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

After returning the greeting, Jia Dongming said in a gentle tone, "Comrades Song Qifeng, Wang Weiguo, and Zhou Heping, Section Chief Zhang and I are just taking a casual stroll. You don't need to be so formal."

After a brief exchange with the three, Jia Dongming continued to lead Zhang Guoping on a stroll around the perimeter of the special workshop, seemingly casually inspecting the factory environment.

As Jia Dongming surveyed the overall layout of the special workshop, he mentally calculated: If he were Chen Jianfei, and wanted to disrupt the production of the special workshop, where should he start to ensure the plan would go smoothly?

As he was pondering, a small house about twenty or thirty meters away from the special workshop came into Jia Dongming's view.

Looking at the solitary little house, Jia Dongming asked Zhang Guoping beside him with some confusion, "Comrade Guoping, why is there such a small house built alone over there?"

Zhang Guoping looked in the direction he pointed and then explained, "Section Chief, when the factory built the special workshop, because it contained the factory's most sophisticated equipment, that room was temporarily built as a duty room to prevent anyone from damaging it."

After the special workshop officially went into production, this small house was left idle.

After listening to Zhang Guoping's introduction, Jia Dongming stared at the small house, feeling a vague sense of unease, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong.

This inexplicable sense of unease led him to continue asking, "Since it's no longer needed, why doesn't the factory demolish it? That piece of land is quite large; they could easily build another workshop after demolishing it."

Zhang Guoping shook his head and replied, "Section Chief, I'm not entirely sure of the specific reasons either. I guess the factory leaders have other considerations."

Upon hearing this, Jia Dongming secretly planned to ask Li Huaide for details later, and said to Zhang Guoping, "Guoping, let's go and take a look elsewhere."

The two men patrolled the factory area for more than forty minutes. Just as they were about to return to the security office, a conversation between two cleaners by the roadside caught Jia Dongming's attention—

"No wonder the latrine in the special operations workshop was full again after only half a month of cleaning; turns out some scoundrel was dumping dirt in there..."

When Jia Dongming learned that Chen Jianfei intended to use Zhang Yi to cause trouble in the special workshop, his intuition told him that Zhang Yi was just Chen Jianfei's cover, and there must be another plan behind the scenes.

Jia Dongming had just had Zhang Guoping accompany him on a tour of the factory area, and apart from the small house next to the special workshop that he found suspicious, he did not find anything else unusual.

The conversation between the two cleaners at that moment suddenly enlightened Jia Dongming, who had been stuck in a predicament.

"Soil! Soil dumped in the latrine pit—who would do something so pointless as to throw soil into the latrine? The answer will be revealed soon!"

With a direction in mind, Jia Dongming planned to go to the special workshop again to verify his hypothesis.

To avoid alerting the target, he suddenly stopped and said to Zhang Guoping with a smile, "Guoping! I suddenly remembered something and I need to go to Deputy Director Li's office. You go back to the department by yourself first."

Without giving it much thought, Zhang Guoping respectfully replied, "Section Chief, you're busy, so I'll head back to my office now."

After watching Zhang Guoping walk away, Jia Dongming did not turn towards Li Huaide's office, but quietly headed towards the special workshop.

Soon after, Jia Dongming arrived at a location not far from the special workshop, gazing at the heavily guarded workshop and the small building next to it.

Ever since suspecting that Zhang Yi was being used as a pawn by Chen Jianfei, Jia Dongming has been thinking: how can Chen Jianfei successfully sabotage the special workshop without exposing himself?

When Jia Dongming first saw the small hut next to the workshop, he had a strange feeling. It wasn't until he overheard the cleaners' conversation that he truly understood Chen Jianfei's scheme.

Zhang Yi was on duty the night the accident happened in Workshop 2 last year.

At the time, Chen Jianfei covered up Zhang Yi's sleeping on duty, not because he really wanted to recruit him as a subordinate, but because he saw him as a scapegoat to be discarded at any time.

If Zhang Yi did not realize that Chen Jianfei had a problem and did not report it to him, according to Chen Jianfei's plan, they would bury the item underground in the workshop through a tunnel, and detonate it immediately after Zhang Yi brought the item given by Chen Jianfei into the workshop.

