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

"Yangzi, you've been so busy with meetings and awards ceremonies at headquarters these past few days. Haven't you had a chance to visit your older brother and Qiu Nan yet?" Tian Yu asked softly.

Lin Yang exhaled a smoke ring, a hint of tenderness flashing in his eyes: "Yes. When I left, they had just finished their wedding. Three years have passed in the blink of an eye. Judging by the days, Qiu Nan's baby should be born by now, right?"

Tian Yu chuckled, looked up at Lin Yang, her eyes sparkling.

"What do you mean 'almost born'? You're such a bad uncle! Qiu Nan gave birth half a month ago! It's a big, healthy boy! Mother and child are both safe!"

"real?!"

Lin Yang excitedly stubbed out his cigarette. "That's wonderful! Our Lin family finally has an heir! My eldest brother must be overjoyed!"

"Of course, Big Brother walks with a swagger these days."

Tian Yu smiled, then her expression became somewhat mysterious. She leaned close to Lin Yang's ear and lowered her voice.

"Yoko not only gave birth to a son."

There's another incredibly joyous piece of news you probably don't know about.

"Oh? What's the good news?" Lin Yang raised an eyebrow.

Tian Yu sat up straight, her tone revealing an undisguised pride.

"After you left, the country began its first Five-Year Plan. Because of our solid foundation, our Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill doubled its production capacity year after year and was established as a national benchmark enterprise by the Ministry of Industry."

"At the end of last year, Comrade Yang Jianguo, the former Party Secretary, was directly transferred to the Ministry of Industry as Vice Minister due to his outstanding performance. Comrade Zhou Zhenhua, the factory director, was also transferred to the Northeast to prepare for the establishment of a larger-scale integrated steel enterprise."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yang had a vague idea of ​​what was going on, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

Tian Yu took a deep breath and continued, "The steel rolling mill is a large factory with more than 10,000 employees; it's the lifeline of the nation's industry. The higher-ups are extremely cautious when evaluating candidates for the new factory director. They need someone who is politically reliable, has a thorough understanding of the factory's situation, and can keep things under control."

"In the past three years, as deputy factory director, you have managed logistics and security work flawlessly. There has not been a single safety accident or corruption case in the factory. This is further supported by your outstanding military achievements on the Korean battlefield, which you, the 'young war god,' have made."

Tian Yu looked at Lin Yang and said, word by word.

"The higher authorities have issued an official document. Comrade Lin Fan has been formally appointed as the director of the Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill! He will be in full charge of the production and administration of this large factory with tens of thousands of employees!"

boom!

Although he had a premonition, Lin Yang's eyes still flashed with a strong sense of shock and relief when he heard the news with his own ears.

Factory manager!

The highest administrative officer of Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill!

That honest man who once lived in the courtyard house, wearing a tattered cotton-padded coat that let in the wind in the dead of winter, washing clothes in the back room, and being wantonly insulted and bullied by Yi Zhonghai and Jia Zhangshi.

That timid apprentice who would shed tears even for a single bite of a white flour bun.

Now, thanks to his own hard work and the path to power paved with blood by his younger brother, he has climbed step by step to the pinnacle of power and become the factory director who controls the fate of tens of thousands of workers!

"Okay! Okay!"

Lin Yang slapped the edge of the bed and couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"All the suffering my brother endured in his life has finally paid off! He's finally truly established himself in Beijing!"

Lin Yang turned to Tian Yu: "Wife, get up and get ready. Tomorrow morning, we'll go to the department store to buy some nutritional supplements and baby supplies. We'll also go to the courtyard house to see my older brother and my nephew!"

……

at the same time.

No. 95, Nanluoguxiang.

The courtyard house of today is no longer the chaotic, scheming place it was three years ago.

A feeling called "fear" and "awe" hangs like a thick gloom over the hearts of every beast.

Especially after the news spread throughout the country that Lin Yang had captured MacArthur alive on the Korean battlefield and was awarded the title of "Special Class Hero," this awe reached its peak.

In addition, an official document was issued formally appointing Lin Fan as the director of Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill.

The various deities living in this courtyard were utterly terrified.

The front yard, the Yan family's house.

Yan Bugui was sitting at the table, holding a pair of scissors, carefully cutting out the photo of Lin Yang receiving his medal from today's People's Daily.

"Old man, why are you cutting this?" the third aunt asked, puzzled.

Yan Bugui adjusted his glasses and said with a serious expression, "What do you know! This is called a talisman! I'm going to buy a frame, mount this newspaper in it, and hang it on the wall of our main hall!"

"Are you crazy? Why are you hanging up Lin Yang's picture?"

"I'm not crazy! I'm perfectly sober!" Yan Bugui lowered his voice, his tone revealing an extremely shrewd calculation.

"Don't you even know what status the Lin family has now! Lin Yang is a special-class hero, a division commander! Lin Fan is the director of a factory with tens of thousands of employees! We have a picture of Division Commander Lin hanging in our house. If the neighborhood committee officials come to check our household registration, or if anyone tries to bully us, just one look at this picture on the wall and they'll think twice!"

Yan Bugui sighed deeply: "We can never catch up with them in this lifetime. Just being able to share a bit of their aura by living in the same courtyard is already a blessing from our ancestors."

Intermediate People's Court.

The house in Yi Zhonghai's home was deathly still.

Yi Zhonghai was sitting on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), puffing on his pipe. His back was even more hunched over, his hair was completely white, and he looked like a withered tree.

Just yesterday, the factory held a general meeting of all employees to officially announce Lin Fan's appointment as factory director.

Yi Zhonghai was standing in the audience at the time.

He watched as Lin Fan, the man he had once bossed around and schemed against to the point where he couldn't even get enough to eat, sat in the center of the stage in a smart Zhongshan suit, delivering his inaugural address to tens of thousands of workers.

At that moment, Yi Zhonghai felt as if his soul had been emptied out.

"Old Yi..." Aunt Yi walked over carrying a bowl of cornmeal porridge, her voice trembling, "I heard that Lin Fan's wife gave birth to a big, healthy boy. Should we...should we buy some eggs and go see him?"

Yi Zhonghai's hand holding the cigarette suddenly stopped, and the ash fell onto his trouser leg, burning a small hole, but he was completely unaware of it.

"Go see it? What right do you have to go see it?"

Yi Zhonghai's voice was hoarse, like sandpaper being rubbed.

"He's the factory manager now! He's the local tyrant! You think he'd even look at a few broken eggs? He'd just think we're trying to disgust him!"

Yi Zhonghai closed his eyes in anguish.

"Old woman, we can't stay in this courtyard house any longer. After the New Year, I'll apply to the factory for early retirement. Let's move back to our old home in the countryside."

"Retire...retire?" Aunt Yi was taken aback. "You're an eighth-grade fitter! You're just giving up your monthly salary of ninety-nine yuan?"

"Want it? You'd rather die?"

Yi Zhonghai suddenly opened his eyes, his cloudy old eyes filled with fear.

"You really think Lin Fan is a nice guy? Don't you know how many people he's arrested in the security department over the past three years? Now that he's the factory director, what if one day he remembers the old grudge of us taking his house? He could easily find an excuse to send me to a labor camp in the Northwest! Am I supposed to stay here and wait to die?!"

Yi Zhonghai's psychological defenses completely collapsed in the face of the two insurmountable mountains of power held by the Lin brothers.