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

Thinking about the real reason for Jia Dongxu's death, Jia Dongming solemnly said to Jia Zhangshi, "Mom! Dongxu's matter actually has little to do with work injury, and it was not caused by Yi Zhonghai's hoarding of skills."

But Dongxu's death was indeed related to Yi Zhonghai—he was implicated by Yi Zhonghai and killed by enemy agents.

"What? Dongming, what did you say? Dongxu was killed by enemy agents? Is that true?"

Upon hearing this, Jia Zhangshi was shocked and immediately asked Jia Dongming for confirmation.

Jia Dongming nodded firmly and replied, "Mom! It's absolutely true."

All the enemy agents who harmed Dongxu have been captured by me.

Especially the one who tampered with the machine; after I caught him, I used bamboo skewers to drive them one by one into his fingernails, causing him excruciating pain.

If it weren't for this uniform restraining him, I would have made him wish he were dead!

Upon learning that Jia Dongxu had not died in an accident but was murdered by enemy agents, Madam Jia hurriedly asked, "Dongming! Tell your mother quickly, why did the enemy agents want to harm our Dongxu?"

Looking at Jia Zhangshi's grief-stricken expression, Jia Dongming explained in a deep voice, "Mom! The enemy agents originally wanted to target Yi Zhonghai; they tampered with the equipment at his workstation."

As a result, when Dongxu went to help Yi Zhonghai check the machine, the tampered equipment suddenly malfunctioned, which led to Dongxu's predicament.

Madam Jia originally thought that her son's troubles were due to Yi Zhonghai's refusal to truly teach him the craft, but after hearing Jia Dongming's explanation, she realized that Jia Dongxu had actually taken the blame for Yi Zhonghai.

Her expression shifted, finally settling into a grim one. She gritted her teeth and said, "If Dongxu hadn't shielded Yi Zhonghai from this calamity, it would have been Yi Zhonghai who died! Since that's the case, I won't hesitate to scheme against him in the slightest."

After dinner, Jia Dongming checked Banggeng's homework, washed up quickly, and lay down to rest.

Unexpectedly, around 10 p.m., a soft knocking sound came from outside the door, waking Jia Dongming, who had just fallen asleep.

Jia Dongming immediately opened his eyes and asked in a low voice, "Who?"

"Brother Dongming! It's me, open the door quickly."

Lou Xiao'e's reply came from outside the door.

Upon hearing the sound, Jia Dongming got up, walked to the door, and unlatched it.

As soon as the door opened a crack, Lou Xiao'e slipped inside.

By the moonlight streaming through the window, she looked at Jia Dongming in front of her and whispered, "Brother Dongming! Xu Damao went to the countryside to show movies. I saw that everyone in the yard was asleep, so I came to find you quietly."

Upon hearing this, Jia Dongming closed the door behind him, picked Lou Xiao'e up in his arms, and chuckled, "You little vixen, it seems I didn't feed you enough last night."

"Just wait until tonight, I'll show you what I'm made of."

(More than 10,000 words have been omitted here; please use your imagination.)

）

As the wind and rain subsided, Lou Xiao'e nestled contentedly against Jia Dongming's chest, gazing at him with brimming eyes, and whispered, "Brother Dongming! I heard from Second Aunt that Aunt Zhang is arranging blind dates for you, is that true?"

Lou Xiao'e was unusually enthusiastic tonight. Jia Dongming was a little surprised at first, but when she asked about the blind date, he realized why she had come so late at night.

Faced with Lou Xiao'e's question and thinking about the blind date arranged for tomorrow morning, Jia Dongming subconsciously nodded: "Xiao'e! That's right."

I'm already twenty-eight, and my mom is worried, which is why she's been busy making arrangements.

Upon learning that Jia Dongming was about to go on a blind date, Lou Xiao'e felt a pang of sadness.

But she was not an impulsive person—her father, Lou Zhenhua, had several concubines besides his legal wife, including her birth mother, Lou Tanshi.

Seeing the shame on Jia Dongming's face when he talked about blind dates, Lou Xiao'e said softly, "Brother Dongming! Aunt Zhang is right. You're already twenty-eight. It's time to find a wife and have a few children."

"But I have one condition: after you get married, you cannot distance yourself from me just because you have a wife."

Furthermore, from now on, you'll have to spend a few evenings with me each month.

