Courtyard House: The Road to an Industrial Power

A moment later, the family of three, carrying bulging gift bags and a thick wad of cash, hurriedly left the house and headed towards the Hongxing Courtyard.

Meanwhile, Lin Weidong and his family of three were on their way back to their courtyard house.

After the afternoon's commotion, the family felt much more relaxed. Zhao Xiulan was still telling her son that she would make his favorite braised pork when they got home.

Just as I reached the entrance of the courtyard house, I bumped into Yan Bugui, who was squatting against the wall smoking.

Upon seeing Lin Weidong, Yan Bugui abruptly stood up and blurted out, "Lin Weidong? You...you actually escaped from prison?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xiu immediately objected, "You old codger! Can't you speak properly?"

"Have you ever seen someone escape from prison and bring their parents home with them? You can't say anything nice, so get out of here and stop being a nuisance!"

Yan Bugui gave an awkward laugh, dared not speak again, and shrank his neck to the side.

He wondered to himself: Wasn't he arrested by the police? How come he came back safe and sound? Could he really have been framed?

Jia Zhangshi was picking vegetables at her doorstep when she heard Zhao Xiulan's cursing and Yan Bugui's words.

Seeing Lin Weidong and his family enter the courtyard chatting and laughing, they immediately realized that Lin Weidong was alright.

She pursed her lips, inwardly cursing: This kid really got off easy.

The deaf old woman sat inside the house. Her ears were very sharp, and as soon as she heard the noise at the gate of the courtyard, she knew that Lin Weidong had returned.

She quickly moved to the window, lifted a corner of the curtain to look outside, and saw that Lin Weidong and his family of three looked relaxed.

"What a pity."

The deaf old woman said to Widow Li, "I didn't expect that the lad would actually come back safely. It seems he's resolved the matter. We really didn't realize that; we underestimated him."

Widow Li paused in her chopping of vegetables, then said, "In that case, it seems we should stick to the original plan and just let it tough out."

As soon as Zhao Xiulan entered the house, she busied herself, tying on an apron and heading straight to the kitchen:

"Weidong, you and your dad rest. Mom will make your favorite braised pork to nourish you."

Lin Jianjun sat on a chair in the main room and lit a cigarette.

Lin Weidong had just sat down and taken a sip of tea when a soft knock came from outside the courtyard gate.

He got up and opened the door, and saw Su Wanqing standing at the door.

"Wanqing? What brings you here?" Lin Weidong asked, somewhat surprised.

Su Wanqing shook the cloth bag in her hand: "My dad brought me some braised beef and pancakes that my mom made today. I brought them for you to try."

"Come in and sit down."

Lin Weidong stepped aside to let her into the house, saying, "My mom is cooking, let's eat together."

Su Wanqing nodded and followed Lin Weidong into the house.

Upon seeing Su Wanqing, Lin Jianjun quickly greeted her, "Su girl, you're here?"

"Please sit down, please sit down. It's all thanks to you contacting your father in time today, otherwise Weidong would have suffered a lot more."

"Uncle, you're too kind. This is what I should do," Su Wanqing said.

Hearing the noise, Zhao Xiulan came out of the kitchen and saw Su Wanqing. "Oh, Su girl is here! Have dinner here tonight."

Soon, the food was served.

"Come on, Wanqing, try the braised pork Auntie made." Zhao Xiulan picked up a piece of braised pork and put it into Su Wanqing's bowl.

"You kid, you're always busy helping Weidong at the factory, and you never even get a proper meal."

"Thank you, Auntie, your cooking is delicious," Su Wanqing said after taking a bite.

During the meal, Lin Weidong raised his teacup and said to Su Wanqing, "Wanqing, thank you so much for today."

Su Wanqing put down her chopsticks and said, "Don't be so polite. You've been wronged, and the four-axis machine tool can't function without you. Besides, it's only right that we help each other out in our relationship."

The family ate and chatted, creating a warm and harmonious atmosphere.

Just as everyone was enjoying their meal, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the courtyard gate, followed by a gentle knock on the door.

"Who is it?" Lin Weidong got up to open the door.

The moment the door opened, the smile on Lin Weidong's face vanished, replaced by deep displeasure.

Standing at the door were Ji Mingyuan, Liu Shuya, and Ji Boxiao, a family of three.

Ji Mingyuan and Ji Boxiao were carrying gift bags of various sizes, containing cigarettes, alcohol, ginseng, pastries, and more—clearly, they had prepared the gifts carefully.

