Siheyuan (traditional courtyard house): Starting with the Korean War, returning home to take charge

Wednesday came sooner than expected.

He Yuzhu hasn't gone to church or seen Lao Ma these past few days. He goes to work, attends meetings, and works in the workshop as usual. Li Baotian no longer avoids him when he sees him, but he still doesn't talk to him much. He keeps the warning letter in his drawer and hasn't mentioned it to anyone.

He Yushui started muttering to herself.

"Brother, why haven't you been coming home for dinner these past few days?"

He Yuzhu was putting on his coat, getting ready to go out.

"The factory is busy."

He Yushui stood at the door, looking at him. She clutched an old scarf in her hand, which He Yuzhu had sent back from the army last winter. She had been using it ever since.

"You were busy in the army before, but not this busy. You used to write to me and always said, 'I'll take you to Donglaishun when I come back.'" She rolled her scarf in her hand. "But when you came back, we didn't go to Donglaishun, and you didn't even talk to me anymore."

He Yuzhu turned around and glanced at her.

"Rain, is something wrong?"

He Yushui shook her head.

"It's nothing. It's just... you've been talking strangely lately."

He Yuzhu didn't reply, pushed open the door and left.

It was getting dark outside, and the streetlights weren't on yet. He rode his old, beat-up bus toward the church. The chain rattled even louder than before; for every pedal stroke, it rattled three times. The sound echoed through the empty street, as if someone was following him.

There weren't many people in the church, only seven or eight, scattered around. Raymond was standing at the front, saying something in a low voice, so it was hard to hear. He Yuzhu found a seat on the side, just like last time.

Raymond saw him come in, his gaze lingered on him for a moment, and then he continued speaking.

After he finished speaking, he handed out the small cookies as usual. When he got to He Yuzhu, he bent down and said softly:

"Deputy Factory Director He, please stay a moment. The tea is ready."

He Yuzhu nodded.

After everyone had left, Raymond closed the door and brought in two cups of tea. He placed one in front of He Yuzhu and took the other, sitting down next to him.

"Mr. Ma still hasn't come today."

"Um."

Raymond took a sip of tea and looked at him.

"Deputy Factory Director He seems to care a lot about Mr. Ma."

He Yuzhu also took a sip of tea.

"Old Ma is a key technical worker in the factory. He hasn't been doing well lately, so I'll ask him about it."

Raymond smiled.

"Deputy Factory Director He is a good leader."

He Yuzhu did not respond.

Raymond put down his teacup, shifted his posture, as if he wanted to chat about something casual.

"Where is Deputy Factory Director He from?"

"Beijing."

"Beijing is great. I lived in Beijing for a few years. There's a teahouse near Qianmen with really good tea."

He Yuzhu looked at him.

"Did Father Ray stay in Beijing?"

"I stayed there," Raymond nodded. "Back when there was war."

He Yuzhu waited for him to continue. But Raymond didn't speak; instead, he asked him:

"Did Deputy Factory Director He fight in the Korean War?"

"I've fought with them."

"I heard they fought really hard. Did they earn some merit?"

He Yuzhu didn't answer. He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and the tea had gone a little cold.

Raymond smiled and didn't press the matter.

"Deputy Factory Director He, what do you think of the factory now?"

He Yuzhu was stunned for a moment.

"What, how is it?"

"It's about...career prospects. Work environment. Compensation." Raymond spoke slowly, as if choosing his words carefully. "You came from the military, so you're supposed to be a meritorious soldier. How have they treated you?"

He Yuzhu looked at him.

Raymond's eyes were gentle, but something was moving beneath that gentleness.

He Yuzhu put down his teacup.

"Father Lei wants to hear the truth?"

"certainly."

He Yuzhu remained silent for a while.

"In terms of technology, we are far behind foreign countries. I have mentioned to the factory several times that we should introduce new equipment and improve the process. The leaders said okay, they would look into it, but after a year, nothing came of it."

Raymond listened without interrupting.

He Yuzhu continued:

"There are plenty of capable technicians, but most of them are not useful. As the deputy factory director, I'm supposed to be in charge of technology, but that's really not all I'm capable of. If I really want to get anything done, there are people blocking my way at every turn."

