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

So after lunch, she immediately suggested to Lin Qiuyue, "Qiuyue, why don't you and Dongming go for a walk? Then Dongming can take you home?"

Upon hearing what the matchmaker Wang said, Jia Zhangshi immediately thought it was a good idea and quickly said to Jia Dongming, "Dongming, why don't you take Qiuyue for a ride in Beihai Park?"

"I want to go too! I want to go to Beihai Park with my uncle!"

Upon hearing Jia Zhangshi's words, Banggeng, who was standing nearby, immediately clamored to go along.

When Xiao Dang heard Bang Geng say that, he chimed in, "Uncle, Xiao Dang also wants to go out and play with you."

When Qin Huairu saw the two children clamoring to go with them, she immediately put on a stern face and scolded them, "Banggeng! Xiaodang! Your uncle and Aunt Qiuyue have something to do at Beihai Park, neither of you are allowed to go. Stay home obediently."

"Bang Geng, Grandma's good grandson, your uncle has to accompany Aunt Qiuyue today, so he can't take you with him."

"Wait until next weekend when your uncle is off work, then have him take you to Beihai Park."

Seeing that Banggeng looked unhappy, Jia Zhangshi quickly spoke up to coax him.

After hearing what Qin Huairu and Jia Zhangshi said, Banggeng, though unwilling, could only pout and say to Jia Dongming, "Alright then, my sister and I will play at home."

"But next week, Uncle, you absolutely must take me and Xiaodang to Beihai Park for boating."

Jia Dongming smiled and agreed, "Okay, I'll take you boating next weekend."

Pushing their bicycles, Jia Dongming and Lin Qiuyue walked out of the courtyard together.

He got into the car, turned to Lin Qiuyue and smiled, "Comrade Qiuyue, please get in first, we're going to Beihai Park now."

Lin Qiuyue works at the supply and marketing cooperative and is much more generous in her dealings with people than the average girl.

Without much ceremony, she turned sideways and sat on the back of the bicycle.

After Jia Dongming waited for her to settle in, he started riding his bicycle towards Beihai Park.

The car moved along the road at a leisurely pace.

As Jia Dongming rode, he asked Lin Qiuyue, "Qiuyue, what do you think of me?"

Lin Qiuyue understood the meaning behind his words, her face flushed slightly, and she replied softly, "Jia Dongming, I think you're a good person, we can get to know each other."

However, there's something I need to make clear first: I'm taking over my mother's job, so if I get married, I'll have to give my family twenty yuan a month until my sister starts working too.

Twenty yuan is not a small amount for many families, but it is nothing to Jia Dongming.

His monthly salary is over 100 yuan, and with the income from daily check-ins through the system, 20 yuan is well within his means.

Jia Dongming answered Lin Qiuyue's request without hesitation: "Qiuyue, my monthly salary is 135 yuan. Sometimes I also go into the mountains to hunt some game to sell to the factory. My monthly income is at least 200 yuan."

"If we get married, you can keep your money, and I will cover all the household expenses."

However, I have a condition.

Seeing that he did not object to her subsidizing her family, Lin Qiuyue decided that Jia Dongming was the one for her.

After all, men with his qualities are rare, and she herself is not young anymore. If she doesn't find a partner soon, she may only be able to find a widow or an older man in the future.

She then asked, "Jia Dongming, what are your conditions?"

Jia Dongming said, "Qiuyue, my younger brother died in a work injury last year, leaving behind his wife and three children."

I have a responsibility to help my brother raise his child.

If you don't object, I'll find a repairman to fix the house tomorrow, and then I'll marry you.

Lin Qiuyue breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this and replied, "Brother Dongming, you are the eldest son, so it is your duty to take care of your younger brother's family. I have no objection."

When Jia Dongming saw that she agreed, he happily said, "Okay, then it's settled."

"When I get back, I'll have my mom find Matchmaker Wang and invite her to your house to discuss the bride price."

Lin Qiuyue said, "Brother Dongming, ten yuan is enough for the betrothal gift. There's no need to prepare anything else."

