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

Liu Yuheng also picked up his bowl and took a sip of soup. Just as his chopsticks reached for the dishes on the table, he suddenly heard Yao's father put down his chopsticks and ask a question.

"Yuheng, have you heard anything from Qingmo lately?" Yao's father asked with a casual concern, as if he had thought about it for a long time before asking. "When he left, he said he had settled down in Chang'an, but he hasn't sent any news since. I wonder how things are there, and whether he's getting used to life there."

Liu Yuheng paused, his chopsticks still holding the food, and looked up at Yao's father with a hint of apology in his eyes: "I really don't know. How about this, I'll ask around after I get to work. The Second Ministry of Machine Building has some dealings with their systems, so I should be able to find out some information."

Upon hearing this, Yao's father smiled and quickly waved his hand, "No need, no need. If it involves confidentiality, don't ask. Don't cause you trouble over something like this. I was just asking casually to know that he's settled over there."

Liu Yuheng smiled, picked up his chopsticks again, and took a bite of food. His tone was relaxed yet confident: "Dad, now that I'm in this position, many things are no longer secrets. It's just that some things are only for me to know and cannot be told to others."

"Please ask about my second uncle's recent situation. As long as you don't reveal what he's researching or which organization he works for, there shouldn't be any major problems."

Hearing Liu Yuheng say this, Yao's father nodded in relief and raised his wine cup to Liu Yuheng.

After dinner, Yao's mother prepared a plate of fruit, and the family sat in the living room chatting for a while. Yao Lei sat in a chair in the corner, flipping through an old magazine, but his ears were constantly perked up, listening to Liu Yuheng speak.

Yao's father chatted with Liu Yuheng about the situation at the Second Ministry of Machine Building for a few minutes, and then asked about the health of Liu Shuanzhu and Wang Xiuhe. Liu Yuheng answered them one by one, his tone calm and casual.

Around 2 p.m., Liu Yuheng glanced at the clock on the wall, stood up, and bid farewell to Yao's parents.

Upon hearing that they were leaving, Yao's mother immediately got up and went into the inner room. A moment later, she came out carrying a cloth bag. The bag was bulging and stuffed with a stack of neatly folded diapers and several small quilts, all made of fine cotton with fine stitches, showing that a lot of care had been put into them.

"Qingwan, this is for my grandson." Yao's mother handed the cloth bag to Yao Qingwan and then reached out to help her adjust her collar. "I washed the diapers several times and scalded them with boiling water. They're soft and won't hurt her skin. The quilt is also made of new cotton, so it's warm. If you need any more, just let me know and I'll make more."

Yao Qingwan took it, glanced down at the contents of the pocket, then looked up at her mother with a helpless smile: "Mom, my mother-in-law has already done quite a lot, and this is enough with what you've given me. Don't bother anymore, take a rest."

While Yao's mother verbally agreed with "Okay, okay," her gaze lingered on her daughter's lower abdomen for a long time, as if she couldn't get enough of looking at it.

The two left the house, and Yao's mother saw them off to the gate, holding Yao Qingwan's hand and giving her several more instructions such as "Drive carefully" and "Take care of yourself" before reluctantly letting go and watching them get into the car. Yao Qingwan leaned out of the car window and waved to her mother, who waved back. Only after the car turned out of the alley did she turn back into the courtyard.

The car drove along a quiet street on a winter afternoon, sunlight streaming in at an angle through the windows, casting a warm glow on the seats. After a moment of silence, Liu Yuheng drove, while Yao Qingwan sat in the passenger seat, clutching the cloth bag, her gaze fixed on the receding roadside trees outside the window, as if lost in thought.

After a while, Yao Qingwan turned to look at Liu Yuheng, her tone casual yet with a hint of serious inquiry: "I heard what you said to my dad about Lou Jingye at the dinner table... You seem quite concerned about it. What? Do you think these capitalists might change their ways in the future?"

Liu Yuheng's hands remained on the steering wheel, his gaze still fixed on the road ahead. After a few seconds of silence, he spoke, his tone carrying a frankness he only displayed when facing Yao Qingwan: "Do you know how much wealth the Lou family still possesses? How do they manage to live?"

Yao Qingwan paused for a moment, thought about it carefully, and then shook her head. She didn't know much about the Lou family, only that they were the former owners of the steel rolling mill and lived in a large mansion. As for how much money they had or what their lifestyle was like, she really didn't know.

Liu Yuheng gently turned the steering wheel, and the car rounded a bend, slowing down slightly before continuing, "Our country previously implemented a public-private partnership policy, which was a buy-out policy. The factory was handed over, and the government gave them dividends every year. Add to that their previous savings, and you can calculate how much money the Lou Jingye family has now?"

He paused for a moment, his tone carrying an objective yet detached air: "Putting aside everything else, the combined wealth of the thousands of workers at the steel mill is probably only a fraction of what the Lou family owns."

Yao Qingwan remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

Liu Yuheng continued, "Do you remember Xu Damao's family in our courtyard house?"

Yao Qingwan nodded. Liu Yuheng glanced at her, his tone carrying a meaningful calm: "Then do you know that Xu Damao's mother is still working as a nanny for the Lou family?"

Yao Qingwan was stunned for a moment. It was the first time she had heard about this, and her expression changed slightly.

Liu Yuheng's tone remained unhurried, but the weight of his words grew heavier: "Look, I've fought for over a decade, been awarded the rank of lieutenant general, and am now a vice minister. You know what that level means in our country."

"But someone like me isn't even qualified to have a nanny. The Lou family, an old capitalist family, still keeps a nanny. Tell me, doesn't that kind of behavior invite hatred? Doesn't it make those cadres who have worked hard their whole lives envious?"

"Life's alright now, everyone has food to eat, so this doesn't seem like a big deal," Liu Yuheng continued calmly. "But have you ever thought about what would happen if there were a famine one day, and ordinary people couldn't get enough to eat, while these capitalists were still living lavishly with servants waiting on them? What would they think? Then they'd hear, 'This is the new China now, how can there still be capitalists exploiting the people like this?' Who can bear that accusation?"

Yao Qingwan fell silent, her gaze fixed on the empty road ahead, as if processing these words.

Liu Yuheng continued, "Unless they give away all their wealth, donate their money, hand over their houses, and become ordinary workers, earning their living like everyone else, then they'll be in a difficult situation. Think about it: someone like Lou Jingye, who has lived a life of luxury his entire life, could he possibly live the life of an ordinary person? It's easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. This is human nature, and no one can change it. So, it's only a matter of time before they take this path; no one can stop them. This is the inevitable trend, and it cannot be stopped."

As he finished speaking, the car drove over a flat stretch of road. Sunlight filtered through the bare treetops along the roadside, flickering and dancing on the car window, as if it too were listening to his words.

Yao Qingwan remained silent for a while before nodding gently and saying in a low voice, "You're right... It's easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. I understand." She paused, turned her gaze to the window, and said with a complex calmness, "Those people don't understand it themselves, and we can't control that. Just do what we're supposed to do."

Liu Yuheng hummed in agreement, and the car continued to drive smoothly forward.