Courtyard Houses: The Great Masters of a Nation Hidden Within

Chapter 4: Old Comrades Reunited, Friendship Forged Through Milk Powder

After finishing his meal, Gao Jianguo strolled around for a while.

Asking for directions along the way, I headed towards the local police station.

He needs to cancel his household registration transfer certificate and quickly complete the household registration procedures.

According to the household registration regulations implemented in January 1958, this matter had to be settled within three days of arriving in a new place.

The school has already reported the household registration to be transferred out, and the documents have been received, so the household registration there has been cancelled.

If it expires here and isn't processed, there will be big trouble later.

I asked my way to the police station, where the officers were still wearing white Type 55 uniforms.

The Type 58 suit, designed last year, can only be put on after National Day this year.

Gao Jianguo, having served in the military, naturally felt a connection to such semi-militarized places.

Just as I was about to ask someone about settling down, a shout suddenly rang out beside me, much to my delight.

"Old platoon leader, is that really you?"

The voice sounded somewhat familiar. Gao Jianguo turned his neck, his gaze fixed on it, and he grinned.

"Haha, Old Wang, what are you doing here?"

The person who quickly caught up from behind was of medium height, with a stocky build and a round face.

His already dark face flushed red with excitement.

He walked with slightly uneven feet, and while hurrying past, he couldn't stop smiling.

Let alone eight teeth, probably all eighteen teeth are showing.

Gao Jianguo knew this person too well, to the point of being extremely familiar.

Back then, the deputy platoon leader in his own platoon, Wang Tiezhu, was two years older than him.

He was injured in the leg and retreated to the rear, and then there was no news of him.

I only know that we are all from Beijing, but I have never known where we are hiding.

In those days, once you separated, it often meant a lifetime apart.

I never expected to run into them here.

The two embraced each other excitedly, their fists pounding loudly on each other's backs.

Unable to say a word, he just kept patting the camera.

With that kind of force, someone with a weaker constitution would probably have had blood gushing from their lungs.

After taking enough photos, the two let go of each other's hands and tried to calm themselves down.

That's when we started talking about our lives over the years.

Wang Tiezhu was wounded in the leg and returned to the rear. After his injury healed and the war was over, he changed careers.

He was, after all, a deputy platoon leader, had been wounded and made meritorious contributions on the battlefield, and had attended junior high school before the war.

When I was demobilized and assigned to a job, it was necessary for me, and my major was somewhat relevant, so I went back to Beijing and became a police officer.

They're staying at the local police station right here on this street.

Don't underestimate this police station; police stations in Beijing are quite different from those elsewhere.

To put it simply, it's big.

After enduring these past few years, I'm now in charge of criminal investigation at the police station.

He got married and had a four-year-old daughter. His wife was pregnant with their second child.

Upon hearing about Gao Jianguo's current situation, Wang Tiezhu was overjoyed.

"The old platoon leader is really something, he's got both literary and martial skills."

The steel rolling mill is in a good location; it's a big factory, prestigious, and offers good benefits.

We brothers will be able to spend more time together from now on, hahaha.

I'll take you to handle the household registration matter. After it's done, I'll take a leave of absence, and you can come home with me to familiarize yourself with the place.

I know where you live, but you don't know where I live.

I'll go home later and ask my wife to cook a couple of dishes; we need to have a drink or two.

"Okay, thank you in advance, sister-in-law, haha."

Gao Jianguo suppressed his excitement and followed Wang Tiezhu to complete the household registration process.

This is nothing like the previous life; everything is automated now, and everything can be done online.

Right now, it's all manual work.

If we followed the usual practices of the local authorities, the household registration officer would at least be given the title of "Household Registration Master".

Since it's all done by hand, you can't speed it up.

Wang Tiezhu was busy helping his colleagues with the process, and Gao Jianguo himself was also busy, running around delivering materials.

While flipping through Gao Jianguo's household registration information, Officer Liu chatted idly with Wang Tiezhu.

"Captain Wang, your old comrade-in-arms looks so neat and amiable, I never would have guessed he was your platoon leader back in the day."

"Hey, what are you talking about?"

Let me tell you, the old platoon leader only switched to studying literature in recent years, and he seems much more amiable now.

Back then, let's put it this way: he killed more foreign devils than you've ever seen a foreigner.

