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

Remembering the rewards from the system, Jia Dongming said, "Master Lei, I'll prepare the cement and steel bars. Please help me arrange the other materials."

Also, could you help me find some good quality wood for the ceiling? Reclaimed wood is fine too.

Master Lei immediately understood what Jia Dongming meant by "good timber".

He then quoted a price: "Boss, as you requested, a mezzanine will be built in the old house. The total cost, including labor and materials, is three hundred dollars."

"The renovation of this courtyard cost a total of five hundred yuan, not including the cost of the timber."

Also, your family will have to cover lunch.

Jia Dongming thought the price was reasonable, so he immediately took out a wad of cash from his pocket, counted out three hundred yuan, and handed it to Master Lei: "Master Lei, please keep this three hundred yuan for now."

"We'll start repairing the old house tomorrow, and then we'll repair this yard after that."

"When you're repairing it, please reinforce the house with cement and steel bars, and also check the roof tiles and replace any that need replacing."

We'll settle the specific costs at the end.

Master Lei took the money, counted it, and gave Jia Dongming a receipt, saying, "Okay, boss."

I'll bring some people over tomorrow. Please remember to tidy up the things in the old house first.

After seeing Master Lei off, Jia Dongming returned to the Intermediate People's Court and asked Jia Zhangshi, "Mom, where did Huairu go?"

Upon hearing Qin Huairu mentioned, Jia Zhangshi thought of her parents from the countryside, and a look of disdain appeared on her face as she complained, "Her parents were discharged from the hospital today and went back to the countryside. She went to the station to see them off."

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Seeing his mother's expression, Jia Dongming felt a little helpless and said, "Mom, Master Lei will come to fix the house tomorrow."

"Please tidy up the house tonight and move in with me. You can move back in once the house is repaired."

Upon hearing this, Jia Zhangshi became interested and quickly asked, "Dongming, what are your plans for renovating our old house?"

Jia Dongming then explained the plan he had discussed with Master Lei: "Mom, I plan to use the height of the old house to build a mezzanine. The first floor will be divided into a living room and two small bedrooms, and the second floor will be divided into two large bedrooms, or three small bedrooms would also be fine."

"Also, open a small door on the wall closest to my yard, so you won't have to go around from the outside to get here."

"Let's build a restroom next to the small door, so it will be more convenient for you to use the toilet in the future."

After learning about Jia Dongming's renovation plan, and considering the structure of her own house, Jia Zhangshi immediately asked Jia Dongming, "Dongming! Can our old house be converted into a two-story house?"

Hearing this, Jia Dongming smiled and replied, "Mom! The old house has a ceiling height of over six meters, so dividing it into two floors is entirely feasible."

Upon learning that the tiered layout would create several more rooms, Jia Zhangshi was overjoyed and replied, "Dongming! If this can really be realized, the house will be much more spacious."

Remembering the heating system that was being prepared, Jia Dongming then told Jia Zhangshi, "Mom! In addition to the tiered renovation, I've also prepared a heating system. I'll have the workers install it during the renovation, so it can heat the whole house when we cook in winter."

Upon hearing this, Jia Zhangshi recalled the scenes of past winters and couldn't help but show anticipation. While delighted, she also asked with concern, "Dongming! This heating device must be expensive, right? You've just returned from military service. Although you earned a lot of money hunting, you're about to start a family, so you need to be careful with your spending."

Jia Dongming reassured her, "Mom! Don't worry, I have plans."

"Huai Ru! You're finally back! Quickly help me pack my things, let's go stay at Dongming Courtyard for a few days."

As soon as Jia Dongming finished speaking, Jia Zhangshi saw Qin Huairu carrying Xiao Huaihua into the house and hurriedly greeted her.

Qin Huairu looked puzzled and asked, "Mom! We were living comfortably here, why do you suddenly want to move to Uncle's place?"

With a hint of pride, Jia Zhangshi explained, "Huai Ru! Dongming has hired Master Lei from courtyard number 36 to renovate the house. We'll stay there for a few days and move back once it's finished."

Qin Huairu was slightly surprised to hear that the house needed repairs. She turned to Jia Dongming and asked, "Uncle! The house is still in good condition. Why did you suddenly decide to renovate it?"