Lin Jianjun and Zhao Xiulan also saw the people at the door, and their smiles instantly froze.

Su Wanqing also recognized Ji Boxiao and subconsciously moved closer to Lin Weidong.

Seeing the cold attitude of Lin Weidong's family, Ji Boxiao felt a surge of resentment.

He was about to show his displeasure when Ji Mingyuan saw right through him.

"Snapped!"

Without hesitation, Ji Mingyuan raised his hand and delivered a resounding slap to Ji Boxiao's face.

Ji Boxiao screamed and staggered back a few steps. His cheeks instantly swelled up and blood seeped from the corners of his mouth again.

"What are you doing!" Liu Shuya screamed, trying to step forward to protect her son, but Ji Mingyuan glared at her fiercely, forcing her to stop in her tracks.

Lin Weidong looked at the middle-aged man in front of him and said, "If you're going to discipline your son, go back to your own home. Don't try anything funny in front of my house and disturb our meals."

Ji Mingyuan took a deep breath and said, "Engineer Lin, I'm sorry."

"I know that Bo Xiao did something wrong before, which caused you and your family a lot of trouble and grievances."

"I brought him here today to sincerely apologize to you."

"I hope you'll be magnanimous and forgive him this time."

Lin Weidong looked at the disheveled Ji Boxiao, then at Ji Mingyuan, and felt that things hadn't reached the point of breaking off relations yet.

After a moment of silence, he slowly said, "If it weren't for the sake of Minister Liu and Director Su, I would never have let this go so easily."

He paused, then continued, "If you want me to let it go, there are two conditions."

"First, Ji Boxiao is not allowed to appear in the steel rolling mill again, nor is he allowed to interfere in any matters related to four-axis machine tools. He should just do his job properly."

"Secondly, Ji Boxiao must bear all the losses caused by this machine tool malfunction."

"If you can meet these two conditions, I can let him off the hook."

Ji Mingyuan nodded hurriedly, "No problem! No problem! We agree to both conditions! Bo Xiao, hurry up and apologize to Engineer Lin!"

Ji Boxiao gritted his teeth and mumbled to Lin Weidong, "I'm sorry."

Lin Weidong ignored him and turned to go inside.

Seeing this, Ji Mingyuan quickly gestured for Ji Boxiao to place the gifts and a thick wad of cash on the table by the door: "Engineer Lin, this is just a small token of our appreciation. Please accept it."

Zhao Xiulan quickly waved her hand: "We can't accept these things. We accept the apology, but you should take the things back."

Lin Weidong said, "Mom, please accept it."

"This is what they should do, and it's part of the loss of machine tools."

Upon hearing this, Ji Mingyuan quickly said, "Engineer Lin is right. These are just a small token of our appreciation. Please accept them."

Seeing that her son said that, Zhao Xiulan stopped refusing and let Lin Jianjun carry the things into the house.

Liu Shuya, who had been ignored the whole time, was already seething with anger.

From the moment she entered the house until now, Lin Weidong's family has given her a cold shoulder, and Ji Mingyuan has been accommodating her in every way, which makes her feel extremely wronged.

After stepping out of the courtyard house, she finally couldn't help but complain, "What bad luck! He's just an engineer, what's with all the airs!"

"Bo Xiao is useless too, getting bullied like this by a peasant!"

"Shut up!"

"How dare you say that! If you hadn't spoiled him and indulged him, would this have happened?"

"It's already a huge favor that they're not pursuing this matter, and you're still complaining!"

Liu Shuya was intimidated by Ji Mingyuan's imposing manner and dared not speak again.

Ji Mingyuan then turned to Ji Boxiao and said sternly, "Listen to me! Go back to the Ministry of Industry immediately and stay put. Don't cause any more trouble!"

"Be more humble in the future, and stop putting on that arrogant attitude of a cadre's son."

"If you dare to cause any more trouble, I'll send you to the far northwest to reclaim wasteland, and you'll never be able to come back."

Ji Boxiao nodded quickly: "I understand, Dad. I'll never do it again."

All of this was clearly seen by Yan Bugui, who was squatting at the foot of the wall at the entrance of the courtyard house.

Back home, Yan Bugui said to his third aunt, "It seems the Lin family has quite a background. Even someone like them who drives a car has to come and apologize."

"It's best to avoid provoking the Lin family in the future."