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

After Yi Zhonghai's case came to light, the deaf elderly woman has been working tirelessly to secure her retirement.

He used almost all the connections he had built up throughout his life, asking around for favors, hoping to save Yi Zhonghai and his wife from the lawsuit.

Her first stop was the steel mill where she asked Sha Zhu to carry her to find Director Yang.

Factory Director Yang waved his hand, looking embarrassed.

"Madam, the case has been transferred to the judiciary, and the evidence is complete. The factory has no authority to interfere with the court's judgment. I really can't help you. You should think of another way."

The deaf old woman refused to give up and went to see Director Wang of the neighborhood committee again.

Director Wang sighed:

"Madam, you may not understand, but civil mediation is under the jurisdiction of the neighborhood committee. We don't have the final say in cases that violate national laws."

Upon hearing this, the deaf old woman knew that Director Wang couldn't help.

She could only rush to the police station to meet with Chief Zhang, which was her last official relationship in 49 cities.

Director Zhang spoke frankly in a low voice:

"The case file has already been submitted for approval, and the case handling process is in compliance with regulations. No one can change the outcome on their own. Besides, this case has already been taken over by the branch office. Given my limited abilities and rank, I am truly powerless to do anything about it."

After failing to get anywhere at all three places, the deaf old woman returned home and pondered for a long time. She then found a small box hidden in the shadows, took out ten small yellow croakers from it, and went straight to the He family's door.

The door opened, and He Daqing and his family of three were sitting inside. All three looked unwell, as if they had had an argument earlier.

The deaf old woman glanced outside the door, walked to the table and sat down, then instructed Sha Zhu:

"Dala Sun, go close the door."

Sha Zhu obediently got up and closed the door, blocking the view from outside.

The deaf old woman arranged the small yellow croakers on the table, their dazzling golden light blinding Sha Zhu and He Daqing.

Their breathing became somewhat rapid.

"Zhu Zi, Zhong Hai has taken care of you and your siblings a lot in the hospital all his life. Now that he's in trouble, I'm giving you these things as a reward. Please take the rainwater to the police station to submit the settlement agreement and help them drop the charges."

(There were no letters of understanding in the 60s, but there were similar settlement agreements. I originally wanted to provide an old photo of it, but it was rejected during the review process, so I had to give up. I'm so sorry.)

He Daqing's gaze fell on the gold bars:

"Grandma, we can issue a settlement agreement, but can the court give us a lighter sentence?"

I only stated that I would not pursue the matter further; the specific ruling would be determined by the court.

He Yuzhu was also staring at the gold bars on the table:

"We can do this as long as it can help Uncle Yi get a reduced sentence."

The father and son made the decision for He Yushui without asking for her opinion.

He Daqing accepted all the small yellow croakers, saying that he would give one to Sha Zhu after the case was over.

Sha Zhu was still somewhat afraid of his father, who hadn't made a name for himself, so he could only reluctantly agree.

Fortunately, he was content. He would give the little yellow croaker directly to Sister Qin, which would definitely be a great help to her.

She won't have to worry about not having enough breast milk for her baby!

The following day, He Daqing took He Yushui to the police station and declared in person that he understood Yi Zhonghai and would waive civil liability.

Not long after, the court's verdict was officially issued.

Yi Zhonghai was sentenced to three years of labor reform. (According to research, this amount usually results in a sentence of 1-5 years. His case had mitigating circumstances, so the midpoint was taken. After both he and his wife have served their labor reform sentences, they will be classified as "black five categories," and they will suffer the consequences later.)

His wife, Li Cuilan, was an accomplice, but her circumstances were less serious, and she was sentenced to one year of labor reform.

The post office responsible for the relevant business also came up with a solution afterward.

One option was to fire the postman involved in the case and fill the vacant job opening with He Yushui.

In addition, considering that He Yushui was still in high school, she was granted part-time work and study permits on the spot.

During her three years of high school, she will enjoy similar benefits to vocational school students (food rations and stipends).

He Daqing, representing the He family, signed a document promising not to pursue the post office's mismanagement, and all parties reached a settlement.

The day after the court ruling, the steel rolling mill broadcast a message throughout the plant and posted a formal announcement on the bulletin board:

Yi Zhonghai was dismissed from his job at the steel rolling mill, and the labor reform sentence was made public.

Upon hearing this broadcast, employees who were unaware of the matter immediately began to discuss it amongst themselves.

Many people say that you can know a person's face but not their heart.

The news quickly spread back to courtyard house number 95, and all the residents gathered together to discuss it.

Inside the Jia family house, Madam Jia Zhang addressed Jia Dongxu and Qin Huairu:

"Yi Zhonghai has been sentenced to labor reform, and we can no longer rely on him to help our family. From today onwards, our Jia family will sever all ties with him."

Jia Dongxu nodded:

"It's best to cut ties completely to avoid getting involved in lawsuits and causing trouble."

Sitting to one side, Qin Huairu's expression changed slightly as she recalled her entanglement with Yi Zhonghai, vaguely sensing that trouble might be brewing in the future.

On the other side, He Daqing called Sha Zhu over.

"I heard that Qin Huairu, the daughter-in-law of the Jia family, borrowed several hundred yuan from you before? Now that the Jia family is doing well, let's go to their door and collect the debt."

Sha Zhu hesitated greatly:

"We're all neighbors in the same hospital, it's really disgraceful for them to come knocking on our door asking for money like this..."

This money is the bond between him and Sister Qin. If he goes to collect the debt, who knows what Sister Qin will think of him!

What if she gets angry and stops talking to me?

"Embarrassing? Several hundred dollars is not a small amount. Why should we give it away for free?"

He Daqing refused to budge an inch, dragging Sha Zhu straight to the Jia family's house.

He went in and immediately explained his purpose to the three people.

Only then did Jia Zhangshi and Jia Dongxu realize that Qin Huairu had secretly kept all the money on her person and had hardly handed it over to the household.

Jia Dongxu immediately became furious:

"We're always struggling to make ends meet, and you've been hiding so much money from us?"

Jia Zhangshi stepped forward, ready to make a move.

Qin Huairu hurriedly defended herself:

"I originally intended to gradually supplement my household income; I never thought of embezzling it."

Seeing Qin Huairu being beaten, Sha Zhu quickly stepped forward to separate the three of them:

"Stop fighting. You don't need to pay back this money. Consider it a favor to the Jia family."

He Daqing was so angry that he shouted angrily:

"You're the biggest fool in the world, willingly letting an entire family scheme against you!"

He Yuzhu simply lowered his head and remained silent.

Jia Dongxu and Jia Zhangshi never expected that things would take such a dramatic turn!

He Daqing was so angry that his face turned ashen. He grabbed Shazhu and turned to leave, and the Jia family closed the door.

Under duress from Jia Dongxu and Jia Zhangshi, Qin Huairu had no choice but to take out some banknotes from several different places.

The three sat around counting the money.

The tally was quickly completed, and the total came to 263.42 yuan!

Jia Zhangshi looked at the banknotes on the table:

"Qin Huairu, Sha Zhu is soft-hearted. In the future, you should find more excuses to continue to raise money from him."

Jia Dongxu echoed:

"As long as we keep him in check, our family's life will become more and more comfortable."

Qin Huairu nodded silently.

Jia Zhangshi pocketed all the banknotes on the table, leaving not a single penny.

Qin Huairu and Jia Dongxu were not surprised.