Jia Dongming explained with a smile: "Huai Ru! The house used to belong to the government, so it wasn't convenient for us to pay for the renovations ourselves."

Now that the house belongs to us, we naturally need to tidy it up properly so we can live more comfortably from now on.

"Vice President Ma! The intelligence you provided is crucial. Following your instructions, we deployed personnel to investigate the underground drainage system around the headquarters and branch offices. Finally, we discovered several suspicious individuals dumping slag into a ditch less than 30 meters from the headquarters."

"In order to find out the source of the construction waste, our personnel secretly entered the secret passage and discovered that this passage was connected to the pharmacy opposite the headquarters."

These despicable enemy agents, using the cover of secret passages, secretly dug a tunnel leading to headquarters.

"After confirming that the exit of the secret passage was located in a herbal medicine shop opposite the headquarters, the comrades who were carrying out the reconnaissance mission planned to quietly withdraw, but unexpectedly encountered enemy agents who were digging in the underground secret room."

"To prevent intelligence leaks, our personnel immediately took action, subdued all the enemy agents in the secret room, and have been secretly escorted back to headquarters."

The interrogation is currently underway.

Upon learning that enemy agents intended to use the same plan as those targeting the special workshop of the steel rolling mill to secretly dig a tunnel leading to the Public Security Bureau, Vice President Ma felt a chill run down his spine.

As the head of the General Administration, Deputy Chief Ma knew that if enemy agents succeeded, the General Administration of Public Security would become a laughing stock among its international counterparts.

Considering the enemy's ongoing "Operation Sakura" and the special bombs yet to be seized, Vice President Ma pondered for a moment and said with a serious expression, "Xiao Zhang! Although we have detected the enemy's conspiracy against the public security system, we cannot be sure whether they have also targeted other departments."

Therefore, we must adjust our previous passive waiting strategy and take the initiative to completely wipe out this group of enemy agents.

He paused briefly, then continued to instruct: "Xiao Zhang! Immediately notify all branch offices to have their directors and the anti-espionage team leader attend a meeting at 6:00 PM tonight in the small conference room on the second floor of the headquarters."

In addition, Comrade Jia Dongming from the security department of the steel rolling mill was also notified.

"Dongming! Dongming! The security personnel from your factory are here to see you. They say it's urgent."

Around 4 p.m., Yan Bugui arrived at the courtyard with a security guard and saw Jia Dongming moving items. He hurriedly called out to him.

The accompanying security personnel stepped forward, saluted Jia Dongming, and earnestly reported: "Section Chief! We just received a notice from the Public Security Bureau requesting that you attend a meeting in the small conference room on the second floor of the Bureau at 6:00 PM sharp tonight."

Jia Dongming stopped what he was doing and asked, "Li Jun! Did the General Administration mention the specific content of the meeting?"

Li Jun shook his head and replied, "Section Chief! The General Administration has not made any statement, but I speculate that it is related to the case currently under investigation."

Upon hearing this, Jia Dongming vaguely sensed that the General Bureau might be preparing to take action against enemy agents, and immediately instructed: "Li Jun! After you return to the department, arrange for someone to inform Comrades Jianguo and Aijun to be on standby in the department tonight."

Li Jun nodded and left after receiving the order.

Yan Bugui watched Li Jun walk away, recalling their conversation. A thought inexplicably surfaced in his mind, so he leaned closer to Jia Dongming and asked with a probing look, "Dongming, does your security department have any plans for tonight?"

When Jia Dongming heard Yan Bugui ask this question and saw the curious look on his face, he couldn't help but smile and replied, "Third Uncle, I don't even know what was said at the meeting at the Public Security Bureau, how would I know if there was any action?"

After having dinner at home, Jia Dongming rode his bicycle to the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau.

"Comrade, who are you looking for?"

At the entrance of the Public Security Bureau, a police officer on duty saw Jia Dongming riding over and stopped him, asking him in a serious tone.

Upon hearing this, Jia Dongming took out his work ID from his pocket and politely introduced himself: "Comrade, I am the head of the security department of Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill. I received a notice from the General Administration to come and attend the meeting at six o'clock tonight."