After he finished speaking, he picked up his teacup and found it was empty. Raymond immediately refilled it for him.

"Deputy Factory Director He, you can only say this to me. Don't go around saying it outside."

He Yuzhu gave a wry smile.

"Who should I talk to? And would it even be of any use?"

Raymond was silent for a moment. He took out a small notebook from his pocket, opened it, tore off a piece of paper, which was covered with dense foreign language text.

"Deputy Factory Director He, take a look at this."

He Yuzhu took it. It was technical data, in German, which he couldn't understand very well, but he could read the drawings—they were structural diagrams of some kind of precision machine tool.

"This is?"

"The latest machine tool technology from abroad," Raymond said in a low voice. "If you really want to get things done, I can introduce you to a place. The equipment there is good, and they're open-minded about hiring. You can actually get something done there. Consider this a small gift."

He Yuzhu looked at him.

"Where?"

Raymond smiled.

"No rush. Take a look at this first. Come back around this time next week, and we'll discuss it in detail."

He Yuzhu folded the paper and put it in his pocket.

Raymond stood up and patted him on the shoulder.

"Deputy Factory Director He, I can tell you're someone who wants to get things done. These days, there aren't many people who are willing to get things done. Think about it carefully."

He Yuzhu stood up and walked out.

He turned back as he reached the door.

Raymond stood there, smiling as he watched him.

See you next week.

He Yuzhu rode his bicycle back to the factory, and without going into the office, went straight to find Lao Sun.

Old Sun was still in that small house at the end of the alley, the light still on. He Yuzhu knocked three times, two short knocks and one long knock, and the door opened.

He repeated Raymond's words verbatim and took out the paper.

Old Sun took it and stared at it under the light for a long time.

"It's in German. It's definitely machine tool blueprints. This kind of information isn't something the average person can get their hands on."

He Yuzhu looked at him.

"Should I go to that place next week?"

Old Sun thought about it.

"Go. If we don't go, how will he show his true colors? Only if you go can we catch him in the act."

He Yuzhu nodded.

Old Sun returned the paper to He Yuzhu, then suddenly asked:

Was there anything unusual about how he spoke to you today?

He Yuzhu thought for a moment.

He asked me if I had ever been to Beijing during the war. He said he had also been to Beijing during the war.

Old Sun frowned slightly.

"When the war was raging... Generally, when Chinese people say 'when the war was raging,' they are referring to the War of Resistance Against Japan or the Chinese Civil War. An American priest using this term?"

He Yuzhu had also thought of that.

"He may have spent more time in China than he himself said."

Old Sun didn't say anything. He stood up, walked to the window, and glanced outside. It was pitch black outside; he couldn't see anything.

In the distance, the church bells rang. Dong, dong, dong, one after another, as if counting something.

He Yuzhu got home around 10 p.m.

He Yushui was still awake and sat on the doorstep waiting for him. When she saw him push the cart in, she stood up.

"Brother, have you eaten?"

He Yuzhu was stunned for a moment.

"not yet."

He Yushui ran into the house and brought out a bowl. The bowl contained noodles, which had clumped together, but were still steaming.

"I saved it for you."

He Yuzhu took the bowl, sat on the threshold, and began to eat.

He Yushui sat down next to him and watched him eat. The moonlight shone on her face, making her features very soft.

"Brother, you've been going out a lot these past few days. Is there something you're hiding from me?"

He Yuzhu chewed his noodles without saying a word.

He Yushui waited for a while but didn't receive a reply.

"You weren't like this before." Her voice was a little hoarse. "When you were in the army, you would write back and tell me everything. Now that you're back, you don't say anything at all."

He Yuzhu put the bowl down.

"Rain, there are some things I can't tell you now. I'll tell you later."

He Yushui looked at him.

"When is 'later'?"

He Yuzhu did not answer.

He Yushui stood up and walked into the house. After taking two steps, she turned back.

"Brother, I don't care what you do, but you have to promise me one thing."

He Yuzhu looked at her.

"Don't let anything happen."

After she finished speaking, she ran into the house.

He Yuzhu sat on the doorstep, still holding the bowl in his hand. The noodles were completely cold, but he still finished the last few bites.

In the distance, the church bells had long since stopped ringing.

The night was quiet.