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

On December 24, the Chinese People's Volunteer Army recaptured Nangang, and the UN forces withdrew entirely from the sea. The Second Phase Offensive was a complete victory, pushing the front line north of the 12th parallel and crushing the "Christmas Offensive"!

Behind a long table covered with red cloth in the front courtyard of No. 43 Lingjing Hutong, where the screen wall is located, Commander Chen listened as his bodyguard Sun Bing finished reading the battle report from the front line. He squinted and chuckled as he stared at Sister Fu beside him.

"See? I told you Zhang, that little devil is so cunning. Why did he choose Christmas Eve to eat at the banquet? Is this some kind of victory celebration?"

He was talking animatedly, but Zhang Renfeng, standing at the door and across half the yard, could see that his right knee was trembling slightly, and he was leaning against the back of the chair, his left hand supporting himself on the table, clearly having difficulty standing.

Zhang Renfeng's heart sank; this old guy was just putting on a brave face again.

Today is his big day, and someone in his physique shouldn't be here, but this guy came over early this morning before dawn, leaning on his cane, insisting on taking charge of the banquet and keeping accounts, saying he wanted to "clearly distinguish between gratitude and resentment and avenge past humiliations."

Zhang Renfeng wanted to stop them, and Sister Fu also tried to stop them; who could stop them?

"Old man, doesn't your leg hurt?" Zhang Renfeng took a moment to walk over and asked in a low voice.

Brigade Commander Chen glared at him: "Bullshit! I'm in a good mood today, so my leg doesn't hurt. You keep an eye on your bride and stop standing around here."

He cursed, but his brush never stopped; he wrote accounts in the notebook with flowing strokes, and his nose twitched involuntarily as he smelled the delicious aroma wafting from the kitchen in the backyard.

Looking at his stubborn insistence, Zhang Renfeng felt both angry and touched.

Turning her head to look at Zhang Xiyue beside her, she was wearing a military uniform with a small red flower pinned in her hair, standing at the door greeting guests with a poised and elegant demeanor.

Zhang Renfeng thought to himself, "Today is my good day. If this old guy really makes a mess of things, I'll carry him to the clinic and have Sister Fu burn all his diaries."

Inside the kitchen, He Daqing, along with his sons He Yuzhu and He Yushui, two kitchen helpers from Zhengyanglou, and his elder brother's apprentice Liu Haizhong, were working busily.

He Daqing was sweating profusely from flipping the wok, constantly calling out, "Zhuzi, take that plate of pork kidneys over there! Yushui, don't just stand there, chop the scallions!"

He Yuzhu ran out carrying a plate of vegetables and almost bumped into Zhang Guilin, who was coming out of the backyard. The two looked at each other and laughed at the same time.

"Zhang Guilin, you've come to help too?"

"Nonsense, it's my second uncle's wedding, do you think I'd just sit here and eat?" Zhang Guilin rolled up his sleeves, took the plate from He Yuzhu's hand, and asked, "Which table?"

"The table in the front yard, next to Commander Chen."

"What?" Zhang Guilin paused, his face falling. "That old comrade again? He drank half of my dad's wine last time..."

He Yuzhu chuckled, "Then you don't need to go, I'll go."

"Bullshit! If I don't go, you go?" Zhang Guilin strode away carrying the plate, muttering, "My second uncle said we should respect the elderly and care for the young, so I'll put up with it."

Among the group of people with the most enthusiasm, Liu Hai was wearing a newly made blue cotton-padded jacket with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing his thick forearms. He was squatting by the stove, picking vegetables with great concentration, muttering to himself, "My life has been worthwhile! My second uncle is getting married, and I'm helping out in the kitchen. Not everyone is so lucky."

He Daqing glanced at him: "You should focus on preparing your vegetables and stop babbling. If you don't get everything ready soon and we miss the auspicious time, will you take responsibility?"

Liu Haizhong immediately shut up, but he couldn't stop smiling.

"Oh, Commander Zhang, congratulations on your fortune!"

Zhao Gang, the director of the political department of the Third Army Corps, along with the deputy political commissar and chief of staff, came together with a gift box. Zhao Gang gave the speech.

"These are the gifts the three of us prepared for Commander Zhang. I bought these blankets in Shanghai on my way here; they're incredibly warm in winter. You won't catch a cold even if you're making a ruckus in bed at night."

Zhao Gang spoke with a serious expression, his face bearing the dignified air characteristic of political cadres.

But as soon as he said that, the old guys next to him all laughed.

"Hahaha," the crowd cheered, and Brigade Commander Chen joked, "This is good, this is especially good! Your Commander Zhang is a greenhorn, young and strong, his main strategy is to retreat when the enemy advances and harass when the enemy camps, quick in and quick out!!"

