The Courtyard House: Xu Damao's Aunt is the Queen of Women

"Hello, I am Yang Chong'an, the commander of the guard regiment of Unit 0673. May I ask who you are?"

Yang Chong'an, who was leading the patrol, saw people fishing on the ice with binoculars and caught several big fish. He immediately brought his men over.

Unexpectedly, upon closer inspection, I saw Liu Haoyejuan wearing a Type 55 Marshal brown-green woolen overcoat, a Type 55 Marshal winter leather hat, and Type 55 general's high-waisted fur shoes.

Although Liu Hao and Ye Juan did not wear military ranks, their appearance, demeanor, and clothing clearly indicated that they were not ordinary people.

Just as Liu Hao was about to introduce himself, Wang Kai took out an ID from his inner pocket and handed it to Yang Chong'an.

Yang Chong'an took the document and glanced at it. His pupils contracted sharply. He closed the document, handed it to Wang Kai, and stood at attention, giving a salute.

"I apologize for disturbing you, please forgive me, farewell!"

After saying that, Yang Chong'an turned and left with more than a dozen soldiers.

Liu Hao blinked and asked curiously, "Old Wang, what kind of identification?"

Wang Kai walked over and handed the documents to Liu Hao.

Liu Hao took it, opened it, looked at it, closed it again, and handed it to Wang Kai.

Holy crap!

Overwhelmed with curiosity, Ye Juan reached out her hand to Wang Kai.

"Brother Wang, may I take a look?"

"Can!"

Ye Juan took it, glanced at it, silently closed it, and returned it to Wang Kai.

What the hell!

"Honey, want to go fishing? There are so many fish, enough for dinner, right?"

Liu Hao glanced at the time; it was 2 PM.

"Let's call it a day and go home to cook."

Ye Juan said happily, "I want to eat grilled fish. How about we have barbecue tonight?"

"Sure! You can arrange it."

"Alright, I'll go to the livestock farm and pick out a sheep later..."

Liu Hao and Ye Juan chatted and laughed about what to eat that night and how to eat it, while Wang Kailin and Ye Zhen strung the fish together with a rope and dragged them along.

The group walked to the shore, where several large piles of reeds had already been stacked on the open ground, but they were still a long way from completing their mission.

While Wang Kai and the others were loading the fish onto the truck, Liu Hao walked up to Yi Zhonghai, held out his hand, and said, "Yi Zhonghai, let me try!"

Yi Zhonghai straightened his back and put on a fake smile.

"Secretary Liu, let's forget about it, don't scratch your leather gloves."

"It's okay, I have plenty of pairs!"

"..."

Yi Zhonghai was starting to lose his composure and handed the sickle to Liu Hao.

After taking the large sickle and weighing it in his hand a few times, Liu Hao began to cut reeds in a very professional manner!

He had never cut reeds before his time travel, but he had cut pig feed and corn stalks.

Stand with your feet apart, bend over and grasp the upper part of the reed with one hand, then gently pull it in front of you.

With the other hand, he wielded a long-handled serrated sickle, cutting diagonally downwards along the ice surface, making two repeated cuts at the base to sever it cleanly.

The reeds were laid down and leveled out, and after each section was cut, the worker moved forward, bending over continuously throughout the process, his movements swift and efficient.

The correctional officers were stunned. This young Secretary Liu actually knew how to do this kind of work.

Liu Hao cut a large pile of reeds, straightened up, shook the ice shards off his gloves, handed the sickle to Yi Zhonghai, turned around and walked to the ice and reeds, his gaze calmly sweeping over the prisoners and the guards beside him.

The wind on the ice was still biting, and the prisoners held their sickles, heads bowed, not daring to utter a sound, making the already somber atmosphere even more oppressive.

Aside from the fellow inmates, most of the prisoners were long-term inmates who had served more than a year in prison. They were used to harsh reprimands and cold reprimands and never imagined that a high-ranking secretary would personally pick up a sickle and go down to the lake to cut reeds, and do so with such skill and efficiency. He was nothing like a pampered leader.

Liu Hao cleared his throat, his voice deep and clear, piercing through the howling cold wind and reaching everyone's ears.

"Raise your heads, everyone! No need to keep them down!"

Only after the words were spoken did the prisoners cautiously raise their heads.

"I just finished cutting this batch, and I know how tough this job is. The wind in January is icy cold, and the cold wind feels like a knife cutting your face. After bending over and cutting all day, your back aches, your hands and feet go numb. I see all the hardship in it."

The opening words were surprisingly understanding, which stunned everyone present. Even the correctional officers looked at each other in surprise.

Liu Hao continued.

"You are standing here today because you have made mistakes and violated the law. It is only right that you are here to be reformed and bear the consequences."

"But that doesn't mean you have to live in darkness forever, or that you have to be completely abandoned."

"Labor reform corrects past mistakes and creates a new life for the future. There's nothing shameful about working with your own hands!"

He paused, looked at everyone's red, chapped faces and cracked hands, and softened his tone.

"I know everyone is hoping to suffer less and get some rest soon. Today is the Lantern Festival. As long as everyone works hard, doesn't slack off, and completes today's reed cutting and bundling tasks with high quality and quantity, we can finish early and go back to the farm to celebrate the festival!"

"We're having extra dishes from the farm tonight, let's have a proper holiday!"

Upon hearing this, a suppressed commotion instantly arose on the ice. The prisoners' eyes lit up with a long-lost light, their faces filled with unbelievable joy.

In this harsh and cold place, an extra meal is something they can't even dream of.

"Is what Secretary Liu said true? We can finish work early and even have extra dishes?"

Some people couldn't help but mutter under their breath, their voices filled with excitement.

Liu Hao said with a smile, "I keep my word and will never go back on it! I don't care what mistakes you made in the past, as long as you work hard, reform yourselves seriously, abide by the farm rules, and put in the effort from now on, you should get the corresponding reward."

"Work hard, not to appease discipline, not to complete tasks, but for yourselves, for your early successful rehabilitation, and for returning home to reunite with your families!"

"No matter how cold the wind is, it can't be colder than a broken heart; no matter how heavy the task is, it can't be better than working together with one heart."

"I hope everyone will put in their effort, seize the time, and do their jobs well and thoroughly."

His words were powerful and resonant, highlighting the significance of the reform and giving everyone real hope, instantly boosting the previously gloomy morale.

The prisoners gripped their sickles tightly, their eyes now showing more determination, no longer displaying the numbness and perfunctoriness of before.

The other inmates, however, were unimpressed. They knew Liu Hao wouldn't give them an easy life, and the extra food on the farm was none of their business.

Because the 95th ward has its own small canteen.

The so-called "small canteen" was simply a stove set up in a livestock shed, with some ingredients provided for them to cook for themselves.

Silly Zhu... We don't need Silly Zhu. Anyone can make porridge!

Jia Zhangshi pursed her lips, continued bending over to cut reeds, and muttered curses under her breath.

"Liu Hao, you charlatan, pretends to be virtuous, but he's a hypocrite with a black heart! He cuts reeds to show off his strength, his deceitful face is absurd. He flatters people with promises of hot soup, but secretly schemes to deceive them! He talks about ending things early, but it's all lies to fool people! He appears compassionate like a bodhisattva, but his belly is full of evil and wickedness!"