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

Liang Fangfang had calmed down a bit by this time and asked Director Li, "Director Li, can I take this newspaper home? I want to show it to my parents-in-law; they probably don't know about it yet."

Director Li immediately waved his hand: "Take it back, take it back! This is a joyous occasion, the whole family should see it." He then lowered his voice, with a familiar intimacy, "Comrade Fangfang, when you see the old leader again, don't forget to give him my regards."

Liang Fangfang nodded vigorously: "Yes, I will definitely bring it!"

Sister Zhang patted Liang Fangfang on the shoulder, her tone filled with genuine envy: "Fangfang, you are so lucky to have such a brother-in-law."

Surrounded by the crowd, Liang Fangfang clutched the newspaper in her hand, listening to everyone's praise and amazement. She couldn't suppress the pride and excitement in her heart.

She glanced down at Liu Yuheng's name on the newspaper again. The two characters "Lieutenant General" were printed neatly. She gently touched them with her fingers, then carefully folded the newspaper and put it flat into her cloth bag, afraid of wrinkling the corners.

Sister Wang, still sighing, asked again, "You said your brother-in-law just got married last month? How old is he? Why did it take him so long to get married?"

Liang Fangfang nodded, a hint of pride she herself didn't realize in her voice: "I'm thirty this year. I was always fighting before, so I didn't have time for personal matters. I was only transferred back to Beijing this year, and I got married through an introduction."

"Thirty years old!" Chen Li's voice involuntarily rose half an octave, her eyes widening. "Thirty years old and already a lieutenant general? That's incredibly impressive..."

Zhao Fang leaned closer and whispered, "If she married him, wouldn't she be a general's wife? Why would she need to stand at the counter here..."

Hearing this, Sister Zhang smiled and patted Zhao Fang on the shoulder, saying in a tone of an elder, "Stop dreaming. The general's wife is a member of the Women's Federation, and she's a college graduate. You two should just stick to your jobs at the counter."

Chen Li and Zhao Fang exchanged a glance, stuck out their tongues, and although they didn't say anything more, their eyes couldn't help but glance at Liang Fangfang's cloth bag, their envy and longing impossible to hide. Seeing their expressions, Liang Fangfang felt even happier.

Around 5 p.m., the sun was already setting in the west. Liang Fangfang was standing behind the bicycle and radio counter, filing the registration form for a bicycle sold that day, and then wiping the dust off the counter with a rag.

Liu Erhe appeared at the door on time. He stood at the door and glanced inside. Seeing that Liang Fangfang was still behind the counter, he habitually leaned against the door frame and waited, without rushing in to urge her.

But today was different from usual. As soon as he stood still, he saw the eyes of several sales clerks in the supply and marketing cooperative all falling on him, with an enthusiasm that was completely different from usual.

Sister Zhang smiled at him, her smile lines deepening to the corners of her eyes, and her voice was half an octave higher than usual: "Erhe's here? Here to pick up his wife?"

Sister Wang also put down her work, nodded to him, and her expression was much warmer than usual. Chen Li and Zhao Fang stood behind the counter, their eyes unconsciously following Liu Erhe's back. Their previous impression of Liang Fangfang's husband was that of an ordinary steel rolling worker, who would occasionally come to pick people up, covered in dust, and always seemed somewhat out of place standing at the entrance of the supply and marketing cooperative.

But today was different. Liu Erhe was still wearing the same work clothes, and his forehead was still covered in that layer of grime that he couldn't wash off. But in their eyes, his outfit suddenly didn't look shabby anymore.

Liu Erhe was a little confused, wondering why everyone at the supply and marketing cooperative seemed to have changed their expressions today. He subconsciously looked down at his work clothes, then touched his face to make sure nothing was wrong, before nodding to everyone in bewilderment as a response.

Sister Zhang walked over to Liang Fangfang and whispered in her ear, "Fangfang, you go home first. I'll take care of the rest. I guess you're eager to go home and tell your family the good news. I'll cover for you for a while, no rush."

Liang Fangfang glanced at her gratefully, did not refuse, slung her cloth bag over her shoulder, said "Thank you, Sister Zhang" to Sister Zhang, greeted Sister Wang, Chen Li, and Zhao Fang, and then walked quickly to the door, pulling Liu Erhe out.

Liu Erhe stumbled slightly as she pulled him along: "Hey, what's wrong? Why are you in such a hurry?"

Liang Fangfang did not answer, but her face showed an irrepressible smile, and her pace was much faster than usual.

Liu Erhe could only quicken his pace to catch up with her. The two walked side by side out of the supply and marketing cooperative and headed towards Nanluoguxiang along the evening street.

After walking a short distance, Liang Fangfang suddenly laughed for no reason, then laughed again, as if she had some great joy in her heart that she couldn't hold back from bursting out.

Liu Erhe turned his head to look at her several times, and finally couldn't help but ask, "Fangfang, what's wrong with you today? Is there some happy news? You look so happy."

Liang Fangfang glanced at him, her smile deepening, but deliberately kept him in suspense: "Great news! Huge news! We'll talk about it when we get home. You'll know when we get there."

As she spoke, she quickened her pace. Although Liu Erhe was full of doubts, seeing her happy expression, he felt happy too and didn't ask any more questions. He just quickened his pace to keep up with her.

As the two walked into courtyard number 95 one after the other, it was the bustling time before dinner. Several middle-aged women were squatting at their doorways picking vegetables, a few children were chasing balls around the yard, and Yan Bugui was sitting on a stone stool in front of his house, slowly sipping his tea.

When he saw Liu Erhe and Liang Fangfang return, he looked up and greeted them as usual: "Erhe, Fangfang, you're back? You got off work early today."

Just as Liu Erhe was about to respond, Liang Fangfang tugged at his sleeve and whispered, "Hurry up, hurry up," then practically dragged him across the front yard and pushed open the door to the east wing. Yan Bugui watched their retreating figures, scratching his head in confusion, but didn't think much of it and continued drinking his tea.

In the east wing, Liu Shuanzhu was sitting in front of the stove adding firewood, the water in the pot bubbling and steaming. Wang Xiuhe was chopping something on the cutting board, the knife making a series of sharp, rhythmic sounds. Liu Tingting was playing with Liu Yixuan.

As soon as Liang Fangfang entered the room, she placed the cloth bag on the table, then turned around to face everyone in the room. She took a deep breath, her expression a mixture of solemnity and excitement: "Dad, Mom, Tingting, Erhe, I have some great news to tell you!"