If I hadn't transferred back to civilian life, the position of head of the security department would definitely have belonged to Chen Jianfei.

If an accident occurs in the workshop, Chen Jianfei, as the section chief, can lead the investigation.

At that time, Chen Jianfei could use Zhang Yi, who had died in the workshop, to make a point, mentioning that the accident in Workshop 2 last year also happened when Zhang Yi was on duty. In addition, Zhang Yi had no relatives or friends in Beijing, so he could easily confirm that Zhang Yi was an enemy agent lurking in the steel rolling mill.

"What a brilliant escape! If it weren't for my unexpected intervention, Chen Jianfei's plan would probably have succeeded tonight."

After roughly deducing Chen Jianfei's plan, Jia Dongming couldn't help but admire the depth of his cunning.

After figuring out Chen Jianfei's plan, Jia Dongming's most pressing task was to enter the small house undetected, find the hidden tunnel, and disarm the fuse buried under the workshop before Chen Jianfei could act.

"How could I have forgotten that!"

Just as Jia Dongming was racking his brains for a way to break the deadlock without alerting the enemy, he suddenly remembered the "Eagle Eye" skill he had obtained during his first sign-in.

ability.

The system at the time explained that Eagle Eye could detect everything within a 100-meter range, including underground scenes.

Remembering this skill, Jia Dongming immediately activated Eagle Eye and looked towards the small house not far away.

Soon, a tunnel leading from the small hut to the special workshop came into view.

With the help of Eagle Eye, Jia Dongming not only discovered the explosive device buried under the workshop, but also saw two figures setting up the detonation circuit in the tunnel.

Without an eagle eye to see underground, Jia Dongming would never have imagined that enemy agents had buried such a large number of [illegible] underground in the workshop.

Although it has been confirmed that Chen Jianfei is an enemy agent, there is another person with even higher authority hiding in the steel rolling mill.

In addition, through Eagle Eye, Jia Dongming also confirmed that one of the two people in the tunnel was also a member of the security department.

Thinking of the losses and casualties that these events would bring to the steel rolling mill, and in order to wipe out all the enemy agents in the factory, Jia Dongming did not hesitate any longer and immediately turned around and rushed towards the administration building.

Jia Dongming was unsure who among the steel mill's management had problems, but he believed Li Huaide was perfectly innocent—after all, in the story of the courtyard house, Li Huaide later became the director of the Revolutionary Committee, brought down Director Yang, and after the reform and opening up, he not only escaped being purged but also resigned to start his own business, becoming the one who had the last laugh.

Soon, Jia Dongming arrived outside Li Huaide's office.

He knocked on the door, looked at Li Huaide behind the desk, and asked with a smile, "Director Li, are you busy?"

Li Huaide, who was reading documents, looked up at the sound and saw Jia Dongming. He looked surprised and quickly stood up to greet him warmly: "Section Chief Jia! Please come in! What brings you here today?"

Jia Dongming entered the office and said to Li Huaide with a solemn expression, "Director Li, I'm here today because I have something extremely important to discuss with you."

Seeing Jia Dongming's serious expression, Li Huaide immediately said, "Section Chief Jia, please speak. As long as it is within my power, I will do my best to cooperate."

After hearing Li Huaide's words, Jia Dongming did not respond immediately. Instead, he turned and closed the office door, then looked at Li Huaide with a solemn expression: "Director Li, can I trust you?"

Li Huaide was slightly surprised by Jia Dongming's action of closing the door. Upon hearing this question, he immediately realized that the other party must have something important to do on this trip.

He met Jia Dongming's earnest gaze and solemnly replied, "Comrade Jia Dongming, I may have some minor shortcomings, but I am absolutely clear on matters of principle and can withstand any scrutiny. I am completely trustworthy and can withstand any examination."

Jia Dongming stared at Li Huaide for a moment, nodded slightly, and said in a low voice, "Director Li, according to my investigation, there are several enemy agents lurking inside the steel rolling mill."

