The housing distribution was over, and everything seemed to have returned to normal. People were still going to get off work and doing the same things as before.

But some people know that this calmness is just an appearance. The calmer it is now, the more violent the storm will be later.

The weather has turned cold, and Li Cheng and Ai Yi once again came to their house. Not only did they trim the branches and leaves of the flowers in the yard, they also covered them with a plastic greenhouse.

In this way, these flowers do not need to be moved into the house and can spend the winter in the yard.

The current owner of these flowers and plants is still the retired old man. At this time, he had already prepared a simple meal. Seeing that Li Cheng and Ai Yi were done, he called them in to eat.

Li Cheng and Ai Yi packed up the remaining wire and other debris and went into the house.

"Beef stewed with potatoes is my best dish." The old man said, pointing to the big bowl on the table.

Looking at the steaming and delicious food, both of them had happy expressions on their faces.

“It smells so good!”

"Old man, you are a master chef!"

The old man laughed heartily, then took out a bottle of white wine and a bottle of red wine and said, "This white wine has been stored for more than ten years, and the red wine was brought back by my son. He said it was from a French estate. How about we try it today?"

After saying that, the old man went to the kitchen to get something.

The beef stewed with potatoes exuded a rich aroma, and the smell of wine filled the air, and the originally deserted house suddenly felt like home.

Li Cheng looked at Ai Yi and found that her eyes were a little moist. So he whispered, "I can also cook this dish. When we get married, I will cook it for you every day."

Ai Yi smiled, wiped the corners of his eyes and said, "Are you trying to fatten me up?"

Li Cheng hummed and said, "It's better to be fatter, it feels fleshy and feels... Ouch!"

The old man heard the sound and shouted, "What's wrong?"

Li Cheng rubbed the place where Ai Yi pinched him and shouted, "It's okay, it's okay. My wife just wants to eat meat."

The old man came out of the kitchen with a smile, holding three goblets in his hands. "Eat if you want. Why are you being so polite in front of me?"

After the three of them sat down, Ai Yi reached out and pinched Li Cheng's thigh hard. Li Cheng endured the pain without saying a word, and continued to chat and laugh with the old man.

Ai regretted it instantly and reached out to rub the place where he pinched. This rubbing made Li Cheng a little restless.

At this time, the old man said: "Li Cheng, when you came last time, there were still flowers blooming in the yard. It's only been a few days, and they have to prepare for winter."

Li Cheng first offered the old man a glass of wine, and then said, "Yes, more than ten days have passed in the blink of an eye, and most of the leaves on the trees have fallen."

The old man glanced out the window and said, "These days, the old guys in the yard are all talking about the division of houses."

Li Cheng was very interested in this matter and asked him what those people said.

The old man said, "What else can I say? Everyone says the distribution of houses this time is unfair."

A group of retirees complained that the housing allocation was unfair, which surprised Li Cheng. The housing allocation plan was very considerate of retirees.

"Deemed to be employed", this one item alone can make their scores very high.

Li Cheng asked in confusion, "Senior, I remember when distributing housing this time, they specifically mentioned retired people and said they were treated as if they were still employed. Just for this reason, your seniority points are much higher than those of the employed. Isn't that unfair?"

The old man smiled and said, "Rules are dead, but people are alive. If someone wants to do something bad, no one can stop them."

That's true, Li Cheng is up to something.

"Look at Old Li in this yard. He's been working since 1949. But this time when the houses were distributed, he was ranked behind 300th. Do you think he'll accept this? And Old Zhao is in the same situation..."

The old man kept talking while Li Cheng and Ai Yi listened in silence. Finally, the old man suddenly told Li Cheng in a mysterious tone that someone had written a letter to complain.

Li Chengxin said that this was not surprising. It would be strange if no one complained about the house division this time!

After the old man finished speaking, Li Cheng said, "Old senior, you may not know this yet, but this is the last welfare housing distribution. The next step is housing reform, which means turning houses into personal property..."

The old man who had lived in public housing for almost his entire life was stunned. Although he had heard people talk about housing privatization, he always felt that this matter was far away from him and did not take it seriously.

Now that Li Cheng said so, he really took it seriously.

"You mean, this house will belong to me from now on?"

Li Cheng nodded and said, "Yes, it's my own."

The old man looked up at the house, still seeming unconvinced.

"Old man, if you have stable property, you will have perseverance. Housing privatization is the general trend. From now on, the issue of housing distribution by work units will become history."

At this time, the idea of ​​relying on the work unit for housing was still an inherent concept for every working person. Decades of habit could not be changed in a flash, especially the old man in front of him. After hearing what Li Cheng said, he was really shocked and unbelieving.

He asked, "If the work unit doesn't provide housing anymore, where will people live in the future?"

Li Cheng poured him another glass of wine and said, "Buy, buy a house to live in."

"Buy? Whose?"

When the old man asked this, Li Cheng found it difficult to answer.

As far as Li Cheng knew, there was no decent property for sale in the city. The old man asked who to buy it from, but there really was nowhere to buy it.

Li Cheng thought for a moment and said, "In the future, when companies no longer distribute housing, people will build houses and sell them. It's like the beef stew with potatoes we eat. When we want to eat it, there will be people growing potatoes and raising cattle. In other words, if there is a demand, there will be people operating it."

The old man was still skeptical. He pointed to the side and said, "According to what you said, this house will belong to you, oh, you all, from now on?"

Li Cheng nodded, glanced at Ai Yi and said, "There's another step in the process, and that's housing reform. You pay the company money and buy the house."

The old man was stunned for a moment and said, "Do I have to pay for my house too?"

Li Cheng nodded. The old man had a complicated expression on his face, as if he was confused about the payment.

Li Cheng said again: "Old man, after you pay the money, the house is yours. Since it is yours, it will belong to your sons and grandsons in the future. Think about it, isn't this appropriate?"

Li Cheng's words instantly made the old man understand. The public housing would be returned to his work unit upon his death. The house was his own, his private property, like money in the bank, and could be passed down to his children and grandchildren.

The old man was delighted at the thought. He raised his glass and said, "Li Cheng, I didn't expect you, at such a young age, to know so much. You know much more than the old men in this yard. They just talk nonsense all day long and don't know anything about real work..."