Pursued by the Heavenly Dao, first level up in the courtyard.

The devastating news from Zhenhua Steel Rolling Mill hit Zhang Cuihua and Jia Dongxu like a boulder.

Jia Haoyun, Zhang Cuihua's husband, Jia Dongxu's father, and known as Old Jia by the neighbors in the courtyard, suddenly fell ill while working at the steel rolling mill and died before he could be taken to the hospital.

When the news spread, the neighbors in the courtyard sighed with regret. Old Jia had worked at the steel rolling mill for most of his life. He was a kind and honest man who had never argued with his neighbors. His sudden death was a great loss to everyone.

Upon seeing Lao Jia's body, Zhang Cuihua cried her heart out, and Jia Dongxu was in tears.

In the Jia family living in the city, only Jia Haoyun works and earns money. Zhang Cuihua does not go out to work and sits at the door every day sewing shoe soles. Jia Dongxu usually does odd jobs and earns less than 200,000 yuan a month.

In the Xia Kingdom today, 10,000 coins are roughly equivalent to one dollar a few years from now.

On the surface, Jia Dongxu's monthly income was nearly 200,000 yuan, but in reality, it was only a dozen yuan a few years later.

With Jia Haoyun's death, the Jia family's income decreased by hundreds of thousands of yuan per month, and their living conditions plummeted.

Zhenhua Steel Rolling Mill was Lou Zhenhua's factory. Lou Zhenhua, nicknamed Lou the Half-City, was not a kind person.

When the Japanese were in Beicheng, Zhenhua Steel Rolling Mill belonged to Lou Zhenhua.

When Guangjun was in Beicheng, Zhenhua Steel Rolling Mill was still owned by Lou Zhenhua.

When Xia Jun arrived in Beicheng, Zhenhua Steel Rolling Mill was still owned by Lou Zhenhua.

Despite Zhang Cuihua's tendency to always gain an advantage and avoid being taken advantage of in the courtyard, and her occasional unreasonable behavior, she is self-aware. She wouldn't dare to cause trouble at the steel mill.

The mere weight of Lou Bancheng's nickname was enough to instill fear in Zhang Cuihua.

People who have lived in the northern part of the city for decades all have their own ways of surviving.

To put it bluntly, many people are bullies who prey on the weak and fear the strong. Lou Zhenhua is still very resilient and not a pushover.

Before the Jia family could even immerse themselves in grief, they busied themselves setting up a makeshift mourning tent in the central courtyard. White banners were hung, and the sound of weeping filled the small courtyard, which was packed with people who came to pay their respects.

According to the rules of the courtyard, the funeral banquet was held not only to send Old Jia off on his final journey, but also to thank the relatives and friends who came to help with the mourning. Since the Jia family did not have enough manpower, they asked the neighbors in the courtyard for help.

Yan Bugui was asked to register and collect gifts, a task that suited him perfectly and allowed him to best utilize his meticulous and thrifty nature. He moved an old square table and placed it at the entrance of the funeral tent.

On the table lay a rough sheet of hemp paper, a dip pen, an old ledger, and a wooden box.

Yan Bugui meticulously recorded the names of the visitors, their relationship with Lao Jia, and the gifts they brought in his ledger, writing neatly without any alterations.

He calculated everything clearly, from a few kilograms of flour and a few eggs to a single yuan gift, worried that Zhang Cuihua would find fault with him and afraid of making the slightest mistake.

The kitchen work was naturally handed over to He Daqing. As a top chef in the steel rolling mill and a successor of the Tan family cuisine, He Daqing's culinary skills were quite famous both inside and outside the factory.

Normally, when the factory has important gatherings or entertains clients, He Daqing is almost always the one in charge of cooking. Now that the Jia family is holding a funeral banquet and doesn't want to spend any money, it's the perfect time to ask him to cook.

He Daqing was busy at the makeshift stove set up in the middle courtyard. The coal briquettes were burning red-hot, and the aroma of the dishes in the pot gradually spread, easing much of the sadness.

"I've known Lao Jia for so many years. He was an honest and kind man, and always spoke to me with a certain politeness. How could he just disappear like that?"

"I have to use my best skills to send my old brother off on his final journey."

He Daqing is always particular about cooking, and he never skimps on anything, even funeral banquets. He selects ingredients, adds them, and cooks them to perfection.

Yi Zhonghai busied himself with various tasks, proactively helping the Jia family greet guests and coordinate trivial matters.

