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

Jia Dongming laughed loudly, "Da Mao! If I drink three cups, wouldn't you have to drink nine? Can you handle that?"

Xu Damao patted his chest: "Brother Dongming! How can a man say he can't? If you really drink three cups, I'll immediately drink nine!"

Seeing Xu Damao's confidence, Jia Dongming smiled and replied, "Alright, Damao! I'll give you a chance to show off today."

After saying that, he drank the wine in his glass in one gulp, then took the bottle, refilled it, and drank three glasses in a row. Then he put down the glass and looked at Xu Damao with a smile.

Upon seeing this, Xu Damao immediately picked up the wine bottle and began pouring and drinking.

He drank one cup after another, and his face quickly turned bright red.

When Jia Dongming saw that Xu Damao had downed nine cups in a row, he thought that his alcohol tolerance seemed to be different from what was portrayed in TV dramas.

Just as I was about to say a few words of praise to him, I saw Xu Damao slump over and fall fast asleep on the table.

Lou Xiao'e, standing to the side, looked embarrassed and said to Jia Dongming, "Brother Dongming! I'm so sorry you had to see this..."

After hearing Lou Xiao'e's words, Jia Dongming smiled and said to her, "Lou Xiao'e! Da Mao is just being genuine, don't take it to heart."

Seeing that Xu Damao had drunk himself into oblivion, Liu Haizhong, who was standing next to him, joked, "This Xu Damao, with such a low alcohol tolerance, still dares to talk about drinking etiquette. I really don't know why the factory leaders always make him entertain guests."

Jia Dongming glanced at Xu Damao, who was slumped over the table, then turned to Lou Xiao'e and said, "Lou Xiao'e, it's not good to let him lie there like this. How about I help you take him inside to rest?"

Lou Xiao'e quickly thanked him, "Brother Dongming, thank you for your trouble."

After Jia Dongming helped Xu Damao into the room, he said goodbye to Lou Xiao'e. As she thanked him repeatedly, he and Liu Haizhong left Xu Damao's house.

"Ding!"

"Daily check-in is complete. Confirm your check-in?"

At exactly seven o'clock in the morning, the system's notification sound rang in Jia Dongming's mind like an alarm clock, waking him from his sleep.

Jia Dongming subconsciously opened his eyes, silently repeating in his mind, "Sign in!"

"Ding! Sign-in successful! You have received God-level Shooting Skills, ten bags of milk powder, ten boxes of tea, ten cartons of Zhonghua cigarettes, ten bottles of Moutai liquor, and ten yuan in cash! All items have been stored in the system space. Do you wish to immediately integrate the God-level Shooting Skills?"

Jia Dongming immediately responded: "Begin the integration!"

As soon as the command was given, a massive flow of information rushed into his mind.

In less than two minutes, Jia Dongming's shooting skills improved from proficient to perfect accuracy.

After the fusion was completed, Jia Dongming got up, dressed, and walked outside.

"Uncle! Good morning! I was just about to come and wake you, but you're already up."

As soon as Jia Dongming stepped out, he ran into Banggeng, who was running out of the main room.

Banggeng greeted him happily when he saw him.

Jia Dongming habitually ruffled Bang Geng's hair and asked with a smile, "Bang Geng, good morning! Have you washed your face? If not, go with your uncle."

Banggeng nodded: "I've washed it! My mom has already made breakfast and asked me to come and call you for dinner."

After washing up, Jia Dongming went into the main room.

As soon as Jia Zhangshi, who was sitting at the dining table, saw him, she said, "Dongming, I went to see Matchmaker Wang yesterday and asked her to help you arrange your marriage. I expect to hear from her in the next couple of days."

Upon hearing this, Jia Dongming replied, "Mom, I just got back from my military service, you don't need to be in such a hurry, do you?"

Madam Jia frowned: "Dongming, you're already twenty-eight! When Dongxu was your age, Banggeng and Xiaodang were already running around."

"Mom is hoping you'll get married soon and add a member to our Jia family!"

These days, most people get married around the age of twenty, so it's quite rare to see someone like Jia Dongming who is twenty-eight and still unmarried.

Jia Dongming didn't argue anymore. He sat down at the table, picked up a steamed bun, and started eating breakfast.

After breakfast, Jia Dongming first rode his bicycle to take Banggeng to school before arriving at the security office.

