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

Zhang Renfeng thought to himself, "Old man, you've been fighting battles your whole life and being sarcastic your whole life. Aren't you afraid the committee members will kick you out on the spot?"

He didn't reply verbally, but patted the old brigade commander's hand, telling him to say less.

Before long, a large group of guards arrived, turning what should have been a wedding banquet into a congress.

Director Nie led the way, and those familiar faces arrived one after another.

The second gentleman walked among the crowd, wearing a worn-out gray cotton-padded jacket, with a gentle smile. He first shook hands with the old political commissar, and then walked up to Zhang Renfeng and looked him up and down.

"Good lad, you've finally settled down today."

He glanced back at the people beside him, smiled, and shook his head.

The old brigade commander is truly shameless.

Everyone who came had to give a gift! The committee members grumbled and complained, but no matter how much they complained, they still had to hand over the money.

The second gentleman joked, "Look at this guy, the commander and political commissar of the army corps, what kind of nonsense is this?"

The superior added, "They're making a mountain out of a molehill!"

After joking around, he looked at Zhang Renfeng and Zhang Xiyue and said, "Haha, I didn't bring any money for a wedding today, but I can write a calligraphy piece for you."

This calligraphy is vigorous and powerful, with flowing, dynamic strokes.

When Zhang Renfeng took the calligraphy, his fingers trembled slightly.

He didn't say it aloud, but the contents of the calligraphy were churning in his mind. Each word carried an indescribable weight. He placed it in the living room, so he could see it every day from then on.

The banquet consisted of six tables, stretching from the main house at No. 43 Lingjing Hutong all the way to the front yard. Each table had eight dishes and a soup. It wasn't particularly extravagant, but it was certainly substantial.

The fish cooked by He Daqing, the meat stewed by Jia Gui, and the large pot dishes from the cookhouse were all mixed together, and the aroma wafted through half the alley.

Zhang Renfeng offered toasts three times. He was sober for the first two rounds, but started to feel tipsy by the third. Zhang Xiyue tugged at his sleeve and whispered:

"That's about it."

Emboldened by the alcohol, Zhang Renfeng smiled at her and said, "Comrade, you're right."

It was already 9 p.m. when we finished dinner, and everyone left one after another.

When Director Nie left, he took Sister Zhang and Xiao Li with him and said his best wishes.

Sister Zhang's eyes were red, and she held Zhang Xiyue's hand for a long time before finally patting Zhang Renfeng on the shoulder: "Renfeng, live a good life."

Xiao Li stood to the side and called out in a clear voice, "Goodbye, brother-in-law!" Zhang Renfeng waved to her.

Then came the eldest brother Zhang Rende's family, He Daqing's family...

Especially his bangs, his hands were trembling uncontrollably, and his voice was shaking: "Second Uncle, I've truly been opened by divine eyes, I...I..."

"I can't take it anymore..."

I'll kowtow to you!!

As he spoke, he knelt down on the ground and kowtowed three times!

Zhang Renfeng quickly reached out to pull him up, but Liu Haizhong was so determined that he refused to get up, muttering, "This life has been worth it."

Zhang Rende laughed at him for being useless and had He Daqing help him walk away.

Before leaving, the older brother took Zhang Renfeng's hand and whispered, "This is the first time a man has done this, don't turn off the lights, or we won't be able to find you..."

Zhang Renfeng was laughing so hard he almost died. He patted his older brother on the back and saw him out, saying, "Brother, you should go back and rest. See you tomorrow."

Then there was Brigade Commander Chen. Because he was injured, he neither smoked nor drank, and he was full of energy.

After he finished handing over the gift money, as he was seeing Zhang Renfeng off, he glanced back at him, opened his mouth as if to say something, but then swallowed it back.

Zhang Renfeng understood what he meant and nodded at him: "Old man, go home and get a good night's sleep."

"What's it to you?" Brigade Commander Chen snorted, turned and walked away, but stopped after two steps, saying without turning back, "You should treat that girl well."

Standing at the door, Zhang Renfeng watched the old brigade commander's swaying figure disappear, and his mind went blank.

Finally, there was the old political commissar sitting in the corner, smoking one cigarette after another.

Zhang Renfeng pulled Zhang Xiyue to his feet and knelt down very solemnly.

The old political commissar exclaimed upon seeing this, "This is unacceptable! Absolutely unacceptable! Get it up and running quickly!"

Zhang Renfeng said from the bottom of his heart, "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be where I am today!"

The old political commissar chuckled, flicked his cigarette ash, and said, "You two sit down. I have a few words to say, then I have to head back to the southwest tonight!"

"Although we won a major battle in the Second Phase Offensive, things are far from over. Renfeng, this time you're going to fight, you must not only fight well, but also take care of your health. I don't have much to give you, but this watch is part of a pair."

The old political commissar took out two watches, one women's and one men's, their dials gleaming slightly from being rubbed.

"I hope you have a baby soon."

When Zhang Renfeng took the two watches, he held the metal watch cases in his palm; they felt cold to the touch but heavy in his hand.

"Comrade Xiyue," the old political commissar handed her another form, his tone gentle yet solemn, "we've watched you grow up. Now that you and Renfeng are married, you'll be part of our whole family. He'll be out there pushing forward, and you'll be at home supporting him. A couple working together is more effective than anything else."

Zhang Xiyue took the watch and nodded solemnly.

The old political commissar stood up, dusted off his clothes, and turned to walk into the night. The car lights came on, the engine noise faded into the distance, and the alleyway fell silent again.

Zhang Renfeng stood at the door, watching the jeep disappear around the corner of the alley.

Zhang Xiyue walked to his side and gently took his arm.

"It's getting late, let's go back."

Zhang Renfeng looked down at her, then at the watch in his hand, and suddenly smiled:

"Tell me, when the old political commissar was driving back in the middle of the night, what was in the thermos he carried in his car—tea or wine?"

Zhang Xiyue laughed at his words and lightly punched his shoulder: "Stop making fun of the old political commissar. Close the door."

"good."

Zhang Renfeng turned around, closed the courtyard gate behind him, and was already eagerly preparing for the major investigation.

After blowing out the candles, Zhang Renfeng stood up straight and pounced on them!

(Many people found this part unsightly and offensive, so the author deliberately hid the photo in the comments section...)

.....

That night, Commander Chen couldn't sleep. He got up, supporting his back, and wrote in his diary.

[December 24th, a bright and sunny day, a day of great joy! Little Zhang got married, and he really showed off! He got revenge for being owed a wedding gift by the likes of Minister Li when he married Comrade Xiao Fu years ago—it was incredibly satisfying! Oh dear, I was really worried that this naive kid wouldn't be able to handle things!! Therefore, I had a fierce competition with Comrade Xiao Fu! Being quite old, my back hurts...]