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

Human affairs cannot withstand constant nagging. For example, in the mythological era, even the Golden Immortal, who was targeted by the Seven Arrows Book of Nailheads, could not escape death.

This approach seems to work in the courtyard house at the center of the myriad worlds as well.

For example, the laundry girl by the pool in the central courtyard.

She was originally waiting here for Sha Zhu's lunchbox, but she never expected that what she would receive was Jia Dongxu's coffin.

It is said that he was working in the workshop when he was hit on the head by a steel workpiece falling from the sky, his brains splattered, and he died on the spot.

That means there's no more pain.

The news of Jia Dongxu's death caused an uproar in the courtyard.

Upon hearing this, Jia Zhangshi stiffened, then her legs gave way and she collapsed to the ground, immediately breaking down in tears.

"When the sun sets and darkness falls, Old Jia Dongxu returns home. You two are heartless. How will the orphan and widow survive?"

Old Jia, Dongxu, come up here quickly!

Come quickly and take all these beasts away from the yard! Take all the people from the steel mill away too!

I'm not going to live anymore either!

..."

As Jia Zhangshi slapped the ground, she sang and cursed, venting all her resentment outwards.

He insisted that it was the Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill that exploited its workers, causing his son's death.

The neighbors around her didn't help the Jia family on a regular basis, and hadn't donated money to them for several months. Seeing the Jia family suffering from hunger and cold, living such a miserable life, she held a grudge against them all and cursed them all.

Qin Huairu stood there, stiff and motionless.

Jia Dongxu was her support in the city, the one who helped her raise her two children. With his departure, her pillar of support collapsed.

Her eyes were vacant, her face expressionless, and she couldn't hear a word anyone said. She just stood there blankly for a long time.

After a while, she bent down and picked up the elm wood mallet she usually used for washing clothes by the pool. Without saying a word, she walked to the makeshift coffin.

He tapped the coffin planks gently with a mallet, one tap after another, while muttering something in a low, soft voice so that no one could hear what he was saying.

She neither cried nor made a fuss; her expression was numb and lifeless. This abnormal behavior frightened the women and children in the courtyard, who all retreated. No one dared to step forward, much less approach to comfort her.

Now that Yi Zhonghai is serving his sentence in a labor camp, the prison no longer has its former core leadership.

Yan Bugui became the only remaining liaison and steward in the compound.

With things having come to this point, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and step forward, taking the lead in assigning tasks and arranging for neighbors to help with the funeral arrangements and setting up the mourning shed.

Upon seeing this, Liu Haizhong immediately stepped forward and took the initiative to assign tasks and give instructions.

He gestured to his neighbors to move timber, set up tables and chairs, and demarcate the area for receiving guests.

He had long since lost his title of "second uncle," and with no one following his orders for so long, his urge to be in charge had kicked in, and he was enjoying the feeling of commanding everyone, keeping himself extremely busy.

Sha Zhu looked at Qin Huairu, who was numb and haggard beside the coffin, and felt a pang of heartache.

He felt that Qin Huairu was a woman of great loyalty and affection, and he was deeply moved.

Without needing to be told, they took the initiative to do the heavy work, moving tables and chairs, running errands, and purchasing funeral supplies. They were busy with everything and did their best throughout the process.

While everyone else was helping with the funeral arrangements, Jia Zhangshi wiped away her tears and went straight to the gate of the steel rolling mill.

He lay down in the middle of the gate, throwing a tantrum, crying and wailing.

"The sun has set and darkness has fallen... Oh God! The factory killed my son! They must give us the full compensation! They must make proper arrangements for me and my child! If they don't give us an explanation, I'll die right here at the factory gate!"

She blocked the door and cried, attracting onlookers. The factory's personnel department and security department were overwhelmed by her and had a headache. All their attempts to persuade her were almost to no avail.

After several rounds of negotiation, the factory implemented the employee replacement policy in accordance with regulations, and approved Qin Huairu to replace Jia Dongxu in his position, join the steel rolling mill, and become a formal state-owned worker.

