A courtyard house; Li Yunlong, a subordinate of the deputy director of Harbin Military Engineering I

No. 43 Lingjing Hutong.

As soon as the jeep turned into the alley, Liu Haizhong and He Daqing both gasped in surprise.

A sentry post was set up at the entrance of the alley. Two sentries were wearing brand-new cotton military uniforms, with armed belts around their waists and rifles in their hands. The bayonets of their rifles gleamed coldly in the winter sun.

Twenty steps further in, another sentry post was set up, with four soldiers standing on either side, one of whom had a pistol tucked into his waistband and sharp eyes scanning everyone who came in and out.

Deep in the alley, you can still vaguely see a few figures in plainclothes flashing past the corner of the wall. Their steps and eyes clearly indicate that they are veteran reconnaissance soldiers.

Zhang Rende walked in front, with He Daqing beside him, carrying a bag of pork belly and two crucian carp that he had just bought from the market, clicking his tongue repeatedly.

Liu Haizhong followed behind, his belly protruding, his eyes darting around, though he didn't say anything, his mind was in turmoil.

He had seen guards standing at the gates of those large government offices before, but there were only two or three of them.

Here, there's a sentry every three steps and a guard every five steps. With both covert and overt sentries, there's at least a platoon of soldiers.

He swallowed hard, his mind racing—his second uncle's entourage was even grander than he had imagined.

Hearing the commotion, Zhang Renfeng came out of the main house and saw his elder brother leading a group of people into the courtyard. He was surprised for a moment, then smiled and said, "Brother, why did you all come together?"

Zhang Rende rushed forward, grabbed Zhang Renfeng's hand, looked him up and down for a long time, his eyes reddening: "You've lost weight. Are you not eating well over there?"

Zhang Renfeng patted his elder brother's hand with a smile: "Not at all, they're treating us very well, there's meat at every meal."

Zhang Guilin, carrying Yulin on his back, approached and called out, "Second Uncle!"

Zhang Yulin, clinging to his brother's back, called out in a clear, crisp voice, "Second Uncle!"

Zhang Renfeng reached out and touched Yulin's little pigtails, then patted Zhang Guilin's shoulder: "You've all grown taller. Guilin must have shot up again in the last six months, right?"

Zhang Rende waved his hand: "Don't just stand there talking, come inside. He Daqing bought meat and fish on the way, saying that your new house is cold and empty, so he came to warm up the stove for you."

He Daqing quickly squeezed up from behind, carrying pork belly and crucian carp, his smile warm and sincere: "Second Uncle, I heard you were back, so I bought these especially! Tonight I'll show off my skills and make you a dish of braised three whites, I guarantee you'll want more!"

Zhang Renfeng was taken aback: "Cao Liu San Bai? That's a dish that requires skill and dedication."

"That's right!" He Daqing puffed out his chest, his face full of pride. "In all these years I've been the head chef at Zhengyanglou, I can't speak for other dishes, but I've put in a lot of hard work to perfect this one."

Zhang Renfeng was amused by his words: "That's great, I'm in for a treat today."

He Daqing smiled so hard his eyes narrowed into slits as he received the praise, then turned and walked toward the kitchen in the backyard.

Zhang Rende dragged Zhang Renfeng into the main room, with Zhang Guilin carrying Yulin on his back and following behind.

Zhang Renfeng invited everyone to sit down and then asked Sun Bing to boil water and make tea.

Zhang Guilin put Yulin down, and the little girl immediately climbed onto Zhang Renfeng's lap, looking up at him with her little face: "Second Uncle, are you coming back or not?"

After these words were spoken, the room fell silent for two seconds.

Zhang Rende picked up the conversation, his tone both tentative and expectant: "Renfeng, is this trip back to Beiping for a job transfer? You don't have to leave again?"

Zhang Renfeng glanced at his elder brother, then looked down at Yulin on his lap, stroking her head. After a moment of silence, he spoke, "It's not a transfer. I'm just back for a few months temporarily to take care of some work. I have to leave again after that."

