Courtyard Houses: Starting with Li Yunlong's Comrades-in-Arms

The two arrived quickly. Xiao Wei walked in front, carrying a notebook and pen; Director Chen followed behind, a middle-aged man in his forties, with a sturdy build, wearing a dark gray cadre uniform with the collar buttoned up tightly.

Liu Yuheng pushed the three file folders to the edge of the table, picked up the folder for the eighth-grade worker first, and handed it to Director Chen, saying in a crisp and solemn tone: "Director Chen, these are the personnel files for the first batch of transferred personnel. Please take a look."

Director Chen took the file bag, untied the rope, pulled out the list and documents inside, flipped through them quickly, and looked up to wait for Liu Yuheng to continue.

"The political vetting of this group of personnel will be conducted by your Security Department in cooperation with the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Priority will be given to the eighth-grade workers, while the seventh-grade workers can be screened later. The vetting will focus on three aspects: family background, social connections, and personal conduct."

"Family background mainly depends on whether there are any problems with family background; social relations mainly depend on whether there are any political or historical problems among immediate family members and key social relationships; personal history mainly depends on whether there are any records of violations of discipline or regulations, whether they have participated in any organizations, and how they usually perform in the factory."

"The review process should be rigorous, but not too strict. Some people may have problematic backgrounds, but if they perform well and have excellent skills, we need to analyze them specifically and avoid a one-size-fits-all approach. You should discuss and determine the appropriate standards with the people in the Internal Affairs Department."

Director Chen retied the file folder, tucked it under his arm, and nodded: "Understood, Minister Liu. I'll contact the Ministry of Internal Affairs right away and try to get the first batch of review results within three days."

Liu Yuheng nodded, then picked up the file folder for the Level 7 workers and handed it over: "This is the list of Level 7 workers. Take it with you. The review process is the same; proceed in batches."

Director Chen took the second bag and left the office one after the other with Xiao Wei. The door closed behind them, and their footsteps faded away down the corridor.

Liu Yuheng leaned back in his chair, looked at the remaining summary table and preliminary arrangements on the table, remained silent for a while, then picked up his pen again and began to draft the follow-up arrangements for these senior technicians.

He wrote down the following points on the paper: For senior technicians transferred to the Northwest Base, their original salary relationships will be temporarily retained, and allowances will be uniformly issued by the Second Ministry of Machine Building, with the allowance standard increasing by 20% compared to the original salary; for family members remaining in their original hometowns, the local civil affairs department will provide appropriate care according to the standards for military dependents, and priority will be given to their children's schooling and medical treatment; for those whose household registration is transferred to the base, it will be handled in accordance with the regulations of the confidential unit, and the external communication address will uniformly use the mailbox code, and letters will be uniformly forwarded by the base's mailroom; for those who return to Beijing to visit relatives in the future or are eventually transferred back to their original units, their seniority will be calculated continuously, their job grade will not be affected, and their original units shall not reduce their positions and benefits for any reason.

He wrote down each point one by one, and at the end, his pen paused on the paper. He added a final point: When the children of seconded personnel need political background checks for further education or employment, the political department of the Second Ministry of Machine Building shall issue unified certificates, and relevant departments in their place of origin shall not delay or refuse to process the applications on the grounds that their parents are not around.

After writing this, he put down his pen, read it through from beginning to end, added a few more words, and then put the proposed arrangement aside to be submitted to the office meeting for discussion the next day.

......

As evening approached, before it was completely dark, the No. 95 compound was already bustling with activity.

Yi Zhonghai's passing the Level 8 worker exam this time made him quite the celebrity in the compound. Especially since Liu Haizhong failed the Level 8 worker exam, Yi Zhonghai became the only Level 8 worker in Compound No. 95, truly a one-of-a-kind achievement.

In addition, Jia Dongxu also passed the third-level worker exam. Yi Zhonghai waved his hand and planned to invite several old men in the courtyard, as well as Liu Shuanzhu, Liu Erhe, Xu Damao, He Yuzhu and others to have a meal together and show off.

Under the old locust tree next to the hanging flower gate of the central courtyard, He Yuzhu was wearing a faded apron and working up a sweat in front of a makeshift workbench.

On the cutting board were several handfuls of freshly chopped scallions, ginger, and garlic. Next to them, a large iron pot was bubbling with chicken soup, while another pot was heating oil, waiting to add fish. The knife in his hand made a clattering sound as he chopped on the cutting board, and he would occasionally glance up at Qin Huairu beside the stove.

Qin Huairu was wearing a clean blue cotton jacket today, with the sleeves rolled up to her forearms. She was squatting in front of the stove, helping to add firewood. The firelight from the stove reflected on her face, making her fair skin look rosy. She was talking to He Yuzhu as she added firewood, her voice neither too loud nor too soft, with occasional soft laughter.

He Yuzhu was so startled by her smile that he almost dropped the spatula. He quickly bent down to stir-fry the vegetables in the pan, but he couldn't suppress the smile on his lips. Qin Huairu came to help today at the request of Yi Zhonghai's wife, who said they were short-handed and needed her to lend a hand.

Qin Huairu knew perfectly well that Yi Zhonghai's family was hosting a dinner party, and they could have asked anyone else to help, but they specifically chose her. She understood the reason behind this better than anyone else. But she still came, with a smile on her face, and skillfully washed and chopped the vegetables, as if she had come to help genuinely.

As for how much of that smile was genuine and how much was fake, only she herself knows.

The aroma of fish and chicken wafted through the courtyard. He Yuzhu's cooking skills were truly superb; the braised fish sizzled in the pot, the fragrance of soy sauce and vinegar mingling and spreading throughout the yard on the breeze. The aroma of the chicken soup was even stronger, with a rich, oily scent that slowly diffused in the twilight, seeping into the cracks of each door, making one's throat tighten with anticipation.

In these times, rations have been reduced, and the amount of grain that each household can buy with their grain ration book is significantly less than it was two years ago. Meat is even more scarce; it's considered good if you can have meat once a month. Most families in the courtyard haven't had a decent meat dish for quite some time, and the smell of Yi Zhonghai's meal was unbearable.

Yan Bugui and his son Yan Jiecheng sat on the stone steps in front of their house, each holding a bowl of cold water and slowly drinking it. Yan Bugui hadn't eaten anything since the afternoon, and at noon he had only drunk a bowl of cornmeal porridge so thin you could see your reflection in it. Now, smelling the aroma of meat wafting from the courtyard, his stomach rumbled several times.

He pushed up his glasses, craned his neck to look towards the Central Courtyard, then pulled back, and whispered to Yan Jiecheng beside him, "Just bear with it a little longer, the feast will start soon. Old Yi passed the Level 8 worker exam this time, he's really generous, there's fish and chicken, we have to have a big meal today."

Yan Jiecheng swallowed hard, nodded, and gulped down the last mouthful of cold water in the bowl, as if trying to temporarily suppress the hunger in his stomach.