Courtyard Houses: Starting with Li Yunlong's Comrades-in-Arms

When the car stopped in front of the Second Ministry of Machine Building's office, Liu Yuheng glanced out the window. It was a four-story gray building; the building wasn't new, but the exterior had been painted, making it look neat and tidy.

There were no signs yet at the entrance of the building; the reserved space above the door was empty, with only a few iron frames for installing signs. The door was open, and people could be vaguely seen moving around inside. Footsteps and voices came from inside, conveying the busy atmosphere unique to the construction phase.

Liu Yuheng got out of the car, stood at the entrance, looked around, and stepped into the building.

The lobby was much livelier than the outside. Several staff members in Zhongshan suits were hurrying by carrying documents, some were standing at the corner of the corridor checking something against a list in their hands, some were squatting on the ground tidying up a pile of desks and chairs, and some were holding a telephone receiver, talking while taking notes in a notebook.

Liu Yuheng stood in the lobby and looked around, his gaze sweeping over the figures moving about. He then stopped a passing staff member and asked, "Comrade, could you tell me how to get to the minister's office?"

The man was carrying a stack of documents. When he was stopped, he was taken aback at first, looked Liu Yuheng up and down, and then pointed to the end of the corridor: "Go straight to the end, go up to the second floor, and it's the first room on the left." After he finished speaking, he hurriedly left.

Liu Yuheng thanked the man and followed his directions to the second floor. He reached the end of the corridor, where the door on his left was indeed open. Inside, he could see a dark-colored desk and a middle-aged man in a gray cadre uniform, standing by the desk talking to several people.

Liu Yuheng didn't go in immediately; he stood outside the door and waited for a while. Inside, several people were listening to the middle-aged man assign tasks; their voices could be faintly heard, as if they were discussing the progress of a factory handover. After a few minutes, the people came out one after another, carrying notebooks, and hurried towards the other end of the corridor.

Liu Yuheng then raised his hand and gently knocked twice on the open door.

Minister Song was looking down at a document on the table when he heard the knock on the door. He looked up, paused for a second, then smiled and said, "Comrade Liu Yuheng? Come in, come in!"

He put down the documents in his hand, walked around from behind the desk, strode to the door, and extended his hand.

Liu Yuheng reached out and shook hands with him: "Minister Song, Liu Yuheng is here to report for duty."

"I've been looking forward to your arrival! I've been worried about not having enough manpower these past few days, your arrival makes things much easier." Minister Song pointed to the chair next to him, "Come, come, sit down."

The two sat down on the old sofa in the office. Minister Song cut straight to the point without any pleasantries, his tone serious: "Comrade Yuheng, I won't beat around the bush. Our ministry hasn't been officially established yet; everything inside and outside the building is still in the preparatory stage. A lot of work is being done as we go. The factories were all transferred from the Ministry of Heavy Industry, so the situation is quite complicated, involving a series of issues such as local management, equipment ownership, and staffing."

He paused, then continued, "Including you, we currently have three vice ministers in our department. The other two have already led teams down to various factories to conduct on-site investigations, understand the situation, and handle the factory ownership issues. We have factories in the Northeast, Southwest, and Northwest, and each of them is responsible for one area. The remaining tasks are entrusted to you."

Liu Yuheng sat up straight, waiting for him to continue.

Minister Song picked up his enamel mug, took a sip, and then looked at him solemnly: "Your main task is to be responsible for liaising with the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defense. As everyone knows, the predecessor of our Second Ministry of Machine Building was to focus on the military industry. We will be responsible for coordinating and implementing the Central Military Commission's equipment needs, R&D projects, and technical standards."

After listening, Liu Yuheng nodded without hesitation: "Minister Song, rest assured, I have dealt with some of this work before when I was with the Central Military Commission, so it's not entirely unfamiliar to me. I will familiarize myself with the situation as soon as possible and streamline the coordination process."

Minister Song smiled and nodded, then waved his hand: "But there's no rush. Don't start working today. Go and complete the formalities, get your personnel and salary arrangements sorted out. I'll have the General Office assign you a secretary so you can familiarize yourself with the basic situation and personnel structure of our department. You can officially start working tomorrow."

Liu Yuheng did not refuse. He stood up, said "okay," shook hands with Minister Song, and turned to leave the office.

Leaving the minister's office, Liu Yuheng walked down the corridor towards the first floor. A simple floor plan was posted at the top of the stairs, marking the locations of various departments. He glanced at it, found the location of the general office, and headed in that direction.

The office was at the other end of the corridor, the door open, and two staff members were sitting inside, engrossed in organizing documents. Liu Yuheng stopped at the doorway, knocked on the doorframe, and the two inside looked up simultaneously.

Liu Yuheng said to the young comrade closest to him, "Hello comrade, I am Liu Yuheng, the newly arrived deputy minister. I'm here to report for duty and complete the formalities."

Upon hearing the words "Deputy Minister," the young staff member quickly put down his pen and stood up, his expression visibly tense: "Please...please wait a moment! I'll go report to Director Shen right away!"

After he finished speaking, he turned and jogged across the office area, pushed open a door in the inner room, and ran inside. Not long after, a middle-aged man in his forties walked out quickly, straightening his slightly crooked collar as he went, with an apologetic smile on his face.

"Minister Liu! I'm so sorry, so sorry! I'm Shen Mo, the director of the General Office." He walked quickly to Liu Yuheng, reached out and shook his hands vigorously. "The ministry has been too busy lately. The staff of each department is not yet fully staffed. Many of our staff in the General Office have also been seconded to other departments, which is why we were unable to pick you up in time. It's really our fault for not doing our job properly."

Liu Yuheng waved his hand: "Director Shen, please don't say that. Everyone is busy, I understand." He paused, "Let me take you to the office first."

Shen Mo nodded quickly, "Okay, okay, please follow me." He turned and led the way, walking down the corridor to the other side. As they walked, he turned his head and asked, "Minister Liu, do you need the ministry to arrange your car and housing? And what specific requirements do you have regarding your secretary?"

Liu Yuheng thought for a moment, then replied as he walked, "No need to arrange housing; I'm currently staying in the North City Compound. As for the car, this one was temporarily assigned to me by the Ministry of Heavy Industry yesterday. Just help me with the paperwork to transfer it to the Second Ministry of Machine Building. As for the secretary…"

He thought for a moment and continued, "Assign me someone familiar with the work, preferably someone who has experience in the military industry or international projects, so I can get up to speed quickly. I'm new here, and there are many things I need to learn as soon as possible; I can't afford to waste too much time."

Shen Mo nodded immediately: "Understood, understood! I'll find one for you right away. We just transferred a few young comrades to our department. Some of them have worked in the Ministry of Heavy Industry, and some have worked in factories in the military industry system. I'll pick a suitable one and send him over to you."