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

Yan Jiefang put away the notebook and other things, then took Yan Jiekuang back to the room.

Yan Jiekuang held his second brother's hand and wept uncontrollably.

Yan Jiefang gently patted his shoulder:

"No need to worry, this was foreseen, and I prepared myself mentally in advance."

"Um."

After lying down on the bed, Yan Jiefang suddenly produced a Yuan Shikai silver dollar, delivering a devastating blow.

[You critically struck the silver coin in front of you, triggering an 88x critical hit and gaining 88 silver coins! They have been added to your personal space.]

Adding the 62 coins he had left, he now has 150 Yuan Shikai silver dollars!

If you successfully exchange all of them at the pigeon market, you should be able to get 3000 yuan!

Of course, this needs to be done gradually; you can't replace too many at once, otherwise it won't be safe.

This will attract the attention of those with ulterior motives.

In settling accounts with Yan Bugui, Yan Jiefang decided to use only Yuan Shikai silver dollars.

As a person with a promising future, he didn't want to take any possible risks.

However, he plans to buy a house tomorrow, and through official channels, which requires a cash transaction.

He only has a little over two hundred yuan on hand right now, and even with the money in his savings account, he only has a little over four hundred yuan.

I'm still a little short of buying a decent side room.

The day after tomorrow is Lunar New Year's Eve, and he doesn't have any other way to make money right now.

Well, just to be on the safe side, I'll buy a decent front room or a less desirable side room first.

We can fix it later when we have more money.

Furthermore, he heard from classmates and basketball teammates that he could directly check the properties registered by sellers at the district real estate exchange.

If you want to buy a house, just go to the stock exchange.

This is the most legitimate channel.

The next day was the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month. After eating rice porridge and steamed buns at home, Yan Jiefang set off.

The Jiaodaokou Housing Management Office is located in Suoyi Hutong, just steps away from No. 95 Courtyard.

Yan Jiefang arrived in just a few minutes.

You can't directly transfer ownership of a property here, but you can view available properties.

He discovered that there were very few rooms available for rent in the entire Nanluoguxiang area, with only three single rooms listed.

According to historical records, in 1962, the total number of houses available for sale in Nanluoguxiang was very small, and the supply of houses in circulation was scarce. There were only about 20 houses available throughout the year, and usually only one or two or three houses were listed for sale.

Yan Jiefang compared three single-room listings and found that he could only actually buy one room in Dongmianhua Hutong.

Of the other two rooms, one was a relatively well-preserved west wing, but the owner wanted 550 yuan, which he couldn't afford.

The other room was just a small storage room, but the price was very low, only 200 yuan.

However, firstly, the area was not large, and secondly, the damage was severe, so Yan Jiefang didn't want it at all.

He had seen it; the room in Dongmianhua Hutong was the west wing of the front courtyard of a two-courtyard house.

Although the condition isn't great, he can spend some money to fix it properly when he has money next month, and it won't be any worse than the house he lives in now.

Moreover, this house only costs 420 yuan, which is within his budget.

He and the homeowner completed the transaction at the Dongcheng Housing Management Bureau Exchange on Di'anmen East Street and signed an official red deed, thus completing the property transfer.

From then on, Yan Jiefang was also a homeowner in Beijing.

When he got home, Yan Bugui was waiting for him.

The two went into the side room together, and Yan Jiefang wrote a receipt and handed it to Yan Bugui for signature.

After he signed and affixed his seal.

Yan Jiefang, concealing it with his schoolbag, took out 75 nearly intact Yuan Shikai silver dollars from his storage space and handed them to the dumbfounded Yan Bugui.

The abacus expert never expected that his second son would use something like this to pay the bill!

He examined them carefully and confirmed that they were indeed genuine Yuan Shikai silver dollars.

Take them to the pigeon market, and you can easily sell them for twenty or twenty-one yuan each.

But this is troublesome!

With so much money, it will probably take a year or two to pay it all off.

Wouldn't he lose almost a year's worth of interest?

That's over ninety yuan!

However, Yan Bugui could only grit his teeth and swallow this bitter pill.

Next, the "father and son" asked their neighbors in the courtyard and the neighborhood committee members to witness their actions.

Yan Jiefang officially separated from the Yan family.

These beasts in the yard love to gossip, so nothing can be kept secret.

Within half a day, everyone in courtyard number 95 knew about it.

The news spread quickly, escalating outwards along the alleyways.

During the Spring Festival, it became the most talked-about topic in the streets and alleys around Yu'er Hutong.

The animals in the courtyard couldn't understand it and all thought that Yan Bugui had gone mad.

"Has Old Yan gone mad? Giving up his second son, who has the best future ahead of him, and forcing him to live separately?"

"Yan Jiefang is currently studying at a vocational high school, and he's definitely going to have a government job in the future."

This guy was a natural-born official, but Old Yan, that shrewd businessman, ruined his lucrative plans.

Amidst the discussions, the birds also learned some things, discovering that Yan Jiefang had purchased a private house in Dongmianhua Hutong.

Everyone shook their heads in admiration, their hearts filled with respect.

"No wonder he's a vocational school graduate, his perspective is just different."

At such a young age, he's already able to buy his own house and own property.

"Their earning power is beyond question."

Liu Guangqi, a vocational school graduate from the Liu family in the backyard, only knows how to steal money from his family.

Compared to the other person, they're worlds apart; there's simply no comparison.

"We all graduated from school, so why is there such a huge difference between people?"

After the family split up, Yan Jiefang gave Yan Bugui one yuan.

They indicated that they would stay here temporarily for a few days over the next month or two.

Yan Bugui readily agreed.

He knew perfectly well that Yan Jiefang lived at school year-round, and even when he came back, he would only stay for a day or two a month.

For just one dollar, you can get a few short nights of accommodation – a sure-fire way to make money, this deal is incredibly lucrative.

He didn't feel cheated at all; on the contrary, he secretly rejoiced that the division of the family property was worthwhile.

If the family hadn't separated, the second son wouldn't have come up with this money at all.

During the Spring Festival, everyone in the courtyard was struggling financially, but the Yan family's New Year's Eve dinner was exceptionally hearty.

There's plenty of cabbage and pork dumplings, and braised beef and mutton, roast chicken, and roast duck are also on the table.

A table laden with meat dishes—in early 1962, when resources were scarce, it was truly a unique feast in the entire compound.

In this day and age, everyone is starving, and their noses are more sensitive than a dog's.

If there's even the slightest smell of meat outside, everyone can smell it from a great distance.

Many people in the courtyard swallowed hard upon smelling the rich aroma.

They wanted to beg for some meat, but the Yan family had really risen to power, and no one in the courtyard dared to provoke them.

Even if the second son moves out, they are still family; blood is thicker than water!

Many families in the courtyard unconsciously put on masks of pain.

Among them, the Jia family in the Intermediate People's Court made the most trouble.

Banggeng kept yelling that he wanted to eat meat, and he even wanted to steal some from the Yan family in the front yard.

But Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu held them firmly in place.

The pig-like creature, unable to contain its anger, let out a pig-slaughtering howl.

Xiao Dang, who was originally playing on the side, was made to cry by his shouts.

These past few days, Yu Li has been coming very frequently, and Yan Jiecheng has been picking her up from time to time.

He took advantage of a time when the food at home was exceptionally good to invite her over for a meal.

After several days of lavish meals, their relationship blossomed rapidly.

The Spring Festival passed quickly. On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, Yan Jiefang packed his luggage and boarded a bus alone to return to school.