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

Two days later, at dusk, somewhere in the northwest. The train slowly pulled into the station in the twilight. On both sides of the tracks stretched an endless Gobi Desert, with gray-brown gravel extending to the horizon. Occasionally, a few clumps of camel thorns swayed in the wind, the only living things on this wasteland.

The platform was small, a simple cement platform, with several figures in military uniforms standing on it, their clothes fluttering in the wind.

The train doors opened, and Liu Yuheng stepped off the train. The moment his feet touched the platform, a dry wind rushed towards him, carrying the rough feel of gravel that stung his face slightly. He squinted, his gaze sweeping across the platform, and soon spotted Old Sun standing at the very front.

Old Sun strode forward, extending his hand from a distance, his voice booming, "Old Liu! We've been waiting for you!"

Liu Yuheng quickly stepped forward, shook hands with him, shook him vigorously, and said with a smile, "Old Sun, you've worked hard, coming all this way to pick me up."

Old Sun waved his hand, his gaze passing over Liu Yuheng's shoulder to look at the people getting off the green train behind him. He said, "It's only right, it's only right," with a relieved expression on his face, as if he had finally waited for someone to arrive.

Wu Cheng also got out of the car and walked over to shake hands with Lao Sun. After exchanging a few pleasantries, Lao Sun led the three of them toward the jeep parked outside the platform.

Two grass-green jeeps and several trucks with canvas covers were parked outside the platform, their engines already running, their headlights casting two dim yellow beams of light in the twilight, illuminating the gravel road leading into the depths of the Gobi Desert.

Liu Yuheng, Wu Cheng, and Lao Sun bent down and climbed into the jeep in front. Lao Sun sat in the passenger seat and glanced back at the truck behind them. Workers and scientists were boarding the trucks in batches under the organization of staff and guards.

One truck after another started up, the roar of their engines echoing across the empty platform, making the concrete ground beneath their feet tremble slightly.

The convoy lined up and slowly drove out of the station, turning onto the gravel road leading to the no-man's-land. Jeeps led the way, followed by two trucks full of workers, then trucks carrying scientists, and finally, a truck carrying luggage and supplies.

The carriage was shaking violently, with potholes appearing one after another on the gravel road, causing the entire vehicle to bounce as the wheels rolled over them. Liu Yuheng leaned back in his seat, one hand gripping the handle above the window, his gaze fixed on the receding Gobi Desert outside.

Old Sun turned around from the front seat and glanced at Liu Yuheng: "Old Liu, I really didn't expect you to personally lead the team. You're a very busy person in the ministry now, I thought you would just send someone from the General Office to accompany us and that would be it."

Liu Yuheng smiled, turned his gaze from the window, and leaned back in his chair: "I won't feel at ease unless I come and see for myself. These people were handpicked by me from various factories. I know their skills, physical condition, and family circumstances. Before handing them over, I need to see for myself whether they can work and live here."

Old Sun nodded upon hearing this, his expression showing a hint of agreement.

Wu Cheng, sitting next to Liu Yuheng, chimed in, "Old Liu has always been like this; he won't feel at ease until he sees things for himself. Back in the Jin-Sui region, every time he finished assigning a task, he would personally go to the front lines to check out the terrain, and no one could dissuade him."

Liu Yuheng waved his hand, smiled but didn't reply, and brought the topic back: "Seriously, Lao Wu, Lao Sun, you'd better take good care of this batch of workers I brought. To get so many skilled workers, I had to say a lot of nice things to Lao Huang this time, and I almost wore out his doorstep."

"You know Lao Huang. The Ministry of Machine Building is a large and powerful organization with a lot of senior technicians, but he is very stingy. As soon as I asked for people, he started complaining about being poor, saying that their production tasks in the second half of the year were tight and they lacked technical backbones. It took several days of pleading before he finally gave in."

Old Sun glanced at Liu Yuheng in the rearview mirror, a sneer on his lips: "Old Liu, don't give me that crap. You're acting all poor right now, but once this mission is over, won't all these workers end up in your Second Ministry of Machine Building's pockets?"

"When they go back, do you, Liu Yuheng, really want to return these people to the Ministry of Machine Building? Can you really do a losing business?"

"Old Huang probably knows this too, which is why he's taking advantage of the situation now and keeping you under his thumb for a few more days. Do you think Old Huang is stupid?"

Liu Yuheng was speechless after being silenced by Lao Sun's words. He smiled and shook his head, his tone carrying a matter-of-fact composure: "Lao Huang and his First Ministry of Machine Building are a large and powerful organization with a solid foundation. Isn't it only right that they take care of us younger brothers? Our Second Ministry of Machine Building has only been established for a few years. We have a weak foundation but a huge scale. From machine tools to manpower, what aspect of us doesn't rely on the help of our older brothers? The First Ministry of Machine Building is the older brother. If the older brother doesn't help the younger brothers, who will?"

Old Sun glanced at him in the rearview mirror, shook his head, and clicked his tongue twice, but the smile on his lips was hard to hide.

Wu Cheng chuckled twice and chimed in, "I've heard that every single one of you from 386 never does a losing business. You take advantage of any opportunity, and even if there isn't one, you can always find a way to squeeze out a bargain. This time, I've seen it with my own eyes."

Upon hearing this, Liu Yuheng was not angry at all. Instead, he puffed out his chest and replied confidently, "That's right. This is a glorious tradition that our old brigade commander taught us step by step. If we soldiers don't carry it forward, who will? Back in the Jin-Sui region, our old brigade commander led us to fight the Japanese and deal with the Kuomintang. What tricks didn't we use?"

"Asking our older brothers for things, exchanging supplies with allies, you have to use your brain. If we didn't know how to calculate, we would have squandered all our resources long ago. We, as the younger generation, have to carry on the old brigade commander's ways; we can't let them be lost just because we leave the army."

He spoke these words without batting an eye, and with great confidence.

After hearing this, Old Sun finally couldn't help but burst into laughter. His laughter squeezed out from the cracks in the car window, torn apart by the wind and scattered across the Gobi Desert. Wu Cheng also laughed, his shoulders shaking. Even the driver in front glanced at him in the rearview mirror, a slight smile playing on his lips.

The car continued forward amidst laughter, the sound of wheels rolling over the gravel road mingling with the roar of the engine, enveloping the lively activity inside the car in a desolate atmosphere.