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

Liu Haizhong, panting heavily, threw the broom aside and plopped down on a chair, his obese body making the chair creak.

"What do you know! Our family is in deep trouble!" Liu Haizhong pointed out the window towards the central courtyard and roared in a low voice, "That little bastard Lin Yang is back! He's a high-ranking official now! We were quite involved in his brother's affair back then!"

Upon hearing this, the second aunt's face changed: "Then...what do we do? He won't arrest us and execute us, will he?"

"I'm not likely to be executed, but if they make things difficult for me at the factory, my life will be ruined!"

A fervent glint flashed in his small eyes, a testament to his boundless desire to become an official.

"However, the old lady is right. This is a crisis, but also an opportunity! No matter how high Lin Yang's rank is, he's still a leader parachuted in. If he wants to gain a foothold in the steel rolling mill, can he do without us old workers? I'm at least a level seven forging worker!"

Liu Haizhong suddenly stood up and paced back and forth in the room, increasingly convinced that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"I'll go give him the gift right now! Yi Zhonghai is a blockhead, all he knows is how to work. I, Liu Haizhong, have management skills. As long as I flatter him well, Lin Yang will be happy and promote me to workshop director—it'll be a piece of cake!"

The thought of soon becoming the workshop director he had always dreamed of filled Liu Haizhong with fear, which was instantly replaced by greed.

"Honey, bring out those two bottles of Xifeng liquor. And also, wrap up that half-piece of cured meat we had left over from the New Year!"

Auntie Erda trembled with heartache: "Old Liu, that Xifeng liquor is something you usually wouldn't even drink, and the cured meat is meant for entertaining guests during the New Year!"

"What do women know! This is a long-term investment! Go get it!" Liu Haizhong urged impatiently.

……

The main house of the Lin family in the middle courtyard.

The room was brightly lit and spotless, having been cleaned by the guards.

Lin Yang sat at the old but clean octagonal table, holding a cup of hot tea that Tian Yu had just brewed, quietly listening to his elder brother Lin Fan recount the hardships he had endured over the past ten years.

Although Lin Fan didn't embellish the story, his bland narration still made Lin Yang's eyes grow increasingly cold.

"Knock knock knock".

Suddenly, a hesitant knocking came from outside the door.

"Yangzi, are you asleep? I'm your eldest uncle, and your second eldest uncle too. We've come to see you." Yi Zhonghai's somewhat ingratiating voice rang out from outside the door.

Lin Fan stiffened, instinctively revealing a hint of fear. Over the past ten years, the oppressive aura emanating from Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong had left a deep shadow in his heart.

Lin Yang gently patted his older brother's hand and gave him a reassuring look.

"Come in." Lin Yang's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a kind of imposing authority.

The wooden door was pushed open.

Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong walked in one after the other, both wearing obsequious smiles that were hypocritical to the core.

Yi Zhonghai was holding two packs of Daqianmen cigarettes and malted milk powder in his arms, while Liu Haizhong was carrying two bottles of Xifeng liquor and a piece of cured meat wrapped in oil paper.

These two gifts were definitely considered very generous in this era of scarcity.

The two sensed something was wrong as soon as they entered the house.

The atmosphere inside the room was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.

Lin Yang remained seated firmly in the main seat, showing no intention of even getting up to offer his seat. His sharp eyes seemed to regard him as two clowns jumping around.

The bodyguards, Xiao Li and Xiao Wang, standing behind Lin Yang, had their hands on their gun holsters and stared at them with wary and cold eyes.

"Yangzi, it's been ten years since we last met. You've really made something of yourself." Yi Zhonghai forced himself to step forward, placed the things he was carrying on the corner of the table, and said with a dry laugh, "Back when you left, I knew you were destined for great things. That's why your great-uncle and your second great-uncle brought some things to see you."

Liu Haizhong quickly put down the wine and meat, rubbing his hands together as he echoed, "Yes, yes, Chief Lin. This is just a small token of our appreciation. You've just returned, and your family must be lacking things. If you need anything in the future, please don't hesitate to ask."

Lin Yang didn't look at the things on the table, but instead slowly took a sip of tea.

"Uncle, Uncle," Lin Yang slammed his teacup down on the table with a dull thud, "Do you deserve to be called 'Uncle'?"

The smiles on their faces froze instantly.

Yi Zhonghai swallowed hard, forcibly suppressing the panic in his heart, and said calmly, "Yangzi, there might have been some misunderstandings about what happened before. But we are, after all, neighbors in the same compound. I heard you're going to be a leader at our Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill? That's wonderful news!"

Yi Zhonghai puffed out his chest, his tone tinged with undisguised pride: "Yangzi, you might not know, but your great-uncle is now an eighth-grade fitter in the factory! Your second great-uncle is a seventh-grade forger. Our factory's precision parts can't function without us. You're new to the factory and unfamiliar with the situation, but we two old bones will definitely give you our full support for the factory's production tasks!"

Liu Haizhong quickly pledged his loyalty: "Yes, yes, yes! Commander Lin, just say the word, and I, Liu Haizhong, will definitely set a good example for you in the workshop! Anyone who dares to disobey you, I'll be the first to punish them!"

The two men, seemingly expressing their loyalty, were actually demonstrating their value to Lin Yang, and even carrying a hint of subtle coercion.

The meaning was clear: we are highly skilled workers, and the factory can't do without us. If you, a soldier, want to establish yourself in the factory, you need us. Therefore, let's put the past grievances aside and move on to mutually beneficial agreements.

After hearing these words, Lin Yang suddenly laughed.

His laughter was cold, filled with endless mockery and contempt.

"Eighth-level fitter? Seventh-level blacksmith?" Lin Yang stood up, placed his hands on the table, leaned forward slightly, and stared down at the two old men.

"Yi Zhonghai, Liu Haizhong, do you two think your pathetic skills are a get-out-of-jail-free card?"

Lin Yang's voice suddenly turned cold, like an icicle in the twelfth lunar month, piercing straight into the hearts of the two men.

"Do you really think that I, Lin Yang, who has killed enemies on the battlefield for ten years, can't even see through your little tricks?"

"You came all this way tonight with gifts because you genuinely feel sorry for my brother? No! You're just afraid of my retaliation! You're trying to use your pathetic fitter and forging skills to negotiate with me! You even want to use my influence to continue bullying me in the factory and climb even higher!"

Lin Yang's words were like a resounding slap in the face to Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong.

He ruthlessly tore off the hypocritical masks of these two old foxes, exposing their deepest scheming and filth to the air.