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

This song is too sentimental and the rhythm is too slow, so it doesn't really suit the vibrant characteristics of the 60s.

Yan Jiefang looked at his songwriting and composition skills, which had reached over 65, and began his first arrangement.

A few days later, he looked at the new tune and tried humming it a few times, but he was still not satisfied.

However, there is still a long time to go. As skills continue to improve, one will surely be able to create rhythms that satisfy both oneself and others.

As for the lyrics, they are relatively simple for him now.

He could easily write several versions that fit the times.

It may not be particularly outstanding, but it certainly has no problem being full of the spirit of the times.

My country and I are united in life and death, forever in harmony.

Year after year we toil and strive, determined to reshape our landscape.

One generation after another, their hearts filled with lofty ambitions.

The mountains and rivers are radiant, the red flag flies high, and this prosperous age is built on hard work.

...

While engaging in various studies, creative work, and publications, his ball skills and physical strength were exceptionally outstanding.

Yan Jiefang had long been included in Coach Li's starting five-man roster for the basketball team, becoming the absolute core player.

His other classmates and seniors on the team also became his good friends.

When he "casually" mentioned wanting to buy a complete set of textbooks for grades 2 and 3, everyone rushed to offer their help.

A few days later, he obtained all the textbooks for the first, second, and third years of the three majors at Beiwu Electric Power University at the price he would pay for collecting scrap.

The old saying is true.

Having more friends means having more options; the more friends you have, the easier it is to travel.

Under Coach Li's leadership, the Beiwu Electric Basketball Team moved with great enthusiasm to the Jiuxianqiao and Dashanzi areas.

Shenma Factory 718, Factory 738, the Motor Factory, and even the former king Factory 774 were all defeated.

Yan Jiefang and the Beiwu Electric Basketball Team have become a household name.

Everyone knows that Beiwu Electric Power has produced a formidable figure this time, who single-handedly defeated everyone without any resistance.

Moreover, he was only a first-year student at a vocational high school. If nothing unexpected happens, the next three years will be the era of Beiwu Electric in the basketball scene of Jiuxianqiao and Dashanzi.

Many coaches and teachers who watched the game said that even the strongest city and provincial teams might not be a match for Beiwu Electric Power.

That child is way too much!

Scoring, dribbling, rebounding, passing, etc. are all top-notch; there are practically no weaknesses.

If you push him too far, he'll even give you a half-court shot, and you make 9 out of 10! (His skills have improved again.)

They won't reason with you at all!

Some even joked that with Yan Jiefang around, even with four pigs, Bei Wudian could still dominate the Jiuxianqiao area!

Because his basketball skills were exceptionally good, coupled with his outstanding academic performance, and his good height and appearance.

Yan Jiefang also gained more female admirers.

Although people were reserved in this era, some still secretly wrote him letters.

By the end of the month, in addition to the letters from the editorial office, he received many other letters as well.

Most of the love letters were sent by students from nearby schools, including senior and junior students from my own school.

Yan Jiefang was very curious about what love letters were like in this era, so he opened a few and looked at them.

Some asked about his hobbies, some asked what he liked to eat, some asked if playing basketball was tiring, and some even directly asked for his home address...

Yan Jiefang had no immediate plans to reply. Instead, he organized the letters and stored them in his spatial storage.

At the end of December, Yan Jiefang returned to the courtyard house.

I learned about Jia Dongxu's wall hanging.

This had nothing to do with him, so he shook his head and stopped paying attention.

What's the point of talking about things that are destined?

Perhaps only Sha Zhu would think his chance has come?

After dinner, Yan Bugui found the brothers Yan Jiecheng and Yan Jiefang and told them about his trip to the black market that night.

Yan Jiefang gave him a dime and took the opportunity to ask him a lot of questions about the black market.

With the Lunar New Year fast approaching, in this era of scarcity, it is indeed necessary to make some preparations in advance.

Correspondingly, the black market in the 49 cities has become increasingly rampant.

There were relatively large black markets outside Deshengmen, Jianguomen, Fuchengmen, and Yongdingmen.

Inside the city, there were relatively smaller black markets such as Dongxiaoshi outside Chongwenmen (the area around Longxugou, Congdian Street, and Tangjie), Xixiaoshi outside Xuanwumen (Guang'an Hutong and Sijiakeng area around Guang'anmen), and the northwest corner of Houhai in Shichahai (next to the waters inside Deshengmen).

In addition, there are some temporary small to medium-sized black markets located in abandoned courtyards in the hutongs.

The opening hours of these markets are not fixed, and you usually need someone you know to show you the way or introduce you to the market to find out the location and time.

Winter's cold weather, coupled with intense crackdowns, led to highly mobile markets; even large black markets outside the city would often relocate overnight.

As for the black market that requires a fixed fee to enter, Yan Bugui was "inexperienced" and had never seen or heard of it.

Over the years, he has gone to various black markets every year to search for supplies, and he has never seen a black market that charges an entrance fee.

At most, they would give the lookout a cigarette, a handful of peanuts, a small amount of food as a token of their gratitude, or a small receipt.

If you don't give it, they won't care.

It's just that if a patrol team happens to be checking, they won't give you a heads-up.

Yan Jiefang also felt that it was unlikely that there would be a black market that charged fees, unless it was a closed place where transactions were conducted entirely internally and not open to the public.

In any black market, as long as it's open to the public, you can't guarantee what kind of people you'll encounter.

If you charge 5 cents or 1 cents for an entrance fee, people will be unhappy and, after leaving the black market, they will go to the police station to report you.

He could be arrested at any time.

How can your black market still operate?

Not only can't they start driving, they also end up in jail.

Who could stand this?

In the middle of the night, Yan Bugui, Yan Jiecheng, and Yan Jiefang, all dressed in thick clothes and with scarves covering their mouths and noses, left the courtyard together.

Yan Jiefang noticed that, besides them, other families had also come out of the courtyard.

However, everyone pretended not to see each other, remained silent and went their separate ways, and soon dispersed without ever seeing each other again.

Yan Bugui had told his two older brothers in advance about the black market they were going to today—an abandoned courtyard between North Third Street and North Fifth Street in Jiaodaokou.

This place isn't far from them; it's about a half-hour walk away.

Moreover, being located in the city, it is relatively safer and less likely to have an accident.

It was already past 2 a.m., and the patrol teams had become much less numerous.

The Yan family members walked silently, weaving through various alleys.

Having lived in these 49 cities for so many years, Yan Bugui seems to be very familiar with this area.

Around three o'clock, they arrived at the outside of a courtyard where part of the wall had collapsed.