Along with Banggeng, Xiaodang, and their two children, their household registrations were all transferred to non-agricultural urban household registrations in Beijing.

With their household registration settled and grain and oil rations distributed, the Jia family's future food ration pressure will be directly halved.

According to relevant regulations, a one-time funeral allowance of 120 yuan will be given to the deceased's family (Qin Huairu). (Average monthly salary 40 * 3)

Since Qin Huairu is pregnant and unsuitable to take over the job, and the number of dependents is greater than or equal to 3, a survivor's pension equal to 50% of the deceased (Jia Dongxu)'s salary will be paid monthly until the children reach the age of 16, the spouse remarries, or the deceased takes over the job.

Jia Dongxu is a level 2 fitter, and his monthly salary is 41.5 yuan.

In other words, before Qin Huairu takes over the post next year, they can receive a survivor's pension of 41.5/2 = 20.75 yuan per month.

(The above information is all from online sources and should be true and valid.)

In a corner of the courtyard, Xu Damao stood with his arms crossed, making a sarcastic and mocking sound:

"Silly Zhu, you're really destined to be a workaholic. While other people's husbands die, you run around spending money and effort, always sticking to Qin Huairu, a complete simp."

They're a family, and you're nobody, so you'll definitely end up with nothing!

"I'm destined to be Jia Dongxu's crony for life, I deserve to be a bachelor forever!"

These words struck a nerve with Sha Zhu, and without a word, he clenched his fist and punched Xu Damao in the face. The two immediately began to fight.

Seeing this, Xu Fugui, who was not far away, immediately rushed forward to help his son.

The father and son worked together and quickly subdued Sha Zhu, pinning him to the ground.

Just as the fist was about to land, He Daqing quickly stepped forward, separated the three people with his hand, and said in a deep voice:

"My son acted impulsively and was wrong. It's also against the rules for you and your son to team up to beat someone. This matter ends here."

With a few words, he protected Sha Zhu and then pulled him up from the ground.

With two against two, the Xu family didn't have much of a chance of winning, so Xu Fugui pulled his son and turned to leave.

The fight ended there.

The funeral process continued, and in accordance with factory regulations, the deceased were cremated at the East Suburb Crematorium.

Jia Dongxu's body was sent to the crematorium.

This time, Liu Guangtian happened to be on duty, and he personally pushed Jia Dongxu's body into the crematorium.

Union personnel accompanied the entire process, and all expenses were deducted from the 120 yuan funeral allowance.

After the ashes were retrieved, they quickly buried them in the nearby eastern suburban cemetery.

The remaining 80 yuan for funeral expenses had just been given to Qin Huairu when Jia Zhangshi snatched it away and went home.

The courtyard hosted a banquet with four tables for guests. Yan Bugui, taking advantage of his position as the person in charge, used the pretext of preparing funeral meals to specially purchase a small amount of white flour, pork, and coarse grains, and led the entire Yan family to eat and drink to their hearts' content, taking the opportunity to improve their family's meals.

When Jia Zhangshi turned her head and saw the Yan family eating meat and drinking soup, she was instantly filled with rage and rushed over to tear Yan Bugui apart.

"My son just passed away, and you and your whole family are splurging on my funeral feast! You're truly heartless and rotten!"

Yan Bugui dodged to the side and retorted confidently:

"I'm in charge of organizing and running errands, so it's only right that I accept the banquet as a reward. That's always been the rule in the compound, and your complaints won't change anything!"

The two started arguing and pulling at each other, but were forcibly separated by Liu Haizhong and others.

With that, Jia Dongxu was completely gone, forever remaining in the cold winter of the 1960s.

Yi Zhonghai, far away at Qinghe Farm, was unaware of this matter and continued to curse the Jia family in the dead of night.

Of course, Yan Jiefang, who lived more than ten kilometers away, was also unaware of this.

At this time, he was adapting "Me and My Motherland," a song that would not be created for more than 20 years.