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

Yi Zhonghai's hand, which was outstretched in mid-air, froze. The Daqianmen cigarette looked so shabby and ridiculous next to the Zhonghua cigarette.

"Uncle, what's the matter?" Lin Fan's tone was calm, without the slightest hint of condescension, but the composure emanating from his very bones made Yi Zhonghai feel a strong sense of pressure.

"N-nothing...it's nothing." Yi Zhonghai awkwardly withdrew his hand, coughed twice, and shamelessly asked, "Um...Lin Fan, none of us in the compound have ever been to the military compound. Everyone's curious, what's it like inside? Is it full of soldiers?"

Liu Haizhong quickly moved closer, pricked up his ears, afraid of missing a single word.

Yan Bugui adopted an attitude of listening attentively.

Lin Fan glanced around at the neighbors who had once trampled him underfoot, a faint, cold smile playing on his lips.

He knew these people were trying to extract information from him. They wanted to use him to glimpse the world of power that they could never reach in their entire lives.

Since they wanted to hear it, he told them.

"The compound..." Lin Fan flicked his cigarette ash and said casually, "Nothing special about it."

"There are a few guards standing at the entrance with submachine guns, and you have to show a special pass to get in and out. If you try to force your way in without a pass, they can just shoot you."

Upon hearing this, everyone around gasped. Shoot directly! This was no joke!

Lin Fan continued, "The roads inside the compound are quite wide, all paved. The houses are all two-story red brick villas, each with its own entrance and courtyard. There's no need to light a stove inside; there are radiators, so it's warm 24 hours a day."

"Radiators?!" Liu Haizhong's eyes widened. As a blacksmith, he naturally knew what centralized heating meant and how much coal it would consume!

"My younger brother lives in Building A, Number Six," Lin Fan said casually, taking a drag of his cigarette.

"Guess who lives in building number 5, number A, right next to him?"

Everyone held their breath, staring intently at Lin Fan.

"Who is it?" He Daqing couldn't help but ask.

Lin Fan smiled slightly: "It's Commander Li Yunlong. When I went there today, Commander Li, Political Commissar Zhao, and several other commanders were drinking at my brother's house. They insisted on dragging me along to drink with them. That specially supplied Moutai was really strong."

boom!

These words struck Yi Zhonghai and the others like a bolt from the blue!

The army commander lives next door!

A group of army commanders were drinking at home!

That must have taken a tremendous amount of face and power!

Yi Zhonghai's legs went weak, and he almost collapsed to the ground. He finally understood how foolish and ridiculous his previous attempt to outwit Lin Yang had been. Lin Yang associated with founding generals who commanded vast armies; crushing a lowly eighth-grade worker like him was easier than crushing an ant!

Liu Haizhong was so frightened that his face turned ashen. He didn't even dare to feel jealous anymore. He was just glad that he hadn't provoked Lin Fan these past few days.

Hiding behind the crowd, Jia Zhangshi's resentment turned to terror upon hearing these words. She covered her face, quietly retreated back into the house, and bolted the door shut, not daring to come out to cook dinner.

"My goodness! Brother Lin! You've truly witnessed the divine beings of heaven!"

He Daqing was the first to react. He slapped his thigh, spitting as he excitedly spoke.

"Drinking at the same table with a group of army commanders! This is something I can brag about for eight generations! Brother Lin, from now on, this is your place in this courtyard!" He Daqing gave a big thumbs up.

Sha Zhu excitedly shouted from the side, "Brother Lin is awesome! I'll follow you from now on!"

Lin Fan looked at Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong's ashen faces, and at He Daqing's fawning face, but felt no emotion whatsoever.

He threw the cigarette butt on the ground and stubbed it out with his shiny leather shoes.

"Alright, everyone, you can all leave now. I still need to go back and write a letter to Qiu Nan."

After speaking, Lin Fan pushed his bicycle, under the reverent gazes of the crowd, as if they were looking at a god.

He walked back to the magnificent main room with his head held high and chest out.

The door closed.

The courtyard remained deathly silent.

Only the cold wind howled through the eaves.

It was as if a silent elegy was being sung for these once arrogant beasts.

···············

Time flies like an arrow, and in the blink of an eye, the snowy winter has completely enveloped Beijing.

It has been a full month since Lin Yang moved into the Yuquanshan Military Region compound.

For the past month, the courtyard at No. 95 Nanluoguxiang has been unusually peaceful. Without Lin Yang, that living devil, constantly keeping watch in the courtyard, Yi Zhonghai and the others initially breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that the guillotine hanging over their heads had finally been removed.

However, when they watched Lin Fan walk out of that spacious, bright main room with its large glass windows every day, pushing his gleaming Flying Pigeon bicycle to work, their sense of apprehension deepened more than ever before.

Because everyone knew that although Lin Yang was not physically present in the courtyard, his power and influence still lingered over the area.

Beneath this calm surface, a super storm, one that would be recorded in the history of the Red Star Steel Rolling Mill, was brewing.

One day in mid-December.

Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill, Open-air Plaza No. 1.

The cold wind howled, scraping against people's faces like knives. Fine snowflakes drifted down from the sky, but the square was densely packed with tens of thousands of steel mill workers.

Not a single person complained about the cold weather, and not a single person whispered among themselves. Tens of thousands of eyes were all fixed on the makeshift platform erected directly in front of the square with fervent awe.

On the high platform, the red flag fluttered in the wind.

Lin Yang, dressed in a crisp military overcoat, stood steadily in front of the microphone, his figure like a sharp sword piercing the sky.

He didn't bring any prepared speech; his deep, sharp gaze slowly swept across the entire room.

"Comrades! Fellow workers!"

Lin Yang's voice echoed throughout the factory area through several huge loudspeakers, like a thunderclap from a clear sky, instantly igniting the passion in everyone's hearts.

"The People's Republic of China has been founded! We, the working class, have stood up and become masters of our own destiny!"

"This Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill is no longer the private property of any capitalist; it belongs to the nation, to the people, and to every worker here who has shed blood and sweat for it!"

A thunderous applause erupted from the audience, shaking the snow off the tree branches.

Lin Yang stretched out his hands and pressed them down, instantly silencing the applause.

His gaze suddenly sharpened, and his tone turned icy.

"but!"

"In our factory, there's still a small group of people whose bodies have entered the new society, but whose minds remain stuck in the old era!"