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

Liu Yuheng pushed open the door and entered. Political Commissar Nie was sitting behind his desk, holding a red and blue pencil, sketching something on a map. He looked up, saw Liu Yuheng standing in the doorway, paused for a moment, then smiled, put down the pencil, and pointed to the chair opposite him.

"Yuheng? What brings you here? Have a seat."

Liu Yuheng walked to the chair opposite the desk and sat down, his back ramrod straight.

Political Commissar Nie rolled up the map in front of him and pushed it to the corner of the table, giving him a look of familiar disapproval and teasing: "You, Liu Yuheng, are quite the busy man these days. You don't come here unless it's important. So, what's the matter? Something happened at the base in the Northwest? Why didn't anyone report it to me?"

Liu Yuheng waved his hand and quickly took over the conversation: "Political Commissar Nie, nothing major has happened at the base, but the food situation has indeed reached a point where it must be addressed. This morning, several senior professors who returned from the Northwest base came to the ministry to report on their work, and I happened to run into them. They told me that the base's food supplies are almost exhausted."

"The soldiers worked on the construction while going hungry, so that they could save food for the scientists from the Science and Technology Commission and the workers who were transferred there. Just the day before Professor Chen was to return, three soldiers fainted from hunger in a single day. He witnessed this himself; who knows how many more he didn't see."

Political Commissar Nie frowned, his tone turning somber: "Three people fainted from hunger? Why didn't Professor Chen come directly to me?"

"They just arrived and haven't had a chance to report to you yet," Liu Yuheng continued. "Political Commissar Nie, this matter can't be delayed. Those scientists can't stop thinking for a moment, and those soldiers are carrying cement to the construction site on empty stomachs. If this continues, the project won't be finished before the soldiers collapse. I came to you today to resolve this matter."

Political Commissar Nie leaned back in his chair, remained silent for two or three seconds, and then spoke: "Alright, I'll think of a way. I'll try to gather another batch of supplies and send them over. But Yuheng, you know the situation across the country right now; the food shortage isn't just a problem in one or two places. The channels I can mobilize are also limited..."

Liu Yuheng immediately chimed in, "Political Commissar Nie, I've already asked two old comrades for help. Kong Jie from the Northeast, and Li Yunlong from the Southwest. Do you remember them?"

Upon hearing these two names, Political Commissar Nie paused for a moment, then a knowing smile appeared on his face as he nodded: "Those two? I know Kong Jie, he's now the deputy commander of the Northeast Military Region, doing a good job. Li Yunlong… Li Yunlong isn't causing trouble anymore?"

Liu Yuheng almost burst out laughing. He pursed his lips, suppressing the smile, and tried to keep his tone serious: "Political Commissar Nie, Li Yunlong is doing much better now. He's a division commander in the Southwest, and he's doing a solid job. They both agreed to help me gather some supplies. Kong Jie has the advantage of location; the Northeast is right next to the forests, so he can get some things there. As for Li Yunlong, he's emptied out all the savings he's accumulated over almost two years."

"However, the military and civilian sectors are different, and the allocation of supplies must follow formal procedures. I came here to ask you to issue a document for the transfer of supplies, so that the Science and Technology Commission can coordinate the transfer of supplies from these two military regions to support the Northwest Base."

Political Commissar Nie nodded: "Okay, I can handle the formalities. But Yuheng, do you have any opinions on how to distribute these transferred supplies?"

Liu Yuheng hesitated for a moment, leaning back in his chair and thinking for a few seconds before speaking: "Political Commissar Nie, this is what I'm thinking. The bulk of this batch of supplies definitely needs to go to the Northwest Base. They're genuinely short of food there; the soldiers are doing construction on empty stomachs. This can't wait. I suggest sending 70% to the Northwest Base, and the remaining 30% can be split 50/50 between our two families. What do you think?"

