Courtyard House: From Deputy Division Commander to Civilian, Progressing All the Way

Tian Yu also stepped forward, picked up a clean handkerchief, and gently wiped away Lin Fan's tears.

"Brother, Yangzi is right. We're family now. No one will dare to bully you anymore. Eat your food first, get well, and then we'll have the strength to see what happens to those wicked people."

Looking at the concerned eyes of his younger brother and sister-in-law, Lin Fan felt a surge of warmth he had never felt before. He nodded vigorously and began to eat the braised pork in large mouthfuls.

After finishing the meal, Lin Fan's complexion finally regained some color.

Lin Yang lit a Daqianmen cigarette, took a deep drag, and exhaled a pale blue smoke.

"Brother, you're twenty-four this year, right?" Lin Yang suddenly asked.

Lin Fan paused for a moment, then lowered his head somewhat embarrassed: "Yeah, I'll be twenty-five after the New Year."

"It's time to settle down." Lin Yang flicked his cigarette ash, his tone earnest. "These past ten years have been a waste of your time. Now that I'm back, I'll take care of your marriage."

Upon hearing this, Lin Fan blushed and waved his hands repeatedly, saying self-deprecatingly, "Yangzi, don't joke around. With my conditions, I have no money, no looks, and my back is hunched from working so hard. What good girl would want me? I'd be content if I could just live out the rest of my life peacefully in this house."

"Nonsense!" Lin Yang frowned, his superior's authority unconsciously emanating from him.

"You're my elder brother, Lin Yang's own brother! With that status alone, what kind of girl in Beijing can't you marry?"

Lin Yang turned to look at Tian Yu, his eyes softening: "Wife, I'm leaving this to you. You know so many good comrades in the cultural troupe and the field hospital, do you know any gentle, domestic girls? Find one for my brother. Not the kind of spoiled, materialistic girl, just someone with good character and a hardworking attitude."

Tian Yu smiled, her eyes crinkling into crescents: "Leave it to me! I had a good friend in the field hospital named Ding Qiunan. She's a good doctor and very pretty. Now she's been transferred to the medical clinic of the machine repair factory in Beijing. I'll go find her and sound her out, and introduce her to my brother."

Lin Fan was completely dumbfounded as he listened to his younger brother and sister-in-law discussing his marriage in such a serious manner.

He never dreamed that he, a penniless man whom everyone in the hospital called a "deadbeat," would actually get married one day? And to a female doctor at that?

"Yangzi, sister-in-law, you...you've been so good to me..." Lin Fan's eyes welled up with tears again, overwhelmed with emotion.

"We're family, no need for formalities." Lin Yang stubbed out his cigarette, stood up, and patted Lin Fan on the shoulder. "You should rest at home for the next few days. I'll get you a long leave from the factory. Once I've sorted things out at the steel rolling mill, we'll arrange a blind date."

At this point, Lin Yang seemed to remember something, and a meaningful smile appeared on his lips.

"By the way, bro, come out with me this weekend."

"Where are we going?" Lin Fan asked nervously.

"I'll take you to visit some of my old comrades-in-arms and former superiors," Lin Yang said casually. "They're all currently in Beijing for meetings or holding positions. They missed my wedding banquet, so this is a good opportunity for me to introduce you, their family member."

Upon hearing this, Lin Fan's calves suddenly cramped up.

What kind of official must someone be to be called "old comrade-in-arms" or "old commander" by his younger brother, who is also a deputy division commander?

"Yang... Yangzi, maybe I shouldn't go? I'm just an ordinary citizen who can't even speak properly. What if I embarrass my family when I meet those high-ranking officials?" Lin Fan stammered, trying to back out.

Lin Yang laughed and patted him on the back: "What are you afraid of! They're just a bunch of roughnecks. The one in charge is called Li Yunlong. He used to be the commander of the Jin-Sui Independent Regiment, and now he's an army commander. He has a terrible temper and curses all the time, but he's extremely protective of his own. There's also a guy named Zhao Gang, who's a highly educated intellectual. When you meet them, just eat and drink as you please, don't be shy."

"Li...Li Yunlong?!"

Lin Fan gasped, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

Although he was a low-level worker in Beijing, he often heard storytellers or retired veterans boasting about their heroic deeds during the War of Resistance against Japan in the streets and alleys.

The "Iron Triangle" of Northwest Shanxi: Li Yunlong, the commander of the Independent Regiment, was a renowned anti-Japanese general, a ruthless killer who didn't blink an eye when slaying Japanese devils!

He, a lowly laborer who had to bow and scrape to even a street office worker, was actually going to sit at the same table with a legendary figure like Li Yunlong.

Lin Fan felt dizzy, as if he were walking on clouds, which felt unreal.

Seeing her older brother's shocked and stunned expression, Tian Yu couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle: "Big brother, don't listen to his nonsense. Commander Li is a very good person, and his wife, Sister Xiuqin, is even more kind-hearted. If they knew you were Yangzi's older brother, they would definitely treat you like a real brother."

Lin Fan swallowed hard and nodded emphatically. He knew his brother was backing him up and paving the way for him. With such powerful connections, who in Beijing would dare to lay a finger on him?

Late at night.

Lin Fan insisted on going back to the rear room to sleep, saying that the main room was reserved for Lin Yang and his wife.

But Lin Yang firmly disagreed and directly ordered his guard, Xiao Li, to throw away Lin Fan's bedding roll. He then took out a brand-new military-grade cotton quilt from his own supplies and made a comfortable bed for Lin Fan in the east wing of the main house.

Lying in the new quilt that smelled of sunshine and cotton, Lin Fan stared at the dark ceiling, a satisfied smile on his lips, and fell into a deep sleep.

This was the most restful and peaceful sleep he had had in ten years.

……

The next morning.

As dawn broke, the clear sounds of bicycle bells and the cries of vendors emptying chamber pots echoed through the hutongs of Beijing.

The morning mist of autumn enveloped the courtyard at No. 95 Nanluoguxiang.

In the front yard, Uncle Yan Bugui got up early and was pretending to sweep the yard with a broken broom, but his eyes kept glancing towards the middle yard.

In the open space of the Intermediate People's Court, guards Xiao Li and Xiao Wang were washing the military jeep with cold water, their movements swift and their military posture upright.

Just then, Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong, both sporting huge dark circles under their eyes, walked out of their respective rooms.

The two of them barely slept a wink last night.

The moment I close my eyes, all I can see in my mind is Lin Yang's icy, chilling gaze and his death threat, "I'll make you vomit up your skin and bones."

Yi Zhonghai's back seemed even more hunched, and he carried an enamel mug with the words "Labor is the most glorious" printed on it, his steps heavy.

Liu Haizhong no longer had the burly, proud demeanor of a leader; he shrunk his neck, looking like a defeated rooster.