I feel right at home in the world of the courtyard house.

Standing in the cold wind at the street corner was a woman. She wore a faded, patched thin coat, her hands tightly tucked into her sleeves because of the cold. Her shoulders were slightly hunched, making her look thin and pitiful. Although the clothes were worn, they were clean, her hair was neatly combed, her face was fair and clean, and her features were gentle and refined, exuding a scholarly air, which was incongruous with the dirty alley and her impoverished clothes. Her face held a cautious expectation.

Li Jing'an's heart skipped a beat, a strange emotion welling up inside him. As if possessed, he broke free from his sister's hand and walked towards that direction. Ah! Love!

"Jing'an, where are you going?" Li Hongying called after him, but he seemed not to hear her and kept walking.

Before they even got close, they heard Officer Liu's apologetic voice: "Comrade Jiang, I'm so sorry, the position at the grocery store has already been filled, there are no more openings. Don't worry, our neighborhood office will definitely find another way for your family and help you find another job."

"It's nothing, boss. I'm so sorry to have troubled you and made you come all this way for nothing." The woman's voice was soft and weak, with an undisguised sense of disappointment, but she remained polite and composed, without a single complaint.

Li Jing'an walked up to the two men and said calmly, "Comrades, I heard you say you came for the positions at the grocery store?"

Officer Liu turned to look at Li Jing'an and immediately recognized him as the man who had been treated with utmost respect by Manager Qian and Manager Zhao in the store. Judging from his attire, demeanor, and bearing, he knew Li was a cadre of high status. Not daring to be negligent, Officer Liu quickly nodded and said, "Yes, comrade... may I ask who you are?"

"My name is Li Jing'an. I work at the steel rolling mill. This position in the store has already been assigned to my sister," Li Jing'an said frankly and calmly.

Officer Liu's brows furrowed instantly, his face showing displeasure, and his tone hardened: "This is against the rules! Recruitment quotas for state-run stores must be approved and recommended by the street office. You didn't follow the procedures and just assigned positions privately!"

"Rules?" Li Jing'an smiled faintly, his tone calm yet carrying an undeniable confidence. "These were uniformly approved and set by the Labor Bureau, not by me or the grocery store. The process is compliant and legal, there are no problems whatsoever."

Officer Liu was speechless for a moment, his face flushed red, but he couldn't find any words to refute her. He could only say urgently, "You have no idea about Comrade Jiang's family situation! Her husband has pneumoconiosis and can't do heavy work. They only receive ten yuan a month in relief funds, and they have two young children at home. They have no relatives or friends, are extremely poor, and rely entirely on pasting matchboxes to make a living. She is the one who needs this position the most!"

Li Jing'an's expression remained unchanged as his gaze gently fell on the woman named Jiang Yuebai in front of him. His tone was calm but carried a hint of assertiveness: "Comrade, you need to understand one thing—we didn't come here because we had this position; we came here because we wanted to."

One sentence left Officer Liu speechless, his face full of frustration, yet utterly helpless.

Li Jing'an sighed softly, his tone softening slightly: "I came here not to argue with you about the rules, but to learn about this Comrade Jiang's situation. I am a People's Congress representative of Dongcheng District. If people in my jurisdiction are in trouble and I can help them, I certainly won't stand idly by."

Officer Liu's eyes lit up, as if he had grasped a lifeline. He quickly recounted the Jiang Yuebai family's ordeal in detail: from Xu Wangshu's journey to southern Xinjiang to support construction, to his resignation due to pneumoconiosis; from the couple returning to Beijing destitute, to struggling to raise their two children; from the regret of losing both parents, to the dire situation of not knowing where their next meal would come from. He spoke of it in detail, with a poignant tone.

Li Jing listened quietly, his brows furrowing slightly, a complex mix of emotions welling up within him. This seemingly delicate and gentle woman before him had endured so much suffering; recalling the refined beauty and resilience in her eyes, he couldn't help but feel a pang of pity. He hesitated for a moment before speaking, "I deeply sympathize with Comrade Jiang's family's plight. How about this, I'll try to see if I can secure a spot for Comrade Jiang from the steel mill."

"Ah! Really? Thank you! Thank you!" Jiang Yuebai's eyes instantly reddened, and she trembled slightly with excitement. She kept bowing to Li Jing'an to express her gratitude, and tears kept falling down her face. These were tears of hope that she had suddenly seen in despair.

"You're welcome." Li Jing'an quickly raised his hand to gesture for her to stand up. "However, I need to know your home address so I can go and see the actual situation in person. After all, it's all based on your verbal descriptions, and I need to verify it on-site before I can help you apply for a spot."

"Of course, of course!" Officer Liu immediately pulled out a pen and paper from his pocket, quickly wrote down Jiang Yuebai's address, and handed it to Li Jing'an with both hands. "Representative Li, please go and see for yourself. Her family's situation is absolutely true, without a single lie!"

"Okay." Li Jing'an took the note, put it away, and said, "After I read it, if her family is indeed in financial difficulty, I will immediately contact the steel rolling mill to apply for a job. Once the job is available, I will need to trouble Officer Liu to submit her name and go through the proper procedures."

"No problem! Absolutely no problem!" Officer Liu nodded excitedly. "As soon as the quota is filled, I'll submit Comrade Jiang's name immediately, without delay!"

Li Jing'an nodded, watching Jiang Yuebai's slender figure gradually disappear into the cold wind. A bitter feeling welled up in his heart: "Why is it that the woman I love has already become someone else's wife and is still living such a miserable life? It really breaks my heart."

He had to admit that Jiang Yuebai's gentle, resilient, and clean temperament deeply attracted him and made him feel pity for her.

"Jing'an, what are you daydreaming about? Let's go!" Li Hongying walked over quickly, reached out and tugged at his arm, her face full of confusion. "He's just a poor family, is he really that important to you?"

Li Jing'an came to his senses, composed himself, and sighed softly, "I wasn't thinking about anything, I just felt that Comrade Jiang had it so tough. A woman from out of town, with her sick husband and two young children, came to this unfamiliar city, all alone and helpless. It's really hard on her."

"What's the big deal!" Li Hongying scoffed dismissively. "There are plenty of people who are worse off than her! There's an old lady in our backyard who has no children and is raising her grandson all by herself. She's having an even harder time than her!"

Li Jing'an instantly lost interest in speaking.