They infiltrated not only the security department but also the factory's management.

Upon hearing this, Li Huaide's expression changed, and he hurriedly asked, "Comrade Jia Dongming, is this true? Are you sure you can confirm it?"

Jia Dongming said firmly, "It's absolutely true."

It has been confirmed that Chen Jianfei, the captain of the Second Security Brigade, and his team member Wang Defa are enemy agents.

"In addition, these people took advantage of their positions to secretly dig a tunnel leading to the special workshop and buried a large number of things underground in the workshop, intending to blow up the entire special workshop."

Upon hearing that Chen Jianfei was actually an enemy agent, Li Huaide looked astonished.

What Jia Dongming said next made him turn even paler—the special workshop was the most heavily guarded and critical production area in the steel rolling mill, and if it were really destroyed, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Although the workshop was not under his direct management, as one of the factory leaders, Li Huaide could not stand idly by and watch production safety be compromised.

He said urgently, "Section Chief Jia, now that we have the information, why not arrest Chen Jianfei and Wang Defa immediately?"

Jia Dongming shook his head and cautiously explained, "Director Li, I haven't been here long and I'm still getting to know the security personnel."

It is currently impossible to determine whether Corey has any other players besides these two.

"In addition, according to existing intelligence, at least one enemy agent has infiltrated the factory's management team."

I came to find you specifically to find this person.

Upon hearing that there were enemy agents within the management team, Li Huaide was startled and quickly asked, "Section Chief Jia, what is your basis for judging that there are enemy agents within the management team?"

With a solemn expression, Jia Dongming brought up the past: "Director Li, do you still remember the accident that happened in Workshop 2 last year? My younger brother, Jia Dongxu, was a victim of that accident."

Li Huaide nodded: "I remember."

I personally handled the aftermath at the time.

At this point, he suddenly realized something, and his expression changed drastically: "Section Chief Jia, do you believe... that accident was also related to enemy agents?"

Jia Dongming answered decisively: "It's not a matter of opinion, but rather that there is already evidence to suggest that it was a conspiracy by enemy agents targeting the products being processed in Workshop 2, specifically designed for Yi Zhonghai, an eighth-level fitter."

Unfortunately, my younger brother became the scapegoat.

Li Huaide still had doubts: "But after the accident, the factory organized a special investigation team, and the final conclusion was that it was a mechanical failure."

How can you be so sure it was done by enemy agents?

Jia Dongming was not displeased by the questioning and calmly stated: "Director Li, I understand that after Engineer Xue inspected the equipment, he had already concluded that it was 'sabotage'."

However, the head of the investigation team was problematic, and Engineer Xue's report was ultimately altered.

"Therefore, to find the mole in management, we only need to find out who led the investigation and who transferred Engineer Xue from the steel rolling mill shortly after the results were announced—that person is very likely the enemy agent lurking among you."

After listening to Jia Dongming's analysis, Li Huaide recalled the details of last year's accident, and a figure suddenly became clear in his mind.

He couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice, "How could this be... Could it be him?"

Faced with Jia Dongming's question, Li Huaide responded seriously, "Section Chief Jia! If what you said is true, this person is Comrade Zhou Xudong, the deputy factory director in charge of finance, discipline and trade union affairs! He led the investigation into the relevant incident last year, and the transfer of Engineer Xue was also approved by him at the factory meeting."

Upon learning this information, and considering the timeline of the operation, Jia Dongming said to Li Huaide in a heavy tone, "Director Li! From what I understand, the enemy plans to sabotage the special workshop tonight, so our remaining time is extremely limited."

Upon hearing this news, Li Huaide realized the potential crisis that might occur that night and immediately said to Jia Dongming, "Comrade Jia Dongming! Is this matter confirmed? If it is true, as the deputy director of the steel rolling mill, I implore you to do everything you can to stop this sabotage."

After hearing this, Jia Dongming carefully explained to Li Huaide: "Director Li! Since I have just been transferred to the factory, I am still getting familiar with the work of the security department. In order to prevent the information from being leaked, I contacted the Jiaodaokou Police Station yesterday."

But there's something I need your help with now.