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

"These days you should spend more time and effort on Lou Xiao'e, and try to get her pregnant as soon as possible."

Knowing the situation was likely, Jia Dongming readily agreed, "Don't worry, it will take at most a month for Lou Xiao'e to get pregnant."

These words made Jia Zhangshi beam with joy, as if she could already see mountains of gold and silver piled up before her eyes.

She was unusually generous: "Today, Mom will pay for us to go to the market."

If there's a plump old hen, I'll slaughter one and make you a nourishing soup.

Jia Dongming was surprised to hear this and joked with a smile, "Did the sun rise in the west? You usually have to be extremely careful with every penny, but today you're willing to kill a chicken?"

Jia Zhangshi glared at him, feigning anger: "You child, how can you talk like that? In the past, I held onto that little bit of retirement money tightly because I was worried about my future."

Now that you have income every month and the house is securely registered in our names, why should I worry about that?

As she spoke, a hint of smugness crept into her voice: "Besides, Lou Xiao'e is a pampered young lady of a capitalist, while our ancestors were all farmers who toiled in the fields."

If you can get her to willingly continue your family line, it's a great honor for your ancestors.

"Mom is giving you some nourishing food so you can work harder and get her pregnant soon."

She suddenly remembered something and lowered her voice to remind them: "By the way, when you're with Lou Xiao'e and Qin Huairu these days, you need to keep a balance in your heart."

We should focus our energy more on Lou Xiao'e.

"After Qin Huairu gave birth to Huaihua, I had her get an IUD inserted."

No matter how many benefits you give her, her belly won't swell up.

"When the time is right, if you really want her to have the baby, Mom will take her to have the IUD removed."

Upon hearing this, Jia Dongming was startled and quickly tried to dissuade her: "Mom, Qin Huairu is Dongxu's wife after all."

"We've already crossed the line. If she has a child, how will we face people if word gets out?"

Madam Jia, however, looked completely unconvinced: "As the old saying goes, when an elder brother dies, his younger brother succeeds him, and when an uncle takes over the position of his sister-in-law."

Dongxu has been gone for so many years, and Qin Huairu is still so young. Are you going to make her live a life of widowhood? Besides, knowing her personality as I do, she'd probably love to have a son or daughter with you.

I forced her to get an IUD to prevent her from having an affair and getting pregnant with another man's child.

Now that she's with you, even if she gets pregnant, it will be a legitimate member of the Jia family. Why would I, as her mother, stop her?

Listening to his mother's plan, Jia Dongming finally understood her complicated thoughts.

Ultimately, it was those old, outdated rules ingrained in her that caused her to have so many absurd ideas.

"Mom! Dongming! Breakfast is ready!"

Qin Huairu's clear voice came from the entrance of the main room.

Madam Jia immediately stopped talking and quickly walked into the house. As she passed Qin Huairu, she whispered a reminder: "It's okay to call him 'brother' at home, but remember to call him 'uncle' when you go out."

Before Jia Zhangshi could finish speaking, she lowered her voice and added to Qin Huairu, "By the way, take some time these next few days to go to Xu Damao's place in the backyard and find an excuse to invite Lou Xiao'e over for a chat."

Although Dongming can't give her a proper title, she's still a member of the Jia family.

Upon hearing this, Qin Huairu's fingertips trembled slightly, and she looked up at Jia Dongming, who was standing by the door.

His gaze held a mixture of surprise and inquiry, as if asking: How did Mother know about this relationship?

Noticing her gaze, Jia Dongming shrugged slightly, leaned close to her ear, and whispered in a low voice, "We went a little too far last night."

My mother got up in the middle of the night; she must have heard a noise.

The Jia family only had this one room.

In the past, when Qin Huairu and Jia Dongxu were together, they would either take advantage of Jia Zhangshi taking the children out or separate them at night by drawing a curtain.

She'd gotten used to it over the years, but the scene from last night—when she and Lou Xiao'e were laughing and joking with Jia Dongming—still made her ears burn. She wished she could disappear into a crack in the wall right then and there.

After breakfast, Jia Dongming pushed his bicycle and was about to leave when Master Lei led several apprentices into the courtyard.

Upon seeing him, Master Lei hurried over and said, "Dong family, the weather is nice today, so I thought I'd open the small gate in the courtyard wall first."

