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

Compared to Secretary Zhang of the steel rolling mill, who received a disciplinary action and was demoted just before retirement, I'm already incredibly lucky.

"Section Chief! The General Administration just called, requesting that you attend an emergency meeting immediately."

Just as Jia Dongming was about to say something more, a security guard ran into Lin Zhendong's office and reported to him that the General Administration had notified him of a meeting.

When Jia Dongming learned that an emergency meeting was to be held, he was slightly surprised. He then instructed Zhang Guoping: "Comrade Guoping! I originally planned to hold a farewell party for Director Lin this morning, but I didn't expect the General Administration to suddenly hold a meeting."

"You're in charge of logistics at the department, so please represent me and gather all the middle and senior-level cadres in the department to hold a simple farewell ceremony for Director Lin. Also, have the cafeteria prepare a table for lunch, and we'll all see Director Lin off together."

Zhang Guoping immediately replied, "Section Chief! You can go to your meeting without worry. I will take care of sending Director Lin off properly."

Jia Dongming nodded and turned to Director Lin with a smile, "Director Lin! I originally wanted to personally host a farewell party for you, but the General Administration summoned us at the last minute."

Don't worry, I'll be back as soon as my meeting is over, and we'll have a nice lunch together.

Lin Zhendong reached out and shook hands with Jia Dongming, smiling as he said, "Comrade Dongming! Work is important, you go and get busy, don't worry about this old man."

Twenty minutes later, Jia Dongming rode his bicycle to the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau.

When I entered the conference room, it was already full of people.

When Jia Dongming saw the leaders sitting on the stage, especially the one in the middle, he couldn't help but shrink back and quietly found a corner to sit down.

This emergency meeting reported that, based on enemy intelligence maps and with the cooperation of the garrison, the General Administration had dismantled a secret enemy intelligence warehouse, seizing a large quantity of weapons and special equipment, thus completely thwarting the enemy intelligence plot.

"Comrade Jia Dongming! Please wait a moment."

After the meeting, Jia Dongming was about to rush back to the steel rolling mill when he suddenly heard Ma Weidong's friendly greeting from behind.

Hearing the sound, Jia Dongming stopped and turned around to see the two men walking towards him. He had no choice but to step forward and respectfully ask, "Vice President Ma! Did you need something from me?"

Vice President Ma smiled and introduced the elderly man beside him: "General Manager Chen! This is Comrade Jia Dongming."

Comrade Jia Dongming made a great contribution to our successful cracking of the Japanese spy case.

Then he said to Jia Dongming, "Comrade Dongming! This is General Manager Chen from the General Administration."

Jia Dongming looked at General Manager Chen, who was smiling at him, and had no choice but to bite the bullet and greet him, "Hello, General Manager Chen!"

General Chen sized him up and laughed, "Jia Dongming! You little monkey, you didn't even call me Uncle Chen today, and you even avoided me?"

Jia Dongming lowered his head and replied softly, "Uncle Chen! Didn't you always teach us to use our official titles in public? I'm just following your instructions."

Upon hearing General Chen address Jia Dongming, Ma Weidong looked surprised and couldn't help but ask, "General Chen! You actually know Comrade Jia Dongming?"

When General Chen saw Ma Weidong asking about it, he smiled and said to him, "Old Ma, I've known this little guy for more than ten years."

Don't let his current composed demeanor fool you; he was a mischievous kid, always leading a bunch of kids into trouble.

"When he was seventeen, he was very bold. He used some methods to knock out all the enemies in the Japanese stronghold, and then took out the enemy one by one with a knife, and wiped out the entire stronghold."

Last year on the southwestern border, if it weren't for the issue of dealing with prisoners, I'd probably be a regimental commander by now.

When Jia Dongming heard General Chen mention these things in front of everyone, he didn't seem proud. Instead, he humbly replied, "Uncle Chen, let's not talk about the past. Please don't praise me like that."

Upon hearing this, General Chen lightly kicked Jia Dongming's leg and said in a reproachful tone, "You still say you won't mention it! Do you really think I'm trying to flatter you? If it weren't for two leaders speaking up for you, you would have been sent to a military court long ago."

Jia Dongming could have easily dodged the attack, but he didn't.