Jia Dongming replied cheerfully, "Qiuyue, marriage is a major life event, and I must marry you in a grand and glorious way."

His words warmed Lin Qiuyue's heart, and she lowered her head and softly replied, "Yes, Brother Dongming, I'll listen to you."

And so, Jia Dongming took Lin Qiuyue for a stroll in Beihai Park, and they went boating. It wasn't until after 3 p.m. that he rode his bicycle to take her home.

After dropping off Lin Qiuyue, Jia Dongming rode his bicycle to the street office.

As he entered the courtyard, he saw the old man on duty in the gatehouse, took out a cigarette from his pocket and offered it to him, then asked, "Sir, I want to renovate my house, who should I contact to handle the paperwork?"

Although Jia Dongming had only been back from his military service for a few days, he had already visited the subdistrict office several times.

The old man on duty was no stranger to him.

The old gatekeeper took the cigarette from Jia Dongming, smelled it, and then said to Jia Dongming, "Comrade Jia Dongming! The paperwork for house repairs needs to be done at the housing management department, but they're not working today. Just go directly to Director Wang."

Upon hearing this, Jia Dongming quickly expressed his gratitude: "Uncle, thank you for your guidance."

After thanking the security guard, Jia Dongming turned and walked towards Director Wang's office at the street office.

Before long, Jia Dongming arrived at the door of Director Wang's office. Seeing Director Wang sitting inside, he raised his hand and knocked on the door, politely greeting him, "Director Wang, good afternoon! You're still working hard on your day off, it must be very tiring."

Director Wang looked up when he heard the voice and saw that it was Jia Dongming. He immediately greeted him warmly, "Section Chief Jia, please come in."

Is there anything I can do for you today, since it's your day off?

Jia Dongming smiled and explained his purpose: "Director Wang, it's like this, my mother asked Matchmaker Wang to arrange a marriage for me, and I plan to renovate the house I'm currently living in in preparation for the wedding, so I came to you specifically to complete the formalities."

Director Wang nodded, opened his desk drawer, took out a notepad, and said to Jia Dongming, "Section Chief Jia, please wait a moment, I'll issue you the certificate right away."

A short while later, Director Wang finished writing the note and stamped it with the official seal of the subdistrict office. He then handed the note to Jia Dongming and instructed him, "Section Chief Jia, this is the approval slip for your house repairs. Please keep it safe."

Jia Dongming accepted the note with both hands and thanked him repeatedly, saying, "Director Wang, thank you so much."

Also, do you have any experienced craftsmen you know who you could recommend? I'd like to hire a skilled one.

Director Wang thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "Section Chief Jia, go to Compound No. 36 and find Master Lei."

His family were artisans in the palace, and his craftsmanship was the most recognized in our area.

Upon hearing this, Jia Dongming immediately remembered who Master Lei was and quickly thanked him, saying, "Director Wang, thank you for your guidance. I'll go to courtyard number thirty-six to find Master Lei right away."

After leaving the neighborhood office, Jia Dongming rode his bicycle straight to the No. 36 compound.

He soon arrived at the gate of the compound, parked his car and walked in, where he met an old man who was coming out of the compound.

Seeing that Jia Dongming was a stranger, the old man asked warily, "Comrade, who are you looking for?"

Upon seeing this, Jia Dongming quickly took out a cigarette from his pocket and politely introduced himself: "Grandpa, does Master Lei live here? I was introduced by Director Wang from the neighborhood office. I would like to ask Master Lei to help repair my house."

The old man finally relaxed, took the cigarette, and replied with a smile, "Comrade, I am the Master Lei you are looking for."

Which courtyard do you live in? I don't think I've ever seen you before.

Jia Dongming immediately explained, "Master Lei, I live in the east wing of compound number 95."

"We're getting married soon, so we'd like to ask you to help us tidy up the house."

Master Lei thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "I know that courtyard. A few years ago, an engineer from the steel rolling mill lived there. Later, he was transferred, and the house became empty."

I remember the steel rolling mill even sent people to repair it; they added toilets and shower rooms to the yard.

