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

Brigade Commander Chen pulled another brown paper envelope from the inside pocket of his overcoat.

"One letter for your older brother, one for your wife. I've already spoken with Lao Nie; he'll send you a letter every two weeks from now on. Our corps has a dedicated military mail line, which is three to five days faster than other corps."

"When war rages for three months, a letter from home is worth a fortune. It feels different to have family, doesn't it? You little rascal, before you had no family, you were reckless and lived like you didn't care about money. You were practically a hundred heads. Sigh, now you've finally grown up. Everyone says to settle down and start a family, but you're rushing to do everything at once."

When Brigade Commander Chen said this, he yawned and his eyes were slightly red. To be honest, the hardships this kid has endured are not something ordinary people can bear. He has had to experience so many grievances and failures since he was a child, but he is still sunny and optimistic as always.

On the road to revolution, how many hardships, how many trials, how many grievances? So young, yet his predictions and understanding of the revolution's future were always so accurate. Though ten thousand men may challenge him, he would still go forth! At such a young age, wasn't he truly the champion of our Republic?

In my eyes, Champion Hou is nothing! Zhang Baobo is even better than Champion Hou! My little brother, giving us hope and lighting a lamp in the darkness—that's your most precious quality!

Thinking this to himself, he said aloud, "Alright, I'm going to take a nap. I've had so many plane and train transfers, my bones are about to fall apart."

Without waiting for Zhang Renfeng's response, he turned and walked into the inner chamber of the tunnel, then turned back after taking two steps.

"Your wife carried that letter with her the whole way, afraid it would get wet in the rain when we crossed the Yalu River."

Brigade Commander Chen didn't even take off his shoes. He just lay down on the cot and started snoring within seconds.

For an older man who suffers from chronic insomnia, being able to fall asleep instantly means he's absolutely exhausted.

Zhang Renfeng sat down at the table with two letters in his hands, and opened the one for his elder brother first.

The letter was very long, four pages long. It began by inquiring about Zhang Renfeng's health and reminding him to keep warm and eat on time while he was away. Then it started talking about things in the courtyard.

"You know Liu Haizhong. He's become obsessed with learning, saying he wants to make progress in his thinking. He works in the factory during the day, and when he gets home at night, he doesn't rest. He sits on a small stool under the lamp reading the newspaper, looking up unfamiliar words in a dictionary, and coming over to ask me anything he doesn't understand. I told him, 'What's a fitter like you doing learning theory?' He said, 'Master, you don't understand. Now that the whole country is liberated, workers should be the masters of their own destiny. How can you be the masters of your own destiny if you don't understand theory?' I thought that made some sense, so I let him be. Honestly, my favorite apprentice is actually someone like Liu Haizhong. I, Zhang Rende, lead by virtue. Even if I scold or beat my apprentices, isn't it all for their sake…?"

"Yan Fugui, that old miser, has been generous lately. His wife gave birth to a son a few days ago, named Yan Jiekuang, and for the first time ever, he treated everyone to a feast for his baby's one-month celebration. Although all the dishes were vegetarian, with only a plate of scrambled eggs being considered meat, for Yan Fugui, that was practically a financial sacrifice."

"You know Jia Gui's wife, she's caused trouble again. Last month, Jia Zhangshi went to the market and got into an argument over a hundred yuan difference. She grabbed the person by the collar and wouldn't let go, tearing their clothes. When the person came to their door demanding compensation, Jia Gui, without saying a word, hung Jia Zhangshi up in the street and beat her. Jia Zhangshi cried so hard that half the neighborhood came out to watch. Jia Gui beat her while cursing, 'I, Jia Gui, have been on the streets for so many years, and I hate people who embarrass me the most! If you dare to cause trouble again, I'll break your other leg!' After beating her, he took two pounds of pork to the person's house to apologize. You know, this man can beat his wife so badly, but he can be reasonable when it comes to reasoning."

"Yi Zhonghai is back. When he returned from Guangxi Province, he was three shades darker and much thinner, but his spirits were at least ten times better than when he left. His wife, Gao Cuilan, is showing her baby bump, and he's handing out wedding candy to everyone he meets, going door-to-door in the courtyard, even giving a handful to the deaf old lady. Yi Zhonghai is back at the steel mill, and Boss Lou even gave him a raise, saying the skills he learned in Guangxi Province would be useful back home. Now he walks with his back straight; before, he'd bow his head slightly when he saw people, but now he smiles first—he looks like a decent person now."

"The deaf old lady is still the same. Her hearing has actually improved long ago, but she won't respond to anyone calling her; she pretends to be deaf when she should, and mute when she should. The day Yi Zhonghai came back, he brought two bags of pastries and sat in her room for half an hour. The old lady didn't say a word, only patted the back of Yi Zhonghai's hand as a sign of acknowledgment. When Yi Zhonghai came out, his eyes were red; no one knows what the old lady said to him."

