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

Meanwhile, at the Jia family's residence...

The situation was even more appalling.

Jia Zhangshi was no longer the arrogant and domineering woman she once was. Due to prolonged hunger, her body had developed severe edema, making her look like an inflated steamed bun; pressing her skin would leave a deep dent that wouldn't bounce back for a long time.

She lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), emitting weak groans.

"Dongxu... Mom is hungry... Mom feels like there's fire burning in her stomach..."

Jia Dongxu's face was ashen. He squatted on the ground, clutching his head tightly with both hands. He was a grown man, but he was so hungry that he didn't even have the strength to stand up.

Qin Huairu held Xiao Dang, who was crying from hunger, in her arms, while the skinny Bang Geng stood beside her.

She looked at the empty rice jar and cried out in despair.

"Mom, we don't even have a single grain of rice left at home. Yesterday we went to the supply and marketing cooperative and queued for a whole day and night, and we only managed to buy two cabbages."

The people in the courtyard were struggling daily with hunger. They even began to envy the labor prisoners who were sent to build reservoirs in the far northwest, because they heard that at least they could get a full meal there.

however.

In this gloomy and desolate courtyard, there is one place that seems out of place.

That's the main house of the Lin family in the Intermediate People's Court.

Although Lin Fan was removed from his position as factory director and became an ordinary logistics administrator, the Lin family's life was not substantially affected in the slightest.

Night falls.

A three-wheeled motorcycle with military license plates quietly stopped at the entrance of the alley.

He Yuzhu, dressed in a black cotton overcoat, looked around to make sure no one was there, then took two heavy burlap sacks from his shoulder bag and strode into the courtyard.

He's now the head of the criminal investigation team at the branch office, so he has power and can naturally get his hands on some scarce supplies. But the contents of this sack weren't obtained by him.

He Yuzhu walked to the door of the Lin family's main room and gently knocked on the door.

The door opened, and Lin Fan welcomed him inside.

"Zhu Zi, it's cold outside, come in quickly." Lin Fan closed the door tightly and drew the thick curtains.

He Yuzhu placed the two burlap sacks on the ground and untied the ropes.

"Brother Lin, this was secretly sent by Commander Li from Fujian via a military special train. There's also some wild game that Commander Ding hunted in Inner Mongolia."

The sack was opened.

Inside were boxes of military-grade braised pork cans, compressed biscuits, strips of dried sea fish, and even a small bag of extremely precious Northeast rice!

In 1959, a time of widespread famine, these things were priceless treasures! A hundred times more precious than gold!

"Old Li and the others are so kind." Lin Fan's eyes welled up with tears as he looked at the supplies.

He knew that these were the special considerations given to Lin Yang's family by those founding generals who were thousands of miles away.

Although Lin Yang was far away in a top-secret base in the Northwest and had been out of contact with anyone, the life-and-death friendships he had forged back then had transformed into an impenetrable iron net to protect the Lin family during this most difficult time.

"And this too."

He Yuzhu took out a brown paper envelope from his pocket and handed it to Ding Qiunan.

"Sister-in-law, this is a special allowance that the division commander sends home every month through the secret service's internal channels. It includes special grain coupons and meat coupons that are valid nationwide."

Ding Qiunan took the envelope, her eyes filled with longing and determination.

"Please thank Brother Zhu for me. Yangzi's conditions must be even tougher in the Northwest, yet he still thinks of his family."

"Don't worry, sister-in-law. The division commander is the highest-ranking officer over there, so he won't go hungry."

In the kitchen.

Tian Yu was starting a fire to cook. She had moved back from the military compound specifically to live there. Although the compound provided special supplies, she didn't trust Lin Fan and Ding Qiunan, so she decided to have the whole family live together for mutual support.

A short while later.

An intensely fragrant aroma of braised pork and potatoes wafted from the chimney of the Lin family's main house into the cold night air of the courtyard.

In this day and age, when even a speck of oil is hard to find, this aroma is like a nuclear explosion, instantly assaulting everyone's olfactory senses.

forecourt.

Yan Bugui was lying on the bed with his eyes closed, trying to conserve his energy.

Suddenly, his nose twitched twice.

"The meat...it tastes like braised pork!"

Yan Bugui suddenly opened his eyes and sat up in bed like a zombie. His saliva was uncontrollably secreted and dripped down the corners of his mouth.

"Old man, can you smell it? It smells so good..." The third aunt swallowed hard, her eyes starting to glaze over.

Yan Jiecheng leaned against the window, staring intently at the direction of the central courtyard, his eyes bloodshot.

"It's Lin Fan's house! They're stewing meat! It must have been He Yuzhu who delivered it just now!"

Intermediate People's Court.

Yi Zhonghai sat in the darkness, inhaling the irresistible aroma of meat, his stomach rumbling like thunder.

He clutched his stomach in pain, his body curled up into a ball.

He used to be a level eight worker, the most respectable person in this courtyard. But now, he can only swallow dry cornbread with cold water, while Lin Fan, whom he had suppressed for ten years, can eat meat heartily during years of famine.

This intense sense of loss is more despairing than hunger itself.

Inside the Jia family's house.

Upon smelling the aroma of meat, Jia Zhangshi immediately began rolling around on the kang (a heated brick bed), as if she were suffering from drug addiction.

"That damned Lin Fan! Why don't they just die? They have meat to eat but don't share it with their neighbors. They deserve to die without descendants!" Jia Zhangshi wailed, swallowing her saliva frantically.

Banggeng was so hungry he couldn't stand it anymore. Pointing in the direction of the Lin family's house, he shouted, "Mom! I want to eat meat! I want to go to the Lin family's house to eat meat!"

Qin Huairu covered Banggeng's mouth with her hand, tears streaming down her face.

"Stop yelling! Are you out of your mind?!"

Qin Huairu peered through the crack in the door at the Lin family's window, where warm lights shone, and saw the family's figures reflected on the window paper, enjoying a meal together.

Her eyes were filled with extreme jealousy, regret, and a deep sense of powerlessness.

Everyone in the courtyard was tormented by the aroma of meat, their hearts pounding with envy, almost to the point of madness.

But not a single person dared to step out of their home to ask the Lin family for a bite to eat.

Because they knew that He Yuzhu, the one who delivered the meat, had a gun tucked into his belt.

Because they knew even better that Lin Fan, who had been dismissed from his position as factory director, was backed by a powerful and influential founding general like Li Yunlong, and Lin Yang, who controlled the nation's top secret forces in the Northwest!

They could only stay in the dark corners.

Like a pack of hungry wild dogs, they greedily sniffed the lingering fragrance in the air and swallowed the bitter fruit of their own making.

Late at night.

The cold wind still blows.

On the windows of the Lin family's house, steam condensed into water droplets that slowly slid down.

Outside the window lay a living hell of hunger and cold.

Inside the window lies an impregnable, warm, and isolated island.

·············