Yi Zhonghai, who has no children, is only 35 years old this year. He has consulted many doctors and has been diagnosed with congenital deficiency of Yang energy, so the possibility of him having children in the future is very low.

To save face, Yi Zhonghai made his wife, Tan Guilan, take the blame.

Over time, people inside and outside the compound and factory all believed that Tan Guilan was infertile, and Yi Zhonghai never abandoned his infertile wife, Tan Guilan.

In preparation for their future retirement, Mr. and Mrs. Yi Zhonghai are happy to help others in the nursing home.

Mr. and Mrs. Yi Zhonghai were happy to help their neighbors without spending their own money.

The Yi Zhonghai couple avoided spending their own money to help their neighbors whenever possible.

In the eyes of Yi Zhonghai and his wife, they have no children and no guarantee of old age, so they must save more money.

With the help of people from the steel mill and the yard, Jia Haoyun was successfully buried.

The next morning, Zhang Cuihua and Jia Dongxu followed Yi Zhonghai to Zhenhua Steel Rolling Mill.

A dozen minutes later, Zhang Cuihua and Jia Dongxu met Lou Zhenhua.

Zhang Cuihua was unreasonable in the courtyard, but she became somewhat submissive when facing Lou Zhenhua.

Lou Bancheng's reputation was too great; Zhang Cuihua dared not offend Lou Zhenhua.

After Xia Jun entered Beicheng, Lou Zhenhua's ideas underwent a complete transformation.

Not wanting to be targeted by Xia Jun, Lou Zhenhua decided to pay five million yuan in compensation, plus Jia Dongxu taking over the factory job.

Zhang Cuihua, who dared not offend Lou Zhenhua in the first place, was overjoyed when she heard Lou Zhenhua's conditions and agreed without hesitation. According to her original idea, a compensation of two million would be very good.

Jia Haoyun died suddenly from an illness, so it can be considered a death from illness. Whether he died from a work-related injury or not, nobody knows.

After completing the onboarding procedures, Jia Dongxu became a fitter apprentice at Zhenhua Steel Rolling Mill.

Upon receiving the five million, Zhang Cuihua's sorrow vanished almost entirely.

......

Qi Bing, who was assigned to the recruit company, put away his leisurely attitude the moment he stepped into the military camp. He became calm and composed, and his mental maturity far exceeded that of ordinary recruits.

In daily military training, Qi soldiers are always meticulous and never slack off.

He practiced diligently in drills, physical fitness, tactics, hand-to-hand combat, and firearms shooting, striving for perfection and pushing his endurance to the limit. He was more hardworking and dedicated than any of the other recruits around him.

Knowing the cruelty of the battlefield, Qi Bing often sought advice from veteran soldiers, learning battlefield experience, survival skills in the military camp, and practical skills such as covert reconnaissance, emergency response, and wilderness survival.

While other recruits forgot what they heard, he silently memorized it and repeatedly pondered and digested it.

During their free time outside of training, while others either chatted idly or took a break, Qi Bing never wasted a moment, diligently practicing the splitting fist, collapsing fist, drilling fist, cannon fist, and horizontal fist of Xingyi Five Elements Fist.

Before morning training, Qi Bing practiced the Three-Body Stance, and after evening training, he practiced the Three-Body Stance again.

He frequently practiced the Sanda and elbow techniques he learned at the martial arts school in his previous life.

On the battlefield, it's either you or me; the only way to survive is to eliminate the enemy.

Qi soldiers, who spend all day training in the military camp, are rapidly improving their skills and temperament.

Near Zhu Zhechi, near the ink is black.

The spirit and actions of veteran soldiers constantly influence the Qi army.

At sixteen years old, he is at the perfect age for physical training.

My fingers were blistered, but I endured the pain and continued.

The more blood and sweat you shed now, the higher your survival rate will be when you're on the battlefield fighting the enemy.

I was mediocre for decades in my previous life, and looking back now, I realize that I did nothing that I can be proud of.

Qi Bing, who has memories of his past life, survives for decades in the Beast Academy world and then becomes a rich man; his success rate is very high.

Saving some banknotes, buying some stamps, hoarding some fine wines, and then reselling them decades later to earn a few or even a dozen small fortunes isn't too difficult.

But Qi Bing felt that forty years from now, he would be almost sixty years old, so what would be the point of having a lot of money?

While he's young, he should go to the battlefield and fight. If he can make a name for himself and survive, he'll have no worries about his family in the future. Even if he dies on the battlefield, it's all over. He'll have done his part for the country. If there's an afterlife, he can continue.