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

When Kong Jie saw that Zhang Renfeng had woken up, he regretted that he could not have relieved his old leader's worries earlier. Now was the time to show his skills.

He chuckled, then pulled his hands closer to the shoulders of his coat, as if afraid the woolen fabric would slip down.

"Commander, it's getting cold, so here's some extra clothes for you. You're so busy with work, if you catch a cold, our Third Army Corps will be without a leader."

Zhang Renfeng looked left and right, then stared intently at the officer's wool overcoat on his shoulder for a long time.

"You, you have truly caused me immense suffering..."

Seeing that Zhang Renfeng didn't seem angry, Old Li chuckled, took half a step forward, and deliberately lowered his voice so that the group at the door could hear him:

"The commander is incredibly dashing, and the old brigade commander, despite his disability, is determined and resolute. If you ask me, now that you're the commander and he's the political commissar, you're perfectly capable of giving him orders. This overcoat looks much better on you than on Old Chen; from now on, our Third Army Corps will only recognize this overcoat..."

"Oh dear, what's the matter?"

"Is this a rebellion? A coronation? Li Yunlong, congratulations on your fortune."

Before Li Yunlong could finish speaking, a strong voice rang out from outside the command post tunnel. Immediately afterward, a figure wearing a Soviet-style military overcoat strode in, holding a riding crop in his hand. His hat brim was pulled low, but as soon as his face appeared, the entire command post fell silent.

Upon seeing Brigade Commander Chen, Li Yunlong, who had just been grinning, almost knelt down.

He never expected that at this hour, Brigade Commander Chen would actually parachute into the Third Army Corps Headquarters.

So how much of what they said at the door—"donning the yellow robe" and "recognizing Zhang but not Chen"—did this old guy actually hear?

His legs went weak, and he instinctively took half a step back, his smile more like a grimace: "Oh, old brigade commander, you've arrived? Why didn't you say so sooner? If I had known you were coming, I would have gone north to Andong to greet you. Your legs... no, no, your spirits are much better than back in Beiping!"

Everyone originally thought that Old Chen was going to get angry. Given the old man's temper, if he heard that someone was going to sideline him and put him in power, wouldn't he immediately whip Li Yunlong in the face?

Unexpectedly, Old Chen actually took two steps forward, tucked the riding crop under his arm, put his legs together, straightened his back, raised his right hand, and snapped a perfect military salute to Zhang Renfeng in a loud and clear voice:

"Political Commissar Chen of the Third Army Corps has officially rejoined the force!"

Zhang Renfeng chuckled inwardly, thinking that this dog's behavior was definitely up to no good!

The matter of calling him "Dad" isn't over yet. Now he's saluting and returning to his unit. They're probably trying to pressure him with serious matters so he won't be embarrassed to bring up the bet in front of the army commanders and political commissars.

When did Zhang Renfeng become so easily fooled?

With his hands behind his back and a serious expression on his face, he began to harshly reprimand the army commanders and political commissars in front of them:

"Look at him! Look at him! What kind of political commissar is this? His top button isn't fastened properly, his hat isn't on properly—what kind of behavior is this? Guards, throw him out of here!"

Brigade Commander Chen smiled and wasn't annoyed at all.

Even if Zhang Renfeng tells him to get out, he'll do it.

In the past few months, he has become synonymous with death on the international stage, enjoying unparalleled fame.

Even the Russian marshals treated him with great respect. He and the director received high-ranking diplomatic officials from several countries, who were practically bowing down to him.

The U.S. military intelligence files included a three-page "personality analysis" of him, describing him as "unfathomable," "unpredictable," and "having Cheka experience," making him sound like a protagonist in a spy drama.

He asked Comrade Xiao Fu to get him a copy of those analysis reports, and he read them under the covers at night, laughing heartily.

But he knew perfectly well that Zhang Renfeng had fought the battle, set the tactics, and designed the rocket launchers. He had just been nominally in charge, quietly recuperating in Beiping for a few months, while the whole world thought that it was Old Chen who had strategized and won the battle.

He felt uneasy after taking too many of these advantages.

Of course, the limelight was secondary; the most important thing was that Zhang Renfeng's prediction actually came true: Comrade Fu gave birth to a daughter!

Mother!

The thought of that bet gave him a headache—back then, at the gate of the Xingtai Ordnance Factory, he had made the bet with Zhang Renfeng in front of Director Nie and the corps commander, saying that if Xiao Fu's baby was a daughter, he would call Zhang Renfeng "Dad".