After hearing this, Sister Fu stomped on his foot hard.

Commander Chen cried out in pain as his foot was stepped on, but his smile didn't fade. He changed his words, saying, "Zhao Gang... three people and one blanket from Shanghai."

He waved to Xiao Jian, who was holding a pen and immediately wrote it down in his notebook.

Xiao Jian's writing was crooked and messy, but every stroke was deliberate. After finishing, he looked up at his father, his eyes clearly saying:

Dad, when will you ever be serious?

After the guests took their seats, Zhang Renfeng stood at the door to greet several more groups of people.

He dreads these kinds of situations the most, smiling on the outside but secretly plotting how to toast others without getting drunk.

Then, two travel-worn figures rushed in.

"Commander, this is Zeng Shaoshan from the 12th Army."

"Qin Jiwei, 15th Army, reporting for duty."

Seeing their travel-worn appearance, Zhang Renfeng didn't say much or ask any questions. After all, their itinerary had been reported. The 15th Army arrived in Beiping yesterday, with the army commander getting off the train first and the political commissar leading the team to the Northeast. As for the 12th Army, they arrived in Beiping individually first.

This combination is quite a straightforward and open-minded thing.

"It's good that you're here. Come in and have a seat." Zhang Renfeng nodded to the two of them.

The two were unprepared and empty-handed, so Brigade Commander Chen caught them and extorted a hefty sum from them.

Brigade Commander Chen stood up, leaning on his cane, and patted Zeng Shaoshan on the shoulder with a smile:

"Commander Zeng, you're such a high-ranking commander, coming to a wedding without bringing a gift? Is that appropriate?"

Zeng Shaoshan was stunned and before he could react, Qin Jiwei had already been grabbed by the arm by Brigade Commander Chen.

"You're not bringing anything either? Fine, two army commanders coming together empty-handed to a banquet? If word gets out, people will think our Third Army Corps is desperate for money!"

Brigade Commander Chen turned to Xiao Jian and shouted, "Make a note of this: Commander Zeng of the 12th Army and Commander Qin of the 15th Army, make sure they receive a gift later! At least two packs of cigarettes each!"

Zeng Shaoshan and Qin Jiwei exchanged glances and then laughed simultaneously: "Old brigade commander, your calculations are even more astute than the logistics minister's."

"Absolutely! So many people took advantage of me when I got married, now the tables have turned, it's my turn to reap the rewards!"

Commander Chen plopped back down, straightening his back with a graceful movement.

He thought for a moment, then felt something was missing. "Xiao Jian, here's what you do: you make up for it: Li Yunlong, I'll give you a gift later! Ten cartons of cigarettes and ten bottles of Fenjiu liquor!"

In the courtyard, Zhang Rende and Mu Xiuhua were in charge of receiving guests. Seeing that everyone who came in was a famous and important figure, he tried to remain calm.

Zhang Rende's palms were sweaty.

He saw several faces he had seen in the newspaper. His mind went blank, and he could only nod mechanically, offer his seat, pour tea, and say "Please sit down, please sit down" while his palms were sweaty.

Mu Xiuhua was more composed than him, holding the teapot and refilling it with water while speaking slowly and deliberately. Zhang Rende secretly admired his wife; if it were him, he probably wouldn't even be able to hold the teapot steady.

When the old political commissar came over, he saw Zhang Renfeng and Zhang Xiyue and said a few words:

"Well, two archers are here! They're the powerful bows and crossbows we used to take the enemy's heads..."

"You guys really know how to pick your timing. We were just in a meeting when we heard the news of the victory, and you insisted on adding more dishes. Your father-in-law Nie said it's his daughter's wedding today, and everyone is coming. I was worried we wouldn't be well-prepared, so I brought over two cooking crews..."

Sure enough, he was followed by more than a dozen people, wearing aprons and carrying spatulas, who went straight into the alley.

Brigade Commander Chen grinned: "I knew it! This is very much in line with our Corps' style—we're not afraid of not having enough to eat, we're afraid of not having enough food! And it has to be the old political commissar..."

Immediately afterwards, the two cooking crews took over the alley and started working.

He Daqing peeked out from the kitchen, paused for a moment, then quickly called to Liu Haizhong, "Quick! Clear the stove! They're professionals!"

Liu Haizhong hurriedly packed his things, muttering to himself, "My goodness, what a spectacle..."

Brigade Commander Chen patted Zhang Renfeng on the shoulder: "All the committee members are here, it's alright. With me, an alternate committee member, here, there's nothing to worry about!"

"I bet you don't even know what a substitute is. Let me tell you, having ginseng stuck in your ass is what you call a substitute!"