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

Two days passed in the blink of an eye.

That morning, Liu Yuheng drove his Volga from the Military Commission compound back to the Second Ministry of Machine Building. As the car turned into the Second Ministry of Machine Building compound, he saw several people standing at the entrance of the building through the car window.

Several elderly gentlemen dressed in dark gray Zhongshan suits stood in twos and threes at the bottom of the steps, the sunlight shining on their gray hair, giving it a faint silver sheen.

Professor Cheng, wearing his black-rimmed glasses, was walking at the front, tilting his head to talk to Professor Chen beside him. Behind him were two slightly younger scholars, each carrying a stack of folders.

Behind them, Yao Lei walked side by side with a young woman with a ponytail. The two were talking to each other with their heads down. Yao Lei's face was flushed from the sun, and there was a smile on his lips. When the girl turned her head to look at him, her eyes were curved, and it was hard to tell whether it was a smile or some other expression.

Liu Yuheng's gaze paused slightly for a moment. He didn't rush to get out of the car, but sat in the car for a couple more seconds, taking in the scene at the door through the car window.

He hadn't seen the girl before. She looked to be about the same age as Yao Lei, with her hair in a ponytail, wearing a faded blue jacket with the cuffs rolled up to reveal a small section of her wrist. She looked neat and tidy. When she spoke to Yao Lei, she walked very slowly, as if she was deliberately matching his pace.

Liu Yuheng's lips twitched almost imperceptibly as he pushed open the car door and got out.

He straightened up, adjusted the collar of his Zhongshan suit, and strode towards the elderly gentlemen. Upon reaching them, he greeted them with a smile, "Mr. Cheng, Mr. Chen, have you just arrived?"

Professor Cheng was talking to Professor Chen when he heard the voice, looked up, and saw Liu Yuheng. His face immediately lit up with a smile, and he took half a step forward to greet him: "Minister Liu is back? A few of us just returned to Beijing from the Northwest Base. We came to the Ministry today to discuss some work with the people from the Academy of Sciences."

Several professors nearby also looked up and nodded to Liu Yuheng. Professor Chen adjusted his glasses and called out, "Minister Liu." The other two scholars followed suit, their tone conveying the respect of older intellectuals for the young minister, yet neither servile nor arrogant.

Hearing the voice, Yao Lei turned around and saw Liu Yuheng. His expression changed from casual to more serious. He straightened up and, along with the other professors, greeted, "Minister Liu."

The way he addressed him as "Minister Liu" was very proper, completely different from how he would call him "brother-in-law" at home. The girl with the ponytail next to him also called him "Minister Liu" in a clear voice, but it was obvious that she was a little nervous about meeting such a high-ranking leader for the first time.

Liu Yuheng nodded to them, his gaze lingering on the girl's face for a moment before returning to his own. Without asking any further questions, he simply gestured to the side, "Come on, let's go up together. We can talk on the way. I also have something to discuss with these gentlemen."

The group walked up the steps into the building.

Liu Yuheng turned his head to look at Professor Cheng and asked, "Professor Cheng, what stage are we at in the theoretical calculations? Are there any difficulties?"

Upon hearing this question, Professor Cheng didn't stop walking, but his expression became more serious. He carefully considered his words before speaking: "The problem of calculation is still the biggest bottleneck. We are still using hand-cranked calculators and abacuses. The formulas are quite complex, and some parameters need to be iterated repeatedly, resulting in a huge amount of calculation."

"Take the calculation of critical mass for example. It takes at least half a month to run a complete model, and there are repeated verifications and checks in between. There are only a few hand-cranked computers, and the whole team takes turns using them, working three shifts day and night, but the progress is still not fast."

He paused, his tone carrying the frankness characteristic of a scholar: "Minister Liu, could you help us secure some more computing time? We can only get two or three days a month on the large computers at the Academy of Sciences, which is far too little. If we could get more time slots, the progress could be at least twice as fast."

After listening, Liu Yuheng did not immediately agree, but simply nodded, his brows slightly furrowed: "I'll try my best. I'll go to the Academy of Sciences again tomorrow to coordinate with them and try to get you a few more hours."

Professor Cheng's face immediately lit up with a smile, and he nodded slightly to Liu Yuheng: "Then thank you very much, Minister Liu. As long as we can overcome these theoretical problems this year, we can tackle several core challenges next year. We can't delay any longer. The factory buildings at the Northwest base are almost finished, and the equipment is being installed one after another. If the theoretical calculations can't keep up, we'll just be waiting around."

Liu Yuheng nodded, then turned his gaze to Professor Chen beside him: "Professor Chen, what about the Northwest base? Are there any other difficulties?"

Professor Chen had been listening quietly the whole time. When Liu Yuheng called on him, he adjusted his glasses, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke: "We don't have many difficulties on our end. Construction progress, equipment installation, and personnel resettlement are all proceeding according to plan. But..."

"I heard from the base doctor that some soldiers have been eating only one meal a day for several days in a row, and each meal is watery. They can't hold on when doing heavy physical labor, but they keep going until they collapse."

They arrived at the conference room door. Several professors stopped at the door, and Liu Yuheng stopped as well.

"Old Chen, I'll figure out a way to solve this problem. It will definitely be resolved. You all focus on your research, and I'll take care of the logistical support. We won't let the soldiers work on the construction while they're hungry."

Professor Chen looked at him, his expression softening slightly. He nodded but said nothing more. The professors took their seats in the conference room and began organizing their materials. Yao Lei followed them in, sat down against the wall, and opened his notebook.

