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

In the first month of 1955, the air in Nanjing was damp and chilly, seeping into your bones.

Liu Yuheng's office, however, was quite lively. The stove was burning red-hot, making the room warm and cozy. On the table were a bottle of wine and several small dishes. Three people sat around the desk: Old Li sat opposite Liu Yuheng, and Old Wu sat by the window. Each of them had a white porcelain wine glass in front of them.

Liu Yuheng picked up his wine glass, looked at Old Li across from him, then at Old Wu leaning against the window, and shook his head with a smile: "You two, instead of going home to your wives and kids and enjoying a warm bed during the New Year, you've come here to drink with a bachelor like me in the headquarters. What kind of nonsense is this?"

Old Li picked up his wine glass, took a sip, put it down, and chuckled, "I did want to go home, but I was worried you'd be lonely all alone. You're being transferred soon, and this might be the last time we spend the New Year together at the 45th Army. It wouldn't be right not to come and keep you company."

Old Wu chimed in, popping a peanut into his mouth: "Exactly. We've been busy for over a year, and it's finally over, and then it's Chinese New Year. You wouldn't come over for dinner, so we had to come and have a couple of drinks with you. Otherwise, it would be too pitiful for you to be a commander, spending the whole New Year alone in your office eating dry bread."

Liu Yuheng was rendered speechless by their back-and-forth banter. He picked up his glass, took a sip, put it down, and smiled, "Alright, thank you both. But let me make this clear: don't drink too much later, or I won't be responsible for taking you home."

"Who'll give it to whom is still up in the air!" Old Wu slammed his hand on the table. "With your drinking capacity, you dare to compete with me?"

All three of them laughed.

After drinking another glass, Old Li put down his glass, picked up a peanut with his chopsticks, and chewed it while looking at Liu Yuheng: "Old Liu, seriously, you should find someone. You're thirty, right?"

Liu Yuheng paused, put down his chopsticks, picked up his wine glass, glanced at it, and then put it down again: "Thirty. After today, I'll officially be thirty."

"Thirty and still not looking?" Old Wu interjected, his tone carrying a hint of someone who'd been there all along. "I'm forty, and my kid's in elementary school. You're a division commander, practically a corps commander, you'd be a hot commodity anywhere. How come you're still single at thirty?"

Liu Yuheng leaned back in his chair and sighed, "I want to find someone too. Last year when I went back to Beijing for the Spring Festival, I visited the old brigade commander's family, and my older sister said she would introduce me to someone and arrange a meeting when I got back. But what happened? The downsizing took up a whole year, from the beginning to the end of the year. My older sister probably thought I was just making excuses to avoid blind dates."

He picked up his glass, took a sip, and continued, "Before you guys came, the old brigade commander even called and asked you bluntly, 'Are you deliberately wasting your time in Nanjing because you don't want to go on blind dates?'"

Old Li and Old Wu exchanged a glance and then burst into laughter.

"The old brigade commander's call came at just the right time! Was he worried you'd let the girl get away?"

Liu Yuheng shook his head with a wry smile: "He said my eldest sister has already found someone for me, and is just waiting for me to go back to meet him. He also said that if I don't go back, he will have my eldest sister come to Jinling to arrest me personally."

Old Wu laughed until tears almost streamed down his face, then raised his wine glass to Liu Yuheng: "Then I suggest you hurry back. If your elder sister comes to Jinling to arrest someone herself, you won't be able to handle the commotion. Back in the Jin-Sui region, when your elder sister came to visit, even the old brigade commander behaved himself. Don't go looking for trouble."

Liu Yuheng smiled, raised his glass and clinked it with the two men's. The three of them took a sip, the wine sliding down their throats, fiery yet warm.

Liu Yuheng poured himself another glass of wine, put down the bottle, and his expression became more serious: "Seriously speaking, the troop reduction is over, and the 45th Army is back on track. I estimate that I will be transferred in the next month or two."

Old Li and Old Wu simultaneously put down their wine glasses, their smiles fading as they looked at him with serious expressions.

Liu Yuheng looked at the two men and said frankly, "We've been working together since the 10th Column was formed, and we've been in the same unit ever since, for several years now. After I leave, the 45th Army will be in your hands."

Old Li raised his glass and clinked it against Liu Yuheng's: "Don't worry. Now that you're gone, Old Wu and I will keep a close eye on the 45th Army. We won't let you down."

Old Wu also raised his glass: "That's right. Even if you leave, our army won't collapse. When you come back, I guarantee it will still be the same team you led."

Liu Yuheng looked into their eyes, nodded, and remained silent. The three of them each took a sip of wine, the sound of their glasses being placed on the table ringing out clearly in the quiet room.

After a while, Old Li put down his cup and asked, "Has the location been decided? Are we going to the old political commissar's place, or is there another arrangement?"

Liu Yuheng leaned back in his chair, hands behind his head, a slight smile playing on his lips, as if recalling something pleasant: "The boss told me to first help out in the disarmament team. Once that work is finished, we'll arrange my specific assignment. But one thing is certain..."

He paused, glanced at the two of them, and his smile widened: "I should be able to participate in this conferment of ranks."

Old Li and Old Wu were both stunned for a moment, then Old Wu reacted first, slamming his hand on the table: "Really? In time for the conferment of ranks?"

Liu Yuheng smiled and nodded: "The commander told me personally. Once the disarmament team finishes its work, it should be just in time for the conferment of ranks. At that time, I'll wear a new uniform and become a general." He looked down at his bare shoulders, his tone tinged with emotion, "After fighting for so many years, if I can be in time for the conferment of ranks, it will be a fitting reward for these past ten years."

Old Li picked up his wine glass and raised it to Liu Yuheng: "Then I must toast you. You fought your way all the way from Shanxi-Northwest, rising from a company-level staff officer to an army commander. You deserve that star."

Old Wu also picked up his glass: "Yes, this drink must be drunk."

Looking at his two old comrades-in-arms, Liu Yuheng felt a surge of warmth in his heart. He raised his glass and clinked it against theirs, the crisp sound echoing in the cozy office.