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

In each of Li Yunlong's hands, he carried a black-glazed wine jar covered in yellow mud and ash. The jars were sealed with cracked red clay.

As soon as he entered, he didn't even look at Lin Yang; his gaze immediately locked onto Lin Weidong, who was standing there.

Without any preamble, Li Yunlong suddenly launched an attack.

He swung his right hand sharply, and the solid wine jar, weighing over ten kilograms, flew with a sharp gust of wind, like a cannonball, and smashed directly towards Lin Weidong's face!

"Watch out!" Lin Jianguo exclaimed in alarm.

This attack was as fast as lightning, a classic battlefield surprise attack tactic.

But Lin Weidong's reaction was even more terrifying.

In that critical moment, he didn't even blink. Instead of retreating to avoid it, he took a half-step forward with his right foot, and his core strength exploded instantly.

His arms stretched out with precision, like two swimming dragons. His left hand firmly supported the bottom of the wine jar, while his right hand smoothly rested on the edge.

Using the immense force, Lin Weidong spun half a circle, employing a superb Tai Chi technique to neutralize the terrifying power.

The heavy wine jar rested steadily on Lin Weidong's chest, without even a single piece of the red clay seal on the jar's mouth falling off.

The whole process happened in the blink of an eye.

Li Yunlong stared at Lin Weidong, who had caught the wine jar steadily, for a full two seconds, stunned.

Then, a burst of thunderous laughter erupted.

"Hahaha! Good! Good lad! Your lower body is as stable as a rock, and you handle heavy loads with ease! These four years of study haven't been in vain, and your skills haven't suffered either!"

Li Yunlong excitedly stepped forward and patted Lin Weidong's shoulder hard, making a loud thud.

"This jar of wine of mine is a vintage Fenjiu that I seized from Chiang Kai-shek's command post back when we attacked Menglianggu! I buried it underground for a full thirty years! Today, you two little brats have completed your studies and come out of seclusion, so I specially dug it up to give you a send-off!"

Lin Yang sat in the chair, shook his head helplessly, and waved for the guards to leave.

"Brother Li, you still haven't changed your temper even in your old age. If Weidong hadn't caught it, your thirty-year-old wine would have been ruined on the floor." Lin Yang stood up and walked forward with a smile.

Li Yunlong glared at him: "Bullshit! If he can't even withstand this blow from me, he doesn't deserve to wear this uniform, and he doesn't deserve to be Lin Yang's son!"

Li Yunlong placed another wine jar heavily on the coffee table, turned to look at Lin Yang, and suddenly a hint of melancholy, like that of an old general in his twilight years, appeared in his eyes.

"Yangzi, I'm really getting old. A few days ago, I was inspecting the defense zone and the sea breeze blew for half the night, and now my kneecaps hurt so much I can't walk." Li Yunlong sighed, his gaze falling on Lin Weidong's energetic face.

"But seeing that these little tigers of your Lin family have grown their fangs, I feel at ease! With the country's border and coastal defenses in their hands from now on, I can close my eyes in peace!"

The atmosphere in the living room was instantly ignited by Li Yunlong's arrival.

Just then, He Daqing's loud and cheerful shouts came from the direction of the restaurant.

"Sir! The dishes are ready! Please take your seats!"

The group moved to the restaurant.

On a huge round table made of rosewood, there were many tempting and fragrant delicacies.

In the very center is a "Braised Sea Cucumber" served in a clay pot. The sea cucumber has absorbed the essence of the broth and is glossy and translucent. Next to it is a golden and rich "Braised Shark Fin"; and there is also a "Steamed Sea Bass" cooked to perfection.

But what's most eye-catching is a plate of extremely simple home-style dishes placed among these top-quality ingredients—scrambled eggs with scallions. The golden eggs exude a primal, caramelized aroma.

This was something Lin Yang specifically instructed them to do. No matter how high their current status is, this plate of scrambled eggs is meant to remind them never to forget the hard times they spent in the courtyard house, and never to forget the ordinary people struggling at the bottom of society.

Lin Yang sat in the main seat, with Tian Yu beside him. Li Yunlong sat down next to Lin Yang with a casual air. Lin Weidong and Lin Jianguo sat at the lower end of the table.

He Yuzhu, as the bodyguard, originally wanted to stand aside, but Lin Yang pulled him to sit down next to him.

"Zhu Zi, there are no outsiders here today, sit down and have a drink with us."

He Daqing took off his apron and personally broke the clay seals on the two jars of thirty-year-old Fenjiu. An intoxicating aroma of aged liquor instantly filled the entire restaurant.

He Yuzhu picked up the wine jar and filled the white porcelain wine cups in front of everyone. The wine was slightly yellow and clung to the cups without dispersing.

Lin Yang picked up his wine glass and slowly stood up.

Everyone at the table immediately fell silent and stood up straight in unison.

Lin Yang's gaze was deep as he swept across the faces of Lin Weidong and Lin Jianguo in turn.

"Four years ago, I threw you into the examination hall. Today, you've returned with your answer sheets."

Lin Yang's voice was deep and resonant, without any empty rhetoric, only the purest sense of family heritage and national responsibility.

"Our Lin family started from a drafty, dilapidated house in a traditional courtyard house. We shed blood in the freezing cold of Korea and ate sand in the Gobi Desert of Northwest China. The power we hold is a gift from God, but it was bought with the lives of countless martyrs."

Lin Yang raised his glass, his eyes sharp as knives.

"Jianguo, go to the research institute in the Northwest and build the best chassis for the country's missiles! Weidong, go to the elite armored army in the north and start as a company commander in a combined arms battalion!"

"I'm making this clear today: a diploma is just a stepping stone. Once you're at the grassroots level, put away all your arrogance! Be humble and work hard! Anyone who dares to use my name, Lin Yang's, to get special treatment will have their skin peeled off!"

"This glass is a toast to the nation, a toast to the future!"

"Dry!"

With Lin Yang's sharp shout, everyone craned their necks at the same time.

The spicy and mellow aged liquor was like a flame, flowing down the throat and into the stomach, igniting the burning passion in the hearts of every man present.

Lin Weidong put down his glass; the strong liquor made his eyes shine even brighter.

He didn't sit down, but instead picked up the wine pot in front of him and refilled his wine cup.

He held the wine glass in both hands, turned around, and faced Lin Yang and Li Yunlong, his body like an unshakeable iron tower.

Lin Weidong's eyes were like torches; he suddenly raised his right arm and emptied the entire cup of strong liquor.

And at this moment, with an attitude of never looking back and extreme boldness, he drank it all in one gulp.

Then, with a sudden flick of his wrist, he slammed the white porcelain wine cup upside down onto the solid wood table.

It produced a crisp and decisive impact sound!

···········

No piercing cracking sound came; the white porcelain wine cup remained intact on the hard rosewood table, its edges fitting snugly against the wood grain, as if it had taken root.

A few drops of the remaining, clear liquor meandered down the texture of the white porcelain, seeping into the cracks in the tabletop.