The Beginning of a Courtyard House: Sixty Years of Internal Strength

After the two left, Yao Yao couldn't help but sigh.

"Brother Jianguo, you and Xu Damao are really wicked."

They all interpreted Yan as having been corrupted.

The two of you can come up with several terrible ideas about this.

Yan Jiancheng is incredibly stupid.

They made him sign the IOU, and he actually did.

"Sigh, there's nothing we can do."

We don't call this bad, we call it clever.

Who would have thought Yan Jiecheng would be so stupid?

In the days that followed, Li Jianguo kept a close eye on the Yan family's battle of wits and courage.

Yan Bugui and Yang Ruihua, a married couple.

They were clearly on guard against Yan Jiecheng.

That day, Yan Jiecheng invited two people over for drinks to discuss countermeasures.

"My two brothers, I'm really worried to death."

Now my mom looks at me like I'm a thief.

They become wary of me whenever I show up near their home.

I have no chance of stealing the IOU back now.

"Jiancheng, there's really no way around it, you have to go to work every day."

"You don't have time to stay home and keep an eye on things, right?"

Yan Jiecheng also became troubled at this time.

Xu Damao, on the contrary, came up with an idea.

"Jiecheng, I think it would be better to win over all your brothers and sisters."

You can give them some money then.

Please keep an eye on your parents and see where they've hidden the IOU.

This offers a much greater opportunity than if you were to search for it yourself.

This is called breaking through from within.

Yan Jiecheng's eyes lit up after hearing this.

Yes, that's a really good idea.

"Brother Da Mao, you're really smart. I'll give it a try in a while."

Let's see if we can win over my brothers.

Then Yan Jiecheng excitedly started drinking.

The three of them then toasted and drank together again.

Two months passed quickly, and September arrived.

Great news came from the Jia family.

Qin Huairu vomited, which is likely a symptom of morning sickness.

A checkup confirmed that she was pregnant.

This made both Sha Zhu and Jia Dongxu very happy.

They all felt like their own children.

But Li Jianguo knew perfectly well that this child was definitely Sha Zhu's.

In the original storyline, Qin Huairu didn't conceive Xiao Dang until the latter half of 1957.

It's only the second half of 1955 now, a full two years earlier than expected.

This is definitely not Jia Dongxu's seed; Sha Zhu is truly amazing.

Qin Huairu got pregnant so quickly.

When Yao Yao found out, her gossipy nature was aroused again.

"Brother Jianguo, we just don't know whose child it is. This is going to be quite a show for both families."

"It's true, look how happy Sha Zhu is, he's always grinning from ear to ear."

He didn't even try to be discreet, nor was he afraid that Jia Dongxu and Jia Zhangshi would see through him.

"Hey, Brother Jianguo, I feel like the Jia family doesn't suspect anything at all."

I feel it's definitely my own; that's the only problem now.

If the child looks like Sha Zhu, then there's nothing we can do.

If the child grows up to look more and more like the neighbor, then our neighborhood is going to be quite lively.

Yao Yao also looked at Li Jianguo with a smile, as if she wanted to see a good show.

"Yaoyao, have you noticed?"

Now, almost all the lunchboxes that Sha Zhu brings back are given to the Jia family.

Even He Yushui can't get any food.

Every day, all I can do at home is eat cornbread with pickled vegetables.

They lived a truly miserable life.

"That's right, but no one can stop Sha Zhu from being willing."

After all, it might be their own child, so they have to take care of them.

Brother Jianguo, Yushui is still just a child.

"Can we go and help her?"

Li Jianguo thought about it.

Indeed, matters between adults have nothing to do with children.

That way, when you have time, you can bring her some food.

We'll do our part too.

"Okay, Brother Jianguo, I understand."

I could see it every day from then on.

He Yuzhu and Qin Huairu were by the pool, all lovey-dovey, playfully pushing and shoving each other as they asked for their lunchboxes.

"Zhu Zi, the changes in you lately are really too obvious."

I'm really afraid that my mother-in-law and Dongxu will suspect me.

You should tone it down a bit.

"Okay, okay, I understand. I will definitely behave myself in the future."

Sister Qin, how is the baby now?

Is he still safe and sound?

"Don't worry, Zhu Zi, he's fine."

I'm just a little worried that he'll end up like you.

"Don't worry, very few people in the hospital know about this, so no one should reveal it."

Moreover, Li Jianguo promised me that he would never mention this matter again.

If no one mentions it, then no one will likely observe it closely.

I'm getting a new hairstyle in a couple of days.

"That's good, Brother Zhu. With you around, I feel much more at ease."

At this moment, Jia Zhangshi was still staring intently from behind the curtains.

Although she was always unhappy with her daughter-in-law for flirting with Sha Zhu.

But she can't miss a single bite of the boxed lunch she gets every day.

Another month has passed, and Yao Jiecheng still hasn't succeeded.

In early October, Li Jianguo and Yao Yao went back to their hometown together again.

I plan to visit my grandparents and buy some things while I'm there.

Unexpectedly, after arriving at my hometown, I heard my grandfather tell me something important.

Now that rural areas have entered into advanced cooperatives, there will be no more land dividends.

In other words, a work-point system will be implemented in the future, with distribution based on work done.

Those with rural household registration in the city will no longer receive food.

Upon hearing this, Li Jianguo...

Holy crap, isn't this just a work point system?

I didn't expect them to arrive so early.

This means the Jia family is about to face a period of hardship.

I just got pregnant, and I have some great news to share.

What followed was a tragedy.

The next day, after Li Jianguo finished collecting the purchased items in the morning...

I rushed back to the city in the afternoon, intending to tell the people in the compound the news.

I never expected that Xu Damao would be even quicker to talk than I am.

By the time they arrived at the compound, the news had already spread far and wide.

Three days later, Director Wang brought people to the compound for a meeting.

Li Jianguo guessed that this was what they were talking about.

Director Wang stood in the center of the Intermediate Court.

"What I'm about to say has probably already been heard by some of you."

That's right, we're talking about advanced cooperatives.

This advanced cooperative is a national policy aimed at promoting rural development.

I hope everyone can cooperate actively, as I currently have a rural household registration.

Try your best to go back to the countryside and participate in labor.

This policy will not change in the future, as long as those who do not have work points will be eligible.

In rural areas, it is absolutely impossible to obtain a single grain of food.

You can stop hoping for the best.

Before Director Wang could finish speaking...

Jia Zhangshi then started throwing a tantrum.

"Heavens above, are you trying to kill the Jia family?"

Everyone said they were going to overthrow the landlords and distribute the land, but now they're taking the land back.

Let's find someone else to be the landlord.

In our family, there is only one person with an urban household registration, Jia Dongxu.

Now that my daughter-in-law is pregnant, we're going to starve!

"What nonsense are you spouting, Jia Zhangshi!"

Are you going to oppose the country's policies?

What does it mean to take the land back?

Upon hearing this, Director Wang immediately erupted in anger; these words were counter-revolutionary!

Is this Jia Zhangshi planning a rebellion?

Madam Jia was taken aback; she was about to have another great-grandson.

She simply couldn't care less.

I just wanted to cause a ruckus and get some benefits.