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

Lin Yang pushed open the car door, his leather boots crunching in the snow. He didn't ask Xiao Li to help with the luggage; instead, he picked up the military-style bag full of his personal belongings himself and waved for Xiao Li to go back and rest.

Push open the courtyard gate and walk through the stone path covered with a thin layer of snow.

Warm, bright light shone through the windows of the villa's living room.

Lin Yang stood in front of the door, took a deep breath, reached out and grasped the doorknob, and gently turned it.

"Click".

The door opened.

A warm current carrying the aroma of milk and food instantly rushed towards him, completely dispelling the chill from Moscow that had enveloped him.

On the living room sofa, Tian Yu, wearing a soft beige sweater, was gently patting the baby wrapped in a small blanket in her arms. She was humming a soft lullaby, and her gentle face radiated maternal warmth under the lamplight.

Upon hearing the door open, Tian Yu's voice abruptly stopped.

She suddenly looked up, her gaze passing over the entrance hall and fixing on the man carrying a bag and wearing a dark gray wool coat.

"Yoko..."

Tian Yu's eyes instantly reddened, her voice trembling with barely suppressed joy.

She disregarded Lin Jianguo, whom she had just coaxed to sleep in her arms, and abruptly stood up, quickly heading to meet him.

Lin Yang casually tossed his bag to the ground, opened his arms, and caught his wife as she lunged at him.

"I'm back."

Lin Yang's voice was low and husky, filled with endless tenderness. He lowered his head, buried his face in Tian Yu's neck, and greedily inhaled the familiar jasmine scent emanating from her.

"Why have you lost so much weight? Can't you get used to the food in Moscow?" Tian Yu touched Lin Yang's noticeably thinner face with heartache, tears welling up in her eyes.

Lin Yang smiled and took her hand, gently stroking it in his palm.

"The Soviet black bread was as hard as a rock, and the rye bread was sour and astringent. Nothing tasted as good as my wife's cooking. In the past two weeks, I've completely eaten my fill of fat and oil."

Upon hearing this, Tian Yu burst into laughter through her tears and quickly wiped her eyes.

"Are you starving? There's pork rib soup simmering in the kitchen; I was planning to make you noodles for breakfast tomorrow. Have a seat, I'll go heat it up for you and stir-fry a couple of hot dishes!"

As Tian Yu was about to walk towards the kitchen, Lin Yang grabbed her arm.

"No rush."

Lin Yang walked to the sofa, lowered his head, and looked at the chubby boy who was placed in the center of the sofa and was looking around with his big, dark eyes.

It had been a few months since I'd last seen Xiao Jianguo, and he'd grown quite a bit. He was chubby and fair-skinned, and his features were increasingly showing the resolute look of Lin Yang.

When the little boy saw the tall, unfamiliar man who suddenly appeared, he didn't cry or fuss. Instead, he grinned with his toothless little mouth and giggled, waving his chubby little hands and trying to grab the buttons on Lin Yang's coat.

Lin Yang's heart melted instantly.

He took off his cold coat, rubbed his hands together until they were warm, and then carefully picked up his son.

"Good lad, you still recognize your old man." Lin Yang rubbed his stubble-covered chin against his son's cheek, causing the little guy to dodge while laughing even louder.

Standing to the side, watching the heartwarming scene between the father and son, Tian Yu felt that all the worries and concerns she had had for the past two weeks had vanished in an instant.

Soon, the wooden table in the restaurant was filled with steaming hot food.

A large bowl of pork rib soup, a plate of stir-fried mutton with scallions, a plate of stir-fried cabbage with vinegar, and a few steamed buns.

Lin Yang was truly hungry. During that month at the negotiating table, he had been constantly battling wits with Soviet bureaucrats, his nerves were on edge, and he had no time to savor the flavors.

He ate the vegetables in big mouthfuls and then ate three large steamed buns before finally letting out a long sigh of relief.

Tian Yu sat opposite him, resting her chin on her hands, looking at him with tender eyes.

"Yangzi, how did your trip to the Soviet Union go? I saw in the newspaper that our delegation signed agreements for all 156 key projects. That's a momentous event."

Lin Yang picked up the soup bowl and took a sip, a meaningful smile appearing on his cold face.

"Smoothly? Those Soviet technocrats are more cunning than a hornet's nest. Getting the most crucial information out of them is harder than capturing a position on the battlefield."

Lin Yang put down his bowl and took out a tissue to wipe his mouth.

"Initially, they only wanted to give us some outdated, second-rate technology: a 3,000-ton hydraulic press and retired aircraft engine blueprints. They never intended for us to truly establish an independent heavy industry system."

Tian Yu frowned slightly upon hearing this: "And then what happened? How did you get them to give in?"

I just flipped the table.

Lin Yang spoke in a calm tone, as if he were talking about a trivial matter.

"I told that Soviet deputy minister that the Chinese don't accept handouts. If they don't give us core technologies, we'll pack our bags and go home immediately. Even without their aid, we can rebuild our industrial base by ourselves."

"I also told him that the blood we shed on the Korean battlefield is our biggest bargaining chip at the negotiating table. They are in the wrong, so they will naturally have to back down."

Tian Yu listened with a pounding heart. She could imagine the kind of courage and audacity required to directly threaten the other side's vice minister at the negotiating table in a foreign land.

"Didn't they use any underhanded tricks?" Tian Yu asked with some concern.

Lin Yang smiled, his eyes deep.

"What do you mean, no? Khrushchev sent a female KGB agent, dressed up in a flamboyant manner, to my room in the middle of the night to deliver documents in order to find out about me."

Tian Yu's eyes widened instantly; her woman's intuition immediately put her on alert: "A female KGB agent? Is she pretty?"

Looking at his wife's adorable jealous expression, Lin Yang couldn't help but reach out and pinch her nose.

"She was pretty, but the calluses on her fingers from the gun were too thick, and she had a listening device hidden in her collar. I exposed her immediately and told her to get out."

Lin Yang's smile faded, and his expression became unusually serious.

"Wife, this trip to the Soviet Union made me realize one thing. In this world, there are no permanent friends, only permanent interests. Although Big Brother is helping us now, if we can't stand on our own two feet, sooner or later this crutch will turn into a big stick that hits us on the back."

Tian Yu nodded thoughtfully. Although she was a nurse, having followed Lin Yang for so long, her political acumen far surpassed that of ordinary people.

"Therefore, we must seize these precious few years to turn these blueprints into our own."

Lin Yang stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the heavy snow falling outside.

"The real battle is just beginning tomorrow."

……