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

Li Huaide then explained: "Last year, the factory received a batch of orders from the military, and only Yi Zhonghai, an eighth-level fitter in the second workshop, was able to complete them."

In an attempt to disrupt production, a hidden enemy agent tampered with the equipment he was using, leading to a mechanical accident the following day, in which Yi Zhonghai's apprentice tragically died.

"After the accident, the factory organized an investigation."

After inspection, Engineer Xue determined that it was vandalism.

As the deputy factory director in charge of security, I should have led the investigation, but for some reason, Yang Weimin insisted on putting Zhou Xudong in charge, and the result was predictable.

"Coincidentally, the worker who died was Jia Dongming's younger brother, Jia Dongxu."

Now Jia Dongming knows that if he investigates, Yang Weimin will likely be held responsible.

Thinking of Yang Weimin's background, the old man reminded him, "Huai De, don't be too optimistic."

Yang Weimin has connections with high-ranking officials, so as long as Jia Dongming doesn't pursue the matter, the investigation team may not investigate further.

I estimate that Yang Weimin will try to appease Jia Dongming or provide compensation to settle the matter.

"Comrade Huai De, is now a convenient time? I'd like to talk to you about something."

While Li Huaide was on the phone, Yang Weimin suddenly appeared at the office door, greeting him with a smile.

Li Huaide looked slightly surprised and quickly said into the phone, "Dad, I have guests here, I have to talk to you now."

The old man reminded him on the phone: "Huai De, Yang Weimin is contacting you at this time most likely because he wants your help to ease the tension between him and Jia Dongming."

Although you and Jia Dongming are familiar with each other, you should be careful about your boundaries.

Li Huaide hung up immediately and turned to Yang Weimin, asking, "Director Yang, what brings you here?"

After Li Huaide hung up the phone, Yang Weimin smiled and explained his purpose: "Old Li, this time it was thanks to Comrade Jia Dongming's foresight that he contacted the police to take down the enemy agent gang led by Zhou Xudong and prevented their plot to blow up the special workshop. Otherwise, the consequences would have been serious."

"On the day Jia Dongming reported for duty, I was unable to receive him due to an urgent matter."

Now that he has made a great contribution, Secretary Zhang and I discussed it and decided to take this opportunity to invite him to a meal, both as a welcome-back dinner and to welcome him to join our steel rolling mill.

Upon hearing this, Li Huaide inwardly marveled at his father-in-law's foresight, but outwardly feigned ignorance: "Director Yang, if you and Secretary Zhang want to invite Comrade Jia Dongming, you can just contact him directly. Why bother contacting me?"

When Yang Weimin saw Li Huaide ask the question, he immediately looked a little uncomfortable. He said to Li Huaide, "Old Li, according to the rules, when Comrade Jia Dongming comes to the factory to report for duty, the factory leadership should hold a welcome meeting."

However, both Secretary Zhang and I had urgent matters to attend to, so we neglected Comrade Jia Dongming.

"Among the factory leaders right now, you are the only one who is relatively familiar with Comrade Jia Dongming."

So I'd like to trouble you to call Comrade Jia Dongming and invite him to dinner at the cafeteria tonight.

Upon hearing Yang Weimin's words, Li Huaide recalled Jia Dongming's usual attitude towards the factory leaders, and a troubled expression appeared on his face. He said to Yang Weimin, "Director Yang, you've really given me a difficult problem."

"Jia Dongming had only been here for less than five days when he was able to find out the enemy agents lurking in the factory and take them all down. This shows that he is a very capable comrade."

Since that's the case, he's probably heard most of the rumors circulating in the factory.

Even if I personally ask him, Jia Dongming might not agree.

After hearing this, Yang Weimin smiled and said to Li Huaide, "Old Li, it's all about human effort! Given your relationship with Comrade Jia Dongming, he should give you face."

Seeing that Yang Weimin had brought this up, Li Huaide could only nod and reply, "Director Yang, I'll give it a try."

Whether Jia Dongming is willing to come or not depends on his own decision.

Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Yang Weimin smiled and said to Li Huaide, "Old Li, I'll wait for your good news in the office."

"Ring ring! Ring ring! Ring ring!"

Around 5 p.m., just as Jia Dongming was about to leave work and go home, the office phone suddenly rang.

