Courtyard Houses: The Great Masters of a Nation Hidden Within

"It's fine if we don't give subsidies," Yi Zhonghai added.

Upon hearing this, a name popped into Gao Jianguo's mind—Jia Dongxu.

Qin Huairu's man.

He was an unlucky guy who had only seen the portrait of a deceased man in a TV series.

The original drama didn't specify the exact year of his death, but given that his third son was a posthumous child, it must have been around 61.

I've heard from people in the factory that Jia Dongxu has been working under Yi Zhonghai as his mentor for five or six years.

Yi Zhonghai probably accepted the money because of their close relationship as neighbors.

Jia Dongxu himself has no talent for fitter work and is still stuck at the second-level worker level, unable to advance no matter what.

Old experience is old experience. Yi Zhonghai clearly also sees potential in this project and wants to find a way for his apprentice to get a prestigious degree.

These days, the relationship between master and disciple is truly sincere.

Gao Jianguo didn't really care whether or not Jia Dongxu's fate could be changed.

Every time someone dies, it's a good thing.

But he couldn't just blurt out, "Your apprentice is about to die, so keep a close eye on him."

If I were to say that, I'd definitely be kicked out on the spot, treated like a madman.

He didn't have the time to keep an eye on Jia Dongxu every day.

If he actually did that, most people would probably think he was crazy.

Let it be.

My transmigrating here has definitely stirred up the original situation; the butterfly effect is inevitable.

Whether it's the butterfly's wings that are strong, or the inertia of the original drama that's stronger, it all depends on whether Jia Dongxu's fate is tough enough.

After a moment's pause, Gao Jianguo made up his mind and spoke frankly: "Master Yi, we live in the same courtyard, so I won't beat around the bush. There's a quota for the number of people in this group who can be registered; the department's plan was set long ago. It's difficult for Master Jia to squeeze in without a special reason. Even if you wanted to swap your name for his, you couldn't. If you were to be demoted, all the other senior workers would be watching you closely, and Master Jia's skills aren't enough to compete with them."

Yi Zhonghai felt a chill in his heart, but he could also tell that Gao Jianguo was telling the absolute truth.

I could only try to smooth things over: "Zhendong, what you said makes sense, I can understand. This time, even if he doesn't have that luck..."

He knew perfectly well that messing things up wasn't the worst thing; it was offending people that would be a huge loss.

Gao Jianguo's momentum is undeniable; he has a long road ahead of him.

Gao Jianguo thought for a moment: "Master Yi, how about this? He'll be your apprentice, follow you into the group, be diligent, help you out, and spend more time in front of people. Our group will receive all the subsidies we're entitled to. Even if he doesn't make it onto the main list, I think we can still get it done if we put his name on the final list."

Yi Zhonghai's eyes lit up immediately: "Zhendong, you've thought of everything. Thank you so much. Once my paperwork is done, I'll bring him to the crew. Don't worry about his paperwork; I'll just get him from my side. I still have that much face to draw on."

Jia Dongxu was Yi Zhonghai's apprentice, and his work was basically done by Yi Zhonghai's word.

Besides, he was a senior level 8 worker, so his superiors had to give him face.

After the two parties reached an agreement, Gao Jianguo said goodbye to Yi Zhonghai and went back to his room.

As he left, Yi Zhonghai added, "I'll have Dongxu come and thank you himself later."

Gao Jianguo returned to his home.

Yi Zhonghai wasn't idle at all. He immediately took out two bottles of wine from the house and headed towards the Jia family's house across the street.

It was almost eight o'clock when Yi Zhonghai knocked on the door.

Jia Zhangshi, clutching a shoe sole in her hand, yanked the door open.

Jia Dongxu was tidying up a broken stool at home. His wife had taken the two children to her parents' house, and he had nothing else to do, so he was just fiddling with this.

Upon seeing Yi Zhonghai enter, he quickly dropped what he was doing, stood up, and led his master to the table.

"Master, it's pitch black. Why didn't you just call me over? Why did you have to come all the way here yourself?"

"I was free anyway, and I needed to talk to you about something, so I came over. What, you think I'm too old to move around?"

"How could that be? The deaf old lady is still quite agile, so you, Master, must be even more robust."

Yi Zhonghai straightened his face and got down to business: "Stop with the sweet talk, I'm here today for something good."

Jia Dongxu's curiosity was piqued: "What good news?"

Yi Zhonghai recounted the entire story of the thermocouple research group to him.

He added at the end, "...That's the gist of it. I swallowed my pride and asked for help, and Gao Zhendong was quite assertive, putting in all his effort to get you in. With this experience, if I were to swallow my pride and put in a little more effort, your third-level worker matter should be settled."

Jia Dongxu was overjoyed.

This level three job held him back for three whole years, and he had no way to resolve it.

Now that his master has come up with this plan, he finally sees a glimmer of hope.

"The Gao Zhendong you mentioned, is he the college student from Wudaokou College who came to the front yard? Master, thank you so much. You always remember me when there's something good. It's just that I'm not good enough and haven't reached the level you want."

Yi Zhonghai felt helpless; he had chosen his own apprentice, and he had to push him forward, even if it meant gritting his teeth.

The couple had no children, and they might have to rely on their apprentice, who lived right across the street, for their retirement.

Fortunately, although his cooking skills were not great, he was impeccable in showing respect to his elders; otherwise, they wouldn't have taken him on in the first place.

Yi Zhonghai shoved the two bottles of wine into Jia Dongxu's arms: "Who told you to be my apprentice? Gao Zhendong is generous and arranged everything without a word, so we can't be impolite. He doesn't seem like someone who lacks this kind of thing, but it's his business if he doesn't, and it's our business if we don't know any better. You take these two bottles and take them to him before it gets too late."

Jia Dongxu quickly pushed it back: "Master, what are you doing? You've thought of everything so thoroughly for me, how could I let you pay for this?"

Yi Zhonghai shoved the wine into his arms: "Take it, I don't need this little bit. You're supporting five people, three of whom don't even have food rations. Do you think I don't know what your family situation is like? What are you trying to prove in front of Master? It's settled, I'm going back now."

After saying that, he stepped out the door, adding before leaving, "While they're probably still awake, hurry up and get things done. Don't let them think we don't even know basic manners."

Jia Dongxu dropped his master off at the opposite door, then quickly returned with two bottles of wine and headed to the front yard.

When I got to Gao Jianguo's door, the lights were still on.

He raised his hand and knocked on the door.

Gao Jianguo's head was throbbing from working on ESR, so he flipped through a web novel he had won in a lottery to clear his head, sipping tea as he did so.

Just as I was enjoying myself, I heard the door open. I quickly put the books into the storage room, went into the hall, and opened the door.

"Hello, senior technician, I am Jia Dongxu, the apprentice of an old man from the Intermediate People's Court."

Gao Jianguo's eyes were fixed on the person who had been enshrined on the wall in the TV series of his previous life, and now he was alive and kicking right in front of him.

For a moment, his mind went blank, and he felt like he was dreaming.

"Ah, Master Jia, hello, please come in, please come in." Gao Jianguo composed himself and smiled as he ushered the man into the living room.

There was a tin stove in the living room, which made the whole room warm and cozy.

After Jia Dongxu entered the room and sat down, the first thing he did was to express his gratitude: "Technician Gao, my mentor just came to see me and told me everything about the research group. Thank you so much for this."

As Gao Jianguo got a cup to pour him water, he deflected the question with a remark: "Not at all, I should thank Master Yi for supporting our endeavors."

The implication was clear—this matter is entirely due to your master's influence.