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

He turned to look at Xiao Quanjun, and seeing the other's shocked expression, he smiled slightly and replied, "Colonel Xiao Quanjun! How have you been?"

Xiao Quanjun

This was the name Xiao Quan used before the liberation.

If Jia Dongming hadn't suddenly mentioned this name, even Xiao Quan himself would probably have forgotten that he had ever been called that.

Upon hearing Jia Dongming call out that name, Xiao Quanjun was visibly startled. He then recalled his encounter with Jia Dongming in front of the scrap metal yard yesterday, and filled with suspicion, he pressed, "Who exactly are you? When did you begin to suspect me? And how did you know my true identity?"

Upon hearing the question, Jia Dongming looked at Xiao Quanjun's unwilling expression and introduced himself with a smile: "Xiao Quanjun! My name is Jia Dongming, and I am currently the deputy head of the Criminal Investigation Detachment of the Dongcheng Branch."

As for how they discovered your real name—do you remember the hidden compartment in your now-collapsed house?

Upon hearing the mention of the hidden compartment in the collapsed house, Xiao Quanjun's face immediately showed an expression of disbelief.

I personally inspected the spider webs in the dark yesterday and found no signs that they had been disturbed.

With this thought in mind, Xiao Quanjun immediately retorted, "Absolutely impossible! I checked the hidden compartment yesterday, and there were clearly no signs of it being tampered with."

Jia Dongming was still pondering how to explain the discovery of the hidden compartment when he heard Xiao Quanjun's words. He immediately came up with a plan and calmly replied, "Xiao Quanjun, you just said that you checked the hidden compartment yesterday."

"If you hadn't paid special attention to that cobweb-covered room, I wouldn't have noticed the hidden compartment, let alone known your true identity."

Upon hearing Jia Dongming's reply, Xiao Quanjun recalled the entire process of checking the hidden compartment yesterday and was quite certain that he had carefully checked that no one was following him when he returned home.

However, how exactly did Jia Dongming evade his counter-surveillance and become so aware of his actions?

After speaking, Jia Dongming ignored Xiao Quanjun, who was still bound, and turned to the three security guards whose wounds had been bandaged, asking with concern, "How are your injuries?"

Upon hearing this, one of the security guards recalled the gunfight that had just taken place and replied with relief, "Chief! Thanks to your prior reminder, we were able to stay on high alert as we approached the guardhouse and dodge in time when the enemy fired."

Otherwise, given that man's marksmanship, the three of us would probably be dead.

"Exactly! Director, that person is absolutely a god."

He fired outwards from the guardhouse entirely on instinct.

If we were to actually engage in combat, we would likely be hit in more places than just our arms and legs.

Another security guard, enduring the pain in his arm, remarked with emotion.

After listening to their answers and carefully observing the three people's condition, Jia Dongming instructed, "Although the wound has been initially treated, the bullet is still inside the body."

I will immediately arrange for someone to accompany you to the hospital to remove the bullet.

At this point, he ordered his two subordinates, "Chen De and Guo Zhu, you two accompany Liu Wei and the others to the hospital to remove the bullet first, then keep them in the hospital for observation for a day or two. Only after confirming that they are fine can they go home to recuperate."

The two security guards obeyed the order and accompanied the three injured team members to the hospital for treatment.

Jia Dongming watched his injured subordinate leave, then said to Zhang Huanchun, "Captain Zhang, we found a large number of weapons in Ye Quanwang's house. It will probably take some time to move them."

Once we have completed our search, we will send personnel to assist you.

Upon hearing Jia Dongming's account, Zhang Huanchun, recalling that the other side had also engaged in conflict shortly after their own exchange of fire, immediately asked Jia Dongming, "Comrade Dongming, did your group suffer any injuries?"

Seeing that Zhang Huanchun was concerned about the situation of his group, Jia Dongming smiled and waved his hand, and began to explain what had happened: "We were lucky when we arrived. Ye Quanwang was not hiding in a secret courtyard, but was drinking with a woman in his publicly occupied house."

"We then took advantage of the situation and sent people to infiltrate the courtyard where Ye Quanwang was actually hiding. They set up an ambush at the exit of the secret passage connecting the two courtyards, and at the same time made noise outside the gate of another courtyard to scare him away."

