Courtyard House: I, the eldest son of the Jia family, have returned from the battlefield.

However, Xiaodang is still young, and you've been patient enough to teach her so quickly, which shows you've put in a lot of effort.

He spoke gently, but deliberately avoided mentioning any reward.

The light in Bang Geng's eyes dimmed instantly, and the corners of his mouth drooped down.

Seeing the child's disappointed face, Jia Dongming slowly added, "But those who have put in the effort should be rewarded."

I'll share some candy with you and Xiaodang when I get back tonight.

The situation took an unexpected turn, and Bang Geng immediately perked up again, cheerfully saying, "Thank you, Uncle!"

After breakfast, the bicycle carried Bang Geng on the front frame and Qin Huairu on the back seat, heading towards Hongxing Elementary School.

Upon arriving at the school gate, Bang Geng nimbly jumped out of the car, turned around, waved to the two of them, and couldn't hide his smile: "Uncle! Mom! I'm off to school!"

After saying that, he turned around and joined the crowd of children pouring into the school gate in the morning, his small back straight.

Qin Huairu stood up, supporting her son as she watched him until he was out of sight. Then she turned back to look at Jia Dongming, her voice trembling slightly, a mixture of emotion and gratitude: "Uncle, we really owe you a lot."

After Dongxu left... I haven't seen Bang Geng smile so happily in a long time.

Jia Dongming also looked in the direction of the school and said gently, "Bang Geng is my own nephew. Dongxu is gone, so it is my duty as his uncle to take care of them."

He lifted his leg and climbed back onto the bicycle seat, tilting his head towards Qin Huairu, "It's getting late, let's hurry to the factory."

The road to the steel rolling mill wasn't far, and in the early morning, the streets were mostly filled with workers rushing to work.

As the bicycle carrying the two people passed by, it inevitably attracted several glances.

Especially Qin Huairu, who was sitting in the back seat and looked pretty, caught the attention of several workers from the same factory, who couldn't help but whisper among themselves.

"Look, isn't that Widow Qin from Workshop Two? Why is she sitting behind a man on the back of his vehicle?"

"So early in the morning... could he be looking for another job already?"

A female worker lowered her voice, her tone filled with speculation.

Upon hearing this, an experienced worker from the nearby workshop quickly waved his hand and said, "Don't make wild guesses! The man on the bike is Jia Dongming, the new head of the security department, and Jia Dongxu's older brother. He's Jia Dongxu's brother-in-law."

These words caused the people around to widen their eyes.

"Jia Dongxu's older brother? Really?"

"Of course it's true! I think it won't be long before Qin Huairu is transferred out of our workshop and finds an easier place to stay."

The old master spoke with certainty.

Amidst the murmurs and chatter, the bicycle had already entered the gate of the steel rolling mill.

After parking his car in the shed, Jia Dongming said to Qin Huairu, "Go wait for me at the administration building. I'll go back to the department to get some winter snacks and come right away."

Qin Huairu nodded and headed towards the administration building as instructed.

As soon as Jia Dongming entered the security office, his deputy Zhang Guoping followed closely behind, placing a neat stack of banknotes on the desk and saying respectfully, "Chief, the canteen took away more than 2,100 jin of wild game from yesterday."

This is the amount our department should receive according to the rules: five hundred and thirty-seven yuan and fifty cents. Please check it.

Jia Dongming didn't even look at it, casually stuffed the money into his pocket, and said with a smile, "I trust you to handle things, no need to count it."

Seeing how much he trusted him, Zhang Guoping couldn't hide his joy. He leaned closer and whispered, "Section Chief, yesterday the comrades brought the meat home, and everyone in their families praised it, saying that our Security Section has a good leader who cares about his subordinates."

I dare say that, apart from a few who are up to no good, the vast majority of the brothers in the department right now are truly working for you.

Upon hearing this, Jia Dongming simply smiled faintly and patted him on the shoulder: "Such words are fine to say here, but you must never mention them outside."

After seeing Zhang Guoping off, he took out two packets of tea wrapped in oil paper from the drawer, calmly went out the door, and headed towards the administration building.

Qin Huairu was waiting in the open space in front of the building. When she saw him arrive, her expression relaxed slightly.

Jia Dongming approached, smiling apologetically, "Corli had something come up and got held up. Were you getting impatient?"

