Siheyuan: At the beginning, I can integrate everything!

A cold wind swirled snowflakes through the courtyard's passageway.

Yu Li wrapped her faded cotton-padded jacket tighter around herself and stomped her feet twice on the bluestone slab.

She had just seen Ran Qiuye and Sha Zhu's interaction clearly through the crack in the window.

Even Yan Bugui's shameless, do-or-die attitude was fully observed.

"This is shameful, I can't live like this anymore."

Yu Li rubbed her frozen hands, sighed, and turned to walk into the back alley.

She didn't want to stay in that dilapidated house of the Yan family for even a second longer.

In the years since she married Yan Jiecheng, she has truly experienced the meaning of "stingy" to the bone.

Yan Bugui had to calculate the cost of water, weigh the cornbread, and even spend half a day calculating the cost of keeping the kerosene lamp burning a little longer at night.

This isn't living a normal life; this is practically being in jail!

The back alley was a dead end, usually piled with broken coal ash.

Yu Li leaned against the wall, sniffling, her eyes slightly red.

"Oh dear, Sister Yu Li, are you hiding here crying?"

A clear, childlike voice rang out behind me, accompanied by a slightly muffled chewing sound.

Yu Li was startled. She turned around and saw Zhang Huaimin squatting next to a broken pickling jar.

Holding a big, bright red apple in his hands, he was happily crunching away.

"Go away, what do you know, you little kid? Go play somewhere else."

Yu Li waved her hand dismissively, but felt a pang of jealousy inside.

This little orphan eats better than she, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Yan family.

Zhang Huaimin didn't leave; instead, he came closer, staring at her with his large, clear eyes.

"The apples Xiao'e gave me yesterday are so sweet, Sister Yu Li, would you like to try some?"

He took out a smaller apple from his pocket and handed it over.

Yu Li looked at the shiny fruit peel, swallowed hard, and forced herself to look away.

"I'm not eating it, you can keep it for yourself."

She sighed, slid down against the wall, and said, "I'm feeling down."

"Because Uncle San is scheming to cut your food expenses again?" Zhang Huaimin took a big bite of an apple, his cheeks bulging.

Yu Li was taken aback. "How did you know?"

"Everyone in this courtyard knows Uncle San's famous saying."

Zhang Huaimin imitated Yan Bugui, shaking his head and using a affected voice.

"You won't go poor from eating or dressing, but you will if you don't plan ahead."

He rolled his eyes and precisely tossed the fruit pit into a broken basket two meters away.

"He even dared to embezzle Uncle Zhu's cured meat, what else wouldn't he scheme against?"

Upon hearing this, Yu Li felt a surge of grievances welling up inside her, like a flood bursting its banks.

"you do not say!"

Tears streamed down her face, and her voice was choked with sobs.

"Jie Cheng only has that meager monthly salary, which he gives entirely to his father."

"We have to watch his mood even when we eat a meal at our own home. He'll nag us for ages if we take an extra bite of pickled vegetables."

She covered her face, her shoulders shaking with sobs, "I really can't live like this anymore..."

Zhang Huaimin squatted down and patted Yu Li on the shoulder.

"Sister Yu Li, if you can't make it work, then don't do it."

He spoke as casually as if he were discussing tomorrow's weather.

Yu Li looked up, her eyes red as she glared at him.

"What do you know, you little brat! What can you do after you get married? Get a divorce? Then everyone will gossip and curse you to death!"

"Who said you have to get a divorce?"

Zhang Huaimin took a crumpled handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to Yu Li.

"Why don't you and Jie Cheng move out and separate the household?"

"Separate the family?"

Yu Li seemed to have heard something unbelievable, and even forgot to wipe away her tears.

"Would your third uncle agree? He'd rather squeeze every last drop out of us!"

Zhang Huaimin's lips curled into a wicked smile as he leaned closer, his voice extremely low.

"Sister Yu Li, let me ask you, have you ever seen that little black leather notebook that Uncle San usually uses for keeping accounts?"

Yu Li was taken aback. "I've seen him. He locks it in a drawer like a treasure every day and won't let anyone touch it."

"Do you know that what's written on there isn't just the cost of your meals?"

Zhang Huaimin's voice had a seductive quality.

"I also heard from Aunt Wang that Uncle San secretly withheld Jie Di's ration from last year in order to get more cloth coupons."

"Not to mention the 'gifts' he received from the students' parents, which were all recorded in detail."

Yu Li's pupils contracted sharply, and her breathing became rapid.

"You mean...?"

"Strike the snake at its vital point."

Zhang Huaimin stood up and patted the dust off his trousers.

"Sister Yu Li, all you need to do is find that notebook."

"No need for much, just copy two or three pages and post them on the bulletin board at the entrance of the neighborhood office during the day."

He blinked, a sly glint in his eyes.

"When the time comes, you won't even need to say a word. Director Wang will naturally come with a large group of people to 'uphold justice' for you."

"After all, this is a major problem of 'exploiting children and oppressing the masses'."

Yu Li stared blankly at Zhang Huaimin, feeling as if her heart had been struck by a heavy hammer.

This method is brilliant!

What does Yan Bugui care about most? His reputation! And his status as a people's teacher!

If those shady, dirty debts were posted at the entrance of the neighborhood office, where would he put his old face?