The police officer took the work permit, examined it carefully, and after confirming that it was correct, pointed to the duty room next to him and said, "Comrade, please register at the duty room first, and then you can go in."

Jia Dongming put away his work ID, completed the registration in the duty room, and then rode his bicycle into the courtyard of the Public Security Bureau.

"Section Chief Jia, I didn't expect you to be here too."

As soon as Jia Dongming walked up to the second floor, he saw Li Xidong standing by the corridor talking. Li Xidong greeted him with a slightly surprised expression.

When Jia Dongming saw Li Xidong and the two unfamiliar comrades beside him, he politely replied, "Director Li, I was also notified to attend the meeting, so I rushed over."

"Old Li, who is this young man? Aren't you going to introduce him to us?"

A middle-aged man standing next to Li Xidong glanced at Jia Dongming a few times, then smiled and asked Li Xidong.

Upon hearing this, Li Xidong immediately smiled and introduced them to the two men: "Old Chen, Old Zheng, this is Comrade Jia Dongming, the newly appointed head of the security department of Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill."

The lead in the enemy spy case that our branch cracked earlier was provided by Comrade Jia Dongming.

Then, he turned to Jia Dongming and introduced him: "Section Chief Jia, this is Director Chen Xiang of the Haidian Branch, and this is Director Zheng Hua of the Fengtai Branch."

Jia Dongming immediately extended his hand and greeted them politely: "Director Chen, Director Zheng, hello, it's a pleasure to meet you both."

When Chen Xiang learned that the young man in front of him was Jia Dongming, who had helped solve the case of enemy agents in the steel rolling mill, he showed surprise. While shaking hands, he praised him, "Section Chief Jia, you have uncovered the enemy agents hiding in the factory not long after you took office. Later, with the cooperation of the Dongcheng Branch Bureau, you arrested them all and thwarted their plot to sabotage the steel rolling mill."

Although this is our first meeting, I've already heard about your deeds.

Jia Dongming was not complacent because of the praise, but humbly replied: "Director Chen, you flatter me."

I only stumbled upon some clues by chance; it was mainly due to Director Li's effective planning that we were able to take those people down in one fell swoop.

When Li Xidong heard Jia Dongming take credit for himself, he glanced at him with amusement and said, "Section Chief Jia, don't be so modest."

"If you weren't new to the security department and didn't have many trustworthy subordinates, you wouldn't have needed to bypass the security department and come to our Dongcheng branch for help."

"Besides, the subsequent investigation will basically revolve around the clues you provided."

I heard that tonight's meeting was convened on short notice because the clues you provided led to significant progress by the General Administration's counter-espionage department.

"Section Chief Jia, it's a waste of your talent to keep someone as capable as you in the security department of the steel rolling mill."

"Our Fengtai branch's public security section is currently short-staffed. Would you consider transferring them to work here?"

Having learned of Jia Dongming's talent in investigation, Chen Xiang decided to recruit him and immediately extended an invitation.

With an apologetic expression, Jia Dongming replied, "Director Zheng, thank you very much for your high regard."

However, I haven't been at the steel rolling mill for very long, and I don't plan to change jobs anytime soon.

The four of them chatted in the corridor for a short while before the meeting began.

At the meeting, Vice President Ma briefed the enemy agents on their plot and issued an order to close in ahead of schedule.

After the meeting, Jia Dongming and Li Xidong walked out of the conference room together.

Thinking of the task that Vice President Ma had just assigned, Li Xidong said to Jia Dongming with a serious expression: "Section Chief Jia, regarding the operation to arrest Zhang Huizi and control Yang Weimin, I will arrange for the Jiaodaokou Police Station to cooperate with your steel mill security department."

Is there anything else you need to add?

Upon hearing this, Jia Dongming immediately nodded: "Director Li, I have no problem with that."

After saying goodbye to Li Xidong, Jia Dongming rode his bicycle back to the steel rolling mill.

Guo Jianguo and Li Aijun, who were already waiting in the office, rushed to Jia Dongming's office as soon as they learned that he had returned from the meeting.

"Section Chief, did the General Administration suddenly call you to a meeting? Is it because of Zhang Huizi's case?"

As soon as Guo Jianguo entered the room, he asked Jia Dongming a question.