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

Kong Jie tapped the pipe in his hand and sighed, "Yes. So many years have passed in the blink of an eye. Back then, on the Gobi Desert in Northwest China, to protect those few newly made 'firecrackers,' the soldiers would lie in the snow pits at minus thirty degrees Celsius for an entire night. Those were tough times; we couldn't even get a bowl of hot soup."

Kong Jie turned to look at Lin Yang, his eyes filled with respect.

"Yangzi, looking back now, you were right to risk everything to preserve the foundation of heavy industry. Without those tractors and excavators you manufactured, without the special steel you refined, how would we modernize our national defense? Now, my troops are all equipped with new infantry fighting vehicles and self-propelled artillery. The soldiers are incredibly proud!"

Lin Yang smiled, picked up his wine glass, and clinked it with Kong Jie's.

"Our older brothers are risking their lives on the front lines, and we, the ones working behind the scenes, certainly can't hold you back."

Lin Yang put down his wine glass, his gaze sweeping over the faces of the three veterans, and his tone softened.

"Speaking of which, we old guys are all in our early fifties, some almost sixty. We've been so focused on national affairs that we've neglected our families. Brother Li, Brother Kong, Old Ding, how are your little rascals doing these days?"

When children were mentioned, the expressions on the faces of these three ruthless generals, who were ruthless killers on the battlefield, softened instantly, and even showed a hint of undisguised pride.

Li Yunlong was the first to lose his temper. He slapped his thigh, and his loud voice made the bowls and chopsticks on the table rattle.

"Haha! Yangzi, even if you hadn't asked, I would have told you! My little bastard Li Jian didn't let me down!"

Li Yunlong took a big gulp of wine and said with great enthusiasm, "This kid has been restless since he was a child. He insisted on secretly signing up to join the navy behind my back. I was a terrible swimmer back then, but he went and became a naval officer in the southern fleet."

"A while ago, things weren't peaceful in the southern waters. A few short-sighted foreign countries tried to cause trouble on our islands and reefs. That kid Li Jian directly commanded two of the latest missile boats, forcefully inserting themselves into the middle of the enemy's formation! Relying solely on radar lock-on and artillery deterrence, he managed to force three large destroyers on the other side back three hundred nautical miles!"

As Li Yunlong spoke, a fervent fighting spirit gleamed in his eyes.

"That kid declared that as long as he's in the Southern Fleet, no foreign warships will be allowed to roam freely in our country's waters! Damn, he's got the style I had back in the day!"

After listening, Lin Yang nodded approvingly: "That kid Li Jian has your wolfish spirit in his bones. The Navy has been lacking this kind of young and promising commander who dares to unsheathe the sword for the past few years."

Kong Jie took a puff of his pipe, exhaled a thick cloud of smoke, and his face was full of simple satisfaction.

"My two rascals, Kongming and Kongliang, aren't as impressive as Li Jian."

Kong Jie's eyes became incredibly deep, as if he had traversed thousands of mountains and rivers to see the vast Gobi Desert where he had guarded for most of his life.

"Both of them stayed in the Northwest. Kongming is a battalion commander in an armored division, leading his troops in extreme weather armored assault drills in the desert every day. Kongliang, on the other hand, went to the outer perimeter guard unit of a nuclear weapons test base. They hardly see each other all year round, and he can't even find a girlfriend."

Kong Jie's voice was a little hoarse, but it conveyed a mountain-like firmness.

"The year before last, during the Spring Festival, I called them to come back to Beijing for a get-together. Those two little rascals were stubborn with me on the phone. They said that although the Russians had retreated in the north, they wouldn't come back to Beijing as long as the radar on the border hadn't been removed. They said that someone had to go and endure the sandstorms in the northwest, and as Kong Jie's sons, they had to stick to that line of defense to the death."

The entire restaurant fell silent.

Zhao Lichun, Pei Yihong, and the others listened from the side, and a deep sense of respect welled up in their hearts.

This is the spirit of sons of generals. They enjoyed the glory of their fathers, but chose the most arduous and dangerous places to continue their absolute loyalty to the country.

Ding Wei picked up his teacup, took a small sip, looked at his two old comrades, and shook his head with a smile.

"Your children are both fierce warriors charging into battle on the front lines. My son, Dingyi, is more like me; he prefers to use his brain from the back."

A glint of wisdom flashed in Ding Wei's eyes.

"Ding Yi went to the highest military academy to study logistics coordination and modern warfare supply chains. After graduating, he went directly to the General Logistics Department. This kid told me that modern warfare is not about infantry charges on the front lines, but about logistical support and the instantaneous conversion rate of industrial capacity."

Ding Wei looked at Lin Yang.

"Yangzi, this kid's graduation thesis specifically researched the feasibility of how the home appliance manufacturing industry in the Han River region, which you led, could be instantly transformed into a military production line during wartime. He said that as long as the logistical data link is established, even if the front lines run out of ammunition, he can deliver freshly produced ammunition to the soldiers within 48 hours!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Yang could no longer conceal the admiration in his eyes.

"Excellent! What a modern warfare supply chain!"

Lin Yang suddenly picked up the wine cup in front of him.

"Li Jian's daring and fighting spirit, Kong Ming and Kong Liang's unwavering defense of the border, and Ding Yi's logistical coordination—with these young men holding the fort in the army, our nation's defense is as solid as Mount Tai!"

Lin Yang downed the strong liquor in his cup in one gulp.

Then, his gaze became somewhat distant.

"Yangzi, you've only asked us, what about your two little tigers?" Li Yunlong asked, his tongue thick. "Weidong went to that poor mountain village in Lin'nan County, and Jianguo went to the Southern Special Economic Zone to become a self-employed individual. It's been several years now, what have they accomplished?"

When Lin Yang mentioned his son and nephew, an irrepressible pride appeared on his usually stern face.

"In Lin'nan County, Wei Dong spent three years uprooting the clan-based criminal gangs that controlled the coal mines. He nationalized the coal resources that had been embezzled and reorganized the county's agricultural irrigation network. Last year, he single-handedly tripled the GDP of that once impoverished county, which was among the poorest in the country."

Lin Yang's voice was steady, but every word carried immense weight.

"The Organization Department of the Central Committee has taken note of his achievements, and next month he will be promoted to deputy governor of Linan City. His political sharpness has been fully honed."

"As for nation-building..."

Lin Yang glanced at Pei Yihong and Lou Xiao'e sitting in the distance.

"He didn't use a single penny of my connections. He took the compressor blueprints he drew in college, went to the Southern Special Economic Zone, and started a small workshop with five people."

"In three years, he used the outdated equipment that Xiao'e brought back from overseas to reverse engineer and developed the first household silent refrigerator in China with a noise level of less than 40 decibels. Now, his 'Lin's Appliances' is the largest private manufacturing enterprise in the Special Administrative Region and has even begun to compete with state-owned factories in the Han River area for market share."