The morning light slanted through the glass windows and onto the corridor of the administration building.

Qin Huairu stood there quietly, a polite smile playing on her lips. "Please don't say that,"

Her voice was gentle, "Your business is important, it's nothing for me to wait a little longer."

Jia Dongming nodded, signaling her to follow.

The two walked through the bright foyer, their footsteps sounding particularly clear on the polished terrazzo floor.

They stopped in front of a dark wooden door. Jia Dongming raised his hand and knocked on the door, a familiar smile spreading across his face: "Director Li, good morning!"

Inside the office, Li Huaide was bent over his desk, looking at something.

Hearing the voice, he looked up and saw them. He immediately pushed back his chair and stood up, warmly greeting them: "Oh, Section Chief Jia! Come in and sit down."

His gaze swept over Jia Dongming, then landed on Qin Huairu, who was half a step behind him, scrutinizing her.

Jia Dongming entered the room and gently placed two neatly shaped tea bags on a corner of the large desk. "I got some rare tea from the old boss last time, and I thought you'd like it, so I brought two bags over for you to try."

Li Huaide's gaze lingered on the exquisite packaging for a moment, a hint of understanding flashing in his eyes.

He smiled and thanked him repeatedly, his words filled with genuine gratitude: "You've gone to so much trouble, Section Chief Jia."

"this,"

Jia Dongming turned to the side and gestured to Qin Huairu behind him, "This is my sister-in-law, Qin Huairu."

Qin Huairu lowered her eyes slightly, her hands clasped in front of her, looking somewhat awkward.

Li Huaide nodded amiably to her, then turned and walked back to his desk, opened a drawer, and took out a form stamped with a red seal. "Section Chief Jia, I've already signed the transfer certificate."

"You can just take Comrade Qin to the personnel department to go through the procedures in a bit."

Jia Dongming took the paper, glanced at it, and smiled even more broadly: "Thank you for your trouble, Director Li."

"Not at all."

As Li Huaide spoke, he took out a bulging envelope from deep inside the drawer and handed it over. "This is the money for the wild game last time. I've counted it all; it's a total of 1,710 yuan."

Would you like to take a look?

Jia Dongming took the envelope, felt its thickness with his fingers, and casually stuffed it into the inside pocket of his coat. "What's there to worry about with your work? No need to check."

He spoke succinctly and decisively.

These words clearly pleased Li Huaide, and his smile became more genuine. He then sighed bitterly, "Section Chief Jia, you don't know, the meat processing plant only gives us a small quota of 800 catties of pork each month. It's so small that you can't even hear a sound when it's scattered."

There are tens of thousands of mouths to feed in the factory, and as the person in charge of logistics, I'm so worried I can't sleep.

He changed the subject, his tone becoming earnest, "Yesterday I saw those Dongxi bullets you fired back, every shot hit the vital points, you really have a great skill."

"If you ever go back into the mountains again, please remember our factory and give the workers a little extra income."

"become,"

Jia Dongming readily agreed, "I'll keep a closer eye out next time we go into the mountains."

"That's wonderful!"

Li Huaide clapped his hands, as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

Jia Dongming glanced at the clock on the wall and said goodbye: "It's getting late. I'll take Huairu to get the formalities done first, so as not to keep you from getting back to work."

Just as they turned to walk toward the personnel department, in Workshop 2, Yi Zhonghai had already glanced at the workstation by the window several times.

The machine was humming, but that spot remained empty.

He frowned, wondering to himself: Mingming saw her arrive at the factory in Section Chief Jia's car this morning, but it's been a while since work started, so where is she?

Workshop director Liu Jianshe strolled over with his hands behind his back and stopped in front of the empty space.

His expression was not good. He turned to Yi Zhonghai and asked, "Master Yi, Qin Huairu didn't come today? And she didn't give any explanation."

Yi Zhonghai quickly stopped what he was doing, his face showing confusion: "Director, I'm wondering about that too."

When I arrived this morning, I did see her enter the factory gate with Section Chief Jia.

Upon hearing "Section Chief Jia"

Upon hearing those three words, Liu Jianshe's displeasure faltered for a moment, as if he had remembered something, and his pressing intent suddenly vanished.

He didn't say anything more, just pursed his lips, and walked towards the other end of the workshop with his hands behind his back.

