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

Lin Fan's gaze softened, even taking on a hint of profound respect.

"Erzi, you've really found me a good job by arranging this position for me."

"Seeing those old folks receive their pensions on time every month and get their medical expenses reimbursed."

"I feel more at ease now than when we forged the first batch of special steel."

Two large bowls of steaming braised dishes were served, topped with a thick layer of chili oil and cilantro.

Lin Yang broke open a clove of garlic, took a bite, and the pungent taste hit his head.

The two brothers did not clink glasses or exchange any further pleasantries.

Each person picked up a bowl and began to eat heartily.

This is a tacit understanding that has spanned decades.

Back then in the courtyard house, thanks to the machinations of Jia Zhangshi and Yi Zhonghai, the two brothers couldn't even get enough cornmeal porridge to eat.

Later, Lin Yang took over the steel rolling mill, and Lin Fan became the factory director.

Later, during the Third Front relocation, Lin Fan led tens of thousands of people into the mountains of Southwest China.

In the blink of an eye, thirty-six years have passed.

"How is your sister-in-law?" Lin Yang swallowed a mouthful of sesame seed cake and asked casually.

"Qiu Nan is doing well, but she has a lot of things to do at the hospital."

Lin Fan picked up a piece of braised beef, put it in his mouth, and chewed it slowly.

"She's now the vice president of the hospital, and she's so busy mentoring young doctors every day that she barely has time to breathe."

When Ding Qiunan is mentioned, Lin Fan's face always radiates a simple and contented happiness.

"Brother, I went to Linnan a few days ago and visited Weidong." Lin Yang put down his chopsticks and wiped his mouth with a tissue.

Lin Fan paused in his eating and looked up at his younger brother.

"Wei Dong, that kid, he's lost weight, hasn't he?"

"You've lost some weight, but you've also become more muscular, looking like a real local official now." Lin Yang nodded.

"By the way, what has Jian Guo been busy with lately?" Lin Yang changed the subject and mentioned Lin Fan's son.

Lin Jianguo was a top student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Tsinghua University.

After graduation, he absolutely refused to work within the system and insisted on going to the special economic zone in the south to engage in the private economy.

Lin Fan was so angry that he almost picked up a carrying pole and broke his legs.

As a result, over the years, they have managed to create "Lin's Electric Appliances," which has become one of the leading manufacturing giants in the Southern Special Economic Zone.

Upon hearing the name of his son, Lin Fan couldn't help but snort, but a hint of pride lingered in his eyes.

"That little brat, he's more famous than me now!"

"I just flew from Shanghai to Beiping a couple of days ago, saying they're planning something big."

Lin Fan shook his head, his tone carrying the stubbornness of an older generation of industrial workers.

"Why give up a perfectly good government job to become a middleman and deal in all sorts of shoddy assembled goods?"

Lin Yang smiled.

He knows his older brother too well; he's a typical old-fashioned type.

They believed that only building tanks, hydraulic presses, and blast furnaces were the real business.

Lin Fan felt from the bottom of his heart that manufacturing light industries like radios and refrigerators was beneath him.

"Brother, times have changed," Lin Yang patiently explained.

"Our country now needs heavy industry to lay the foundation, but it also needs light industry to boost the market."

"When ordinary people have money in their pockets, they have to buy things."

"The home appliances that the People's Republic of China developed were a real way to take market share from foreigners, which was a good thing."

Lin Fan sighed, picked up his teacup, and took a sip of the fine tea.

"Second son, your vision is far-reaching; I can't see that far ahead."

"But I'm afraid he'll take too big a step and stumble."

"It seems that he came to Beiping this time because he had his eye on an old production line at the Beiping Third Radio Factory."

Lin Fan pursed his lips.

"We wanted to acquire it, but we got a cold shoulder from the factory manager."

"They're a legitimate state-owned factory. Even if they're not doing well, why would they sell their equipment to a private owner?"

"He talked to me for ages, trying to get me to find someone in the Ministry of Light Industry, but I ignored him."

"We, the Lin family, cannot do things like using connections or abusing our power for personal gain!" Lin Fan said firmly.

Upon hearing this, a hint of admiration flashed in Lin Yang's eyes.

This is precisely why he respects Lin Fan the most.

No matter how powerful the Lin family is now, Lin Fan still maintains the purity and bottom line he had when he was an apprentice.

"Where is he?" Lin Yang asked.

"He rented a dilapidated warehouse in Nanyuan."

Lin Fan said irritably, "They say they're doing some kind of compressor reverse engineering, but it looks like a car repair shop."

"Okay, I'll go see him this afternoon."

After finishing their meal, Lin Yang and his elder brother said goodbye at the entrance of the alley.

Watching Lin Fan ride a dilapidated old bicycle into the traffic, Lin Yang turned and got into the Hongqi sedan.

"Go to Nanyuan," Lin Yang instructed Chen Feng.

Two o'clock in the afternoon.

Nanyuan in Beiping, an abandoned old warehouse area.

The car was parked outside the warehouse, where the road surface was full of potholes.

Old wooden crates and rusty iron pipes were piled up everywhere.

Chen Feng pushed open a creaking iron gate.

A strong smell of engine oil and burnt welding wafted over.

The spacious warehouse has been transformed into a simple mechanical laboratory.

The corner was piled with refrigerator shells, copper pipes, and motors of various models, like a small scrap metal recycling station.

In the center of the warehouse, several people were gathered around a large fitter's table.

Standing in the very center was a young man in his early thirties.

He was wearing a canvas apron stained with black oil and holding a vernier caliper in his hand.

He was staring intently at a machine on the table that had been disassembled into pieces.

The machine had a row of German labels printed on it.

This young man was Lin Fan's son, Lin Jianguo, the founder of Lin's Appliances.

Unlike Lin Weidong's cold and sharp military temperament.

Lin Jianguo exudes the stubbornness typical of a science and engineering man, and even carries a hint of the madness of a business maniac.

"No way! This business trip is absolutely unacceptable!"

Lin Jianguo threw the vernier caliper onto the table, making a crisp sound.

He turned his head and yelled at a middle-aged man in a suit and tie with a large belly next to him.

"Director Zhao, I spent 20,000 yuan to have the technicians from your Third Radio Factory machine this stator for me."

"I've drawn the blueprints for you clearly, with an error margin of no more than 0.05 millimeters!"

Lin Jianguo pointed at the shiny metal part on the table, his eyes bloodshot.

"What did you produce? The error is a full 0.2 millimeters!"

"If you put a stator of this precision into a compressor, the noise it generates when powered on could blow the roof off!"

The middle-aged man, referred to as Director Zhao, had a face that alternated between pale and flushed.

As the director of a state-owned factory, he was being scolded by a young upstart who ran a private enterprise. How could he possibly save face?

"Boss Lin, don't be so rude!"

With his hands behind his back, Director Zhao spoke in an official tone: "Our Third Factory is an old state-owned enterprise from the 1950s and 60s, and the skills of our master craftsmen are beyond question."

"You insist on using German standard compressors. Our old Soviet-style machine tools simply can't achieve that level of precision."

"Besides, good enough is fine. When ordinary people buy refrigerators, as long as it can cool, that's enough. Who cares about a little noise?"