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

Inside the regimental headquarters, Zhao Ping'an had already laid out the "prepared" roster and ledger on the table.

Staff Officer Qian sat down and began to carefully peruse the document. He read slowly, occasionally asking a question:

"This month's food consumption is 15% higher than the approved standard. What happened?"

Zhao Dongliang replied according to the plan: "Reporting to Staff Officer Qian, the approved standard is calculated based on 'maintaining basic survival'."

Our regiment had been starving before, and we had many wounded soldiers. To restore our fighting strength, we had to make sure the brothers were well-fed first.

Fortunately, some patriotic businessmen helped out and provided a lot of supplies... all of which were included in the consumption figures.

"There's really no other way; the allocation from above is simply not enough." His tone was sincere, tinged with helplessness.

Staff Officer Qian said "Oh," and pointed to another spot: "The number of firearms... 70% are Hanyang rifles, 20% are Chiang Kai-shek rifles, and 10% are miscellaneous types? I saw that the guards outside are all carrying Type 38 rifles, and they're in pretty good condition."

Zhao Ping'an stepped forward, stood at attention, and replied, "Reporting to Staff Officer Qian, these are also 100 good guns donated by patriotic businessmen."

They've all been prioritized for sentries and duty teams, just to maintain appearances. The rest are in storage, most of them outdated.

Staff Officer Qian raised his eyelids and glanced at Zhao Ping'an: "What is your position?"

"Your humble servant is Zhao Ping'an, acting battalion commander of the Third Battalion, and also in charge of logistics and procurement." Zhao Ping'an said neither servilely nor arrogantly.

"Hmm." Staff Officer Qian didn't ask any more questions, closed the ledger, and said, "Just looking at the ledger isn't enough; we need to verify it on-site."

"Commander Zhao, take me to see your barracks and warehouses, and then randomly check the actual number of men and equipment in a few platoons."

"Yes!" Zhao Dongliang's heart tightened, but he remained calm on the surface. "Please, Staff Officer Qian."

For the next half day, Staff Officer Qian led his men to thoroughly clean the camp, like combing through a fine mesh.

He randomly selected three rows to check the roster.

They also inspected the so-called "armory," which indeed contained mostly old and even damaged weapons. The weapons were reasonably well-maintained, but there was nothing particularly remarkable about them.

The brand-new, high-quality guns and heavy weapons have long since vanished without a trace.

They also visited the grain warehouse, which was piled with a lot of corn, sorghum, some dried pickled vegetables, and half a pig. The quantity was basically consistent with the account book. Although it was not abundant, it was enough to have enough to eat and some meat.

In the evening, the verification was temporarily completed. Staff Officer Qian was invited to the regimental headquarters for a short rest.

Zhao Dongliang gave him a wink, and Zhao Ping'an understood, walking in with an inconspicuous cloth bag.

"Officer Qian, you've had a long day. This is a small token of our appreciation. We heard you enjoy tea, so this is some new tea from the south, along with a few packs of cigarettes, to help you and the brothers in the inspection team relax on your journey." Zhao Ping'an gently placed the cloth bag on the coffee table next to Officer Qian. The bag was slightly open, revealing a corner of a gleaming gold bar inside—not much, just two small gold bars, but enough to touch one's heart.

Staff Officer Qian's gaze lingered on that golden hue for a moment, then casually looked away, picked up his teacup, blew on it, and said slowly:

"Regimental Commander Zhao, Battalion Commander Zhao, your regiment... it hasn't been easy. You can tell they want to accomplish something. However," he changed the subject,

"The situation is delicate right now, and there's a lot of gossip going around. Your supplies are arriving more readily than other units, which inevitably makes people envious."

Some things require careful consideration of their impact and a measured approach. Recruiting new troops must be reported and registered according to procedures, and weapons and equipment must comply with regulations.

Self-reliance is a good thing, but it shouldn't be too... unconventional, understand?

These words were both a suggestion and a warning, but the tone had softened considerably after accepting the gold bars.

Zhao Dongliang nodded hurriedly, "Yes, yes, yes, Staff Officer Qian is right! We will definitely pay attention and follow the rules! In the future, we hope Staff Officer Qian will put in a good word for our regiment with the division commander!"

Staff Officer Qian gave a noncommittal "hmm" and stood up: "That's enough for today. I will report the verification results to the division headquarters truthfully."

Your regiment... is generally in good condition; the officers and soldiers are in good spirits, and their spirit of self-reliance is commendable. However, there are also shortcomings that need to be addressed.

"Yes! Thank you, Advisor Qian!" Zhao Dongliang and Zhao Pingan said in unison.

After seeing off Staff Officer Qian's convoy, and watching the dust gradually settle, Zhao Dongliang and Zhao Ping'an stood at the camp gate, remaining silent for a long time.

"Peaceful, this time... we've gotten away with it." Zhao Dongliang let out a long sigh of relief, his military uniform back soaked with cold sweat.

"But we need to be even more careful from now on. We can't afford to make any more noise."

"Brother, don't worry, it'll be quick." Zhao Ping'an squinted his eyes.

The turmoil of the inspection was like a pebble thrown into a pond; after the ripples subsided, the surface of the water seemed to return to calm, but there were many undercurrents beneath the surface.

Zhao Ping'an shifted his focus more towards internal matters. Training remained rigorous, but with a greater emphasis on refining individual soldier skills and perfecting small-team tactics.

Supplies were still distributed in sufficient quantities, but the accounts were kept even more meticulously, and the food allowance was even "reasonably reduced" on the books.

After a period of silence of about ten days, contact with Lou Bancheng was restarted again in an extremely covert manner.

This time, it wasn't the butler who came, but a stranger who, under the guise of delivering "roofing tarpaulin" to the camp, slipped a thin letter into Zhao Ping'an's hand.

The new information was all nonsense, but the errand boy brought a message: "Our unit has discovered that your unit will soon receive orders from the Beiping Command. Please wait."

In response, Zhao Ping'an sent a message through his assistant: "Three new small diesel generator sets have arrived, each weighing 1200 jin (3 catties) and generating 10 kilowatts."

A few days later, the reply arrived in the same discreet manner, containing only two words: "Urgently needed." Concise, decisive, and full of trust and urgency.

Zhao Ping'an began preparations.

He carefully selected three relatively simple, robust, and durable 10-kilowatt small diesel generator sets from the system's online store.

This power was more than enough to light dozens of light bulbs, power a small radio, and run basic repair tools. Even though it was outdated technology from 98, Zhao Ping'an still exchanged it for detailed mechanical schematics, operation manuals, and troubleshooting guides. Then, he spent several nights "translating" and "simplifying" these materials into a way that engineers or clever technicians of this era could understand, using the simplest language and hand-drawn sketches, erasing all the outdated terminology and design concepts.

At the same time, he also began to carry out the plan that had been lingering in his heart for a long time—"the spark".

He found Zhao Dongliang,

"Brother," Zhao Ping'an said solemnly, "the inspection has served as a reminder to us that our overt expansion must come to an end."

But our efforts cannot stop there. Next, we must delve deeper and work on the core aspects.