Courtyard House: The Long-Lost Eldest Son Returns with Military Merit

After listening to the deaf old lady's advice, Yi Zhonghai thought of Sha Zhu's reckless temper and became even more agitated. He said, "Grandma, please allow me to think about this matter more carefully."

Seeing his expression, the deaf old lady knew he was still scheming, so she reminded him, "Zhonghai, in the past, the Jia family only had two women, Zhang Yatou and Qin Huairu, so it was easy for you to control them."

"But now that the eldest son of the Jia family is back, and he is also the head of the security department of the steel rolling mill, if you continue to scheme against the Jia family as before, you will be the one who suffers in the end."

After all, the common people can't fight against the officials; you have to understand that principle.

These words awakened Yi Zhonghai, and recalling the impression Jia Dongming had given him when they first met, his mind became even more chaotic. He stood up and said, "Grandma, I'll go back first. You should get some rest too."

Just as Yi Zhonghai was leaving the deaf old lady's house in a daze, Jia Zhangshi stared at the money Jia Dongming took out of his bag and said with a face full of reluctance, "Dongming, are you really going to return all this money to those people in the courtyard?"

Upon hearing Jia Zhangshi's tone and seeing her unwilling expression, Jia Dongming knew perfectly well that she was distressed about the money.

In order to cure his mother's greedy habit, he said firmly, "Mom, I am now the head of the security department. My power in the factory is about the same as that of Director Yang and Deputy Director Li."

"You saw the attitude of the second and third uncles at dinner tonight."

Based on my first impression of these two, I'm sure they'll come knocking on my door later, maybe even asking me to help them find jobs.

"If we return the donated money first, we can still do what we can if people from the hospital come to us for help in the future."

If I don't return the money, and they come looking for me later, I might be in the wrong if I help them, but if I don't, I'll be called an ingrate.

So, should this money be refunded or not?

Although Jia Zhangshi was greedy, she was not foolish; on the contrary, she was quite shrewd.

Thinking about how buying a job these days costs hundreds of yuan, she immediately said angrily, "Dongming, I heard that buying an apprentice position now costs at least three hundred yuan, and a permanent position costs six hundred to eight hundred!"

"Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui actually thought they could use that little bit of money they donated to get job quotas? No way! That money must be returned, and it must be returned immediately."

Seeing his mother's indignant expression, Jia Dongming asked with a half-smile, "Mom, how much money are you planning to give back to the people in the compound?"

Upon hearing that she had to pay for it herself, Jia Zhangshi's excited tone immediately stopped, and she looked at her son with resentment: "Dongming, that's my retirement money, you can't even think about taking it."

Seeing his mother's expression of fear for paying, Jia Dongming almost burst out laughing. He then said, "Mom, I'll pay for it. Don't look at me like that."

"I'll go buy some things tomorrow, and we'll return the money to everyone when Yi Zhonghai holds the hospital-wide meeting tonight."

As long as her secret stash of money wasn't touched, everything else was fine.

She quickly nodded and replied, "Okay, Dongming, Mom will listen to you."

Jia Dongming nodded, then, remembering Qin Huairu who was still tidying up the house, he said to his mother, "Mom, let's go see if Huairu has finished tidying up Banggeng's room."

If you're all better, you should go home and rest early.

Looking at the brightly lit room in front of him, Bang Geng was overjoyed.

Upon seeing Jia Dongming and Jia Zhangshi enter, he happily exclaimed, "Grandma! Uncle! Come and see my room!"

Looking at the neatly tidied room, Madam Jia said lovingly to her grandson, "My dear grandson, from now on you will have your own room. You will no longer have to squeeze in with Grandma, your mother, and your sisters."

Looking at the excited Banggeng, Jia Dongming thought of the boy's personality in the original story and felt that he should set some rules for him, so he solemnly reminded him: "Banggeng, your wish to live in a room by yourself has been granted by your uncle."

From now on, you have to study hard. If I find out you're not working hard, you'll have to move back in with Mom and the others.

Upon hearing this, Banggeng, who was in high spirits, immediately nodded obediently and promised, "Uncle, don't worry, I will definitely study hard from now on."

