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

Qin Yongjiang said with a bitter face, "What can we do?! If we knew what to do, would we still be sitting in the office?!"

Gan Lamei said, "I knew there was something wrong with those two from the beginning. I even told you two. And what did you say to me?!"

Qin Yongjiang said, "We were also deceived."

"You think you can solve everything by just saying you were misled?!" Gan Lamei retorted, adding, "Everyone's waiting to see our stance."

Qin Taishan smiled wryly, "Gan Lamei, you're thinking too simply. If it were just a matter of Qin Huairu and Qin Shouren's conduct, this matter would be easy to handle. The problem is, it also involves Qin Shouren's case as an enemy agent. That's why this matter is difficult to resolve."

"What a mess! How did everything all fall into place at once?!" With that, Gan Lamei pulled up a stool and sat down, joining in to think of a solution.

A little after 1:30 PM, Jia Dongxu returned to Beijing. As soon as he got off the long-distance bus and stepped out of the station, he saw his heavily pregnant mother, Jia Zhangshi, being helped into a pedicab by an old man. Jia Dongxu was stunned. He thought to himself, "Has my mother returned?!" The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed. After hesitating for a few seconds, Jia Dongxu gritted his teeth, hailed a pedicab himself, told the driver his address, and urged him to hurry.

Despite his haste, Jia Dongxu finally made it home before Jia Zhangshi returned. As soon as he entered, Jia Dongxu began unpacking. Just as he left courtyard number 95 with his luggage, Jia Zhangshi returned.

When Aunt Pang saw Jia Zhangshi being helped off the tricycle, she asked, "Jia Zhangshi, why are you back?!"

Madam Jia replied, "My son lives here, so why can't I come back to see him?!"

The plump aunt continued, "Mrs. Jia, you're late today. Your son just left."

"Just left?!" Madam Jia was stunned for a moment, then muttered, "Where could he have gone?!"

"I don't know about that!" The plump aunt said, then looked at the man beside Jia Zhangshi and asked, "Who is he?!"

"My husband is Zhang Huaisheng," Jia Zhangshi replied, then led Zhang Huaisheng toward the central courtyard.

Upon entering the courtyard, Jia Zhangshi saw that her door was locked. Her expression changed slightly, and she turned to her husband, saying, "Shall we go back?"

Zhang Huaisheng followed Jia Zhangshi's gaze to the locked door, sighed, and asked, "Dalian, why don't we go to Dongxu's workplace and look for him?"

Jia Zhangshi hesitated for a moment, just about to agree, when Ma Cuilan came out from the backyard. Ma Cuilan looked Jia Zhangshi up and down and asked, "You're Jia Zhangshi?!"

Madam Jia asked, "What?! Don't you recognize me?!"

Ma Cuilan hurriedly replied, "I know her! I know her! How could I not know her?!" Only then did Ma Cuilan notice that Jia Zhangshi was pregnant. Curious, Ma Cuilan asked, "When will she give birth?!"

Madam Jia, stroking her belly, replied, "I estimate I'll give birth after the New Year."

Ma Cuilan then looked around and said, "Jia Zhangshi, you don't know yet, do you?! Something happened to your son!" Then Ma Cuilan told Jia Zhangshi about Qin Huairu's situation.

After hearing Ma Cuilan's account, Jia Zhangshi was stunned. Then, she couldn't help but burst into tears: "My poor, wretched child?! How could you be so miserable?!..."

Standing to the side, Zhang Huaisheng's eyes lit up after hearing Ma Cuilan's account: "If Jia Dongxu can't have children, he'll have to rely on my son when he gets old." Then Zhang Huaisheng began to plan how to exploit the childless.

After a long while, Madam Jia stopped crying and said, "Brother Huaisheng! Come with me to find Dongxu! I must find him today."

"Hey!" Zhang Huaisheng, who had just run out of excuses, readily agreed to Jia Zhangshi's words as if he had grasped the last straw, and led Jia Zhangshi toward the steel rolling mill.

Meanwhile, Jia Dongxu went to the steel rolling mill and found his mentor, Gao Peilin. He told Gao Peilin about the situation, including that Jia Zhangshi had brought her current man to Beijing.

Gao Peilin understood Jia Dongxu's meaning. After hesitating for a moment, as if making a great decision, he said to Jia Dongxu, "The higher-ups have issued an order requiring each factory to send a group of skilled workers to other cities to support construction. You are currently a level four lathe operator, which qualifies you. If you are willing to go, I will help you register."

Jia Dongxu thought for a moment and then asked, "Master, when do we depart?!"

Gao Peilin replied, "The earliest batch will be next Wednesday, which is five days from now."

Jia Dongxu gritted his teeth and said, "Master, I'm willing to go!" He then added, "The sooner the better!"

"Alright! I'll go talk to the director right away. Your fourth senior brother went back to his hometown for a funeral. His dormitory is empty. You can stay in his dormitory for the next few days. As for your things at home, you can take care of them when you have time." After saying that, Gao Peilin was about to leave.

"Master!" Jia Dongxu called out to Gao Peilin.

Gao Peilin asked, "Is there anything else?!"

Jia Dongxu said, "Fourth Senior Brother is getting on in years, and it's not sustainable for him to stay in the dormitory all the time. I'm going to help with the construction, and my house is a public housing unit. If I leave, the factory will take it back. I'd like to sublet the house to Fourth Senior Brother before I leave. He's not here, so could you please help me with this?"

Gao Peilin said, "You're a good kid! Don't worry! Your fourth senior brother won't treat you unfairly. Come on! I'll take you to get the formalities done!"

Although Gao Peilin was a lathe operator, he was one of the few level-eight lathe operators in the steel rolling mill. Therefore, both the workshop director and other leaders in the mill gave Gao Peilin some respect. The house subletting was settled in just half an hour. Gao Peilin also helped Jia Dongxu register for the out-of-town construction support program.

Having finished his business, Jia Dongxu said goodbye to Gao Peilin and was about to leave the factory when Jia Zhangshi, accompanied by her current husband, arrived at the steel rolling mill gate. Just as Jia Zhangshi was about to barge into the factory, she was stopped by security personnel: "What do you want?!"

Madam Jia Zhang said, "I'm looking for my son, Jia Dongxu!"

The security guard who stopped Jia Zhangshi was named Zhen Xiyang. He and Jia Dongxu had a fairly good relationship and were even drinking buddies. Just now, when Jia Dongxu went to the housing management office with Gao Peilin to handle the subletting procedures, Zhen Xiyang happened to run into him, and they chatted for a bit. Jia Dongxu told Zhen Xiyang about his trip to another city to support construction. They also agreed to meet up at a small tavern near the factory after get off work the next evening.

Zhen Xiyang asked, "Are you really Jia Dongxu's mother?!"