I, Yan Jiefang, will live to 2025 in this courtyard house.

There's no point in thinking about it all; we'll just go and see for ourselves.

Yan Jiefang strode forward and walked not far behind He Yushui. He could vaguely hear her sobbing softly.

However, their relationship had never been even close, and she always avoided him.

Therefore, he did not directly ask what had happened, but kept a distance that was neither too close nor too far, silently accompanying her.

After all, chasing after someone isn't a business deal, it's being a sycophant.

This is something any man should try his best to avoid in relationships.

Otherwise, all you'll end up with is losing both people and money, and ultimately nothing at all.

Even if you want to help her, you have to be mindful of your approach.

Otherwise, given her family's reputation in the neighborhood, people would very likely assume she had ulterior motives.

The place was located on a street with many people coming and going, and it wasn't far from No. 22 Middle School. Soon, the two of them entered the school one after the other.

He Yushui took out a handkerchief, wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and then walked into the classroom through the front door.

Seeing that she had arrived safely, Yan Jiefang entered through the back door as usual.

In the following days, He Yushui acted as usual, as if the previous incident was just an isolated event.

He naturally stopped paying attention.

After all, Yan Jiefang had watched the TV series and knew that He Yushui married a policeman in 1966 and lived peacefully until the end of the series in the 1990s.

As the time for the preliminary exam draws closer, the entire third year of junior high school is becoming increasingly tense.

According to the current regulations, if you do not participate in the preliminary exam or fail the preliminary exam, you cannot participate in the subsequent graduation exam and therefore will not receive a junior high school diploma.

A junior high school graduation certificate from this period still has some value and cannot be completely ignored.

Most factories require a junior high school diploma for formal recruitment and apprenticeships; without it, there is a very high chance of being rejected outright.

Even for substitute jobs, there are usually educational requirements.

Obviously, having this diploma can avoid many problems.

As a result, many students who had been on leave at home returned to school.

The previously empty seats in the classroom were all filled.

The number of students in Class 3(3) has surged from more than 40 to nearly 60.

In order to improve students' grades as much as possible, the school stipulates that an extra period will be added after the last class in the afternoon for the third grade.

The content of this lesson was arranged after discussion between the homeroom teacher and the subject teachers.

Because of the extra class, Yan Jiefang basically had no time to collect coal cinders after school.

This made Yan Bugui very unhappy.

He felt that Yan Jiefang's grades were more than enough for either high school or vocational school, and that making up the last class was a complete waste of time.

Therefore, he made a special trip to No. 22 Middle School and spoke to the homeroom teacher to ask Yan Jiefang to be exempted from tutoring and go home as usual.

Yan Jiefang's grades have consistently ranked first in the third grade of junior high school at No. 22 Middle School, making him the pride of Class 3 and bringing honor to his homeroom teacher.

Now is the time to be courageous and enterprising, but Yan Bugui suddenly pulled this stunt.

This made the homeroom teacher very unhappy, but the other party was a student's parent, and even though the two had a big argument, it still couldn't change Yan Bugui's scheming mind.

You can't fight city hall.

Unfortunately, I had no choice but to approve it.

I am just an ordinary primary school teacher. I stood up to the head teacher of a graduating class of junior high school students and won.

This matter pleased Yan Bugui greatly, both in terms of its practical benefits and its prestige.

That evening, even the pickled mustard greens in the house were given to each person as an extra piece.

Yan Bugui might loosen his grip slightly only on things like shredded pickled vegetables, which are practically worthless; he wouldn't touch anything else.

After all, the ironclad rule that "you won't get poor from eating or dressing, but you will get poor if you don't plan ahead" must never be shaken.

Of course, Yan Bugui had already made it clear to the teacher that he would absolutely not attend the school's evening self-study sessions.

Studying in the evening requires a lot of physical effort; isn't that a waste of food?

A few days later, in the evening, the Yan family was eating cornbread when Yan Bugui mentioned at the table that a general meeting of the entire compound would be held that evening, and casually gave the following instructions:

"Jiefang, have you finished eating? Now go and inform all the residents in the front yard that there will be a general meeting in the middle yard later, and every household must send someone to attend."

Upon hearing this, Yan Jiefang finished his bowl of corn noodles and boiled water in one gulp, then looked at Yan Bugui.

After thinking it over, I realized that I didn't have enough resources to confront him right now, so I decided to wait a while.

He pulled Yan Jiekuang, who was carefully chewing on salted radish shreds, to his feet:

"Let's go together."

After going outside, he looked around, took half a sweet potato out of his pocket (his spatial storage), handed it to his skinny third brother who looked like a monkey, and whispered instructions:

"Eat it, but don't let anyone else know."

Yan Jiekuang looked at the sweet potato in his hand, feeling very pleasantly surprised, but still declined it, lowering his voice:

"Second brother, you eat by yourself. You're big, so you won't be able to keep up with the hunger. I'm small, so I can barely manage."

Yan Jiefang, with a stern face, took out the same half of a sweet potato:

"Stop talking nonsense, just eat what I'm told to eat, I have more."

Yan Jiekuang looked at the two seemingly identical sweet potatoes, no longer refusing, and took a small bite of the cold sweet potato, feeling the sweetness reach his heart.

He didn't finish it all at once. After taking a few bites, he put the rest in his pocket and hid it, planning to save it for tomorrow.

There are six people in the family, and only the second brother occasionally gives him a cornbread made from mixed grains, allowing him to feel a little warmth in this cold world.

Everyone else, except for the naive younger sister, was scheming!

The front yard was only so big, and the two brothers quickly notified everyone.

Nearly half an hour later, almost all the residents of the courtyard house had gathered in the central courtyard.

Before the three elderly men arrived, some residents who had gathered in the courtyard began to whisper among themselves.

One of the middle-aged men, who had a goatee, whispered:

"My heart skipped a beat when I heard that the meeting would be held at the Intermediate People's Court."

The resident next to him tugged at his sleeve and lowered his voice:

"Don't let anyone hear you say that, or you'll be in big trouble! Yi Zhonghai, that childless man, is not someone to be trifled with."

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man, though somewhat frightened, still slightly stiffened his neck, though his voice was barely audible:

"If they dare to do it, why can't people talk about it! Every meeting at the Intermediate People's Court is never good; it's either about donating money to the Jia family or dealing with disputes between Jia Zhangshi and other residents!"

The person next to him quickly pulled him again:

"Old Li, you don't want to live in this courtyard anymore?! Remember Old Qian? It's better to pay up than to suffer further! It's better to pay up than to suffer further!"

. . .

Yan Jiefang stood under the covered walkway, looking at the residents in the courtyard with great interest.

This was the first time he had personally attended the grand assembly of the renowned Siheyuan (courtyard house), and also the first time he had seen almost all the beasts in the courtyard.

After a while, Sha Zhu moved his nearly broken square table to the open space he had specially left in the middle of the yard, and then brought out three long benches and placed them next to the table.

Then, he moved the last bench out of his house and placed it not far from the table, then sat on the bench with his arms crossed.

Immediately afterwards, Qin Huairu also brought out a long bench from her home.

To be fair, Qin Huairu, who is in her twenties and has already had two children, is still quite good-looking and has a great figure.

In courtyard number 95, built in 61, it was even more outstanding.

After all, at this time, Lou Xiao'e, Yu Li, and Qin Jingru, who are also considered beauties, have not yet married into the family.

Her alluring figure immediately attracted the attention of many lecherous old men.

Sha Zhu wished he could weld his eyes to Qin Huairu.

Yan Jiefang glanced at him twice and then looked away. He saw his third uncle, Yan Bugui, walking over with an enamel cup in his hand.