Courtyard House: From Deputy Division Commander to Civilian, Progressing All the Way

Half an hour later.

Lin Yang's jeep was parked in the courtyard of the Ministry of Machinery Industry.

He strode into a spacious office.

Behind his desk, Zhao Gang was engrossed in reviewing documents. He had now transferred to civilian work and was holding an important leadership position in the First Ministry of Machine Building.

Hearing footsteps, Zhao Gang looked up and saw Lin Yang, and immediately smiled warmly.

"Yoko, what brings you here? Aren't you busy at the Ministry of Heavy Industry?"

Lin Yang didn't stand on ceremony. He pulled out a chair and sat down, staring intently at the former political commissar of the Independent Regiment.

"Old Zhao, stop looking at the documents. Come with me to Moscow."

Zhao Gang paused for a moment, then adjusted his glasses: "Moscow? What for?"

"fight."

Lin Yang briefly recounted the Central Committee's formation of a delegation to the Soviet Union to oversee the "156 Projects".

"Old Zhao, those political officers and bureaucrats in the Soviet Union are too complicated. I need a political commissar who can see through their thoughts and stabilize the situation for me from the rear. Looking across the entire army and the whole country, no one is more suitable than you."

Lin Yang looked at Zhao Gang, his tone revealing an undeniable sincerity: "Back in Shanxi, we worked together seamlessly; on the Korean battlefield, we shared life and death. This time, when we go to the Soviet Union to steal technology, you have to help me!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Gang's gentle expression vanished instantly, replaced by a long-lost steely and sharp edge.

He put down his pen, slowly stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the yellow leaves falling outside.

"156 major projects... This is going to forge an iron backbone for our new China!"

Zhao Gang turned around, his eyes gleaming with undisguised fervor.

"Yangzi, I'll take this job! Back then, we were able to snatch guns and cannons from the Japanese; today, we can snatch the most advanced blueprints back from the Soviets!"

With the deputy regimental commander and political commissar position finalized, Lin Yang felt even more confident.

After leaving the Ministry of Machine Building, Lin Yang did not return to the Ministry of Heavy Industry. Instead, he instructed the driver to drive the car to Jiaodaokou in the East District.

Jiaodaokou Police Station.

He Yuzhu was wearing a crisp police uniform, sitting behind the deputy director's desk, holding a police baton, and giving "ideological education" to several street thugs who had been arrested for fighting.

The shrapnel scar on his left cheek twitched slightly as he spoke, scaring the thugs so much that they trembled and didn't dare to lift their heads.

"Listen up, all of you! In this small corner of Jiaodaokou, if you're a dragon, you have to coil up; if you're a tiger, you have to lie low! Anyone who dares to cause trouble again, I'll send you straight to the Northwest to smash rocks!" He Yuzhu roared in a booming voice.

"Bang!"

The police station door was pushed open.

Lin Yang strode in, wearing a dark gray woolen Zhongshan suit.

The moment He Yuzhu turned his head and saw Lin Yang, the fierceness on his face vanished without a trace, replaced by a fanatical and respectful expression as if he had seen a god.

"Commander!"

He Yuzhu kicked the chair away abruptly, rushed forward in three steps, put his legs together, and snapped to attention a standard military salute.

"Alright, stop scaring them." Lin Yang glanced at the thugs huddled in the corner, waved his hand, and said, "Zhu Zi, come out with me."

Walk to the big locust tree in the courtyard of the police station.

Lin Yang lit a Daqianmen cigarette and looked at the man in front of him, who had completely shed his youthful naiveté and become as steady and fierce as an iron tower.

"Zhu Zi, are you getting used to working here?" Lin Yang exhaled a puff of light blue smoke.

"Reporting, Commander! It's a habit! The security in our jurisdiction is very good now; we don't even lock our doors at night!" He Yuzhu replied loudly.

Lin Yang nodded slightly.

"That's good. However, too much stability can cause bones to rust."

Lin Yang turned his head, his deep gaze fixed on He Yuzhu's eyes.

"I'm going to Moscow, Soviet Union, to carry out a top-secret and arduous national mission. The delegation needs a security chief and head of the internal guard who is absolutely loyal, highly skilled, and capable of taking a bullet for the enemy in a critical moment."

Lin Yang threw the half-smoked cigarette on the ground and stubbed it out with his leather shoe.

"Pillar, go pack your bedding. You're coming with me to the Soviet Union!"

boom!

He Yuzhu felt a buzzing in his head, and his blood boiled completely at that moment!

Go to the Soviet Union!

Accompanying Chief Lin on a national mission abroad!

For a chef who used to toss woks in a courtyard house, this was like a blessing from his ancestors!

"Yes, sir! Mission accomplished!"

He Yuzhu trembled with excitement, his eyes red-rimmed. He abruptly drew his sidearm from his waist, clicked out the magazine, and reloaded it, his movements swift and menacing.

"Commander, rest assured! With me, He Yuzhu, here, even the KGB of the Soviet Union won't be able to get a step closer to you! Anyone who dares to lay a finger on a hair on our delegation's head, I'll tear them apart alive!"

That evening.

The courtyard at No. 95 Nanluoguxiang was in complete uproar.

He Daqing, his face glowing, stood as straight as a javelin, pacing back and forth in the courtyard, shouting loudly at everyone he met.

"Have you heard? Have you heard? My son Zhu is going to Moscow, the Soviet Union, tomorrow on a special train with Vice Minister Lin!"

He Daqing held a large tea mug in his hand, spitting as he spoke.

"That's someone representing our country in negotiations with our Soviet big brother! Zhu Zi is the head of the delegation's internal security! He's in charge of the security of all the leaders! This is a top-tier job!"

forecourt.

Yan Bugui was squatting by the door washing vegetables when he heard He Daqing's boasting, and the vegetable leaves in his hand fell directly into the muddy water.

He adjusted his glasses, his face filled with shock and sorrow, his eyes practically popping out of their sockets with jealousy.

"My God... to the Soviet Union? That's a foreign country! What kind of incredible luck did He Yuzhu have to get to go abroad with Lin Yang!"

Yan Bugui's heart felt like it was bleeding. He had schemed his whole life, barely even leaving Beijing, while He Yuzhu, a simple-minded cook, was now not only the deputy director but also going to Moscow on an international train!

"Old man, don't listen to his bragging," the third aunt said sourly from the side. "What's so great about going abroad? It's freezing cold there."

"You know nothing!" Yan Bugui roared in a low voice, "That's just for gilding! When He Yuzhu comes back from the Soviet Union, his qualifications will be completely different! The He family has been completely elevated to the top by Lin Yang!"

Intermediate People's Court.

Yi Zhonghai sat in the room, peering through the crack in the window at He Daqing's smug face, and trembled with anger.

His old face was contorted beyond recognition by extreme regret and jealousy.

"Why...why do all the good things happen to them?!"