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

After sending the money through the post office, Yan Jiefang returned to his home in Mianhua Hutong.

The house was spotless, and it was clear that Yan Jiekuang had put a lot of effort into these houses belonging to Yan Jiefang.

As he grew older, he gradually developed his own style.

For example, if he sets a goal, he will do everything he can to achieve it.

He never even thinks about what would happen if he failed; such thoughts of internal conflict rarely appear in his mind.

Yan Jiefang felt that this was a very good quality.

This is a quality that many industry benchmarks possess.

If he continues like this and nothing unexpected happens, Yan Jiefang believes he will definitely achieve great things in the future.

As for Yan Jiedi, let's not even mention her!

That child not only played tricks in his studies, but also in his daily life.

For example, when it comes to cleaning, they try to save as much as possible. When sweeping the floor, they are too lazy to even move a chair leg.

Washing dishes is done hastily and perfunctorily.

No matter how Yan Jiekuang tried to teach her, she wouldn't listen and continued to do things her own way.

My main goal is to make myself comfortable.

Even a dog would shake its head at that!

When Yan Jiefang returned, Yan Jiekuang was not there; he was probably at the library.

After graduating from junior high school, he obtained a library card at the Beijing Library.

Now I spend most of my free time reading in the reading room.

After leaving school, he really enjoyed the atmosphere in the reading room.

Moreover, reading can help you understand many things that were previously unclear, and you can also learn a lot of new knowledge.

Here, he can immerse himself in books and forget all his troubles.

. . .

Yan Jiefang sat in the living room, holding two letters in his hands.

Both letters came from the two magazines he had been submitting articles to for a long time, and were sent to him by two editors he knew very well.

In their letters, they all told Yan Jiefang one thing:

Starting in June 1966, all newspapers and publishing houses across the country automatically abolished the system of royalties, and no remuneration was paid after publication, regardless of the type of article!

They all expressed their deepest apologies and regrets about this matter.

But this is a national regulation, and there's nothing they can do about it.

At the same time, while they hope to continue publishing subsequent manuscripts, they no longer insist on it.

Over the years, Yan Jiefang and the two editors-in-chief have become good friends.

Occasionally, when they have free time, they would invite Yan Jiefang to participate in gatherings, exchange ideas, and get to know some friends in the publishing industry.

Although it was regrettable that his income was reduced by more than 90% due to this incident, Yan Jiefang was still able to maintain a relatively calm attitude.

After all, that's how times are, and there's nothing he can do to change it.

Moreover, his savings have long exceeded 10,000 yuan, and they are currently sitting in the bank as a fixed deposit!

The current one-year fixed deposit interest rate is 3.96%, and his annual interest is about 500.

It's more than many people's annual salary.

Even without considering his current salary and subsidies, the interest alone is more than enough to support a family.

He shook his head, took out a pen and letter paper, and wrote back to the two of them respectively.

First, he expressed that he understood the current situation and told the two of them not to take it to heart.

I also promise that I will continue to submit articles in the future unless there are any unforeseen circumstances, but the word count will be reduced, and it will be set at 5000 words per month for the time being. I hope the editors can understand.

He did this entirely to maintain his connections in the publishing and distribution industry.

To prepare for the publication of certain best-selling books after the reform and opening up.

He remembered that back then, an author's personal income was completely different from what it is now, and was related to the number of copies sold.

If enough copies are sold, it's possible to earn hundreds of thousands or even millions of yuan from a single book.

In the 80s, when the average wage was less than one hundred, you can imagine what hundreds of thousands or millions meant.

You can easily buy dozens of courtyard houses in Beijing!

After mailing the letter, Yan Jiefang returned home.

Yan Jiedi had already finished school. She played wildly all the way home, not even taking her schoolbag, and came straight here from courtyard number 95. (She has to go to school on Saturday.)

The child, covered in sweat, threw his schoolbag on the ground and ran to the cupboard to take out a bottle of Beibingyang soda.

I easily opened the bottle with a bottle opener and took a big gulp.

Then I started counting the number of soft drinks in the cabinet.

I was overjoyed to find that there were still nearly 60 bottles left.

My second brother bought another 50 bottles today!

Second brother is the most sensible!

How about we eat one less piece of beef from him tonight?

He immediately shook his head, saying that he didn't care how much he ate, and that he would eat as much as he was supposed to.

Thinking about all this, she took another big gulp of soda.

With purchases like Yan Jiefang's, the soda coupons were naturally insufficient. (The soda coupons were only valid for use at the factory's small shop.)

Then you could only buy it without a ration coupon, at 2 mao per bottle (5 mao including the bottle). After drinking it, you could return the bottle to the supply and marketing cooperative to get your 5 mao deposit back. (15 mao has remained unchanged for many years.)

If you accidentally break the bottle, the 5 cents will naturally be confiscated.

Such expensive soda can be considered a minor luxury item. Ordinary people certainly can't drink it every day like Yan Jiefang does.

It would be even more impossible to see such a person in the Yan family.

This is one of the reasons why Yan Jiedi came directly to Mianhua Hutong after school.

After finishing one bottle, she noticed that her third brother wasn't home, so she secretly went to the cupboard, took another bottle, opened it, and hid behind the door to drink it secretly.

They treated Yan Jiefang as if he were blind.

Yan Jiefang ignored her and continued designing his own blueprints.

Factory 774 already had a mature electron tube production line. He planned to rely on his technical knowledge, which had reached over 90%, to optimize the material formula and packaging process of microwave tubes.

This method can greatly improve the current domestic technological level and fill relevant technological gaps.

This is the task he has prepared for himself this year.

One or two achievements a year are enough; too many will not only be of little use to him, but will also easily arouse jealousy in some people.

It easily got his hands dirty.

Yan Jiefang just wanted to live a good and comfortable life. He wasn't a maniac who liked to kill, so there was no need for him to be too high-profile.

While working, he also forgot to exercise.

After all, health is the foundation of everything.

However, he hasn't played much basketball lately.

His skills are so outstanding that the mere sight of him on the basketball court instantly demoralizes everyone else.

There's no fun in playing ball at all.

Therefore, he mostly sat on the bench, supporting Factory 774.

Even if they do take the stage, they will only perform for a few minutes after the match ends.

This greatly diminished his own interest in basketball.

So he started practicing soccer occasionally again.

Besides football, he also tries out various other sports such as long jump and horizontal bar, but he doesn't take them too seriously.

But his skills continued to improve without stopping.

Some employees who had been involved in these kinds of activities originally intended to criticize him, but ended up being criticized themselves instead...

That's what makes life so cool—unconventional.