Now that his daughter has been born, Old Chen, a political commissar of the Production and Construction Corps, can't just renege on his promise, can he?

The only way now is to keep Zhang Renfeng calm and absolutely not call him "father" in front of his subordinates. Otherwise, how will Old Chen face the world?

Commander Chen, being a man of flexibility and adaptability, chuckled as he buttoned up his shirt, put on his hat, stood at attention again, and gave Zhang Renfeng a proper salute: "Reporting to Commander Zhang! Political Commissar Chen requests to return to the unit!"

Li, Zeng, Qin, Cheng, Liang, Zhao, and Kong were completely stunned.

Li Yunlong's mouth was agape for a long time, Kong Jie almost dropped his pipe, Qin Jiwei and Zeng Shaoshan exchanged a glance and saw the same expression on each other's faces - this is the same brigade commander Chen who could scare the Japanese into retreating three miles with a single roar in the Taihang Mountains.

Brigade Commander Chen waved his hand, his smile fading slightly, replaced by a serious expression:

"Alright, that's enough for today. I have some very important intelligence from back home that I need to report to Commander Zhang privately. You can all go back now!"

Li Yunlong, that stubborn fellow, will take advantage of the fact that the old brigade commander has backed down, and he'll definitely try to gain the upper hand.

His legs were rooted to the ground, he didn't budge, and even took half a step forward with a grin, spreading his hands out:

"Hey, how dare we leave without the Commander's permission? We won't leave! Besides, Political Commissar Chen, you've come all the way from Beiping, you must be exhausted from the journey. How can we, your subordinates, not keep you company and talk to you? Commander, don't you think so?"

Brigade Commander Chen gritted his teeth and said in a low voice, "Li Yunlong, you'd better not be so arrogant..."

Zhang Renfeng smiled and raised his hand to adjust the officer's woolen overcoat draped over his shoulders.

"It's alright, just say what's on your mind here! Everyone's here, and I also have some good news to announce."

"I heard Political Commissar Chen had a daughter! Congratulations on your fortune!"

He pulled his coat tighter, but he wouldn't take it off now, even though it was very hot.

Brigade Commander Chen continued to grit his teeth, thinking to himself that this kid probably still remembered that bet, which was going to be difficult.

If Zhang Renfeng really made him call him "Dad" in front of Li Yunlong, Kong Jie, Qin Jiwei, Zhao Gang and his gang, where would he put his old face?

His mind raced, then he suddenly pulled a neatly folded document from his pocket, unfolded it, and saw red lettering and black text, with the official seal of the Zhisi (Chief Executive Officer) at the bottom.

He cleared his throat, his voice suddenly rising eight octaves: "I'm not speaking to you as the political commissar of the corps!"

He held up the document and waved it in front of everyone, declaring, "I'm now the Deputy Commander of the Volunteer Army Headquarters! This appointment was jointly issued by the Central Military Commission and the Volunteer Army Headquarters!"

After hearing this, even Zhang Renfeng had to admit defeat.

He snapped to attention, his back ramrod straight, and his hand raised in salute was impeccably standard.

"A higher rank can crush you," and this old guy actually parachuted in with an appointment from the local government, so he's Zhang Renfeng's immediate superior.

Zhang Renfeng cursed the old fox in his heart, but showed no sign of it on his face. He simply shouted in a strong voice, "Greetings, Commander!"

Brigade Commander Chen nodded in satisfaction, waved to the group at the door, and said, "Alright, everyone, you can go back now. Commander Zhang and I have some important matters to discuss."

Zhang Renfeng stepped down the stairs and nodded to Qin Jiwei and Zeng Shaoshan: "Alright, everyone go back to your respective defense zones first, and submit the training report to headquarters within three days."

When the army commanders reluctantly began to move out, Li Yunlong walked at the very back, glancing back at the door as he reached it.

Commander Chen glared at him, and he shrank back and disappeared in a flash.

Only the two of them remained in the tunnel.

Only then did Brigade Commander Chen approach, pull a paper package from his inner coat pocket, and cheerfully hand it to Zhang Renfeng:

"Wow, Commander Zhang, you're quite something, donning that yellow robe. Just bought it from Dingxinlou..."

Zhang Renfeng glanced at the donkey meat sandwich, then at Brigade Commander Chen's smiling face, and uttered three words:

"Call me Dad."