Ever since the higher authorities issued a notice encouraging the construction of cement plants in various places, the overall environment has gradually stabilized.

Affected by this, factories and units began to gradually recover, and the same was true in Tang County.

Naturally, the car team that Li Xu was in also started to get busy.

Of course, the busyness here is only compared with recent years. In fact, I still have half of the free time every month.

It was February 1973, just after the Little New Year.

The car team was completely idle at this time, and Li Xu and others sat together and chatted every day.

That morning, everyone was chatting about family matters as usual, when unexpectedly, the logistics director Wu Mao came over.

He was wearing a thick cotton coat, hunching his neck as he approached the group. As soon as he opened his mouth, a stream of hot air gushed out. "It's so cold, and you're still sitting outside. Aren't you afraid of getting sick?"

Hearing this, Master Wang chuckled and said jokingly, "Director Wu, being afraid of the cold means you're weak. If you're very cold, it means you're too weak. Don't try to hold on. Go to the county hospital and see Doctor Zhou for treatment."

All present were men. Even the youngest, Xiao Jianping, had several children. Naturally, they understood what he meant. They all smiled mischievously and agreed, "That's right, Director Wu. If you're weak, you need treatment immediately. Don't be embarrassed, or a minor ailment will turn into a major problem."

"Director Wu, listen to the advice and eat your fill. Don't worry about your face; it's all empty. Your health is the real thing."

You can say anything about a man, but you can't say he is weak.

Wu Mao suddenly stood up straight, stretched his neck, opened his eyes wide, and tried to argue, "Who is afraid of the cold? Who is weak? Don't talk nonsense here and ruin my reputation. I just came out of the house and felt a little cold for a while. Now I'm not cold anymore."

At this time, a cold wind blew, and Wu Mao couldn't help shivering. He subconsciously wanted to retract his neck, but he reacted halfway and stretched it out again.

Seeing this, Li Xu and the others burst into laughter. Liu Gang said while laughing, "Yes, you are not cold, you are not cold at all. Director Wu, since you are here, why don't you sit down and chat with us for a while?"

Wu Mao's eyes flickered. "I have something to talk to you about today. I'll chat with you another day."

"It's just as well to sit down and talk if you have something to say. If anyone has an extra stool in their car, please bring it over to Director Wu."

"I have it in my car. I'll get it." Xiao Jianping responded with a smile on his face, then stood up.

Wu Mao quickly stopped him, "Xiao Xiao, don't take it. There's something wrong. The director asked me to ask you to go to her office. She has something important to tell you."

After hearing this, everyone stopped joking with him and asked, "What's the big deal?"

Wu Mao glanced around and saw that there were no outsiders. He replied in a low voice, "We are going to build a batch of staff housing, and you have a share."

Everyone was stunned at first, then showed ecstatic expressions. They stood up from their stools and surrounded Wu Mao, asking repeatedly, "Director Wu, is this news true or false? You didn't lie to us, did you?"

Wu Mao rolled his eyes and said, "How dare I lie to you old men?"

When everyone heard him say this, they knew it was true and they were all very excited.

Among all the people present, only Xiao Jianping and Liu Gang dared to say that they had enough housing, and no one else dared to say it.

Especially Su Weidong, his family still lives in a rented house.

After a while, everyone calmed down. At this time, Xiao Jianping asked, "Director Wu, in a situation like my family's, can I also get a house?"

His family has no shortage of housing, but no one complains about having too many houses, so of course he hopes to have his own.

"Yes, you and Master Liu can both, but there is an additional requirement for both of you." Wu Mao replied vaguely, then said, "Let's go. Don't keep the director waiting. We'll talk about it when we get there."

In this way, the group walked towards the director's office.

On the way, Liu Gang and Xiao Jianping kept asking about the content of their demands. Wu Mao didn't want to say anything, but they threatened him with force.

There was no choice but Wu Mao had to answer.

It turned out that if Liu Gang and his companion wanted to get the house, they had to pay some money to the institute.

As for the specific amount, Wu Mao said he didn't know.

When they arrived at the office and everyone went in, Wu Mao turned around and closed the door.

The director greeted everyone in the car team and then asked, "Did you know that the institute is going to build staff housing?"

Liu Gang was the first to respond. "I see. Director Wu said that Xiao Xiao and I need to pay a certain amount of money before we can get the house."

"Right," the director explained. "Everyone knows your situation. I can't go too far. I can only take some money from you to shut others up. Don't blame me or think I'm being unfair."

Liu Gang couldn't help but burst out laughing. "What are you talking about? We both can't thank you enough, how can we blame you?"

Xiao Jianping didn't say anything, just nodded in agreement.

Everyone in the room knew that the reason they were eligible for housing was purely because of their status as drivers.

Otherwise, don't even think about it.

It is no exaggeration to say that even if they give money, the director will still face tremendous pressure to get this done.

Naturally, the two of them would not blame her.

Seeing their statement, the director smiled even more happily, "That's good, I won't ask you for much, two hundred yuan should be no problem, right?"

"No problem." The two of them answered without thinking, "When do you pay?"

"When the housing is allocated, you can go to the finance department and pay the money." The director replied, then turned to the crowd and said, "I called you here for another reason. The staff housing is a benefit for internal employees, and you can also enjoy it. So when the time comes, you won't get any subsidies for hauling construction materials. Don't be upset."

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