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

Director Li gestured for the two to sit on the wooden chairs, then went behind his desk, opened a drawer, took out a form and a pen, placed them on the table, and pushed them towards Liang Fangfang, saying, "Comrade Liang Fangfang, please fill out this form first. Just fill in your name, age, address, and any medical history, etc."

Liang Fangfang took the form, looked down at it carefully, and then filled it in stroke by stroke with her pen.

Director Li turned to Liu Erhe, lowering his tone slightly, with a casualness usually reserved for acquaintances: "The old regimental commander told me on the phone last night that his sister-in-law is pregnant and asked me to arrange an easier job for her. I've thought about it, and there are a few positions in the sales team, like standing behind a counter selling fabrics, oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar. They're busy with people coming and going all day long, so they're not really suitable."

"The job that's in charge of bicycles and radios isn't very busy, so there aren't many customers. It's not tiring; people just come in occasionally to ask about prices. I think it would be a good fit for my sister-in-law."

Upon hearing this, Liu Erhe felt a weight lifted from his heart and nodded repeatedly, "Director Li, thank you so much! This arrangement is wonderful. My wife is newly pregnant, and I'm worried about her working too hard."

Director Li waved his hand, his tone serious: "Why are you being so polite with me? That year in northwestern Shanxi, if it weren't for the old regimental commander leading his men to drag me out of the Japanese encirclement, I would have lost my life on the battlefield long ago. Let alone arranging an easy job, even if it's a big deal, as long as the old regimental commander speaks up, I, Li, will never say a word."

After saying this, he turned to Liang Fangfang, who was filling out a form: "Sister-in-law, if you need anything later, whether it's work or life, just tell me. Once we're at the supply and marketing cooperative, I'll be your elder brother, so don't stand on ceremony."

Liang Fangfang looked up at him, then at Liu Erhe beside her, and nodded: "Thank you, Director Li."

"Don't call me Director Li, just call me Brother Li." Director Li chuckled twice, pointed to the form on the table, and said, "Have you filled it out yet? If you have, bring it over for me to stamp."

Liang Fangfang handed over the completed form. Director Li took it, glanced at it, and confirmed that there were no problems. He took out the official seal from the drawer, stamped it neatly in the lower right corner with a red stamp, then picked up a pen and signed his name next to it. He then put the form into the filing cabinet and gave Liang Fangfang a registration form.

After he finished doing all this, he handed the registration form to Liang Fangfang and glanced at the clock on the wall: "You can start working now. Do you want to start today, or go home and rest first, and come back in a couple of days? There's no rush, you can come whenever you want."

Liang Fangfang took the registration form, glanced at Liu Erhe, and then said, "I'll just go straight to work today, since I'm just idling at home anyway. Erhe, you can go home first, and come pick me up after get off work tonight."

Liu Erhe hesitated for a moment, but seeing that she had already made up her mind, he ultimately didn't say anything more and nodded: "Okay, I'll pick you up after work. If you feel tired, just tell Director Li, don't push yourself."

"Okay, you can go now."

Liu Erhe thanked Director Li again, then turned and left the office.

"Come on, let me introduce you to some of the comrades here."

Director Li led Liang Fangfang through the shelves to the sales area. Several brand-new bicycles were placed against the wall, their frames gleaming in the morning light. Next to them, a glass cabinet displayed several radios, their square wooden cases and gleaming knobs.

Two women wearing blue aprons were chatting behind the counter. When they saw Director Li arrive with his entourage, they stopped talking and their curious gazes fell on Liang Fangfang.

Director Li stepped forward and beckoned to the two women, "Sister Zhang, Sister Wang, come here for a moment." When they approached, he turned to Liang Fangfang and said, "This is our new colleague, Liang Fangfang. She will be in charge of bicycles and radios from now on. Please take good care of her, as she is newly pregnant and not feeling well."

Old Zhang was a woman in her forties with a round face and a kind smile. She looked Liang Fangfang up and down and said, "Don't worry, Director, we'll definitely take good care of her." Sister Wang was a little older, with gray hair. She smiled and nodded, but her gaze lingered on Liang Fangfang for a moment, as if she were assessing something.

Director Li then said, "Comrade Liang Fangfang has never worked in a supply and marketing cooperative before. You two should mentor her and teach her anything she doesn't understand." After saying that, he turned to Liang Fangfang and said, "You should get to know them and familiarize yourself with the environment first. If you don't understand anything, just ask them. I still have a few documents to process."

Liang Fangfang nodded quickly: "Director Li, please go ahead and do your work. I can manage on my own."

Director Li turned and went back to his office. The sound of his footsteps receding into the corridor followed by the soft click of the office door closing.

There was a few seconds of silence in front of the counter. Sister Zhang spoke first, her face beaming with a warm smile: "Comrade Liang, are you related to Director Li? Judging from the tone he used just now, he was so considerate. We long-time employees have never seen Director Li so attentive to anyone before."

Liang Fangfang shook her head, her tone calm: "They're not relatives. My husband's older brother and Director Li are old comrades-in-arms; they met on the battlefield."

"Oh—" Sister Zhang drawled, exchanging a glance with Sister Wang. Both of them had a look of sudden realization on their faces. "No wonder. So she's the sister-in-law of an old comrade-in-arms. Director Li will definitely have to take good care of her."

Sister Wang chimed in, her tone tinged with a hint of probing: "Is your husband's older brother also in the army? Is he still serving?"

Liang Fangfang nodded: "Yes, he is. But I don't know exactly what he does, and I don't have much contact with my husband's older brother."

Old Zhang said "Oh" and didn't ask any further questions, but his gaze towards Liang Fangfang was noticeably more polite.

"The work here isn't actually tiring. It's just that when people come to look at bicycles, you explain the prices and models to them, and the same goes for radios. When there aren't many people around, you can sit and rest for a while; you don't have to stand all the time."

Liang Fangfang walked over to the bicycles and looked at them. The frames were gleaming, and the chains were coated with anti-rust oil, shimmering darkly in the morning light. The radios next to them had smooth, flat casings, and the knobs made a slight clicking sound when turned.

She stood behind the counter, watching the growing crowd outside, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled.