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

The driver started the car, the engine emitted a low, smooth hum, and the sedan smoothly drove away from the alley entrance, turned onto the main road, and headed north of the city on the quiet morning street.

Liu Tingting, sitting in the back seat, peered out the car window and saw Liu Erhe's figure getting smaller and smaller at the alley entrance, until it became a tiny black dot and disappeared into the morning light around the corner.

At the alley entrance, Liu Erhe stood there, pushing his bicycle, watching the taillights of the black sedan disappear from sight. He couldn't help but mutter to himself, "If I had known... I wouldn't have bought this bicycle. Now look what I've done, such a nice car, and I didn't even get to sit in it."

He had barely finished speaking when a familiar voice came from beside him: "Erhe! What are you saying? You don't want the bicycle anymore? If you don't want it, sell it to me!"

Liu Erhe turned his head and saw that Yan Bugui had come over again at some point, still holding the unfinished teacup in his hand, his eyes gleaming with shrewdness, as if he had gotten a great deal.

He threw the cigarette butt on the ground, stomped it out, and took two steps closer with a broad smile: "One hundred yuan! Sell it to me, and I'll go home and get the money for you right now!"

Liu Erhe rolled his eyes, almost laughing in exasperation at those words.

He patted the bicycle seat and said in a somewhat annoyed tone, "Uncle Yan, you really know how to calculate. I bought this bicycle for 185 yuan, plus that bicycle ticket, do you know how much the ticket is worth? It's almost 300 yuan in total! I've only ridden it for two months, and you think you can just take it for 100 yuan?"

Yan Bugui wasn't embarrassed at all when his thoughts were exposed. He chuckled twice and changed the price: "How about... one hundred and twenty? One hundred and twenty is fine, right? If you sell it to me, I won't have to ask someone to get the tickets."

Liu Erhe was too lazy to argue with him anymore. He rolled his eyes, got on his bicycle, pedaled hard, and left with the words, "Uncle Yan, give up on that idea. I was just saying it casually. I won't sell it." Before he finished speaking, he had already ridden his bicycle out of the alley. The bicycle bell rang twice and echoed for a moment in the quiet alley in the early morning before disappearing into the distance.

Yan Bugui stood there, holding his teacup, watching Liu Erhe's figure disappear at the end of the alley. He smacked his lips, his expression unreadable, whether it was regret or something else.

He stood at the alley entrance for a while, the cold wind making his coat flutter slightly, before turning back into the courtyard, muttering to himself, "Three hundred yuan for a bicycle... This Liu family is really... tsk tsk..." His voice grew softer and softer until it was swallowed up by the sound of the courtyard gate closing.

When Liu Erhe rode his bicycle into the alley where Liang Cheng and his wife lived, he could see several people standing at the entrance of the tenement building from afar.

Liang Cheng, wearing a faded gray cotton-padded jacket, was squatting by the doorway smoking. The cigarette in his hand was half-smoked, and a long pile of ash hadn't been flicked off. Liang's mother stood beside him, carrying a bulging cloth bundle, talking to Aunt Zhao next door, her face beaming with the festive joy typical of the New Year.

As soon as Aunt Zhao saw Liu Erhe ride his bike into the alley, she was the first to react. She nudged Liang's mother with her elbow and smiled, gesturing towards Liu Erhe's direction: "Oh, your son-in-law is here! He came on a new bike! Tsk tsk, this Phoenix brand is really nice, much better than those old bikes in our yard."

A smile appeared on Liang's mother's face as she waved to Liu Erhe. The doors of the other houses in the courtyard opened one after another, with some people peeking out with bowls in their hands, while others simply walked to their doorways, all their eyes fixed on Liu Erhe.

Liu Erhe parked his car at the entrance, set up the stand, and greeted everyone with a smile: "Hello Aunt Zhao! Hello Uncle Li! Happy New Year!"

Everyone chimed in with "Happy New Year," but their gazes lingered on Liu Erhe for a few more seconds.

When Liu Erhe first came to the steel rolling mill as an apprentice, he followed Liang Cheng around doing chores. He didn't talk much, but he was quite efficient at his work. However, he was just an ordinary young man.

No one expected that the Liu family would suddenly produce a son like Liu Yuheng.

Aunt Zhao's gaze swept over Liu Er and his brand-new Phoenix bicycle, then glanced at the bulging bundle in Liang's mother's hand. She lowered her voice and said to the person next to her, "Look at him, Liu's second son has really made something of himself now, riding a new bicycle. I heard Fangfang got a job at the supply and marketing cooperative, a permanent one at that. Tsk tsk, what luck..."

Aunt Li chimed in, lowering her voice, "That's right. Who could have imagined back then? Liu Shuanzhu was just a mediocre cook, and Liu Erhe was merely a fitter. In just a few years, they've climbed so high. If any of the families in our compound with daughters had married Liu Erhe back then, wouldn't their children all be getting jobs now?"

Aunt Zhao sighed with deep sympathy after hearing this. Her gaze then fell on Liang's mother, her tone filled with undisguised envy: "Sister-in-law Liang is truly blessed in this life. Her daughter married well, and her son-in-law is so filial. Look, it's the New Year, and her son-in-law personally rode his bicycle to pick them up to celebrate the New Year in the courtyard. How prestigious!"

Hearing this, Liang's mother's smile deepened. She switched the bundle in her hand and unconsciously straightened her back. She turned to look at Liu Erhe, her tone filled with concern: "Erhe, are you tired from riding your bike? It's cold, don't catch a cold."

Liu Erhe waved his hand, walked a few steps to Liang Cheng, and called out "Father".

Liang Cheng had already stood up, stubbed out his cigarette, dusted off his hands, looked at Liu Erhe, and nodded.

Liu Erhe didn't delay any longer. He helped Liang Cheng carry a bundle, took the things from Liang's mother and tied them to the back of the bicycle, and called out, "Dad, Mom, let's go. My dad and the others went by car, they should be arriving soon. We'll ride there, it'll only take about half an hour."

Liang Cheng nodded, pushed his slightly worn old bicycle out of the doorway, and rode out of the alleyway side by side with Liu Erhe. Liang's mother sat behind Liang Cheng, tightly clutching the hem of his cotton-padded coat. The cold wind blowing in their faces made her face a little red, but the smile on her face never faded.

The three of them rode for a while when Liu Erhe suddenly remembered something and raised his voice to Liang Cheng beside him, "Dad, let me tell you, my brother changed his car! The old green Jeep is gone, replaced by a black sedan! It's so beautiful! Shiny and shiny! Fangfang and Yixuan both rode in that car, tsk tsk, I didn't even get a ride!"

Hearing this, Liang Cheng wasn't too surprised. He simply shook his head slightly, his tone calm yet reasonable: "It's normal for someone of your brother's rank to change cars. For ordinary people like us, being able to ride a bicycle is already a blessing. Don't compare yourself to them." He paused, then, as if remembering something, lowered his voice, "Besides, no matter how good the car is, it's still government property. What does it have to do with your brother personally?"