Jia Dongming didn't expect Master Lei to know so much, so he continued, "Master Lei, the steel mill has now allocated that yard to me."

I plan to renovate the house before the wedding.

Upon hearing this, Master Lei readily agreed, "Alright, young comrade, wait here for me for a moment. I'll go home to get my tools and then come with you to take a look."

Not long after, Master Lei came out of the yard carrying his tools.

Jia Dongming quickly unlocked the bicycle, let Master Lei sit on the back seat, and rode the bicycle towards the courtyard.

A few minutes later, the two arrived at the courtyard house.

The three older women who were tidying up in the front yard saw Jia Dongming bring Master Lei in and greeted him with a smile, "Section Chief Jia, weren't you off seeing your blind date off? Why are you back with Master Lei?"

Jia Dongming replied with a smile, "Auntie, I'm getting ready to get married, so I thought I'd like to renovate the rooms in the house as soon as possible."

As he spoke, Jia Dongming pushed his bicycle into the central courtyard.

When Jia Zhangshi, who was waiting for news at home, saw her son return with Master Lei, she hurriedly went up to him and asked, "Dongming, how did your talk with Miss Qiuyue go?"

Jia Dongming replied with a smile, "Mom, Qiuyue and I both like each other quite a bit."

So we asked Master Lei to come and fix the house so we could marry Qiuyue as soon as possible.

Upon hearing this, Jia Zhangshi's face immediately lit up with joy, and she repeatedly said, "That's good, that's good! Tomorrow I'll go find Matchmaker Wang and ask her to go to Qiuyue's house to inquire about the betrothal gifts."

Seeing that Master Lei was also there, Jia Dongming changed the subject and said to Master Lei, "Master Lei, this room is also my family's."

"Do you think it's possible to partition this room into two floors from the inside?"

Jia Dongming's question made Master Lei turn his head and look at the old house of the Jia family. He then replied, "Master, your house has a ceiling height of six or seven meters. It is entirely feasible to build it into a two-story house."

But I need to go inside and take a closer look before I can decide on the specific division.

After hearing this, Jia Dongming readily agreed, "Okay, Master Lei, let's go in and take a look."

Once inside, Master Lei immediately took out a measuring tape to measure around, and then took out his notebook to write and draw.

After working for a while, he explained to Jia Dongming, "Master, the downstairs can be furnished with a living room and two small bedrooms, while the upstairs can be divided into two more spacious bedrooms."

Jia Dongming took the sketch, looked at it, and expressed his satisfaction. He then suggested, "Master Lei, how about we take a look around my yard again?"

"Uncle! Uncle! You're finally back! I missed you so much!"

As soon as Jia Dongming stepped into the courtyard, Xiao Dang, who was playing in the yard, came running over with his little steps.

Jia Dongming parked his bicycle, picked up Xiao Dang, and then explained his plan to Master Lei: "Master Lei, I plan to build a small pavilion by the stone table so that we can cool off there in the summer."

I plan to plant two jujube trees next to the courtyard gate, and two grapevines on the side of the pavilion closer to the old house.

As Master Lei listened, he took out a pen and wrote down each of the requirements.

Jia Dongming then led Master Lei to the front of the house and continued, "Master Lei, I want to knock down all the interior walls of these five rooms and replace all the windows with double-glazed ones, which will be both aesthetically pleasing and heat-insulating."

"I want to install a suspended ceiling throughout the house, but I need to leave a staircase entrance, which I want to use as a storage room."

In addition, I have a heating system that I plan to connect to both these rooms and the old house.

Where do you think would be a suitable place to install this equipment?

Master Lei looked around the house and replied, "Master, if we want to install heating equipment, the kitchen will have to be moved to the east room so that the pipes can be connected to the old house."

Jia Dongming thought for a moment and nodded in agreement: "Okay, Master Lei, we'll do it your way."

By the way, could you open a door in the wall of the old house? And build a toilet next to it, so my mom and sister-in-law won't have to go around to my side to use the toilet.

Master Lei sketched in his notebook for a while, then asked, "Boss, are you planning to give us the entire project, or will you provide the materials yourself and we'll just handle the construction?"