Chapter 28: Isn’t It Just a Demotion? What’s the Big Deal?

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“Squad Leader! Look! That light... could it be Mr. Lin’s headlights?”
A sharp-eyed young soldier pointed toward the flickering spot of light deep in the mountain valley, his voice trembling with excitement.
The scene was all too familiar to them now—once a stranger, twice a friend!
Squinting, the squad leader’s face instantly broke into a wild grin, and he slapped his thigh hard:
“No doubt about it! In these wild mountains, who else but Mr. Lin could be driving that iron beast?”
“Hurry! Run and inform the regiment commander—Mr. Lin has arrived!”
“Yes, sir!”
A soldier shot off like an arrow from a bow, sprinting madly toward the regiment headquarters.
Ever since the regiment commander had been demoted to battalion commander, a burning frustration simmered throughout the entire First New Regiment.
Mr. Lin’s arrival was a timely rain!
Perhaps they could once again win a magnificent victory, and maybe then... the regiment commander could be reinstated to his former post?
Such thoughts sent the messenger soldier’s feet flying.

...

Inside the regiment headquarters, the air was heavy and somber.
Li Yunlong sat cross-legged on the kang, stewing in silence over a small half-bottle of sweet potato liquor.
He wasn’t unfamiliar with demotions and disciplinary actions, but this time was different!
After winning such a monumental victory, to be demoted immediately afterward—this grievance burned deep in his chest, more bitter than swallowing a fly.
“Regiment Commander! Regiment Commander!”
The messenger soldier burst in, clutching the doorframe and gasping for breath.
Li Yunlong’s eyes shot wide open. “Don’t call me regiment commander—I’m battalion commander now!”
“Yes, Regiment Commander!”
The soldier straightened sharply, then couldn’t help but shout again anxiously:
“Regiment Commander! Mr. Lin! Mr. Lin has arrived, driving the truck at the village entrance!”
“What?”
Li Yunlong sprang up from the kang as if propelled by springs beneath him, the shadow of gloom vanishing instantly from his face.
“Let’s go!”

...

At the village entrance, Lin Ran skillfully shifted gears, turned off the engine, and parked the truck steadily.
He was getting more and more adept at driving the manual transmission.
Just as he stepped down from the truck, a familiar booming voice approached from afar:
“Ha ha ha! Brother Lin! We’ve been waiting for you! Old Li missed you so much!”
Lin Ran looked on, somewhat bewildered, as Li Yunlong strode over in long, purposeful strides.
In the real world, he had just slept and arrived here; only two or three days had passed at most, but it felt as if they had been apart for years.
What was going on?
“Ha ha, Brother Lin, about what you asked last time, I, Old Li, didn’t slack off one bit—I’ve got everything sorted for you!”
Li Yunlong’s face blossomed with a smile as he carefully pulled out two neatly folded sheets of paper from his chest pocket and solemnly handed them to Lin Ran.
Lin Ran’s heart skipped a beat at the efficiency.
It seemed that they truly regarded him as a valuable asset!
He took a deep breath and accepted the papers with both hands, equally solemn.
Unfolding the first sheet revealed a masterful script, the strokes vigorous and penetrating—the personal handwriting of the deputy commander!
The content was clear and precise, stamped boldly with bright red official and personal seals.
[System notification: Cooperation established! Bound to the Eighth Route Army!]
It was official!
Hearing the system prompt, Lin Ran breathed a sigh of relief.
From now on, all the kills against the Japanese by the Eighth Route Army would count toward his merit points.
Suppressing his excitement, he unfolded the second sheet.
This was the deputy director’s certificate concerning ownership of the courtyard house.
Again, complete with official and personal seals, every word carried great weight.