"Good morning, Section Chief! Here's your meal ticket."

As soon as Jia Dongming entered the office, Zhang Guoping, the head of the logistics section, followed him in and handed him a meal ticket.

Remembering that he planned to go hunting in the mountains today, Jia Dongming said to Zhang Guoping, "Guoping, I'm going to go for a walk in the mountains today to see if I can hunt some wild game."

"I'll give this meal ticket to my sister-in-law later, so she can get the food at lunchtime."

Zhang Guoping was somewhat surprised and asked, "Section Chief, is your sister-in-law also from our factory?"

Jia Dongming explained with a smile: "My younger brother's name is Jia Dongxu. He used to be a fitter in the second workshop. He passed away last year due to a work injury."

His wife's name is Qin Huairu. She took over his job and is now working as a fitter in the second workshop.

Qin Huairu is quite beautiful, and she became famous in the steel rolling mill not long after she joined the factory last year.

Although Zhang Guoping was the section chief of the security department, he had heard of her before.

Upon learning that Qin Huairu was actually Jia Dongming's sister-in-law, Zhang Guoping was genuinely surprised and quickly said, "Section Chief, I know Qin Huairu. She is the apprentice of Yi Zhonghai, an eighth-grade fitter in Workshop 2."

I never imagined she was family.

Jia Dongming wasn't surprised that Zhang Guoping knew Qin Huairu, after all, she had a "pretty widow" in the factory.

The title.

He then instructed, "Guoping, if I have a good harvest in the mountains today, call Keli."

"Go to the transportation department and get a vehicle, then go to the location I told you to bring the game back."

Zhang Guoping nodded in agreement: "Understood, Section Chief."

When the convoy comes to get food at noon, I'll tell their team leader to reserve one vehicle for later use.

After explaining the matters to Zhang Guoping, Jia Dongming went to the armory to collect a Garand 1 semi-automatic rifle and 100 rounds, and then rode his bicycle to the door of Workshop 2.

"Section Chief Jia! What brings you to our Workshop Two today?"

When Liu Jianshe, the director of the second workshop, saw Jia Dongming appear at the door, he hurriedly came out of the workshop to greet him with a big smile.

Upon hearing this, Jia Dongming smiled slightly and said to Liu Jianshe, "Director Liu, could you please call Qin Huairu? I need to speak with her about something."

When Liu Jianshe heard that Jia Dongming had come to see Qin Huairu, he was first taken aback, then remembered Jia Dongming's name, and his expression changed from surprise to realization. He hurriedly asked, "Section Chief Jia, you and Jia Dongxu are...?"

Jia Dongming was not surprised by the question and calmly replied, "Jia Dongxu is my younger brother, and Qin Huairu is my sister-in-law."

Liu Jianshe had already vaguely guessed what was going on, but he was still surprised to hear Jia Dongming confirm it in person.

He never expected that Jia Dongxu was actually Jia Dongming's younger brother.

Thinking about how some workers in the workshop often fawned over Qin Huairu, especially Guo Da Piezi who always liked to get close to her, Liu Jianshe felt it was necessary to remind them to be mindful of their behavior to avoid causing trouble that would be difficult to manage.

However, these thoughts only flashed through his mind. Liu Jianshe still smiled and replied, "Section Chief Jia, I really didn't expect Qin Huairu to be your sister-in-law."

"Please wait a moment, I'll go get her right away."

The scene of Liu Jianshe and Jia Dongming talking at the gate attracted the attention of many workers.

When Qin Huairu saw Jia Dongming, she remembered what he had said that morning, so she turned off the machine and walked towards the workshop door.

Just as Liu Jianshe was about to call someone, he saw Qin Huairu coming over on her own and immediately put on a gentle smile, asking in a friendly tone, "Qin Huairu, Section Chief Jia is your uncle, why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Qin Huairu is not highly educated, and Yi Zhonghai has not taught her diligently, so she is still an apprentice.

For this reason, workshop director Liu Jianshe has never liked her. If it weren't for the sake of Yi Zhonghai, an eighth-level fitter, he probably would have transferred her away long ago.

Sensing the change in Liu Jianshe's attitude, Qin Huairu experienced for the first time the difference that relationships can bring.

She replied modestly, "Director Liu, although my uncle is the head of the security department, I can't just go around bragging about it."

