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

Chen Shuisheng and Pang Dahai, who were at the front, were about to put a sack over Yan Jiefang's head, while the other two followed behind, holding stool legs.

Although these people prepared in advance, they were malnourished and weak due to long-term lack of food, which made them move somewhat slowly.

Yan Jiefang, taking advantage of the system's features, improved his physical fitness significantly after more than a month of eating well and exercising, becoming much stronger than a healthy adult man.

As the other party swung the sack down hard, Yan Jiefang shifted his feet and took two steps back, easily dodging the attack.

Before the others could react, he immediately lunged forward, his feet moving with lightning speed, unleashing four kicks in quick succession.

Although he had no professional training, his superior physique alone caused his opponents to fall victim to his attacks one after another.

With several muffled thuds, four people fell to the ground one after another.

He always held back, never using his full strength, and always targeted the thickest parts of the flesh.

They were afraid of accidentally hurting these guys and causing more trouble later.

Subsequently, Yan Jiefang confiscated the tools used by these people in their crimes.

Although he had a pretty good idea of ​​why they had stopped him after recognizing them, he still planned to interrogate them one by one.

"Zhang Li, Lin Chaoxu, I don't recall us having any conflicts, right? Why are you two aiding and abetting the wicked?"

Although they were still lying on the ground, they were so angry that their faces turned red when they heard Yan Jiefang say that.

Zhang Li, his eyes red, growled:

"Yan Jiefang, are you pretending to be stupid?"

At the beginning of this school year, we brought a small bronze stove to our classroom to play with.

It was something we dug out with great difficulty in an abandoned yard.

As a result, it disappeared after you borrowed it!

I've asked you several times, but you just won't pay me back!

Although that stove is a bit damaged, it should still be worth a few cents at the recycling center, after all, it's made of copper!

Lin Chaoxu's face was also full of resentment.

Upon hearing Zhang Li's words, Yan Jiefang immediately retrieved this incident from the corner of his memory.

Back then, these two brought a mud-covered three-legged bronze stove to the classroom to show off.

The predecessor did indeed embezzle the fist-sized broken copper furnace. After school that day, he took it to the recycling station and sold it for less than 60 cents at the recycling price of 35 cents per pound for scrap copper.

He didn't keep the money; he gave it all to his eldest brother, Yan Jiecheng, to buy him some steamed buns.

Yan Jiefang also recalled seeing the six characters "Made in the Xuande Year of the Great Ming Dynasty" engraved on the bottom of the bronze furnace!

Judging from its shape, it is very likely a Qing Dynasty imitation, and given its severe damage, it is not very valuable.

He shook his head and took out 6 cents from his storage space:

"That broken stove has already been taken by the recycling station for less than six cents."

Now I'm proposing a solution: I'll draw up a written agreement, you sign it, and I'll give you the 6 cents, and our matter will be considered settled.

Zhang Li and Lin Chaoxu thought they wouldn't get any benefits this time, but unexpectedly, things took an unexpected turn.

In those times of scarcity, 6 cents was no small sum for these poor, half-grown children. If they used it sparingly, they could buy quite a lot of things!

If you still don't agree, wouldn't you be an idiot?

Their eyes were fixed on the six-cent banknote, and they nodded hurriedly in agreement.

Soon, the two sides reached an agreement.

Zhang Li and Lin Chaoxu got up, grabbed the money, and ran off happily.

Only three people remained at the scene.

Seeing Zhang Li and his group leave with so much money, Chen Shuisheng thought to himself:

My cornbread must be worth at least five cents, right? Maybe I should ask Yan Jiefang for five cents to settle this once and for all? Add that to the five cents he promised, and that'll be ten cents! Not bad at all!

As soon as he thought about it, he realized it was a good idea.

So he grinned and gave a distorted smile:

"Yan, we don't have any deep-seated grudges. Now that you've already hit me, just give me five cents, and I won't mention the cornbread incident anymore. We'll call it even! And I'll also tell you a secret: who exactly organized this behind the scenes."

Hearing this, Yan Jiefang was slightly puzzled. He hadn't expected there to be an organizer behind this.

In the blink of an eye, he basically guessed the most likely candidate—Yi Zhongtian.

However, he nodded slightly and took out a five-cent coin:

"Tell me, is it Yi Zhongtian?"

Chen Shuisheng and Pang Dahai's expressions both changed; they hadn't expected the other side to have figured it out so quickly.

Seeing their expressions, Yan Jiefang was already certain.

Chen Shuisheng gave his affirmation:

"Yes, that's him! That guy gave us five cents each to ambush you after school and beat you up. We didn't mean to mess with you, you see..."

With a flick of his finger, the coin in his hand tumbled and flew toward Chen Shuisheng, who happily caught it, got up, and left.

Now only Yan Jiefang and Pang Dahai, who were originally his deskmates, remain on the field.

Pang Dahai hunched over, squatting on the ground, head down, afraid to look at Yan Jiefang, lest he be beaten again.

Yan Jiefang glanced at him indifferently, then turned and left.

...

As the sun began to set in the west, Yan Bugui remained at his usual spot at the gate, craning his neck and peering out, looking just like a dedicated gatekeeper.

"snort!"

Noticing the second son returning, he glanced at him sideways, gave a light snort, and then turned back.

They didn't even notice the bronze medal on Yan Jiefang's chest.

Yan Jiefang was already used to this and didn't take it to heart at all.

When they reached the vicinity of the west wing, they saw Yang Ruihua and her younger sister Yan Jiedi busy at their respective tasks by the stove they had set up under the covered walkway.

Stepping into the house, it was quiet inside.

He knew perfectly well that his third son, Yan Jiekuang, had been sent out by his parents to collect coal ash and scrap to supplement the family income.

Yan Jiefang put away his backpack, picked up a few books he had borrowed from the library, and turned to walk out of the courtyard.

He first searched through several places where people usually collected scraps, but still couldn't find Yan Jiekuang. So he went straight to the freight coal yard of Di'anmen Railway Station.

Even from some distance from the coal yard, a thin, frail figure came into view.

The man was squatting alone beside the waste pile, digging at the cooled slag with his head down. It was Yan Jiekuang, the third brother.

Yan Jiefang used to come here often and knew the terrain and intricacies of the place very well.

He could tell at a glance that the spot Yan Jiekuang had chosen was the worst. There were hardly any decent coal nuggets left in the slag. Even if he spent half a day trying, he wouldn't find much to pick up; it would be a complete waste of time.

Nobody wants to come to this place. Only some lonely elderly people and young children without support will come here to try their luck.

Upon seeing the situation before him, Yan Jiefang's face darkened.

He quickened his pace and headed in that direction.