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

He smiled and softened his tone: "How about this? You study first, finish high school, and then take the military academy entrance exam. I'll still be in the army by then, and if you pass, I'll personally mentor you. What do you say?"

Zhang Guilin's eyes lit up: "Really?"

"Really. When has your second uncle ever lied to you?"

Zhang Guilin nodded emphatically, the slight disappointment on his face vanishing, replaced by a surge of energy: "Alright! Then I'll go back and study hard!" He jumped up from the stone bench, and before running back to his room, he turned back and shouted to Zhang Renfeng, "..."

"Second Uncle, you wait and see, I'll definitely pass the exam!"

The door slammed shut. Zhang Rende shook his head in that direction, then turned to Zhang Renfeng: "You're spoiling him. He'll be even more unruly when he goes to military school."

"Being a little wild is good," Zhang Renfeng laughed. "It would be abnormal for someone of the Zhang family not to be wild."

Zhang Rende grinned at this remark, took a drag of his cigarette, the embers flickering in the pipe, and asked, "By the way, when are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow at noon."

Zhang Rende nodded and didn't ask any further questions about the specific arrangements. He knew the rules in the military; asking some questions was pointless.

Zhang Renfeng stood up and went back to the west room. When he came out, he had a heavy cloth bundle in his hand.

Untying the corner of the cloth revealed ten gleaming white silver dollars, each containing one hundred dollars, with a silvery sheen along the edges.

"Here are ten silver dollars," Zhang Renfeng pushed the package towards his elder brother. "These are what I've saved up over the years. It's inconvenient for you to handle the gold, so I exchanged it for silver dollars. I had everything I needed in the army, so I didn't spend any money. You keep them."

Zhang Rende stared wide-eyed at the package of silver dollars.

Ten silver dollars is a thousand dollars, which in these days is enough for an ordinary worker to earn for several years without eating or drinking.

He quickly pushed the package back: "Brother, you don't need this money. Take it back. You don't even have a wife yet; save it for when you get married. I make forty or fifty yuan a month at the factory, that's enough for me."

Zhang Renfeng shook his head, pushed the package back, and placed his hands on it, brooking no refusal: "This time I'll be gone for at most two years, at least a year, and then I'll be back. Before, I was like a rootless duckweed, wandering all over the country alone after leaving the Seventh Red Army, braving gunfire and bullets, never knowing where my roots were. Now I have you, I have my sister-in-law, I have Guilin and Yulin, I have family now, and I will come back."

He paused, looking at his elder brother's face, etched with the marks of time, and lowered his voice, "Besides, I'm your own brother, we're not strangers. You can keep this money; use it for Guilin's studies, or to save for Yulin's dowry, however you like. Don't tell me you don't want it; you know my temper."

Zhang Rende looked at his younger brother's familiar yet unfamiliar face, his lips moved, and finally he gave a bitter smile, gathering the bundle in front of him: "Alright, alright, I'll keep the money for you. Consider it your savings for your future wife. I know you've suffered, fighting day and night on the battlefield all these years, without even a single person to care for you. After liberation, shouldn't you consider enjoying life a little? Find someone suitable, settle down. I'll arrange it for you."

Zhang Renfeng smiled but didn't reply.

enjoy?

He has spent half his life amidst explosives and gunfire, rarely getting a full night's sleep; the concept of enjoyment is completely foreign to him.

However, his elder brother's words warmed his heart, like drinking a mouthful of hot soup in winter, warming him from head to toe.

That night, the two brothers set up a drinking stall again. Zhang Rende brought out the briefcase jar, and the two chatted until the wee hours over a plate of peanuts.

They talked about how they herded cattle and chopped firewood in their hometown of Baise when they were young, about the day their older brother was conscripted, and about Zhang Renfeng's experiences in the years after he followed the Red Army.

Zhang Renfeng only mentioned what he could, glossing over the battles where he was on the verge of death. But Zhang Rende could tell that every time his younger brother said a battle was "okay," countless lives were lost behind the scenes.

The kerosene lamp wick was almost burned out; the flame flickered twice and then went out with a whoosh.

The two brothers chatted in the dark for a while until the first rooster crowed outside the window, at which point Zhang Rende's voice gradually lowered and was replaced by even snoring.

Zhang Renfeng, however, could not fall asleep.

He lay flat on the kang (a heated brick bed), staring at the dark ceiling, his mind racing with thoughts of what he was about to face.

With less than a month to go before the Crossing the Yangtze River Campaign, the troops were still on standby at their posts. His trip back just happened to coincide with the final training and deployment.

The matter in Beiping has come to an end, but the overall situation in the country has only just begun.