Upon hearing this, Liu Jianshe recalled his past attitude towards Qin Huairu and broke out in a cold sweat. He secretly rejoiced: Luckily, he hadn't made things difficult for her in the past because of Yi Zhonghai, otherwise he would have really offended Section Chief Jia.

Thinking this to himself, he still said kindly, "Qin Huairu, Section Chief Jia said he needs to see you. You should go and check on him."

Qin Huairu nodded and walked quickly towards the workshop entrance.

Upon seeing Jia Dongming, Qin Huairu asked, "Uncle, what brings you here?"

Jia Dongming took a meal ticket out of his pocket and handed it to her, saying, "Huai Ru, I'm going to the countryside in a little while."

"Take this ticket. Bring two lunchboxes to the security office's canteen at noon and get two servings of braised pork."

Qin Huairu took the meal ticket and asked curiously, "Uncle, when will you be back from the countryside?"

Jia Dongming thought about today's schedule and replied, "If everything goes smoothly, I can get back by evening. If there's a lot to do, it might be around 7 or 8 pm."

Qin Huairu nodded: "Okay, Uncle, I understand."

Be careful on your journey.

Inside the workshop, many workers noticed this scene at the entrance.

Some workers who had previously harbored feelings for Qin Huairu were now uneasy, frequently glancing towards the door.

"Who is that man outside? What's his relationship with Qin Huairu?"

Worker A couldn't help but ask the person next to him.

The second coworker stared at the two talking outside the door and shook his head: "I don't know, but they seem to know each other well. Could they be Qin Huairu's new boyfriend?"

"impossible,"

Worker C chimed in, "If they were lovers, would they dare to chat so openly at the workshop entrance?"

Ever since Qin Huairu came to the second workshop, Guo Dapizi has been interested in her, but his several hints have been met with indifference.

Seeing her chatting and laughing with a strange man at the door, he felt both bitter and angry, and cursed inwardly: "You Qin Huairu, I've been so nice to you, but you ignored me. It turns out you've already hooked up with someone else!"

"Guo the Great Scoundrel! If you're tired of living, why don't you shout even louder?"

After learning about the relationship between Qin Huairu and Jia Dongming, Liu Jianshe immediately remembered Guo Dapizi, who had feelings for Qin Huairu, and decided to go and warn him.

Just then, he walked to Guo Dapizi's workstation and heard him loudly scolding Qin Huairu, so he spoke up to stop him.

Guo Da Piezi, burning with anger, heard a familiar warning voice behind him and instinctively wanted to retort.

But as the words reached his lips, he caught sight of Liu Jianshe's solemn expression and immediately swallowed back the vulgarity that was about to come out, forcing out a dry laugh as he replied, "Director! I was just joking, why are you taking it so seriously?"

Liu Jianshe didn't believe Guo Da Piezi's explanation at all, but reminded him with a stern face: "Guo Da Piezi! The one standing at the workshop door talking to Qin Huairu is Jia Dongming, the new head of the security department in the factory. He is Jia Dongxu's older brother."

If you don't learn your lesson and continue your old ways, don't blame others for not warning you.

"What? Director, you're saying that's our factory's new security chief? And Jia Dongxu's older brother, Qin Huairu's uncle? This... how is this possible?"

Upon hearing the information revealed by Liu Jianshe, Guo Dapizi showed an incredulous expression and retorted hastily before Liu Jianshe could finish speaking.

If Jia Dongming hadn't personally told him about his kinship with Qin Huairu, and if Jia Dongming and Jia Dongxu's names hadn't differed by only one character, Liu Jianshe would have found it hard to believe that the newly appointed head of security at the steel rolling mill would be Qin Huairu's uncle.

Liu Jianshe sensed the doubt in Guo Da Piezi's words and solemnly warned him again: "Guo Da Piezi! If you don't believe me, you can go and bother Qin Huairu as before."

But if anything goes wrong in the future, don't blame me for not telling you beforehand.

A worker at Guo Dapizi's next workstation overheard their conversation and learned that the man who had come to the workshop looking for Qin Huairu was actually his uncle, the factory's new head of security. His face was filled with astonishment.

This worker had a close relationship with Jia Dongxu, having known him for many years, yet Jia Dongxu had never mentioned having an older brother.