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

After seeing Sister Fu off, Zhang Renfeng stood on the threshold for a long time, staring at the empty courtyard. The warmth in his heart lingered for a long time.

He had fought for most of his life, living in caves and trenches, squatting in villagers' cowsheds, and even living in the Western-style houses of captured Kuomintang officers. But he had never had a home of his own like this.

Before, I had no roots; I was just a passerby wherever I went.

Things are different now. My elder brother is in Beiping, the old brigade commander is next door, and the organization has even assigned me this peaceful place. Even the bedding on the kang (heated brick bed) has been folded up for me.

He stood in the middle of the courtyard, looked up at the hazy sky above the courtyard, let out a long sigh, and muttered to himself:

"Damn it, this old body of mine finally has a place to settle down."

After muttering to himself, he turned and walked to the courtyard gate, waving towards the jeep parked at the alley entrance: "Sun Bing, come here for a moment."

Sun Bing had been sitting in the car waiting for a long time. He watched the leader enter the courtyard and then saw the leader waving to him from the gate. He was incredibly excited.

He nimbly jumped out of the car, ran over to her in a few quick steps, and had an undisguised smile on his face.

He had followed Zhang Renfeng for more than two years, from suppressing bandits in Yunnan Province to serving as an instructor in Vietnam. Through wind and rain, he had never seen his superior have a few days of peace.

Unlike other leaders who changed wives after entering the city, or settled down, Sun Bing felt a pang of guilt when he thought about his own leader, who was thirty-one years old and had never even held a woman's hand.

Seeing Zhang Renfeng standing at the door of his new home, with the tension between his brows relaxed considerably, Sun Bing felt even happier than if he had won a battle.

"Commander!" Sun Bing stood up straight with a snap.

"Hmm." Zhang Renfeng glanced at him a few times, and seeing the kid's grin spreading so wide it almost reached his ears, he couldn't help but laugh himself.

"Don't be so tense, it's not like I'm sending you to the front lines. Go to my older brother's house and tell him I'm back, and ask him to come over for a chat."

"Yes, sir!" Sun Bing snapped to attention, turned to leave, but after a couple of steps turned back. "Commander, what about your dinner?"

"You're just a bodyguard, what right do you have to meddle? Do you think I'm some kind of grown man who'll starve to death? Get out of here."

Sun Bing chuckled and took off running towards the alley entrance.

.......

In the courtyard, Zhang Rende had finished work early and was writing and pausing at his desk.

Mu Xiuhua walked in with a big smile on her face. "What's wrong? You look so happy. What's up?"

Zhang Rende touched his left eyelid. "I don't know either. My left eyelid has been twitching non-stop since I woke up this morning. I had a dream last night that my parents said they were coming back to hold a wedding for Renfeng."

"I thought to myself, what happy event could Renfeng possibly have? He doesn't care about national affairs, which is none of our business. So the only big event he could have is his wedding."

"So I thought I'd write a letter to ask if I'd slept with any girl in Yunnan Province. If I liked her, I could set off south immediately."

Mu Xiuhua couldn't help but laugh when she heard this. "You, before you had a younger brother, you talked about him every day. Now that you have a younger brother, you talk about his marriage every day."

Zhang Rende laughed and said, "I'm thirty-one. When I was thirty-one, I was already the father of two kids."

"Now that he's achieved great success, he still needs someone to care for him, right?"

"The situation in North Korea is tense right now. If he doesn't write, I'm afraid he's going to fight there. The family at the end of the alley were also cadres; the military region came yesterday and said they were killed in battle. Sigh..."

"You really don't understand how powerful the US military is. Why do you think our army was able to win these two battles?"

"That relies on information asymmetry and the arrogance and complacency of the enemy commander. The technological gap in weaponry can only be bridged by sheer numbers. Never mind, you wouldn't understand even if I explained it to you."

Seeing the man sighing and complaining, Mu Xiuhua felt bad too.

