Under such strange circumstances, time slowly passed to 1966. This year's situation was even stranger than before; even during the Lunar New Year, the courtyard remained deserted and quiet.

In previous years, there was at least some festive atmosphere, but this year it's particularly quiet. I wonder if things have changed. The Lunar New Year isn't lively at all; instead, it's rather desolate.

Apart from a few people setting off a few strings of firecrackers, there was no festive atmosphere at all. Wei Hua and Yang Tao also deliberately avoided eating and drinking excessively. Even if they really wanted to eat, they would do so secretly.

Since the Wei family had no relatives, Wei Hua did not go out during the entire Spring Festival except to visit Zhou Zhennan and the Minister of Metallurgy.

During his visit to Zhou Zhennan, Wei Hua also got to see the children of high-ranking officials. At this time, Wei Hua dared not have too much contact with anyone, and he didn't even stay at the home of the Minister of Metallurgy for very long.

Wei Hua wasn't sure if the Minister of Metallurgy would be able to get through these ten years unscathed. The only thing he was certain of was that Zhou Zhennan hadn't been affected in any way.

Wei Hua spent a little longer at Zhou Zhennan's house, and even spent some extra time with young Zhou Xiaobai. After returning from the Zhou family, Wei Hua stayed at home and didn't go out to do anything else.

After the steel rolling mill resumed operations, the situation became even more bizarre. Although everyone continued to work hard, some rumors slowly began to surface.

Wei Hua knew that the storm was brewing and things would become even more unpredictable. All Wei Hua could do was be cautious in his words and actions, and obediently bury his head in the sand like an ostrich in the ocean.

Although the Lunar New Year has just passed, it's already February. There are some things Wei Hua has to be careful about. The course of history hasn't changed at all. Everything has proceeded smoothly since May 18th.

A revolutionary committee was also established at the steel rolling mill, with Director Yang as the chairman and Deputy Director Nie as the deputy chairman. The Party Secretary, who had been recuperating from illness for many years, withdrew from the political arena. After the Party Secretary stepped down, Director Yang naturally became the Party Secretary.

Factory Director Yang became the de facto leader of the steel rolling mill. Although Deputy Factory Director Nie was only a deputy director, he didn't have much power and could only endure the strong-willed Yang Jian.

The steel rolling mill officially entered the Yang Jian era. In order to gain more profits, anyone who disagreed with him was suppressed by Yang Jian, while many of his own people were promoted.

The steel rolling mill suddenly became Yang Jian's personal fiefdom. Deputy Director Nie and a number of others were suppressed, and Zhang Chu's problems also came to the fore.

Zhang Chu was criticized and denounced several times for this. If it weren't for Deputy Factory Director Nie, who still had some influence, Zhang Chu's life would have been even more difficult.

The Zhang and Xu families argued several times over this matter, further straining their relationship and intensifying their hatred for Xu Damao.

The only one who hasn't changed is Wei Hua. Wei Hua has a strong background and no dirt on him. Even if others wanted to deal with Wei Hua, they wouldn't have a chance, especially since Wei Hua has several protective measures in place. Even Yang Jian didn't deliberately make things difficult for Wei Hua.

In the past few months, some interesting things have happened in the courtyard. Yan Jiefang and Yan Jiekuang recuperated in the hospital for more than five months, and were sent back in March.

At first, they thought they could stay at Weihua's house, but the house wasn't finished yet and it was impossible for anyone to live there.

Everything the Yan family could take was taken by Yan Jiecheng and Yan Jiedi. Even if they wanted to live in the courtyard house, they didn't have the means.

They knew that to survive, they had to find their older brother and younger sister; otherwise, given their current situation, it would be incredibly difficult for them to survive alone.

Yan Jiekuang's condition was slightly better, but Yan Jiefang had to take a break for a period of time. He would not even be able to participate in any high-intensity labor afterward.

Everyone initially thought the Yan brothers would leave the courtyard house, but they always returned to their original place to rest every night. It was still quite cold outside right after the New Year, and having a place to stay was better than having nowhere to sleep. Although Wei Hua's house wasn't finished yet, at least it could provide shelter from the wind and rain.

Unable to find their older brother and younger sister, they could only sleep on the ground. Sometimes they would even huddle together for warmth.

Only then did they realize the importance of family, but no matter how hard they searched, they could not find Yan Jiecheng and Yan Jiedi.