When Jia Dongming heard Lou Xiao'e ask about the blind date, he thought she would be unhappy about it and was thinking about how to appease her. However, the conditions Lou Xiao'e proposed surprised him and reminded him that many people in this era considered having multiple wives and concubines to be common.

Jia Dongming did not refuse Lou Xiao'e's request, but smiled and assured her, "Xiao'e, you can rest assured."

In a few days, I'll find a small courtyard outside, so we can go there whenever we want to meet.

Lou Xiao'e's eyes lit up when she heard Jia Dongming's suggestion, and she quickly said, "Brother Dongming, you don't need to look for a courtyard. My family has several small courtyards nearby."

I'll go home in a couple of days, ask my mom for a seat, and have someone tidy it up a bit. From now on, we'll go there whenever we meet.

Jia Dongming then remembered that Lou Xiao'e's father was Lou Bancheng, a famous figure in Beijing.

Thinking about the potential difficulties the Lou family might face in the future, Jia Dongming felt that when the time was right, he should have Lou Xiao'e remind Lou Bancheng to persuade the whole family to leave Beijing and move to Hong Kong to develop their careers.

Thinking about the Lou family's situation, Jia Dongming asked Lou Xiao'e, "Xiao'e, aren't you afraid your parents will ask you why you asked them for a house?"

Lou Xiao'e, upon hearing the question, showed an indifferent expression and said to Jia Dongming, "Brother Dongming, if my mother asks, I'll tell her about our relationship."

"Ding!"

"The daily check-in system has been activated. Would you like to check in?"

At 7:00 a.m. on Sunday morning, while Jia Dongming was still asleep, a system notification suddenly sounded in his mind.

Perhaps because Jia Dongming was about to go on a blind date, Lou Xiao'e was unusually proactive last night, as if she wouldn't stop until she exhausted Jia Dongming. Lou Xiao'e didn't leave until after 2 a.m., completely satisfied.

While fast asleep, Jia Dongming received a system message. Without even opening his eyes, he silently said in his mind, "System, sign in!"

"Ding!"

"Check-in successful. Congratulations, host, you have received a golden kidney, ten pairs of chicks, ten pairs of ducklings, ten pairs of goslings, and ten yuan in cash. Would you like to load the golden kidney?"

Jia Dongming, who was signing in with his eyes closed, received the message, suddenly opened his eyes, and exclaimed with delight, "Load the Golden Kidney!"

A warm current immediately flowed into Jia Dongming's body, continuously nourishing his kidneys.

My lower back, which was originally slightly sore, now feels unusually relaxed.

If it weren't already daylight, Jia Dongming would have really wanted to find Lou Xiao'e and give her a proper test of the effects of the Golden Kidney.

Jia Dongming got dressed and came out of the room. He saw Jia Zhangshi sweeping the yard with a broom and was surprised. He asked, "Mom, why are you up so early today?"

Hearing the question, Jia Zhangshi, who was sweeping the floor, smiled and replied, "Dongming, I saw that there were fallen leaves all over the yard, so I swept them up for you."

Upon hearing this, Jia Dongming said to Jia Zhangshi, "Mom, I'm going to the market to buy groceries later. Is there anything you particularly want to eat?"

After thinking for a moment, Jia Zhangshi said, "Dongming, the canned fruit you brought back last time was quite delicious. Let's go to your comrade's supply and marketing cooperative later and see if they still have any."

Jia Dongming nodded and replied, "Mom, I understand."

I'll grab something to eat first, then I'll go take a look around the market.

Madam Jia quickly instructed, "Dongming, Huairu's breakfast is ready and it's warming up in the pot."

She didn't take the bicycle either; you can just ride it to the market later.

After finishing breakfast, Jia Dongming took his bicycle keys and pushed the bike out of the yard.

"Dongming, good morning! Where are you going so early in the morning pushing your stroller?"

As Jia Dongming pushed his cart out of the courtyard gate, an elderly woman who was washing clothes in the yard saw him and greeted him with a smile.

Jia Dongming replied, "Good morning, ma'am! My mom asked Matchmaker Wang to introduce me to a potential blind date today. The other person is coming over, and my mom asked me to go to the market to buy some groceries."

Upon hearing this, an older woman laughed and said, "Dongming, you should go to buy groceries early, or there might not be any good vegetables left."

