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

The road back to the courtyard house isn't far. After leaving the courtyard house in the north of the city, walk along the main street for a while, turn into the familiar alley of Nanluoguxiang, and it's about a ten-minute walk from there.

The group walked for a while without saying much.

Liu Erhe carried Liu Yixuan at the very back, his brows slightly furrowed, as if he were pondering something. He remained silent for a while before suddenly speaking, "Father, Mother, Fangfang, I have something to ask you."

The people in front of him slowed down and turned around to look at him.

Liu Erhe hesitated for a moment, as if carefully choosing his words, before finally asking the question that was on his mind: "If I pass the Level 7 worker exam in the future and am selected to go find my father-in-law, you... won't blame me, will you?"

Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned for a moment.

Wang Xiuhe was the first to react, stopping in her tracks and turning to look at Liu Erhe with obvious confusion on her face: "Erhe, why did you suddenly bring this up? Isn't it better for you to work honestly at the steel rolling mill? Taking the Level 7 worker exam is a good thing, but if you pass, why do you have to go there? Your father-in-law is going there on a mission, not to visit relatives. What are you doing there?"

Liu Shuanzhu stopped and turned to look at his son: "Erhe, you heard what your brother said earlier. He made it very clear, and you nodded in agreement. So why are you having this thought again now?"

Liu Erhe held Liu Yixuan, standing still. He remained silent for a while before speaking, his tone carrying a seriousness and stubbornness he rarely showed: "Father, Mother, I know what you mean. But just now, when I was with my brother, listening to you talk, my heart was in turmoil. I just felt that what my father-in-law did was not an ordinary thing."

He paused, then gently lifted the sleeping Liu Yixuan in his arms to a more stable position, and continued, "Think about it, who is my brother? He's the Vice Minister of the Second Ministry of Machine Building, a lieutenant general, in charge of such a large ministry. You've all seen how busy he is, how many important matters await his attention throughout the year."

"But this time he specifically set aside several days to travel a long way to send people off. A vice minister, a lieutenant general, personally sending off a group of workers—what kind of mission is that? What my father-in-law and his men are going to do is definitely not an ordinary task."

He glanced at Liu Shuanzhu, then at Wang Xiuhe, and lowered his voice: "I know, I can't compare to my brother. My brother joined the students in street demonstrations when he was ten, and ran off to join the revolution when he was twelve. Later, he fought the Japanese, fought against the enemy, and went abroad to fight. He climbed the ladder step by step to where he is today."

"I, Liu Erhe, am just a fitter in a steel rolling mill. I haven't had much education, and I don't have any special skills. But I always felt that I could do what my father-in-law does. My skills aren't bad; I'm a level six worker, and if I climb a little higher, I could reach level seven. If I could be selected, I would..."

He lowered his head, looking at Liu Yixuan's round little face sleeping in his arms, remained silent for a few seconds, then raised his head, his voice carrying a certainty as if he had made a great decision: "I have a feeling that if I don't go, I will regret it for the rest of my life. When I'm old and think about it, there will be a knot in my heart that I can't untie."

Wang Xiuhe opened her mouth, wanting to say something but swallowing it back. Looking at Liu Erhe's face, which appeared exceptionally serious under the streetlights, the words she wanted to say stuck in her throat, unable to escape. She sighed, a long, heavy sigh, as if she were letting out a bellyful of unspoken words.

Liang Fangfang was the first to break the silence: "Erhe, if you get selected, then go. Don't worry about things at home. Dad and Mom are here, Tingting is here, and the two kids are here with me. Besides, there's my older brother. Don't you know him? He's always reliable, and he'll always take care of things at home."

Liu Erhe looked down at her, his lips moved as if he wanted to say something to thank her, but in the end he just nodded vigorously and swallowed those words back.

Wang Xiuhe stood there for a while, then sighed, "Alright, alright, you kids, one after another, none of you are any easy to deal with. Your brother ran away when he was twelve, and I couldn't stop him. Now it's your turn. If you get selected, then go for it. I won't say anything else, you wouldn't listen anyway."

She was complaining, but everyone could hear the relaxation in her tone.

Liu Erhe grinned at her, a relaxed expression of being forgiven: "Mom, don't worry. But there's no rush. I'm still far from being a level seven worker. The steel mill only transferred two people this time, my father-in-law and Master Fang Tie, both level eight workers. I think level seven might just be the minimum requirement in the past, level eight is the real main force. I'm only a level six worker now, it's too early to think about these things."

He paused, then added, his tone revealing a self-aware honesty: "If I don't get selected, there's nothing I can do even if I want to. It's not like I can just decide to go; it depends on the selection criteria, the political background check, and the performance evaluation. If I fail any of those, it's all for nothing. So there's no need to think about it now. I just need to do my job well, pass the exam, and we'll talk about the rest when the opportunity arises."

After she finished speaking, everyone laughed. Wang Xiuhe shook her head and muttered, "You're quite open-minded," her tone a mix of exasperation and amusement.

The group continued walking forward, and when they turned the corner ahead, they arrived at the place where Liang's mother was about to turn.

Liang's mother took the bicycle from Liu Erhe, waved to the group, and said, "You guys go back, it's just a few steps from here."

Wang Xiuhe reminded her, "Drive carefully on the road. Don't overthink it when you get home. Go to sleep early." Liang's mother responded, got on her bicycle, and slowly rode away along another alley. The red reflector on the back of the bicycle flashed under the streetlights and soon disappeared into the depths of the alley.

The Liu family continued walking towards Nanluoguxiang.

As night deepened, the lights in the alleyway shone one by one, and warm yellow light shone from the windows of each household. The lingering aroma of food mixed with the sweet scent of locust blossoms filled the entire alleyway.