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

Qinghe Farm is located in Chadian, Ninghe, Hebei Province.

Built in 1950, it was the earliest and largest labor reform farm in 49 cities, about 150 kilometers away from 49 cities.

The old man Yi Zhonghai, whom everyone in the courtyard had been talking about, was sent here to work in a labor camp.

Unlike most prisoners who were tasked with clearing land for farming, he was assigned to the farm's repair shop because of his metalworking skills, where he continued his old trade. (Based on research; there is a real-life example.) (The author mentions old photos.)

The repair shop wasn't large; including Yi Zhonghai, there were a total of five fitter labor reform prisoners.

Their daily work involves repairing various farm tools and simple agricultural machinery, as well as fixing parts, to ensure the smooth operation of the entire farm.

In terms of skill, seniority, and rank, Yi Zhonghai, a seventh-level fitter, is undoubtedly the number one among the five.

He has a solid foundation; his skills in reading blueprints, polishing, matching shafts, and calibration are all top-notch.

But this is a labor reform farm, not the Red Star Steel Rolling Mill.

The repair shop has rudimentary equipment, consisting of old machine tools and hand tools. It mainly repairs crude farm implements, which do not require the fine skills of a level seven technician.

Most of the work can be easily handled by a regular first or second-level fitter.

The remaining four fitters included laid-off workers from state-owned factories and workshop technicians, each possessing their own skills.

No one needed his guidance, and no one respected his former seventh-level title.

In this place, everyone is reforming themselves while serving their sentences, and everyone is equal in status. No one is inferior to anyone else, and no one will tolerate a corrupt official who has fallen from grace.

For the first two weeks after arriving at the repair shop, Yi Zhonghai deliberately kept a low profile.

He worked diligently and was taciturn, quietly observing the factory's rules, the conduct of the guards, and the temperaments of the other prisoners.

Once he had a general idea of ​​the environment, his old habit relapsed.

He was unwilling to succumb to despair and wanted to regain the sense of dominance he once had in the courtyard.

If he could take control of this repair shop, his life wouldn't be much worse than it was in the yard.

Looking at the youngest fitter in the factory who had served the shortest time in prison, he had the idea of ​​taking him on as an apprentice to establish his authority.

During the lunch break, Yi Zhonghai took the initiative to approach and adopted the demeanor of a senior.

"Young man, I see that your work technique is rough, and many parts are not up to standard."

The young fitter glanced at him indifferently, but didn't reply.

Yi Zhonghai continued to induce:

"I am a level 7 fitter, and I came from a reputable factory, Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill."

You're just wasting your time here in prison. Why don't you become my apprentice and I'll teach you real skills step by step?

After I leave, at least I'll have a reliable skill to rely on, so I won't suffer any losses.

He thought this was a great thing, and the other party would surely be extremely grateful.

To everyone's surprise, the young fitter merely scoffed after hearing this, then lowered his head to continue polishing the parts, his tone indifferent:

"It's the same whether you learn it or not."

Yi Zhonghai frowned:

"How can they be the same? With a skill, you can go anywhere in the world; without a skill, you can't even take a step."

The young fitter finally looked up, his eyes clear and unwavering.

"Master Yi, don't waste your time. People like us have been classified as 'black five categories' since the day we came in."

No matter how many years we serve, it will be recorded in our files forever, and state-owned factories will never take us in again.

What's the point of learning the best fitter skills if you can't find a factory job later?

Several veteran fitters nearby also turned their heads upon hearing this and chimed in.

"That's right, just stay here and wait out your sentence. Learning a skill is a complete waste of effort."

"Who would expect to make a living with their skills after being released from prison? It's good enough if they can just survive peacefully."

Everyone saw it clearly: one's class background determines one's future; no matter how good one's skills are, they will be useless outside.

No one wanted to be Yi Zhonghai's apprentice, and no one wanted to be under his command or be manipulated by him.

This time, Yi Zhonghai's attempt to win people over backfired spectacularly, and he gained absolutely nothing.

When his attempts to win him over failed, he resorted to his old tricks, constantly spouting rhetoric about respecting the elderly and caring for the young, and about seniority.

The repair shop has a fixed working hours of ten hours a day, with a lot of varied work and extremely low food standards.

Breakfast and lunch consist of thin porridge with hard cornbread, occasionally with a little pickled vegetables, and oil is rarely seen.

Everyone is gritting their teeth and enduring it; no one has the extra energy to accommodate others.

