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

The group responded and picked up their luggage, following Liu Yuheng towards the barracks. Liang Cheng walked at the front of the group, carrying his old canvas bag. He surveyed his surroundings, his expression calm and revealing no particular emotion. Fang Tie walked beside him, carrying two bags, muttering something to himself as they walked.

Liu Yuheng led the group across the open space between the barracks and stopped in front of the innermost row of barracks. This row of barracks was newly built; the cement mortar on the walls had not yet completely dried, the windows were covered with windproof tape, and the steps at the entrance were newly built, with the cement in the brick joints still wet.

He pushed open the wooden door of the first barracks, and a smell of new wood mixed with lime wafted out.

Inside was a row of bunk beds made of wooden planks, covered with straw mats and army-green quilts. Six sets of quilts were neatly stacked, folded into perfect squares like tofu blocks. Against the wall was a row of wooden shelves for storing luggage and tools.

"This is it. Six people per room, you can arrange your own rooms and choose your own beds," Liu Yuheng said from the doorway, stepping aside to let the doorway through.

The workers entered the barracks one after another, each choosing a bunk and putting down their luggage. Some sat on the edge of their bunks to try and press down the mattresses, some opened their canvas bags to take out their toiletries, and some went to the windows to look outside.

Fang Tie chose a bunk against the wall, put his bag on the shelf, and waved to Liang Cheng: "Master Liang, you can sleep next to me, so you'll have someone to talk to tonight."

Liang Cheng nodded, placed the canvas bag on the bunk next to Fang Tie, and sat down to massage his aching legs. He unbuttoned his coat, sat against the bedding for a while, and looked out the window at the Gobi Desert, a hazy gray expanse where he couldn't see anything clearly.

Liu Yuheng walked around the barracks to make sure everyone was settled. He then said a few words to the people in each room, such as "Rest now, the mess hall will be open for meals in a while," before turning around and walking back.

As Liu Yuheng passed by Wu Cheng, who was standing at the barracks gate talking to Chief of Staff Zhou, Wu Cheng turned around and said to Liu Yuheng, "Old Liu, there's a mobilization meeting tomorrow morning, on the parade ground next door. You have to come; you're the deputy minister in charge, you have to go up and say a few words."

Liu Yuheng didn't stop walking. He waved his hand behind him and said crisply, "I won't forget. I'll go check on the scientists' rooms first, then I'll come over."

Wu Cheng nodded, said nothing more, and continued to explain logistical matters to Chief of Staff Zhou.

Liu Yuheng walked along the path between the barracks towards the other end, his pace unhurried. More and more lights came on in the barracks behind him, casting a warm glow over the entire gray building complex.

The next morning, the reveille sounded, and the workers gradually got up from their bunks. Some put on their coats and went outside to fetch water to wash their faces. The water from the tap had a slightly salty taste, and their gums tightened when they brushed their teeth.

After breakfast, a brief announcement came over the base's loudspeaker, instructing everyone to assemble on the parade ground north of the camp. People gradually emerged from their various barracks and headed in twos and threes towards the direction indicated in the announcement.

The so-called drill ground was actually just a leveled open space north of the camp, surrounded by a wooden fence. The fence posts weren't driven deep, and some were already crooked, swaying in the wind. The ground was compacted sand, still a bit soft underfoot. Yesterday's tire tracks were still there, covered with a thin layer of dust by the overnight sandstorm.

The middle of the playground was not paved with cement, nor were any facilities placed there. Only a slightly higher earthen slope at the northernmost end had been leveled and used as a temporary platform. The earthen slope was bare, without even a table. The wind swept across the earthen slope, stirring up fine dust.

Two groups of people were already lined up on the playground. The right-hand row consisted of scientists and workers, standing a bit more spaced out than the left. Most of the scientists were dressed in dark gray cadre uniforms; some wore glasses, some had gray hair, and their expressions carried a calm and habitual air. The workers wore various colored work clothes—blue, gray, and faded khaki mixed together—some with their hands in their pockets and necks hunched, not yet fully relaxed in the early morning chill.

On the left was a row of soldiers from the support and engineering units, standing in neat, square formations. The color of their uniforms stood out starkly against the gray-brown Gobi Desert. They stood ramrod straight, hands pressed against their trouser seams, no one whispering or looking around, as quiet as rows of wooden stakes driven into the ground.

Wu Cheng, Liu Yuheng, Lao Sun, and a few others walked over from the camp and circled around the edge of the drill ground to the earthen slope at the north end. After climbing onto the platform, Wu Cheng stood in front, with Liu Yuheng and Lao Sun standing half a step behind him.

The wind blew from the top of the earthen slope, causing the hems of their clothes to flutter slightly. Wu Cheng pressed down his wind-blown hair with his hand and glanced at the two rows of people below the stage.

Wu Cheng cleared his throat, his voice carrying far across the empty playground: "Comrades, I've gathered you all here today to formally announce a mission."

He paused for a moment, waiting for the commotion below the stage to completely subside before continuing: "This mission is codenamed Project 596. Some of you have probably already guessed what's going on here from your respective work units, while others may not be so sure. Today, I'll be clear: our mission is to develop our own atomic bomb."

A moment of silence fell over the audience. The scientists remained silent, clearly aware of the objective before they arrived. The engineering and support troops also showed no obvious reaction; they had already come into contact with relevant information to varying degrees during the base's construction.

But in the workers' line on the right, a few people were clearly stunned for a moment. Some turned to look at the people next to them, and some opened their mouths, their eyes filled with a shock and disbelief that seemed to say "I see."

Wu Cheng didn't stop to let them digest the information, but continued speaking with the infectiousness and persuasiveness he had honed through years of political work: "What imperialism has, we must also have. They used atomic bombs to scare us back then, and they are still using atomic bombs to scare us now. We developed this not to bully others, but to enable us Chinese people to stand tall and stand firm, so that no one dares to bully us casually."

"You are all elite soldiers from various fronts. Some are level eight workers, some are great scholars, and some are veterans who have fought in wars. The reason I have gathered you here today is to accomplish something unprecedented. If this great thing is accomplished, the Chinese nation will truly stand up."