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

Liu Gen held back his explanation. Although he felt a little ashamed, he had the job in his hands now, so what was he afraid of?

So what if I lose face? It doesn't matter. How long will I be embarrassed?

On the contrary, if he stops studying now and goes straight to work, Zhang Dabiao will be caught in the middle.

This is something we can't do.

Zhang Dabiao didn't dare to take a gamble. He wasn't the one in the party. What if Liu Gen was that one-in-a-million "academic failure" or "useless person"?

Wouldn't that make us a laughing stock?

So although he was a little annoyed, he ignored it.

Yan Jiecheng and Yu Li decided to use their housing provident fund to buy the two houses.

Zhang Dabiao, Xu Damao, and Liu Guangqi discussed it. They hadn't considered using their housing provident fund to repair the house before, but since Yan Jiecheng pledged 50 yuan from his provident fund, it wouldn't be a big problem. The three of them agreed, and the next day the funds were allocated for Yan Jiecheng to complete the formalities at the street office.

Hearing that Yan Jiecheng is going to spend his own money to repair the house and then rent a place to get married, it's like reducing the burden on the neighborhood committee!

He spent his own money to hire the neighborhood committee's renovation team to repair the neighborhood committee's house, and even moved in and paid rent to the neighborhood committee every month.

Director Wang naturally agreed.

However, there are rules to follow when it comes to this. You need to get married first and have a letter of introduction from your workplace before you can rent two rooms.

Otherwise, a single young person would not rent two rooms; someone with a job and a letter of introduction from their employer can only rent one room.

This is the origin of the Jia family's room. When Old Jia came to Beijing to work in a factory, he was single. The factory rented him a room according to the standard. Then, Zhang Banxian introduced Zhang Xiaohua to Old Jia, and they married. Later, they had Jia Dongxu, and they could still squeeze in. After Old Jia passed away, Jia Dongxu and Jia Zhangshi squeezed into a side room and lived there.

However, after Jia Dongxu got married, it became inappropriate. By then, there were no more factory-provided houses available, and Jia Dongxu's rank was not high enough. So, in the end, he could only apply to the neighborhood committee for rental housing and wait in line.

So Yan Jiecheng and Yu Li got their marriage certificate that same day, and Yu Li's affairs were also settled; she was now working at the food processing plant.

The couple returned to courtyard number 95 and started handing out wedding candies, which startled the neighbors in the courtyard.

Old Yan's family hasn't come to propose marriage yet, has they?

What? This young man got his marriage certificate right away?

But Yan Bugui didn't care; on the contrary, he was secretly pleased. He was just annoyed that Yan Jiecheng hadn't told him about this beforehand.

"Just letting you know in advance, will my family be helping with the bride price?"

So Yan Bugui fell silent.

You've already got your marriage certificate, why would you still want your family to give you a bride price? That's like spitting out what you've already taken in, isn't that stupid?

So he pretended not to notice.

Yan Jiecheng still went to the Yu family's house and gave them a bride price of 20 yuan.

Old Yu was already quite unhappy. His eldest daughter hadn't said anything, but she went out in the morning and came back with a marriage certificate in the afternoon.

Although they knew Yu Li was dating Yan Jiecheng, and that Yan Jiecheng had a stable job, their family was quite satisfied. Moreover, Yu Li's current job was introduced by Yan Jiecheng, but it wasn't a formal job, so the Yu family didn't take it too seriously.

But your actions of acting first and informing later are a bit excessive.

When my family marries off our daughter, it has to be a proper marriage according to the proper procedures; otherwise, it won't sound good to outsiders.

Old Yu's face darkened; he refused to accept the betrothal gifts and asked Yan Jiecheng to take them back.

Yan Jiecheng had no choice but to explain the housing issue to Yu Li's parents. He had to have a job, a letter of introduction, and be married before he would be eligible to apply for a rental apartment—the factory did not provide housing.

They only managed to get this house by borrowing 200 yuan from the youth mutual aid association in their compound; otherwise, they really don't know how long they would have had to wait in line.

Moreover, no one in the compound knew about this, not even Yan Jiecheng's own father. Otherwise, he would have been plotted against by others. Not to mention, Jia Dongxu is still waiting in line to rent a house.

After this explanation, the Yu family elders understood completely, but they were also heartbroken that their daughter would have to shoulder so much debt as soon as she went there, and they were somewhat unwilling.

