Time passed by unnoticed, and it was already the end of 1959. After the steel mill and school were closed for the holidays, everyone returned to the courtyard.

This made the entire courtyard much livelier, with every household beaming with joy. However, this "every household" did not include the Jia family.

However, the Jia family's situation improved slightly since Jia Dongxu paid off the hospital bills. They no longer went hungry, but they were still not full, their diet consisting mainly of wild vegetable leaves and aquatic plants. The only change was that they had significantly more grain than before.

How could Jia Zhangshi feel comfortable when she thought about how others were enjoying a life of luxury?

Aside from lying in bed in a helpless rage, the Jia family could only vent their frustrations in front of Qin Huairu, constantly urging her to find ways to improve their family's situation.

Everyone else was beaming with joy, but the Jia family was embroiled in conflict. Whenever a conflict arose, the other residents of the courtyard would come over to watch the spectacle.

The conflict wasn't limited to Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu; even Jia Dongxu harbored some resentment towards his mother. Qin Huairu was no pushover either. Even though the Jia family's life had improved somewhat, they remained dissatisfied with the status quo.

She harbored resentment not only towards her mother-in-law but also towards her husband. Whenever she saw how well other women treated their wives, Qin Huairu felt a pang of regret for marrying Jia Dongxu.

At this point, Qin Huairu finally saw the advantages of not having a mother-in-law. After Xu Damao's mother left the courtyard house, Lou Xiao'e took charge of the household. In the Xu family, Lou Xiao'e's words carried just as much weight as Xu Damao's.

Yu Li's position in the He family is very secure. Although Sha Zhu is not a particularly good person, he is absolutely devoted to his wife.

Even Yang Tao, who had just married into the courtyard house, was considered to have absolute authority in the Wei family. The couple rarely argued, and Yang Tao could do whatever she wanted.

I originally thought having my mother-in-law's help was a good thing. But after seeing how the three of them live, I realized that having a mother-in-law is actually worse than not having one. Without a mother-in-law, you don't need to be bound by rules, and you don't have to listen to all that nonsense all day long.

Unfortunately, her husband is a mama's boy. Things are a little better now; before, he always sided with his mother in everything. Even now, her words carry far less weight than her mother-in-law's.

Seeing everyone else preparing for the New Year, Qin Huairu simply retreated to her room. She sat on the bed and began pasting matchboxes.

Because the Jia family hadn't made any preparations. Instead of wasting time visiting others, they'd be better off making more matchboxes. Earning a little more money might mean they could have more food to eat in a couple of days.

Apart from Xiao Dang and Jia Zhangshi, who was lying in bed unable to move, everyone else was pasting matchboxes.

The other residents of the courtyard paid no attention to the Jia family. Although supplies were scarce, the New Year still had to be celebrated. However, Yan Bugui's business seemed to be struggling this year; with everyone struggling to feed themselves, who would bother putting up Spring Festival couplets?

Having just arrived in this world, Wei Hua didn't dare use his intermediate-level calligraphy skills. After a year of continuous preparation, he wrote a piece for his family himself.

Seeing Wei Hua's beautiful calligraphy, Yang Tao held it up like a precious treasure, examining it repeatedly. In the end, she even helped Wei Hua paste the Spring Festival couplets up.

Seeing that Wei Hua's calligraphy was even better than Yan Bugui's, everyone had their own ideas. Those who were on good terms with Wei Hua asked him to write a piece for their families.

Wei Hua didn't refuse the small favor, but it made Yan Bugui very uncomfortable. Fortunately, Yan Bugui didn't dare to go too far. If he jumped out and caused trouble at this time, his family would offend everyone in the courtyard.

Yan Bugui knew that he would lose a large sum of money every year from now on. The people in the courtyard would never again ask him to write Spring Festival couplets.

What Yan Bugui didn't expect was that when he saw Wei Hua writing Spring Festival couplets, even Lou Xiao'e wanted to come over and join in.

As the young lady of the Lou family, Lou Xiao'e was definitely an anomaly of her time. You could ask Lou Xiao'e to do laundry and cook, and she might not do it very well, but she would have absolutely no problem writing or managing anything.

Lou Xiao'e took paper and pen and wrote a few Spring Festival couplets for her family. Although her handwriting wasn't as good as Wei Hua's, it wasn't far off, and it was definitely better than Yan Bugui's.

