Courtyard House: Drunk and tipsy, the whole courtyard exposed at the start.

Although Sha Zhu was beaten up by He Daqing, he still didn't submit to He Daqing.

Because He Daqing abandoned his children and went to Baocheng at the time when Shazhu and Yushui needed their loved ones the most.

And to this day they still refuse to explain why they insisted on going to Baocheng.

This is a thorn in Sha Zhu's side forever, so even though he was beaten, he was still unwilling to accept it.

Although Yi Zhonghai's conduct was questionable, he genuinely cared about Sha Zhu and protected him!

To judge a person, we must look at what they have done—this is what Yi Zhonghai taught Sha Zhu, and he found it very useful.

As for why Yi Zhonghai didn't take in Sha Zhu as his godson, the reason is quite valid: Sha Zhu still has a father, and his father isn't dead yet.

So, after a few words of PUA from Yi Zhonghai, Sha Zhu went back to his old ways. Although they weren't very close, he didn't mind hanging out with Yi Zhonghai and Jia Dongxu.

Because no one else likes Sha Zhu either, they don't play with him at all! Only Yi Zhonghai, the deaf old lady, and Qin Huairu will go along with Sha Zhu and coax him like a three-hundred-month-old baby.

Sha Zhu was extremely fond of this feeling.

So I didn't break ties with Yi Zhonghai; we just stayed on the same page. I was just a little more cautious, not as naive as before.

However, with his level of skill, he was easily fooled by the deaf old woman Yi Zhonghai and Qin Huairu, and was completely manipulated.

------------

That evening, the three returned to the courtyard house. Zhang Dabiao's and Liu Guangqi's houses had already been cleaned up, and Liu Guangqi had invited Zhang Dabiao to dinner that day, and they were making a ruckus at home.

Even Xu Damao brought wine to celebrate; he had to be there for this kind of occasion. Yan Jiecheng also joined in, and the group of young men made quite a scene.

Sha Zhu glanced at it twice, snorted, and went back into the house.

Nobody includes me in their games!

After leaving the hospital in the afternoon, Jia Dongxu made a special trip to the neighborhood office to inquire about the situation.

He's still ranked second; the person in first place hasn't been assigned yet.

The subdistrict office is short of money and has no ability to repair dilapidated courtyards and houses. All the funds have been invested in relief stations. These days, more and more people are fleeing famine, and the subdistrict office is under great pressure.

However, if someone wants to buy a dilapidated courtyard and build their own house like Zhang Dabiao, the neighborhood committee is very supportive.

Jia Dongxu smiled bitterly. Where did he get the money?

Yi Zhonghai is even less likely to be taken advantage of.

Therefore, in summary, the subdistrict office will not be able to renovate or build new houses in the next two or three years. They can only continue to wait and see who is transferred so that houses can be vacated, and it is not necessarily in courtyard No. 95.

When he told Qin Huairu about it, Qin Huairu's heart sank completely.

I thought that breaking off the engagement and moving to the city would give me a better life, but what happened?

The family of five shared a room, and they had to separate themselves from each other by a curtain at night. Jia Zhangshi snored so much that no one could sleep well. Only Dongxu had a quota, and his technical grade was being suppressed by Yi Zhonghai, so he couldn't be promoted anytime soon.

Furthermore, her family is ignoring her now. Qin Jingru has entered the family, but she can't get any benefits from it. Not only does her mother-in-law torment her, but she's also a former convict, and her son is called a thief...

And what about her former "fiancé" Zhang Dabiao?

Every meal includes fish and meat, there's a workstation, a small courtyard, and a small side courtyard almost the size of the central courtyard...

Eh...

When will this ever end?

------------

The next day, Jia Dongxu returned to the factory to continue working, while Yi Zhonghai needed to rest for a month or two, but he didn't get that treatment.

When I went to the warehouse to move things, I unexpectedly saw You Hongjuan?

"You Hongjuan, what are you doing here?"

In Jia Dongxu's memory, Liu Guangqi's wife's workplace was in the suburbs of Beijing, which was quite far away.

