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

In the evening, Liu Erhe rode his Phoenix brand bicycle out of the steel rolling mill, turned onto the main road at Dongzhimen, and arrived at the entrance of the supply and marketing cooperative in about ten minutes. He parked the bicycle by the roadside and glanced inside. Liang Fangfang was standing behind the counter getting goods for a customer. When she saw him, she gestured for him to wait a little longer.

Liu Erhe nodded, leaned against the wall by the door and waited, casually took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and took two puffs.

A few minutes later, Liang Fangfang saw the customer off, tidied up the counter, greeted Sister Zhang, and came out carrying a cloth bag. She got on the back of the bicycle, one hand on Liu Erhe's waist, the other carrying the cloth bag containing half a bag of brown sugar that Sister Zhang had given her that day, saying it was sent from out of town by her child and asked Liang Fangfang to take it back to Liu Qingyan to make tea.

Liu Erhe pushed off with his foot, and the bicycle steadily drove onto the road home. The streets were quite crowded in the evening, with people riding bicycles, walking, and pushing carts carrying goods, coming and going.

Liu Erhe slowed down and rode leisurely along the roadside. After riding for a while, he suddenly remembered what happened at the factory that day. He turned to Liang Fangfang on the back seat and said, "Fangfang, I have something to tell you. My brother got a promotion."

Liang Fangfang paused for a moment in the back seat, put one hand on his waist, turned her head and asked, "Promoted? Promoted by what?"

"The minister of the Second Ministry of Machine Building. Today, both Deputy Factory Director Li and Factory Director Yang came to the workshop specifically to talk to me about this matter. That old fox Li Huaide even called me 'Brother Erhe,' telling me to come to him if I need anything in the future."

Liu Erhe clicked his tongue as he spoke, his tone a mix of amusement and wistfulness: "You know, he's a deputy factory director, who usually walks around the factory with an air of superiority and doesn't even look people in the eye, but today he came to the workshop to try and get on my good side, and even asked me to call him Brother Li. I almost lost my temper."

After hearing this from the back seat, Liang Fangfang was stunned for a moment, then her face lit up with a smile, her voice filled with genuine joy: "Really? Big brother got promoted to minister? What administrative level?"

"Level 5," Liu Erhe said. "Administrative level 5, the monthly salary is 370 or 380 yuan."

Sitting in the back seat, Liang Fangfang couldn't help but laugh out loud, muttering, "That's wonderful. My brother has finally reached this point after all these years of hard work."

She paused for a moment, then, as if remembering something, patted Liu Erhe on the back: "Let's hurry back and tell Father and Mother the news. They probably don't know yet."

Liu Erhe chuckled, quickening his pace, his tone certain: "By the time we get back, the old folks will probably already know. Think about it, Xu Damao and Shazhu both work at the factory; they're very well-informed. Xu Damao is the kind of person who wants the whole compound to know any news he gets. Shazhu must have heard about it in the canteen today. Do you think Xu Damao can keep this to himself? He'll be yelling about it as soon as he gets back to the compound."

Liang Fangfang thought about it and couldn't help but laugh again: "That's true. Xu Damao's mouth is faster than a radio broadcast. By the time we get back, it'll probably have spread all over the courtyard."

As the two talked, the car turned into the entrance of Nanluoguxiang Hutong. It was the bustling time of the evening rush hour in the hutong, with smoke billowing from the chimneys of every household. The aroma of food wafted from the cracks in the doors, mingling with the sweet scent of locust blossoms, filling the entire hutong to the brim.

Liu Erhe slowed down his bike and had just reached the gate of No. 95 compound when he saw Yan Bugui standing at the gate, chatting with Old Sun from the next courtyard, carrying his ever-present enamel mug. As soon as Yan Bugui saw Liu Erhe riding over, he immediately abandoned Old Sun and took two steps to greet Liu Erhe, his face beaming with an overly enthusiastic smile.

"Erhe! Off work already?" Yan Bugui leaned in, his eyes sparkling, his voice a half-octave higher than usual. "I heard from Shazhu that your brother got promoted to minister? Is it true?"

Liu Erhe set up the bicycle frame, nodded, and said politely but not much: "Yes, it's true."

Upon hearing this, Yan Bugui immediately exclaimed "Oh!" and placed his teacup on the stone steps beside him. He rubbed his hands together and raised his voice by half an octave: "I knew it! I knew your brother was going to amount to something! From the first time he came back to the hospital, I told Old Sun and the others that the eldest son of the Liu family was no ordinary man and would amount to something sooner or later! Look at him, in just a few years? From army commander to deputy minister, and now a minister, a fifth-level administrative official, wow, truly remarkable!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Erhe's lips twitched involuntarily. He thought to himself that Liu Yuheng had only spent a total of half a month at the courtyard house over the years, and how many times had Yan Bugui actually seen him? The last time they met was during the Spring Festival last year, when Yan Bugui stood at the gate and greeted him from afar, without even exchanging a word.

Now he was talking as if he had watched Liu Yuheng grow up. But he didn't call him out on it. He just nodded, gave a few polite replies, and pushed his bicycle toward the east wing.

