The door of the courtyard house has been welded dead

It is well known that once men reach middle age, their interests and hobbies change; they either become interested in fishing rods or motorcycles.

The spirit of youth is irreplaceable. This is not just a saying; the life of the first few decades will smooth out a person's edges. No matter how high one's spirit is, it will be worn away by eating, drinking, and all sorts of trivial matters in life.

Yan Jiecheng was inspired by Yu Li, which was a rare thing. After so many years of mediocrity, he opened his eyes to find himself in the eyes of his wife, someone who was inferior to Xu Damao. How could that be acceptable?

His father, a shrewd numbing calculus expert, now has four thousand yuan, which, rounded up, makes him practically a ten-thousand-yuan household.

He didn't have Xu Damao's ability to make money, nor did he have the guts to engage in speculative trading, but he certainly had the audacity to try and steal money from his own father's pocket.

Only children can hardly understand this because resources are concentrated on one person, but in a family with four or five children, everyone has to rely on their own abilities.

In addition, the paternal and maternal love given by Lao Yan and his wife was not much and was diluted. From a young age, the first thing Yan's family learned after they became sensible was that one must know how to be calculating.

Scheming to take money from your parents' pockets isn't really scheming. At worst, you're just providing for their old age. A meal can be a feast or a bowl of plain rice porridge.

"Mr. Xu, hey, your video arcade is doing pretty well, isn't it?"

It was rare for Yan Jiecheng to take some time to visit Xu Damao's Youth Video Hall. Compared to the past, there are now many new video halls opening on the streets.

But Xu Damao was different. As one of the first businesses to be secretly opened in Beijing, he had accumulated customers and had a good reputation. Xu Damao knew how to do business, and he would import new videotapes from the south every year.

New movies are sold by the show, while the old movies shown next door can be watched all day for a small fee. It's quite modern, with even the TVs being replaced with larger ones, and there are ceiling fans in the room. The environment is different from other video arcades.

"Oh dear, mine is just so-so. If you go back two years, there wasn't anyone else doing this business. Back then, there were so many people, you had to queue up at the door if you wanted to see it!"

It was rare for an old neighbor to come and patronize his business. Xu Damao shook his head, quite pleased with himself, and waved his hand modestly, indicating that Yan Jiecheng didn't need to pay.

Xu Damao called over a henchman to watch the gate, and personally led Yan Jiecheng into the courtyard. Although Yan Jiecheng wasn't doing very well, he had grown up in the same courtyard.

Xu Damao had been to jail twice, so his mindset was somewhat different from that of other video arcade owners. He just wanted to see how shocked these neighbors who used to look down on him were now.

Even if he doesn't make money, he wants to show them that he, Xu Damao, has truly made something of himself now, no longer the petty scoundrel he used to be, and can earn money honestly.

"Wow, there are quite a few people here. You've got connections now, I've heard all about it. You bought that house from Qin Huairu, it cost over three thousand yuan, you just pulled it all out in one go!"

His gaze swept across the video arcade, taking in the diverse crowd of people watching television. After roughly counting them, Yan Jiecheng's heart sank to the bottom.

The money he earns in a day, no joke, is enough to cover his monthly salary. No wonder he can afford to buy a house.

One's own mediocrity is certainly hateful, but the success of one's childhood friend is even more infuriating.

"Others may be afraid of people dying, but I'm not. I've seen everything in the Northwest for over ten years. After all, I used to be a projectionist at the factory, so I had to live in the factory's housing. Qin Huairu can be heartless and divorce me, but that's because she's blind!"

"Tell me, if she's willing to wait until I get out of there, how could I possibly let her down? All the money I've earned now belongs to her. Qing is just waiting to enjoy life!"

When Qin Huairu's house was mentioned, Xu Damao had a lot to say. No matter how many people died in it, it was all the sins committed by his ex-wife. If he had the guts, he should go find her.

Xu Damao still wanted to ask Qin Huairu in person, "Look at what others are saying about Boss Xu now, do you regret it?"

"That woman Qin Huairu is not worth it. She's obsessed with money and even got involved with spies. Doesn't she realize that no one will tolerate her anymore? Drag her to the shooting range and shoot her in front of the whole factory."

Yan Jiecheng walked into the video arcade, casually found a seat in the back row, and began to speak out on behalf of Xu Damao.

The Xu family was charged with extortion, which could be considered an internal conflict. But with enemy agents involved, it escalated to a conflict between the enemy and ourselves. They were incredibly audacious.

"Luckily, she had divorced me before that. I wasn't in prison at the time; I was in a labor camp. You know, when I got the news, I was terrified. My legs were shaking. I was so worried that I would get involved!"

