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

Qin Huairu felt a little anxious as he saw the growing crowd.

She was actually afraid of being found out, so she took all of Sha Zhu's money, leaving him with almost nothing.

If that were the case, her reputation in the Nanluoguxiang area would be absolutely ruined.

Now that people are making wild guesses, no one can imagine that someone could be so ruthless.

He whispered a few words in Jia Zhangshi's ear, and Jia Zhangshi immediately got up, stopped making a fuss, and pulled her daughter-in-law through the crowd to go back to the central courtyard.

The onlookers, including Yan Jiefang, had no idea what was going on, and quickly dispersed.

After all, if the main actors are gone, how can we watch the show?

Yan Jiefang glanced at Sha Zhu's house through the open door.

There was only a wooden bed and an old wooden box inside, nothing else.

He glanced again at the Autumn Leaf brand cigarette in Sha Zhu's hand.

He shook his head: This guy deserves to live such a miserable life.

That's how a simp should act!

Since there was no show to watch, Yan Jiefang naturally wouldn't linger there; he headed to the library as planned.

After the holiday, Yan Jiefang returned to school.

As he passed by the school gate, he stopped by the school's mailroom to pick up his mail.

At the same time, submit the manuscript of the new song "Me and My Motherland" with neatly transcribed and fully annotated staff notation to the submission mailbox of the editorial department of "Music Creation".

This address was copied from the journal "Music Creation," and it came in handy.

After submitting his work, he focused on returning to his studies and training, and his life went back to normal.

Several days later, after the professional class ended, the class teacher, Ms. Zhao Hongying, stayed in the classroom and publicly announced the following:

"The school is preparing a New Year's Day gala. Each class is nominated for a talent show, including singing, instrumental music, and recitation. Interested students can register on-site now."

The students in the class looked at each other, and most of them hesitated and watched.

The heavy workload of vocational school students, coupled with the scarcity of resources, meant that most of them lacked any marketable skills.

However, a few male and female students from well-off families who had studied art raised their hands.

Yan Jiefang looked around and then raised his hand as well.

Teacher Zhao looked at the students who raised their hands and began calling out names, asking them to perform a short piece first.

Although these people are very enthusiastic, there is still a lot of room for improvement in their skills.

Only Ke Xiuzhi's rendition of "Unity is Strength" was somewhat meaningful.

When it was finally Yan Jiefang's turn, he stood up:

"Teacher, I'd like to sing one of my own original songs, titled 'Me and My Motherland'."

Upon hearing this, the whole class fell silent instantly, followed by hushed whispers.

Everyone knows that Yan Jiefang excels in sports and gets full marks in all subjects, but no one knows that he can also compose music and write songs.

Zhao Hongying was also somewhat surprised and nodded in agreement:

"Sure, sing a short song a cappella right now, I'd like to hear it."

Yan Jiefang stood up straight and began to sing a cappella.

The melody is profound and sincere, the lyrics are empathetic and powerful, the voice is steady and clear, and every word is extremely infectious.

His singing skills have been honed through so much training, and it hasn't been for nothing.

It has now reached a height of 83/100.

This is significantly better than the level of many professional singers. (A score of 60 can be considered a qualified professional level.)

After the song ended, the classroom was silent for two seconds, then the whole class spontaneously applauded loudly.

Zhao Hongying's brows relaxed, and she immediately made the decision:

"This song has a great theme and a perfect melody, which fits the theme of the gala perfectly. It will be used directly in the program. Do you have any sheet music? If so, you can give it to me, and I will give it to the school's temporary band so they can accompany your performance at the gala."

"Yes, teacher."

Yan Jiefang immediately reached into his backpack and took out a few sheets of paper, which was a musical score.

After handing the sheet music to the teacher, Yan Jiefang took the opportunity to make a request:

"Teacher, can I recruit some classmates to be my backup singers?"

Teacher Zhao nodded directly:

"no problem."

Yan Jiefang stood to one side of the podium, looking at the students below:

"Classmates, is anyone willing to perform on stage with me?"

"I have!"......

As soon as he finished speaking, male and female students in the class eagerly raised their hands to sign up, all willing to cooperate and participate in the performance.

Yan Jiefang followed the trend:

"Okay, thank you all for your support. Students who are willing to sing along, please register here."

...

While preparations for the evening party are underway on campus, some trivial matters are arising again at courtyard house number 95.

He Daqing's remarried wife has been experiencing frequent nausea and dry heaving in recent days. She feels nauseous at the slightest smell of cooking oil in the morning, a typical symptom of pregnancy vomiting.

He Daqing saw this and was overjoyed.

He spent half his life wandering, and had only two children with his ex-wife: He Yushui and Shazhu.

Now one of them is not close to him, and the other has simply left home to live alone.

Seeing no hope of a comfortable old age, he longed to have more children to continue his family line.

Although it has been basically confirmed, we will proceed as a precaution.

The next day, he took a day off to accompany his wife to a nearby hospital for a check-up.

The doctor took her pulse, asked her questions, ordered tests, and finally diagnosed her as being more than a month pregnant.

Upon receiving the diagnosis, He Daqing stood in the corridor of the health center and couldn't help but burst into laughter, his face beaming with joy.

He was completely different from his usual carefree and easygoing self, being extremely careful throughout, supporting his wife as she walked slowly, and protecting her very well.

After returning home, He Daqing was in high spirits and wanted to express his joy.

This guy actually took out his savings and set up a few tables of home-style food in the yard to entertain the neighbors and celebrate the birth of his son.

Such things are rare even in later generations when people have no worries about food and clothing.

Since there was no need to give gifts, all the birds in the yard naturally invited their owners to come and eat at the feast.

If He Daqing hadn't only invited one person from each household, the birds would probably have already gathered around and sat down at the table.

Not long after the banquet began, Banggeng rushed to the table, grabbed Jia Zhangshi who was eating at the banquet, and started crying and making a scene:

"I want to eat meat! I want a feast!"

Originally, Jia Zhangshi was engrossed in her meal when she saw her precious grandson arrive, and she immediately started throwing a tantrum:

"The He family is hosting a feast, and everyone in the courtyard will have a share! We can't let our Jia family children down; we must set aside separate portions of vegetables and meat for Bang Geng!"

The two of them cried and made a scene, disturbing the peace of the birds sitting at the table.

But they had long seen through the Jia family's shamelessness and ignored them, only caring about their own eating and drinking.

In those difficult years, it wasn't easy to get a meal like this.

What's more, the banquet was free!

Annoyed by the constant pestering, He Daqing simply picked up a large bowl, filled it with some food, and handed it to Banggeng.

"Take your bowl and eat over there. Don't make noise at the table."

As soon as the pheasant got the food, it immediately stopped crying, picked up the bowl, and ran away.

Seeing that she had gained some benefits, Jia Zhangshi temporarily settled down.

As the banquet came to an end, very few dishes remained on the table.

With lightning speed, Jia Zhangshi pulled out an enamel cup that she had specially brought with her.

Once the food is on the table, scavenge every last bit of leftover food, oil, and broth from the bottom of the plate. Although there isn't much, it's still a rare treat.

The neighbors saw this and followed suit, taking out their own bowls and basins to share the leftover food on the table, which was soon spotless.