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

Looking at the three of them walking side by side, Yi Zhonghai casually remarked, "Section Chief Jia, Huai Ru, it's fortunate that the neighbors in the courtyard all know you're relatives, otherwise they might think you're a family of three."

"These past few days at the factory, I've heard some gossip about the two of you."

As one of the older residents in the compound, I think you should be more mindful of your behavior.

These words made Jia Dongming's smile fade.

He looked at the person in front of him who seemed to be saying, "It's for your own good."

Yi Zhonghai, who looked like a venerable old man, replied in a deep tone, "Thank you for the reminder, sir."

However, Huai Ru and I are family and live in the same courtyard, so I don't think it's necessary to avoid suspicion.

The pure remain pure, and the impure remain impure.

"As for those who gossip behind people's backs, they are mostly people with impure thoughts."

These people had better not fall into my hands, or I'll teach them a lesson they won't forget.

As soon as the words left his mouth, Yi Zhonghai regretted them.

He suddenly realized that the man in front of him was not the Jia Dongxu he used to be able to control, but someone who dared to deal with even the director of the steel rolling mill.

Yi Zhonghai quickly lowered his tone and explained, "Director Jia, I just heard some rumors circulating in the factory and wanted to remind you. I absolutely didn't mean anything by it."

Seeing the other party apologizing to him, Jia Dongming couldn't help but admire Yi Zhonghai's ability to be flexible and adaptable. On the surface, he still politely said, "Uncle, thank you for your kindness."

After saying that, he turned to Banggeng next to him and said, "Banggeng, get in the car, your uncle will take you to school."

Watching Jia Dongming ride his bicycle with Qin Huairu and her son toward the alley entrance, Yan Bugui, recalling the scene just now, shook his head slightly and said to Yi Zhonghai with a meaningful tone, "Old Yi, this time you really meant well but did something wrong."

After delivering the gift, Qin Huairu, sitting in the back seat, recalled Yi Zhonghai's words and couldn't help but ask Jia Dongming, "Brother Dongming, do you think that old man just realized what was going on between us?"

As Jia Dongming pedaled his bike, he replied, "Huai Ru, I guess he's probably testing me to see if I can be chosen by him as someone to take care of in his old age, like Dong Xu."

"However, his words did remind me."

Although many people in the factory know we are relatives, it's easy to dodge a spear in the open, but hard to guard against a hidden arrow.

To avoid trouble, I'll give you a bicycle ticket and two hundred yuan later. Go to the office this morning to ask for leave and go to the department store to buy a bicycle.

It will be more convenient to commute to and from get off work in the future.

In the past, Qin Huairu might not have cared about those gossips, but now that she is Jia Dongming's woman, she has to consider his future.

Upon hearing Jia Dongming's arrangement, she softly replied, "Okay, then I'll go buy one."

"From now on, I'll take care of taking Bang Geng to school."

"Good morning, Director! Good morning, Clerk Qin!"

Jia Dongming rode his bicycle with Qin Huairu on the back, and soon arrived at the steel rolling mill.

Upon seeing Jia Dongming, the security guards at the factory gate immediately raised their hands in salute and greeted the two men with respect.

Seeing this, Qin Huairu quickly stopped her car, returned the greeting, and asked with a smile, "Comrade Guoping, has your brigade leader come to the factory?"

Upon hearing the question, the security guard named Guoping immediately replied respectfully, "Reporting to the director! The captain hasn't arrived yet, but he should be here soon."

Upon hearing this, Jia Dongming kindly instructed, "Alright, when he arrives, please have him come to my office."

Guoping immediately nodded and replied, "Yes, Director. Don't worry, I'll tell the captain as soon as he arrives."

Jia Dongming rode his bicycle to the front of the security department's office building, stopped the bike, and said to her, "Huairu, wait here for a moment, I'll go upstairs to get the bicycle ticket and money."

Not long after, Qin Huairu returned to the logistics warehouse office happily with the tickets and money in her hands.

She happened to run into Director Guo at the door, who was about to leave, and quickly greeted him, "Good morning, Director Guo!"