With no one to rely on, they had no choice but to beg on the streets. If they got something, they would eat; if not, they would starve.

Wei Hua didn't pay them much attention; if they wanted to live in his house, he'd let them. Wei Hua didn't plan to continue working on the house for the time being, because everyone's mind wasn't on it. This wasn't the right time to repair the house either. Repairing it now would be handing someone leverage over it.

This also allowed the Yan brothers to find a free place to stay. Otherwise, the Yan brothers might not have survived this period at all.

When the wind picks up, everyone who has made mistakes or has a stain on their record feels extremely sad. People like the Yan brothers are the kind of people who need to be targeted.

After May 18th, the two brothers were arrested. Yan Jiekang fared slightly better, but Yan Jiefang's days were like an eternity. His sabotage of production alone was enough to condemn him to eternal damnation.

Yan Jiefang, whose body had not yet recovered, could not bear being dragged out for criticism and struggle sessions every day. This was simply too much for his body to handle. Before long, Yan Jiefang became completely paralyzed. Only when they saw that Yan Jiefang was paralyzed did the Revolutionary Committee release him.

When Yan Jiekuang saw that his second brother had become like this, he quickly distanced himself from Yan Jiefang and went to live elsewhere.

After seeing that the Yan brothers had left, Wei Hua and Yang Tao had no choice but to clean the room and then lock the house.

It wasn't just the Yan brothers who were being targeted; Liu Haizhong's good days were also coming to an end. After only a little over a month of good fortune, Liu Haizhong was also arrested.

Even Xu Damao was not spared. Fortunately, Xu Damao's case was not particularly serious; although he was targeted, it was not fatal.

Liu Haizhong fared much worse; he was dragged out for public criticism every day. He would tremble with fear at the slightest sound.

In the courtyard, only the Wei family and Sha Zhu's family were relatively unaffected. Apart from being questioned a few times at the beginning, Sha Zhu was not affected afterward.

In this situation, Qin Huairu and Banggeng's lives became miserable. The villagers who would have previously tried to cover for Qin Huairu turned out to be the first to betray her after the storm began.

Qin Huairu and her son became objects of everyone's disgust, and were dragged out for public criticism every day. All of Qin Huairu's money was also confiscated.

Watching as they took all her money, tears welled up in Qin Huairu's eyes as if she were begging for her money back. Qin Huairu had considered taking it back, but it depended on whether the Revolutionary Committee would agree.

The Revolutionary Committee members didn't mince words with Qin Huairu and her son; they dragged them along and started criticizing them. They didn't even spare Banggeng.

Bang Geng, who had just enjoyed a month of good fortune, is now suffering terribly. Fortunately, no one has brought up Qin Huairu's speculative dealings. Because many people are involved, everyone is selectively ignoring this matter.

Although it tormented the mother and son, it didn't kill them. However, it made them feel like each day was an eternity, which caused their health to deteriorate.

Although they lived in dire straits, Wei Hua fared quite well. The steel mill incident seemed to have had no effect on Wei Hua whatsoever. With the protection of Zhou Zhennan and the Minister of Metallurgy, no one dared to cause him any trouble.

Wei Hua ate and drank as usual, and had children with Yang Tao whenever she wanted. Wei Hua also handed over all the work in the workshop to the Revolutionary Committee. Now, even if production was to be carried out, it required the approval of the Revolutionary Committee. If she had the approval slip, she would go to work; if she didn't, she would stay in the courtyard and take care of the children.

Now everyone is distracted from work; all their attention is focused on other things. Wei Hua even has time to send his son to school.

It was perhaps a strange coincidence that Teacher Ran had taught Wei Junhao. Wei Hua didn't have many thoughts about Teacher Ran. It wasn't that Wei Hua didn't want to help; at this time, self-preservation was the most important thing.

Wei Hua would occasionally help Teacher Ran secretly when taking his child to school. He wouldn't have any contact with Teacher Ran otherwise; he just took his son to school every day.

This wasn't just true for Teacher Ran; it also applied to Sha Zhu's superior. Less than six months after the storm began, the superior was also affected. Due to his usual conduct, he was criticized and reprimanded several times, fortunately not for any political mistakes—it was simply because he enjoyed eating.

At this point, it doesn't matter how high your position is. As long as you have a stain on your record, you'll be targeted. A high-ranking leader who was criticized several times developed some health problems.

Some disheartened high-ranking officials simply used their health problems as an excuse to go to the south for recuperation.