"After noticing the commotion, Ye Quanwang deliberately delayed and then attempted to use the secret passage in the cabinet to move to another courtyard. However, as soon as they appeared from the passage, they were captured by comrades who had been lying in ambush on both sides of the passage. It was like catching a turtle in a jar."

"I came here specifically to check on things after I finished deploying the search mission because I was concerned about the situation here."

Now that there are no further issues here, I will return to oversee the follow-up work.

By the time Jia Dongming and his team had transported all the weapons and supplies hidden in the enemy's stronghold to the branch office, it was nearly 11 p.m.

Given that the interrogation of enemy agents was handled by a designated person, Jia Dongming did not stay at the Dongcheng Branch for long, but instead led his team back to the steel rolling mill.

After arranging the evening's affairs, he and Li Aijun rode bicycles to the People's Hospital to visit their three injured subordinates.

The two rode their bicycles steadily along the road.

Recalling the news he had heard from the police officers at the branch office during the operation that night, Li Aijun couldn't help but ask Jia Dongming with admiration, "Chief, I heard from the comrades at the branch office that a thief suddenly died during interrogation at the branch office today, and you only went to the interrogation room for a short while before determining that the person had been silenced."

"Later, based on your judgment, the officers of the branch office finally caught the mastermind and solved the case of the textile factory's finance office."

Could you explain why the fragrance of flowers could have such a effect?

When Li Aijun asked about what happened at the branch office that afternoon, Jia Dongming, while pedaling his bicycle, replied, "Comrade Aijun, the interrogation room was filled with a strong floral fragrance. Do you think that's reasonable?"

Recalling the environment of the interrogation room, Li Aijun agreed, saying, "Chief, the interrogation room is small and poorly ventilated, usually only smelling of sweat or smoke. The sudden appearance of floral fragrance is indeed very unusual."

After receiving Li Aijun's reply, Jia Dongming continued to explain the basis of his deduction: "When I heard the report from the branch office, they mentioned that the suspect said he couldn't breathe during the interrogation, which was obviously a symptom of an asthma attack."

The fragrance of flowers in the interrogation room was precisely what triggered the suspect's asthma attack.

"After smelling the fragrance of flowers, I asked the officers in charge of the interrogation. They told me that the suspect's wife had requested to visit him, but was refused. So she sent the suspect a set of clothes."

The fragrance in the interrogation room came from this outfit.

As the suspect's wife, she should have known that he suffered from asthma, so why did she send him a fragrant dress?

After listening to Jia Dongming's description, Li Aijun exclaimed sincerely, "Director, I never imagined that the fragrance of flowers could so subtly kill someone. Today, I have truly broadened my horizons."

It is common knowledge in later generations that asthma patients should not be exposed to excessive floral scents.

In response to Li Aijun's sentiments, Jia Dongming replied with a smile: "Aijun, one of my comrades also suffers from asthma, which flares up every spring when the flowers bloom."

Later, when I accompanied him to a specialist hospital for a checkup, I learned from the doctor that the fragrance of flowers could trigger asthma, and in severe cases, even lead to death.

"If I hadn't gone to the branch office today to discuss the plan to arrest the enemy agent with Captain Zhang, I wouldn't have encountered this incident; if it hadn't happened, the police would likely have closed the case as a natural death."

This can only be described as the long arm of the law, and the couple was simply unlucky.

Time flies, and the weekend is just around the corner.

Because Jia Dongming and Lin Qiuyue had agreed to go out together on their last blind date this week, after having breakfast at home, Jia Dongming rode his bicycle toward Lin Qiuyue's house.

After cycling for more than twenty minutes, Jia Dongming arrived at the alleyway where Lin Qiuyue lived. Seeing Lin Qiuyue already waiting there, he quickly stopped his bicycle in front of her and asked with a smile, "Qiuyue, have you been waiting long?"

When Lin Qiuyue saw Jia Dongming on the bicycle and heard his question, she replied shyly, "Brother Dongming, I just arrived not long ago."

Upon hearing this, Jia Dongming smiled and said, "Qiuyue, get in the car quickly."

Today we'll go roller skating at the rink first, and after lunch, we'll go see a movie.

Upon hearing Jia Dongming's arrangement, Lin Qiuyue immediately nodded and replied, "Okay, Brother Dongming, I'll do whatever you say."

