here, so let's all get together for a lively gathering."

He Xiuping paused for a moment, then nodded.

"Okay, I'll go ask."

In recent years, with the establishment of various factories by Zhao Ping'an, almost everyone has a similar job, and their living standards have improved rapidly. So, on New Year's Eve, everyone in the courtyard pooled their money to have a New Year's Eve dinner together and celebrate the New Year in a lively atmosphere.

He Yuzhu was busy in the kitchen. The braised pork was already stewing, the stir-fried cabbage with vinegar was chopped, and the carp was still being kept in a basin.

He Xiuping went in and spoke, and He Yuzhu wiped his hands and peeked out.

"Mr. Zhao is here?"

"They've arrived. They brought a lot of meat and vegetables, saying they'll celebrate the New Year together."

He Yuzhu thought for a moment and nodded.

"Okay. I've almost finished preparing the dishes here, just add a few more."

He paused, then lowered his voice.

"Sis, who exactly is this Mr. Zhao?"

He Xiuping glanced at him.

"Who someone is is not your question. Anyway, it's not an ordinary person."

He Yuzhu nodded and asked no more questions.

Soon, He Xiuping notified everyone in the courtyard, thus obtaining their consent.

Everyone knows that Zhao Ping'an's identity is extraordinary.

After all, they had all worked for Zhao Ping'an before liberation, so they naturally understood each other.

In addition, the eight-level skilled worker rating system has not yet been fully implemented.

There was no liaison officer system implemented, so naturally no one dared to put on airs.

Moreover, Zhao Ping'an is always accompanied by a group of guards, who are all very smart and naturally understand this.

In the kitchen, Chef Li and He Yuzhu were busy at work.

He Yuzhu makes his signature dishes: braised pork, stir-fried cabbage with vinegar, stir-fried shredded potatoes, braised pork with radish, and braised carp.

Chef Li then showcased his skills in cooking Northeastern Chinese dishes, all of which were Zhao Ping'an's favorites.

Northeast-style braised pork belly, braised beef, stir-fried pork slices, pork ribs stewed with green beans, stir-fried dried tofu with green peppers, and stir-fried potatoes, green peppers, and eggplant.

The green beans, eggplants, and peppers were all off-season vegetables grown in greenhouses on suburban farms.

Being able to eat fresh green beans this season was something I wouldn't have dared to dream of a few years ago.

The aroma of meat wafted everywhere.

Er Mao and Xiao Wuzi squatted at the kitchen door, waiting expectantly.

He Xiuping set the table inside. Mei Yan helped serve the dishes.

The guards were also busy, moving tables, arranging chairs, and pouring drinks.

Zhao Ping'an sat in the courtyard, watching the lively scene, and a strange feeling suddenly welled up in his heart.

Watching these people bustling about, and seeing the children running around excitedly, I suddenly felt an urge to fall in love.

After all, I've been here for a few years now. Given my position, shouldn't the organization "give me a wife" by now?

As I was thinking, it got completely dark, and the dishes were served one after another.

The location was chosen to be the main hall in the front courtyard of the east wing.

Three tables, completely surrounded.

The men of the courtyard house sat at one table.

Women and children at one table in the courtyard

The people from the east courtyard, along with Zhao Ping'an and his group, sat at one table.

The wine they drank was naturally a few bottles of Fenjiu that Zhao Pingan had brought out.

At the dinner table, everyone asked Zhao Ping'an to say a few words. Zhao Ping'an didn't put on airs, simply wishing everyone success in their work and good health, and then told them to hurry up and eat.

After all, the women and children are watching. This kind of feast is something that the people in the courtyard might not get to eat even once every few years.

With so many delicious dishes and Zhao Ping'an present, there were naturally no mishaps, and everyone was happily enjoying their meal.

After the event ended, Zhao Ping'an stood in the courtyard watching the guards bring out some fireworks and set them off with Da Bao Ya and Xiao Wu Zi.

He Xiuping was standing next to him at some point.

"Mr. Zhao, what are you looking at?"

Zhao Pingan pointed to the lights.

"Look at the lights."

He Xiuping followed his gaze.

"That's wonderful. I never imagined that every household could have electric lights."

Zhao Ping'an nodded, looked at Yang Guozu's face, and casually uttered some shocking remarks.

"It will get better in the future. Not only will there be lights, but also radios, televisions, and telephones."

He Xiuping looked at him and asked a question.

"Mr. Zhao, are you making a wish? I don't even know what this 'television set' you're talking about is!"

Zhao Pingan was stunned for a moment.

"Haha, consider this my wish. I think we're developing very quickly right now, and it will happen soon."

He Xiuping suddenly smiled

"Then I'll take Mr. Zhao's kind words as a blessing."

In the distance, the sound of firecrackers grew louder and louder.

Zhao Ping'an was still watching the fireworks that were being set off in the courtyard.

He Xiuping joined in, and everyone laughed and chatted together.

As the clock struck midnight, Zhao Ping'an stood in the courtyard, watching the fireworks fill the sky.

The system notification sounded in my mind again.

[Task complete.]

[Awards awarded: 3 An-12 transport aircraft (including complete crew and training manuals).]

[The complete set of blueprints and technical documents for the An-22 transport aircraft has been stored in the system space. Please check.]

Zhao Ping'an's lips curled up slightly.

At that moment, Li Dashan received a phone call in his room, then rushed out to report to Zhao Ping'an.

"Sir, we have received a telegram from Regiment Commander Liu."

Our unit detected the French ambush in advance and has already routed the enemy, killing approximately 2,000 and suffering 35 casualties.

Happy Lunar New Year, Commander-in-Chief! Here is a battle report.

"Um, Mr. Zhao, are you the brigade commander?" Mei Yan, standing to the side, looked surprised!