If the school finds out, will he get away with it?

"But...would Jie Cheng agree? He's so afraid of his dad."

Yu Li was still somewhat hesitant.

"Sis, are you stupid?"

Zhang Huaimin rolled his eyes.

"If Brother Jiecheng disagrees, just throw the notebook in his face."

"Ask him if he wants to live a life of bland food with his father, or if he wants to go out with you and live independently, eating meat every day."

Zhang Huaimin waved his hand. "I've come up with the solution. Whether you dare to do it or not is up to you."

After saying that, he took his short legs and strolled out of the back alley.

Yu Li leaned against the wall, clutching the handkerchief tightly in her hand, her eyes gradually hardening.

Yes, why should she have to suffer here for the rest of her life?

Rather than be squeezed dry by this stingy old man, we might as well go all out and fight to the death!

As night falls, the dim lights of each household in the courtyard are turned on.

The front yard, the Yan family's house.

Yan Bugui covered his left cheek, which was swollen like a pig's head, and gasped in pain.

Sha Zhu didn't hold back with those punches; now he even finds drinking water painful.

"That damned idiot Zhu, he hit so hard..."

He cursed under his breath as he opened the drawer and pulled out his precious black notebook.

I'm planning to calculate how much I spent on the doctor's visit today, and I'll have to deduct it from next month's grocery budget.

"dad!"

The door was kicked open with a bang.

Yu Li strode in, clutching several sheets of paper covered in writing, her face ashen.

Yan Jiecheng followed behind her, his neck hunched, looking utterly panicked.

"What...what are you doing? How dare you be so disrespectful, not even knocking before opening the door!"

Yan Bugui was startled and quickly stuffed the notebook into his clothes.

"I'll knock? If I knock again, there won't even be any bones left!"

Yu Li sneered and slammed the paper in her hand onto the table.

"Dad, look at what's written on this."

Yan Bugui took a closer look and his face turned deathly pale, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.

This...this is all from a notebook!

"Jiecheng paid 18.5 yuan for food last month, but you only gave us coarse grains and pickled vegetables. What happened to the rest of the money?"

"Jie Di's cloth ration coupons, Jie Kuang's tuition subsidy, and that pig's hind leg that Butcher Zhang gave you last month..."

Yu Li read them aloud one by one, her voice so loud that it could be heard even in the courtyard.

"You've really calculated things very meticulously!"

"Shut up! Shut up!"

Yan Bugui panicked and suddenly stood up, trying to grab the paper from the table.

"You peeked into my account books! You unfilial and rebellious woman!"

"I was peeking?"

Yu Li dodged to the side and held the paper high in the air.

"Dad, I'm telling you, this is just copied."

"Originally, I had already had Jie Cheng hide."

She pointed at Yan Jiecheng, who trembled slightly, but still nodded with a forced smile.

"Dad, Lily's right, we really can't live like this anymore..."

"Rebellion! Outrageous!"

Yan Bugui was so angry that he trembled all over and pointed at Yu Li's nose, cursing loudly.

"What are you trying to do? Rebel?!"

"I don't want to do anything."

Yu Li stared directly at him, her eyes icy. "Separate the family."

"Impossible!" Yan Bugui blurted out.

Now that they've separated, who will pay the couple's salaries? What is he going to use to calculate this?

"You don't distinguish between them, huh?"

Yu Li sneered, "Fine, Jie Cheng, let's go!"

"I'll take this ledger to the neighborhood office and find Director Wang first thing tomorrow morning!"

"I'll go back to your school and show your superiors how this 'role model teacher,' Teacher Yan, is scheming against her own children!"

With that, Yu Li turned and started to walk out.

"stop!"

Yan Bugui was now completely panicked.

If this really gets reported to the neighborhood committee and the school, will he still have his job? Will he still have his reputation?

He covered his swollen face and slumped into a chair like a defeated rooster.

"Let's... let's split it up."

He forced out those two words through gritted teeth, his heart bleeding.

That night, an unprecedentedly fierce argument erupted in the Yan family.

But in the end, under Yu Li's strong personality and the threat of the ledger, they prevailed.

Yan Bugui was forced to put his fingerprint on a family division agreement.

Yan Jiecheng and Yu Li moved out of the courtyard house overnight with only a few belongings and rented a side room nearby to live alone.

The news spread throughout the alley the next day.

"Have you heard? The eldest daughter-in-law of the Third Uncle's family is forcing them to divide the family property, armed with account books!"

"Serves him right! That old miser, he schemed his whole life, and in the end he even managed to trick his own son away."

"The Yan family's reputation is completely ruined."

Rumors spread like wildfire, reaching every corner of the world.

Yan Bugui didn't dare to go out for several days, hiding in the house sighing.

Days passed by like this.

The biting cold wind gradually weakened, and a hint of the New Year's atmosphere filled the air.

In the blink of an eye, Lunar New Year's Eve has arrived.

Every household in the Hongxing Courtyard has hung bright red lanterns on their gates.

Brand new Spring Festival couplets have been pasted up.

Only the east wing of the front yard was quiet.

Zhang Huaimin leaned against the door frame, looking at the festive atmosphere in the courtyard, a meaningful smile appearing on his lips.

"This year, I'm afraid some people won't have a peaceful one."

He turned his head to look in the direction of the Jia family in the central courtyard, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.