A courtyard house; Li Yunlong, a subordinate of the deputy director of Harbin Military Engineering I

Meanwhile, in a courtyard in a hutong in Dongcheng District, Li Yunlong squatted at the door and began to lament his situation. He even suspected that there was something wrong with his body. How could he be so weak after only a year in the government?

"Damn it!!"

Looking down at my crotch, I wanted to punch it to death. I finally had a day off, and what a mess! I ejaculated three times in one go! I'm so angry!

This courtyard belongs to his father-in-law.

Before going to North Korea, Tian Yu was sent back to Beiping. Zhang Renfeng arranged for her to help Zhang Xiyue. Later, after Zhang Xiyue gave birth, she went to work at the Heavy Industry Bureau, and Tian Yu naturally became a nurse at the Heavy Industry Bureau's health clinic.

It's so great to be a high-ranking official! Getting a job assigned to you is as easy as playing around!

Tian Yu came out, wearing a clean blue cotton jacket, her hair tied in a bun at the back of her head. She bent down and patted Li Yunlong on the shoulder, her tone carrying a hint of teasing from someone with experience:

"Old Li, I'm going to work. There's breakfast in the stove, so eat it yourself. I'm leaving now."

Li Yunlong squatted on the threshold, watching her slender figure disappear into the courtyard gate, feeling extremely frustrated.

He looked down at his crotch again, and his face turned green.

My wife is so beautiful, and I'm making a fool of myself on the bed. I'm so ashamed I can't even show my face to anyone.

He stood up, shook his legs which had gone numb from squatting, went into the house, took out the hardcover notebook he always carried with him, turned to a new page, thought for a moment while biting the pen cap, and then wrote a line of words in a flamboyant style.

[I'm in a terrible state. I was defeated early several times last night. They say the brave win when paths cross, but damn it, I couldn't even draw my sword. But anyway, I'm not worse than Old Chen, right? Compared to those deadbeat bachelors like Kong Jie, Ding Wei, and Zhao Gang, I, Old Li, have won by a huge margin!]

After finishing writing, he glanced at the line again, and the more he looked, the more it stung his heart. He simply closed the notebook, stuffed it into his pocket, and left the house cursing.

He planned to go to the Temple of Heaven training ground to pick a fight with Duan Peng and his gang. He had nowhere to vent his anger, and he wouldn't feel comfortable unless he cursed them out.

Just as I stepped out of the alley, I heard familiar footsteps behind me, followed by a hoarse voice—"Hey, Old Li!"

Li Yunlong turned around and saw Kong Jie walking towards him with a smile, a pipe in his mouth and his hands tucked into his sleeves.

This guy is still single, living in a guesthouse with Zhao Gang, leading a very simple and plain life.

But today he seemed to be in good spirits, walking with a brisk pace, and the smile on his lips was impossible to suppress.

Upon seeing his old comrade-in-arms, Li Yunlong immediately swallowed his earlier grievances, straightened his back, adopted a more assertive posture, and stood at the alley entrance with his hands on his hips, waiting for Kong Jie to approach.

Kong Jie walked up to him, looked him up and down, tapped him with his pipe, and said with a smile:

"They say rain after a long drought, but Old Li, you must have had a real battle going on last night, right?"

Upon hearing this, Li Yunlong's smile froze for half a second, then he snorted, stiffened his neck, and replied in an affected tone:

"What do you know, you idiot Kong Erlengzi? At your age, you've probably never even held a woman's hand, have you?"

That's how men are; they can back down on other things, but they'd rather die than admit it on something like this.

Provoked by his words, Kong Jie immediately wiped the smile off his face, took the pipe out of his mouth, tapped it on the sole of his shoe, and glared at him:

"Old Li, don't be so unreasonable. Let me tell you, I just don't want to waste my time on romance. If I, Kong Jie, had that kind of mindset, I'm telling you, women would line up from your courtyard all the way to Dongzhimen."

Li Yunlong stared at his boastful face and laughed so hard he slapped his thigh: "Aren't you afraid of blowing your own horn too far and hurting your back? Hey, after we two achieved success, I always felt like something was missing."

Upon hearing this, Kong Jie dropped his playful grin and slapped his thigh:

"You know what, I feel a bit empty too. If that idiot Ding Wei knew we'd achieved great things in Korea, annihilating the entire American force, wouldn't he be kicking himself?"

Li Yunlong grinned, "Yeah! I just think that without Ding Wei here to highlight our awesomeness at this moment of triumph, it won't be as impressive. Do you have any news about him?"

Kong Jie shook his head, put the pipe back in his mouth, and said indistinctly:

"No. The first day I returned from North Korea, I asked their deputy commander, and he said the man went to Nanjing."

Upon hearing the words "Jinling," Li Yunlong's eyes lit up instantly, and he rubbed his palms together, unable to suppress the smile on his face.

"Hey, I used to think that going to military academy for further studies was pointless, but now I'm actually a little impatient."

No, I need to get the troops through the training quickly, then head to Nanjing and find that kid.

