I painted an aircraft carrier on the courtyard house for Dongda University.

Ignoring Qin Huairu's misunderstanding, Jia Dongxu leaned close to her ear and said, "Huairu, I want to help Zhou Weiguo. Are you willing to help me?"

Qin Huairu then realized she had misunderstood and asked seriously, "Dongxu, don't be impulsive. He's an official; how can we possibly fight him?"

Jia Dongxu was silent for a moment, then said, "As long as you cooperate with me and find a suitable opportunity, we might be able to get him in. Even if that doesn't work, we can still make a lot of money off him."

Upon hearing this, Qin Huairu's eyes lit up instantly, and she looked at Jia Dongxu with eagerness.

Jia Dongxu whispered in her ear for a long time, and Qin Huairu said incredulously, "Dongxu, how could you let me seduce...?"

She glanced around warily and whispered, "I'm your wife, how can you make me do something like this?"

Jia Dongxu stared at her fiercely: "Qin Huairu, don't play dumb with me! I didn't actually ask you to do anything, so just tell me if you're going to do it or not? If you don't, don't blame me for being rude!"

Seeing the fierce look on his face, Qin Huairu had no choice but to nod: "Dongxu, don't be angry. I'll listen to you, I'll do it, I'll do it, okay?"

Despite Qin Huairu's outward resistance, she had already begun to plan. She knew that if she could firmly grasp Zhou Weiguo's control, her future might be completely turned around.

She even envisioned divorcing Jia Dongxu when the time was right, marrying Zhou Weiguo, a cadre, and living a good life thereafter. That way, she wouldn't have to be a slave in the Jia family anymore, enduring Jia Dongxu's beatings and scoldings.

Thinking of this, Qin Huairu felt resentful towards Jia Dongxu.

When she married into the Jia family, she thought she could live a peaceful life, but who would have thought that Jia Dongxu would be a scoundrel who was proficient in eating, drinking, gambling and whoring.

She cursed the matchmaker from back then in her heart. If it weren't for her interference, she wouldn't have been tricked into joining the Jia family and ended up in this state.

......

In the main room of the He family, Zhou Weiguo and others sat around a table laden with delicious dishes, eating and chatting.

Zhou Weiguo looked at He Yuzhu and said, "Zhuzi, I reckon Natasha and I will be extremely busy starting tomorrow, so you'll have to take care of things at home."

He Yuzhu didn't seem to mind at all, and readily replied, "Don't worry, Uncle, things have been much quieter in the yard lately. You go ahead and do your thing; with me here, nothing will go wrong at home."

Just then, there was a rapid knocking at the door, accompanied by a shout: "My dear grandson, what are you doing? Grandma's here to see you, open the door quickly!"

Upon hearing the sound, Zhou Weiguo felt nauseous and immediately got up and opened the door.

When the deaf old woman saw Zhou Weiguo open the door, her face instantly darkened.

When she caught sight of the meat on the table, she couldn't help but swallow hard before saying, "For the country, this old lady was just sitting at home with nothing to do, so I thought I'd come and visit Zhu Zi."

As he spoke, he tried to squeeze into the room.

Zhou Weiguo stepped aside to block her way, his tone icy: "Deaf old lady, first of all, my Zhuzi is not your grandson, so don't try to claim kinship here. If you want a grandson, go find Yi Zhonghai; secondly, wipe your drool, it makes me sick."

The deaf old woman's face instantly contorted.

She just smelled the aroma of braised pork at home and wanted to ask for a bowl of meat because she was craving it. Why is it so difficult?

She said with a displeased expression, "Weiguo, how can you talk like that? Given the relationship between our two families, it's inappropriate for you to say such a thing. No matter what, I'm still leaving the house to you. How can you speak to your ancestor like that?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Weiguo sneered, "Deaf old lady, if you don't want to live, just say so. I have plenty of ways to send you down there. Whether it's your background or your impersonation of a martyr's family member, either one can get you arrested. The only reason I haven't dealt with you before is because you haven't offended me. We have foreign guests visiting my house right now. If you're not afraid of death, feel free to come in and try."

Upon hearing this, the deaf old woman's face changed drastically. She looked at Zhou Weiguo in a panic, thinking to herself: Could this little beast really know my background? Thinking of this, she remained silent, gave Zhou Weiguo a deep look, and turned to leave.

In fact, Zhou Weiguo had no idea about the deaf old woman's background; he was just trying to trick her with a few words.

Based on the deaf old woman's bound feet, her reluctance to leave her home, and her apparent indifference towards money and property, he concluded that something fishy must be going on.

After the deaf old lady left, everyone lost interest in chatting and quickly finished their meal.

Zhou Weiguo took Natasha back to the east courtyard and, without saying a word, locked the gate.

When Natasha saw Zhou Weiguo lock the door, she looked terrified: "Young master, why did you lock the door? What do you want to do?"

Looking at Natasha, who was feigning fear, Zhou Weiguo teased, "Little vixen, you're quite the charmer. Today I'm going to see just how much the system has enhanced you."

Natasha pretended to be scared and ran back to her room.

Seeing this, Zhou Weiguo grinned wickedly and said, "Hey! Monster! Where do you think you're going? Take this from me, Old Sun!"

..................

The next morning, Zhou Weiguo drove his jeep with Natasha beside him, and the two headed towards the steel mill, both in high spirits.

As soon as he arrived at the factory gate, Zhou Weiguo noticed something was amiss.

The usually empty entrance was now lined with two or three jeeps, a sight that puzzled him: "What's the meaning of lining up so many cars?"

The sharp-eyed gatekeeper spotted Zhou Weiguo's car from a distance and quickly waved to signal him.

Zhou Weiguo drove his car over, and the gatekeeper, all smiles, said politely, "Section Chief Zhou, you don't need to queue up to register; just go this way."

Zhou Weiguo smiled, pulled out a special-supply cigarette, and handed it to him, asking, "Brother, what's going on today?"

The gatekeeper chuckled and took the cigarette, explaining, "Section Chief Zhou, I don't know either. We received a notice last night saying that all outsiders entering the factory today must be checked and registered. From this morning until now, four or five cars and two or three trucks have already gone in. Those registering are all people from various steel mills, rolling mills, and research institutes near Beijing. Shougang also sent a group of people. Oh, and more than ten military vehicles also drove in."

Zhou Weiguo understood; it seemed these people were all after Natasha.

He exchanged a few more pleasantries with the gatekeeper before driving into the factory.

As the car drove to the workshop entrance, the sight before him made Zhou Weiguo frown.

The entrance to his workshop was completely blocked by several cars. Colonel Zhang, dressed in civilian clothes, was patiently explaining something in the crowd.

Zhou Weiguo parked his car and walked over quickly.

As they approached, they heard an argument. A portly man shouted, "Do you know who we are? We are some of the few metallurgical experts in Beijing, and you're blocking the door from letting us in?"

Another man, who looked somewhat sleazy, chimed in, "Do you know how important our research is? You notified us to come to a meeting first thing in the morning, but even the person who organized it is nowhere to be seen! Does your little steel rolling mill even want to stay in business?"