Chapter 123 (Second Update)

Watermelons aren't very sweet this season, but my parents left me the very center, probably after removing the parts with lots of seeds. They cut the rest into small pieces and put them on a plate.

Luo Yan ate it with a toothpick, and after taking a bite, the heat dissipated completely. Seeing Wangcai wagging its tail and jumping in, she chuckled and said, "How come your nose is so sensitive?"

Wangcai rubbed against her leg affectionately, tilting its little head up, its eyes exceptionally bright and intelligent.

Luo Yan had no choice but to give it a small piece and say, "That's all, go play with it."

Wangcai is quite perceptive; after finishing his meal, he rolled around on the ground twice, and when he found that she was unmoved, he wagged his tail and went outside.

Luo Yan muttered, "I think you're almost a spirit."

Afraid that Laifu would run in later, she quickly finished the watermelon, wiped her mouth, grabbed her clothes, and went to take a shower.

The group discussing animatedly at the gate of the compound gradually grew larger. As Luo Yan passed by, she vaguely heard that they were talking about something at the factory, but she didn't pay much attention and continued on her way.

When she returned, the people hadn't all dispersed; they were just gathered in small groups, chatting amongst themselves.

Even a typical love story wouldn't cause such a sensation, would it? Luo Yan became curious and asked as soon as she got home, "Mom, what were you talking about outside just now?"

Liu Yinfeng: "The houses in the first three gates are habitable now."

Housing has always been scarce in Beijing, so the city government began planning a very large area in the Qianmen area in 1975 to build houses. It is said that once completed, the area will provide more than 8,000 housing units for the entire city.

Even though it's a drop in the ocean for a population of several million, it's closely related to the lives of many people.

Luo Yan was very curious: "I wonder if any of our family members will be staying here. I also want to take the elevator."

Liu Yinfeng: "The Beijing Hotel has one."

It's not like my daughter hasn't ridden in one before.

Luo Yan: "I want to know what the difference is between those built at home and those built outside."

But then she thought, "The amount allocated to the factory is probably not much, is this really worth such a big discussion?"

Liu Yinfeng: "Our factory only has ten units, and the allocation to each one was decided long ago. Today, there's a rumor circulating in the factory that if someone puts down one-third of the money, they can buy the public housing."

"You can buy it for just one-third?" Luo Yan: "Is there really such a good thing?"

Liu Yinfeng: "They made it sound so convincing that they even blocked the factory director's office door."

No wonder. But the family doesn't have public housing. Knowing Luo Yan as she does, if he had absolutely no connection to the family, he shouldn't have been at the door just now.

She voiced the question, and Luo Xinmin said, "Your mother and I were thinking that if we have more savings, our family will have a chance to trade for a bigger house."

Most of the housing in the city is public housing, so they have nowhere to start even if they want to resell it.

Moreover, in previous years there were regulations on private housing. Any area exceeding the city's per capita area had to be rented out by the housing management office and then distributed to various work units. The Luo family's house actually exceeded the standard slightly, but fortunately, the enforcement was not very strict, so the family of four had been living there. But now the policy has changed, and the couple naturally have other ideas.

Luo Yan hadn't expected this, and was overjoyed to hear it: "I'm alright, but my brother's room is really no good."

There weren't even windows; it was cold in winter and hot in summer.

The decision to move was primarily for my son's sake; his old room never gets any sunlight, and he can't stand it for long.

Liu Yinfeng pondered: "Old Wang's house is smaller than ours, but it sold for more than three thousand. Although his house is a west wing, I think our house is about the same price. If we add another two thousand, we might be able to exchange it for a detached house."

Two thousand? Luo Yan laughed: "Looks like they really aren't pressuring my brother to get married anymore."

That's all of my parents' savings; they want to save it for what they consider the most important things.

Although Liu Yinfeng said that she would let her son make his own decision, she was still annoyed when she brought it up in front of him: "Ignore him, let him stay a bachelor."

She looked around and said, “Look how narrow this room is. If we put in another refrigerator, it will take up the aisle. Luckily, everyone in our family is skinny.”

Seeing that her mother was already planning a new house, Luo Yan quickly called out, "Mom, Mom, it's not even a thing yet."

But as the saying goes, there's no smoke without fire. The next day, the newspaper headline carried this news—employees who originally rented public housing only needed to pay one-third of the purchase price, with the remaining portion paid by the government and their work unit, a system known as the "three-thirds system."

The family of four was having breakfast when Luo Xinmin saw these words while flipping through the newspaper and read them aloud.

Liu Yinfeng was overjoyed and slammed her hand on the table: "That's great! I'll have to find out which family is willing to buy it today."

Luo Yan felt that what she was more interested in was "inquiring" and had little to do with the house, so she teased, "Mom, when don't you go out and inquire?"

On this matter, Luo Hong had more in common with his mother, namely that he hadn't been able to share his family's thoughts in time yesterday, so he only gave an objective opinion: "I don't think there will be many people. Even if it's just a third, it'll still cost around a thousand yuan."

There aren't many high-ranking people living in this alley; most are ordinary workers. The young people haven't worked for many years and certainly don't have any savings. The older couples only earn about a hundred yuan a month combined, but they usually have elderly parents to support and young children to raise. If they can save ten yuan a month, they're considered to be thrifty.

They had to save money like this, and there couldn't be any major events like the birth of a child, otherwise they would have to borrow money from outside.

Liu Yinfeng knew this too, and said, "If there really isn't one, we can move to another alley."

Wait a minute, we don't live in public housing, so how did this get into the topic of moving?

Luo Hong asked the question and only then learned about the new developments at home.

When it came to the idea of ​​moving to a different house, Luo Hong was the first to raise his hand in support.

