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

Dinner was the same old thing at home, hard cornbread with a few strands of pickled vegetables for seasoning, and a bowl of cornmeal porridge so thin you could see your reflection in it. It was bland and tasteless, with no oil at all.

My eldest brother, Yan Jiecheng, is now a full-time worker, earning a fixed salary of 32.5 yuan per month. The factory has also allocated two rooms in the front yard for him to live in.

However, he still ate with his family and never had the chance to separate and live independently.

Knowing the future events, Yan Jiefang understood perfectly well that even after Yan Jiecheng and Yu Li got married, they still couldn't escape Yan Bugui's control for more than ten years. It wasn't until after the reform and opening up that their situation improved slightly, by which time he was already over forty.

Yan Jiefang was determined not to repeat the same mistake and secretly resolved that he would separate from the family and move out by the time he graduated from high school at the latest.

He'll be driven crazy by this abacus all the time!

At that point, let alone living to 80, even 60 will be a long shot!

The atmosphere at the dinner table was somber and oppressive; none of the brothers had much of an appetite.

Yan Jiefang hastily ate a few mouthfuls of porridge, put down his chopsticks, got up from the table, went to his room, grabbed his bag, and went out.

Yan Jiekuang hesitated for a moment, then silently got up, went to his room to pick up his schoolbag, and followed his second brother away.

Recently, Yan Jiefang and Yan Jiekuang's complexion has been improving day by day, and their figures have also grown rapidly. The family members who are good at managing money have long noticed this.

Yan Bugui immediately gave his eldest son a wink.

Yan Jiecheng didn't rush to respond, but pointed to the few remaining salted vegetable dishes on the table.

Despite being displeased by his eldest son's scheme, Yan Bugui nodded in tacit approval.

Yan Jiecheng immediately beamed with joy, quickly scooped the remaining dozen or so shredded pickled vegetables from the plate into his own bowl, ate them in one bite, and then stood up quickly, following his two younger brothers at a distance.

Yan Jiefang noticed that his eldest brother, Yan Jiecheng, was following behind him, so he immediately pulled his third brother and wandered around the intricate alleyways. Before long, they had him completely disoriented.

After shaking off their pursuers, the two brothers changed course and headed towards Shichahai.

As dusk approached, everyone was at home having dinner, and the lakeside was sparsely populated and much quieter.

We'll have to wait a little longer before the neighborhood men who have finished eating come out for a stroll to digest their food.

Reaching a willow tree, Yan Jiefang stopped, took out two cold sweet potatoes from his bag, and handed one to Yan Jiekuang beside him: "Jiekuang, eat this."

"Thank you, Second Brother!" Yan Jiekuang quickly accepted the gift with both hands, his eyes filled with joy.

These days, sweet potatoes aren't exactly a rare food, but compared to the dry, hard-to-cough coarse grain bread at home, they're a much better option.

He ate slowly and deliberately, finding the food exceptionally delicious and satisfying.

Yan Jiefang had his own thoughts. Although he wanted to improve his third brother's meals, he dared not be too ostentatious.

Large meat buns are too conspicuous and could easily arouse suspicion and cause unforeseen problems, so these days we mostly bring out sweet potatoes instead, keeping a low profile and avoiding any inquiries.

Yan Jiekuang was too young. Although he seemed intelligent, his thinking was not yet mature, and he was easily swayed by others to tell the truth.

The two brothers finished eating the sweet potatoes before it got completely dark.

Yan Jiefang first calmed down and practiced Tai Chi a few times to stretch his muscles and bones. Then, while it was still light, he took out his books to study writing methods and key points.

This matter concerns his legitimate source of income in the short term, so there's no room for carelessness; naturally, he has to put in a lot of hard work to perfect it.

Yan Jiekuang squatted on the stone steps to the side and began to do his homework.

The two do not affect each other.

An hour or so passed in a flash, and dusk completely fell, the sky over the streets and alleys was now completely dark.

The two brothers packed their belongings and, under the cover of night, slowly made their way back towards the courtyard house.

As Yan Jiefang walked along, he lowered his head and pondered, silently deciding on the direction for his subsequent novels or short stories. At the same time, he planned to borrow relevant materials about the War of Resistance against Japan from the library system as soon as possible to enrich his writing material.

He had previously visited the Capital Library and the East Fourth District Library to conduct preliminary research and had a thorough understanding of their collections.

In particular, the Capital Library, located in the Imperial College, has an extremely complete collection of historical materials related to the War of Resistance Against Japan. The library also has a complete set of "China in the War of Resistance Against Japan" reprinted by the government in the 1950s.

Its content is all-encompassing, covering all aspects of information on the political situation, military situation, people's livelihood, economy and cultural development during the War of Resistance Against Japan.

In addition, there are various border area publications, battlefield documentary reports, and literary works from the base areas, which are valuable collections that are sufficient to support him in writing various realistic and detailed anti-Japanese short stories.

Yan Jiefang knew that in the present era, the theme of the Red War of Resistance Against Japan was the safest and most orthodox creative direction.

As long as you steadily hone your writing skills, accumulate materials, and improve your writing abilities, earning royalties through submitting and publishing articles is definitely a stable, respectable, and promising path.

In the alley at night, a breeze carrying a bit of dust blew. Yan Jiefang, walking ahead, stood tall and walked steadily, exuding a spirited demeanor rarely seen in young people.

Yan Jiekuang, who was following closely behind, looked up at his second brother's back and was filled with admiration.

His self-confidence was greatly boosted, and he wanted to become like his second brother.

Yan Jiekuang quickly quickened his pace, catching up with Yan Jiefang and walking side by side with him. He looked up at Yan Jiefang with a youthful yet earnest face, his eyes filled with pleading and longing.

"Second brother, what should I do to become as capable as you?"

Yan Jiefang turned his head upon hearing the sound and looked at the pure desire for advancement in his younger brother's eyes.

He slowed his pace, pondered for a moment, and then spoke:

"There are no shortcuts to becoming capable and breaking free from your current situation. Study hard and accumulate knowledge solidly; this will be your foundation for life. Also, strive to get into an agricultural and forestry school..."

Yan Jiefang suddenly stopped speaking at this point.

The second brother, Yan Jiekuang, and most of his generation had really bad luck. He happened to be born during the period when the wind was at its strongest, and he probably wouldn't even be able to graduate from junior high school.

I remember in the TV series, the third brother went to the countryside as an educated youth at the end of 68, right?

Yan Jiefang racked his brains and quickly came up with a solution that was not a solution at all: skip a grade!

The third brother would have to skip at least three grades to avoid that storm, complete junior high school graduation, and obtain a certificate of completion or a diploma.

This was in 65, the last chance for students to graduate and continue their education normally during this period!

By June 1966, junior high schools would be completely closed, and even the high school entrance exam would be canceled, not to mention anything else.

Skipping three years of courses... that's a level of difficulty that most people can't achieve, let alone someone like Yan Jiekuang who lacks food and clothing.

It seems we need to make arrangements for our third brother's escape route in advance.

It would be best to first increase his age, then buy him a job before the wind picks up and let him fill in for him.

Yan Jiekuang was listening when, for some reason, his second brother suddenly stopped talking. Just as he was wondering about this, he heard his second brother continue:

"Jie Kuang, your grades are pretty good right now, but you need to work even harder! While mastering the current courses, if you have extra time, try to study the later material on your own and strive to be at the top!"

He nodded emphatically, his eyes no longer showing much of his former inferiority and confusion, but instead shining with a determined light. He firmly remembered his second brother's words, and his heart was filled with the strength to move forward.