The Courtyard House: The story begins with He Yuzhu beating up the White Widow.

Niu Sanduo and Jia Dongxu exchanged a glance, both disliking each other. They simultaneously snorted at each other and obediently went to move the coarse ingots.

"Ring ring..." At 11:00 AM, the lunch break bell rang. Jia Dongxu put down his roughing stock, went to his workstation, grabbed a lunchbox, and dragged his tired body out of the workshop. After walking for about seven or eight minutes, Jia Dongxu entered the canteen. Seeing that every food window was packed with people, Jia Dongxu sighed silently and found a relatively short line to join.

After about ten minutes, it was finally Jia Dongxu's turn. Jia Dongxu glanced at the food in the bowl, then handed his lunchbox and meal ticket to the serving window. The kitchen helper took the lunchbox, tossed the meal ticket into the box next to it, and then quickly filled the lunchbox with two dishes, along with two steamed buns made from mixed flour, and handed them to Jia Dongxu.

Jia Dongxu found an empty spot with his lunchbox and steamed buns and began to wolf down his food. Halfway through, he suddenly sensed someone standing in front of him. Looking up and seeing the person, he paused, then asked, "Master Gao, is something the matter?"

Gao Peilin sat down opposite Jia Dongxu and said coldly, "What?! After your father died, you don't even recognize your own uncle anymore?!"

Jia Dongxu was stunned for a moment, then looked at Gao Peilin with a puzzled expression. Suddenly, a long-hidden resentment in his heart turned into a resentful question: "You still know you're my martial uncle?!"

Gao Peilin snorted coldly and said, "Why shouldn't I care about you?! Go ask your mother, who likes to cuckold your father, and that old bastard Yi Zhonghai!!"

Jia Dongxu was stunned, unsure how to respond. After a long while, he came to his senses and asked, "Speak! What do you want from me?!"

Gao Peilin said, "You know your current situation in the factory. Because of Yi Zhonghai, none of the experienced workers in the entire factory are willing to take you on as an apprentice. You only have two paths in front of you: one is to continue doing your current job, and the other is to transfer to another position. However, transferring to another position is not so easy."

Jia Dongxu tentatively asked, "Uncle-Master Gao, would you be willing to accept me as your disciple?!"

Gao Peilin said, "I haven't done fitter work for many years. I'm a lathe operator in the factory now. If you're willing to learn how to operate a lathe from me, I'll teach you. But I don't teach apprentices like Yi Zhonghai."

Jia Dongxu excitedly said, "Uncle-Master! No, Master, I'm willing to learn how to operate a lathe from you."

"Okay!" Gao Peilin nodded and said, "Go buy two packs of good cigarettes after get off work. Bring them and wait for me at the factory gate tomorrow morning. I'll take you to your workshop director and transfer you to Workshop Two."

"Yes!" Jia Dongxu responded excitedly, "Thank you, Master! I've got it!"

Gao Peilin then said, "You continue eating! I'm leaving now!"

"Take care, Master!" After watching Gao Peilin leave, Jia Dongxu's face immediately lit up with an excited smile, thinking to himself, "Truly, there's always a way out!" Then, remembering Gao Peilin's earlier words, the smile vanished. Jia Dongxu planned to ask his mother what had happened when he visited her in a few days.

"Old Gao!" Gao Peilin was stopped by He Daqing as soon as he stepped out of the cafeteria.

Gao Peilin turned to He Daqing and greeted him with a smile: "Master He! It's been a while since we last met."

He Daqing chimed in, "It has indeed been a while since we last met." Then I asked, "You always eat at the first canteen. What brings you to the third canteen today?!"

Gao Peilin sighed and said, "It's all because of that good-for-nothing Jia Dongxu."

He Daqing said thoughtfully, "If I remember correctly, you and Jia Dongxu's father, Old Jia, are fellow disciples?!"

"Hmm!" Gao Peilin nodded silently and said, "Old Jia is my senior brother. How similar Old Jia was back then to Jia Dongxu now! If Old Jia had mastered the skills back then, he wouldn't have fallen into Yi Zhonghai's trap and lost his life so early. Jia Dongxu wouldn't have been raised to this state by Jia Zhangshi and Yi Zhonghai. Others may be shameless, but I still have some dignity. I plan to get Jia Dongxu to the second workshop and have him learn the skills from me."

He Daqing cautioned, "Jia Dongxu has been ruined by Jia Zhangshi and Yi Zhonghai. He has many bad habits. It won't be easy for you to bring him back to his senses."

Gao Peilin said, "Learning a craft is never smooth sailing! If he can't learn it, teach him a few more times. If he still can't get it, then do it himself. If one beating isn't enough, give him two. If I can't beat him anymore, I still have apprentices. If he still can't be corrected, I'll have to send this kid to clean toilets."

He Daqing said, "They say marrying a bad wife ruins three generations. I really don't know how Old Jia could have married Jia Zhangshi. He must have been blind."

Gao Peilin laughed and said, "I actually know about this. Back then, Jia Zhangshi didn't have a good reputation in Zhangjiazhuang. When she reached marriageable age, no one from Dongpu came to propose marriage. One year at the market, Jia Zhangshi took a liking to Old Jia at first sight. She and her brother set him up with a honey trap. There was nothing Old Jia could do; even if he didn't want to, he had to accept it. The day after Old Jia married Jia Zhangshi, his parents separated from him. That's how Old Jia was able to bring Jia Zhangshi to the city to work. Luckily, Old Jia brought Jia Zhangshi to the city, escaping the Japanese devils' slaughter. You could say it was a blessing in disguise!"

He Daqing sighed and said, "Since it's over, let it be! Madam Jia Zhang won't be out for over a year. You have over a year to train Jia Dongxu."

"A year or so is about enough! I hope some kind person will have another chance to send Jia Zhangshi in." After saying this, Gao Peilin said goodbye to He Daqing and left.

Meanwhile, as He Yuzhu finished his meal and was about to find a place to rest, Wang Xia called him into her office. Wang Xia asked directly, "Yuzhu, tell me more about opening the subsidiary factory."

He Yuzhu was stunned for a few seconds. He had thought Wang Xia wanted to see him about something important. He hadn't expected it to be this. He Yuzhu said, "Aunt Wang, opening a subsidiary factory isn't necessarily difficult, but it's not easy either. It depends on the factory's positioning. The simplest way is to open a scrap metal recycling station."

"You don't need to talk about opening a scrap metal recycling station. Scrap metal recycling stations are under the jurisdiction of the Materials Bureau. It has nothing to do with us. Tell me about something else instead!" After saying that, Wang Xia poured a glass of water and placed it in front of He Yuzhu.

He Yuzhu said, "The purpose of setting up subordinate factories is to solve the difficulties faced by the families of martyrs and soldiers in our jurisdiction in terms of work and life. We can first conduct a comprehensive survey of all the families of martyrs and soldiers in our jurisdiction and their family situations. We can see what special skills these people have. By special skills, I mean who is good at needlework, who is good at cooking, etc. Then, based on these people's situations, we can provide targeted training. We can then set up factories one by one. There will be some difficulties at the beginning. But it won't be difficult once things are in order."