Courtyard House: Drunk and tipsy, the whole courtyard exposed at the start.

Short-term goals: skip grades to get a higher degree, fill a job, and help Zhang Bansian move graves;

Long-term goal: To find my grandparents' home in Hubei province and do my best to support them after my parents are born.

Other goals: Find a beautiful wife, a woman with long, wavy hair, have several children, and incidentally make some money to buy a house.

Clear objective, perfect!

Finally, Zhang Dabiao dressed in a dapper, old-fashioned manner, like a refined scoundrel from the 1960s or 70s, only lacking a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. On the outside, however, he was still wearing the same old work clothes—a cotton-padded jacket and trousers—that he couldn't change into; neither his family, whether in their courtyard house or their small apartment, owned any of those military overcoats.

So we have to make do.

But they also found a hand-knitted towel and gloves that their ex-girlfriend had given them, which she had knitted for them when they were dating in college.

He felt helpless but could understand his girlfriend's departure.

They'd been dating for seven or eight years, and were about to get married, when he lost his job, was burdened with a huge mortgage, lost money in the stock market, and was about to foreclose on his mortgage...

You can't blame her for being materialistic. She can't even provide herself with a basic doghouse and is burdened with debt. It's understandable that her parents disagree. Nobody wants their daughter to suffer in the future, right?

So we broke up amicably.

Zhang Dabiao gave a wry smile and put on his scarf and gloves. They were blue-gray, understated, but the stitching on the scarf was rather trendy for the time—it even had a yellow Pikachu mouse woven into it…

Let's just make do with it for now.

Then Zhang Dabiao pulled out a dog-skin hat from Northeast China, which he had bought in college to protect himself from the wind. He had kept it because of its good design, and now it came in handy.

And the snow boots and cotton shoes for winter, which were originally intended to be used as warm slippers indoors...

Fully armed, he threw his dirty clothes into the washing machine and started washing them before slipping out.

------------

As soon as he stepped outside, the biting cold wind made him gasp. He lit a Daqianmen cigarette and found a small wooden cigarette holder that the shop owner had given him when he bought cigarettes before, and made do with that.

Using a filter every day can easily lead to problems.

It was already noon, so I randomly picked a state-run restaurant and ate something. To be honest, it was just so-so, not as delicious as the pre-cooked meals and high-tech dishes of later generations, but it was cheap and healthy.

However, with the amount of money Zhang Dabiao has, it probably won't last long. He still has two years before he can take over the business, and this amount of money is really not enough.

After all, the factory only gave him a living allowance of 5 yuan a month.

He spent more than two yuan on a bath and a meal today!

We'll figure something out after the Lunar New Year. For now, his "little nest" has a system that automatically refreshes and replenishes supplies at midnight every day, so he won't go hungry.

Having experienced COVID-19, many people have developed the habit of stockpiling goods.

A refrigerator, a freezer, a first-aid kit, masks, alcohol, a snack shelf, bottled water, cola, and other beverages, including military-grade compressed biscuits in barrels...

These items are provided year-round.

After finishing his meal, Zhang Dabiao took a stroll to digest, and then walked back to the courtyard house.

At the entrance, they were stopped by the goalkeeper, Old Man Yan.

"Hey young man, who are you? Why are you barging in like this during the New Year without saying a word?"

"Who are you looking for from your workplace?"

"?"

Zhang Dabiao then realized that after taking a bath, shaving his head, and wearing a hat and scarf, he had indeed undergone a complete makeover.

That's why Old Man Yan didn't fail to recognize him.

Zhang Dabiao took off his hat and pulled his scarf down to reveal his mouth.

"Teacher Yan, it's me, Da Biao! Don't you recognize me?"

When he's cursing, he's Yan Lao Kou (Old Man Yan), but under normal circumstances, he's Teacher Yan. We can't just curse people without a reason, can we?

As for the Third Uncle—

There's no uncle in my family!

"Hey, it's Biaozi? What's this...?"

As Yan Laokou meant, "Why did you change your head?"

He's much more handsome than before, almost as handsome as Jia Dongxu!

(To be fair, Jia Dongxu was the most handsome guy in the courtyard, otherwise Qin Huairu wouldn't have taken a liking to him.)

"I got a haircut and took a shower during the Chinese New Year."

After explaining, Zhang Dabiao was about to walk into the courtyard, but Yan Laokou stopped him.

"Wait a minute, Biaozi, that dog-skin hat, scarf, oh my, gloves too? And new cotton shoes..."

"Where did you get all this?"

Seeing Zhang Dabiao's gear, Yan Laokou was extremely envious and immediately reached out to touch the hat.

"Where did this come from? Did you buy it, find it, let it fall from the sky, or give it to you?" Zhang Dabiao felt a little disgusted. What kind of person was this, just grabbing at things like that?

Can't you have some sense of boundaries?

"No, this hat is different from the ones at the supply and marketing cooperative. The feel... and this scarf, it's handmade, and there's something woven into it..."

"A yellow... fat rat with a big tail?" Old Yan stared at the Pikachu picture for a long time.

"You yellow-skinned rat, you weasel, you yellow fortune teller, what business is it of yours what's woven into this scarf?"