Seeing her beaming face, Director Guo asked kindly, "Qin Huairu, good morning! You seem so happy, did you strike it rich this morning?"

Qin Huairu explained with a smile, "Director Guo, my uncle received a 500 yuan reward yesterday, and he gave me 200 yuan to buy a bicycle."

So I'd like to ask you for two hours off to go to the department store and buy the car.

Since Jia Dongming dealt with Yang Weimin's matter, his prestige in the factory has been rising.

When Director Guo heard that Qin Huairu wanted to take leave to buy a car, he readily said, "Anyway, there's nothing urgent in the office this morning, so you can take this opportunity to buy the car. You don't need to ask for leave specifically."

After handing the bicycle ticket and money to Qin Huairu, Jia Dongming turned and went back to his office.

He took a packet of tea from the cabinet, brewed a cup of tea, and then sat down behind his desk.

"Tap, tap, tap..."

I had barely sat down when there was a knock on the door.

Li Aijun appeared outside the door. He saw Jia Dongming, knocked on the door, and then politely asked, "Director, Guoping said you wanted to see me. What is it about?"

Hearing the voice, Jia Dongming looked up and saw that it was Li Aijun. He pointed to the chair opposite the table and said, "Aijun is here. Please sit down."

Li Aijun sat down as instructed and respectfully asked, "Director, did you call me here so early because you have a new assignment?"

Jia Dongming nodded and replied seriously, "Aijun, do you remember that boiler worker, the cripple we arrested the night before last?"

Li Aijun immediately replied, "I remember."

This man usually seemed honest and unassuming at the factory, but it turns out he was a habitual thief.

After arresting him, I truly understood what it meant to "not judge a book by its cover."

Jia Dongming said with a solemn expression, "According to Qian the Cripple's confession, he sold all the scrap steel and workpieces he stole from the factory to a blacksmith shop in Dongcheng."

After we handed him over to the branch office, I learned from them that the blacksmith shop was likely an enemy spy stronghold.

"Chief, do you mean... we should take over this enemy spy case? But will the branch office agree?"

Upon hearing this, Li Aijun had already guessed Jia Dongming's intention and quickly pressed for an answer.

Jia Dongming replied, "The branch office received reports from the public a long time ago and has been monitoring that blacksmith shop for more than a month, but has not found anything unusual."

"But if the blacksmith shop really had no problems, why would it accept the cripple's stolen goods? As the saying goes, flies don't land on eggs without cracks."

The more perfectly normal something seems, the more likely it is to have a problem.

Therefore, I have submitted an application to the branch office to have us take over the investigation.

"Chief! Just give the order, and our Third Brigade guarantees to complete the mission without hesitation!"

Upon hearing this, Li Aijun immediately made a high-spirited promise.

Seeing his eager look, Jia Dongming earnestly reminded him, "Comrade Aijun, the branch bureau's investigators have been watching for more than a month without finding any flaws, which means that the other party is very cunning and difficult to deal with."

We must not underestimate our enemy.

"Director, even the most cunning fox can't outsmart a good hunter."

"As long as we patiently stake out the place and keep a close watch on that blacksmith shop around the clock, no matter how careful they are, they will eventually slip up."

Recalling his previous conversation with Captain Zhang, Jia Dongming felt that Li Aijun was being overly optimistic, so he solemnly reminded him again: "Comrade Aijun, remember that underestimating the enemy is a cardinal sin in warfare!"

"The branch office has been monitoring that blacksmith shop for more than a month."

If they weren't worried about alerting their targets, they would have already taken action; why would they need to transfer the case to us?

"If you treat this enemy agent case with such an attitude, I will consider transferring the task to the First Brigade."

"No! Director, please don't do that."

Upon hearing that Jia Dongming intended to transfer the case to the First Brigade, Li Aijun immediately became anxious and earnestly expressed his gratitude to Jia Dongming.

After yesterday's conversation with Zhang Huanchun and Jia Dongming's observation of the blacksmith shop using his investigative skills, Jia Dongming understood that unless he directly searched the shop, it would be difficult to obtain effective clues by relying solely on external surveillance.

