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

The door opened, and Yao Qingwan stood in the doorway. She saw He Yuzhu, sized him up, and then stepped aside to let him in: "Are you Master He? Please come in."

He Yuzhu quickly called out "Sister-in-law," his voice tinged with a hint of restraint.

Yao Qingwan naturally led him through the living room towards the kitchen, casually asking as they walked, "How old is Chef He this year?"

He Yuzhu scratched the back of his head: "I'm twenty this year."

Yao Qingwan paused for a moment, glanced back at him, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes, but she quickly regained her composure, nodded, and said nothing more.

She couldn't help but mutter to herself: Twenty years old? He looks like he's thirty. He even looks older than Liu Yuheng, who is thirty. However, she didn't show it on her face. She pushed open the kitchen door and stepped aside to let He Yuzhu in: "Yuheng and the others will probably be back around five o'clock. Just keep track of the time and cook. The ingredients are all piled up next to the stove. Let me know if you need anything."

The kitchen was more spacious than He Yuzhu had imagined. The stove was clean and tidy, and pots, pans, and utensils were all available. Several cloth bags were piled up next to the stove, containing fresh vegetables, meat, fish, and some dried goods. There were also two bottles of soy sauce, a bottle of vinegar, and a small jar of lard next to them. The kitchen was quite well prepared.

He Yuzhu walked over and looked through it, getting a sense of what was going on. Just as he was about to tie on his apron and start working, Yao Qingwan took out a pack of cigarettes from her pocket and handed it to him: "Take this pack of cigarettes and smoke it. Yu Heng told you not to be shy."

He Yuzhu quickly waved his hand: "Sister-in-law, no need, no need, I brought my own cigarettes."

Without a word, Yao Qingwan shoved the cigarette into his hand: "Take it, he prepared it especially for you. You've been busy all afternoon, have a smoke to relax."

He Yuzhu couldn't refuse, so he accepted it and put it in his shirt pocket, feeling even more favorably disposed towards Liu Yuheng and his wife. He didn't waste any more time, tied on his apron, and began washing and chopping vegetables, and preparing the fish and chicken.

Around four o'clock in the afternoon, Liu Yuheng returned first. When he pushed open the door, he still carried the slight chill of the autumn breeze. Yao Qingwan was tidying up the coffee table in the living room. Seeing him come in, she looked behind him and asked, "Where are your old comrades? Why are you alone?"

Liu Yuheng sat down on the sofa, picked up the tea Yao Qingwan had poured, and took a sip. "They'll be here soon. They're probably already on their way. The Military Academy arranged the transportation. They need to check into the Central Military Commission's guesthouse first before they can come over." He put down his teacup and glanced towards the kitchen. "Has He Yuzhu arrived yet?"

"He's here, busy in the kitchen. I offered him a pack of cigarettes, but he hesitated for a while before finally accepting it." Yao Qingwan sat down next to him.

Liu Yuheng nodded, stood up, and walked to the kitchen doorway. He Yuzhu was busy at the stove with his back to him; steam was rising from the pot, and the aroma was already spreading throughout the house.

He knocked on the door frame, and He Yuzhu turned around. Seeing that it was Liu Yuheng, he grinned and said, "Brother Liu is back? Don't worry, the ingredients are all prepared and we can start cooking right away."

Liu Yuheng glanced at the ingredients laid out on the stove and nodded: "Is anything missing? If anything is missing, I'll have someone go and buy it."

"Nothing's missing, nothing's missing. My sister-in-law has prepared everything perfectly, she has everything."

Liu Yuheng glanced again at the plates of already chopped vegetables; the knife work was skillful, and the vegetables were neatly arranged, clearly the work of a seasoned cook. He didn't say anything more and turned back to the living room.

About ten minutes later, the sound of a car engine shutting off came from the doorway, followed by the sound of a car door opening and closing, and several loud, cheerful voices.

Liu Yuheng stood up, and Yao Qingwan also stood up. The two walked to the door and saw Li Yunlong, Kong Jie, and Ding Wei getting out of a grass-green jeep.

As soon as Li Yunlong saw Liu Yuheng standing at the door, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Old Liu! I'm here! Is the wine ready?"

Liu Yuheng greeted them with a smile, first shaking hands with Li Yunlong, then greeting Kong Jie and Ding Wei separately: "Everything is ready, Fenjiu and sweet potato liquor are all available, plenty. You three must be tired from your journey, come in quickly."

The three people entered the room, and their gazes naturally fell on Yao Qingwan, who was standing behind Liu Yuheng.

Li Yunlong sized her up, then glanced at Liu Yuheng, clicked his tongue twice, and said to Yao Qingwan, "Sister-in-law, how did that bastard Liu manage to fool you? You're really wasting your breath on a beautiful flower stuck in cow dung. Look at him, what can he do besides fight?"

Liu Yuheng chimed in from the side, "Old Li, it's been a few days, and you've really improved your manners! You can even say something like 'a beautiful flower stuck in cow dung' now. What's this? You've been going to all the dances at the academy? I'll have to talk to the head teacher about this and have him keep an eye on you."

Li Yunlong's face immediately changed, and he glared at Liu Yuheng, pointing at him: "Don't talk nonsense! I'm a good kid at school, don't you dare try to trick me!"

Kong Jie and Ding Wei, who were standing next to him, were already laughing so hard they were doubled over.

Kong Jie patted Li Yunlong on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Old Li, didn't you ask for this? You were being cheeky as soon as you walked in. You deserved to be caught by Old Liu."

Ding Wei chimed in, "That's right, that's right. When will you ever be able to shut your mouth? The sun will rise in the west then."

The four of them entered the living room, chatting and laughing. Liu Yuheng gestured for the three to sit on the sofa, and Yao Qingwan went to pour tea and bring it over. Li

Yunlong sat down on the sofa, looked around, and scanned the clean and tidy living room. He couldn't help but say, "Old Liu, you live in a really nice place. A two-story house, much better than mine."

Kong Jie nodded in agreement, his gaze falling on the calligraphy and painting that read "A Hundred Years of Harmony," and after a moment, he asked, "This calligraphy is quite good. Who wrote it?"

"It was given to me by Zhao Gang."

"That kid Lao Zhao is something else now," Ding Wei chimed in from the side. "Deputy Minister of the Electrical Engineering Department, that's a high-ranking position. While we're still studying in college, he's already a ministerial-level cadre."

Li Yunlong scoffed, crossed his legs, and leaned back on the sofa: "That's right! Don't you all know who Old Zhao's political commissar is? How could someone working with me be anything less than excellent?"

As soon as he said that, Kong Jie couldn't help but spit out the tea in his mouth with a "pfft," choking and coughing.

Ding Wei laughed out loud, pointing at Li Yunlong and saying, "Old Li, you're really getting better and better at patting yourself on the back. Old Zhao has real skills, what does that have to do with you?"

After coughing, Kong Jie wiped his mouth and chimed in, "Exactly. If it weren't for you, Lao Li, causing trouble all the time, Lao Zhao might have been promoted long ago. Think about it, when Zhao Gang was in Shanxi, how many messes did he clean up for you? When you caused trouble, he cleaned up after you; when you made mistakes, he wrote your self-criticisms. He got promoted based on his own ability, what does it have to do with you?"