Tao's mother walked over and started talking to Jiang Ci, but her eyes were fixed on the two children.
"Little Porcelain, your two dolls are so beautiful!"
"What's your name?" Tao's mother asked Zhou Miao with a smile.
Zhou Miao tilted her head back and said in a childish voice, "My name is Miao Miao!"
Not shy at all!
Tao's mother almost went up and kissed him.
"Your little girl is so sweet!"
Jiang Ci laughed and said, "Don't praise her too much, or she'll get cocky."
"What's the big deal? By the way, you don't know yet, do you? The courtyard houses you were assigned this time are in a great location, right near Shichahai. It's a good location, and it's very lively! It's close to wherever you go."
Jiang Ci was also surprised when she heard the location.
It's near Shichahai.
That's really great.
“My child said he wants to go to the Forbidden City again. Now they will have somewhere to go during their holidays.”
“Who says it’s not?”
"It's a pity that Xiao Si can't stay in his room either," sighed Tao's mother.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Ci asked, "Will Comrade Huo still be living at home from now on?"
Tao's mother nodded, "Yes!"
Jiang Ci said, "The houses there are nice. Even if you don't live there yourself, you can tidy them up and use them for other purposes."
In a few years, that room will be worth no less than a million.
For example, if you rent it out, you might not get much money back, but at least the house won't be empty, right?
Tao's mother thought Jiang Ci's words made a lot of sense.
The two talked for a while, and then the director in charge of room allocation arrived.
"Quiet! I'm going to take attendance!"
The director shouted and called out names from the list. Only after everyone had arrived did he lead the people to see the house.
Since the houses were relocated from the railway bureau, it's impossible to say they're very new. However, most of the houses here were allocated by government agencies, and compared to those large courtyards where more than a dozen families share one house, this place is much more spacious.
Jiang Ci examined them carefully. These dozen or so courtyard houses were not very large. Most of them had two courtyards, while the last two had three courtyards.
The two courtyard houses are all roughly the same size, with each house estimated to have around seventeen or eighteen rooms, and the room sizes vary.
The three-section courtyard houses have even more rooms, with more than twenty rooms.
These courtyards are all equipped with cellars, and you can also set up a stove to cook at home. The tap water is in the courtyard, and the toilet is outside the house, so you have to go outside to use the toilet.
This is a significant difference from buildings.
Jiang Ci and Zhou Mingli followed the people around.
Of course, the best rooms are the north-facing rooms, followed by the east and west wing rooms, and the few rooms in the rear building.
Jiang Ci and Zhou Mingli wanted to choose the best house facing north, but Jiang Ci's ranking in the house selection was last, so the good houses would probably be chosen by someone else in advance, leaving Jiang Ci with not many choices.
Jiang Ci and Zhou Mingli were called over by the director, who said, "Xiao Jiang, although you were assigned two rooms, your ranking is low. I will try my best to ensure that the two rooms are together, but whether the location is good or not is uncertain."
"I understand, Director. Thank you for considering our family's situation."
Jiang Ci smiled and thanked her.
Everyone was in a hurry. After walking around to understand the basic layout and location, when the director started calling out names to choose rooms, those in front indeed chose the best rooms.
This time, housing was allocated based on merit and length of service. Some people were allocated one room, while others were allocated two or three rooms.
North-facing room, east and west wing rooms, rear building...
Those who got their dream house were overjoyed, while those whose dream house was taken looked dejected, angry but unable to speak out.
The later you choose, the worse the people's expressions become, but that's all the allocation there is, so who can say anything?
Jiang Ci and Zhou Mingli had a very good attitude.
During their most difficult time, they only had one house. The room was dirty, messy, and smelled terrible, but they persevered through all of that and even managed to clean and tidy up the house.
Even if a house is in a bad location, as long as you are willing to put in the effort, you can live in a house that is not comfortable.
Jiang Ci and Zhou Mingli estimated that each two-courtyard house could accommodate nearly ten families.
Jiang Ci was the last to choose. The only rooms she could choose from were the front courtyard of a two-courtyard siheyuan (traditional courtyard house) with a back room near the main gate, side rooms on both sides of the main house, and a few scattered rear rooms.
Side rooms and scattered rooms were not considered by Eci because they were too dispersed.
Those rooms with reverse-facing walls are connected together.
"This is too close to the gate. If there's any noise, it'll be easy to wake them up," said Tao's mother, who stayed behind to help them look after the house.
Jiang Ci nodded, her gaze sweeping over the area.
There were three unselected rooms connected together in the back row. The rooms were all quite large, with a connecting corridor outside and windows on the south-facing wall.
The reason no one chose these houses is because they are close to the main road, which is noisy with people coming and going, and they are also close to the gate, so people coming and going in the yard can be heard.
However, there is one advantage to this place: the door faces the decorative wall of the hanging flower gate, and people in the front yard cannot see into their house at a glance, so it still has some privacy.
Zhou Mingli's gaze swept over the two innermost rooms of the three rooms near the gate, and he said, "I get up even earlier, so I'll choose these two rooms. Getting up early won't disturb other people's rest."
There are five rooms in the rear building. The two innermost rooms have already been chosen, and Jiang Ci still recognizes who the other party is.
Mingzhu, a capable assistant to Director Yan of the Protocol Department.
Jiang Ci and Zhou Mingli exchanged a glance, then pointed to the two rooms. "Let's choose this one."
With Jiang Ci and Zhou Mingli selected, there was nothing to change, and the director quickly noted it down.
The director called out a few more times and said, "Come to work tomorrow to sign for and collect your keys. The water bill is split equally among all households, and each household pays its own electricity bill. If there are any other issues, the street committee staff will talk to you."
"Once you've received the keys, you can start preparing to move!"
Some people were happy with the house selection process, while others were not entirely satisfied. But since houses were allocated, most people were happy overall.
The director's words further excited everyone present.
Finally, I can move into my own house!
Jiang Ci and Zhou Mingli were naturally happy, but since they still had a place to live, they weren't in a hurry to move until this place was tidied up.
She bid farewell to her colleagues at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and returned home with Zhou Mingli.
They started discussing how to renovate the house on the way there.
“The house is close to the main road, so the sound insulation is indeed not very good,” Jiang Ci said. “We need to find a way to get some soundproofing.”
"The walls also need to be repainted. I saw that there is a stove in the room on the west side, and the location is not bad. We will use something to divide it into two rooms."
Jiang Ci chose two rooms, each over 30 square meters, totaling over 60 square meters. And that's without considering the shared area, which gives them a lot of room to maneuver.
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