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

After the banquet ended, He Yushui returned alone to the small and simple side room, feeling a mix of emotions and a chill in her heart.

She knew better than anyone else that her brother, Shazhu, had been manipulated by Qin Huairu time and time again over the years, losing all his savings, making sacrifices in vain, and suffering endless burdens.

She repeatedly tried to persuade her brother to stay away from the Jia family and stop helping and indulging them, but Sha Zhu always refused, citing Qin Jie's situation as an orphan and widow, and her difficult life. He continued to do things his own way.

The absurdity and callousness of today's private banquet have chilled her heart, making her determination to escape the courtyard house stronger than ever before.

She was filled with envy for Yan Jiefang's bright future.

During the day, she specifically consulted Teacher Chang to thoroughly understand the generous benefits of top-tier vocational schools, and her heart was filled with sighs and regrets.

Yan Jiefang attended a radio industry school with excellent benefits: tuition and fees were waived, the school provided room and board, he enjoyed free medical care, and he received a monthly living allowance of one yuan.

What's most enviable is the graduation benefits. Students are automatically given cadre status and are uniformly assigned to work in state-owned enterprises. Even during the internship, the monthly salary is more than 30 yuan, which is comparable to the income of Sha Zhu today.

Such a stable, respectable, and promising future is an opportunity that countless people dream of.

Unfortunately, her score wasn't high enough for her desired vocational school, so she had to settle for a regular high school.

A single thought can lead to a world of difference in the future.

At that moment, He Yushui secretly vowed to study hard, make progress, seize every opportunity, and escape from this cold, hypocritical, and selfish courtyard house as soon as possible, so as to break free from the current predicament.

...

On August 1st, Yan Jiefang's debut short story, "Little Hero Gangzi," consisting of more than 5000 words, was successfully published.

Although the publication of this article was expected, it still made Yan Jiefang more determined to make money through writing.

After all, this is a perfectly legitimate way to make money, and the money earned is actually no less than the workers' wages.

It's even more than the wages of most workers.

He continued writing diligently, and after another half month, a total of one and a half months, he finally finished writing the 50,000-word novella "Bloodstained Charge" in mid-August.

He didn't rush to submit his work, planning to wait until he started vocational school before gradually organizing and submitting it, and steadily planning his creative income.

At the end of August, the money order from the post office was delivered to the courtyard house.

The editorial department sent two brand-new sample copies, along with a remittance of forty yuan as payment for the manuscript.

For a new author, a payment of eight yuan per thousand words is quite normal.

A royalties of 40 yuan was definitely not a small amount in 1961; it was equivalent to more than a month's basic wage for an ordinary worker.

Getting a wife might not even cost this much money.

As soon as the money arrived, Yan Bugui and his wife's eyes lit up with greed, and their minds immediately began to race with scheming.

Yan Bugui didn't want to wait a moment longer and immediately said:

"Second son, you've earned such a large sum of money from your writing. Your family has worked so hard to raise you, so it's time for you to be filial to your family!"

It's your duty to contribute at least twenty yuan to help with household expenses!

Faced with his mother's self-righteous demands, Yan Jiefang remained indifferent, offering no response whatsoever and showing no sway whatsoever.

Seeing that Yan Jiefang was unresponsive to reason, Yan Bugui and his wife simply began to incite all the children in the family to band together and exert pressure.

The eldest brother, Yan Jiecheng, the third brother, Yan Jiekuang, and the fourth brother, Yan Jiedi, were all nagged and persuaded by them, who tried to force Yan Jiefang to pay up the money.

Upon hearing that there was a share of the benefits, Yan Jiecheng was immediately tempted and approached Yan Jiefang to persuade him with kind words.

Helping her parents, she was trying to persuade the second son to share his royalties with the whole family.

Young Yan Jiedi was ignorant and could not understand the adults' schemes. She only knew how to cry and make a fuss, asking her second brother for delicious food.

Only Yan Jiekuang understood the situation perfectly.

He clearly remembers that the improved meals and stable life his family enjoys now are all thanks to his second brother's strong opposition to their parents and his insistence on reasoning with them.

He knew his second brother's hardships and trusted his brother's opinions. No matter how his parents tried to sway him, he always stood firmly by his brother's side and was not tempted by any profit or gain.

His parents, older brother, and younger sister took turns bothering him, buzzing incessantly all day long, which annoyed Yan Jiefang.

In order to have some peace and quiet and avoid endless internal strife at home, Yan Jiefang finally relented and gave Yang Ruihua two yuan to buy a dried-out old hen after a lot of effort. The whole family then stewed the chicken to satisfy their cravings.

The long-awaited aroma of stewed chicken quickly filled the Yan family's small house, wafting out through the cracks in the doors and windows.

The entire courtyard was slowly immersed in the rich aroma of meat.

After who knows how many years, the Yan family finally had a proper meat and vegetable meal, which made all the neighbors in the courtyard peek out with envy.

When the aroma was at its strongest, Qin Huairu arrived right on time, carrying her ancestral heirloom rough porcelain bowl.

She stood pressed against the crack in the door, her eyes red-rimmed, looking pitiful and wronged, pleading:

"Third Uncle, please have pity on our Jia family! Only Dongxu earns a salary and has a food ration. It's so hard for our whole family to make ends meet!"

"Bang Geng has gotten so thin lately from hunger. Since you have so much chicken soup, could you spare some for us to help our child recover? We'll definitely pay you back when we have more money!"

Who in the courtyard doesn't know the Jia family's background?

The Jia family is the most discerning eater and eats the best in the entire hospital.

Bang Geng was well-fed and robust, while Jia Zhangshi was also quite plump, showing no signs of hunger whatsoever.

To put it bluntly, the Jia family is shameless and can't stand seeing others eat anything good; they just want to take advantage of others and freeload.

Qin Huairu pleaded and begged outside the door for a long time, but the Yan family still refused to open the door.

Jia Zhangshi, who was waiting at home for meat, was furious when Qin Huairu didn't bring back chicken soup. She rushed to the front yard on her bound feet.

The aroma of the meat was so enticing that her mouth watered, and her desire to take advantage of the situation grew stronger. She raised her hand and pounded hard on the door of the Yan family's house.

"Open the door! Open the door now! What right do you have to sneak around eating behind closed doors?!"

The Yan family members bolted the door shut and refused to open it.

Yan Bugui knew that the Jia family was being unreasonable and had no bottom line. The longer it dragged on, the more trouble there would be. He immediately told his family to eat.

The family didn't dare to delay and quickly devoured the chicken and soup in the pot. In no time, they had eaten it all up, even licking the last drop of oil from the bottom of the bowl, completely extinguishing the Jia family's hopes.

Unable to get through to the door, Jia Zhangshi's eyes darted around, and she immediately scolded Qin Huairu:

"What are you standing there for? Go and call Yi Zhonghai and Sha Zhu over here!"

I want to see if the Yan family can be so selfish and domineering, given the rules of the courtyard!

Qin Huairu ran off immediately. A short while later, Yi Zhonghai and Sha Zhu arrived angrily, followed closely by the deaf old woman.

As soon as Sha Zhu arrived at the front yard, he saw Qin Huairu with tears in her eyes, and his heart immediately leaned towards the Jia family.

In his eyes, Qin Huairu, a widow and orphan, had a hard life, and the Yan family's closed-door policy of eating meat and shunning their neighbors was simply heartless.

In a moment of impulsiveness, he disregarded all rules and reason, rushed forward, and rammed into her hard.

A loud crash!

The old wooden door was smashed open, and the latch broke on the spot.