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

boom!

This appointment was like a bombshell, exploding right there in the conference room!

Lin Fan was completely stunned.

Deputy factory director!

The deputy director of a large factory with tens of thousands of employees! In charge of the most crucial logistics and security!

Just over a year ago, he was an apprentice in the workshop, subjected to arbitrary beatings and verbal abuse by Yi Zhonghai, and even going hungry. Now, he has risen to become the third-in-command of the Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill, standing at the pinnacle of power!

"Yangzi...I...I'm afraid I won't do a good job..." Lin Fan was in tears, his voice trembling uncontrollably.

Lin Yang strode up to Lin Fan and grabbed his shoulders tightly with both hands.

"Brother! Hold back your tears!"

Lin Yang's eyes were sharp as knives, like a fierce tiger descending the mountain, piercing straight into Lin Fan's soul.

"You're my elder brother, Lin Yang! The blood of the Lin family flows in your veins! There's nothing you can't do!"

"I've gone to the front lines. This steel mill is the nation's rear base, and also the foundation of our Lin family! As the deputy factory director, you're not only responsible for the basic needs of tens of thousands of people, but also for safeguarding this foundation for me!"

Lin Yang lowered his voice, speaking in a volume only the two of them could hear: "Remember, no matter what demons or monsters you encounter, even if those beasts in the courtyard dare to jump out again, use the power in your hands to suppress them severely! Don't embarrass me!"

Looking into his younger brother's expectant eyes, Lin Fan felt his blood boil instantly.

He quickly wiped away his tears, straightened his back, and roared like a true warrior.

"Yes, Yangzi! I promise you, as long as I have a breath left, I will protect this steel mill, this home in Beijing, and keep it safe for you! I'll be waiting for your triumphant return!"

At this moment, Lin Fan completed the most important transformation in his life. He was no longer the coward hiding under his younger brother's wing, but a true leader capable of standing on his own.

……

After the meeting, Lin Yang declined the factory's farewell party and walked out of the administration building alone.

The first light snow of early winter began to fall from the sky.

Lin Yang took a deep breath of the crisp, cool air and felt a sense of clarity throughout his lungs.

"Chief Lin! Chief Lin, please wait!"

Just as Lin Yang was about to get into the car and leave, a series of panting shouts suddenly came from afar.

Lin Yang turned his head and saw a burly young man in a greasy chef's uniform rushing towards him like a wild bull.

It's Sha Zhu!

Sha Zhu, drenched in sweat, rushed up to Lin Yang and slammed on the brakes, panting heavily.

"Zhu Zi? Why aren't you cooking in the cafeteria? What are you doing here?" Lin Yang asked him, somewhat puzzled.

Sha Zhu swallowed hard, calmed his breathing, and suddenly straightened his back.

"Commander Lin! I heard you're going to lead troops to Korea to fight the American devils!"

Sha Zhu's eyes gleamed with an almost fanatical light, an infinite worship of heroes and an endless longing for the battlefield.

"Just now, I had a huge fight with my dad! He insists that I stay and be a cook, saying it's a secure job. But I won't do it!"

Sha Zhu slapped his chest, making a loud thud.

"Although I, Sha Zhu, am a rough man and barely literate, I know that when the country is in trouble, every citizen has a responsibility! The American devils have already invaded our doorstep, how can I hide in the back and stir-fry food!"

"Commander Lin! Please take me with you! I'm incredibly strong, I've never lost a fight! I'll be your bodyguard, I'll take bullets for you! And if we ever run out of food, I can cook a hot meal for the whole regiment!"

Sha Zhu became more and more agitated as he spoke, his eyes reddening: "Chief Lin, I beg you! Don't let me spend my whole life as a cook who is looked down upon! I want to be like you, a true man who stands tall and upright!"

Lin Yang quietly looked at the hot-blooded young man in front of him.

In the original drama, although Sha Zhu was a fool and had his blood sucked by Qin Huairu his whole life, he did have a strong sense of justice and a willingness to fight for the righteous.

However, this fighting spirit was slowly worn away in the cramped and dirty environment of the courtyard house.

If he were taken to the battlefield and tempered by iron and blood, this reckless scoundrel from Beijing might truly be transformed into a sharp steel blade.

A faint smile appeared on Lin Yang's lips.

He stepped forward and, with his gloved hand, punched Sha Zhu hard in the muscular chest.

"He's quite strong."

Lin Yang's voice turned cold and sharp.

"However, the battlefield isn't a brawl between hooligans in a courtyard. There, there are no hot meals, only bullets and artillery fire. You could be blown to bits at any moment, leaving no trace of your body. Are you really not afraid of dying?"

Sha Zhu stiffened his neck and widened his eyes: "A man who's afraid of death isn't a real man! As long as I can follow Chief Lin, even if I'm thrown into a vat of boiling oil, I, Sha Zhu, won't even flinch!"

"good!"

Lin Yang suddenly shouted.

"Go back and take off that chef's uniform! Go to the Armed Forces Department to register, then report to my bodyguard, Xiao Li, at the Yuquanshan Compound!"

Lin Yang turned around and got into the jeep, rolled down the window, and looked at Sha Zhu, who was standing there dumbfounded.

"From today onwards, you, He Yuzhu, are a soldier in the guard company directly under the headquarters of my Special Mountain Division!"

"If you dare to give me diarrhea on the battlefield, I'll be the first to shoot you!"

Sha Zhu was stunned for a full three seconds before he reacted.

He was so excited that he trembled all over, and tears welled up in his eyes.

At that moment, he suddenly stood at attention and, with all his might, gave a very imperfect but extremely solemn military salute.

"Yes, sir! I promise I won't embarrass you, Commander!"

The jeep drove away into the snowstorm.

Sha Zhu stood there, looking at the taillights, and let out an excited roar.

Hahahahahaha.

He knew that his fate, He Yuzhu's fate, had been completely rewritten from this moment on!

He will bid farewell to that courtyard house filled with scheming and trivialities, and embark on a bloody journey filled with the smoke of battle and glory!

············

No. 95, Nanluoguxiang, Beijing.

Inside the He family's house in the Intermediate People's Court, an unprecedentedly fierce argument was breaking out.

He Yuzhu burst into the house like a whirlwind. Without a word, he ripped off his chef's white coat, which was stained with the smell of cooking oil, and threw it hard onto the kang (a heated brick bed). Then, he rummaged through the chests and cabinets, found several thick, coarse cotton-padded coats and two pairs of cloth shoes with thick soles, and stuffed them haphazardly into a worn-out canvas bundle.

He Daqing was sitting at the table drinking alone, his brows furrowed in a deep frown as he looked at his son's crazed state.

"Zhu Zi, what's gotten into you? Instead of working at the factory, what are you doing back here packing your bedding? Are you trying to rebel?"

He Yuzhu stopped what he was doing, turned around, his chest heaving violently. His eyes, which always seemed to hold a hint of recklessness, were now burning with an unprecedented fervor.

"Dad! I'm not going to be a cook anymore!"