The procedures went smoothly.

When Qin Huairu walked back to Workshop 2, clutching that thin piece of paper that signified a change in her job, her steps were lighter than usual.

Yi Zhonghai, with his sharp eyes, spotted her figure in the distance and immediately turned off the power to his machine, rushing over in a few strides.

Seeing the undisguised joy on her face, he lowered his voice and asked with concern and curiosity, "Huai Ru, where have you been all morning? Director Liu came to check on things earlier and asked me about you when he didn't see you."

Qin Huairu's eyes sparkled as she waved the form stamped with a red seal in her hand. Her voice carried a sense of relief at finally settling down and a hint of barely perceptible pride: "Uncle Bang Geng's uncle saw that I was doing too much work in this workshop, so he arranged for me to be transferred to another position."

I'm back to complete some paperwork with the director.

Upon learning that Qin Huairu was being transferred, Yi Zhonghai was stunned for a moment, then asked as if he hadn't heard clearly, "You're leaving? You're not working in the workshop anymore?"

Qin Huairu stood ramrod straight and said in a steady tone, "Yes."

My uncle has already taken care of everything for me. I'll be working as a warehouse manager. The personnel department has approved everything; it just needs Director Liu's final signature.

Yi Zhonghai's face visibly darkened.

He was silent for a moment before squeezing out the words through gritted teeth: "Such a big thing, why... why didn't you mention it to me first?"

These words caused a hint of surprise to flash across Qin Huairu's eyes.

She tilted her head slightly, as if to confirm whether she had misheard: "Uncle, I only found out about what Uncle made last night."

Besides, being a fitter is hard work for women, so isn't it reasonable for them to switch to an easier job?

As soon as he said it, Yi Zhonghai realized he had lost his composure.

The Jia family of today is no longer the Jia family that relied on him and was at his mercy.

He took a deep breath, tried to force a smile, and softened his voice: "Huai Ru, don't misunderstand."

I was thinking that although being a fitter is tiring, the pay is higher.

Even if Section Chief Jia is in charge at home now, as his mother, shouldn't you at least save up some money for Bang Geng's future marriage?

Qin Huairu has been married into the Jia family for nearly ten years.

Over the past ten years, her mother-in-law, Jia Zhangshi, has often told her that Yi Zhonghai took Jia Dongxu as his apprentice because he wanted someone to take care of him in his old age.

Jia Zhangshi was attracted to Yi Zhonghai because of his high salary and the two rooms in the courtyard, so she kept her thoughts to herself.

After Jia Dongxu passed away, Yi Zhonghai naturally took Qin Huairu as his apprentice under the pretext of taking care of the Jia family.

After a year working in the workshop, Qin Huairu realized that although Yi Zhonghai held the title of master, he had never genuinely taught her any skills.

This situation reminded her of her deceased husband.

Jia Dongxu studied fitter work under Yi Zhonghai for over ten years, but in the end, he was only a half-baked craftsman.

Over the past year, Qin Huairu had been secretly observing and had long since figured it out: Yi Zhonghai didn't really want to pass on his skills to her.

However, considering that the Jia family still needed his help in the courtyard, and knowing that this man wanted to control her family, she could only endure it for the time being.

It's different now.

Jia Dongming returned and became the head of security at the factory, earning a monthly salary of 135 yuan. From then on, the Jia family no longer had to depend on anyone.

If we were to say who most wanted to break free from Yi Zhonghai's invisible hand, it would undoubtedly be Qin Huairu.

Hearing Yi Zhonghai's insincere advice, Qin Huairu remembered what Jia Dongming had told her last night, and straightened her back a little: "Uncle, the logistics warehouse manager, earns thirty-five yuan and fifty cents a month, which is a full eight yuan more than I earn now."

The uncle also said that he would help Bang Geng arrange his marriage and children in the future.

I'll keep this salary for myself.

Yi Zhonghai finally understood completely.

She was about to fly away, to escape his grasp.

The retirement plans I've been secretly laying out over the years are about to fall through, and a strong sense of resentment wells up in my heart.

He twitched the corners of his mouth, but the smile was stiff as if it were covered with a layer of paper: "Okay... warehouse manager, it's an easy job."

Section Chief Jia must have put in a lot of effort for your job, right?