Liu Yuheng stood at the door, nodded to Yao Lei, and then turned and walked back to his office down the corridor.

Liu Yuheng closed the office door and sat down in his chair. He placed his briefcase on the desk, took out the documents from it, and laid them in front of him, but didn't rush to open them. He leaned back in his chair, his gaze fixed on the sun-bleached cement ground outside the window, two things swirling in his mind.

Calculation duration. Grain.

The issue of calculating the time is relatively easy to handle. Although the large computers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences are scheduled very tightly, the project undertaken by the Second Ministry of Machine Building is a key national task. With his coordination, squeezing in a few extra hours shouldn't be a problem.

This wasn't the first time he'd run errands at the Chinese Academy of Sciences for the base's computing resources. He knew the officials he was dealing with and understood that projects from the Second Ministry of Machine Building couldn't wait. Making a few more trips, clarifying things, and saving face would surely get things done.

But the issue of food is not so easy. The base is a military-controlled unit, and supplies rely on the military's logistics channels. Right now, the whole country is in a state of tension. Even Beijing has to transfer grain from the Northeast. The rations of troops stationed in various places have also been reduced. Squeezing out surplus grain to support a construction project that is not part of the established system is much more difficult than coordinating and calculating resources.

But he couldn't ignore the situation Professor Chen described. The soldiers were working on construction on empty stomachs, and three of them were fainting every day. If this continued, the project wouldn't be finished before the soldiers collapsed.

He sat in the chair for a while, then reached for the black telephone receiver on the table, cranked the handle, and dialed a number. The call was transferred several times, and it took almost two minutes to connect.

A familiar, gruff voice came through the receiver, tinged with a touch of afternoon languor: "Hello, who is this?"

Liu Yuheng chuckled into the microphone, his tone casual, like that of an old acquaintance: "Old Kong, it's me."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by a hearty laugh: "Liu Yuheng? You old Liu, what made you think of calling me? You're such a busy man these days, I thought you'd forgotten all about us old brothers!"

Hearing the laughter, Liu Yuheng leaned back in his chair and chuckled as well, his tone tinged with self-deprecating honesty: "How could I forget? I'm calling you today because I'm in some trouble and I'm asking for your help, brother."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone. Kong Jie's laughter subsided, and his tone became much more serious: "Ask for help? You, Liu Yuheng, would ever need to ask me for help? Tell me, what's wrong? You wouldn't normally ask for something like this unless it's something serious."

Liu Yuheng gave a wry smile, switched the phone to his other ear, and said with a hint of helplessness, "If I hadn't encountered an insurmountable problem, I wouldn't have made this call. Old Kong, I won't beat around the bush. Could you spare me some grain? I'm really starving."

Kong Jie was silent for a few seconds on the other end of the phone, then asked, "Grain? What does your Second Ministry of Machine Building need grain for?"

"Old Kong, here's the situation. There's a project in the Northwest, but I can't go into the details over the phone, so please understand. There's a group of scientists and engineers there, and they've been suffering from severe food shortages lately. The soldiers are saving their own food to supply the scientists, while they themselves are starving and working on the construction. Three of them fainted from hunger in one day. I just found out about this. I've exhausted all the channels I can think of, and I'm really out of options, so I had no choice but to come to you."

He paused, then lowered his voice even further: "Old Kong, you know how researchers are; their minds can't stop for a moment. If they're not well-fed, their brains won't work, and they won't be able to calculate the data. And those soldiers, carrying bags of cement to the construction site on empty stomachs, it breaks my heart to see them like that. It doesn't matter if I go hungry, but those scientists and soldiers can't go hungry."

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone: "Old Liu, this is no easy task. Grain is scarce in the Northeast this year. The central and southern regions are also asking for grain, and even Beijing needs to source grain from the Northeast. We have to be very careful with our own grain supplies. If you want me to squeeze out a batch, I'll have to tighten my belt first."

He then changed the subject: "But since you've brought it up, Lao Liu, I, Kong Jie, will definitely help if I can. Give me a few days, and I'll try to coordinate and see where I can scrape some money together. I can't guarantee how much, but I'll try my best to find a way."

Hearing this, Liu Yuheng felt a weight lifted from his heart: "Old Kong, thanks. As long as you can squeeze out a little bit, I can finally catch my breath. It doesn't matter how much or how little, it's all I need."

He paused, as if remembering something, and added, "There's one more thing. If you really can't squeeze it out through legitimate channels, then think of a way to go into the forest and help hunt some game under the guise of live-fire exercises. Roe deer, rabbits, pheasants—whatever you can get. Those things don't count towards your food ration, you can eat them right away, and they'll last for a while."

Kong Jie was silent for two seconds on the other end of the phone, then chuckled, his tone a mix of exasperation and amusement: "You've got pretty high standards, you think? I can't even provide you with food? I have to hunt for you in the woods too? When did you, Liu Yuheng, become so shameless?"

Liu Yuheng chuckled twice: "Old Kong, I really had no other choice. If I can't get it through the proper channels, I have to find another way. Using the guise of an exercise to get things done is perfectly reasonable, and nobody can say anything about it. You border troops deal with the forest all year round; this is nothing new to you, is it?"

Kong Jie snorted on the other end of the phone: "Alright, alright, stop talking. I'll make some arrangements and call you when I'm ready. But remember, this is only because of you, Liu Yuheng. If it were anyone else, I wouldn't even bother with them."

Liu Yuheng quickly agreed, "Of course, I'll remember Old Kong's favor. I'll treat you to a drink after this is over."