After listening, Political Commissar Nie leaned back in his chair, tapped his finger on the edge of the table, and remained noncommittal. He turned to look at Liu Yuheng, his tone frank and matter-of-fact: "Yuheng, I agree with your division in principle. However, there's one thing I need to make clear to you."

"Our Science and Technology Commission is not like your Second Ministry of Machine Building, which has so many military factories under it. Each factory has its own output, and even when things are tight, they can still squeeze out some surplus. Our Science and Technology Commission mainly manages research institutes and scientific research units, which have no output and rely entirely on allocations from above. We have a weak foundation and are in a tight spot, as you know."

He paused, then said decisively, "Here's the arrangement: of the remaining 30%, the Science and Technology Commission will take 20%, and the last 10% will be left to your Second Ministry of Machine Building."

Upon hearing this, Liu Yuheng's lips twitched. He quickly did the math in his mind: of the 30%, the Science and Technology Commission took 20%, leaving him with only the remaining 10%. Political Commissar Nie had cut off quite ruthlessly, taking two-thirds for himself.

But upon further reflection, he understood. The research institutes under the Science and Technology Commission truly lacked their own output, relying entirely on funding from above; their finances were far tighter than those under the Second Ministry of Machine Building. Commissar Nie's drastic cut would provide some relief to those institutes. While the profit-sharing ratio pained him, it wasn't unacceptable.

He gritted his teeth, gave Political Commissar Nie a thumbs up, and said with a mix of genuine admiration and helplessness, "It has to be you, old man. Your cut is really steep. I ran around doing all the errands, and in the end, I only got 10%."

Commissar Nie burst into laughter, pointed at Liu Yuheng, and said in a tone that was like an elder teasing and mocking a younger man: "Alright, Liu Yuheng, you have a big family and a big business, how could you be short of money? There are so many military factories under the Second Ministry of Machine Building, which one of them doesn't have a stronger foundation than our Science and Technology Commission's research institute? Don't try to play the poor card with me."

"Besides, this batch of supplies is for the Northwest Base. The Science and Technology Commission's 20% is used for related scientific research support at the Northwest Base, and it didn't go into my pocket. Your 10% is enough for your department to get by for a while. Don't be ungrateful."

Liu Yuheng chuckled and didn't argue further. He knew in his heart that he hadn't intended to keep that 10% for himself anyway. Once the supplies arrived, he would have the General Office allocate them directly to the Northwest Base, stating that it was an extra portion squeezed out by the Second Ministry of Machine Building, bypassing the Science and Technology Commission. This way, the Northwest Base would receive an extra 10%, allowing the soldiers to have a few more days of full meals.

"Alright, Political Commissar Nie, then we'll do it your way. Seventy percent to the Northwest Base, twenty percent to the Science and Technology Commission, and one percent to the Second Ministry of Machine Building."

Commissar Nie nodded, picked up the red and blue pencil from the table, wrote a few lines on a sticky note, and then called out to his secretary towards the door.

The secretary quickly entered, and Political Commissar Nie handed over a note: "Take this to the confidential office and issue a material allocation order in the name of the Science and Technology Commission, sending it to the Northeast Military Region and the Southwest Military Region respectively, allocating a batch of materials to support the construction of the Northwest base. I will provide the specific quantity later."

The secretary took the note and turned to leave. Liu Yuheng stood up and bowed slightly to Political Commissar Nie: "Political Commissar Nie, then I won't keep you any longer. With this note from you, things will be much easier for my two old comrades. I hope you can hurry things over here; if it drags on too long, the little bit of wealth that Li Yunlong has worked so hard to accumulate might be snatched away by someone else."

Political Commissar Nie waved his hand, his tone carrying an undeniable sense of satisfaction: "Alright, I understand. As for Li Yunlong, I'll have him directly transfer the supplies to the Northwest, bypassing Beijing to avoid the hassle of going back and forth. As for Kong Jie, I'll personally give him a call later. Anyone who dares to steal my stuff is out of line."