Courtyard House: The Road to an Industrial Power

When he got home, Jia Zhangshi's cursing could be heard clearly even through the walls.

"I'm so angry! That brat from the Lin family is such an ill-mannered wretch! And Lin Jianjun and his wife, they got a little reward and they're so arrogant, they won't even share a piece of meat with each other, they're such stingy people! Miserly!" She sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), slapping her thigh and cursing, spitting as she spoke.

Jia Dongxu had just finished get off work at the factory, his clothes still covered in grease. Hearing this, he frowned and said, "Mom, that's enough, stop scolding me. It's not good if someone hears us."

"So what if I heard that? Do you think I'm afraid of them!" Jia Zhangshi retorted, her neck stiff. "Our Dongxu works himself to the bone at the factory every day, do you think it's easy for him to earn that meager wage? And those other people get twenty yuan and five jin of meat for just a broken pulley, why should they?!"

Jia Dongxu sighed, took out a few yuan from his pocket and handed it to her: "This is the rest of my salary for this month, you keep it. I've been learning a new skill from my mentor recently, and I'll get a raise after I pass the exam in a while. Don't go to other people's houses to take advantage of them anymore, or people will laugh at you."

Jia Zhangshi took the money, her anger subsiding somewhat, but she still grumbled, "Even a raise isn't enough! Think about it, I need to save for my retirement, and you're not young anymore, you need to save money for your wedding—the dowry, the banquet, all of that costs money! Besides, I need to buy painkillers, all of that is an expense!"

"Mom, I know what I'm doing about getting a wife, so don't worry about it." Jia Dongxu rubbed his lower back, his voice sounding tired.

"Don't go looking for trouble with the Lin family anymore. Lin Jianjun is highly regarded at the factory now, so let's not offend him."

"I'm not afraid of offending him!" Jia Zhangshi said stubbornly, though she was also having doubts in her heart, but she refused to admit it.

"But don't worry, a matchmaker will bring a girl to your door in a couple of days. I've already made arrangements. The girl is from Qin Family Village. She's honest and capable, and the dowry won't be too high. She's perfect for you."

Jia Dongxu was stunned for a moment, then a blush appeared on his face. He didn't say anything more, but in his heart, he felt a little more expectant of his future wife.

Meanwhile, in the deaf old woman's house, Yi Zhonghai was sitting in a chair with a gloomy face.

"Grandma, look at the situation in the courtyard now. That brat from the Lin family is getting more and more outrageous, and Lin Jianjun is becoming more and more arrogant. They're almost ruining my prestige as an old man." Yi Zhonghai held his teacup but had no interest in drinking it, his tone full of dissatisfaction.

The deaf old woman squinted and said slowly, "Zhonghai, don't be too anxious. The Lin family is only so arrogant now because they have the factory's bonus. But this glory may not last long."

"That's what I say, but I can't swallow this insult. Who in the courtyard didn't respect me before? Now, Lin Weidong, a seven-year-old kid, dares to talk back to me in public. If word gets out, where will I put my old face?"

"What you need is ability, not face." The deaf old woman tapped her cane.

"I heard that the steel rolling mill is holding a worker grading assessment next month, and wages will increase significantly. You're currently a level six fitter. If you can take this opportunity to get promoted and strive for level eight in the factory, your status will naturally rise, and who in the yard would dare not respect you?"

Yi Zhonghai's eyes lit up: "Grandma, do you have a solution?"

"I've known Director Yang's mother for a long time, so he still has to give me this much face." The deaf old woman had a smug look on her face.

"I'll go see him tomorrow and put in a good word for you, trying to give you an advantage in the assessment. But you also have to cooperate with me and mention to everyone in the yard and factory how I gave straw sandals to the Red Army back then, so that everyone knows that I'm not an ordinary old lady. That way, you'll have more face."

Yi Zhonghai nodded quickly: "No problem! Grandma, I'm entrusting this matter to you! As long as I get promoted, I'll take care of your retirement!"

The deaf old woman nodded in satisfaction: "I trust you to handle things. If we help each other out, no one in this courtyard will be able to outdo us."

The next morning, after finishing breakfast, Lin Weidong slung his backpack over his shoulder and headed to school. However, instead of going to his first-grade classroom, he went straight to the principal's office.

The principal, surnamed Wang, was an elderly man in his fifties, wearing reading glasses, and was grading homework. When a seven-year-old child walked into his office, he paused, then asked, "Little friend, which class are you in? Is there something you need?"

"Principal Wang, my name is Lin Weidong, and I'm a first-year student. I'd like to apply to skip a grade."

Principal Wang was stunned, thinking he had misheard. "Skipping a grade? You said you want to skip a grade? Which grade?"

"I want to skip directly to fifth grade," Lin Weidong said firmly.

Principal Wang was even more shocked. He put down his pen and carefully examined the child in front of him. Although Lin Weidong was young, his eyes were clear and his expression was firm, not like he was joking.

"Lin Weidong, skipping a grade is no small matter," Principal Wang said sternly. "Fifth-grade courses are much harder than first-grade courses. Are you sure you can keep up?"

Lin Weidong nodded. "I'm sure. Principal, you can test me. Whether it's Chinese, arithmetic, or any other subject, I can answer them all."

Seeing Lin Weidong's confident demeanor, Principal Wang became intrigued. He had taught for so many years and had never seen a child so young voluntarily request to skip a grade, so he decided to test him.

"Alright, I'll test you then." Principal Wang took out a set of fifth-grade Chinese and arithmetic test papers from the drawer.

"If you can finish these two sets of test papers within an hour and get over 90% correct, I will agree to let you skip a grade."

"No problem!" Lin Weidong took the test paper, found a chair to sit down, picked up his pen and began to answer the questions.

Fifth-grade Chinese language questions were a piece of cake for him; he could easily handle vocabulary, word formation, sentence construction, and reading comprehension. Arithmetic problems were even easier; whether it was mixed addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, or word problems, he could calculate the answer at a glance.

Principal Wang sat to the side, increasingly astonished. Lin Weidong answered the questions extremely quickly, with neat handwriting and clear thinking—something completely unlike what a first-grader could do.

Less than an hour later, Lin Weidong put down his pen and said, "Principal, I've finished answering."

Principal Wang quickly picked up the test papers and began grading them. On the Chinese test, aside from a one-point deduction on the composition, all other questions were answered correctly; on the arithmetic test, there wasn't a single mistake – a 100% accuracy rate!

"This...this is simply a miracle!" Principal Wang excitedly took off his reading glasses and carefully examined Lin Weidong.

"Lin Weidong, you're amazing! With your level, you could keep up even in sixth grade, let alone fifth grade!"

Just then, the office door was pushed open, and Yan Bugui walked in. Hearing that Lin Weidong had come to see the principal, his heart skipped a beat, fearing that the kid was up to something again, so he rushed over.