Ever since Renfeng returned, Rende has been concerned about national affairs every day, analyzing every battle in detail, making himself seem like a military strategist, or even a commander-in-chief.

What bothered her most was that her idiot apprentice, Liu Haizhong, would come over every few days to discuss military and political matters with Rende. Damn it, Liu Haizhong only graduated from elementary school and can't even read many words, yet he loves to talk about this.

So, of all Rende's many disciples, his favorite was still Liu Haizhong; that guy was truly filial.

Just then, Liu Haizhong's voice rang out from outside the courtyard.

"Master, I've arrived. I heard that our troops achieved a great victory at Chosin Reservoir."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Rende stood up, pulled Liu Haizhong inside, who was carrying wine and peanuts, and said with a smile.

"Master, let's chat as we talk. These were bought by my good-for-nothing apprentices who insisted on giving them to me."

"Sit down, sit down," Zhang Rende quickly waved his hand and said to Mu Xiuhua, "What are you standing there for? Cook some dishes, Hai Zhong and I are going to have a drink and discuss heroes."

Liu Haizhong said with a smile, "No need, Master's wife, this is fine."

The two sat down at the stone table. Zhang Rende poured a bowl for Liu Haizhong and one for himself. "Haizhong, who told you that we won the Battle of Chosin Reservoir?"

Liu Haizhong puffed out his belly, striking a pose of someone well-informed. "I passed by the Military Control Commission yesterday, and they were discussing how our Volunteer Army won a great victory at Chosin Reservoir, annihilating tens of thousands of enemy troops! Master, do you think the American army wasn't so great after all?"

Zhang Rende shook his head, picked up the bowl, and took a sip.

"Damn it! You don't know anything. What they said on the radio was propaganda; the actual situation is much more complicated. Let me tell you, the US military has tanks, artillery, and planes. What can our Volunteer Army compare to that? The firepower of one of their divisions is equivalent to that of our entire army. At Chosin Reservoir, it's minus forty degrees Celsius. With our current logistics, the Ninth Army Corps was temporarily transferred from the south, and I doubt they even prepared winter clothing."

Zhang Rende felt a chill run down his spine whenever he thought about it. Were these People's Liberation Army soldiers really divine soldiers who descended from the heavens? They were just mortal beings!

He didn't even need to go to the battlefield to experience its brutality!

Liu Haizhong was stunned. "Then...how could they still win?"

"It's all about fate, silly child." Zhang Rende put down his bowl and gazed into the distance.

"Our soldiers are not afraid to die, while the American soldiers are afraid to die. If you fight them in positional warfare, you can't hold out once they bring in their planes and tanks. But if you fight them in night battles, close combat, or infiltration, they won't be able to handle it. Our veterans in the Volunteer Army have all come from the War of Resistance Against Japan and the War of Liberation. What hardships haven't they endured? Those pampered American soldiers have heating in winter and canned food. Of course, you can't compete with them in terms of equipment, but when it comes to being fearless, they are far behind."

Liu Haizhong was filled with fervor, slapping his thigh, "I knew it! Our People's Liberation Army is invincible!"

Zhang Rende glared at him. "Invincible my ass. Our weapons and equipment are inferior, that's an objective fact. How many times can you withstand a fight just by being fearless?"

You won this time because you caught them off guard. Next time, once they figure out your moves, will you still risk your life for them?

Therefore, the real priority is to quickly develop the national industry and build our own airplanes and artillery.

Liu Haizhong nodded repeatedly, raised his wine bowl and clinked it against Zhang Rende's. "Master is right! We're in the industry! That's what we working class are here to do! My apprentices are all skilled now. If the country needs to build airplanes and tanks in the future, we fitters can also contribute!"

Zhang Rende was amused by his words, "You're not modest at all."

"Absolutely!" Liu Haizhong puffed out his chest. "I may not have many other skills, but I'm quite good at training apprentices. Look at Yi Zhonghai, that guy, he's cunning and teaches an apprentice like squeezing toothpaste, afraid that if he teaches them all, he'll starve. I'm different. I'd rather my apprentices were all better than me, that's what I call honorable!"

