Special forces soldier demobilization: Starting from the county government compound, a meteoric rise

Just then, Nangong Yao called.

"Congratulations, Boss Liu!"

On the other end of the phone, Nangong Yao's voice was filled with unprecedented pride, "Your little fox bit the throats of three old wolves on Wall Street today. To be honest, I'm even a little jealous of Xi Wanqing now, for giving birth to such a prodigy."

"Thank you for your hard work, Yao Yao," Liu Ming said softly.

"It's not so much hardship, just a little disappointing." Nangong Yao sighed, her tone suddenly becoming somewhat mischievous. "This girl just told me that her goal for next year is to acquire two subsidiaries of the Nangong Group. What do you think, should I praise her ambition, or should I strike first and fire her?"

Liu Ming chuckled to himself, looking at the brilliant sunset outside the window, feeling an unprecedented sense of peace in his heart.

"Let her be."

Liu Ming leaned back in her chair, her eyes clear and bright. "Anyway, the men of the Liu family are responsible for bleeding, while the women of the Liu family... are never responsible for reasoning."

The winter sun slanted in the west, its golden rays piercing through the bare branches of the old locust tree, casting dappled shadows on the blue bricks of the ground.

The courtyard was very quiet.

This stillness is not the deathly silence of holding one's breath in the command center, nor the oppressive atmosphere of a negotiation, but a tranquility that carries the fresh scent of grass and the fragrance of earth, a peace of mind that brings peace of mind.

The Zhongshan suit that Liu Ming wore, which symbolized state power, was put away in the deepest part of the closet.

At this moment, he was only wearing an extremely casual dark gray knitted cardigan and slightly faded casual pants. He was holding a bronze spray bottle with a long, thin spout, and was slightly bent over, intently spraying a fine mist of water onto several pots of brightly blooming Cymbidium orchids.

The water droplets sparkled in the sunlight.

"Old Liu, if your orchid keeps spraying, the roots will rot."

A soft laugh came from under the corridor.

Xi Wanqing was dressed in a light brown loungewear outfit, her long hair loosely tied back. She held a small purple clay teapot in her hand and was slowly pouring clear tea into two white porcelain teacups.

The rising steam blurred her still aloof and stunningly beautiful face, now tinged with a touch of gentleness.

Liu Ming stopped what she was doing, straightened up, and rubbed her nose somewhat awkwardly.

"I've just noticed how much they've been doing lately, haven't I?"

He walked to the stone table, sat down, took the teacup his wife handed him, and took a small sip.

The tea is top-quality Lion Peak Longjing.

It has a slightly bitter taste at first, but leaves an endless sweet aftertaste.

"You watered it ten times this week. Anyone who didn't know better would think you were planning to plant rice in the yard." Xi Wanqing sat opposite him, her eyes full of mischievous amusement. "What's wrong, big boss? You've suddenly got so much free time that you've forgotten how to live?"

Liu Ming looked at his wife.

Sunlight shone on her eyelashes, creating dappled patterns of light.

He couldn't help but reach out and gently place his hand on the back of hers. Her hand was slightly cool, yet it gave him a sense of realness he had never felt before.

"I'm finding it a little difficult to get used to."

Liu Ming chuckled self-deprecatingly, "Back in Shanghai, even when I was sleeping, all I could think about was tomorrow's land prices. Now that I'm back in the city, when I wake up in the middle of the night, my first instinct is to reach for my phone to check the exchange rate chart."

Now look what's happened! Tank took down all those red-tipped machines, saying that if I dared to process another official document, he'd take his men and seal off my entire courtyard house.

"Tank is doing this for your own good. Look at your gray hair, how much more has appeared this year?"

Xi Wanqing took his hand in her own, her fingertips gently tracing the calluses on his fingers from years of holding guns and working hard. "Zhen'er wrote a letter yesterday."

It's terribly cold in Ali, but in his letter he said that last week he led a team to stake out the glacier for three days and two nights, intercepting a group smuggling rare metals. He said he could already see the shadow of the First-Class Merit Medal.

Liu Ming's gaze softened.

"That brat is more successful than me. When I was his age, I was still playing hide-and-seek with those compradors in Qingyun County."

"How's Nian'er? How's her venture capital firm doing?"

"Don't even mention it." Xi Wanqing sighed, but the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up. "Nangong Yao talked to me on the phone for two hours last night. She said that Nian'er had swindled the short-selling firm she was working for."

By exploiting the delay in quantum-encrypted communication, Nian'er severed the other party's financial chain, not only saving the domestic carbon fiber company but also making a profit of 300 million US dollars.

"Nangong Yao said that this girl's mind is now filled with thoughts of taking the word 'Nangong' off the signboard and replacing it with her own 'Bluebird'."

Liu Ming listened and burst into laughter.

Laughter echoed in the empty courtyard, startling several sparrows that were sunbathing on the wall.

For him, these days of chatting about his children's trivial matters and counting the pots and pans were like an unattainable luxury for the past thirty-eight years.

He once thought that he was destined to wither away in the smoke of war and power struggles.

He once thought that his hands could hold nothing but blood and pens.

But now he realizes he was wrong.

In this small courtyard, the international power struggles, the deceit and treachery, and the decisions that could shake the foundations of the nation that exist outside the red walls are all kept out by that heavy nanmu door.

There are no high-ranking leaders here.

There is no war god "Shura".

There was only an ordinary man who was worrying about how to grow orchids and waiting for his wife to make chicken soup.

"What are we having for dinner?" Liu Ming asked Xi Wanqing, her eyes filled with affection.

"Your Aunt Nangong brought over a pair of wild ginseng roots that were just dug up from Changbai Mountain this afternoon. I plan to stew them with the free-range chicken that the fellow villager from Qingyun County gave me." Xi Wanqing stood up and gently smoothed the wrinkles on his collar. "You need to nourish yourself more. Look at your complexion, you still haven't recovered."

Liu Ming didn't say anything, but simply put his arm around her waist and gently rested his head on her abdomen.

He had never done this in front of others.

That extreme dependence and complete relaxation gave him an unprecedented gentleness.

"Wanqing, thank you."

"What are you thanking me for? We've been married for ages, isn't that a bit cheesy?"

"Thank you for waiting for me for ten years. And thank you for giving me this family."

Liu Ming closed his eyes, breathing in the faint scent of soap pods emanating from his wife.

He recalled that rainy night in Qingyun County when he first met that icy female county head.

He remembered proposing to her amidst the fireworks on the Bund in Mir.

He recalled the journey he had taken, whether he was isolated, assassinated, or misunderstood by countless people. As long as he returned home and saw this light on, he knew he still had a way out.

Outside the courtyard wall, the faint sounds of old neighbors strolling and chatting in the alley, along with shouts of people sharpening scissors and grabbing kitchen knives, could be heard.

That was the real, vibrant human world.

He fought his whole life, carving out a bloody path, all so that every ordinary person on this land could, like him now, peacefully bask in the sun and drink a cup of hot tea.

"I used to think that standing at the pinnacle of power, looking down on all living beings, was the greatest sense of accomplishment."

Liu Ming raised her head and looked at the clear blue sky.

He held his wife's hand, and the two stood side by side under the old locust tree.

The dappled shadows of the trees fell upon them.

In that moment, he felt richer than ever before.

He did not acquire power.

He possessed time, peace, and love.

Liu Ming took a deep breath of the slightly chilly yet exceptionally clean winter air and sighed from the bottom of her heart.

"After a lifetime of struggle, this is the life I've always wanted."