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

All the birds in the yard were laughing.

Looking at this scene, He Daqing felt even worse than if he had been forced to defend his thesis.

Having learned this lesson, the joy in my heart was greatly diminished.

As soon as she closed the door, Jia Zhangshi's face darkened instantly, and she muttered a curse through gritted teeth:

"Why would they have a son? The He family line will surely end; they're destined to die out!"

Qin Huairu sat to the side, glanced at her mother-in-law upon hearing this, but did not say anything.

After the banquet ended, Yan Bugui stopped He Daqing, who was about to go inside, and asked him to stay by his side.

He glanced around and lowered his voice:

"Old He, we know each other well in this compound. I want to discuss something with you."

"Once Yushui graduates from vocational high school, we'll have her marry Jiecheng. Our two families will be related through marriage, helping each other out, and life will be better for us from now on."

Upon hearing this, He Daqing's face darkened immediately, and his blunt tone made Yan Bugui want to explode on the spot:

"Yan Bugui, are you senile? Why don't you take a piss and look at yourself in the mirror!"

With your family's calculating and stingy nature, you still want to marry my Yushui?

That's like a toad trying to eat swan meat!

Your eldest son, Yan Jiecheng, is just like you—a cunning schemer. He has no skills, but he's mastered scheming to an extreme degree. Why should my daughter marry into your family and serve your entire household?

Don't even think about it! Give up on that idea now and stop daydreaming in front of me!

Yan Bugui's face turned black, and he clenched his teeth.

He remembered this humiliation and would always find an opportunity to take advantage of the He family whenever something happened in the backyard, in order to regain the face he had lost that day.

He shut his mouth and said no more, turning around and going home with a sullen face.

"Pah, ptooey!"

He Daqing spat behind him.

He Yushui, listening to the sounds outside from the side room, slowly relaxed her tense body:

Although He Daqing had a bad temper, he could generally see through all the demons and monsters in the courtyard and was not easily fooled.

They handled these matters cleanly and efficiently.

He Yushui had some confidence in him, much more so than his brother He Yuzhu.

She was deeply opposed to marrying a boy from the same compound, especially not to marry into the Yan family, who were calculating and competitive.

She disliked neither Xu Damao, that lecherous guy, nor Liu Guangtian, that good-for-nothing who got beaten up every day.

Of all the people in the hospital, only Yan Jiefang now has a good impression of her.

But when she tried to get closer to Yan Jiefang at the state-run restaurant, he was distant and restrained. She already knew then that he was unmoved by her advances.

Sha Zhu sat on the edge of his bed, wrapped in a tattered quilt to keep warm.

Seeing that He Daqing's wife was pregnant and that a large banquet was being held, I felt a lump in my throat.

The cigarette butt in his hand glowed and dimmed amidst the swirling smoke, behind which lay that ashen old face.

There was no stove lit in the house.

Or to put it bluntly, there is no stove in this room at all.

In 49 cities, without heating, people might freeze to death this winter.

The cold wind from outside blew into the room through the gap at the bottom of the door, further lowering the temperature inside.

This results in almost no difference in temperature between the inside and outside.

Sha Zhu's heart was as cold as the temperature inside the room.

At his age, He Yuzhu should be able to handle things with ease and composure, but instead he's scrambling and stumbling around in a hurry.

On this day when others were laughing and joking, He Yuzhu began to reflect on his life for the first time.

He thought of Sister Qin, who had come to him again today to "borrow" money.

He had already given all his salary to Sister Qin, leaving himself with nothing.

But Sister Qin wasn't satisfied and came over every day to beg for money.

There's also Jia Zhangshi, that old hag who follows Sister Qin around every day, keeping an eye on her.

I can't even say a few words to Sister Qin.

That old hag really deserves to die!

There is also his younger sister, He Yushui.

I raised her from infancy, and now she works part-time while studying, and is basically able to eat and drink her fill.

She receives a monthly living allowance of a dozen yuan, yet she doesn't think about how to help her own brother.

A few days ago I was short of money and asked her for some pocket money. She was stingy and only gave me one yuan.

With a monthly salary of 35.5 yuan, even a small overspending would amount to more than one yuan.

He looked at the cigarette butt in his hand, which had a red and blue logo.

If it weren't for helping Sister Qin, would I be living such a miserable life?

Help Sister Qin?

Huh? Why should I help Sister Qin?

When did I start helping Sister Qin?

What's my relationship with Sister Qin?

It's just a normal neighborly relationship, isn't it?

Even if she's beautiful, she's not my woman, so why should I help her like this?

An old face full of righteousness appeared in his mind.

That person has now been sent to a labor camp for embezzling his sister's living expenses!

Two seals were pasted across each room in the house!

When his righteous face was combined with the image of the "Five Black Categories," Sha Zhu suddenly realized:

Yi Zhonghai is the root of all evil!

He's the culprit who made his life into this mess!

He gritted his teeth: Yi Zhonghai really deserves to die!

Then I recalled the times I had inadvertently witnessed Yi Zhonghai and Qin Huairu having sex in the cellar at night.

His face was flushed and his clothes were disheveled!

Now that I think about it, it's all problems!

Sister Qin... Qin Huairu is no better than anyone else!

Was he the only one who witnessed their secret rendezvous?

impossible!

Absolutely impossible!

Li Cuilan, that black-category woman; Jia Dongxu, that deadbeat; Jia Zhangshi, that old hag; and that deaf old woman, that bastard—these guys must all know them!

He Yuzhu clenched his fists, his teeth grinding together.

These people are all sensible, yet they treated him like a fool and completely fooled him!

He Yuzhu stood up and paced back and forth in the cramped gatehouse.

He needs to come up with a comprehensive way to change the current situation.

Why not bring lunchboxes for the Jia family?

Jia Zhangshi will probably squat at his door every day and curse, and Qin Huairu will definitely come over crying and pretending to be pitiful!

It caused unrest in his home.

This approach is unlikely to work.

Will you not "lend" Qin Huairu your next paycheck?

Qin Huairu would still come over and cry and act pitiful.

No matter what you do, you can't get around Qin Huairu.

This woman is like a bloodsucking leech that's stuck to him and won't let go!

I should have refused this dilapidated gatehouse when allocating housing!

I was truly blinded by greed!

He Yuzhu banged his forehead a few times, but he just couldn't think of a good solution.

His way of thinking has been confined to a limited scope by Yi Zhonghai.

In the end, the only person he could think of who could help him was his younger sister, He Yushui.

My sister was able to get into high school, and before that, she even thought of going to the post office to check her mail and send money to get out of trouble. She's definitely quick-witted.

Maybe she can help me think of a solution.

There's another guy who can definitely come up with a solution, but he doesn't want to see that person, and he doesn't even want to mention him.

He Yuzhu opened the door, left the gatehouse which was not much better than the outside, and walked towards the central courtyard.

"Bang Bang Bang~"

There was a knock on He Yushui's door.