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

Just as Li Yunlong was about to speak, Liu Yuheng suddenly remembered something, put down his manuscript, looked at Li Yunlong, and said with a hint of teasing, "By the way, I heard that you, Commander Li, have been getting quite close to a female teacher named Zhang Bailu lately?"

Li Yunlong's face changed instantly, and his voice rose eight octaves: "Who said that? Which bastard snitched on me!"

Just as Liu Yuheng was about to answer, the door was pushed open, and Kong Jie and Ding Wei walked in one after the other. Kong Jie walked in first, and as soon as he pushed the door open, he shouted inside, "Old Li, what are you shouting about? We could hear you clearly in the corridor."

Ding Wei followed behind and entered. He immediately spotted Liu Yuheng standing next to Li Yunlong and was taken aback. "Old Liu? What brings you here?"

Liu Yuheng waved to the two of them: "I've been transferred back to the capital. I came to see you before I left."

Kong Jie and Ding Wei walked over and sat down on the sofa, where they also saw the manuscript Liu Yuheng had just put down. Kong Jie glanced at it, then at Li Yunlong's angry expression: "What are you two doing? Are you arguing?"

Liu Yuheng waved his hand with a smile: "No, no. It's just that I mentioned his relationship with that female teacher Zhang Bailu to him, and he got angry."

Kong Jie and Ding Wei exchanged a glance, their expressions somewhat subtle. Kong Jie put down his teacup, looked at Li Yunlong, and said with a hint of seriousness, "Old Li, I have to say a few words to you about this. You're not single anymore; you have a wife and children. You should keep your distance from women and avoid any potential suspicions."

Ding Wei nodded in agreement: "That's right. You're a division commander now, it wouldn't sound good if this got out. You need to maintain the proper distance and not let people gossip."

Li Yunlong's face grew increasingly dark. He slammed his hand on the table, glaring at the table, "Get out! Get out! When did it become your place to lecture me? Zhang Bailu and I are just ordinary comrades. What do you all take me for? Besides, it's none of your business what you do!"

Seeing his expression, Liu Yuheng wasn't in a hurry. He slowly said, "Look at you, getting anxious again. Why are you so anxious if there's nothing wrong?"

Li Yunlong was speechless after being choked by his words. He opened his mouth, pointed at Liu Yuheng, then at Kong Jie and Ding Wei, and finally snorted, plopped back down in his chair, and stopped talking.

Seeing his frustrated expression, Liu Yuheng stopped teasing him and softened his tone: "Alright, that's all we can say. Just keep it to yourself."

Li Yunlong gave a muffled "hmm" and didn't argue further.

Seeing the atmosphere getting a bit awkward, Ding Wei quickly changed the subject: "Old Liu, where are you being transferred to this time in Beijing? Has it been decided yet?"

Liu Yuheng sat down on the armrest of the sofa and briefly recounted the information he knew: "I'll go help out at the Central Military Commission first; there's still some work to be done with the disarmament group. I ran into my superior officer at the door just now, and he said I might go to the Ministry of Heavy Industry to be in charge of the military industry."

"Military industry?" Kong Jie's eyes lit up immediately. "Then we'll have to come knocking on your door more often to beg for your resources. We can't keep good stuff to ourselves; we have to share some with our old brothers."

Ding Wei nodded in agreement: "Yes, yes, yes. Since you're in the military industry, you'll have to help out a lot with any new equipment our troops need in the future."

Li Yunlong had recovered by this time. He turned around, a smile returning to his face, his expression changing faster than flipping through a book: "That's right. With our relationship, you'd better get me a lot of tanks, rockets, and new rifles in the future."

Liu Yuheng looked at his fleeting smile and couldn't help but laugh: "Your face changes so quickly, you were just about to kick me out a moment ago."

Li Yunlong chuckled: "One thing at a time."

Everyone laughed. Liu Yuheng chatted with them for a while longer, talking about the troop reduction and the changes in the military over the past few years. Before they knew it, more than an hour had passed. Liu Yuheng glanced at his watch, stood up, and said, "Alright, it's about time we went. We need to catch our train soon."

Li Yunlong also stood up: "What's the rush? Let's eat before we leave. We're already here, it wouldn't be right not to have a couple of drinks."

Liu Yuheng waved his hand: "Forget it, next time. You guys have to come to the capital before the conferment of ranks, then I'll treat you all to a good drink."

Kong Jie and Ding Wei also stood up, and the three of them saw Liu Yuheng downstairs together.

Liu Yuheng walked to the jeep, glanced back at the three of them, and waved: "Let's go."

Li Yunlong and his two companions stood on the steps and waved to him.

Liu Yuheng got into the car, and the car slowly drove out of the college gate.

The driver took the car to the train station and stopped in the square in front of it. Liu Yuheng got out of the car with his luggage, turned around and said to the driver, "Thank you for your hard work, you can go back now."

The driver saluted, turned around, and drove away from the station square.

Liu Yuheng stood in the square in front of the station, looked up at the gray train station building, took a deep breath, then turned around and stepped into the waiting room.

The next day at noon, Liu Yuheng arrived in the capital.

He picked up his luggage and got off the train. As soon as he stepped out of the station exit, someone walked towards him.

The man, in his thirties and dressed in a clean military uniform, strode up to Liu Yuheng, stood at attention, and saluted: "Commander Liu? I'm here from the Central Military Commission to pick you up. The car is waiting outside."

Liu Yuheng nodded without speaking, followed him out of the station, and got into a black jeep. The car drove through the streets of Beijing, heading towards the Central Military Commission.

The car stopped at the gate of the Central Military Commission compound, and the sentry checked his identification before letting him through. Liu Yuheng got out of the car and went straight to the commander-in-chief's office. The door was ajar, he knocked twice, and a familiar voice called out "Come in" from inside, so he pushed the door open and went in.

The boss was sitting behind his desk, looking down at a document. Hearing the noise, he looked up and saw Liu Yuheng standing in the doorway. He put down the document and waved to him, "You've arrived? Have a seat."

Liu Yuheng sat down in the chair opposite the boss, his back ramrod straight.

"You should rest for two days first. The day after tomorrow, you will go down with the disarmament team to several military regions to inspect the disarmament situation on the ground. The political department will have someone to coordinate with you on the specific arrangements."

Liu Yuheng nodded: "Yes."

He stood up, ready to say goodbye and leave, but the boss waved his hand, gesturing for him to sit down. He sat back down, looked at the boss, and waited for him to speak.

The boss said slowly, "You just got back, and I bet the kitchen isn't even cooked yet. Don't go back to a cold house; go straight to your old brigade commander's place."

Liu Yuheng was taken aback: "Where is the old brigade commander?"

"Yes." The boss's tone was somewhat teasing. "Your old brigade commander even called me, telling me to tell you to go see him as soon as you get back. It's good to see him; it's not good for you to stay single like this."