Zhang Rende's smile paused slightly, but he quickly returned to normal.

He was also a veteran and knew the rules of the military; there were some things he shouldn't ask.

He picked up the tea that Sun Bing had just brewed, took a sip, and changed the subject: "I had a dream the night before last, I dreamt about my parents."

Zhang Renfeng looked up at him.

"In my dream, my parents were sitting in the main room, just like they always have. My father was smoking a pipe, and my mother was sewing shoe soles. They told me that Renfeng was getting married and that we should clean up the room in the backyard." Zhang Rende laughed as he spoke. "I thought to myself, what kind of happy event could Renfeng have? We can't interfere in matters of state, that's just his personal business. When I woke up, I told my sister-in-law that Renfeng was probably getting together with some girl in Yunnan Province, and I had to write to him to find out."

Hearing this, Zhang Renfeng's lips curled up. Deep down, he believed in such things. Having spent half his life on the battlefield, witnessing countless life-and-death situations, he believed in such unseen intuition more than most people. He would usually just laugh off the idea of ​​his parents appearing in his dreams, but hearing it from his elder brother warmed his heart.

"Brother," Zhang Renfeng put down his teacup and sat up straight, "I invited you here today for this very reason."

Zhang Rende's teacup stopped in mid-air, and his eyebrows rose.

"An elder brother is like a father," Zhang Renfeng said earnestly. "Our parents are gone, and I've been away on business all these years, so you've been the one taking care of everything at home. The organization has arranged a partner for me this time, and I thought I should tell you about it first."

Liu Haizhong, who had been sitting upright, suddenly leaned forward upon hearing this, his eyes widening, and blurted out, "Second Uncle, your organization is really something, they can even arrange wives for you!"

His words came from the bottom of his heart, and the envy and shock on his face were impossible to hide.

In his simple understanding, his second uncle was incredibly powerful—his job was arranged, his house was allocated, and now even his wife was introduced to him. He was practically a winner in life.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Rende's smile vanished instantly. He turned and glared at Liu Haizhong, his eyes like knives: "Shut up! You can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want. What do you mean by 'arranging a wife'? This is organizational discipline. Once you reach a certain position, do you think you can just pick and choose a spouse? Do you think this is a rural market?"

Liu Haizhong shrank back when he was glared at, quickly lowered his head, and muttered under his breath, "I was just saying it casually..."

Zhang Rende ignored him and turned to look at Zhang Renfeng. The stern look on his face disappeared, replaced by an uncontrollable smile that stretched almost to his ears: "Whose daughter is she? How old is she? What does she do for a living?"

He asked detailed questions, but his mind was in turmoil. The second branch of the Zhang family was finally going to have offspring!

As the eldest brother, what he has been most concerned about over the years is his younger brother's marriage.

There was no other way before because of the war, but now the whole country has been liberated, and Renfeng is thirty-one years old. If he doesn't get married now, does he have to wait until he's seventy or eighty to find an old lady?

Whether it's a free choice or an introduction by the organization, as long as the person is upright and you get along well, that's a great thing.

Zhang Guilin also chimed in, "Second Uncle, Second Uncle, are you from Beiping?"

Yu Lin, lying on Zhang Renfeng's lap, looked up and asked, "Second Uncle, what is a girlfriend?"

"It's about finding a wife for my second uncle," Zhang Guilin answered quickly.

"What is a daughter-in-law?"

"My wife is... Oh, you're just a kid, don't ask!"

Zhang Renfeng was surrounded by a room full of people talking at once, and he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

He waved his hand to signal everyone to be quiet, then looked at Zhang Rende and said, "Brother, I can't say for sure which family it is right now. I'll tell you once things are settled."

Zhang Rende slapped his thigh: "It's your job to get a wife, not the organization assigning you a task! As long as you like her, that's fine!"

Zhang Renfeng picked up his teacup and took a sip. His older brother's words soothed away any unease he might have felt.

