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

"Who?"

Sha Zhu let out a low shout and went over to take a look. It turned out that He Daqing had tripped and fallen to the ground.

"snort!"

When Sha Zhu saw that it was this old guy, he snorted coldly and left without looking back, completely ignoring him.

He harbored a deep hatred for He Daqing ever since he was kicked out of the house.

Hearing the commotion, He Yushui, who was inside the house, quickly came out.

Upon discovering that it was her own father lying on the ground unattended, she quickly went over, helped him up, and carried him into the main room.

He Daqing's wife, who was resting in bed, immediately got up and helped her husband sit down in a chair.

"Dad, how did you fall? Are you feeling unwell anywhere?"

He Yushui looked at He Daqing, who was rubbing his shoulder, and asked him a question.

"It's nothing, I just tripped and fell, it's nothing serious. Rain, you should go home and get some sleep."

"Okay, if you feel unwell, go to the hospital as soon as possible."

He Yushui nodded, closed the door, and returned to her room.

Just now, He Daqing overheard part of their conversation outside the rain-soaked side room and felt that Sha Zhu might be able to turn over a new leaf.

When he gets married, I'm planning to get him one or two big-ticket items.

As a result, he accidentally fell down, and that kid didn't even care, which made him give up on the idea.

That kid's hopeless!

The two widows from the Jia family across the street also noticed what was happening here.

However, they neither turned on the lights nor went outside.

They won't get involved in anything that doesn't offer immediate benefits.

Qin Huairu lay in bed, thinking about the scene she had just witnessed.

She never expected that Sha Zhu would go to see He Yushui in the middle of the night.

This was something that had never happened before. She was both worried that Sha Zhu would lose control and felt that her charm with him was very reliable.

This made her feel somewhat uncertain.

So he asked the experienced Jia Zhangshi:

"Mom, what do you think Shazhu wanted to do when he went to He Yushui's place just now?"

Jia Zhangshi's obese body thumped a few times on the bed like a giant maggot, before she curled her lip in disapproval:

"What else can we do? Go borrow money!"

"Just borrowing money?"

Qin Huairu was somewhat skeptical.

Madam Jia Zhangshi, however, did not answer the question and remained silent.

Not receiving an answer from Jia Zhangshi, Qin Huairu stopped talking and decided to go to the gatehouse early the next morning to find out some information.

Mules like Sha Zhu, who ask for nothing in return, are extremely rare. She didn't want to lose them, so she had to keep sucking their blood to support her children.

The next day, Sha Zhu got up early, which was unusual for him. After getting ready, he went straight to the steel rolling mill.

In order to get married sooner, he took the afternoon off and went directly to the factory barber to get his hair done after noon.

I had a good scrub at the bathhouse near the boiler room, scraping off quite a bit of mud.

After leaving the bathhouse, he felt a sense of spiritual elevation.

Around 4 p.m., He Yuzhu arrived near the school gate of No. 22 Middle School.

I waited for more than an hour before I finally saw He Yushui walking out of the school gate.

Although He Yushui was as thin as a stick, her height of nearly 1.7 meters was very conspicuous in that era.

You can see it from a great distance.

He Yuzhu hurried over and immediately spotted the equally tall girl standing next to his sister.

This girl is very beautiful, and there seems to be a hint of arrogance in her eyes.

Looking at He Yuzhu walking over, a hint of disdain flashed in her eyes.

Sha Zhu was overjoyed, naively believing that this was the person his sister was going to introduce to him.

He flashed what he thought was a cool, lewd smile and greeted his sister:

"Rain, and who is this?"

He Yushui knew her brother perfectly well, and seeing this situation, she immediately knew he had misunderstood. She quickly said to her classmate beside her:

"Haitang, you go first, I'll come with you."

Yu Haitang nodded:

"Okay, I'll be going now."

After saying that, she turned and left, pretending not to see Sha Zhu.

"Brother, you've snapped out of it!"

He Yushui patted Sha Zhu, who was still standing on tiptoe watching Yu Haitang's back.

"Oh, okay, okay, Rainwater, is this the person you wanted to introduce to me?"

Sha Zhu shamelessly asked the younger sister beside him.

He Yushui rolled her eyes at him, her face full of disgust:

"Bro, what are you thinking? Other girls have suitors lining up around the school, how could they possibly be interested in you?"

"Oh? Your brother's not bad off either, right? I'm the head chef at the steel mill's canteen, and I make 35.5 yuan a month!"

Sha Zhu was very proud of his situation, believing himself to be a promising young man.

He Yushui was speechless upon hearing this:

"Brother, you shouldn't talk about your meager salary; it's embarrassing!"

There are plenty of people in our department who earn more than you!

The old man in the front yard gets nearly fifty yuan a month, and with bonuses, it's almost sixty!

His eldest son, Yan Jiecheng, started working many years later than you, and now he earns more than thirty yuan a month!

And then there's Mr. Liu in the backyard, who earns over seventy yuan a month!

Also, you know Yan Jiefang, the second son of the third uncle, right? He got into the Beijing University of Electrical Engineering.

"I know, he's not working yet, so his monthly income is about the same as yours, right? What's there to say?"

Sha Zhu looked completely puzzled.

He Yushui looked at her silly older brother and put her hand to her forehead:

"I heard that Yan Jiefang publishes more than 5,000 words of fiction every month. Do you know how much he gets paid for those stories?"

As for these kinds of cultural matters, a cook like Sha Zhu, who spends all his time around the stove, really doesn't know anything about them.

"How much? Could it be more than me?"

"I specifically asked my teacher, and someone like Yan Jiefang, who is commissioned to write articles on a long-term basis, earns at least 10 yuan per thousand words, and possibly 12 or even 13 yuan!"

In other words, while they were still in school, they were earning at least 50 yuan a month in royalties! Earning 60 or 70 yuan wasn't out of the question!

Sha Zhu was stunned by this information and forgot to ask how Yan Laoxi's monthly salary of 27.5 yuan could have increased to more than 50 yuan.

"That...is unlikely, isn't it?"

"How is that impossible? Look at this Beijing Literature and Art magazine. This article written by Yan Jiefang is his."

He Yushui took out a light blue-covered magazine from her bag, flipped through a few pages, found an article, and pointed it out to her brother. (The author said there were pictures.)

Sha Zhu looked at the three words "Yan Jiefang" under the headline "Bloodstained Charge" and felt that the world had changed so much that he was struggling to keep up.

When this topic came up, He Yushui's expression became somewhat excited:

"Yan Jiefang's articles are so good! Our classmates are all passing them around, and many of them have been moved to tears by the stories in the book!"

Many female classmates, including Yu Haitang, were inquiring about news regarding Yan Jiefang!

Is Yu Haitang inquiring about Yan Jiefang's whereabouts?

Upon hearing this news, Sha Zhu's face fell, and he waved his hand to interrupt his sister's next words, changing the subject:

"Rain, where are you taking me?"