Courtyard Houses: From Bronze Compasses to Global Reach

Chapter 423 The Wind Rises in the Desert

Time flies, and the clock has been turned to mid-March 1990.

The once lively atmosphere in the courtyard houses on Dongxinglong Street in Beijing has vanished.

The leaden sky hung low, like a dirty old rag, completely covering up the azure and brightness that spring should have.

The wind in Beijing is no longer the gentle breeze of spring, but a fierce, whistling "yellow wind".

It stirs up the dry dust from the ground, carrying fine sand from even further away, and seeps into every corner of the city.

The sky and earth were a hazy yellow, visibility dropped sharply, and the air was filled with a pungent, earthy smell.

This is a typical sandstorm.

This is already a problem for adults, but for two little monsters who are just over a year old and in the prime of their exploratory and energetic years, it is no less than a "prisonment".

Chenchen and Xixi can now run steadily all over the yard, and their curiosity about the world is growing day by day.

At this time of day, they would usually be chasing after Xiao Qi in the sun-drenched courtyard, or squatting by the herb garden tended by Elder Dan, curiously poking at the newly sprouted herbs, or being led by Wang Yuling and Lin Gang, swaying and staggering to the alley entrance to see something new.

But now, the doors and windows are tightly closed, and we don't even dare to stay in the yard for long, for fear that the ubiquitous sand and dust will damage the children's delicate respiratory tract and eyes.

After being confined indoors for several days, no amount of toys or interesting stories could diminish that innate "wildness."

Xi Xi's frustration was written all over her face. She clung to the glass window, looking at the dim and blurry world outside. Her little mouth was pouting, and she would occasionally pound the window frame with her fist, making dissatisfied "ah ah" sounds.

Chenchen, on the other hand, seemed a bit more "mischievous." He didn't make a fuss, but he would deliberately knock over the stacked blocks, or hug Lin Yan's leg, tilt his little face up, and silently accuse him with his big, wet eyes.

"Dad, let's go out and play!"

Other family members tried to coax her, but whether it was Wang Yuling bringing out newly made pastries or Lin Gang trying to lift her up high, the effect was minimal.

The two little mythical beasts were unhappy. They were really stubborn and wouldn't listen to anyone. They turned their little heads away and wouldn't give anyone face.

Only when Lin Yan appears and picks them up in his arms will they quiet down temporarily, burying their little heads in the crook of his neck and letting out a pitiful whimper.

Lin Yan held the child, looking out the window at the howling yellow wind, his brows furrowed. For the first time, he felt a deep sense of bewilderment and even a bit of resentment about his past "achievements".

"That's not right..."

He muttered to himself, his consciousness subconsciously extending its perception to the southwest once again.

In his mind, the vast land of the Loess Plateau presents itself as a stable, lush, and vibrant "greenery."

The "Loess Rebirth" project, which he personally participated in and led for several years, had tangible results.

Soil and water erosion on the plateau itself has been greatly curbed, and the source of sandstorms has been basically eliminated.

Logically, the amount of dust blowing towards the North China Plain, especially Beijing, should have decreased significantly.

"Why is the weather still this awful?!"

Lin Yan was unusually irritable.

The thought of my precious children growing up in the future...

According to his plan, Chenchen and Xixi would have to complete their basic education here, which would be a long nine years—and he felt it was completely unbearable to have to endure this terrible weather year after year and be deprived of the joy of running and playing in nature.

"No, we can't go on like this," Lin Yan said decisively.

He first approached Wang Yuling and Lin Gang.

"Yuling, Lin Gang, the weather has been terrible these past few days, it's not good for the children. You should take Chenchen and Xixi and fly back to Singapore for a while to avoid the weather. The climate there is better, and it'll be a nice change of scenery for them."

Having arranged for the child's whereabouts, Lin Yan planned to investigate the matter himself.

He didn't believe it; could this sand and dust have sprung up from a crack in the rock?

James's newly purchased Boeing 747-400, touted as the most advanced aircraft at the time, became a temporary "baby jet."

The farewell scene was described as "tragic".

Xi Xi seemed to have a premonition of being separated from her father. When she was carried onto the plane, she burst into a tremendous, unrestrained wail. She used her hands and feet, her face covered in tears and snot, crying her heart out as if it were a matter of life and death.

Chenchen followed the "gentle green tea" route. He didn't cry loudly, but just hugged Lin Yan's neck tightly, pressed his little face against him, with tears hanging on his long eyelashes, and sobbed softly. His aggrieved and restrained little appearance was more heartbreaking than Xixi's wailing.

Lin Yan went to great lengths, almost "heartlessly," to stuff the two little ones, who were crying their eyes out, into the cabin and handed them over to Wang Yuling and Lin Gang, who were both amused and exasperated.

