I, Yan Jiefang, will live to 2025 in this courtyard house.

"Zhang Xiaohua, try cursing me again! I'll break your head!"

An older woman named Li Cuilan stood at her door, holding a rag in her hand, one hand on her hip and the other pointing at Jia Zhangshi, shouting and cursing loudly.

Jia Zhangshi had never seen such a middle-aged woman before, and she was immediately intimidated.

She wanted to retort but was intimidated by Li Cuilan's fierce gaze, and remained speechless.

The surrounding residents were stunned by Li Cuilan's current appearance and were all speechless.

After seeing Li Cuilan return to the house, Jia Zhangshi hurriedly got up and quickly hid in the Jia family home, becoming a coward.

When she got home, she leaned against the door, her heart pounding wildly, completely at a loss for what to do.

It took me a while to recover.

Thinking to himself, he would wait for Qin Huairu to return and discuss with her how to deal with Li Cuilan.

I really lost face today.

She couldn't understand why Li Cuilan had changed so much after returning from labor camp.

"Wow! Wow~"

At this moment, Huaihua, who was sleeping in bed, was awakened by the urge to urinate and started crying.

Jia Zhangshi rushed over to change her diaper and then took out the milk that Qin Huairu had expressed before going to work from the kitchen to feed her.

This child is very well-behaved; he stopped crying after receiving milk.

After the baby was born, Jia Zhangshi took care of him most of the time, and over time they developed a bond.

In addition, this child has delicate eyebrows and big eyes, and she is clearly a beauty in the making, making her instantly likable.

Therefore, although Jia Zhangshi was selfish by nature, she was still quite good to Huaihua, her posthumous child.

She takes care of him with all her heart every day, which is very different from her previous image.

Those who knew her well felt that this old woman was like a completely different person.

Li Cuilan across the street cleaned her two rooms thoroughly before going to the backyard to visit the old deaf man.

At this moment, the old deaf man was chatting with Lou Xiao'e under the eaves.

After saying something, Lou Xiao'e laughed like a goose.

The widow surnamed Cao helped the old deaf man clean his room and then picked up the sunflower seed shells that the two of them had left on the ground before returning to her own room.

Li Cuilan stood at the moon gate, looking at the scene here, feeling somewhat uneasy.

Unexpectedly, the deaf old lady no longer needed her.

He could only turn around and go back to his own home.

The deaf old woman glanced at her retreating figure expressionlessly, as if the person didn't exist.

She's finally figured it out: it's best to avoid any contact with the "five black categories" (those associated with organized crime, corruption, and smuggling), otherwise, if those beasts report her, she won't fare any better.

It's fine to pay someone to help you like this now.

Meanwhile, while cleaning inside the house, Li Cuilan overheard the women's conversation outside and learned about many things that had happened in the courtyard over the past year.

I never imagined that everything would change so much in just one year.

Lao Yi's apprentice, Jia Dongxu, died in an accident last year!

He Daqing got married to a woman who had fled famine, and they had a daughter this year—a daughter he had late in life!

Sha Zhu got married and now lives in the gatehouse; his wife is pregnant!

Yan Jiecheng from the front yard and Xu Damao from the back yard have both gotten married.

Is this still the same courtyard house she knows?

What exactly caused such a big change in the courtyard house?

Although she had grown a lot through the training in the prison, she still couldn't understand the reason behind it.

She felt she should take some time soon to visit Lao Yi at Qinghe Farm and tell him about the changes in the yard.

Maybe he'll find out the whole story and be able to deal with it in the future.

In the afternoon, Li Cuilan took her household registration book to the subdistrict office to update her tickets and certificates.

They also issued a letter of introduction for a visit to Qinghe Farm.

After receiving the tickets and visitation certificate, she also inquired about any odd jobs available.

The staff member from the neighborhood office shook his head at her, telling her to go back and think of a solution herself.

This actually means a refusal.

Unless there are special circumstances, it is almost impossible for the neighborhood committee to arrange any job or odd jobs for a person from a "black five categories" (a term referring to individuals in the "black five categories").

Li Cuilan had heard about this when she was in the labor camp, and she never expected that the reality was just like what her fellow inmates had said.

Fortunately, her family has enough savings to last them a long time, even if Lao Yi comes back in two years.

Therefore, she wasn't too worried about the food problem, but she knew that just sitting around and living off her savings wasn't a long-term solution.

When the workers returned in the afternoon, they all heard the news that the old woman had been released from labor camp.

Although everyone was curious about what she had been through, it was impossible for them to specifically ask her.

Even though we're all beasts, that's still incredibly impolite.

Besides, that's not a respectable thing to do, and people might not even talk about it.

He could only instruct his wife to secretly inquire in the yard.

That evening, the two widows from the Jia family sat at the dinner table talking.

Madam Jia Zhang gritted her teeth and told Qin Huairu about what happened that afternoon.

After listening, Qin Huairu advised Jia Zhangshi:

"Mom, don't get angry with that old lady. Although she's back now, she's already on the record at the neighborhood office and has definitely been labeled as one of the 'five black categories'."

"You've lived in this courtyard for so many years, you should know what the 'Five Black Categories' are. From now on, this old lady's life is definitely not going to be easy."

Madam Jia wasn't stupid. Hearing her daughter-in-law's explanation, her anger subsided considerably, and she said fiercely:

"Serves you right!"

Since Qin Huairu started working for Li Huaide, under his arrangement, her work has been easy and her wages have been quite good.

Most importantly, she now feels like a woman being protected by an eagle, and her horizons have suddenly broadened.

They didn't care at all about the trivial matters among the women in the courtyard.

I feel that they are no longer on the same level as me.

Even her mother-in-law, who had suppressed her for over a decade, didn't dare to cause trouble.

Although there were bound to be some gossips, these were nothing more than minor hardships for her now!

Those people have no idea what the view is like from up there.

When Yan Jiefang returned at the end of the month, Yan Jiekuang also told him about these things in the hospital.

But after listening, he just nodded and smiled, completely unconcerned.

This time, he specifically asked his homeroom teacher to get a special letter of introduction from the school leaders.

With this letter of introduction, he could then go to the science and technology reading room of the Beijing Library to browse various cutting-edge technology books and magazines.

This is still very useful for improving his knowledge base.

The skills of electronic science and technology and radio technology can also be improved at a faster pace.

It's like using a double experience potion while playing a game.

Unfortunately, these professional books cannot be borrowed from the library and can only be studied in the science and technology reading room.

The day after Li Cuilan returned, she went to Beijing Railway Station early in the morning with her household registration book and a street visitation certificate to buy a slow train ticket.

After a swaying train ride of more than three hours, Li Cuilan got off at the Chadian station.

This is the nearest train station to Qinghe Farm, about 5 or 6 kilometers away.

The rest of the journey can only be reached on foot or by taking a farm truck.

The woman was lucky; she soon caught a returning truck.

After saying some nice things, I got into the car smoothly.