Chapter 7 007 Mind's Eye
"Wait a minute, wait a minute!" Guan Yuehe heard one name after another, and amidst Gao Xiaofang's rapid-fire chatter, she painstakingly pieced together a network of relationships.
"I know that He Shuangshuang was dating Xu Qianjin from the Publicity Department, but now He Shuangshuang is not marrying him, but the son of Section Chief Mo from the Housing Management Department?"
Gao Xiaofang nodded.
"Was it Section Chief Mo who proposed allocating housing to employees who have worked for three years?"
Gao Xiaofang nodded again.
Guan Yuehe suddenly didn't know what to say next.
She was one of the beneficiaries of the factory's housing allocation policy. Could she possibly ask if Section Chief Mo had ulterior motives, ensuring his son and daughter-in-law received housing?
Gao Xiaofang stomped her foot and said angrily, "He Shuangshuang and Mo Zhinan have been dating for a long time. She insisted that I broke up with Xu Qianjin because I was having an affair with him. Now look what's happened, she's hooked up with Section Chief Mo's family and got a house, and I'm taking all the blame!"
As she spoke hastily, Gao Xiaofang's eyes reddened.
Guan Yuehe: "......"
She never expected that Gao Xiaofang wanted to talk to her about this!
"Um... why don't you ask He Shuangshuang? Maybe there's a misunderstanding?"
She didn't know the specifics and dared not get involved. She had been naive before and had been used as a pawn, even though she thought she was doing a good deed.
"I've looked for answers, but I can't get anything out of them. I'm not afraid that if this isn't cleared up, how can I stay in the factory after this?" As she spoke, tears streamed down her face.
Guan Yuehe had a headache. Gao Xiaofang looked shrewd, but her eyes were very shallow. If she was taken advantage of in the dormitory, she would still wipe away tears while talking, even if she was in the right.
"What's there to be afraid of? She's married now. She's not going to keep bringing up her ex. She's not stupid."
"I'm afraid it will affect my future housing allocation."
"Then you have even less to worry about. You haven't done anything wrong, and you have enough seniority. Who can stop you from getting a house? Look at Dong Dachui, he dares to go to the leaders and bang on the table even when he's in the wrong. You should stand up for yourself too. We're factory workers!"
This is a state-owned factory, not some leader's private factory. If the workers cause a disturbance, even the factory manager will break out in a cold sweat.
"Then, if He Shuangshuang tells others, won't the people in the dormitory be even more... I didn't start working at the factory as early as you, otherwise I could have moved out and gotten my own room too." Another string of tears fell.
Guan Yuehe's guard immediately snapped up. Staring into Gao Xiaofang's eyes, she said, "If you're a little fierce with those two, they'll back down. If you don't dare, then there's nothing we can do. Others can't help you every time."
Before Gao Xiaofang could speak again, Guan Yuehe picked up her shoes, locked the cabinet under the bed, and said, "I have something to do, I'm leaving now."
As she descended the stairs, she pondered Gao Xiaofang's true intentions.
Is he trying to get her to help clarify the rumors... the truth of which is still unknown? Or is he genuinely worried about being denied housing eligibility in the future? Or perhaps he's eyeing her apartment and wants to move out of the dorm?
It's not impossible, after all, she has her own apartment, and maybe in Gao Xiaofang's eyes, she's still the easiest one to talk to in the dormitory.
Thinking about this, I couldn't help but chuckle to myself.
Having suffered many losses, I've accumulated a lot of cunning and shrewdness.
—
It was half an hour later when Guan Yuehe jogged out.
"My roommate needed to talk to me and I was held up." Guan Yuehe stuffed the wrapped shoes into his bag, thinking that the "battle" at home should have been quelled, before slowly walking back.
"Second Brother, come find me at the factory next time. We've built a big canteen, and the new chef's braised pork is absolutely amazing."
"Next time I come," Guan Weiguo said, "I'll bring you some fried dough twists that my mom makes."
"Wow! Auntie's fried dough twists are the most delicious!"
—
Weiwei and Jingjing were in the living room, each taking small bites of a peach shortbread.
Hearing the noise, Jiang Guiying came out of the room carrying a net bag, and put in a portion of the pastries that Guan Yuehe had bought that day.
"These two pieces of cloth are for your parents; they can make two pairs of pants. Your sister gives you clothes every year, so I won't save any for you."
She was reluctant to give her second child away for adoption at first, but the situation was different then. Her parents-in-law had passed away early, leaving Guan Canghai with only his elder brother and younger sister as relatives. Her elder brother and sister-in-law were kind people; her brother was even the brigade leader, and before she and Guan Canghai were recruited to work in the city, they had helped their little family a lot.
The year Yuehe was born, Guan Canghai got a job at the Wuxing Automobile Factory by cutting hair, which allowed her to bring her child to the city. Later, she also found an opportunity to work at the automobile factory.
Later, because of household registration issues, they couldn't find a job for their second child in the city. Feeling guilty, they could only try to help out more.
Guan Weiguo took the net and said with a smile, "Thank you, Second Uncle and Second Aunt. My parents and I will come to help when Yuehe moves into her new house."
"Alright! I'll have someone send you a message later."
"Second Aunt, Yuehe, no need to see me off, I know the way."
They only dropped him off at the gate of the courtyard, and the mother and daughter turned around after watching his figure turn out of the alley.
"Uncle Li." Turning around, I saw Uncle Li, who lived in the gatehouse, opening the door. His black hat covered the upper half of his face, and the gray scarf around his neck covered the lower half.
