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

When the Lou family steward arrived at the Wayaocun camp with five tightly bound fat pigs and twenty sacks containing two thousand catties of cornmeal, the entire camp was in an uproar.

This was no longer the mysterious supplies that Platoon Leader Zhao "didn't know where they came from."

Instead, they were genuine "gifts" or "trades" brought from wealthy families in the city.

The pigs were still grunting, and the cornmeal emitted its characteristic dry, fragrant aroma.

All of this put to rest the last lingering doubts in the soldiers' minds.

—The platoon leader's path is real, and respectable!

"Platoon Leader Zhao, my master invites you to come to town for a chat when you have time." The butler respectfully handed over his visiting card, but his eyes couldn't help but glance around.

The campsite was more organized than when he last visited; although the buildings were still dilapidated, the snow had been cleared away.

The items were neatly arranged, and although the soldiers coming and going were not dressed in brand-new clothes, they all stood tall and had a spirit in their eyes.

The soldiers who recognized him, in particular, nodded to him, showing none of their usual arrogance.

Zhao Ping'an accepted the visiting card, had someone accept the pig and cornmeal, and expressed his gratitude.

He understood that Lou Bancheng's move was both to solidify their relationship and to publicly endorse him.

—Look, your supplies include a share from me, Lou.

This had a significant effect on stabilizing the morale of ordinary soldiers.

After letting the steward rest for a while, Zhao Ping'an selected twenty men, including his personal guard Liu Dazhu and a dozen or so soldiers who had performed best during the training, to prepare to enter the city.

Before setting off, he made a point of checking everyone's military bearing.

The cotton overcoat was patted clean, the hat was neatly tied, and the gun was polished to a shine.

Although the equipment is still old, the spirit and energy are completely different.

More than twenty people marched in formation, their footsteps echoing far and wide on the quiet country road.

There was no whispering, only even breathing and occasional adjustments to commands.

The Lou family steward, who was leading the way, walked to the side and ahead of the group, secretly surprised.

He had seen many soldiers, and had even dealt with the elite troops of the Central Army.

But it's rare to see a team as silent, orderly, and exuding a restrained strength as the one behind me.

What surprised him even more was that he recognized several of the faces as those of the pale-faced, shifty-eyed soldiers who had followed Zhao Ping'an to storm the mansion a month ago.

In a short period of time, it seemed as if he had been reborn.

Upon arriving at the west gate of the city, the procession naturally slowed down, but the formation remained intact.

The soldiers on duty at the city gate were taken aback when they saw the group from afar, and instinctively gripped their guns tighter.

Zhao Baoguo, who was warming himself by a fire and supervising the inspections under the city gate tower, also came out upon hearing the report and looked over with his hand over his shoulder.

A group of people walked steadily, their formation was orderly, and their silence carried a sense of oppression. At first glance, one might mistake them for a direct subordinate unit being transferred to a new post.

"Damn it, which department? Why didn't I receive a notification?" Zhao Baoguo muttered.

As the group drew closer, and he recognized the familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar face at the head of the group, he exclaimed in surprise, "Ping An?"

Zhao Ping'an stepped forward, stood at attention, and saluted: "Brother Baoguo, it's me. Mr. Lou invited me to come to the city."

Zhao Baoguo then carefully examined the group behind him, and the more he looked, the more alarmed he became.

These soldiers stood like pine trees, their eyes fixed straight ahead, completely ignoring the curious glances around them, simply waiting quietly.

The equipment was ordinary, but the spirit and discipline that they displayed, the unwavering focus and composure, were not something that could be faked in a short time.

He couldn't help but pat Zhao Ping'an's shoulder heavily and whispered:

"Well done, Ping An! It hasn't been long, and you've already trained your troops...quite well! No, extremely well!"

Zhao Ping'an smiled and said, "It's all thanks to the support of our eldest brother and Baoguo, and the brothers' own hard work."

He didn't say much, but Zhao Baoguo could already sense the weight behind his low-key demeanor.

He waved his hand, signaling the city gate guards to let him through directly, skipping even the routine simple questioning.

The procession passed through the city gate, their orderly footsteps echoing under the dome.

As Zhao Baoguo watched their departing figures, he rubbed his somewhat frozen hands, and a thought he had never had before arose in his mind.

With a younger brother like this, with soldiers like this... Dongliang and his friends might really be different now.

In the Lou family's study, the charcoal fire was burning brightly.

Lou Bancheng personally poured Zhao Ping'an a cup of hot tea, his smile even warmer than usual.

The butler presented a heavy brocade box. Upon opening it, he found two large, bright yellow croakers and five small yellow croakers inside.

"Platoon Leader Zhao, the market price did fluctuate during the last transaction. This is to make up for the small difference. Please don't refuse." Lou Bancheng said sincerely.

Zhao Ping'an glanced at it, and without any hesitation, nodded and accepted it: "Mr. Lou is kind and righteous."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Lou Bancheng put down his teacup, leaned forward slightly, and his tone became serious:

"Platoon Leader Zhao, I am a few years older than you, so I will take the liberty of calling you my worthy brother. To be honest, the reason I invited you here today is to discuss a much bigger business deal with you."

"Mr. Lou, please go ahead."

"Penicillin." Lou Bancheng uttered four words, his eyes fixed on Zhao Ping'an.

"The last batch of goods was of excellent quality and from a reliable source."

"I'd like to... order ten more boxes. The price will remain the same as last time, fifteen large yellow croakers per box. What do you think?"

Ten boxes! One hundred and fifty large yellow croakers!

2500 vials of medicine! In this era, that's equivalent to 2500 lives!

Even though Zhao Ping'an was somewhat prepared, his heart still skipped a beat.

That number is too large.

Even though Lou Bancheng is wealthy, it is highly unusual for him to consume such a large quantity of this strategic drug in such a short period of time.

This goes far beyond the scope of ordinary commercial hoarding or underground transactions.

Two thoughts flashed through Zhao Ping'an's mind in an instant: First, this was a test. A test of the depth of his supply and his reaction.

Secondly, the final destination of this batch of drugs... considering the timeline and the enormous quantity, the answer is almost obvious.

—It can only be the side that is about to face a large-scale battle and is in dire need of Western medicine!

Lou Bancheng, or the real buyer behind him, has connections with our army! And the level of those connections should be quite high!

At the same time, huge risks come with huge opportunities.

One hundred and fifty large yellow croakers will be worth forty-five million system coins!

The complete set of equipment and building materials for the "800,000-ton-per-year steel plant" that Zhao Ping'an has been longing for is priced at 35 million, and now it's just one step away!

You only need 5000 system coins to exchange for 2500 vials of penicillin, and you can get 4500 million system coins in return.

This business has to be done, it absolutely has to be done!

Just think about it, next year will be the founding of the People's Republic of China, and the national steel production will be a mere 76,000 tons.

If the two brothers were to "surrender," they would not only bring a regiment of soldiers with them, but also offer up a modern steel plant with an annual output of 800,000 tons...

Even old steel mills using technology from 2000, which will be obsolete by 2026,

But this is 1948, a technology that's half a century ahead of its time.

A steel mill can lay the foundation for so much.

In a flash, Zhao Ping'an made up his mind, picked up his teacup, blew away the foam, pondered for a moment, and then slowly spoke:

"Mr. Lou, I'll take the deal, but..."