Why is she sitting at the warehouse entrance, wearing a steel mill uniform and keeping accounts in this notebook?

"Why can't I be here? I'm a warehouse keeper at the steel rolling mill now, I just started working here recently."

Jia Dongxu didn't believe it and jokingly said, "Impossible, absolutely impossible. You're a vocational school graduate in a cadre position, how could you condescend to such a lowly post..."

Wait—the warehouse manager?!

[Zhang Dabiao's job was as a warehouse keeper. Did he sell that job to Liu Guangqi's wife?]

[Job transfer, moving, renting?]

Jia Dongxu understood everything in an instant.

[You bastard Zhang Dabiao—you refused to lend us money, but now you've let outsiders benefit, haven't you?]

We're relatives, you're showing absolutely no regard for family ties!

【Very well! Since my Jia family can't get it either, then I'll ask Uncle Zhang to be the judge!】

No matter what, the warehouse keeper's workstation can belong to someone surnamed Zhang or someone surnamed Jia, but it can't belong to someone surnamed You!

So, Jia Dongxu, looking gloomy, went to write a letter. Why not make a phone call?

The answer is always the same: no money.

The gossip in the courtyard had already spread throughout the steel mill, because the fact that Captain Chen of the security department was sent to a labor camp caused a sensation in the factory.

Moreover, Yi Zhonghai, a level 7 worker, frequently criticized and demoted people over the loudspeaker throughout the factory, coupled with the lavish wedding banquet of Liu Pangpang's son, and Xu Damao's constant boasting—

Most people at the steel mill knew pretty much everything about the shady things Jia Dongxu, Yi Zhonghai, and Sha Zhu had done.

But it's just something to laugh about over tea, not something to actually help Zhang Dabiao seek justice for.

They can't even get enough to eat, what's the point of complaining? Besides, Zhang Dabiao hasn't even started working at the factory yet, they don't even know who he is. Furthermore, the factory and the Women's Federation have already punished him, and they're waiting to settle things after Yi Zhonghai starts working, so they're too lazy to bother with this mess.

As for the scheme to urge Zhang Dabiao to take over the work position, it vanished the moment You Hongjuan entered the factory, and her monthly living allowance of 5 yuan also disappeared.

But what Jia Dongxu couldn't understand was, if you sell your workstation to You Hongjuan, how can you expect to work as a temporary purchasing agent for the rest of your life? That's impossible!

Is there something else going on here?

What else does Zhang Dabiao have to rely on?

Forget it, let Uncle Zhang argue with him.

------------

February 19, 1960, the 2rd day of the first lunar month, Friday;

Suitable for: praying for blessings, burial, offering sacrifices, encoffining, moving the coffin, putting on mourning clothes, removing mourning clothes, relocating graves, praying for children, and holding religious ceremonies;

Taboo: Wedding, breaking ground, building a house, consecrating a site, breaking ground.

Zhang Dabiao was still tidying up the house. He used the room closest to Sha Zhu's house as a kitchen, and the other room was just used as a bedroom for a while.

Once the skipping grade thing is done, then we'll prepare to build a house in the adjacent courtyard, and then do a complete renovation. For now, this side room is enough for him by himself.

While they were still cleaning and tidying up, Sha Zhu rushed over.

"Da Biao, Da Biao, are you home?"

Zhang Dabiao came out of the house, a cigarette dangling from his lips, and answered through the fence, "What's up?"

"Could you lend me a tube of noodles, an egg, and some cured meat?"

Zhang Dabiao frowned: "Shazhu, our relationship isn't that great, is it? Do you think you can borrow from me?"

"Is it to show filial piety to the old deaf man or to help your sister Qin?"

"If it's them, then forget it. Besides, didn't you say you'd pay me back this month for the 10 jin of meat and 2 jin of hot pot base you owed me last time?"

"You even said you'd give me an extra pound of meat, but where's the meat?"

Sha Zhu blushed whenever this was mentioned.

Forcing someone to repay a debt, Zhang Dabiao, that's not fair!