Looking at the two little faces pressed against the glass behind the porthole, their faces red from crying, even Lin Yan, with his strong will, almost couldn't resist taking them down again.

"Hurry up and go!" He waved at Lin Gang, then turned around almost as if fleeing, unable to bear looking any longer.

Once the roar of the plane's engines had faded into the distance, Lin Yan's expression turned solemn. He took off on his sword and sped straight north.

The further north you go, the better the weather becomes; the sandstorms seem to intensify.

He swept across the Hebei Plain and entered Inner Mongolia. From his high vantage point, he scanned the area meticulously with his divine sense.

He soon discovered something was amiss.

The source of the sandstorm is not in China.

Large amounts of sand and dust are being swept up from the Gobi Desert in Mongolia, further north, by strong spring air currents, and are sweeping across the border, ravaging the northern skies of China.

In particular, the vast desertified areas in the southern part of the Mongolian Plateau have sparse vegetation and loose soil, which, under the influence of continuous strong winds, provide a constant source of sand.

"It turns out it was an outsider who caused the trouble."

Lin Yan hovered high in the sky, gazing at the boundless, yellowish-brown land to the north, his eyes slightly cold.

You keep your own house clean and tidy, but your neighbor's house is always ablaze with fire, and the flames even blow into your yard with the wind. Who can tolerate that?

With a thought, he flashed back into the space and found Xiao Zenian directly.

He quickly explained the dust storm situation in the north and clearly stated his requirements:

"Elder Xiao, the root of the sandstorm problem in North China lies in the northern desert. I need to set up a formation on the border to stop the sandstorms from moving south. You should immediately organize several elders who are most proficient in large-scale environmental formations to accompany me on an on-site inspection."

Xiao Zenian accepted the order and acted with great efficiency.

Before long, the three Nascent Soul stage elders, who were highly skilled in formations, were summoned.

Lin Yan, accompanied by three elders, reappeared in the skies above the Inner Mongolian border.

They concealed themselves and meticulously flew and surveyed along the long border.

The three elders each displayed their unique abilities; some used their divine sense to delve into the earth's veins and perceive the soil structure and wind patterns.

Some threw out specially made "spirit-detecting talismans" to analyze the movement of dust in the air.

Some directly employ the technique of "shrinking the land into an inch," leaving marks at key terrain nodes.

After several days of meticulous investigation and analysis, the three elders, taking into account Lin Yan's requirements and the actual situation, jointly designed a complex formation scheme.

"Young Master, this formation can be named the 'Nine-Bend Heavenly River Wind-Suppressing and Sand-Calming Formation'."

The white-bearded elder at the head stroked his beard and said.

"The core idea is not to rigidly block all wind and sand—that would go against the natural order, be extremely labor-intensive, and be prone to backlash—but to focus on dredging, settling, and consolidating the source."

"'Nine Bends' refers to the power of the formation, which is like the Yellow River winding and turning, forming a slow-flowing spiritual pressure belt that is hundreds of miles wide and three-dimensional in depth above the border and on the ground."

Another elder explained, "This spiritual pressure zone can effectively reduce the intensity and sand-carrying capacity of the passing winds, causing the wind speed to naturally decrease after the strong winds enter the country, and the coarse sand particles to settle in advance outside the border or in the border buffer zone."

"The Milky Way has two meanings."

The third elder's interface.

"First, it refers to the manipulation of high-altitude water vapor, which, under the control of the array, appropriately increases the probability of local precipitation over the sand source areas outside the border, especially in spring, to moisten the surface and suppress sand rising. Second, it refers to the array base being subtly connected to the groundwater network, forming a nourishing link, which secretly promotes the growth of drought-resistant and sand-fixing plants on our side of the border, thus consolidating the defense line."

"At the same time, the formation will set up 'Kun Yuan Sand-Stabilizing Array Eyes' underground at key wind gaps and sand sources, using earth-elemental spiritual power to reinforce the surface soil structure, causing sand grains to stick together and not be easily blown away by the wind. The entire formation is covered in a net-like pattern, focusing on key defenses, combining movement and stillness, and imitating nature. It uses Nascent Soul level formations to drive the power of heaven and earth to achieve a long-term and stable sand-prevention effect."

Lin Yan was very satisfied after listening.

This formation possesses both the mysteries of cultivation and the principles of ecology, and it keeps the main influence and "side effects" outside or near the border, which is exactly what he wanted.

"Alright! Set up the formation according to this plan. The space will provide full support in terms of spiritual materials, manpower, and other resources. Make sure to complete the main framework and activate the formation within... half a month!"

The three Nascent Soul elders received the order and immediately set to work.

They carried a large number of pre-refined array bases, array flags, and spirit stones, and dispersed along the long border line, silently setting up this grand array according to the blueprints.

In less than half a month, the main structure of the "Nine-Bend Heavenly River Town Wind-Stabilizing Sand Formation" was completed.

