Courtyard House: The Road to an Industrial Power

In the living room of the Liu family villa.

The old man of the Liu family sat hunched over on the cold sofa.

The tea in front of me had long since gone cold.

The sound of staggering footsteps came from the doorway.

Then a strong smell of alcohol wafted out.

Liu Jie staggered into the living room, his tie loose and his clothes disheveled.

His eyes were bloodshot, clearly indicating he had been drinking a lot outside.

He looked up and saw the old man on the sofa. He paused, didn't say anything, and just wanted to quietly go back to his room.

"Stop!" The old man suddenly called out to Liu Jie, who was walking towards the room.

Liu Jie stopped walking, turned his back to the old man, and did not turn around.

"Yuan Chao was taken away by the Municipal Bureau."

The old man's voice was like a boulder crashing into the living room.

"They hired someone to injure Lin Weidong, and the next step should be sending him to the Northwest for labor reform."

Liu Jie's body stiffened abruptly, and he sobered up considerably in an instant.

He slowly turned around and looked at his father on the sofa.

His lips moved, but he couldn't utter a single word.

The old man looked at his son, his eyes slightly reddening.

Her voice was filled with unspeakable guilt: "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have agreed to Zhiqiang's ridiculous requests."

He was a strong-willed man throughout his life, but unexpectedly ended up with his family destroyed and scattered.

The grandson was exiled to the Northwest, and the son's future was ruined.

But Liu Jie remained silent.

After a long while, he slowly turned around and moved back to his room step by step.

The door slammed shut.

Liu Jie slid down the door panel to the ground, hugged his knees with both hands, and buried his face deeply in them.

Tears gradually soaked my knees.

The room was deathly silent.

This once spirited head of the Ministry of Industry is now nothing more than a soulless shell.

Meanwhile, inside the courtyard house.

Lin Weidong climbed over the wall and entered the west courtyard.

When Lin Weidong finished dealing with the municipal bureau's affairs and returned to the west courtyard, it was already past midnight.

The night sky after the snow was pitch black, and the courtyard was quiet.

Nothing was said that night, and the sky began to lighten with the first light of dawn.

The sky was clear and the air was fresh after the snow.

Sunlight streamed onto the roof of the courtyard house, casting a golden glow.

Lin Weidong got up early and, together with his parents, bought the New Year's goods they had purchased a few days earlier.

They loaded all the bags and packages onto the jeep.

The trunk was packed full, and even the back seats were piled high with goods; it was clear they had come back with a full load.

"Have you brought everything? Don't forget anything." Zhao Xiulan carefully checked.

"Everyone's here, Mom, get in the car." Lin Weidong helped his mother into the passenger seat, and Lin Jianjun also got into the back seat and closed the car door.

The jeep's engine started smoothly, and it slowly drove out of the alley, heading towards Linjia Village outside the city.

The dirt roads in the countryside were frozen solid by the snow, and the jeep drove smoothly along the way, enjoying the open scenery.

As you approach the village, you can see the old locust tree at the village entrance and children playing on the ridges of the fields.

"Car! Automobile!"

A chubby little boy with sharp eyes pointed at the jeep approaching in the distance and ran off screaming.

The news of the car entering the village spread like wildfire throughout the entire Linjia Village.

"Look! A car is coming into the village!"

"My goodness, is that a jeep? We've never seen one of these in our village before!"

"Who's the important person visiting?"

The children cheered and ran after the car, their chatter rising and falling in a cacophony.

The adults also put down their farm work and peeked out from their houses and yards, following curiously from a distance, their eyes full of amazement.

The jeep drove all the way to the front of the Lin family's old house and came to a smooth stop.

Then everyone suddenly realized that they had come to the Lin family's house.

Someone in the crowd shouted:

"It's the second son of the Lin family! Lin Jianjun is back!"

Many people began to discuss it.

"I'd heard Jianjun's son was doing well in the city, but I didn't expect him to drive back in a car!"

"My goodness, this is a car only high-ranking officials ride in! The Lin family has really struck it rich!"

"They've always said that the Lin family's ancestral graves are emitting auspicious smoke, and today I've witnessed it firsthand!"

The room was filled with murmurs of admiration and wonder.

In those days, let alone a Jeep, even a bicycle was a rare commodity.

These days, a dark green military jeep parked in the village is practically the biggest novelty in the whole village.

Hearing the noise, Lin Weidong's grandparents shakily walked out of the house.

The two elderly people had gray hair and their faces were marked by the passage of time.

Seeing the car at the door and the children and grandchildren getting out of it, her eyes instantly turned red.

"Father, Mother! We're back." Lin Jianjun quickly stepped forward and helped his elderly mother up.

"Grandpa and Grandma!" Lin Weidong called out with a smile.

The villagers warmly stepped forward to help; the men carried things, and the women surrounded Zhao Xiulan, offering words of comfort and concern.

Lin Jianjun took out cigarettes from his pocket and handed them out to the men who were watching.

Lin Weidong then unwrapped the fruit candies he had brought and distributed them to the children surrounding him.

The candy smelled sweet, and the children couldn't stop smiling.

Many villagers came to the Lin family's door.

The adults looked at the brand-new jeep with eyes full of wonder.

But she held onto the child who tried to touch the car tightly, repeatedly admonishing him:

"Don't touch it! This thing is valuable; we can't afford to pay for it if we break it!"

The children could only stand on tiptoe and watch longingly, their eyes filled with curiosity.

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps came from the village entrance.

Lin Dashan, the eldest son of the Lin family, was attending a meeting at the brigade headquarters.

I heard that my second brother's family drove back, and before the meeting was even over, they rushed home.

I could see the jeep parked in front of my house in the distance, and the yard full of people.

Upon seeing Lin Weidong standing in the courtyard, Lin Jianguo's face instantly broke into a simple and honest smile.

"Second brother! Weidong! You're finally back!"

Lin Jianjun went up to them, and the two brothers patted each other heavily on the shoulder.

Lin Weidong smiled and called out, "Uncle!"

"Hey! Good lad, you've grown so tall in the last few years!" Lin Dashan looked Lin Weidong up and down.

As night fell, the villagers who had gathered to watch gradually dispersed.

Inside the Lin family's old house, the stove fire was burning brightly.

The family sat together, chatting about everyday life, things in the city, and things in the village over the years.

Laughter and cheerful conversation filled the air, creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere.

However, the Red Star Courtyard, far away in Beijing, presents a completely different, cold and gloomy scene.

Yi Zhonghai locked himself in his room and didn't go out all day.

Ever since yesterday, when she witnessed Zhang and He Daqing being intimate, and was then publicly reprimanded by Zhao Xiulan, she has been in a difficult situation.

The hatred and distortion in his heart grew stronger and stronger.

He firmly believed that Zhang had betrayed him long ago and cuckolded him.

"He Daqing, Zhang Shi, you just wait!"

Now, the thought of He Daqing taking care of his wife while he was away fuels his burning desire.

Gradually, a plan took shape in Yi Zhonghai's mind.