Courtyard House: From Deputy Division Commander to Civilian, Progressing All the Way

But now?

Jia Dongxu has been working in the steel rolling mill for so many years, but he's still a useless apprentice who can't even understand blueprints. He only knows how to shrink back when faced with trouble, and doesn't dare to utter a single word.

He Yuzhu, whom he looked down upon, had gone to the Korean War because he was devoted to Lin Yang. Now he was back in glory, wearing the collar insignia of a platoon leader and carrying a pistol!

"I was blind..."

Yi Zhonghai suddenly raised his hand and slapped himself hard across the face.

"Snapped!"

Startled, Aunt Yi quickly put down her teacup and rushed over to grab Yi Zhonghai's hand: "Old Yi! What are you doing! Things are already like this, what's the use of hitting yourself!"

"I hate it!"

Yi Zhonghai gritted his teeth, letting out a low growl like a wounded wild beast.

"Old woman, look at He Yuzhu's aura today! That's a real gun on his belt! He's a proper military officer now! With Lin Yang backing him up, who in Beijing can touch him anymore?"

"If only I had taken Zhu Zi as my apprentice back then... If only I hadn't schemed against the Lin brothers back then..."

Yi Zhonghai's body trembled violently, his fingers digging so hard into the mat on the heated kang that his nails split.

"So today, when the two of us walk around the yard, who doesn't treat us like living ancestors? He Yuzhu is a very loyal and affectionate person. If he treated me like a mentor, would we still have to worry about our retirement?!"

Yi Zhonghai pounded his chest in anguish.

One wrong step and the whole game is lost!

He not only missed out on a promising prospective caregiver, but also created a terrifying enemy who could crush him at any moment. From now on, Yi Zhonghai could only live like a stray dog ​​in this courtyard, barely clinging to life with his tail between his legs.

The backyard, the Liu family's house.

"Bang! Clang!"

A loud smashing sound rang out inside the house.

With bloodshot eyes, Liu Haizhong looked like a crazed fat pig, holding a doorstop as thick as an arm, chasing his second son Liu Guangtian and third son Liu Guangfu around the house, beating them wildly.

"Run! I'll let you run! You two good-for-nothings who just eat rice!"

Liu Haizhong struck Liu Guangtian on the back with a stick, causing Liu Guangtian to let out a pig-like scream and fall to the ground.

"Dad! What did I do wrong that you're hitting me again!" Liu Guangtian clutched his back, rolling on the ground in pain.

"What did you do wrong? Your only mistake is being a useless bum!"

Liu Haizhong, panting heavily, pointed towards the central courtyard outside the door, his fat face twitching violently from extreme jealousy.

"Look at He Yuzhu! He used to be a lousy cook who could only flip a wok! I, a dignified level seven blacksmith, have never even given him a second glance!"

"But what about him now? He's an officer! He carries a gun on his hip! He fought alongside Commander Lin on the battlefield, killing American devils and returning with meritorious service!"

Liu Haizhong grew angrier as he spoke, his eyes practically spitting fire.

His biggest obsession in life is to become an official! Even being a team leader or workshop director would make him so happy that he couldn't sleep for days.

But now, a junior he once looked down on the most has easily crossed the class divide that he could never reach in his lifetime and become a real state cadre!

"You two beasts! Why don't you have He Yuzhu's foresight? When Lin Yang first came back, why didn't you go and be his lackeys? Why didn't you sign up for the army?!"

Liu Haizhong roared madly, raising the door bar high in his hand once again.

The second aunt was so frightened that she rushed over and hugged Liu Haizhong's leg, crying and shouting, "Old Liu! Are you crazy! People die in the army! Zhuzi only came back by luck. If Guangtian had died on the battlefield, our family line would have ended!"

"It's better to be childless than to be a spineless coward for life!"

Liu Haizhong pushed the second aunt away, slumped into a chair, and gasped for breath.

Looking at his large, calloused, and rough hands, worn from years of blacksmithing, he felt a deep sense of powerlessness.

He knew that he would never be able to hold his head high in front of He Daqing in this lifetime.

The front yard, the Yan family's house.

Yan Bugui sat at the table, with the peeling paint on the abacus in front of him.

But today he didn't move the abacus beads; instead, he crossed his arms in front of his chest, his expression more solemn than ever before.

The three women sat opposite, barely daring to breathe.

The children inside the room, Yan Jiecheng, Yan Jiefang, and Yan Jiekuang, all stood in a row, heads bowed.

"Everyone, tighten your skin!"

Yan Bugui adjusted his glasses and swept his stern gaze over his sons.

"Did you all see what happened at the Intermediate People's Court today?"

Yan Jiecheng swallowed hard and whispered, "I saw it. Sha Zhu... no, Brother Zhu is too ruthless. That slap almost killed Jia Zhangshi. The knife was stuck in the stone, and sparks were flying."

"It's good that you saw it!"

Yan Bugui slammed his hand on the table.

"Starting today, we're establishing a strict rule in our family!"

"First, from now on, no one in this yard is allowed to call him 'Silly Zhu'! You must call him Platoon Leader He, or Brother Zhu! If anyone can't control their mouth, I'll sew their mouth shut!"

"Secondly, no matter when, if we encounter the He family or the Lin family, we must greet them politely! Even if they give us a hard time, we have to accept it!"

Yan Bugui stood up, walked to the window, looked in the direction of the central courtyard, and spoke with a deep sense of awe.

"You're still young and don't understand the ins and outs of this."

"He Yuzhu is now an officer, but that's not the worst part. The most terrifying thing is Commander Lin behind him!"

"Commander Lin is a ruthless man who can capture even a five-star American general alive! He Yuzhu is his personal bodyguard; they have a bond forged through thick and thin, with He Yuzhu taking a bullet for him!"

Yan Bugui turned around, looked at his sons, and said earnestly, "This relationship is stronger than that of blood brothers! Offending He Yuzhu is the same as offending Commander Lin! He could crush our whole family with a single hair from his head! Do you all understand?!"

"Understood!" Yan Jiecheng and the others trembled with fear and nodded repeatedly.

At this time.

The Jia family of the Intermediate People's Court.

The room was filled with a strong stench of blood and excrement.

Jia Zhangshi lay on the heated kang like a lump of mud. Half of her face was swollen and shiny, and blood and foam kept seeping from the corner of her mouth. The tooth that had been knocked out was nowhere to be seen.

She was awake, but she didn't even have the strength to wail. She could only make a wheezing sound like a broken bellows, her eyes filled with utter fear and despair.

Jia Dongxu squatted by the stove, his hands covering his head, not daring to even look at his mother.

Qin Huairu came over with a basin of warm water and a tattered towel, carefully wiping the blood from the corner of Jia Zhangshi's mouth.

When the towel touched the wound, Jia Zhangshi convulsed in pain, and tears streamed down her face.