As Lin Yan personally activated the array's core, an invisible, vast spiritual energy field, spanning thousands of miles of borderland, slowly unfolded and merged into the heavens and earth.

The initial changes were subtle.

Meteorological stations along the border recorded slight, abnormally low wind speeds in some wind gaps, which did not conform to meteorological models.

Occasionally, under the guidance of the array, a small, unexpected cloud will gather in the sky above the desert beyond the borders, sprinkling a brief drizzle.

On our side of the border, some sandy areas that were originally only covered with scattered weeds seem to be spreading greenery much faster.

The true effects began to appear after the formation was fully operational and stable.

First, there's North China, especially Beijing.

The sandstorm that had raged for several days seemed to have been suddenly choked by an invisible hand.

The wind was still blowing, but the choking, sky-obscuring yellow sand and dust in the wind was decreasing at a visible rate.

Although the sky wasn't quite azure yet, the yellowish tinge had been greatly reduced, and visibility had improved.

For several days in a row, Beijingers were surprised to find that this year's sandstorm seemed to be "all bark and no bite"—it came on strong but went away quickly, with little follow-up effect.

However, things are starting to get "interesting" in Mongolia, especially in the southern Gobi region.

The strong winds that should have been heading south toward China encountered an inexplicable "stagnation" near the border, causing the wind speed to weaken. This prevented the sand and dust blown up by the wind from being effectively transported away, instead causing it to swirl and settle locally.

In some key areas where "Kunyuan Sand-Stabilizing Array Eyes" have been deployed, the surface sand and soil seem to have become "hardened," making it difficult for strong winds to move them.

What puzzled local herders and meteorologists even more was that in some classic dust storm corridors, the amount of sand rising was significantly reduced, while in areas that were relatively calm in previous years, dust devils appeared due to subtle changes in airflow.

Simply put, without the vast "downwind" area of ​​the North China Plain to distribute and dilute the dust, the dust in Mongolia began to be "produced and consumed" and "internalized".

Pollutants that were originally flowing smoothly out of the country were blocked at their doorstep, and the air quality within the country began to deteriorate under certain weather conditions.

Mongolia's meteorological and environmental authorities quickly took notice of this anomaly.

Data doesn't lie: abnormal wind direction and speed models, changes in dust transport paths, and increased dust concentrations in some parts of the country... They initially suspected instrument malfunction or rare weather system anomalies, but continuous observations over several days and comparisons with other regions ruled out these possibilities.

Private probing at the diplomatic level quickly came through the channels. The other side was very cautious, asking whether China had noticed the recent "abnormal weather activity" in the border area, and "whether there is any possibility of some undisclosed large-scale project or experiment in the field of environmental protection?"

China's response was naturally one of diplomatic ambiguity and innocence, stating that it was equally concerned about weather change and willing to strengthen environmental cooperation, but claimed to know nothing about the specific issues.

Mongolia even secretly sought help from its then-powerful northern neighbor, the Soviet Union, hoping that its advanced satellite and monitoring technologies could uncover the truth.

Soviet experts retrieved satellite images and various detection data of the border area during the relevant time period and did find some inexplicable traces of energy flow and changes in surface albedo. However, the pattern did not match the characteristics of any known weapons test or industrial activity. It was more like a large-scale, regular natural energy disturbance.

Ultimately, the Soviet Union could only provide a vague and uncertain report, attributing it to "complex geophysical processes" and "atmospheric boundary layer phenomena that are not yet fully understood."

With no concrete evidence to support their claims, and given the undeniable inconveniences brought about by environmental changes—with some residents even complaining that the sandstorms were getting worse—the Mongolian authorities could only suppress their doubts, continue to strengthen monitoring, and secretly pray that this "terrible weather" would return to normal soon.

Unbeknownst to them, this "abnormality" was precisely a "new normal" deliberately created by someone to allow their child to run and play freely in the courtyard of the capital.

After the formation had been operating stably for several days, Lin Yan quietly returned to Beijing. Just then, Wang Yuling and Lin Gang returned from Singapore with their two little ones.

When the plane landed, the sky over Beijing was not completely cloudless, but it was a clear blue sky with white clouds and a gentle spring breeze. The sandstorms of the previous days were gone.

As soon as Chenchen and Xixi returned to their familiar courtyard, they were like birds released from their cages, immediately chasing and chirping in the yard, while Xiaoqi excitedly circled around them.

Sunlight shone on their rosy little faces, and their smiles were radiant.

Lin Yan stood under the corridor, watching this scene, feeling the long-lost freshness in the air, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

Well, now it's peaceful. He thinks this "cross-sector environmental protection" deal is quite worthwhile.

As for the "lively" activity at his neighbor's house to the north, he politely said he wasn't too concerned.

After all, the most important thing is for your own child to be able to run happily under the blue sky.