Jia Dongming picked up the microphone and politely asked, "This is Jia Dongming. Who is this?"

"Section Chief Jia, this is Li Huaide."

Director Yang just came to see me and said he's going to host a welcome dinner for you, the newly appointed section chief, at the factory canteen tonight. He specifically asked me to call and invite you.

As soon as Jia Dongming finished speaking, Li Huaide's voice came from the other end of the phone.

When Jia Dongming learned that Yang Weimin was going to invite him to dinner, a thoughtful smile appeared on his face. He said meaningfully to Li Huaide, "Director Li, is it possible that Director Yang's sudden invitation to dinner has ulterior motives?"

Upon hearing this, Li Huaide couldn't help but laugh out loud and explained to Jia Dongming, "Section Chief Jia, I heard that the Ministry will send an investigation team to our factory tomorrow to specifically investigate this matter of enemy spies."

"When the accident happened in Workshop 2 last year, I, as the deputy factory director in charge of security, was supposed to be in charge of the investigation. However, Director Yang took away my right to investigate by voting."

"The investigation team later concluded that the machine malfunction caused Jia Dongxu's death from a work-related injury."

However, at the meeting, Engineer Xue clearly stated that the machine had been sabotaged.

I don't know what Factory Director Yang was thinking, but he didn't take Engineer Xue's opinion and classified the accident as a regular work-related injury.

"Now your investigation results are the same as what Engineer Xue said at the time—the accident in Workshop 2 was not an ordinary work injury, but sabotage."

And Zhou Xudong, whom Director Yang had been protecting at the time, turned out to be the enemy spy who planned this accident.

"Although Director Yang himself is not seriously involved, his actions inevitably raise suspicions of protecting enemy agents."

You are Jia Dongxu's older brother, and he's afraid you'll expose this when you meet the investigation team.

If the higher-ups seriously investigate, even if Director Yang doesn't lose his job, he'll be severely punished.

"So I think that Director Yang invited you to dinner for two reasons: first, to ease tensions with you, and second, to persuade you not to pursue the matter of Workshop 2 any further."

In the story of "Full House of Love", Yang Weimin is portrayed as a very upright leader.

But Jia Dongming knew that Yang Weimin wasn't truly upright—otherwise, he wouldn't have taken Sha Zhu to cook at the big leader's house, nor would he have allowed Sha Zhu to bring leftovers home from the canteen every day.

After listening to Li Huaide's words, Jia Dongming recalled the plot where Yang Weimin was later brought down by Li Huaide, and then asked Li Huaide, "Director Li, do you think it's better for me to go to Director Yang's dinner party or not?"

Li Huaide was visibly taken aback by the question, then smiled and said to Jia Dongming, "Section Chief Jia, although your security department doesn't have to worry about the factory leaders, the factory still has to allocate funds for the security department."

"Furthermore, Director Yang has a high-ranking official in the ministry backing him up."

Based solely on this incident involving Workshop 2, at most he could be accused of "misjudging people," but that wouldn't fundamentally affect him.

Rather than falling out with Director Yang over this, we should take this opportunity to get some tangible benefits.

Upon hearing this, Jia Dongming deliberately probed, "Director Li, if I expose the enemy's secrets to the investigation team, even if Director Yang has connections, it will be difficult for him to stay at the steel rolling mill."

"You really have absolutely no interest in Director Yang's position?"

To say that Li Huaide had no interest in Yang Weimin's position would be a lie.

But Li Huaide knew that he had only been the deputy factory director for two years, and even if he removed Yang Weimin from his position, it would not be his turn.

Rather than having someone unfamiliar be appointed as the top leader, it's better to keep Yang Weimin in his position—after all, he's already quite familiar with Yang Weimin's temperament.

Li Huaide sensed the probing in Jia Dongming's words. Considering that he had been the deputy factory director for less than two years, and that even if Yang Weimin was dismissed, the position would not be his, he replied with a hint of helplessness, "Section Chief Jia! I have been the deputy factory director for less than two years. Even if Yang Weimin is transferred, I am not qualified to take his place."

Rather than letting someone who doesn't understand the business manage the steel rolling mill, it's better to keep Yang Weimin in his position.