When Zhang Rende heard him mention Yi Zhonghai, he couldn't help but sigh, "I wonder how Zhonghai is doing in Guangxi Province, whether his malaria is cured."

Liu Haizhong waved his hand, "Master, don't worry, Yi Zhonghai is a very shrewd man, he won't die. Besides, he stayed in Guangxi Province to seek medical treatment. If that old Chinese medicine doctor's remedy really works, he can hold a big, healthy baby boy when he comes back next year. Our courtyard will have another new member, how lively that will be."

As the two were talking, a series of hurried footsteps came from the courtyard gate.

Zhang Rende, with his sharp ears, turned his head to look at the door and saw a young man in military uniform rushing in, it was Sun Bing.

Sun Bing, sweating profusely, shouted at the top of his lungs as soon as he entered the door, "Uncle Rende!"

Upon seeing Sun Bing, Zhang Rende abruptly slapped his thigh and stood up from the stone bench, nearly knocking over his wine bowl. "Ha! Sun Bing! Where's Renfeng? Why hasn't he come back?"

Sun Bing, bent over, took a few breaths, swallowed, and then said:

"The Commander is back! He just arrived in Beiping and is currently at his new home in Lingjing Hutong! The Commander sent me to invite you over for a chat, saying he has something important to discuss with you!"

Upon hearing the words "new home in Lingjing Hutong," Zhang Rende paused for a moment, "New home? What new home?"

Sun Bing grinned, "The commander has been allocated a courtyard house at No. 43 Lingjing Hutong, a two-section siheyuan (traditional courtyard house), fully furnished and equipped with bedding. Brigade Commander Chen and Sister Fu helped with the arrangements. The house is all ready, just waiting for the commander to move in!"

The weight on Zhang Rende's heart lifted instantly, but then it rose again—he had lived in Beiping for twenty years and knew the Lingjing Hutong area very well; it was a good place, close to the core, and now inhabited by high-ranking officials.

His younger brother, a deputy commander of the Yunnan Provincial Military Region, was assigned a courtyard in Beiping, which shows that the organization has other important responsibilities for him!

It seems that Renfeng doesn't need to go to North Korea!

"Did he come back alone?" Zhang Rende pressed.

Sun Bing shook his head. "I came back with Brigade Commander Chen. I just arrived this morning and went to report on my work this afternoon. The Commander is waiting for you at No. 43."

Without a word, Zhang Rende turned and walked into the house. "Xiuhua! Bring out my new cotton-padded coat! I'm going to check on Renfeng!"

Mu Xiuhua responded from inside the house, quickly found her cotton-padded coat and handed it to him, adding, "Be careful on the road."

Zhang Rende put on his cotton-padded coat, then turned back and called out to Liu Haizhong, "Haizhong, are you coming with me?"

Liu Haizhong was naturally overjoyed. "Go, go, go! I'll go with Master right now!"

The two followed Sun Bing out of the courtyard gate. Liu Haizhong took a couple of steps and then stopped. "Oh, Master, isn't it inappropriate for me to go empty-handed? Please wait for me!"

After saying that, he turned and ran back to his room in the backyard. A moment later, he came running out carrying a package wrapped in oil paper.

"These are some fried dough twists my apprentice brought back from Tianjin last time. They're still unopened. Let Second Uncle have a taste!"

Zhang Rende was both amused and annoyed by his eagerness. "Alright, alright, take it and go."

"Me too! Me too!"

Zhang Guilin, who was doing his homework inside, followed along with his younger sister on his back.

Seeing this, Zhang Rende stopped and thought for a moment before turning around and running towards the main house.

"Master, what's wrong?"

"Wait for me a moment, I'll bring Master He with me."

Zhang Rende waved his hand, "Renfeng probably hasn't eaten yet, and with all the travel, the new house is cold and empty. I need to bring a chef to warm up the stove."