"That's for sure, I've never seen a foreigner there."

Wang Tiezhu was so amused by Xiao Liu's way of keeping the straight man on the edge of his throat that he couldn't hold back and blurted out a joke.

"Let me put it this way: he was able to earn two first-class merits and three second-class merits on the battlefield with all his limbs intact. You can judge for yourself."

Xiao Liu was genuinely surprised.

"Wow, that's really impressive."

Wang Tiezhu showed off, saying smugly.

"Now you know, this old platoon leader has so many amazing skills, not to mention he even graduated from university, haha."

He kept talking and urging us on.

"Hurry up, hurry up, we have other things to do after we're done."

Once all the formalities were completed, Wang Tiezhu took leave and led Gao Jianguo to the subdistrict office.

We've also taken care of the matters that the neighborhood office needed to handle.

Even with Wang Tiezhu, a seasoned local, leading the way, it was almost 5 p.m. after all this commotion.

Wang Tiezhu led Gao Jianguo home.

Wang Tiezhu's home is also in Nantongluoguxiang, about one kilometer away from No. 95.

The walk between the two places takes less than ten minutes.

Seeing that he was about to be admitted to the hospital, Gao Jianguo made an excuse to go to the toilet and went inside.

She glanced back and saw that Wang Tiezhu hadn't followed her in. She reached into her bag and put two cans of milk powder inside.

Having prepared everything, they came out and followed Wang Tiezhu into his house.

Two rooms, three people, it's quite spacious for now.

Even if the second child is born in a few months, there won't be any problem finding a place to live in the short term.

As soon as Wang Tiezhu entered the door, he started shouting at the top of his lungs.

"Yueying, Yueying, come out quickly, come out quickly!"

"Hey, here they come."

A young woman emerged from the inner room, wearing a red ripped jacket, blue cloth trousers, and white-edged shoes.

Following behind was a chubby little girl with short hair and a round face, biting her finger and timidly tugging at the woman's clothes, looking at Gao Jianguo with a bit of curiosity.

"Old platoon leader, this is my wife, Wan Yueying, and this is my daughter, Xiumei, whose full name is Wang Xiumei."

Yueying, this is the old platoon leader I often talk about, Gao Jianguo.

He had just graduated from university and was assigned to the Hongxing Factory, where he lived at No. 95 in the alley in front.

Xiumei, call him Uncle Gao.

Wan Yueying was very enthusiastic when she heard this.

It's something to be happy about for her to run into a comrade-in-arms who went through thick and thin together in the tunnel, and it sounds like they can stay in touch.

Please sit down.

Oh, this is wonderful!

Platoon Leader Gao, my husband, Lao Wang, often talks about you. He always regrets that he couldn't go back to be with his comrades after leaving the front line.

I never imagined you two would not only run into each other, but also end up in the same alleyway, so far away.

"Okay, sister-in-law."

There's no need to be too polite with Lao Wang, he said, pulling up a chair as he spoke.

"Sister-in-law, Lao Wang, please don't call me platoon leader anymore."

Old Wang is older than me, you can just call me by my name.

I'll call you sister-in-law from now on.

As for the nickname "Old Wang," that's something I can't change anytime soon, haha.

As he spoke, he reached into his handbag and started taking things out.

"Old Wang, sister-in-law, I came in a hurry and didn't prepare anything."

However, entering the door empty-handed for the first time is absolutely unacceptable.

Gao Jianguo placed the two cans of milk powder on the table.

"I got this at school, and coincidentally, it fits your current situation perfectly, hehe."

Just as Wan Yueying was thinking of declining, Wang Tiezhu took a closer look and exclaimed, "Hey, it's milk powder!"

This is a treasure that money can't buy. He glanced at his wife's belly and waved his hand dismissively.

"Yueying, keep it. We're family, no need to be strangers."

This is exactly what my family needs.

Old platoon leader, if you can get your hands on some later, save some for me. Thanks in advance, hehehe.

Wan Yueying was also happy.

I'm pregnant right now, so this stuff is perfect whether I use it to nourish myself or save it for the baby.

Moreover, this thing isn't something you can just buy whenever you want; even if you have money, it's useless.

Normally, because of her job, Wang Tiezhu wouldn't accept things from others casually.

Even if it's something this good, I won't accept it.

Now that Wang Tiezhu has said they're family, everything's fine.