Yan Bugui wanted to say something more, but seeing that Liu Erhe had already pushed the cart away, he opened his mouth, then swallowed his words, picked up his teacup, and started chatting with Old Sun again, muttering things like "I saw it a long time ago."

Liu Erhe pushed the cart to the door of the east wing. Before he even entered, he heard voices coming from inside. Liu Shuanzhu's voice, Wang Xiuhe's voice, and Liu Tingting's voice were all mixed together, sounding like they were discussing something.

Seeing Liu Erhe and Liang Fangfang enter, Liu Shuanzhu was the first to look up, put down his jar, and asked, "Erhe, have you heard? Is it true that Yu Heng has been promoted to minister?"

Wang Xiuhe also turned around, her spatula hovering in mid-air, her expression a mixture of joy and disbelief. Liu Tingting also stopped eating her cornbread, her eyes fixed on Liu Erhe.

Liu Erhe nodded and sat down at the table: "It's true. Deputy Factory Director Li and Factory Director Yang both came to the workshop to tell me today. My brother has been promoted to Minister of the Second Ministry of Machine Building, Level 5 in administration. The document has already been issued, and it was officially announced yesterday."

The room fell silent for a moment, then Wang Xiuhe was the first to burst out laughing. The wrinkles at the corners of her eyes smoothed out, and her voice was filled with a mother's pride and satisfaction: "I knew it, I knew my son was going to be successful! Thirty-four years old, a minister, administrative level five, our Liu family's ancestral graves are emitting auspicious smoke."

Liu Shuanzhu nodded, picked up the jar and took a sip. Although his expression was more reserved than Wang Xiuhe's, he couldn't suppress the curve of his lips.

Liu Tingting listened from the side, her eyes darting around. She put down the half-eaten cornbread in her hand, leaned close to Liu Erhe, and whispered, "Second Brother, how about we go to Big Brother's place tonight and celebrate for him?" She was about to stand up as she spoke.

Liu Erhe glanced at her, put down his water bowl, and slowly spoke, his tone carrying a "Have you thought this through?" tone: "You're going to celebrate? Aren't you afraid your brother will start pressuring you to study?"

Liu Tingting paused for a moment, her expression stiffening for a second, but she quickly recovered, pursing her lips with an indifferent look: "Let them urge me, I'm doing fine working at the library now, and I don't have to worry about food or clothing."

After listening, Liu Erhe's face remained expressionless. He simply waved his hand and continued in a calm tone, "Don't think you're safe just because you're staying in the library. Last time I went to my older brother's, he specifically told me about this. He said if you still can't get into university next year, you'll have to work in a factory as a factory worker. Your job at the library will be terminated too. He won't let you stay there any longer."

Upon hearing this, Liu Tingting's expression immediately changed. She abruptly raised her head, her eyes wide, and her voice rose a half-octave: "What?! How come I didn't know? When did your brother tell you? I've never heard him mention it!"

"I mentioned it when I delivered the things last time." Liu Erhe looked at her shocked expression, his tone unchanged, "You think your older brother arranged a job for you so you could stay put? It's to give you a buffer period, so you can work and study at the same time, and take the exam again next year. If you treat that job as a safe haven, your older brother will be the first to object."

Liu Tingting opened her mouth, her expression a mixture of anxiety and anger, but she couldn't utter a word in rebuttal. She turned to look at Liu Shuanzhu.

Liu Shuanzhu was drinking water from his mug when he heard this. He put the mug down, his expression becoming more serious. He looked at Liu Tingting, his tone not harsh, but carrying a fatherly authority: "Your second brother is right. Your eldest brother arranged a job for you so you would have a place to stay, not so you wouldn't be ambitious. Think about it, how hard is it to get a proper job these days? Last year during the Spring Festival, the Jia family and Yi Zhonghai had such a huge fight, almost tearing the whole house down over a job position. If it weren't for your eldest brother, you'd probably be doing manual labor in some factory right now. Aren't you satisfied?"

Liu Tingting lowered her head after hearing Liu Shuanzhu's words, twisting the hem of her clothes with both hands, her lips pursed, and remained silent for a long time.

Liu Shuanzhu looked at her for a while, then spoke again, his tone slightly softer than before, but the weight of his words remained undiminished: "Since your older brother didn't specifically tell us about this, let's just continue living our lives as before. Erhe, Fangfang, neither of you should bring this up. Your brother's promotion to minister is his business; let's live our lives and not use this as an excuse to spread rumors in the courtyard."

Liu Erhe and Liang Fangfang nodded at the same time, one saying "I understand, Dad," and the other saying "I remember."

Liu Tingting sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), head down, silent for a long time before muttering softly, "Then I'll just take the exam again next year, it's not like I can't pass."

Liu Erhe glanced at her, but didn't reply. He simply picked up the water bowl and took another sip.

Wang Xiuhe turned around in front of the stove, put the spatula into the pot, and sighed, "Alright, alright, stop talking. Let's eat. Those who need to study, study; those who need to work, work; let's live our lives as usual. Your older brother has had a tough time getting to where he is today. All we family members can do is not cause him any trouble."