When assigning workpiece tasks, everyone else was doing regular batches, but Yi Zhonghai complained that the quantity was too large and started lecturing on the spot.

"I'm the oldest, and my physical strength can't keep up with the younger people."

People can't just think of themselves. It's only right that you young people share more of the burden.

Upon hearing this, several prisoners immediately lost their patience and retorted on the spot.

"Respecting the elderly? Respecting the elderly means honoring honest and upright elderly people, not corrupt and erroneous prisoners."

"When you were earning a high salary and enjoying good treatment, why didn't you think about being humble and content?"

Now that they're down on their luck, they're suddenly starting to talk about rules and age?

"Everyone is undergoing the same transformation, so why are you being treated differently?"

If you don't want to work, just tell the managers. Don't try to morally blackmail us here.

A few harsh words left Yi Zhonghai speechless, his face turning pale and then red.

He frequently used his seniority to intimidate others, used moral blackmail to take advantage of others, and shirked his duties. The guards saw all of this and gradually became extremely disgusted with him.

Soldiers adhere to discipline and will not initiate corporal punishment or illegal punishment of prisoners, but they will never protect a corrupt criminal who repeatedly refuses to reform and considers himself meritorious.

To tacitly approve of this attitude is to give the greatest leniency to the other prisoners.

The prisoners in the factory were all seasoned veterans; they instantly understood the political climate and immediately began their underhanded tactics against Yi Zhonghai.

They never confront others directly, but instead target loopholes in the rules, leaving no room for anyone to find fault with them.

When he was getting food at mealtime, someone deliberately stood behind him and took half of his steamed bun while he was washing his hands and wiping his utensils.

He was left with only small scraps, which meant he was always hungry and his strength was constantly depleted.

When tasks were assigned, the group tacitly switched roles, piling all the most tedious, rework-prone, and physically demanding tasks of repairing old farm tools onto him.

While working, people would occasionally move his measuring tools or hide his small tools, causing him to waste a lot of time on useless things.

Even when he was resting at night, some people would deliberately make noise by turning over or talking in hushed tones, making him unable to sleep soundly every night.

Yi Zhonghai was exhausted both physically and mentally, and could no longer bear it. He took the initiative to report to the soldiers on duty on several occasions.

"Comrades, they are deliberately targeting me, stealing my rations, switching my assignments, and secretly sabotaging me. Please handle this matter impartially!"

The soldier's expression was indifferent, and he proceeded with his business as usual.

"Who is targeting you? Produce the specific time, the specific actions, and the witness testimony."

Yi Zhonghai was speechless for a moment.

These seasoned veterans are extremely skilled; all their attacks are carried out covertly, with no witnesses, no evidence, and no one admitting to anything.

Every report ended up being just empty words and no real action was taken.

Repeated appeals yielded no results, and the continuous hunger, exhaustion, targeting, and suppression completely wore down Yi Zhonghai's patience.

He completely lost his composure and exploded in public.

On the day he finished work and lined up, he roared angrily in front of all the prisoners and soldiers on duty.

"I have dedicated my entire life to industrial work, working diligently for decades and making contributions to the country's development!"

I only made a mistake that any ordinary person would make, but I accepted reform, confessed my crime and accepted punishment. You not only don't have any sympathy for the old worker, but you also condoned the prisoners to gang up on me and bully me!

You're colluding with the prisoners to deliberately suppress meritorious workers!

These words openly question discipline and challenge order.

The soldier on duty's expression instantly turned cold and stern. He didn't get angry or argue on the spot, but simply raised his hand and made a very subtle gesture.

The prisoners present all understood what was going on.

From that moment on, everyone stopped making small-scale disturbances and intensified their efforts.

He was given all the heavy and dirty work, his food rations were often depleted, and his tools mysteriously disappeared every day.

Even if he works through the night to finish a task, the details will be secretly changed the next day, forcing him to redo it repeatedly.

Yi Zhonghai was in dire straits, with nowhere to turn for help and no use in appealing.

The once high-ranking seventh-level fitter was tortured to the point of losing all dignity and becoming miserable in this labor reform repair shop, unable to even get a full meal.

Even so, he wouldn't look for the reasons within himself; he would only blame everything on others.

He often reviewed the events before and after his arrest, and felt that He Yushui would never have imagined that he would go to the post office to check on the remittance.

There must be someone else pulling the strings behind the scenes.

When he gets back, he must find the traitor who ruined his retirement plans and forced him into labor camp!