Siheyuan: Living in the People's Community, with a Heart for the Red Star

Lao Yang left the station and took a bus to the city. He first went to a guesthouse and booked a room. He put the disguised luggage in the guesthouse and went out. Lao Yang wandered around the city and came to the door of a courtyard house. He knocked on the closed door. After a minute, he knocked on the door again at the same frequency, and the door was opened from the inside.

A skinny old man standing inside the door said to Lao Yang, "Hey, man, what's up?"

Lao Yang clasped his fists and said, "Brother, I have been to the docks and rivers and lakes, and I am here to pay homage to the ancestor."

The old man looked at Lao Yang and said, "Knocking on the door means you are a guest, so please come in, okay?"

Old Yang bowed and said, "Thank you!" He took a step back and then walked forward, stepping over the threshold and entering the house.

Lao Yang used his previous connections to pass on information to his superiors, asking to meet with his former leader. Lao Yang wrote some messages to his leader in code and handed them to the contact point, hoping to meet him as soon as possible to discuss in detail. After the matter was settled, he left the contact point and went to the guesthouse to wait for news.

At about 6pm, there was a knock on Lao Yang's door. Three long and three short knocks were the basic code. Lao Yang opened the door and saw a young man in a suit standing outside. The young man took out a black card and flashed it. Lao Yang nodded and left the guesthouse with the other party. There was a Dongfeng car outside the door. The young man opened the door for Lao Yang, waited for Lao Yang to get in the car, closed the door, sat in the passenger seat and signaled the driver to drive.

The car went back and forth on the street and finally arrived at a suburban compound. After being checked by the guard, the car drove deep into the compound and stopped in front of a small courtyard. The young man got out of the car and opened the door for Lao Yang, signaling Lao Yang to get out. Lao Yang and the young man walked towards the small courtyard together, passed through the archway and stopped in front of a two-story building. The young man went up and whispered a few words to a sentry in front of the door. The sentry pushed the door and entered the house. After a few minutes, the door opened and an energetic old man came out. He looked at Lao Yang excitedly and walked over quickly. Lao Yang hurried forward to support the old man.

This old man is Cui Li, Lao Yang's former leader. At that time, Lao Yang followed Secretary Cui to travel all over the country, and successfully completed many tasks, protected Secretary Cui's safety, and successfully completed all tasks assigned by Secretary Cui. He has a very important position in Cui's heart. Cui also agreed and signed Lao Yang's special retirement approval. Now he can see Lao Yang alive and kicking again, and he is extremely excited and relieved. After Lao Yang was injured in his last mission, Cui once asked to hire foreign experts to treat him, but because the international situation did not allow it, it was delayed, causing Lao Yang to suffer from illness. So when Lao Yang applied for retirement, Cui did not have the courage to face Lao Yang. This time, he received the news from Lao Yang that he had recovered from his illness. He was happy for Lao Yang and relieved for his return.

Cui Lao tightly grasped Lao Yang's arms and said, "It's great to be back. I thought I would never see you again in this life! You have made all the regrets in my heart go away. You must stay with me more!"

Old Yang couldn't help crying and said, "I didn't expect to recover. I left with determination, and finally I met my master who saved me! Only then did I have the chance to come back and see you again!"

Cui Lao patted Lao Yang's arm and said, "Come on, let's go inside. I've prepared some good wine. Let's have a good chat!"

Old Yang held back his tears, nodded, and helped Old Cui walk into the house.

Old Yang helped Cui Lao into the room. In the middle of the living room was an eight-person table with four dishes on it: braised pork, fried peanuts, braised vegetable core, and a whole roast chicken. There were two bottles of white wine next to it. These four dishes were once the favorites of Old Yang and Secretary Cui, and each had a story behind it.

After Lao Yang and Cui Lao entered the room, the young man in the suit did not follow them in. The sentry closed the door after the two of them entered. The young man in the suit turned and went into the room next door, waiting for instructions from his leader.