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Lin Ran couldn’t help but smile.
With this, who would dare stand in his way!
Seeing Lin Ran’s satisfied expression, Li Yunlong grinned even wider:
“Ha ha, Brother Lin, Old Li did a good job, didn’t I?”
Lin Ran sincerely gave a thumbs up.
“When it comes to handling matters, Commander Li is rock solid! A promise is a promise!”
“Ha ha ha,” Li Yunlong was thoroughly pleased by the praise, “I’ve got one more piece of good news for Brother Lin!”
He couldn’t hide his excitement: “Just yesterday, we annihilated an entire Japanese brigade and three regiments of second-class devils—over ten thousand of those beasts!”
Lin Ran already knew, but he played along with a look of surprise.
“My goodness! An entire brigade wiped out! Commander Li is mighty! The warriors of the First New Regiment are incredible!”
Li Yunlong chuckled.
“Old Li wouldn’t dare to take credit for all of it!”
“That’s all thanks to the weapons you brought, the commander’s leadership, and the brothers’ bravery!”
“As for me…” Li Yunlong sighed, “Now I’m just a damn battalion commander.”
“Battalion commander?”
Hearing this, Lin Ran was genuinely puzzled.
After such a great victory, not only no promotion, but a demotion?
“Commander Li, what happened?” Lin Ran asked.
Li Yunlong waved dismissively, unwilling to say more.
Lin Ran then looked at Zhang Dabiao.
Zhang hurriedly began: “It’s like this, Mr. Lin...”
“Shut up!”
Li, now battalion commander, cut off the acting regiment commander sharply.
“Enough of this! Brother Lin, come with me, I’ve got some good stuff to show you!”
With that, Li Yunlong dragged Lin Ran stumbling toward the regiment headquarters.
“Commander Li, let’s look at the equipment first.”
Li waved his hand.
“No rush. First, check out the surprise Old Li has prepared for Brother Lin!”
Li Yunlong was no longer as obsessed with weapons as before.
His regiment was already well supplied; no matter how many submachine guns or mortars Lin brought, they had to be handed over.
Now that he was a battalion commander, he couldn’t manage so much.
Lin Ran smiled wryly.
It seemed this stubborn mule was still nursing a grudge.
“All right, all right, as the guest wishes. Let’s see what surprise Commander Li has for me.”
Following Li Yunlong to the regiment headquarters, Li eagerly pressed Lin Ran onto the kang.
“Come, Brother Lin, have some wine to warm up. We’ll drink and look!”
He poured a bowl of wine and called out loudly:
“Acting Commander Zhang, bring out those things for Mr. Lin to see!”
“Yes, sir!”
Zhang Dabiao turned and left.
Lin Ran shook his head with a smile.
This battalion commander was even more boastful than the regiment commander.
Soon, a dozen soldiers struggled in, carrying several heavy wooden crates into the headquarters.
The crates hit the floor with a dull thud, clearly quite heavy.
Li Yunlong waved his hand: “All right, everyone out!”
After the soldiers left, Li rubbed his hands, pride shining on his face as he approached the first large crate:
“Brother Lin, didn’t you say last time you wanted gold and antiques? Old Li managed to get quite a bit for you—take a look...”
With that, Li Yunlong opened the first crate.
Instantly, a dazzling golden glow almost blinded Lin Ran!

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Inside the crate were neatly and densely packed large golden “yellowfish” ingots!
Stacked full to the brim, at least three or four hundred pieces!
Lin Ran’s eyes widened instantly!
These were real “yellowfish” gold ingots!
Each one weighed ten taels!
He had checked before: in the Republic era, one tael was equivalent to over 30 grams today.
So each ingot weighed over 300 grams of gold!
Based on current gold prices, one ingot was worth about 250,000 to 260,000 yuan!
This entire crate... three or four hundred ingots... another small fortune accounted for?!
“Wow...”
Lin Ran felt his teeth almost ache.
Doing trade like this was so profitable!
“Commander Li! This... is far too precious! You’ve gone to great trouble!”
Lin Ran knew well that even though Li Yunlong had made a fortune in the Battle of Guizi Gully, exchanging that many dollars for this much gold must have taken real effort.
Li Yunlong chuckled, waving his hand casually: “Hey! That’s nothing! Compared to the weapons you brought, this gold and silver stuff is just peanuts!”
His words came straight from the heart.
One crooked-stock rifle alone could be exchanged for several yellowfish ingots!
That’s right!
Weapons were that valuable!
On the black market, one crooked-stock rifle was worth two thousand dollars, while one yellowfish ingot was only worth five hundred!
Li Yunlong then briskly lifted the lids off the other crates.
“Brother Lin, this is all the gold Old Li could get for now. The rest here are antiques and paintings. I don’t know much about them, but you take a look—are they to your taste?”
Lin Ran leaned in to see the crates filled to bursting with all kinds of items: scroll paintings, lustrous jade, rustic ceramics, even rusted bronze artifacts...
A dazzling array, piled to the brim.
He couldn’t help but gasp and grit his teeth again.
The value of these antiques was simply incalculable!
But—
Suppressing his excitement, Lin Ran looked at Li Yunlong with a hint of curiosity:
“Commander Li, where did you get so many antiques?”
The gold was one thing, but what about all these paintings and artifacts?
Li Yunlong’s smile faded somewhat as he waved his hand vaguely:
“Hey, no matter how they came, Old Li promised you, and Old Li always delivers!”
Beside him, Zhang Dabiao could no longer hold back and muttered in a muffled voice:
“It’s like this, Mr. Lin—the regiment commander knew you wanted gold and antiques, so he took down Sato’s headquarters!”
Lin Ran suddenly understood!
So that was it!
A Japanese major general commanding a brigade wouldn’t be without such treasures.
Then Zhang added:
“But because of that, the regiment commander was demoted to battalion commander. Mr. Lin, maybe you could help talk to the higher-ups...”
“Zhang Dabiao! Shut your damn mouth!”
Li Yunlong turned sharply, cutting him off with a fierce glare, his face flushed red.
“Why bother telling Brother Lin such nonsense? This is a promise I made! Demotion or not, I don’t care!”
Watching the two of them, one frustrated and the other indignant, Lin Ran understood perfectly.
He lifted the wine bowl and took a slow sip, a meaningful smile playing across his lips:
“Hey, it’s just a demotion—what’s the big deal?”
“Commander Li, come with me, I’ll really open your eyes this time...”