After hearing Li Huaide's words, Jia Dongming suddenly understood why Li Huaide was able to replace Yang Weimin during that special period and remain stable after the storm subsided—this man certainly had some skills and foresight.

After a moment's thought, Jia Dongming accepted Li Huaide's suggestion and said, "Director Li, since that's the case, I will do as you say and go to Director Yang's banquet."

Seeing that Jia Dongming had agreed, Li Huaide reminded him, "Section Chief Jia, whether Yang Weimin can overcome this hurdle largely depends on how you handle this matter."

In my opinion, you might as well take this opportunity to try and get some extra compensation for your brother.

Jia Dongming, who possessed special connections and was not short of money, asked with doubt, "Director Li, if my brother was killed by enemy agents, would the compensation be different from that for ordinary work-related injuries?"

When Li Huaide heard him ask about the compensation standards, he felt that the man was even more thoughtful, so he explained: "Unless it is a major contribution to the factory or a martyr, it will be treated as a work injury, and the amount of compensation will be the same."

Jia Dongming then understood the factory's regulations and said, "Since the factory has already compensated me according to the regulations, I don't need to ask Director Yang for anything more."

"Section Chief Jia, this isn't a question of whether you want it or not."

If you don't mention anything, Yang Weimin will find it hard to feel at ease.

Li Huaide, wanting to get closer to Jia Dongming, sincerely offered this advice.

After hearing what he said, Jia Dongming thought of the usual practices for exchanging favors and smiled knowingly: "Director Li, thank you for your guidance. I know what to do now."

In Li Huaide's view, the Security Section was a department that had to be won over, and Jia Dongming, who had just been transferred there, had already cracked a case involving enemy agents and was highly capable, making him exactly the kind of person he wanted to win over.

Thinking about the Jia family's housing situation, Li Huaide suggested, "Section Chief Jia, if I remember correctly, the courtyard allocated to you by the factory and your brother's original residence were both public housing owned by the steel rolling mill."

You might as well take this opportunity to invest some money and convert them into private property.

Jia Dongming had a sudden thought: these houses may not be worth much now, but their value will be immeasurable decades from now.

That was indeed a good idea, so he asked, "Director Li, aren't private sales of houses prohibited now? If I want to buy the house I'm currently living in, what are the procedures?"

Li Huaide smiled and replied, "It's not difficult."

You've just made a great contribution; the factory can grant you a special housing purchase qualification as a reward.

Once you make the payment according to the procedure, everything will be compliant and legal.

Jia Dongming immediately understood and thanked him, saying, "Director Li, once the house paperwork is done, I'll invite Sha Zhu over to cook a meal. Please do me the honor of coming and have a few drinks."

Around 5 p.m., Jia Dongming arrived at the logistics warehouse and saw Qin Huairu, who was about to leave work. He said to her, "Huairu, Director Yang is treating me to dinner tonight. Tell your mother when you get home that she doesn't need to wait for me."

Qin Huairu nodded and replied, "Uncle, I understand. I'll tell Mom."

After giving the instructions, Jia Dongming headed towards the small canteen.

On that day, the Security Department, in collaboration with the Dongcheng District Public Security Bureau, cracked a case involving enemy agents attempting to sabotage a special workshop, and the news quickly spread throughout the steel rolling mill's administrative building.

When the factory leaders found out, they were all secretly terrified.

They knew that if the enemy agents succeeded in blowing up the special workshop, even if they weren't directly responsible, their political future would be ruined.

In the propaganda department office, Xu Damao was initially surprised upon hearing about Jia Dongming's deeds, but then a smug look appeared on his face as he said to his colleagues, "Brother Zhang, Brother Guo, Sister Wu, the Section Chief Jia you just mentioned lives in our compound. He even had dinner and drinks at my house the night before last!"

The three people in the office looked surprised when they heard this.

Sister Wu asked with some skepticism, "Da Mao, you're not bragging, are you? Are you really that close to Section Chief Jia?"

Seeing that they didn't believe him, Xu Damao recalled the scene of drinking together that night and became even more smug: "Sister Wu, how could I dare to talk nonsense about such a thing? When we were drinking that night, Section Chief Jia told me personally that if I encountered any problems at the factory in the future, I could go to him anytime."