"I'm currently keeping an eye on He Yuzhu and He Yushui, the brother and sister. As for that scoundrel He Daqing, is he alright? Putting everything else aside, that bastard's cooking is truly superb. Now that silly Zhu has also learned a thing or two, how about sending him to the front lines as a cook if needed?"

"Guilin is a very hardworking student. He's always in the top three of his grade in the monthly exams. The teacher says he's got the makings of a college student. He keeps talking about when his second uncle will come back, saying he wants you to see his report card. Yulin is spoiled rotten by your sister-in-law. All she does is chase after Aunt Xiyue all day. She copies everything Xiyue does. Once, she even took Xiyue's pencil and drew a bunch of weird symbols on a piece of paper, saying it was for her second uncle to see. I thought there was a person in the drawing, with a circle drawn above the neck and two dots inside the circle for eyes."

"Xi Yue is doing very well. Your sister-in-law cooks her a variety of meals every day, saying that a pregnant woman shouldn't neglect her health. Sister Fu comes to visit her every few days, and the two of them sit in the yard basking in the sun, chatting about your time with Lao Chen in the Taihang Mountains. Sometimes Xi Yue laughs as she listens, saying, 'So you were really reckless back then.' Director Nie and Sister Zhang also come often. Sister Zhang always brings a lot of food, saying that it's not easy for Xi Yue to live alone at home, and asking us to take care of her."

At the end of the letter, the elder brother's handwriting became noticeably messier, as if he had started to get sleepy while writing:

"Renfeng, everything is fine at home. You can focus on fighting. I can't help you much, but I can hold the rear for you. You're working for the people of our country. By the time you come back, your child will probably be old enough to call you 'Dad,' and you should be back then. Recently, your father-in-law seems to have some complaints because a certain comrade surnamed Chen insists on naming the child, and that old political commissar in the southwest is also arguing. And that tall, bespectacled, and seemingly refined Dean Liu is even more outrageous... Ah, it seems you're the darling of your unit. Well, then I'm relieved. Yours, brother."

Looking at the letter filled with everyday stories, the tension in my heart eased a little.

He knew his elder brother's habit of only reporting good news and not bad. His letters were full of good news, and he would inevitably pick out and mention the trivial disputes in the courtyard.

But even just these selective remarks were enough to make him feel at ease. For Zhang Renfeng, he used to be a rootless duckweed!

Now, I finally have my own home.

Life goes on at home, the children are growing up, the elderly are still alive, and there are people in Xiyue to take care of us—that's enough.

He put down his teacup, picked up Zhang Xiyue's letter, and first took out a photograph.

Zhang Xiyue sat on a bamboo chair, her belly already quite large. She was wearing a loose blue cloth shirt, but the round curve of her belly was still visible.

Yu Lin stood behind her. The little girl had two pigtails, one hand on Zhang Xiyue's shoulder, and the other hand making a peace sign.

Sister Fu stood to the side, holding her daughter with a smile on her face, and Xiao Jian was beside her...

The background is the entrance hall of the main house at No. 43 Lingjing Hutong. On the wall hangs a piece of calligraphy, the ink still wet. Zhang Renfeng recognized it at a glance—it was the calligraphy that his superior had personally written on their wedding day.

Sister Fu specially framed it and hung it in the main hall, where it served as a backdrop when taking photos.

Zhang Renfeng stared at the photo for a long time before his gaze fell on Zhang Xiyue's face.

She's a bit fuller than when she got married, her cheeks are plumper, but that spirited air is still there, her eyes are crescent-shaped, and she always has a smile on her lips—she looks exactly like Zhu Lin...

He turned the photo over, and on the back, written in pen, were the words: "Taken on August 6th. Yulin said she wanted to show her second uncle how much she's grown." The handwriting was delicate and elegant, the work of Zhang Xiyue.

The letter, when unfolded, was only one page long, and the writing was not very long:

"My dearest Renfeng: I heard from Father Nie that after the Corps' great victory, they rested, and then several major clashes occurred at the front. I haven't heard anything about the Corps' battles in the newspapers, but Father Nie said that no news is good news. I don't understand war, but my wife knows how harsh the front is. Everything is fine at home, don't worry. Father Nie comes once a week, Mother Zhang comes every other day, and Sister Fu comes every day to talk to me. My elder brother and sister-in-law treat me like their own sister, never letting me worry about meals. That girl Yulin is closer to me now than to her mother, calling me 'Second Aunt' all the time, saying she wants to marry a PLA soldier when she grows up. I said, 'What do you know about marriage?' She said she does, she just wants to marry someone like Second Uncle. Everything is fine at home, don't worry. You're fighting outside, I don't understand war, I can only say one thing—don't be reckless. I know your temper, you always shoulder everything yourself, but now you have a family, a home, and an unborn child, you must cherish your life. When you come back, the child will be able to call you 'Dad.' Xiyue in Beiping."