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

Seeing her expectant look, Liu Yuheng couldn't help but laugh: "I'm going on a business trip, not shopping. How could I have time to bring you a gift? I'll take you shopping when I'm done with this busy period and have some time off."

Upon hearing this, Liu Tingting perked up, jumped up, grabbed Liu Yuheng's arm, and shook it twice: "Then you have to keep your word! I'll remember that! If you forget later, I won't acknowledge you as my brother anymore!"

Liu Yuheng laughed and flicked her forehead: "I can't forget it."

Wang Xiuhe arrived at this moment and asked Liu Yuheng, "Have you eaten? Are you hungry?"

Liu Yuheng shook his head: "Not yet. I just came out after reporting to the Central Military Commission, and I haven't even had a hot meal yet."

Upon hearing this, Wang Xiuhe frowned with heartache and turned to Liu Shuanzhu, saying, "His father, quickly get him something to eat! Roll out some noodles, quick!"

Without saying a word, Liu Shuanzhu put down the bowl of water in his hand, rolled up his sleeves, and went to knead the dough.

Wang Xiuhe sat down next to Liu Yuheng, glanced at him a few times, and reached out to touch his arm. "You've lost weight. You must not have eaten properly while on your business trip." She paused for a moment, then asked the question Liu Yuheng always asked when he came back, "You're not leaving again this time, right?"

Liu Yuheng nodded solemnly: "I'm not leaving. I'll be working in the capital from now on."

Upon hearing this, Wang Xiuhe's expression immediately relaxed, and she couldn't suppress a smile: "That's good, that's good."

Liu Tingting was finally satisfied. She sat down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), leaned against Liu Yuheng, and asked him a bunch of questions: Was the Northeast fun? Was the train ride tiring? Did he encounter anything interesting?

While answering her questions, Liu Yuheng took the hot towel that Wang Xiuhe handed him and wiped his face.

Then, as if suddenly remembering something, Wang Xiuhe stood up, walked to the cabinet, opened the door, and took out several neatly folded quilts. The quilt covers were bright red, embroidered with mandarin ducks and the character for "happiness," with dense stitches, clearly showing that a lot of thought had been put into them.

She turned around and placed the quilt on the kang (a heated brick bed), patting it down: "Look, I asked the people in the courtyard to help me make all of this recently. The wedding quilt, pillowcases, and sheets are all prepared for you. Take them to your place tomorrow and put them away for the wedding."

Liu Yuheng reached out and touched the quilt cover. The fabric was thick and the workmanship was exquisite. He could still faintly smell the scent of new cotton. He nodded and said, "Mother, thank you for your hard work."

Wang Xiuhe waved her hand: "What's the trouble? I'm happy to have prepared this for you."

Liu Yuheng thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll go to the Yao family tomorrow and discuss the specific date for the wedding with Qingwan."

Upon hearing this, Wang Xiuhe's eyes lit up: "Then we should go. You should talk to the girl and make it clear that she can't be kept waiting too long." She paused, then asked, "So, when do you plan to set the date?"

Liu Yuheng thought for a moment: "It's already August. I'm wondering if we should hold it in October?"

Wang Xiuhe was taken aback: "October? There are still two months left! Old Sun's son in the next courtyard got married less than a week after meeting his daughter. You've already been engaged for so long, and then you were delayed for several months because of business trips, why are you going to postpone it for another two months?"

Liu Yuheng smiled and said, "The ranks will be awarded next month."

The room fell silent for a moment after those words were spoken.

Several people looked over at the same time. Liu Erhe was the first to react, putting down what he was holding: "Brother, is it the awarding of ranks that the newspaper mentioned? It's going to happen next month?"

Liu Yuheng nodded.

Liu Erhe then asked, "What rank will you be awarded this time? Will you be a general?"

Liu Yuheng glanced at him, somewhat surprised: "You know quite a lot."

Liu Erhe scratched his head and chuckled twice: "It's just that you might participate, otherwise I would just be watching the fun."

He said that, but he had discussed this matter quite a bit with Liang Fangfang and his father-in-law Liang Cheng, and of course they hoped that Liu Yuheng's military rank would be as high as possible.

Liu Yuheng thought for a moment, picked up a cornbread from the table, took a bite, and said after chewing it, "The initial list of conferment ranks has been released. There may be some minor adjustments in the next two months, but it will be largely the same."

Liu Tingting couldn't wait any longer: "Brother! Stop keeping me in suspense! What military rank are you going to be awarded this time?"

Liu Yuheng smiled and said, "Two stars, administrative level seven."

Liu Erhe and Liu Tingting exclaimed in surprise at the same time.

Wang Xiuhe looked at Liu Erhe, then at Liu Yuheng: "What rank is two stars?"

Liu Erhe thought for a moment: "Our steel rolling mill's director is only at administrative level 14... Brother, you're seven levels higher than the director."

Wang Xiuhe exclaimed, "Ah! Bigger than the factory director?"

Liu Yuheng smiled and said, "A little bigger."

Liu Erhe and Liu Tingting were grinning from ear to ear, Wang Xiuhe's face was beaming, and Liu Shuanzhu even stopped kneading the dough, muttering, "Bringing glory to our ancestors, bringing glory to our ancestors..."

Looking at the family's expressions, Liu Yuheng smiled and shook his head: "Alright, don't tell anyone yet. It's not officially settled yet."

Several people nodded at the same time, memorizing the number.

After a few more casual words, Liu Shuanzhu had already quickly brought out the noodles. A large bowl of steaming hot hand-pulled noodles, with clear broth and white noodles, sprinkled with bright green scallions, and topped with a golden, translucent poached egg—clearly a dish made with care.

Liu Yuheng looked down at the bowl of noodles, then looked up at Liu Shuanzhu. Without saying anything polite, he simply picked up his chopsticks and took a bite.

He ate a few bites, then took a small bowl, picked out the poached egg, and handed it to Liu Yixuan: "Yixuan, come on, have an egg."

Liu Yixuan was already four years old. Sitting next to Liang Fangfang, he heard Liu Yuheng call him, looked up at the bowl of eggs, then at Liu Yuheng, and said in a childish voice, "Uncle, eat."

Liu Yuheng smiled: "Uncle is full after eating noodles, here's the egg."

Liu Yixuan looked at Liang Fangfang, who nodded. He then took the small bowl, picked up his chopsticks, and took a bite of an egg. He chewed it noisily, his cheeks bulging, his face covered in egg yolk crumbs.

Liu Yuheng finished his noodles in a few bites, even drinking the soup clean. He put down his bowl, stood up, and put on his coat. "Alright, I'm done eating. It's getting late, I'll head back to the small building first."

Wang Xiuhe quickly took the wedding quilts out of the cabinet, folded them neatly, and stuffed them into Liu Yuheng's hands: "Take them back and put them away properly, don't get them dirty, and put them on when you get married."

Liu Yuheng took the quilt, hugged it to his arms, glanced at the people in the room, nodded, and turned to leave.

Wang Xiuhe stood at the door, watching his figure disappear into the night, before slowly closing the door.

Liu Yuheng put the blanket in the back seat and started the car.