Courtyard House: The Road to an Industrial Power

Lin Weidong's eyes sharpened, he dodged to the side, raised his fist, and smashed it down with tremendous force.

The bearded man hurriedly tried to block with his arm, but with a few sharp cracking sounds, his arm was instantly broken, and the excruciating pain made him scream.

But Lin Weidong's fist did not stop, and it smashed straight into his chest. With a thud, the fist pierced through his chest, blood gushed out, the bearded man's eyes widened, and he fell to the ground, completely lifeless.

The bespectacled man was terrified. Knowing he was no match for her, he turned and rushed towards Zhao Xiulan – his last resort.

But he had only taken two steps when Lin Weidong grabbed him by the neck from behind and lifted him up like a chick.

Lin Weidong exerted force with his arm and slammed him hard into the ground.

With a muffled thud, the four-eyed man's nose and several teeth were instantly broken. Blood mixed with tears streamed down his face, and he curled up on the ground in pain, unable to move.

Lin Weidong didn't kill him; he still had questions to ask.

At this moment, Lin Weidong, covered in blood, walked to Zhao Xiulan's side.

Lin Weidong ripped the gag from his mother's mouth and untied the ropes: "Mom, I'm here. Are you alright?"

Zhao Xiulan hugged him tightly, sobbing uncontrollably, her arms wrapped tightly around his back.

"Weidong, Mom's alright, Mom's alright."

Lin Weidong gently patted his mother's back before turning to look at the bespectacled man on the ground.

He walked up to the bespectacled man and looked down at him.

The bespectacled man struggled to bite the poison sac hidden in his teeth, only to find that the sac had already been smashed in the impact. Despair instantly enveloped him.

Lin Weidong stepped forward and broke both of his legs, causing the bespectacled man to scream like a pig being slaughtered from the intense pain.

"Tell me, who sent you?"

The bespectacled man gritted his teeth, refusing to speak.

Lin Weidong's eyes turned cold, and he reached out and grabbed his hands.

With a sudden twist, several cracking sounds rang out, and his hands were instantly twisted into pretzel shapes.

"Ah! I'll talk! I'll talk!"

"We're from the South. They ordered us to kill you and seize your technical blueprints!"

A fierce glint flashed in Lin Weidong's eyes as he cursed under his breath, "A bunch of clowns, I'll deal with you sooner or later!"

He didn't want to listen to any more nonsense, so he stomped down and broke the four-eyed man's neck.

Late at night, Lin Weidong drove his parents back to the courtyard house. The moment he pushed open the door, Zhao Xiulan's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down.

"Weidong, this really scared your mother to death! Those people were clearly after you. You'd better be extra careful from now on."

Zhao Xiulan didn't intend to ask about the terrifying strength Lin Weidong displayed in the woods today.

Lin Jianjun held the cigarette in his hand without lighting it, and said in a deep voice, "Yes, Weidong, the other party is a ruthless agent from the south. They didn't succeed this time, and they might try something underhanded again next time. Your job is too dangerous."

The elderly couple spoke back and forth, their voices filled with barely concealed worry. They still felt lingering fear when they recalled the perilous Black Pine Forest.

Lin Weidong helped his mother sit on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), and handed his father a cup of hot water: "Dad, Mom, don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

"They took advantage of a loophole this time. I will be extra vigilant in the future. The research institute also has security, and the municipal bureau is now keeping an eye on this matter. We will not let them have another chance."

He gently patted his mother's hand to soothe the elderly couple, but secretly resolved to protect his family and make those spies pay an even heavier price.

Meanwhile, the municipal bureau received a joint report from the research institute and the steel rolling mill, informing them that Lin Weidong's mother had been kidnapped by southern spies.

The target was core technical personnel in the military industry, which infuriated a group of leaders.

In response to the recent spate of attacks by enemy agents, including their blatant targeting of key national research and development personnel, the Municipal Public Security Bureau immediately decided to establish a special task force to combat enemy agents.

A crack team of police officers was mobilized to investigate the Beijing strongholds of the southern spy organization, determined to severely crack down on these arrogant enemy agents.

In the courtyard, the light was on in the deaf old woman's room. She sat upright on the kang (a heated brick bed), dressed neatly and cleanly, her hair combed meticulously, and her face showing a bit of spirit. It was clear that she had been taken very well by Mr. and Mrs. Yi Zhonghai these days.

Seeing Yi Zhonghai return from outside, she immediately asked, "Xiao Yi, you just passed by the Lin family. Tell me, what major incident happened at the Lin family?"

"Not only did Lin Weidong return, but I also saw quite a few people in military uniforms entering the hospital. It was quite a large-scale event."

Yi Zhonghai wiped his face and sat down on a stool. "Hey, I heard Zhao Xiulan was kidnapped. Those people are from Chonglin Weidong, and I heard they're spies from the south."

Upon hearing this, the deaf old woman exclaimed, "This boy is incredibly lucky; he survived all that!"

"But speaking of which, your wife has been acting really strange lately. A few days ago I saw her asking He Daqing to help her carry water. What will people think if word gets out? You'd better keep a close eye on her."

Yi Zhonghai's face darkened, and he said in a low voice, "I know what I'm doing. I can't live like this anymore. I've already decided to divorce her and find someone more stable."

The deaf old woman immediately nodded, her face full of agreement: "That's how it should be! The sooner we leave, the sooner we'll have peace and quiet."

The deaf old woman wouldn't let disobedient people get away with it. She would kick the old lady out so she would thoroughly regret it and pay the price for turning against her.

The next morning, after settling his parents in, Lin Weidong repeatedly told them to stay home as much as possible and to contact the research institute or police station immediately if anything happened. Then he drove back to the Fengtai Weapons Research Institute.

Su Zhenbang was waiting in front of the office building early on. He hadn't told Su Wanqing about the kidnapping. When he saw Lin Weidong return, he greeted him with a smile: "Weidong, did it go smoothly getting the documents yesterday? It shouldn't have delayed today's research and development, right?"

Lin Weidong smiled at her and casually replied, "It went smoothly, without any delays."

Unaware of anything amiss, Su Wanqing pulled him toward the sniper rifle R&D team's workshop, muttering about the new material testing data that had just arrived that morning.

A short while later, Su Zhenbang called Lin Weidong into his office, closed the door, his expression slightly serious, and his tone carrying a hint of admonition.

"Weidong, I know what happened yesterday. I'm glad you were able to rescue your mother, but you were too reckless."

"The other party is a vicious spy. You are going into the Black Pine Forest alone. If anything goes wrong, the consequences will be unimaginable."

He paused, then softened his tone: "In the future, if something like this happens again, we must communicate with the research institute and the municipal bureau in advance."

"We have professional security forces, and the police have made thorough arrangements. We are fully capable of handling this situation more reliably. We must not act rashly again."

Lin Weidong knew that Su Zhenbang was genuinely looking out for him, and immediately nodded solemnly:

"This was my oversight. I will definitely be more careful in the future and will never be so reckless again. I will communicate immediately if there is any situation."

Seeing that he had taken it to heart, Su Zhenbang's expression softened slightly, and he waved his hand, "Alright, it's good that you understand."

"Sit down and tell me about the progress plan for the sniper rifle project. The new materials have arrived, so we need to hurry. This project is a national priority."