Given that the blacksmith shop might be a contact point for enemy intelligence, taking direct action would inevitably alert its downstream network, causing relevant personnel to go into hiding.

Since monitoring the blacksmith shop had limited effectiveness, Jia Dongming decided to change his approach and instead investigate the shop's customers.

He deduced that among the people who frequently came to buy ironware, there were likely enemy agents acting as intermediaries to pass on intelligence.

This is also why he summoned Li Aijun early in the morning.

Looking at Li Aijun's earnest expression, Jia Dongming said seriously, "Aijun, the branch office has been monitoring us for over a month but has found nothing. We must change our investigation strategy after taking over."

This time, Li Aijun dared not answer casually and asked seriously, "Director, please give me your instructions."

Jia Dongming solemnly explained: "Comrade Aijun, according to the branch bureau's intelligence, this blacksmith shop is very likely an enemy intelligence gathering point."

Since it's difficult to bypass surveillance of the store itself, we'll switch to monitoring the customers who enter the store to shop.

Upon learning of this idea, Li Aijun frowned, considering the number of customers visiting the blacksmith shop daily. He replied cautiously, "Chief, there must be quite a few customers visiting the blacksmith shop every day. Our brigade has limited personnel, so I'm afraid it will be difficult to cover them all."

Upon hearing this, Jia Dongming smiled slightly and said, "Comrade Aijun, it is not the busy farming season now, so there won't be too many customers going to the blacksmith shop to buy ironware."

The actual number of individuals you need to track should be limited.

Li Aijun then realized that the autumn harvest was over, and the demand for ironware in rural areas had decreased, so there wouldn't be too many people to monitor.

Realizing this, he immediately assured Jia Dongming, "Director, please rest assured, we will definitely complete the mission."

Jia Dongming nodded and solemnly instructed, "Aijun, when tracking people, pay special attention to those who frequently enter and leave the blacksmith shop, and try to find out their identities and addresses."

Li Aijun replied earnestly, "Director, I understand."

I'll go back to the brigade and arrange it right away.

"Chief! Our First Battalion has sufficient personnel and strong combat capabilities. Why not assign the mission to us instead of the Third Battalion?"

As soon as Li Aijun finished speaking, Guo Jianguo walked into the office from outside, complaining to Jia Dongming with a dissatisfied tone.

Upon hearing Guo Jianguo's complaints, Jia Dongming remembered the task originally planned for the First Brigade and said, "Comrade Jianguo, there was indeed a task I intended to assign to your brigade."

Since you think I'm being biased, then let's assign both cases to the Third Brigade.

"Chief! What's the task? Leave it to us, we guarantee we'll complete it successfully!"

Just as Li Aijun was about to refute Guo Jianguo, he heard Jia Dongming's words and his eyes lit up. He quickly asked more questions.

Seeing that Li Aijun had already taken on one task but was now trying to take another, Guo Jianguo became anxious and said to Li Aijun with dissatisfaction, "Li Aijun! What do you mean by this? Can your brigade, apart from the personnel on duty, actually carry out two tasks at the same time?"

Seeing Guo Jianguo's anxious look, Li Aijun felt amused and immediately argued, "Guo Jianguo! We can arrange for off-duty team members to work overtime, and we can definitely complete the task assigned by the director with high quality and quantity."

Guo Jianguo was impatient. Upon hearing Li Aijun's words, he immediately said to Jia Dongming, "Director! Apart from the on-duty personnel, the Third Brigade can only spare a dozen or so people at most, which is simply not enough to undertake two tasks at the same time."

Don't be fooled by Li Aijun.

Seeing that Guo Jianguo was getting impatient with Li Aijun's joke about taking on the task, Jia Dongming smiled and said to Li Aijun, "Comrade Aijun, there's nothing for you to do here. Go and complete the task I just assigned you."

Upon hearing this, Li Aijun stood at attention, saluted Jia Dongming, and replied firmly, "Yes, sir! Don't worry, Director, I guarantee I'll complete the mission."