But he didn't have much money after buying the refrigerator, and suddenly remembered: "I'll pay two hundred."

The remaining family of three stared at him, their faces practically screaming, "You actually have money!"

Luo Hong explained, "One hundred of them were given by the three parties."

Admittedly, Liu Yinfeng had some reservations about her son helping out for a month, but since they had already given her gifts and treated her to meals, she should have felt obligated to repay them. It would be impolite to offer them money in return.

She said, "We can't accept this. We should return it to them immediately."

Luo Hong: "I went there last night, and he insisted it wasn't his. That's nonsense. Who else would put a hundred yuan in my bag besides him?"

He only discovered it when he was about to close the door and go home. He rushed to find his childhood friend, but was met with a long-winded explanation.

They were really sincere in insisting on giving it to us. Liu Yinfeng commented, "This child is quite honest."

"That's right," Luo Hong said. "So I put it in my pocket."

As for how to handle the favors afterwards, Liu Yinfeng knew her son was aware of the situation and didn't interfere too much, only saying, "If it really comes down to exchanging favors, your two hundred won't make a difference."

Luo Yan quickly raised her hand: "I have money, I have money, I have more money than him."

Luo Hong: "Does it really have to be this last sentence?"

Luo Yan said matter-of-factly, "They won't even let people speak the truth."

To be honest, Liu Yinfeng sometimes feels that her daughter is richer than her parents, saying, "If I need anything, I'll definitely tell you. Consider it a loan from your father at high interest rates, and I'll pay you back double later."

Huh? Luo Xinmin asked in surprise, "Why does the mention of high-interest loans always involve my father?"

Liu Yinfeng: "You are the head of the family, the pillar of the household, so it has to be you."

The phrase "head of the household" made everyone laugh.

Luo Xinmin: "Am I really in charge?"

Liu Yinfeng glanced at him and said, "You said you wanted to eat ribs, but I didn't even make chicken soup for Yanyan first."

Are you still not satisfied?

"That's quite a big deal," Luo Xinmin said, wiping his mouth. "Looks like we'll get some chicken soup today."

He was on his way to work, and after stepping out the door, he turned his head back and said, "I'll also ask around at the factory today."

Yes, yes, yes, let's all ask together, and take a multi-pronged approach.

Liu Yinfeng instructed her son, "You go too."

The residents of the alley were mostly employees of the No. 8 State-owned Cotton Mill. For Dad's future commute, living nearby would definitely be the best option, especially since the four of them were used to this area.

Luo Hong: "Then I'll close the shop early tonight, come back for dinner, and then visit some neighbors."

Speaking of this, Liu Yinfeng said, "I don't care about anything else. It's the 14th in a couple of days, so I'll take a night off."

A few years ago, it was said to be about breaking the old customs, but everyone still followed the old traditions. Luo Hong said, "Okay, anyway, there probably won't be many guests."

After he finished speaking, he went out to work, leaving only the mother and daughter at home.

Luo Yan whispered to her mother, "I have eight hundred yuan, and I'll tell you."

Liu Yinfeng patted her daughter's face: "Okay, if you need money, I'll ask you for it. Go do your homework."

Luo Yan happily returned to her room and sat at her desk all day.

She was able to calm down, completely unaware that the outside world was in an uproar over this morning's news.

Luo Hong arrived home just before dinner time.

As soon as he entered the house, he called out, "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy."

The child's cries sound like a death knell.

Liu Yinfeng poked her head out of the kitchen, holding a spatula: "What's wrong?"

Luo Hong: "They're arguing. Do you want to go and see?"

Liu Yinfeng immediately handed the spatula to her son, saying, "I haven't added salt yet."

She took off her apron and hurriedly walked outside.

Luo Hong took over the shift, but when it came time to add the salt, he was a little unsure and called out loudly, "Yan Yan, come here for a second!"

Luo Yan was engrossed in her homework when she heard this and realized her brother had returned. She went to the kitchen and asked in surprise, "It's you? Where's Mom?"

Luo Hong: "I've gone to watch people argue."

Without mentioning that he himself came back to deliver the message, he said, "You come and add the salt; you won't get scolded anyway."

Luo Yan can cook, but not as often as her brother, who was a sent-down youth. She dodged her hand behind her back and said, "I won't."

Luo Hong criticized her: "You have no sense of responsibility at all."

As if he had it himself, Luo Yan gave him a suggestion: "Don't put it in yet, Mom will take a bite and then pour it into the pot to stir-fry again."

Luo Hong was full of praise: "I told you long ago that you were full of bad ideas, but no one believed me."

He rummaged through the pot of vegetables and ladled them out, then remembered, "I have figs in my bag."

Luo Yan: "Is it already the season?"

Luo Hong: "I don't know, I didn't buy it."

It goes without saying who bought it. Luo Yan: "Did he even go to the store today?"

Luo Hong: "They said they were just passing by on their way to sell watches, what do you think?"

Luo Yan washed a fig, took a bite, and said, "I think people should trust each other. What do you think?"

Luo Hong couldn't help but roll his eyes: "I just trusted him too much."

He himself is easygoing, but he is very careful about his sister's affairs. He keeps many eligible boys away from her. If he hadn't been prejudiced that it was his childhood friend who liked his sister, they wouldn't have had so many opportunities to meet.

Now, he rolls his eyes at himself whenever he thinks about it, and his back teeth are practically grinding to powder.

Seeing him like that, Luo Yan was a little afraid to provoke him, so she quickly sat up straight at the table, looking towards the door and waiting for her parents to come home for dinner.

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Author's note: Good night!

When I first checked, the Three-Thirds System was set in 1980, but I later found it was in 1982. So, I want to emphasize: the novel will try to be as realistic as possible, but sometimes there will be some changes for the sake of plot development. Please don't take it too literally.