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

[Current system level: 1; experience required to level up: 0/1000]

1000 experience points? That's a lot? Zhao Ping'an felt a sense of pressure upon seeing the system notification. If this were done according to the methods in the novels he had read, it would be like adding a little bit of experience with every slap. Was he really going to learn from Ip Man? Would he have to tie up all the men, women, and children in the courtyard and slap them from head to toe, fighting ten people at once?

[Currently available ways to gain experience:]

Task 1: Addressing both the symptoms and the root cause:

The courtyard house is a microcosm of society, inhabited by people from the old society full of bad habits. Please view the courtyard house as a special testing ground for the trade union.

The practice of reforming the traditional courtyard house culture through labor.

Improve the satisfaction level of yourself and the people in the courtyard. Once the satisfaction level of key personnel reaches the target, each person can gain one experience point per day.

[Note: Labor reform is not mandatory, and improving staff satisfaction is not a matter of pity. All immoral behavior should be punished accordingly.]

[Task 2, unlocked at system level 2.]

"???" After reading the system introduction for a while, Zhao Ping'an was completely confused. What does this mean? It's all Chinese characters, how come I can't understand it?

However, the butler had already left, leaving only the four of them in the courtyard.

Old Xu kicked at the broken tiles at his feet, finally unable to hold back his muttering in a low voice, bringing Zhao Ping'an back to his senses:

"Ping An, can't we just buy a small courtyard secretly? Why do we have to go through all this trouble and go to Lou Bancheng? That guy is more cunning than a honeycomb briquette, what if..."

Shuanzi, standing to the side, scratched his head, clearly equally puzzled.

Liu Dazhu cautiously observed his surroundings.

Zhao Ping'an immediately realized that Lao Xu's complaint was not from his own question, but rather from seeing Dazhu and Shuanzi's confusion, prompting him to explain.

Clearly, Old Xu wanted to mentor these two lads, so Zhao Ping'an chimed in, "Dazhu, Shuanzi, think about it, did we really come here just to find a place to stay?"

The two shook their heads.

"We have important business to attend to. We might need to break ground, hide something, or meet someone. It won't be a small-scale operation."

Zhao Ping'an continued, "In enemy-occupied territory, secretly buying a small courtyard might seem like a secluded place, but it can't withstand scrutiny. Once we're targeted, or if a neighbor becomes suspicious and reports us, we're considered unregistered, with an unknown origin, and can be arrested without warning."

"But it's different if we go to Lou Bancheng." He pointed to the courtyard. "He's a prominent figure in Beiping, with friends all over the world, from all walks of life. It's perfectly normal for his friends to buy a courtyard and then start renovations. Our current public identity is that of his friends who fled from beyond the Great Wall and bought his old house to settle down."

This identity is far more reliable than any we made up ourselves. When the police or local officials come to investigate, Lou Bancheng's name card and a single sentence are more effective than ten explanations from us.

This is called "the darkest place is under the lamp"—the most dangerous place is sometimes the safest, because everyone thinks that people who do "that kind of thing" wouldn't be so blatant.

Shuanzi thought for a moment, then asked, "Then... what if Lou Bancheng betrays us?"

Zhao Ping'an smiled, but the smile looked somewhat strange on his disguised face:

"Sell? He's probably only using us less now. Jinzhou and Changchun have been lost, and soon Liao Yaoxiang's hundreds of thousands of men will be wiped out. When that happens, the Northeast Field Army will be free to attack, and they'll have a million-strong army. Once they enter the pass, how many days can Beiping hold out?"

Lou Bancheng is an extremely shrewd businessman, adept at reading the political winds. Our proactive approach to him is both reassuring and an opportunity for him to "make a contribution." Since we dare to approach him openly, we're not afraid of him reporting us, because the higher-ups definitely know we were here.

He's helping us to secure his own future. If something happens to us, and the army enters the city and starts cleaning up the mess, regardless of whether he reported us or not, will he be able to escape responsibility? Right now, he's probably more concerned about our safety than any of us are!

After all, can he run away from the temple? He's Lou Bancheng of Beiping, but once he leaves Beiping, he's no longer just half a city! If we're gone, his half-city fortune might be hard to keep.

Shuanzi suddenly understood and nodded vigorously: "I get it, Brigade Commander! This is called... 'using a tiger's skin to raise a big flag'? No, it's about getting the tiger to willingly serve as our decoy!"

"Smack!" Da Zhu gave Shuanzi a sharp rap on the back of the head. "Don't give random examples! If you can't say it, just listen. And remember to call them Master Xu and Master An. If you get it wrong again, I'll teach you a lesson!"

Old Xu was amused by Shuanzi's analogy and smiled slightly, picking up the conversation: "That makes sense. But Lou Bancheng is an outsider after all, so we can't completely trust him."

"We've got the courtyard, Anping. What are you planning to do next? Are you really going to just stay here and wait for it to be repaired? Are you sure the 'thing' you're looking for is in this area?" His gaze swept over the ruins of the east courtyard.

"The information I received is that it should be in this area, but we'll have to wait for further news or we can dig around ourselves to find out more."

"It's alright. We're fixing the house tomorrow and the day after anyway. We can just say we want to dig a cellar, and dig some soil ourselves at night. Nobody can say anything about that."

Zhao Ping'an made up an excuse, then suddenly a brilliant idea flashed in his mind, and he asked Old Xu, who was well-versed in interpersonal relationships.

"Old Xu, I got word that some people in the main courtyard next door are distant relatives of some people over there, and they want me to help look after them."

"You said to make them a little more satisfied," but I don't understand what that means. Can you help me think of something?

After all, it's not easy for them to ask us to do something, so we have to get it done properly, right?

"Satisfied? If you ask me, what do ordinary people need to be satisfied in these days? They just need a job, to earn more money, for their families to have enough to eat and clothes to wear. They should be praying to Buddha if no soldiers come into their houses to rob them. What more could they want to be satisfied with?" Shuanzi blurted out, but his words hit the nail on the head.

[Ding, current task updated]

[Task (Addressing Both Symptoms and Root Causes): Please provide corresponding jobs and "paid" assistance to some of the main characters in the courtyard.]

Ensure that the living standards of the main people in the courtyard house are maintained above the subsistence level.

And ensure the safety of the courtyard house; upon reaching the target, each person will receive 1 upgrade experience point per day.

"Haha, Anping, look, Shuanzi hit the nail on the head right away. Isn't this exactly what we've been working towards? I think they think the same way over there, right?" Old Xu laughed and patted Shuanzi on the shoulder, indicating his agreement.

"Okay, Lao Xu, I understand. I'll trouble you to go to the courtyard these next couple of days and find out what's going on, gather some information. Da Zhu, if you have the chance, go find my sworn brother Zhao Baoguo, talk to him, see if he has any ideas, if he still remembers the kindness I, Zhao Ping'an, showed him..." With his doubts resolved, Zhao Ping'an was in a great mood and began to "make arrangements."

"Alright, I really can't live without running errands for you!" Old Xu pointed vaguely at Zhao Ping'an, smiled, and agreed.

"Okay, Boss An. But after I go find Commander Baoguo, for safety's sake, I'll be staying there for a while and won't be coming back," Liu Dazhu frowned, nodded, and accepted the task. "Shuanzi, stay alert these next couple of days. Make sure to protect Boss An and Boss Xu before the next batch of brothers arrives!"