When the rooster crowed for the third time, a sliver of dawn appeared on the horizon.

Zhang Renfeng quietly got up, dressed, and folded the quilt neatly.

He originally planned to leave quietly without disturbing anyone.

He had just stepped out of the door when a voice called out behind him, "Renfeng."

Zhang Renfeng turned around and saw that Zhang Rende had already sat up, clearly having woken up earlier but pretending to be asleep.

He was wearing a cotton-padded coat, his hair was disheveled, and his face showed the weariness of just waking up, but his eyes were bright: "You're leaving already?"

"Yes, brother. Did I disturb you?"

Zhang Renfeng stepped back and stood on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed).

Zhang Rende waved his hand: "I know what you're up to. I knew you'd do this. Have breakfast first, your sister-in-law got up early to cook."

Zhang Renfeng paused for a moment, then shook his head and smiled bitterly.

Although his older brother hasn't served in the military in recent years, he still remembers the rules of the army that allow soldiers to leave whenever they want, and he's afraid that his younger brother will go on the road on an empty stomach.

He nodded: "Okay, whatever you say."

As expected, Mu Xiuhua got up before dawn, and the aroma of porridge and rice was already wafting from the kitchen.

She brought out a pot of steaming millet porridge, a bowl of pickled radish strips, and several steaming white flour buns, all piping hot.

Zhang Renfeng sat down to eat, while Zhang Rende sat beside him, smoking a cigarette. They didn't say a word, but the tacit understanding between them was more effective than a thousand words.

There was commotion in the yard right after breakfast was finished.

First came Yan Fugui's distinctive footsteps from the front yard—light, quick steps—followed by his booming voice: "Is Master Zhang home? I heard Second Uncle is leaving today, so I came to see him off."

The door to the main room opened, and He Daqing came out wearing a blue cloth jacket, carrying an enamel bowl containing a package wrapped in oil paper:

"Second Uncle! This is the braised pork hock I made last night. Take it with you on the road; it'll taste good even when it's cold. I added cinnamon and star anise—it's really flavorful!"

Just as Zhang Renfeng was about to decline, Jia Gui strode into the courtyard.

He was holding a steaming bowl of poached eggs in sweet soup, with a porcelain spoon resting beside it.

He placed the bowl on the stone table and, without saying a word, clasped his hands in a fist and palm salute to Zhang Renfeng: "Second Uncle, I, Jia Gui, am a rough man and not good at sweet talk. This bowl of poached eggs was made by my wife. Please try it; it'll bring you good luck on your journey."

Zhang Renfeng looked at the pile of things on the stone table with a mixture of amusement and exasperation: braised pork hock, sweet egg soup, and a package of sesame seed cakes wrapped in oil paper, which he wondered who had stuffed in there.

He looked up and glanced around. Yi Zhonghai was standing at the back of the crowd, holding two bags of pastries in his hand, with a perfectly measured smile on his face, neither rushing ahead nor falling behind.

Liu Haizhong, his belly protruding, squeezed through the crowd and cleared his throat: "Second Uncle! I don't know when we'll see each other again after you leave."

Yan Fugui rubbed his hands together and grinned, "Second Uncle, be careful on your journey. I brought you two tea eggs. Put them in your pocket and have some if you get hungry." As he spoke, he took out two tea eggs wrapped in coarse paper from his sleeve and stuffed them into Zhang Renfeng's hand. His movements were so swift that it was clear he had practiced.

Zhang Renfeng looked down at the tea egg in his hand, then at the people in the courtyard in front of him, and felt a mix of emotions he couldn't quite describe.

He hadn't lived at No. 95 Nanluoguxiang for more than a few days and hadn't exchanged many words with these people, but now they were all coming over with food and drinks to see him off, calling him "Second Uncle" warmly and sincerely.

He turned back and glanced at Zhang Rende, who was standing on the steps.

He smiled as he watched the lively scene unfold in the courtyard, saying nothing, but Zhang Renfeng understood the meaning in his eyes—"See? I haven't wasted my years of hard work, have I?"

"Alright,"

Zhang Renfeng stuffed the tea egg into his pocket, then took the braised pork knuckle from He Daqing and the poached egg in sweet soup from Jia Gui. He winked at Sun Bing, "Keep them, eat them on the way."

Sun Bing responded and quickly gathered the items into a cloth bag.

Zhang Renfeng walked to the courtyard gate, glanced back at the faces in the courtyard, and finally fixed his gaze on Zhang Rende.

"Brother, take care."

Zhang Rende nodded, his smile lingering, but his eyes were slightly red.

"You too. Come back soon after you win the battle."