I feel right at home in the world of the courtyard house.

The sky was high and the clouds were light. Sunlight streamed through the glass windows into the office of the deputy director of the Beijing Second Commercial Bureau, casting diamond-shaped patches of light on the cement floor. Deputy Director Sun Mingyuan sat behind his large desk, listening to his subordinates report on the supply of non-staple foods for the Mid-Autumn Festival, his fingers rhythmically tapping on the surface.

"Director Sun, the number of mooncake vouchers issued this year has increased by 15% compared to last year, but the quotas for flour and sugar..." Old Wang from the Planning Department was getting to the crucial point when the office door was pushed open.

Li Jing'an swaggered in, carrying a bulging net bag. Inside the bag, one could vaguely see two bottles of liquor and several cartons of cigarettes in their red packaging.

"Oh, you're having a meeting?" Li Jing'an greeted them casually, nodded to the people in the room, walked over to the old sofa by the wall, put the net bag on the ground, sank into the sofa, crossed his legs, took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, and lit one for himself.

Old Wang and the other two section chiefs who were reporting on their work exchanged glances, all showing knowing expressions. They knew Li Jing'an—a former subordinate of Deputy Director Sun from their time in the army, who now worked at the steel mill's guesthouse and came here every few days.

"Director Li is here," Old Wang greeted with a smile, and the other two nodded in greeting.

Sun Mingyuan glanced at Li Jing'an, a slight smile playing on his lips, but then his face hardened as he addressed his subordinate, "Continue. What's wrong with the flour quota?"

Li Jing'an exhaled a smoke ring, squinting as he listened to their discussion about planned supply and allocation of quotas.

"...Therefore, we suggest reducing the mooncake vouchers in the East District by five percent and allocating them to the West District to balance things out." Old Wang concluded his report.

Sun Mingyuan pondered for a moment, then signed the document: "Okay, do it this way. The Mid-Autumn Festival is a big event, let's not have any mishaps."

The three men felt as if they had been granted a pardon, and they gathered their documents and got up. As they passed the sofa, Old Wang Chao smiled at Li Jing'an and said, "Director Li, we'll be going now, please have a seat."

"Take care." Li Jing'an waved, and some cigarette ash fell on his pants, which he casually brushed off.

As soon as the door closed, Sun Mingyuan immediately stood up from behind his desk, his serious expression melting away like ice and snow, revealing a genuine smile. He walked around the desk to Li Jing'an, and gave him a heavy pat on the shoulder: "You rascal, Li Jing'an, haven't been seen for days!"

Li Jing'an coughed twice after being patted on the shoulder, quickly stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, stood up, and saluted: "Reporting, Commander! Li Jing'an reporting for duty!"

"Alright, alright, stop with the act," Sun Mingyuan said with a laugh, but his eyes were full of satisfaction. He looked Li Jing'an up and down carefully. "You've lost some weight. Are you busy at the guesthouse?"

"Just getting on track, lots of things to do." Li Jing'an relaxed, sat back on the sofa, and pointed to the net bag on the floor. "I just happened to be passing by and grabbed a few things. Mid-Autumn Festival is coming soon, we can't skip the proper etiquette."

Sun Mingyuan walked over and looked at the tobacco and alcohol in the net bag.

"You little rascal, what brings you here?" Sun Mingyuan shook his head, but there was no real blame in his tone. "What don't I have here? Why did you have to bring it from home?"

Li Jing'an chuckled, "Commander, you have what you need, but I'm just giving you this as a token of my appreciation. Besides, won't you give me some extra later so I can take it all back with me?"

Sun Mingyuan was taken aback, then burst into laughter, pointing at Li Jing'an and shaking his head: "You, Li Jing'an! You give me gifts, and I have to add some to take back with you! This business is a sure thing!"

"I learned it from the regimental commander." Li Jing'an winked slyly.

After laughing enough, Sun Mingyuan walked back to his desk, took out a metal box from the drawer, and opened it to reveal a box of tea. "This is Pu'er tea from Yunnan, sent by an old comrade-in-arms. Take it back and try it."

"How could I possibly accept this..." Li Jing'an said, already reaching out his hand.

"Don't give me that!" Sun Mingyuan shoved the things into his hands, then remembered something and took out two packs of cigarettes from the cabinet. "Take these too."

Upon seeing the "Chunghwa" brand name on the cigarette pack, Li Jing'an immediately smiled and said, "This is good! I like smoking this; other brands make me cough!"

Sun Mingyuan glared at him. "Didn't you like smoking Peony cigarettes? When did you switch to Zhonghua?"

Li Jing'an said with a fawning smile that it would be in the next few days.

Director Sun pointed at him and laughed and scolded him.

When Li Jing'an arrived, he had a net bag, but when he left, he had two, one in each hand, both quite heavy.

Sun Mingyuan looked at him and suddenly said, "There's a dinner party tonight, you're coming with me."

Li Jing'an stopped in his tracks: "What kind of dinner party?"

"Several heads of subordinate units and the department store are here to discuss Mid-Autumn Festival supplies." Sun Mingyuan walked back to his desk and sat down. "There are quite a few of these people who can drink. You'll have to keep things under control."

Li Jing'an's eyes lit up, and he immediately stood at attention again: "I guarantee I'll complete the mission! Commander, I'm not bragging, but my alcohol tolerance is much better now than it was in the army. Weren't you surprised when I drank with you last time?"

Sun Mingyuan recalled the last time they drank together, when Li Jing'an downed a bottle and a half of Fenjiu by himself without batting an eye, which had indeed left a deep impression on him. He smiled and said, "That's good. I'll have the driver make a detour to your courtyard house this evening to pick you up."

"Alright!" Li Jing'an agreed readily. "Then I won't eat lunch and will save room for dinner."

"Look at you, so pathetic!" Sun Mingyuan laughed and scolded. "Alright, hurry up and go back, don't get in the way here."

Li Jing'an, carrying two net bags, hummed a little tune as he left the office. He encountered several cadres from the Second Commerce Bureau in the corridor, who all greeted him warmly. Li Jing'an responded to each of them.

Back in the courtyard in Nanluoguxiang, Li Jing'an put his things away. Two net bags were placed side by side on the table, one of which was the one he had brought with him, and the other was a gift from Sun Mingyuan in return.

You should visit him often. The leader never takes anything from you, and you can always get something back from him. Going a few times a month is enough for him to smoke and drink for a month.

After hastily cooking a bowl of noodles and eating it with pickled vegetables, Li Jing'an began preparing his outfit for the evening. He changed into a Zhongshan suit, then found his leather shoes and polished them until they were reflective enough to make one's image.