"No, why are you so temperamental? Can't I even show you some concern?" Old Man Yan said irritably. This hat wasn't like scallions, ginger, garlic, potatoes, or dried mushrooms; it was such a big item that he couldn't get any advantage over, so he was naturally a little annoyed.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dabiao stopped, took two steps back, and frowned as he asked.

"You, Yan the Stingy, care about me?"

"You would care about my helpless child? Do you even believe that yourself?" Zhang Dabiao stared at Yan Laokou with an expression that looked like he was looking at an idiot, making Yan Laokou look away in extreme embarrassment.

"I... I was just worried you'd waste money, kid. This hat, scarf, gloves, and cotton shoes, how much does that cost?" Old Man Yan was still trying to save face.

"It's my family's money, I can use it however I want. If I don't use it, you'll just find another excuse to squander it all, won't you?"

"Tch, who do you think you are, Old Man Yan? Do you really think nobody knows?"

Zhang Dabiao casually made a few remarks and then walked into the courtyard. Arguing with someone like Yan Bugui about these issues was pointless; he could only vent his anger once, because Yan would repeat the same mistake, and there was no point in trying to educate him.

As for the benefits those beasts took from our family in the past, Old Man Zhang Bansian didn't keep a ledger, and the original owner of this body had intellectual disabilities and couldn't remember much, so there's not much point in pursuing it. The main problem is that there's no evidence, making it inconvenient to get them back.

Zhang Dabiao can let bygones be bygones, but after he arrives, no one can mess with him!

Old Man Yan was so angry that his hand trembled as he pointed at him: "Lawless! Short-sighted! Biting the hand that feeds you! Disrespectful to teachers! This brat is not worth discussing things with..."

This really shows him absolutely no respect—no, he was just promoted to second uncle yesterday!

Suddenly Zhang Dabiao turned around and walked over, startling Yan Laokou: "Zhang Dabiao! What are you doing?"

"A gentleman uses words, not fists!"

Zhang Dabiao walked up to him, then quickly turned a corner and arrived at his doorstep.

"Yan Jiecheng!"

"Where are you? Come out here!"

Upon hearing the shout, Yan Jiecheng scratched his head and came out of the house.

"Hey, Da Biao's dressed up a bit? Not bad!"

"What's wrong, Biaozi? Can't you be a little more polite? No matter what, I'm much older than you. You should call me Brother Jiecheng..." Yan Jiecheng leaned against the door frame with a cocky air. He wasn't afraid of Zhang Dabiao because he had no grudge against him. Besides, he wasn't a coward like Xu Damao or Liu Guangqi. He wouldn't take a 16-year-old kid seriously.

It's Zhang Dabiao's attitude that's so disrespectful; he's yelling at me and showing me no respect.

"Brother, what are you talking about?"

"Yesterday you smoked a cigarette and still hadn't finished talking, then you stole half of my cigarette—"

"Either finish what you were saying, or give me back my cigarette."

Zhang Dabiao then realized, "Damn it, he took my cigarette but didn't get the job done for me. Wasn't that taking advantage of me?"

No way!

Upon hearing that he had to return the cigarettes, Yan Jiecheng immediately bowed and cowered, quickly pulling Zhang Dabiao aside.

"I'll talk, I'll talk, keep your voice down, what's the big deal?"

Watching the two of them walk away, Old Man Yan stood there, somewhat bewildered—

"How did those two end up playing together?"

"That's really strange."

------------

Through Yan Jiecheng's vivid and engaging narration, Zhang Dabiao learned many details of yesterday's events.

Xu Damao and Yan Jiecheng both went for checkups. Xu Damao's condition was caused by a combination of congenital deficiencies, external trauma, and long-term cycling, resulting in partial malformation of the vas deferens. He was eventually diagnosed with oligospermia. It didn't mean he would be childless, but if things continued like this, he would truly be childless.

Yan Jiecheng suffered from malnutrition and external trauma, resulting in poor sperm motility, so he cannot be considered a true case of childlessness.

So they should thank Zhang Dabiao for the "extinction of their lineage." If he hadn't been so outspoken and exposed it, and it had dragged on for a few more years, the lineage would have truly been wiped out.

Both cases are still treatable, but the injury caused by Sha Zhu kicking their groins accounts for half of the damage. After discussion, Sha Zhu will compensate each of the two families 500 yuan to cover their subsequent treatment.

If you don't have money, sell your house, or go to jail.

Even if it means going to jail, we'll have to sell your house to pay off the debt. This is related to the continuation of the family line for both families, especially the Xu family. There's absolutely no room for negotiation on this.

But Sha Zhu didn't have the money to pay compensation. He was currently an 8th-level cook at the factory, not yet a foreman. He earned 35.5 yuan a month, which had to cover his school fees and occasional financial assistance to the Jia family.

He only had a little over 100 yuan in savings. Even if Yi Zhonghai returned the 800 yuan that He Daqing sent back, it wouldn't be enough to cover the compensation for both families.

At the time, they were still at the police station. Yi Zhonghai only paid the 2400 yuan after they returned to the compound, so the compensation issue had not yet been settled.

What should we do?

At this point, Yan Jiecheng, that grandson, actually stopped.

He stopped writing?!

"Listen to what comes next..."

"It costs more, no—"

"Add more cigarettes!"

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