Because of this disguise, Grandpa Li rarely left Ginkgo Alley, for fear of being suspected of being a sneaky enemy agent.
Grandpa Li used to fight the Japanese invaders, and most of his face was burned. When it was exposed, it looked frightening. Many children would cry loudly if they suddenly saw it, so Grandpa Li covered his face.
His vocal cords were also injured, making his voice hoarse and slightly stuttering, so Grandpa Li tried to keep quiet as much as possible, and at this moment he only nodded at her.
"Oh! Brother Li, you're off today, why don't you come with me to meet someone?" A smiling middle-aged woman walked towards their No. 3 courtyard.
Grandpa Li kept waving his hands and whispering, "No, I won't go!"
He usually looks fierce, but now he's so panicked he wants to hide at home.
"Let's meet and chat, you're a grown man, you can't possibly lose out... Oh, Yuehe's home today too! Guiying, let's go dig for wild vegetables together sometime!"
"We'll talk about it later," Jiang Guiying said, quickly pulling Guan Yuehe home.
"Next time you see Granny Liu, no matter how sweet her words are, don't believe her! She never tells the truth. Anyone who listens to her and goes on a blind date will be screwed over. You're still young, no rush. You can't just look at a face when looking for a partner. Even when buying a pig, you have to check the pen. If you meet someone who looks nice but has a black heart, you can expect them to eat your house..."
Guan Yuehe would occasionally respond to indicate that she was listening.
In the entire Ginkgo Hutong, there were two men who were most sought after by matchmakers.
One is Lin Sitian's older brother, Lin Yiku, who has become a battalion commander in the army and has a bright future. His parents and sister are all workers, and the family is harmonious.
The other one is Grandpa Li.
Mr. Li is in his forties and works as the deputy head of the security department at a car factory. He is unmarried and has no children. Usually, only his brother's nephew visits him during holidays.
The factory manager of the car plant was also the foreman who had trained Grandpa Li. He had connections, a job, and a house. So what if he didn't have children? There were quite a few women who wanted to marry him with their children.
She often heard Lin Sitian and Xu Chengcai mention that several matchmakers had entered the gate of No. 3 Courtyard this month.
I was just about to laugh when I suddenly realized that I'm now a hot commodity in the eyes of matchmakers...
That's not all!
With the release of the housing allocation policy at Zhuoyue Garment Factory, its workers will definitely become even more sought-after. So what if you haven't been allocated housing yet? Sooner or later, you'll be able to get one after three years!
It's estimated that Xu Chengcai will soon be approached by matchmakers.
But the thought of someone trying to pair her up with Xu Chengcai... Ugh!
"What are you laughing at? Did you even hear what I said?"
"I'm listening. Don't worry, I may be young, but I'm not stupid."
"Who knows when you'll get stubborn again? You're such a stubborn mule!"
"Don't people outside say I'm a cheapskate? Even my own sister-in-law and sister-in-law can't get the better of me. They should think twice about their own abilities, right?"
Jiang Guiying gets angry whenever this is mentioned.
"That foul mouth of Zhang Desheng's wife! I'll tear her apart sooner or later!"
"I almost forgot the important thing! Ma Lao Er's wife said the minimum is 190, and there's no room for negotiation if it's lower."
Every penny saved counts, so I said, "Okay."
If you eat well at lunch, you'll eat half-heartedly at dinner.
But the family's life has only improved in the last two or three years. We can't expect to eat refined grains every few days, but we can still eat our fill by mixing coarse grains with refined grains.
"Is Yuehe sleeping at home tonight?"
Of course not! She didn't want to be kicked out of bed by her sister while she was sleeping tonight.
"Fine, don't sleep then! I'll sleep in a room by myself." Guan Yuehua inexplicably became sullen again.
Guan Yuehe ignored her and went for a walk with her father, asking him to take her to the factory.
Last year, in their alley, a woman was almost dragged into a side alley by a man. It is said that the man was targeting unmarried women with jobs because he didn't want to go to the countryside.
Although the neighborhood committee arranged for patrols, everyone remained vigilant, and women tried to minimize going out at night without familiar companions.
As they passed by Courtyard No. 2, Guan Canghai remarked, "The front yard of Courtyard No. 2 is full of troublemakers, but the back yard is a bit quieter."
This is just like Courtyard No. 3! There are five families living in the front yard, at least three of them are troublemakers, while the other two families in the back yard are better off, so there are far fewer petty squabbles.
However, Courtyard No. 3 was unusually quiet during the day today; she guessed that everyone had gone to the suburbs to dig for wild vegetables.
"The right side room has been relocated. The man just returned from military service. He became a policeman at the local police station, and the woman was assigned to the factory canteen."
The police are great! With a policeman stationed in the compound, even thieves have to avoid compound number two.
If a fight breaks out between families, there's no need to go to the police station. There's a police officer right there in the courtyard. He just puts on his uniform and hat, and the scene of the incident is right there when he steps out the door.
"Dad, you've done your research thoroughly." This morning she was still fuming, saying she'd wait until she got the new house before talking about it!
Guan Canghai snorted, "You still need to ask about this? Just sit at the entrance of the alley, and you'll know everything that's going on in every courtyard."
"Honey, why don't you go back to work and think about it for a few more days? Apartments are so nice..."
She darted into the garment factory in a flash, and the gatekeeper almost thought a bad guy was chasing her, so he came out with a stick.
He took a front-facing photo with Guan Canghai.
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