"Dad, Mom, Jiecheng has a formal job, and I'm also working at the processing plant. We can pay off this money in a year or two."

"But if we don't do this now, we don't know when we'll be able to get the house."

"So, Mom and Dad, we have to do this."

Yu Li's attitude was quite firm, because there was no other way.

If they owe a hundred or two hundred yuan, they can rent a house first. Moreover, there is still 3*6=18 square meters of space in that area. Director Wang also allows them to fence it off and make a small courtyard. However, they cannot build sheds or make renovations because it is a public house under the jurisdiction of the street office. But it is okay to store some sundries and put up a rack to dry clothes.

Just think about it, the small courtyard that Zhang Dabiao converted from the side room was only 5 square meters!

So when Director Wang brought this up, Yu Li didn't hesitate to have Yan Jiecheng pay the money and sign the agreement.

Since I can't renovate it, can I build a storage shed later? There's always a solution to every problem, right?

Seeing Yu Li's determination, Old Man Yu and Aunt Yu had nothing to say, but they only had one request.

When a matchmaker comes to the door to arrange a meeting, it is essential to follow the proper etiquette of the prospective in-laws coming to propose marriage.

Then, for the wedding banquet, one table will be held in their courtyard at No. 95, and another table will be held in Yu Li's large tenement courtyard. The house must be repaired and ready for occupancy by the time the bride arrives.

We can't afford to be the subject of gossip!

It cost a bit of money, but after Yan Jiecheng started following Zhang Dabiao, he got a job and naturally became bolder.

At worst, I can borrow from Da Biao and the others. But I can't use my housing provident fund for the wedding.

Follow Da Biao and you'll get to eat meat.

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

The matchmaker arrived the next day. It only cost two yuan to go through the motions, and the matchmaker even got a free meal and drinks.

On the third day, Yan Jiecheng brought the stingy and reluctant Yan Bugui to the door—because Yan Jiecheng brought some rather generous gifts, many of which, such as milk candy, were obtained from Zhang Dabiao.

Yan Bugui had never tasted any of these things before. Yan Jiecheng, that bastard, didn't share the good stuff with his father, so Yan Bugui was naturally unhappy.

However, as a father and teacher (school worker), he still had to pay attention to his manners. He successfully completed the marriage proposal process, since Yan Jiecheng paid for everything himself.

But when Yan Jiecheng gave a 20 yuan gift and brought a piece of chocolate for his sister-in-law Yu Haitang, Yan Bugui's heart was bleeding!

How much money would that cost?!

Yan Jiecheng is such a spendthrift!

I'll have to pay extra for rent and food when I go back!

He was unaware that Yan Jiecheng had already rented a house.

When they returned to Courtyard No. 95, Yan Bugui hinted at this idea to Yan Jiecheng.

But Yan Jiecheng did not agree.

"Dad, after the wedding banquet, I won't be living at home anymore, and I won't be eating at home either, so I'll only pay the rent and food expenses until this month."

"So, from now on, I'll only need to pay you 5 yuan a month for your retirement, and I'll still owe you about 100 yuan."

"I'll figure out the house myself, so you don't need to worry about it. Besides—you wouldn't worry about this anyway, would you?"

Yan Bugui was stunned when he heard this. The neighbors all knew that the small commodity manufacturing plant did not have dormitories or housing. After all, it was a temporary factory that had been converted. Even if the business was good, it would take time to build dormitories for employees.

As for housing allocation, firstly, it doesn't exist, and secondly, even if it did, Yan Jiecheng hasn't been officially hired yet. Even if he were, he wouldn't be eligible for housing allocation; he's just a lowly worker.

"Are you planning to become a live-in son-in-law?"

"That won't do—my son, Yan Bugui, becoming a live-in son-in-law? Especially not to some impoverished family living in a tenement?"

"That won't do! Where will I put my old face? What will the neighbors think of the Yan family?"

Yan Jiecheng looked helpless: "Even if I were to become a live-in son-in-law, I wouldn't choose the Yu family."

"Their family only has two illegally built houses. If Yu Li and I move in, where will her parents and Haitang live?"

"Don't worry, I have my own way. I won't become a live-in son-in-law."

But Yan Bugui's eyes suddenly lit up: "What I mean is, I don't object to you becoming a live-in son-in-law, but you're my own son, the eldest son—"

"You need to pay more!"