Just as Bang Geng finished making his promise, Qin Huairu came out of the room, looking a little tired, and said to Jia Dongming, "Uncle, I have tidied up your room."

I'll make breakfast tomorrow. What would you like to eat? Tell me, and I'll make it for you.

Upon hearing Qin Huairu's words and noticing the weariness on her face, Jia Dongming said gently, "A simple breakfast is fine. You've had a long day, so you should go home and rest early."

Qin Huairu turned to Banggeng and instructed, "Banggeng, you have to go to school tomorrow, so remember to go to bed early later."

Banggeng immediately puffed out his chest and replied, "Mom, don't worry, I definitely won't oversleep tomorrow morning."

After Qin Huairu left, Jia Dongming returned to his room, closed the door behind him, and then took out the gene repair agent from his system space.

Staring at the syringe in his hand, which gleamed with a pale green light, Jia Dongming asked in his mind, "System, what kind of reaction will occur after injecting this gene repair agent?"

"Host, the gene repair agent can repair damaged tissues in the body, remove excess metabolic waste, and raise the body's functions to twice the level of a peak human within thirty days."

The system quickly responded to Jia Dongming's question.

After learning about the effects of the repair agent, Jia Dongming aimed the syringe at himself and slowly injected the medicine.

The green liquid gradually flowed into his body, and a warm sensation spread outwards, as if he had taken a powerful tonic, filling his entire body with energy.

As time passed, the heat within his body gradually subsided, and a strong, fishy stench filled the room.

Jia Dongming couldn't help but hold his breath, hurriedly took out clean clothes from his luggage, pushed open the door and walked quickly to the bathroom next door.

About fifteen minutes later, Jia Dongming came out looking radiant with the clean clothes in his hands.

He glanced at the clothesline in the yard, hung the clothes up, and then turned and went back to his bedroom.

Lying in bed, Jia Dongming did not fall asleep immediately, but quietly reflected on the day's experiences, pondering how to live a stable and peaceful life in this era.

"Ding! The daily check-in function has been activated. Would you like to check in?"

The next morning around 7 a.m., Jia Dongming had just woken up when a system notification sounded in his mind.

Upon receiving the notification, Jia Dongming immediately responded in his mind: "Check-in!"

"Ding! Sign-in successful. You have received a master-level Bajiquan inheritance, 10 catties of eggs, 5 catties of pork, 5 catties of mutton, 5 catties of beef, 1 whole chicken, and 10 yuan in cash."

Do you accept the Bajiquan lineage?

Jia Dongming immediately confirmed: "Received."

In an instant, a flood of information rushed into his mind.

After fully digesting this information, Jia Dongming felt a powerful force surging within him.

"Uncle, breakfast is ready. My mom asked me to come and wake you up."

Just as Jia Dongming was experiencing this surging power inside the house, Bang Geng's shout came from outside the door.

Upon hearing this, Jia Dongming replied, "Bang Geng, I'm coming right now."

He got dressed, went to the water trough in the courtyard to wash up briefly, and then walked towards the main room.

Good morning, Uncle.

I wasn't sure what you liked to eat, so I steamed some cornbread, cooked some rice porridge, and reheated the leftovers from last night.

Upon seeing Jia Dongming enter, Qin Huairu introduced him with a smile.

Jia Dongming glanced at the porridge and cornbread on the table and asked Qin Huairu, "Huairu, where's Mom? Hasn't she gotten up yet?"

Qin Huairu recalled her mother-in-law Jia Zhangshi's usual routine and explained with a smile, "Mom usually doesn't wake up until after eight o'clock. I've already left some porridge and cornbread for her in the pot."

Jia Dongming nodded, then, remembering that he needed to return the donations to the residents of the courtyard that evening, he picked up a cornbread, took a bite, and asked, "Huai Ru, how many households live in our courtyard? I'm planning to buy some eggs to thank everyone for their help to our family."

Qin Huairu mentally calculated and replied, "Uncle, there are thirteen households in the courtyard, with more than one hundred people."

After a moment's thought, Jia Dongming said, "Okay, then prepare five eggs for each household."

I'll go to the supply and marketing cooperative in a bit and buy some eggs, then we'll distribute them to everyone at the hospital-wide meeting tonight.

