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

When Sha Zhu brought his wife home, he had already gone inside, even though he had heard some noise.

But he thought it was just a matter between Sha Zhu and Qin Huairu, and there was no benefit for him at all, so he naturally had no interest in getting involved.

As the commotion grew louder, even Xu Damao and Liu Haizhong, who lived in the backyard, soon came over.

Everyone was curious about what had happened.

However, with police officers maintaining order at the scene, people didn't dare to act recklessly and only discussed the matter in hushed tones.

Inside the house, several flashlights focused their beams on the faces of Sha Zhu and his wife, making it impossible for them to open their eyes.

However, because of Jia Zhangshi's voice, they immediately understood what was going on.

This was reported by Jia Zhangshi!

Sha Zhu was so angry that his face turned red, and he was about to get out of bed to beat her up.

Liu Yuyan grabbed him and then said to the inspectors:

"Comrade, we are a legally married couple with a marriage certificate. You have been deceived by someone!"

"Yuzhu, go and get the marriage certificate so the comrades can see it."

He Yuzhu suppressed his anger, got out of bed, and quickly found a marriage certificate that looked like an award certificate in the only box.

The comrades took the marriage certificate, checked it, and found it to be genuine, so they returned it to Sha Zhu.

Then the captain said to Sha Zhu:

"Comrade, we will compensate you for the damaged wooden door at its original price. Just go to our *** Police Station tomorrow to register and pick it up."

After saying that, the comrades turned and left.

During this period, enemy agents were rampant. Now that the case is closed, the comrades will not waste any more time here.

Jia Zhangshi had been watching the situation from behind. When she noticed something was amiss, she immediately and quietly returned to the central courtyard under the cover of night.

Other residents, however, did not leave so easily; many of them went directly into Shazhu's house.

Xu Damao reached out from behind and turned on the light bulb, revealing the scene inside the room.

Surrounded by the birds, Liu Yuyan huddled in a corner, covered by a blanket.

Sha Zhu stood by the window, blocking the view.

Many people saw Liu Yuyan's appearance for the first time and were amazed by her beauty.

The birds never expected that Sha Zhu, that big idiot, would be able to marry such a beautiful wife without making a sound.

Suddenly, I felt a little resentful.

Why is this idiot so lucky?

Xu Damao also thought of his fiancée, Lou Xiao'e.

She was Lou Bancheng's daughter, and naturally she was quite beautiful, plus she had a lot of family wealth.

Xu Damao immediately felt much better.

The one who is most unbalanced is actually Yan Jiecheng.

Although his mother, Yang Ruihua, had already said she was looking for a wife for him.

But since he hadn't seen the person, he naturally felt uncertain.

Seeing that Sha Zhu, whom everyone has always looked down upon, has married such a beautiful wife, I feel very indignant.

That bastard! He's got absolute bad luck!

"Get out! All of you, get out of here!"

Sha Zhu roared and shoved the birds, and before long, they were all pushed out by him.

Only Sha Zhu and his wife, along with He Yushui who had rushed over upon hearing the news, remained inside the house.

The door was broken, and the cold winter wind blew straight in, making the room uninhabitable.

"Sister-in-law, why don't you squeeze into my room later?"

He Yushui looked at her newlywed sister-in-law and extended an invitation with some apology.

"OK."

Liu Yuyan nodded in agreement and quickly got dressed.

He Yushui then looked at Sha Zhu:

"As for my brother, he can only sleep in the steel mill's dormitory tonight."

Sha Zhu was very disappointed, but he could only nod in agreement.

After moving the only wooden box in the house to the side room, Sha Zhu left for the steel rolling mill.

Liu Yuyan then carried her quilt to the side room and squeezed onto the 1.5-meter-wide wooden bed with He Yushui.

(According to research, during the Great Leap Forward in the late 1950s, many courtyard houses had their traditional heated brick beds (kang) dismantled, and the bricks were used to build iron smelting furnaces. No. 95 courtyard house was no exception.)

That night, in the dead of night, many beasts were discussing how Sha Zhu had married a beautiful wife.

Many young men who haven't married yet are filled with envy, wondering how to get a matchmaker from the neighborhood to introduce them to a beautiful woman.

Some people are also scheming about how to make a good profit.

Yan Bugui is a prime example of this type of person.

Meanwhile, the two widows of the Jia family were worrying about their future.

Sha Zhu's wife doesn't seem easy to talk to either; she's unlikely to agree to Sha Zhu continuing to support the Jia family.

Without Sha Zhu's financial support, the Jia family's monthly income would be reduced by more than half.

Even though Jia Zhangshi is the only rural household member now, it is difficult for her to support the whole family with only 20 yuan a month in survivor's pension from the steel rolling mill.

Not to mention maintaining the current lifestyle.

After all, Jia Zhangshi alone ate more food than Qin Huairu and her two children combined.

Is it possible for an average person to feed three people?

Although Jia Zhangshi was somewhat clever, she couldn't come up with a solution no matter how hard she tried.

Finally, she decided to follow Yi Zhonghai's example and convene another general meeting of all the birds in the courtyard to donate money to the Jia family!

Moreover, she had a better idea: this time, old man Yi Zhonghai wouldn't be taking the lion's share!

Even if the amount donated each time is not as much as before, it can't be less than twenty or thirty yuan, right?

With this thought in mind, Jia Zhangshi slept soundly with sweet dreams.

Qin Huairu hadn't thought about the donation. Since the donations never passed through her hands, she was unaware of the intricacies involved, so it was normal that she hadn't thought about it.

Her current thought is how to get her mother-in-law, Jia Zhangshi, back to the countryside.

If Jia Zhangshi were a diligent person, she would never have had such thoughts.

But Jia Zhangshi was a lazy bum who ate everything and was good for nothing!

Having a mother-in-law like that is a disaster for any family.

And there's another problem here.

After giving birth to her third child, she had to go to work at the steel rolling mill, leaving no one to look after the children at home!

If this problem isn't resolved, the matter of Jia Zhangshi will remain unresolved indefinitely!

This put Widow Qin in a dilemma.

It's all Sha Zhu's fault!

If he had continued to support the Jia family, Qin Huairu would not have had these troubles at all.

Now that Shazhu is married, that path is completely blocked.

Qin Huairu began to wonder if there was any way to find another traitor like Sha Zhu.

She went through all the young people in the courtyard who had the ability to earn money, but found no one who was a suitable candidate.

Xu Damao has his parents looking after him, and he's smart, unlike a fool like Sha Zhu.

Liu Guangtian has been away from the courtyard for almost half a year, and you can hardly see him at all.

Yan Jiecheng?

Qin Huai shook his head. This guy was a shrewd schemer; it was unlikely he could get a single penny out of him!

After much thought, there wasn't a single suitable candidate in the courtyard.

She then turned her gaze to the steel rolling mill.

That's a vast blue ocean; there's great potential there!

But we'll have to wait until she goes to work to discuss it.

With a goal in mind, Qin Huairu breathed a slight sigh of relief and managed to fall asleep peacefully.