"Let him know what kind of influence he, Brother Li, and Brother Kong hold now!"

Kong Jie chuckled, and the two hit it off immediately, walking side by side out of the alley.

After walking a few steps, Kong Jie suddenly stopped, took out the notebook that had been with him for several years from his pocket, leaned against the wall, turned to a new page, bit the pen cap, looked at Li Yunlong, and his expression was a little smug and a little showing off.

[The weather is fantastic today. Old Li and I chatted about our long-standing issues, and I finally figured out why I couldn't sleep last night! What a relief!! If Ding Wei were here, he would have made him lose face completely. That bastard thinks he's cultured, but hey, I, Old Kong Li, am no longer the ignorant fool I once was. Damn, I keep forgetting that character, but the meaning is enough.]

Li Yunlong leaned over for a glance, then couldn't help but laugh and curse, "You son of a bitch, you can't even write properly and you're trying to keep a diary?"

Kong Jie closed the notebook, put it back in his pocket, and snorted dismissively.

"You don't know anything. I'm recording history. Future generations will rely on this diary to uncover the truth when they study this part of military history."

"Come on, you're kidding me." Li Yunlong waved his hand and strode forward.

"Let's go, let's go to the Temple of Heaven and see how Duan Peng and his gang are doing in their training. We can also curse them out and vent our anger."

.........

At the Temple of Heaven training ground, Duan Peng was leading the soldiers of the Liangshan Special Operations Battalion in practicing marching drills.

More than a hundred people lined up in a neat square formation, carrying Type 51 semi-automatic rifles, and marched in step according to the commands.

Under the sunlight, the spots of light reflected from the bayonet swayed rhythmically with each step, like a flowing sheet of shattered silver.

Li Yunlong stood at the edge of the field, hands on his hips, and after watching for a while, his brows furrowed.

He walked to the center of the field and yelled at the front row of soldiers, "Stop! Stop! What kind of marching is this? You're like cowards! Your slogans aren't strong enough. Second row, third from the left, you fucking can't swing your arms properly, go back and practice a hundred more times!"

The soldier whose name he called immediately stood at attention, his face flushed red, and answered "Yes, sir!" with his back ramrod straight.

Li Yunlong scanned the others again, and the anger he had been holding in all morning finally found an outlet. He cursed them one by one, from the height of his arm swing to the force of his kick, from the angle of his head turn to the direction of his gaze, cursing with spittle flying everywhere. Even Duan Peng was not spared.

Duan Peng stood on the side of the team, his face turning red and white in turns, and quickly directed the team to practice again.

Kong Jie squatted under the shade of a tree by the field, smoking a pipe and watching the excitement, occasionally chuckling, but not going up to stop them.

He knew Li Yunlong too well; that bastard had a temper inside, and if he didn't let it out, he'd get sick.

After hurling insults, Li Yunlong felt much better.

He walked back to the shade of the tree, plopped down next to Kong Jie, reached for his pipe, took a drag, exhaled a puff of smoke, and let out a long sigh: "Much better."

Kong Jie glanced at him sideways, took back his pipe: "You've had your fun, but Duan Peng and his gang are in for it."

"They're just unlucky?" Li Yunlong snorted. "A strict teacher produces outstanding students, don't you understand? Back in the Taihang Mountains, when my old commander was chasing me around with his belt, wasn't I in a worse situation than them? And now I'm all successful, aren't I?"

Kong Jie chuckled at his words and didn't reply.

The two sat under the shade of the tree for a while, then Li Yunlong suddenly spoke, his tone less irritable than before, and filled with an indescribable sense of emotion:

"Hey Kong Erlengzi, tell me, we've fought so many wars, from the Long March to the War of Resistance against Japan, from the War of Resistance against Japan to the Liberation War, and from the Liberation War to the Korean War. What's the point in all this?"

Kong Jie paused for a moment, tapped the ash off his pipe on the sole of his shoe, and didn't answer immediately.

Li Yunlong continued, his voice neither loud nor soft, as if talking to himself: "Back in northwestern Shanxi, life was tough, but we felt at peace. When we won battles, the people would bring us eggs and shoes, and that warmed our hearts. Now that we've made a name for ourselves, that we're famous, and that the whole country knows about us, I feel... empty."

Kong Jie glanced at him, her lips twitching slightly: "You're just bored. Once we get to Jinling, you'll be in class and doing homework every day. Let's see if you'll still have time then."

Li Yunlong was momentarily speechless at his words, then grinned: "That's true. Alright, let's not waste time on this nonsense. After the parade rehearsals, see how your formation is doing. Don't embarrass me."

"My formation?" Kong Jie stood up, dusting himself off. "When have the soldiers I've trained ever embarrassed you?"

The two exchanged a few more words, then each went back to their assigned formation.

The commands rang out again on the training field, and the soldiers raised their legs, swung their arms, and turned their bodies... Normally, these veteran soldiers would find this kind of formality very distasteful.

Surprisingly, every army commander was exceptionally serious this time!