Chapter 12: Great jokes! (Please recommend and bookmark!)
When Jia Dongming heard the child shouting “Catch a thief” in the yard, he immediately guessed that the owner of the voice was his nephew whom he had never met, the future thief of the stick.

What Jia Dongming didn’t expect was that when he came to Jia’s house to take two cabbages, Banggeng mistook him for a thief who sneaked into Jia’s house to steal things.

“Banggeng! That’s your uncle, not a thief!” An old lady who was sewing shoe soles in the yard heard Banggeng’s shout and immediately thought of Jia Dongming who had just walked into the Jia family. She hurriedly told Banggeng Jia Dongming’s identity.

Jia Zhang, who was supervising Qin Huairu’s cleaning in the other courtyard, heard Bang Geng’s shout and immediately ran out of the other courtyard. She asked Bang Geng angrily, “My dear grandson! Tell grandma where the thief is?”

“Sister-in-law of the Jia family! There was no thief. It was your Banggeng who mistook your Dongming for the thief.” When the aunt saw Jia Zhang running out of the other courtyard, she hurriedly explained to Jia Zhang.

After hearing the explanation from the aunt, Jia Zhang finally understood the reason. She saw Jia Dongming coming out of the house with two cabbages in his hands, and she quickly introduced him to Banggeng, “Banggeng! Grandma’s dear grandson! This is your uncle, your father’s biological brother, not a thief. Call him uncle.”

Bang Geng heard what Jia Zhang said, looked at Jia Dongming who looked 70% like his father, and asked Jia Zhang with a puzzled look on his face: “Grandma! When did I have an uncle? Why have I never heard you and dad mention it?”

When Jia Zhang heard Bang Geng’s words, she looked at him lovingly and explained to him affectionately, “My dear grandson! Your uncle went to the army a long time ago, so you don’t know him.”

Because Jia Dongxu had just passed away, his personality had not been influenced by Jia Zhangshi. When he heard what Jia Zhangshi had said, he immediately asked Jia Dongming curiously, “Uncle! Grandma said that you joined the People’s Liberation Army a long time ago. Is that true?”

When Jia Dongming heard Banggeng’s question and saw the admiring expression on Banggeng’s face, he immediately realized that Banggeng had not yet been led astray by Jia Zhang.

Facing Banggeng’s question, Jia Dongming smiled and replied, “Banggeng! Your grandma is right. When I was ten years old, I was already a young soldier in the Youth League.”

Bang Geng heard what Jia Dongming said and learned that his uncle was already a little soldier when he was ten years old. He asked Jia Dongming with admiration, “Uncle! Can you tell me about your experience of serving in the army and fighting the enemy?”

When Jia Dongming heard Bang Geng’s request, he smiled and said to him, “Bang Geng! Of course no problem, but uncle bought a lot of pork. Let’s make dumplings at uncle’s house today. When the time comes, while we eat dumplings, uncle will tell you stories about fighting the enemy.”

Being able to eat meat in this era is definitely a very happy thing for all children. When Banggeng learned that Jia Dongming had bought meat and they were going to eat dumplings in the evening, his attention was immediately drawn to the dumplings. He jumped up and shouted happily, “Eat dumplings! Eat dumplings!”

“Uncle! Wasn’t this Uncle Xue’s home before? How come it has become your home now?” Bang Geng followed Jia Dongming into the courtyard, and thought of Engineer Xue who lived here with him, and asked Jia Dongming curiously.

When Jia Zhang heard her grandson’s words, she proudly introduced him to Bang Geng, “My dear grandson! Your uncle is now the security chief of the steel rolling mill. This yard was allocated to your uncle by the steel rolling mill. From today on, it belongs to our Jia family.” Because the Jia family had only one room, Bang Geng used to sleep with Jia Zhang. After Jia Dongxu passed away, Jia Zhang slept with Qin Huairu, and Bang Geng slept in Jia Zhang’s bed.

When Bang Geng learned that this courtyard and the rooms in it would belong to the Jia family in the future, he immediately and happily asked Jia Zhang: “Grandma! Is what you said true? This courtyard will belong to our family in the future, so can I move in here to live?”

Banggeng is the only male of the third generation of the Jia family. Jia Zhang dotes on him without limit. Facing Banggeng’s request, Jia Zhang said to him without a second thought: “Okay! My dear grandson, if you want to move in, then grandma will ask your mother to help you clean up a room, and you can move in tomorrow.”

“Why are you moving? Mom! This is the house allocated to my eldest brother by the steel rolling mill. How can Banggeng move in to live with my uncle?” Jia Zhangshi spoke without thinking, but that didn’t mean the same to Qin Huairu. Qin Huairu, who was chopping meat in the kitchen, heard the conversation between the grandparents and granddaughter. Fearing that she would cause dissatisfaction among Jia Dongming, she quickly spoke up to correct Jia Zhangshi’s idea.

Jia Dongming was completely prepared for Jia Zhang’s thoughtless behavior, but Qin Huairu’s reaction surprised him a little.

Jia Dongming put the cabbage in his hand on the table and said to Qin Huairu with a smile: “Sister-in-law! Banggeng has grown up. It may be a bit inconvenient for him to sleep with you all the time. Anyway, I have many rooms here. You can clean up one room for Banggeng later.”

Bang Geng felt very disappointed when he heard Qin Huairu’s words. But when he heard Jia Dongming’s words, he immediately danced with joy and said, “I have a new house to live in. I finally have a new house to live in.”

Seeing Banggeng dancing with joy, Jia Dongming immediately said to him seriously, “Banggeng! You want to live here, no problem at all, but I have three rules for you. When you go to school, you must study hard. If I find that you are not studying hard, you will move back home.”

If it was at the beginning of the story, when Bang Geng heard Jia Dongming’s request, he would definitely not agree to it. Now Bang Geng has not been led astray by Jia Zhang. Facing Jia Dongming’s request, Bang Geng, who wanted to live in a house of his own, immediately assured Jia Dongming: “Uncle! Don’t worry, I promise to study hard.”

After hearing Banggeng’s promise, Jia Dongming’s facial expression returned to normal. He encouraged Banggeng kindly, “Banggeng! My requirement is not just to study hard, but also to strive to be in the top ten in the class. If you can make it into the top ten, I will reward you fifty cents. If you are ninth, the reward will be doubled, and so on!”

When Bang Geng heard the reward offered by Jia Dongming, he asked him in surprise, “Uncle! Is what you said true? If my grades can rank in the top ten in the class, there will be a reward?”

When Jia Dongming heard Bang Geng’s question and saw Bang Geng’s expectant expression, he answered with certainty: “Bang Geng! Men in our Jia family are as sure as a stick. As long as you can do it, I will give you a reward.”

(End of this chapter)