Thinking of his comrades who had fallen beside him years ago, a surge of hatred welled up in his eyes, and he said resolutely, "Uncle Chen, if I run into those guys again, I won't hold back either."

Seeing the look in his eyes, General Chen understood his feelings, but still solemnly instructed him: "No matter how hateful they are, since they have laid down their weapons and surrendered, they are prisoners of war."

Don't forget you're a soldier. A soldier's first duty is to obey orders.

Jia Dongming wasn't intimidated by these words; instead, he retorted passionately, "When they were stealing our comrades' equipment and trying to resist, they were no longer prisoners! I regret not acting sooner; otherwise, Guosheng wouldn't have sacrificed his life, and Feng Bing and Lao Pao wouldn't have been injured..."

After listening, General Chen remained silent for a while.

In fact, let alone Jia Dongming, even if he himself were in a similar situation, he would probably make the same choice.

But discipline is discipline; if you're wrong, you're wrong, and there are no excuses.

General Manager Chen patted Jia Dongming on the shoulder and walked towards the door of the conference room under everyone's gaze.

As he approached the door, he remembered something, stopped, and turned back to remind her: "Your Aunt Shen was talking about it yesterday, saying that you haven't visited her since you returned to Beijing, and that she's going to the steel mill to confront you."

You decide what to do!

Jia Dongming then remembered Aunt Shen, who had always cared about him, and quickly replied, "I've been busy with cases at the factory these past few days and haven't had a chance to speak."

I'll definitely go see Aunt Shen in a couple of days.

After listening to the conversation, Ma Weidong finally understood why Jia Dongming had changed careers and why he was so tough on his enemies.

However, at this moment he was more concerned about the two leaders mentioned by General Chen, which made his gaze towards Jia Dongming change somewhat.

After General Chen left, Ma Weidong said kindly to Jia Dongming, "Comrade Jia Dongming, come to my office. I'd like to discuss some work-related matters with you."

Under the curious gaze of everyone, Jia Dongming followed Ma Weidong into his office.

"Comrade Jia Dongming, according to regulations, the head of the security department of the steel rolling mill is required to concurrently serve as the deputy head of the public security department of the branch bureau."

Considering your experience in counter-espionage, I would like to transfer you to the General Administration to serve as the captain of one of the three detachments under the Counter-Espionage Division.

Would you like to hear your opinion first?

Ma Weidong got straight to the point.

Jia Dongming thought for a moment and replied, "Vice General Manager Ma, I can do counter-espionage work whether it's at the General Bureau or a branch bureau."

But I prefer to stay at the branch office, as it's closer to the steel rolling mill, making it easier to balance work on both sides.

For Ma Weidong, Jia Dongming's work in the public security department was only a part-time job, so there was little difference between going to the headquarters or a branch office.

So he readily agreed to Jia Dongming's choice and said kindly, "Okay, since you want to stay in the branch bureau, then you can also serve as the deputy captain of the criminal investigation team of the branch bureau."

Once the General Administration completes the relevant procedures, it will issue the documents to the personnel department of the branch office.

Jia Dongming didn't care much about this concurrent position; his main job remained security at the steel rolling mill.

He nodded and replied, "Vice President Ma, once the appointment document is sent to the security department, I will report to the branch office immediately."

Ma Weidong smiled with satisfaction and continued, "In addition, regarding this anti-espionage operation, the General Bureau has decided to award you a second-class merit and the Steel Rolling Mill Security Section a third-class merit."

The certificate and bonus will be delivered to your factory tomorrow by comrades from the Publicity Department of the General Administration, and an awards ceremony will be held afterwards.

Upon learning of the General Administration's final commendation decision, Jia Dongming immediately expressed his gratitude to Ma Weidong: "Vice President Ma! On behalf of all the staff of the Steel Rolling Mill's Security Department, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to the General Administration for this commendation."

We will remain true to our original aspiration, maintain vigilance, and do everything in our power to ensure the smooth progress of the steel rolling mill's production and construction.

Vice President Ma was pleased with Jia Dongming's statement, nodded slightly, and further instructed: "Comrade Jia Dongming! Although your main work area is still in the steel rolling mill, you also need to take on the responsibilities at the branch office. Do not let down the trust and heavy responsibility that the General Administration has placed on you."

Upon hearing Vice President Ma's instructions, Jia Dongming immediately straightened up, saluted solemnly, and replied firmly, "Please rest assured, leader, I will never let down the General Administration's expectations."

