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

Several people in the room looked up at the same time.

Liu Tingting's eyes lit up: "What good news?"

Liu Shuanzhu and Wang Xiuhe were stunned for a moment, then looked at Liang Fangfang and then at Liu Erhe.

Liu Erhe stood to the side and shrugged: "I don't know either. She was being very secretive the whole way and wouldn't tell me anything."

Liu Shuanzhu put down the firewood in his hand, and Wang Xiuhe also stopped wielding her knife. The two of them looked at Liang Fangfang, waiting for her to reveal the answer.

Liang Fangfang then carefully took the newspaper out of her cloth bag and laid it flat on the table. She spread it out, pointed to the entire page filled with names and photos of those receiving ranks, and looked up at everyone: "My eldest brother has been awarded a rank! It's in today's newspaper!"

Liu Tingting reacted the fastest, jumping off the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) in a flash. Before she could even put on her shoes properly, she rushed to the table, grabbed the newspaper, and leaned in to read it.

Her gaze swept across the list of ranks in the newspaper, her finger sliding down the lines until it stopped near the end of the list of lieutenant generals. The three characters "Liu Yuheng" were printed there clearly. She exclaimed, "Ah!" and jerked her head up: "It's true! It's written there! Liu Yuheng—Lieutenant General!"

Liang Fangfang nodded beside her, then extended her index finger and moved it to the photo next to her, pointing to the middle of the back row: "Look, this is the eldest brother. The photo isn't very clear, but Director Li said it's him, and I think it looks like him too."

Liu Erhe leaned closer, squinting at the photo for a long time. Although the photo was so blurry that only a human outline could be seen, he still recognized it and nodded: "It's definitely Big Brother."

Wang Xiuhe couldn't understand the differences between those military ranks, and anxiously tugged at Liu Erhe's sleeve: "Erhe, just how high a rank is a lieutenant general? Is it higher than that seventh-rank officer that Yu Heng mentioned last time?"

Liu Erhe was momentarily speechless when asked the question. He scratched his head and, after a while, said, "Mother, think of it this way: a lieutenant general is a high-ranking officer, second only to a general. Our country is so big, there aren't many people who can be awarded the rank of lieutenant general. My elder brother's award of lieutenant general this time is basically the highest rank of general."

Wang Xiuhe blinked: "Then...isn't that much bigger than the factory manager of your steel rolling mill?"

Liu Erhe was both amused and exasperated: "Mother, a factory director can't be compared to a general. One manages the factory's production, while the other commands thousands of troops; they're not even in the same league. My elder brother's rank is far higher than our factory director's."

Liu Tingting flipped through the newspaper several times, then suddenly pointed to a passage in the middle of the article, her voice rising a half-octave with the excitement of discovering a huge secret: "Mom! Look what it says here! It says that yesterday, during the conferment of ranks, the director personally conferred the ranks on the generals!"

"Furthermore, it says here that the instructors were also present at the conferment ceremony! That means yesterday, my brother not only met the director, but also the instructors!"

A moment of silence fell over the room. The firewood stick in Wang Xiuhe's hand fell to the ground with a soft thud. Liu Shuanzhu also put down his cleaver, turned around, and a crack appeared on his usually composed face.

Wang Xiuhe opened her mouth, her voice trembling slightly: "Yuheng...did he see the instructor?"

Liu Tingting nodded vigorously, pointing to the passage in the newspaper: "It says it! It says the leader personally conferred ranks on the generals, the director presided over the ceremony, and the instructors attended and gave speeches! My brother must be sitting in the audience!"

Liu Shuanzhu sat in front of the stove, still clutching the firewood stick he hadn't put down: "Bringing honor to our ancestors... Our Liu family is truly blessed."

Wang Xiuhe's eyes reddened slightly. She wiped her hands on her apron and muttered, "That child Yuheng, such a big thing, and he didn't even come back to tell us. The rank was awarded yesterday, and it's already in the newspaper today, and we still don't know anything."

Liu Tingting looked up from the newspaper and waved it in her hand: "Mom, this newspaper says that after the conferment of ranks yesterday, all the generals had dinner with the director and other leaders, and also watched a song and dance drama. They were busy until very late. My older brother must be too tired. He has to go to work during the day today, so how could he have time to come back and report the news?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Xiuhe nodded, took the newspaper from Liu Tingting, laid it flat on the table, and bent down to look at it closely.

Although she couldn't read many words, seeing those densely packed lead characters and the figures in military uniforms in the photos filled her with an indescribable sense of security and pride.

Liang Fangfang stepped forward and pointed to Liu Yuheng's position in the photo: "Mom, look, this is my eldest brother."

Wang Xiuhe squinted and looked again. Although she couldn't see his facial features clearly, she saw the two blurry golden dots on Liu Yuheng's shoulder insignia and nodded vigorously: "Good, good. He looks really smart in this military uniform."

She straightened up, turned to Liu Shuanzhu and said, "Dad, after dinner, go find a frame and frame this newspaper. Something this important shouldn't just be folded up like this."

Liu Shuanzhu nodded: "Okay, after dinner I'll go to Old Sun's house in the backyard and ask. They used to frame paintings, so they should have frames."

Liu Tingting waved her hand hurriedly from the side: "Mom! If you want to frame photos, you should ask your older brother for two photos of him with the director and teachers! The photos in the newspaper are small and blurry, they won't look good when framed."

Wang Xiuhe thought about it and nodded, "You're right. I'll have to ask Yuheng for two more when he comes next time. But this newspaper also needs to be framed. Let's frame this one and hang it up first." As she spoke, she turned to Liu Shuanzhu, her tone carrying a rare sense of satisfaction, "Dad, you're in a good mood today, so cook some meat dishes and have Erhe have a drink with you. Our Liu family has such a big happy occasion, we should celebrate."

Liu Shuanzhu put down the firewood sticks in his hand, patted the ash off his hands, stood up and walked towards the stove: "Okay, I'll go cook it now."

Liu Erhe quickly said, "I'll go help! Dad, you sit down, I'll cook."

Liu Shuanzhu waved his hand: "Go sit down. You're doing less work today because you're benefiting from your brother's help." As he spoke, he tied on his apron, took out a piece of cured meat wrapped in oil paper from a jar in the corner, and picked up a few garlic sprouts, which he chopped deftly. Soon, the oil in the pan on the stove sizzled, and the aroma began to fill the room.

Everyone in the room was busy with their own things. Wang Xiuhe carefully laid the newspaper on the table and weighed down the corners with a book, afraid that it would curl up.

Liu Tingting lay down beside him, reading the part of the newspaper about awarding ranks over and over again, looking from the list to the photos, and then back to the list, as if she wanted to engrave every word into her brain.

Wang Xiuhe looked at the newspaper for a while, then suddenly said, "When Yuheng comes next time, I have to ask him about yesterday's events. Director... Yuheng was honored to have him personally confer the rank." As she spoke, she bent down and gently touched the blurry photo on the newspaper with her fingers, as if she were greeting her son across time and distance.

The twilight outside the window was gradually settling, while the light in the east wing shone warmly. The oil in the stove sizzled, and the aroma of cured meat filled the entire house, blending with the sounds of the family talking, laughing, and clinking chopsticks against bowls, creating a comforting and lively evening melody.

Wang Xiuhe picked up the newspaper again and held it up to the light. It was as if she could see Liu Yuheng standing in the brightly lit hall, wearing his brand-new general's uniform, with the golden stars on his epaulets shining brightly, through the printed words and the paper.

She nodded slowly, carefully folded the newspaper, and put it into the top drawer of the cabinet. Before closing the drawer, she took one last look at it.