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

The next morning, the Dongzhimen Supply and Marketing Cooperative had just opened, and there were still only a few pedestrians on the street.

The sales clerks behind the counter were chatting during their leisure time in the morning. Several older women were sitting behind the counter picking vegetables and knitting sweaters, while two young female sales clerks leaned against the shelves flipping through a magazine, occasionally letting out a soft laugh.

In the director's office, Director Li brewed a pot of tea, sat upright behind his desk, picked up the newspaper that had just been delivered, and prepared to read about the major events of the past two days. As he turned to the front page, his eyes were immediately drawn to the large headline across the entire page—"The First Conferment of Ranks and Medals Ceremony of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Was Held Solemnly in Beijing."

Below is a long report, the most eye-catching part being a full-page list of ranks. General, Lieutenant General, Major General—the names are neatly arranged in rows, the font dignified and upright, as if each character were typed in lead.

Director Li's gaze began to sweep down from the list of generals. He scanned the list of generals, each name a household name, but unfortunately, while he recognized the generals, they did not recognize him. He then looked down at the list of lieutenant generals, his gaze moving line by line, until it suddenly stopped on one name.

The name Liu Yuheng was neatly printed on the paper, near the end of the list of lieutenant generals. He sat up abruptly, took another closer look to make sure he wasn't mistaken, then let out a short "ho" and his lips parted uncontrollably, followed by a burst of laughter that echoed in the quiet office.

He read that section again, and after confirming it was correct, he slapped the table with both hands, a surge of relief welling up inside him. All his care for Liang Fangfang these past few days—the easy job, the lunch provided, the reminders to senior employees to look after her—it was all worthwhile! His efforts for the old leader's family hadn't been in vain.

Remembering something, he bent down and peered at the accompanying photos in the newspaper, squinting as he searched through them one by one. The photos weren't large, and the faces were densely packed, making it difficult to make out any specific figures. He held the newspaper up to his eyes and searched for a long time before finally spotting a blurry but familiar silhouette in the middle of the back row. Although the resolution was low and the face wasn't very clear, he instinctively knew it was Liu Yuheng.

He couldn't help but grin twice more, picked up the newspaper, carefully folded it, tucked it under his arm, and pushed open the office door to leave.

Outside at the counter, Liang Fangfang was standing behind the bicycle and radio counter, chatting with Sister Zhang and Sister Wang. Two young female sales clerks, Chen Li and Zhao Fang, were also listening nearby. They were hearing Liang Fangfang talk about how her son, Yixuan, had learned a new children's song the day before yesterday, and the group was laughing and saying that she should bring Yixuan to the supply and marketing cooperative to show everyone.

Suddenly, a hearty laugh came from the direction of the director's office, clearly audible across the corridor and the shelves, as if something incredibly good had happened.

The group stopped at the same time, looking at each other.

Chen Li tilted her head, glanced towards the office, and asked in a low voice, "Director Li, what's wrong? Is there some happy occasion at home?"

Sister Zhang and Sister Wang exchanged a glance and both shook their heads. Sister Zhang put down her knitting needles, thought for a moment, and said, "I haven't heard anything. Director Li's child is only four or five years old, what kind of happy event could there be?"

Sister Wang held her teacup, pondered for a moment, and then her eyes lit up: "Could it be that Director Li's wife is pregnant again? Director Li has always wanted a daughter, and last time he even said he wanted to respond to the national call."

When she said that, the others nodded in agreement.

Chen Li clapped her hands: "I think it's possible! Otherwise, why would Director Li be smiling so happily?"

Zhao Fang chimed in, "Yes, yes, that must be it. Besides childbirth, what else could make Director Li so happy?"

The group exchanged glances and nodded to each other, agreeing that their guess was pretty much right. Just as they were about to continue gossiping about how many tables Director Li would have to host after the birth of his second child, the office door opened, and Director Li walked out with a big smile, holding a newspaper in his hand.

Director Li walked straight up to Liang Fangfang and beckoned to her with a friendly smile: "Comrade Fangfang, come here for a moment."

Liang Fangfang was taken aback, wondering why Director Li had suddenly addressed her so formally. She put down the rag in her hand, stepped out from behind the counter, and took two steps closer: "Director Li, what is it?"

Several people nearby, seeing this, curiously gathered around.

Director Li didn't say much. He spread the newspaper he was holding on the counter, then pointed to the center of the award section: "Look at this! Look!"

Liang Fangfang followed his finger and looked over. The first thing she saw was that long string of names. She didn't know many characters, but she recognized the three characters "Liu Yuheng". When her gaze fell on that name, she felt as if she had been nailed to the spot.

Director Li moved his finger to the photo next to him and pointed to the middle of the back row: "Look over here, isn't that the old commander?"

Liang Fangfang leaned closer to examine the photo more closely. Although it was blurry, the appearance was exactly like Liu Yuheng's. She then looked down at the word "Lieutenant General" next to the name and couldn't help but exclaim "Ah!" before covering her mouth, speechless for a moment.

The people nearby were completely bewildered. Sister Zhang leaned over, looked at the names and photos in the newspaper, and then, somewhat confused, looked at Director Li, then at Liang Fangfang: "Director, Fangfang, what's wrong with you? What's in this newspaper?"

Liang Fangfang's face flushed with excitement. She pointed to the blurry figure in the photo, then to the name next to it, her voice trembling, "This is my brother-in-law! My husband's older brother! He... he was awarded a rank! He's a lieutenant general!"

Sister Zhang nearly dropped the knitting needles in her hand. Sister Wang, who was next to her, also came over, pulled the newspaper close to her face, and looked at Liang Fangfang with a shocked expression: "Your brother-in-law is a general?"

Chen Li and Zhao Fang squeezed in as well. The two young women stared wide-eyed at the photo in the newspaper, then at Liang Fangfang, as if trying to confirm that this girl, who usually wore a blue apron and sat behind the counter selling things, was indeed a family member of the general in the photo.

When Liang Fangfang told everyone that her husband's brother was a comrade-in-arms of Director Li, everyone guessed that he was just a battalion commander or regimental commander, or at most a division-level cadre. No one expected that he was actually a general, and a lieutenant general at that.

Sister Wang gasped, muttering, "A lieutenant general! That's a big shot. Our Dongzhimen Supply and Marketing Cooperative has produced someone with connections to a general."