Time passed quickly as the two chatted. At 11 o'clock in the evening, the man in the suit knocked on the door to remind Cui Lao that it was time to rest. The two people, who were excited after drinking, realized that it was quite late. Lao Yang stood up to leave and made an appointment to report on work tomorrow. Cui Lao held Lao Yang and refused to let him leave. He told the man in the suit to arrange for Lao Yang to stay in the next room and continue chatting tomorrow morning.

Cui Lao's wife died in the battle, and Cui Lao was the only one at home. He usually spent his time at work. Today he took time out to see Lao Yang, which was the most relaxing time in recent years. Cui Lao was helped away by the support staff who came to take a rest. Today was the day when Cui Lao drank the most. Cui Lao always emphasized that drinking would cause trouble and affect the brain's reaction ability, and he should try to avoid drinking. Today he got drunk for Lao Yang.

Old Yang followed the man in the suit to the next room, which was a standard guest room. It was clean and tidy and probably no one had ever lived there. Old Yang lay on the bed with his eyes closed to rest, organizing the information he was going to report and the next plans in his mind. He hoped that Mr. Cui and the country would cooperate.

Lao Yang gave a detailed explanation of the plans he thought were achievable and the risks that could be avoided. Lao Yang planned to use public channels to distribute goods, secretly smuggle bulk commodities to the mainland through Lao Yang's offshore company, sell them to the people at low prices, smuggle mainland goods to Hong Kong and then send them to all parts of the world, earning foreign exchange differences for the country. Lao Yang is working hard to maintain the stability and long-term nature of this channel.

Lao Yang also knew that this kind of work could only be maintained when there was no wind, and it would collapse immediately if something unexpected happened.

But Lao Yang just wanted to give it a try, to see if he could change something through his efforts and leave something for the motherland. He couldn't travel through time and do nothing, and he would have a clear conscience even if he achieved nothing!

Lao Yang wrote about the future work direction, implementation plan, and specific steps through the space. Lao Yang was very satisfied with his plan and decided to make a detailed report to Cui Lao tomorrow to try to get Cui Lao's support.

Time passed quickly. The next morning at 7 o'clock, Lao Yang got up and went to the courtyard to exercise. He practiced military boxing in a very good manner, with each punch and each palm whistling. After the boxing, the sentry watching was full of envy. The young man in a suit also stood at the door and looked at Lao Yang with admiration. Lao Yang went up to greet the young man and asked if Mr. Cui had gotten up. The young man said that Mr. Cui had gotten up and was working in the study!

Old Yang asked the young man if he could see Mr. Cui now. The young man said he would ask for instructions first, and then walked into the small building. A few minutes later, the young man came out and told Mr. Cui to let Old Yang go. Old Yang followed the young man to a room on the second floor, where there were a lot of books and case reports piled together. Mr. Cui was bent over a pile of documents and studying hard.

Old Yang felt very distressed when he saw these silent workers. They were the most respectable people! Old Yang walked into the room and came to the table gently. Mr. Cui said without looking up, "Wait a minute, I'll take care of it right away! There's a stool over there, sit down."

Old Yang had no choice but to sit at the reception table and wait for Mr. Cui. He waited for half an hour until a young man came to remind Mr. Cui to have breakfast, only then did he notice Old Yang waiting for him.

Mr. Cui said to Old Yang apologetically, "Xiao Yang, you must be getting impatient waiting! Let's go, let's go have breakfast."

Old Yang said, "Mr. Cui, you have worked so hard. I don't mind waiting, but I am afraid that your body cannot bear it! Can you share some of the work with other comrades?"

Mr. Cui smiled and said, "We are already making arrangements. It will be easier in a while. The leaders have already given the young people more responsibilities!"

Lao Yang and Lao Cui came to the restaurant and had breakfast together, a bowl of white porridge with some pickles, and a few buns in the middle.