Seeing Lou Xiao'e's handwriting, Yan Bugui felt somewhat hopeless, but what was even more devastating was seeing how good Lou Xiao'e's calligraphy was. Yang Tao also decided to show off her own calligraphy.

While there's a noticeable difference compared to Lou Xiao'e, it's not far off from Yan Bugui's. Although most people don't know much about calligraphy, they can still easily tell who writes well.

After Yang Tao finished writing, all eyes turned to Yu Li, who had just finished her postpartum confinement. Seeing everyone's gaze, Yu Li quickly shook her head.

Those who are family know their own situation; even their own handwriting isn't very good, let alone their calligraphy.

When Yu Li shook her head, no one was surprised. In this day and age, being able to write one's own name is already quite an achievement; many people can't even write their own names.

After the little incident, everyone went back to their homes, some killing chickens, some killing ducks, and others cleaning up.

Although the food was a bit lacking, everyone was very happy, and everyone hoped that conditions would be better next year. When the New Year arrived, everyone prepared the New Year's Eve dinner at home.

This is Yang Tao's first New Year in this world. Yang Tao even cooked a delicious meal at home; it's Lunar New Year's Eve, and Wei Hua didn't hide anything from her.

Because everyone will be cooking delicious food today, even if it smells good, no one will know whose house it came from.

Unfortunately, the system didn't reward steak, so Wei Hua had to substitute pork chops. The two secretly enjoyed a lot of delicious food at home. Sometimes life needs a sense of ritual, and Wei Hua and Yang Tao even lit candles. They spent their first New Year together.

The lives of others were several levels below Wei Hua's. Even Xu Damao, who had the best life, only had two chickens, a few fish, and a few pounds of meat. That was all the resources he had for the entire Spring Festival.

The Lou family prepared plenty of good food for the Xu family. There was plenty of flour and rice, and even a lot of pastries.

During the Lunar New Year, Xu Damao had his mother prepare a large table of dishes. After the New Year's Eve dinner, Xu Fugui and his wife left. They dared not let Lou Xiao'e serve them, but they mentioned the children several times during the meal.

This made Lou Xiao'e feel somewhat guilty towards her in-laws. She also worried that there might be something wrong with her. After her in-laws left, she immediately pulled Xu Damao onto the bed, and the two of them began to work together.

Yi Zhonghai's condition had just recovered, which meant that the deaf old lady's family didn't have anything good to eat for the Chinese New Year this year.

But this year has been quite eventful for the Liu family. Even the Liu brothers, Liu Guangtian and Liu Haizhong, are now officially allowed to sit at the table for meals. Although Liu Haizhong often scolds them, he rarely lays a hand on them anymore; at most, he'll just hurl a few insults.

So the Liu brothers were quite happy this New Year. The simple-minded Zhu from the Intermediate People's Court was also doing well; ever since he had a son, he was always smiling at everyone.

Perhaps because the misunderstanding had been cleared up, Sha Zhu and Xu Damao hadn't been at odds for over a year. This allowed Sha Zhu to focus more on his family.

But the Jia family and the Yan family were completely different. The Jia family's life was a nightmare; even during the Lunar New Year, each person only received a bowl of cornmeal porridge and a wild vegetable dumpling. As for anything else, Jia Dongxu didn't even dare to dream of it.

The Yan family's life was much better than the Jia family's. But the Yan family also had its own troubles: Yan Jiecheng was already of marriageable age, and Yan Bugui himself had received disciplinary action.

Seeing that Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong had both distinguished themselves, Yan Bugui was not to be outdone. A disciplinary action could affect his treatment and promotion. In Yan Bugui's view, this was a matter of utmost importance. It's just that the school offered no opportunity for him to distinguish himself, otherwise Yan Bugui would have taken action long ago.

During the Lunar New Year, Yan Bugui asked his children to help him come up with a solution. But they couldn't come up with anything after a long time.

"Dad, you can't just think about yourself; you have to think about me too. I'm already 20, shouldn't you help me find a wife?"

"Jiecheng, let's talk about your marriage when things are better. The current situation isn't good. Girls with jobs simply won't marry, and girls without jobs are just a burden. If they have a child, the impact will be even greater."

"Once things stabilize, I'll find a matchmaker to help you find a husband. It's getting late, you should all go back to sleep. Sitting here any longer will make you catch a cold."

Hearing his father's words, Yan Jiecheng could only go back to sleep. Going to sleep early might save him a few pieces of coal. Saving that much over a month might be enough to buy him a few more bowls of rice.