"Where do you think would be a good place for the door to be?"

Jia Dongming's gaze swept over the gray brick wall, and he casually pointed to the center: "This is it, it looks neat."

Master Lei examined the area in that direction for a moment, then nodded: "Okay."

First, we chisel a hole according to the dimensions of the door frame, install the door, and then seal the edges with cement.

Once the cement has dried completely, it will be ready to use.

Jia Dongming smiled, took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and stuffed it into Master Lei's hand: "Thank you all for your hard work."

Here, take these cigarettes and share them with the guys.

Please take care of the house matter.

Having spent these days with the Dong family, Master Lei had gotten to know their temperament. He accepted the cigarette and thanked them, saying, "Then I thank the Dong family on behalf of these lads."

As she pushed the stroller out of the hospital gate, she bumped into Yi Zhonghai, who was also on his way to work.

Jia Dongming knew exactly what kind of person this old man was, but he still greeted him politely: "Good morning, sir."

Are we going to the factory?

Yi Zhonghai heard the sound and turned around.

Seeing Jia Dongming pushing the cart with Qin Huairu sitting on the back seat and Bang Geng on the front bar, the three of them were close together and looked somewhat like a family.

He put on his usual friendly smile: "Director Jia, Huairu, good morning."

Is this to take Bang Geng to school?

In Qin Huairu's past impression, although Yi Zhonghai had the idea of ​​letting the Jia family take care of him in his old age, he always protected the Jia family in the courtyard, both openly and secretly, and could be considered a half-reliance.

But after hearing Jia Dongming's words last night—that Yi Zhonghai, in order to support his family in their old age, not only plotted to force He Daqing to leave, but also embezzled the living expenses he left for Sha Zhu and his sister, all to make the He family father and son enemies—she suddenly realized what kind of cold and ruthless methods were hidden under that kind face.

Thinking of this, Qin Huairu became more wary, but smiled gently: "Uncle, you don't know, ever since Bang Geng rode in his uncle's car last time, he has been pestering me to ride in it every day."

Seeing that we were going the same way, Dongming offered me a ride.

As Yi Zhonghai listened, his gaze slowly swept over the three of them, his words carrying a subtle barb: "Section Chief Jia, Huai Ru, it's fortunate that everyone in the compound knows you two are uncle and sister-in-law, otherwise at first glance, you really look like a harmonious family of three."

"I've heard quite a bit of gossip at the factory these past few days."

As an old man living in this compound, I must offer you some advice: public opinion can be a powerful force, so it's best to avoid situations that might cause suspicion.

The smile on Jia Dongming's face faded.

He looked at Yi Zhonghai's expression, which seemed to say, "It's all for your sake."

With a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth, he said, "Uncle, thank you for your concern."

However, Huairu and I are family, living under the same roof, and our daily interactions are perfectly normal.

The innocent will remain innocent, and the guilty will remain guilty. We act with integrity and have nothing to fear.

He paused, his tone calm yet each word clear: "As for those who love to gossip behind people's backs, they probably have filthy hearts and see everything as unclean."

The moment Yi Zhonghai uttered those harsh words, he already regretted it.

He suddenly realized that the person standing in front of him was no longer Jia Dongxu, who obeyed him at all times, but a man who dared to lay a knife on even the director of the steel rolling mill.

His throat tightened, and he quickly put on an apologetic expression, bowing slightly to Jia Dongming: "Director Jia, please don't take it to heart! I was just saying this because I heard some rumors circulating in the factory, and I wanted to offer a heads-up. I had no other intentions."

Seeing his rapid change of expression, Jia Dongming felt a pang of admiration—this old fox's skills were truly top-notch.

He didn't show it on his face, only nodding slightly: "Uncle, thank you for your trouble."

After saying that, he turned to the side and patted the boy next to him on the shoulder: "Bang Geng, get in the car, your uncle will take you to school."

The bicycle rolled along the cobblestone alley, carrying the mother and child further and further away.

Yan Bugui, who had been standing to the side, finally looked away, clicked his tongue, and said to Yi Zhonghai with a hook in his voice, "Old Yi, this time your good intentions... seem to have been misplaced."

After sending Bang Geng into the school gate, Qin Huairu sat in the back seat, gently clutching Jia Dongming's clothes.