Jia Dongming was only going through the motions, so he replied, "Auntie, I'll be going now. Talk to you later!"

Jia Dongming pushed his cart through the moon gate to the front yard, where he saw Yan Bugui tidying up his fishing rods. He greeted him with a smile, "Good morning, Third Uncle! Tidying up your fishing rods so early, are you going fishing?"

Yan Bugui replied, "It's Section Chief Jia! I'm taking advantage of my day off to try my luck at Houhai Lake and see if I can catch some fish to improve my meals."

At this point, Yan Bugui suddenly remembered something and asked with a smile, "Section Chief Jia, weren't you going on a blind date today? Why are you going out?"

Jia Dongming replied, "Uncle, my mom asked me to go to the market to buy some groceries, so I need to go early. I won't chat any longer."

After saying goodbye to Yan Bugui, Jia Dongming pushed his bicycle through the hanging flower gate, left the courtyard, and then rode towards Chaoyang Market.

As Jia Dongming rode his bicycle toward the market, Qin Huairu entered a ward at the People's Hospital carrying a lunchbox.

When Qin's mother saw Qin Huairu bringing lunch, she immediately smiled and said, "Huairu! Your father is being discharged from the hospital today, so you don't need to bring us lunch anymore."

After hearing her mother's words, Qin Huairu put the lunchbox on the table and immediately asked her father, "Dad! What did the doctor say? Can I really be discharged today?"

Mr. Qin replied with a smile, "Huai Ru! The doctor said I've almost recovered. I can go home to rest first, and come back to the hospital when the stitches are removed."

After confirming that her father could be discharged from the hospital, Qin Huairu quickly instructed, "Dad! You can't work in the fields after you get home. You must wait until the stitches are removed before you can move around."

Qin's father nodded, then, looking troubled, said to Qin Huairu, "Huairu! You know our family's situation. It will probably take a while before we can pay back the money for this hospitalization to Banggeng's uncle."

Upon hearing about the money, Qin Huairu immediately replied, "Dad! Don't worry about the money. I'll pay back part of it to Uncle as soon as I get my salary."

Remembering Jia Zhangshi's temper, Qin's mother said to Qin Huairu with concern, "Huairu! You know your mother-in-law's temperament. If she finds out that you're using your own money to support your family, she might cause you trouble."

In the past, Qin Huairu would definitely have worried about her mother-in-law, but since Jia Dongming returned, Jia Zhangshi's temper has changed a lot, and Qin Huairu is not worried about it at all now.

Faced with her mother's reminder, Qin Huairu replied with a relaxed expression, "Mom! My mother-in-law has changed a lot now. Even if she finds out about this, she'll just nag a few times at most, and she'll never cause me any trouble like before."

Qin's mother was relieved, but then, thinking about Jia Dongming's character and income, she couldn't help but say to Qin Huairu, "Huairu! Your uncle isn't married yet, is he? Why don't we introduce Jingru to him? That way, our family and his family can become even closer through marriage!"

Upon hearing this suggestion, Qin Huairu, thinking of Jia Zhangshi's character, immediately retorted: "Mom! Let alone the fact that Jingru is only fifteen years old, even if she were old enough, my mother-in-law would not agree to my uncle marrying a country girl."

He's the only cadre in the institute, and his monthly salary is over a hundred yuan.

At first, Qin's father, lying in his hospital bed, thought the idea was good, but after hearing his daughter's words, he realized the difference between the two families and scolded Qin's mother: "Honey! What are you thinking? His uncle is the head of the security department, why would he want a country girl as a wife?"

After hearing this, Qin's mother realized that she had been thinking too simply.

Thinking of her daughter's future, she asked again, "Huai Ru! Dong Xu has been gone for over a year now. Have you thought about finding someone else?"

Upon hearing this, a figure immediately came to Qin Huairu's mind.

Thinking about Jia Dongming's blind date today, a hint of disappointment flashed across her face, and she replied softly, "Mom! I'm already a mother of three, who would want to marry me? Right now, all I want to do is raise Banggeng and the others, I don't want to think about anything else."

The changes in Qin Huairu's face did not escape the notice of her mother.

Seeing her downcast expression, Qin's mother vaguely guessed what her daughter was thinking and whispered, "Huai Ru! If you have feelings for Bang Geng's uncle, why not give it a try?"

Even if I can't marry him formally, I'll be happy to be his mistress.