He had initially worried that his older brother would feel that the organization's introduction of him wasn't "free love" enough, but now it seems that his older brother is much more open-minded than he imagined.

Indeed, Zhang Rende was someone who had followed the Guangxi Clique back then and had worked as a fitter in Beiping for twenty years. What kind of world hadn't he seen?

Just then, He Daqing walked in from the backyard carrying a steaming large platter, calling out, "Make way, make way! Cao Liu San Bai is here!"

A fresh and delicious aroma filled the room along with the steam.

.....

The aroma of food wafted from the kitchen!

Brigade Commander Chen next door was just about to start dinner when he came back and went straight to sleep. Sister Fu busied herself preparing a table full of food, and then said to A-Jian…

"Xiao Jian, go wake your dad up for dinner, and then go call your Uncle Feng over."

"No!"

Brigade Commander Chen rubbed his hands together and praised, "Comrade Fu's skills have improved significantly!"

But after he sat down, he immediately sensed something was wrong and muttered to himself, "Our food..."

Sister Fu's expression turned serious.

After glancing at it, Brigade Commander Chen burst into laughter to ease the awkwardness. "Alright, I'll go call Renfeng. You guys eat, you eat first!"

As clever as Brigade Commander Chen was, he had already guessed that the aroma from next door most likely came from next door. He cursed inwardly, "That Zhang Renfeng, that little devil, that damn single dog, who knows where he went and prepared another meal."

He changed into simple clothes, skipped out, took a few steps, then came back and took Ah Jian away.

"Comrade Xiao Fu, you eat first, you eat first."

Reaching the door, he waved to the guards at courtyard number 43 and asked in a low voice, "Commander Zhang, do you have guests at your home?"

The guard said, "Yes, Commander Zhang brought some guests over. Oh, I'm hungry~"

"You little comrade!"

Brigade Commander Chen became serious, his face stern. "Your revolutionary will is not firm! I'll go in and check, but don't announce it! Don't make a fuss!"

Commander Chen looked at his son and said with a grin, "Finally, we won't have to eat your mother's terrible cooking anymore. Dad will take you out for a good meal. Your Uncle Feng is a man of taste. From now on, our family's meals will be several levels better."

Xiao Jian rolled his eyes, cursing his father in his heart, but his mouth was already watering.

After the father and son entered the house, they saw Zhang Renfeng, Zhang Rende, and the others already eating. Commander Chen said with a grin,

"Hey, isn't this Brother Renfeng? Oh, hello, hello, I'm Commander Zhang's neighbor. You see, I'm older than you, right? You can call me Brother."

Zhang Rende looked surprised. He was a knowledgeable man; one's temperament is something that cannot be faked or hidden.

He knew this person must be someone important!

So he looked at Zhang Renfeng, who nodded. After all, there were outsiders present, and it was at home. Since Commander Chen didn't mention his position, he didn't either. He just looked disgusted. Damn it, he's here to freeload.

"Xiao Jian, come here and sit with our Guilin Yulin."

One meal revealed a hundred hidden schemes!

The old brigade commander didn't stand on ceremony, wolfing down two bowls of rice like a starving ghost. He only called out when he was almost finished, "Eat up, don't be shy. Don't waste food."

He ate for a few minutes, then realized it was getting late and, fearing he'd get scolded when he got home, grabbed a few pieces of meat and pulled Xiao Jian aside, saying, "Okay, Xiao Jian, that's enough. Let's go home."

He didn't forget to turn back and say politely, "Hey, why are you looking at me? Eat up! Renfeng, I'm going back now, let's talk later."

Watching the brigade commander strut away, Liu Haizhong was completely dumbfounded. He muttered to himself, "Hey!! Uncle, isn't your neighbor a bit too presumptuous?"

"Let me tell you, if it weren't for you being there, I would have slammed my fist on the table! I'm so angry!!"

Zhang Rende almost took off his shoes and slapped him in the bangs.

Zhang Renfeng thought to himself, "If you knew who he was, you'd be scared out of your wits." "Alright, alright, everyone, let's eat."