The morning breeze ruffled her hair, bringing with it the doubts that had been weighing on her heart: "Brother Dongming, what that old man said... did he suspect something was going on between us?"

The wheels rolled over the road surface, making a regular, soft sound.

Jia Dongming stared straight ahead, and after a moment of silence, he spoke: "He's trying to probe my strength."

"Let's see if I can be like Dongxu, held in his palm, and cared for in his old age until his death."

He paused, his tone turning somber, "However, his words did enlighten me."

There are many eyes in the factory, but the tongues of those in the shadows are even more venomous.

A spear on the surface is easy to dodge, but a cold arrow from behind is hard to guard against.

He pushed off hard with his foot, and the bike sped up a bit: "I'll give you a bicycle ticket and two hundred yuan in a bit."

Tell your office you're taking the morning off and go to the department store to pick out a car.

From now on, you can go to and from get off work by yourself, which will save you from giving people something to talk about.

In the past, Qin Huairu might not have paid any attention to these gossips.

But things are different now. She is Jia Dongming's woman, and every step she takes has to be considered for his future.

She gently pressed her face against his broad back and whispered, "Okay."

"Now that we've bought the car, I'll take Bang Geng to school from now on."

The iron gate of the steel rolling mill gleamed a cold gray in the morning light.

The security guard on duty at the gate immediately straightened his back and saluted when he saw Jia Dongming: "Good morning, Director! Good morning, Clerk Qin!"

Qin Huairu quickly got out of the back seat and returned the smile.

Jia Dongming, supporting himself on one leg, asked the young security guard, "Guoping, has your captain arrived yet?"

"Reporting to the section chief, the battalion commander hasn't arrived yet, but he should be here soon!"

"Um,"

Jia Dongming said calmly, "When he arrives, have him come to my office."

"Yes! I guarantee it will be delivered!"

The security department's small building was right in front of us.

Jia Dongming stopped the car and said gently to Qin Huairu, "Wait here for me, I'll go upstairs to get the tickets and money."

Just a few minutes later, Qin Huairu, clutching the stack of warm banknotes and a hard-cover train ticket, returned briskly to the logistics warehouse office.

She happened to run into Director Guo coming out of the door, her smile still on her face: "Good morning, Director!"

Seeing the joy in her eyes, Director Guo couldn't help but smile as well: "Good morning, Huairu! Look how happy you are, did you find a treasure this morning?"

"My uncle gave me a reward yesterday, and he told me to buy a bicycle."

Qin Huairu waved the ticket in her hand, "I'd like to ask you for two hours off so I can go to the department store and bring it back."

Ever since Jia Dongming brought down Yang Weimin, everyone in the factory knows how influential he is.

Upon hearing this, Director Guo's smile became even warmer: "That's good news! There's not much to do this morning, so hurry up and get it done. You don't need to get a leave slip; the sooner you go, the sooner you'll be back."

Jia Dongming returned to his office, took out an unopened packet of tea from the cabinet, and leisurely brewed a cup.

The refreshing aroma of tea had just begun to waft through the air when a series of rhythmic footsteps sounded from the doorway.

"Tap, tap, tap."

Li Aijun appeared outside the door.

He saw Jia Dongming behind the desk, raised his hand and knocked twice on the open door, his voice steady: "Director, Guoping said you wanted to see me?"

When the knocking sounded, Jia Dongming was intently looking at a file.

He looked up and saw Li Aijun had already pushed the door open and was standing ramrod straight in the doorway. "You've arrived?"

Jia Dongming gestured with his chin toward the empty chair opposite his desk, his tone as steady as ever, "Sit."

Li Aijun sat down as instructed, his back still ramrod straight, and looked at Jia Dongming: "Director, did you call me here so early because of a new task?"

Jia Dongming put down the documents in his hand and tapped his fingertips lightly on the table twice. "Remember that cripple Qian we caught the night before last?"

He spoke, his voice not loud, but every word clear.

"Remember."

Li Aijun nodded immediately, "The boiler operator in the factory looks dull, but who would have thought he's a thief with dirty hands?"

He paused, then added, "You really can't judge a book by its cover."

"Um."

Jia Dongming nodded slightly, his expression becoming even more serious. "According to Qian the Cripple's confession, the scrap materials and parts he stole from the factory were all sold to a blacksmith shop in Dongcheng."