"That guard at the prison, surnamed Niu, is really like a brother to me. He took good care of me inside. Thanks to the divorce letter Qin Huairu sent, and his words of support, I managed to sever ties with him!"

Xu Damao clapped his hands heavily on the back of the chair in front of him, reminiscing about the past. He still felt lingering fear; even in prison, there was a glimmer of hope, but after shooting at the target, everything truly had to start all over again. "Who wasn't afraid? A group of men in black Zhongshan suits interrogated everyone in the courtyard, looking fierce and menacing. I heard that her mother-in-law, Jia Zhangshi, was terrified in her cell after hearing that her daughter-in-law had shot at the target!"

"What about her husband who came after her?"

Xu Damao was quite curious about Cui Dake, who was said to be a cadre in a machine repair factory. He had dumped him because he was going to marry that man.

"Cui Dake, they're not divorced, but Qin Huairu cheated on him with a gigolo. The gigolo happens to be a spy, so they're involved. And Cui isn't honest either; his past mistakes have been brought up again. You know who could protect him back then!"

The past unfolds like a scroll painting, and the scenes of the past, like faded old photographs, flash before our eyes.

The two chatted about what happened during the more than ten years that Xu Damao was away, but they didn't really watch the movies on TV carefully.

Even the curly-haired guy sitting in the front row didn't notice and continued chatting enthusiastically.

The young man with curly hair would occasionally turn his head slightly, observing the two of them out of the corner of his eye, his fingers tightly gripping the pants between his knees.

"How did you manage to hook up with Qin Huairu and steal Sha Zhu away from her? I'm so curious!"

Yan Jiecheng had made Xu Damao very happy. With a mischievous grin, he nudged him with his elbow. The topic was a tacit understanding between men, indicating that it was time to get down to business.

"Hey, look at what you're saying. How can Sha Zhu compare to me? What does he have to compare with me? Back then, his conditions weren't as good as mine, and his looks weren't as good as mine. If Qin Huairu had married Sha Zhu, she would have had at least two more children. Could he afford to raise five children?"

"With me, you don't have to worry about having children. Qin Huairu is amazing, she's amazing with all her kids, her eyes are only on her three children!"

The curly-haired guy in the front row trembled slightly when he heard what Xu Damao said from behind. He gripped his pants with his fingers, then released them and dug them into his palms.

"Sha Zhu thought he could trick her into going back with just a few boxes of leftovers. With Jia Zhangshi around, that's impossible. I'm different. I can't have children, so she, as my mother-in-law, won't worry. Plus~!"

"Plus Qin Huairu's influence, let me tell you the truth, Yan Jiecheng is really loose. Not long after Jia Dongxu died, Qin Huairu had feelings for me, you know? Not long after, she came into my room at night behind her mother-in-law's back, and she was like dry tinder..."

Xu Damao spoke to Yan Jiecheng with a tone that was half boastful and half bragging, but the curly-haired boy in the front row couldn't stand it anymore.

"Clang~!"

He leaned back heavily, interrupting Xu Damao before he could finish speaking.

"You little brat, shut up! Don't treat this chair like it's your own home!"

Looking at the young man's profile, Xu Damao didn't recognize him. The person sitting in front of him was Bang Geng, who was considered half his godson.

But Bang Geng recognized him long ago. If it weren't for scouting the location, he would have hit Xu Damao if he had heard him insulting his mother.

"Mr. Xu, I wonder if you're free this evening? I'd like to ask you some questions over dinner. Would you do me the honor of coming to Bianyifang's roast duck?"

Yan Jiecheng was already disgusting enough. He had been listening to Xu Damao's boasting for so long. What did it have to do with Yan Jiecheng? If he didn't have to flatter Xu Damao and make him happy, he wouldn't have wanted to listen to it anymore.

When the curly-haired boy heard the conversation behind him, the curly hair on his head trembled slightly.

"What's wrong, Jiecheng? You're acting like a stranger to me now. Even though I've become a bit successful, I'm not ungrateful. You even treated me to a meal. You're being too distant!"

Xu Damao laughed heartily and patted Yan Jiecheng on the back, looking like a nouveau riche returning home in glory, putting on airs even when facing his former classmate.

"No, it's just some business stuff. Yu Li wants to open a restaurant, but I'm not sure what to do. You, Mr. Xu, are a successful person now, a millionaire, so I definitely need to ask you for advice."

"You two should have gone self-employed a long time ago. I told your dad a long time ago that opening a restaurant is better than working a regular job!" (End of Chapter)