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

After the start of the new semester in September, Yan Jiefang entered his fourth year of vocational school. (The radio technology major at Beijing No. 1 Electric Power School was a four-year program, while the accounting major, added in 1961, was a three-year program.)

At this stage of study, the core professional courses also include: radio transmitting equipment, radio wave propagation and antennas, radio receiving technology, and radio measurement.

In addition to these, there are practical courses.

In the practical course, each student must independently complete the soldering, wiring, and assembly of a radio until it reaches the performance indicators required for normal operation.

In addition, I heard that next semester, students will be assigned to nearby electronics factories such as 774, 718, and 738 for internships.

Participate in hands-on work in front-line machine production and inspection positions.

To prepare for entering the factory later.

The vocational schools of today are completely different from the lousy vocational schools of later generations.

It was more formal and rigorous than many undergraduate universities in later generations.

This is truly about cultivating capable pillars of the nation, not just a superficial effort that results in unemployment upon graduation.

At the end of September, a man with gray hair and a cane stood in front of the gate of courtyard house number 95.

"After three years of hard work, I'm finally home..."

He sighed inwardly, then composed himself and walked into the courtyard.

Liu Yuyan, Yu Li, Yang Ruihua and other women sat under the covered walkway, busy with handicrafts while watching over several children playing in the yard.

He Xiao and several other children sat on a worn-out straw mat, vying for a rattle drum to play with.

The sounds of crying and fussing could be heard from time to time, adding to the noise in the yard.

Yang Ruihua looked up unintentionally and suddenly saw an old man in somewhat tattered clothes hobbling in with a cane.

She didn't recognize the person at first glance, but judging from his appearance, he was likely a beggar.

Stand up immediately and shout:

"Go away, don't come to our yard begging for rice, we don't have any to eat either!"

Upon hearing the sound, the others also stood up to support Yang Ruihua.

"Old Yang, don't you recognize me?"

The man raised his head, his voice filled with suppressed anger.

Yang Ruihua looked closely and exclaimed, "Wow, this looks like Yi Zhonghai!"

"Are you... Lao Yi?"

At this moment, Yi Zhonghai was in a sorry state, dressed like a beggar, and his hair, which had been shaved off, had not grown back much and was still quite short.

The face is covered with a great many crisscrossing wrinkles.

You really can't recognize it if you don't look closely.

Most importantly, he was using a cane, and his left leg also appeared to have a clear problem.

Several women were puzzled. How could three years of labor reform have turned out like this?

Yi Zhonghai knew he looked terrible, so he didn't linger and nodded before walking straight into the Intermediate People's Court.

He needs to hurry home and get ready.

Upon arriving at the middle courtyard, there were far fewer people than in the front courtyard, except for He Daqing's wife standing at the entrance of the main house and two or three passersby.

And the heavyweight Jia Zhangshi.

This guy is taking a comfortable nap.

As for the patina-covered insoles used for show, they've long since fallen to the ground.

Yi Zhonghai's tense mood also relaxed a bit.

He walked quickly to the door of his house, only to be met with a large, somewhat rusty iron lock.

There were already many withered leaves and dust accumulated on the ground at the entrance.

It's clear that it hasn't been maintained for a long time.

Yi Zhonghai paused for a moment, then put his package on the ground, opened it, and took out an iron needle that he had polished himself.

He completely ignored the stares of He Daqing's wife and the others, and directly inserted the iron needle into the keyhole.

With just a few gentle flicks, the large iron lock popped open with a "click".

He truly deserves to be called a senior fitter; he has real skills.

He pushed open the door with a creak, and a strong, musty smell wafted out, filling his nostrils.

Yi Zhonghai frowned, picked up his luggage and went straight into the house.

With a bang, he slammed the door shut behind him.

This time the noise was much louder, and Jia Zhangshi, who was sitting in the chair opposite, was awakened by it.

She looked around blankly, then noticed with her sharp eyes that the door across the street had been opened.

Could it be that that bitch Li Cuilan has returned?

Yi Zhonghai had been away from the courtyard for so long that she had long forgotten about him.

"Hey, is Li Cuilan back from across the street?"

Jia Zhangshi pointed to the opposite side and asked He Daqing's wife, who was not far away.

This woman was also good-tempered; upon hearing this, she shook her head.

"No, he's a lame old man."

However, the passerby, who was also an old neighbor, recognized Yi Zhonghai and whispered directly to Jia Zhangshi:

"It's Yi Zhonghai!"

Upon hearing the name Yi Zhonghai, Jia Zhangshi's heart skipped a beat. She hadn't expected it to be that damned guy!

Why aren't you dead yet, Yi Zhonghai? It would be so much better if you died in a labor camp.

Since it was Yi Zhonghai, Jia Zhangshi naturally didn't dare to cause trouble. She obediently picked up the insole from the ground and, unusually, pricked herself a few times.

After a while, feeling much more refreshed, Yi Zhonghai opened the door and went straight out of the yard.

He went to the Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill full of anticipation, hoping to resume his work.

But the head of the personnel department told him directly that the steel rolling mill would never hire workers from the "five black categories," let alone let him do such an important job as a fitter.

After causing a scene, he was thrown out of the gate by the security guards.

He was also warned not to go near the steel rolling mill.

Yi Zhonghai walked down the street in a daze, pondering his future.

Forget about a proper job; at most, you can only do odd jobs.

There was no hope for the future.

Fortunately, he still has more than two thousand yuan in savings, enough for him to live on for many years.

In the evening, the workers returning home all heard about this, and everyone was talking about it.

Most people believe that Yi Zhonghai deserved to be sentenced to three years of labor reform for embezzling He Yushui's living expenses.

Many people believe that three years of labor reform is too lenient, and that it would be better to be shot dead.

Not only is it efficient and effective, it also saves food for the country.

After returning home, He Daqing pulled his wife aside and instructed her to keep a close eye on the child and to be careful of Yi Zhonghai, the old widower.

His wife nodded quickly.

During a break before going to sleep, He Daqing carefully explained to her the grievances between his family and Yi Zhonghai, and asked her to tell her about it to her daughter-in-law the next day.

Tell Liu Yuyan to keep a close eye on her grandson He Xiao, and make sure nothing goes wrong.

After Yi Zhonghai returned, he rarely went out, and even when he did, he rarely greeted the people in the courtyard.

He spends most of his time inside the house, shrouded in mystery; no one knows what he's doing.

However, the neighbors noticed that he would occasionally bring home one or two old books.

At the beginning of each month, he would also buy a new book, with the word "literary" faintly visible on the cover.

The neighborhood committee and the police station are very wary of highly skilled workers like him.

They all sent people to warn him.

Yi Zhonghai readily agreed, saying that he spends most of his time at home reading.

Seeing this, the comrades didn't know what to say and could only leave first.

They had no idea how furious Yi Zhong was after reading several novels written by Yan Jiefang.