Siheyuan, Me and the Yu Sisters

Sha Zhu was slapped by Yi Zhonghai so hard that stars appeared in front of his eyes. He came to his senses and looked at Yi Zhonghai, choking with sobs and said

"Uncle Yi, you said that Xu Damao and I have been quarreling for a lifetime, what's the point?"

"I went in, and he went in too, and his life was ruined."

“I really don’t know what I’m feeling right now.”

Yi Zhonghai sighed, sat on the kang with his legs raised and said

"Zhu Zi, people should look forward and let the past go."

"When you come out, find a job that requires physical strength."

"There's always food to eat, right?"

Sha Zhu nodded, stood up dejectedly and returned to the kang, lowering his head, thinking about something.

Zhang Renkang's home

Yu Li slurped up the noodle soup in her bowl, rolled her eyes at Yu Haitang who was being helped out by Qin Jingru, and said

"Aren't you full? Why are you out here?"

Although she had accepted the relationship between Yu Haitang and Zhang Renkang, Yu Li felt uncomfortable every time she thought about it.

Yu Haitang was too lazy to argue with Yu Li. She felt like her bones were falling apart. She looked at Zhang Renkang with resentment, sat down by the rain, picked up the bowl and stuffed it into her mouth. She had taken a nap at noon and hadn't eaten anything all day.

Zhang Yushui was extremely embarrassed. She was not a child and she could guess what was wrong with Yu Haitang. Thinking that all the women at the table were Zhang Renkang's women, Zhang Yushui looked at Zhang Renkang with a different look.

Zhang Renkang knew he was in the wrong, so he hugged Zhang Hongqi and walked to the sofa, avoiding Yu Li who was about to explode on the table.

Yu Li groaned and said that she would settle the score with Zhang Renkang when she got back, then smiled at Yu Shui and said

"Yushui, you just said Shazhu was looking for you"

"Why, didn't Shazhu embarrass you?"

Zhang Yushui shook his head and said

“We don’t have anything to talk about.”

"I just said hello and I'm back"

Qin Jingru sighed and said

"I never thought that Shazhu would become like this. He has lost all his energy and vitality."

“It’s only a little over a year, right?”

Yu Li smiled and said

"Life in there is not that easy. Look at Banggeng, who was sent to a juvenile detention center and came out with a broken leg."

"It's good enough that Shazhu can come out to visit his family in good health."

Qin Jingru said with some confusion

"They were all sentenced to labor reform, but Shazhu was sentenced to prison. How could he just get out like that?"

"The prison doesn't care?"

Zhang Renkang on the sofa said

"It's different now than before. Everywhere is in chaos. He is not a serious criminal or a special prisoner. The treatment he gets in labor reform at the ranch depends on the mood and words of the person in charge."

"Silly Zhu, from what I heard from him, he should have a good relationship with Old Sun, who is in charge of the ranch, because of his cooking skills."

"I guess he came back to visit his relatives because of this relationship."

Yu Li frowned and said

"Aren't they afraid that Shazhu will run away?"

"If Shazhu runs away, they will also have to take responsibility, right?"

Zhang Renkang laughed and said

"Where can the fool go?"

"You don't know what the outside world is like now. Unless you run into the mountains, you will be caught or starved to death within three days."

"It's better for that idiot to go back to the ranch than to run to the mountains. He still has more than two years left in his sentence. Besides, he won't have to worry about food and drink at the ranch, and he won't have to do any heavy physical work. He can't figure this out."

Zhang Renkang's explanation made the girls understand. Qin Jingru said with a smile:

"Shazhu has to pay back Xu Damao's money when he comes out."

"By the way, Brother Renkang, isn't Xu Damao also in now?"

"Doesn't Shazhu have to pay back the money then?"

Yu Li continued:

"Xu Damao has been sent to the forest farm in the north. Whether he can come back alive depends on his luck."

"But even if Xu Damao can't come back, Xu Fugui is still alive."

Yu Haitang finished the noodles in the bowl, wiped his mouth and suddenly said

"Brother-in-law, what do you say about us buying back the two back rooms from Xu Damao?"

Yu Li said unhappily

"Why do we need so many houses?"

"Are you afraid that people won't notice our family?"

Yu Haitang said

"What? Living here, of course?"

"I think it would be better to buy the Jia family's house and then give Liu Haizhong's family a new house."

"This way, the entire backyard belongs to us."

Zhang Renkang said with a smile

"You would think, regardless of whether the Xu family will sell it or not, just considering the recent situation, you'd better stay safe and stable."

"We don't ask for anything else now, just to make sure things get better and not get implicated."

Yu Haitang pouted and said unconvincedly

"Maybe Xu Fugui will have to buy it from us later."

"If Xu Damao is sent to the north, he will be in a hurry. What use does he have for these houses? It would be better to exchange them for money to feel at ease."

Yu Li was quick-witted and thought it over. No matter whether Xu Fugui would bribe Xu Damao in the future or not, he must be in need of money now. Especially after Xu Damao was investigated, Xu Fugui's house was searched thoroughly. What could the patrol team, who claimed to have dug three feet deep into the ground, leave for the Xu family?

Besides, the Xu family still has a hope. At least now they still think that the child born by Gao Jun is Xu Damao's. In order to raise the child, the Xu family also needs money to make ends meet.

Xu Damao, who was far away in Anling Forest Farm, yawned. Anling was already cold and windy at the end of September. The snow season was about to come. The forest farm was now racing against time to use every second to cut down more trees before the snow season and speed up the transportation.

Xu Damao is now a lumberjack, following a master to saw trees, which is barely an easy job. If he were to be a transporter, his life would be very difficult. He would have to carry hundreds or even thousands of pounds of wood by manpower. Xu Damao has seen people die of exhaustion on the road.

Relying on his concern for his son who was far away in the city and his hatred for Sha Zhu, Xu Damao managed to get through the most difficult first two months. Looking at the old master walking in front with a saw, he trotted a few steps and shouted in a flattering manner:

"Master Wang, drink a few sips to warm yourself up."

He handed over the kettle in his hand.

Master Wang, with his unshaven beard, turned his head to look at the prisoner who was said to be sent from the city of Sijiu and said with disdain:

"You should keep it for yourself, don't blame me for not reminding you"

"The liquor you get each day is limited. If you drink it all early, you'll freeze to death in the forest and no one will collect your body."

After saying that, he walked towards the logging site in the mountains without looking back. He looked down on people like Xu Damao who were sent to labor reform. These people had committed crimes against the country and society, otherwise why would they be sent here?

The pot was filled with liquor distributed by the forest farm. In order to keep warm in the cold mountains, everyone had a certain amount of liquor, usually 6 liang for woodcutters, 4 liang for transporters, and 3 liang for other types of workers. This was the share for the workers hired by the forest farm.

Those who were sent to labor camps like Xu Damao only had 60% of the prescribed quota. Once they finished drinking, they could only rely on their physical fitness and cotton clothes to keep warm. Many workers froze to death in the mountains every year.

Xu Damao took a few steps back in dismay. He knew that there was a huge gap between workers like Master Wang who came here voluntarily and those like them who were sent to do labor reform.

Especially recently, there was an incident in the camp where a labor reform inmate tried to molest a female worker, which made life even more difficult for Xu Damao and his team. Everyone looked at them with strange eyes as if they were guarding against thieves, and their food and benefits were reduced a lot.

That wretched prisoner was even punished to reflect outside and froze to death. No one has buried him yet.