This swift and decisive response further enhanced Vice President Ma's impression of Jia Dongming.

He solemnly informed him: "Comrade Jia Dongming, regarding Comrade Lin Zhendong of the steel rolling mill's security department, he bears corresponding management responsibility in this incident involving enemy agents."

After deliberation, the General Administration decided to approve Comrade Lin Zhendong's early retirement so that he could better recuperate at home.

The relevant dismissal documents should have already been delivered to your security department by now.

Although Jia Dongming had learned from Lin Zhendong about his early retirement before coming to the General Administration, he still felt it was inappropriate for the General Administration to attribute the responsibility for this incident to Lin Zhendong—after all, Lin Zhendong had been transferred to a local position for recuperation precisely because of the severity of his injuries.

The superiors placed Lin Zhendong in the steel rolling mill with the intention of giving him ample time to recuperate.

Now that an accident has occurred in the factory, Lin Zhendong is being held responsible for the leadership position, which Jia Dongming sees as somewhat unfair.

With this in mind, Jia Dongming then expressed his opinion to Vice President Ma: "Vice President Ma! Comrade Lin Zhendong was transferred to the steel rolling mill to facilitate his recovery and recuperation."

Is it fair that the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television is now demanding he take leadership responsibility?

After listening, Deputy General Manager Ma explained with a serious expression: "Comrade Jia Dongming, the General Administration's arrangement for Comrade Lin Zhendong to work at the steel rolling mill included considerations for his recuperation, but it did not allow him to neglect the work of the security department."

The General Administration did not impose any disciplinary action, but only arranged for early retirement, which is already considered lenient treatment.

"Do you know how the Ministry of Industry dealt with the key personnel of the steel rolling mill? Apart from one secretary who had reached retirement age and was demoted and retired, the rest of them have been transferred to the Northwest region to support construction."

When Jia Dongming returned to the steel rolling mill, it was nearly 10:30 a.m.

Upon entering the conference room, he saw everyone gathered together talking. He immediately stepped forward and said apologetically to Lin Zhendong, "Director Lin, I'm so sorry! After the General Administration meeting, I intended to rush back to attend your farewell party as soon as possible, but I was delayed by a last-minute talk with the leaders, which is why I'm late."

The people in the conference room gleaned some special information from Jia Dongming's words.

Upon hearing this, Lin Zhendong asked with a smile, "Comrade Dongming, does this mean there's been another change in your position?"

Seeing the curious looks on everyone's faces, Jia Dongming quickly waved his hand and explained, "My rank hasn't been promoted. It's just that the organization has arranged for me to concurrently serve as the deputy captain of the Criminal Investigation Brigade of the Dongcheng Branch."

He paused briefly before continuing to announce to those present: "Comrades, based on the outstanding achievements of the Security Section recently, the General Administration has decided to award our section a collective third-class merit."

The General Administration's publicity department will be holding an awards ceremony at the factory tomorrow.

"Section Chief! Is this true? The General Administration really awarded us a collective third-class merit?"

People in this era generally regard honor as life itself. Upon hearing this news, Guo Jianguo was overjoyed and hurriedly confirmed it with Jia Dongming.

Jia Dongming nodded affirmatively, responding to the excited expressions of the crowd: "The news is indeed true. Tomorrow, the comrades from the General Administration's Propaganda Department will come to the factory to present the award certificate."

Then, he turned to Zhang Guoping and instructed him: "Guoping, remember to inform all comrades in the department later that everyone must wear the standard uniform tomorrow and greet the honor awarded by the General Administration with the best mental appearance."

Zhang Guoping readily accepted the order, patting his chest and guaranteeing, "Don't worry, Section Chief, I will definitely get it done!"

Remembering the tasks he had instructed Zhang Guoping to handle before the meeting, Jia Dongming asked with a smile, "Comrade Guoping, have you arranged everything properly for the tasks I assigned you?"

Zhang Guoping immediately understood what he meant and reported to his supervisor: "Section Chief, everything has been arranged."

After the farewell party concludes, we can proceed to the small canteen.

Jia Dongming nodded in satisfaction, then addressed the middle-level cadres present and said loudly, "Comrades! Director Lin has been working in our security department ever since he transferred to civilian work."