Lin Qiuyue originally thought that after confirming her relationship with Jia Dongming, he would take the time to come to the supply and marketing cooperative to see her. However, she waited and waited but never saw him. This made her vaguely feel that Jia Dongming did not seem to value this relationship very much.

Sitting on the back of the bicycle, Lin Qiuyue, recalling the topics the older women at the supply and marketing cooperative often discussed, tentatively asked Jia Dongming, "Brother Dongming, what have you been busy with this past week?"

Hearing the question, Jia Dongming, who was carrying Lin Qiuyue, replied while pedaling, "I encountered two cases this week, one of which was a case involving enemy agents, so I've been working overtime for several days in a row."

Lin Qiuyue felt a little relieved to learn that he hadn't come to see her because he was busy with work, and then asked, "Brother Dongming, isn't catching enemy spies the police's job? Does your factory's security department also have to handle that?"

Jia Dongming smiled and explained, "Our security department not only manages the factory, but also the living quarters."

Moreover, I also serve as the deputy head of the Criminal Investigation Division of the Dongcheng Branch, so naturally, I have a lot more to do.

Lin Qiuyue was quite surprised to hear that he also held the position of deputy branch captain: "Brother Dongming, you hold this position, why didn't you mention it last time?"

Jia Dongming replied, "Usually, the head of the security department also serves as the deputy director of the police station."

Not long after I returned from military service, I solved a case involving enemy agents targeting the factory. The General Bureau awarded me a second-class merit, and that's how I was promoted to deputy head of the Criminal Investigation Detachment.

These days, everyone admires heroes.

Upon hearing that Jia Dongming had been awarded a second-class merit, Lin Qiuyue's face immediately lit up with joy. Her gaze towards his retreating figure was filled with admiration, and her voice became cheerful: "Brother Dongming, can you tell me about catching the enemy spy?"

Since the case was closed, Jia Dongming didn't hide anything and told Lin Qiuyue about how he reported to the factory and how he discovered the enemy agent, as if he were telling a story.

When Lin Qiuyue learned that enemy agents planned to destroy the special workshop by digging tunnels, she couldn't help but worry for the workers inside.

There were many people rollerblading on their day off, so the two of them couldn't rent skates and could only sit outside the rink and chat with each other.

Before they knew it, it was lunchtime. Jia Dongming said to Lin Qiuyue, "Qiuyue, let's go eat mutton hot pot."

Lin Qiuyue thought it was too expensive and quickly said, "Brother Dongming, the mutton hot pot is too extravagant. Just eat something simple."

When Jia Dongming left home in the morning, he had already thought about what to have for lunch.

He thought of time-honored brands like Donglaishun and Quanjude, and felt that with the weather getting cooler, it would be perfect to eat mutton, so he made up his mind.

Jia Dongming laughed and said, "Have you forgotten? I earn over a hundred a month, so it's no big deal to eat out occasionally."

Considering his income, Lin Qiuyue didn't object anymore. She sat on the back of the bicycle and followed him to Wangfujing.

Founded in 1903, Donglaishun is a well-known brand in Beijing, though it is less than a century old. It later became a chain restaurant enterprise.

The two parked their car and went into the restaurant. A waiter came over with a menu and asked expressionlessly, "How many people?"

Seeing the other party's attitude, Jia Dongming couldn't help but think of the service industry in later generations, and felt somewhat helpless.

But upon looking up, one sees a sign on the wall that reads, "No hitting or scolding customers without cause."

The slogan made me understand why the waiters were so assertive.

He didn't dwell on it and replied, "The two of you."

The waiter led them to an empty table, placed the menu on it, and asked in a formal tone, "What would you like to eat?"

Suppressing his slight discomfort, Jia Dongming picked up the menu and asked Lin Qiuyue, "Qiuyue, what would you like to eat?"

Lin Qiuyue shook her head: "Brother Dongming, you can choose whatever you want, I'm fine with anything."

Jia Dongming stopped refusing, looked at the menu, and said to the waiter, "Comrade, I'd like two jin of mutton, one plate each of lamb shoulder, freshly sliced ​​lamb shank, large lamb shank, and small lamb shank, plus a side of cucumber strips."