At this point, he suddenly remembered Qin Huairu taking Jia Dongxu's place at the factory, so he asked, "Huairu, after Dongxu left, you went to the steel rolling mill to fill his position. Were you working as a fitter in the workshop?"

When Qin Huairu heard him ask about his work, her heart skipped a beat, and she said, "Uncle, Dongxu used to be a fitter."

After I joined the factory, an old man asked me to learn the technology from him.

But I only have an elementary school education, and I'm still an apprentice.

Jia Dongming pondered for a moment, then asked, "Huai Ru, if I could find someone to help you change positions, would you be willing?"

Actually, when Jia Dongming asked about her job earlier, Qin Huairu had already considered changing positions.

After all, she was a woman, and it was really difficult for her to do the work of a fitter.

After Jia Dongming made his suggestion, a glint of light flashed in Qin Huairu's eyes, and she hurriedly asked, "Uncle! Is it really possible for the job transfer to go through?"

Seeing her delighted expression, Jia Dongming nodded affirmatively and said, "This may not be easy for others, but it's not too difficult for me."

However, you must keep it a secret until it's all done.

As Jia Dongming was speaking, he noticed that Banggeng was still playing with Xiaodang at the table, so he reminded him, "Banggeng, stop teasing Xiaodang and eat your food."

After we finish eating, I'll give you a ride to school on my bike.

Upon hearing this, Banggeng could hardly believe it and quickly asked, "Uncle! You're really going to ride your bike to take me to school?"

Seeing his excited expression, Jia Dongming smiled and replied, "Great idea! Do you think your uncle would tease you about something like this? It's getting late, hurry up and eat, then we'll leave."

Since starting elementary school, Banggeng has always been picked up and dropped off by Jia Zhangshi or Qin Huairu; his father, Jia Dongxu, has never taken him.

Banggeng always felt envious whenever he saw other students being picked up by their fathers at the school gate.

He had mentioned to Jia Dongxu that he hoped his father could also send him to school, but his grandmother and mother always said that his father had to work and earn money to support the family.

After Jia Dongxu died in a work-related accident, the children in the neighborhood told the school about it. Some classmates took this opportunity to bully Banggeng, and the once lively boy gradually became silent and self-conscious.

Yesterday, my uncle returned from his military service. He not only bought meat and flour, but also let Banggeng eat dumplings until he was full. He also gave him a room so he wouldn't have to sleep in the small bed in the main room anymore.

Now that his uncle was offering to take him to school on his bike, Banggeng was both surprised and delighted. He quickly picked up his chopsticks and, while eating, replied, "Uncle! Please wait a moment, I'll be done soon!"

Seeing her son smile again, a rare occurrence after more than a year, Qin Huairu felt deeply grateful to Jia Dongming. While feeding Xiao Huaihua porridge, she softly said, "Uncle, thank you."

After breakfast, Jia Dongming slung his bag over his shoulder, pushed his bicycle, and walked out of the courtyard with a big smile on his face.

As they passed through the front yard, Yan Bugui, who was watering the flowers, saw the two and greeted them curiously, "Section Chief Jia! Banggeng! Where are you two going?"

Jia Dongming stopped and asked, "Uncle, aren't you at work today? Watering the flowers at this hour?"

Yan Bugui put down the showerhead and explained with a smile, "I don't have class in the first period this morning, so I can go to school a little later."

Jia Dongming nodded: "I'm officially reporting to the factory today. Banggeng is also going to school, so I'll give him a ride."

Jia Dongming lifted the car out of the hospital gate, straddled the seat, and waved to Banggeng: "Banggeng, what are you daydreaming about? Hurry up and sit down, hold on tight to my clothes, I'll take you to school."

Banggeng didn't go up immediately, but asked expectantly, "Uncle... can I sit in the front?"

Seeing the boy's bright eyes, Jia Dongming smiled and agreed, "Hey kid, aren't you coming up? Aren't you afraid of being late?"

Banggeng nimbly climbed onto the car, sat sideways on the crossbar, and said happily, "Uncle! I'm never late if I leave at this time, and I'm even less likely to be late today since I'm riding in your car!"