155 Borrowing money
Grandpa Ming heard the familiar loud laughter in the kitchen and took a break from his busy work to peek out.
Ironically, it was those four again, along with their families.
The tables in the shop were all small; a square table would be cramped even for four people, yet they managed to fit six of them. Lin Yiku, that mischievous brat, wasn't there, but everyone else who had arrived was present.
Uncle Ming turned to Ding Xuewen, who was sitting between Xu Chengcai and Chen Lizhong, and asked, "Ding Laosi, I heard you've made a name for yourself now? Which big organization are you a leader in now?"
The reason he didn't ask last time was because the Ding family didn't know he was back. Now that the whole Ginkgo Alley knows he's in Beijing, Grandpa Ming couldn't resist his curiosity.
Lin Sitian and Xu Chengcai eagerly replied, "I got into a teachers' college the year the college entrance exam was reinstated, and now I work at a TV station!"
Then he added, "Uncle Ming, why don't you send us a dish to celebrate?"
Guan Yuehe immediately chimed in, "Oh right, he didn't celebrate when he got into university, so we should make up for it. Uncle Ming, we'd like to eat braised pork knuckle."
"Hey!" Grandpa Ming said irritably, "It's not like I got into university!"
After saying that, he threw down the curtain and went back to preparing his dishes.
While in the kitchen, Grandpa Ming heard those little bastards laughing outside, which almost made him laugh along.
He turned his head and beckoned his apprentice over, asking him to go check if there were any more pork knuckles...
Guan Yuehe and the others were still able to enjoy the braised pork knuckle that Uncle Ming had given them.
It was even served by Grandpa Ming himself.
The old man patted Ding Xuewen on the shoulder and sighed. Everyone thought he was about to give an important speech, so they held their breath and waited. But instead, Grandpa Ming glanced at them and patted Ding Xuewen again, saying, "The three of them brought their families. You'd better hurry up too."
Ding Xuewen was about to point to Guan Yuehe sitting opposite him and say that her family member hadn't come today. Then he suddenly remembered that Yuehe was now considered to be two people.
"Are you also working as a matchmaker now?" Guan Yuehe said with a smile, "You can introduce him to someone another day."
"You think I'm delaying your meal?" Don't think he didn't see her picking up her chopsticks early and eager to eat. Grandpa Ming snorted.
It was clear everyone was hungry; as soon as Grandpa Ming left, they immediately grabbed their chopsticks and started eating. After finishing, they helped clear the table to make room for the customers queuing outside.
A few people strolled slowly toward Ginkgo Alley.
Previously, Ding Xuewen was afraid that Aunt Ding would find out and cause trouble at the school or workplace, so he didn't go to the area around Ginkgo Alley and Wuxing Automobile Factory. Now it's fine, he can come every day.
Guan Yuehe patted her stomach and sighed, "Uncle Ming's restaurant is great in every way, except it's a bit small. It's always hard to get a table here."
Xu Chengcai: "It's hard to find a shop, so Grandpa Ming only has one apprentice cooking. Even if the shop is big, he can't handle the workload."
That's true. The Industry and Commerce Bureau has clear regulations that individual businesses cannot employ more than seven people. Now, with Grandpa Ming and six others working at this restaurant, they're already incredibly busy, especially on Sundays, when they're practically working from morning till night without a break.
"Did Master Qin hire someone to help out at his tailor shop as well?"
“My sister-in-law helps out at home, and Xu Cheng and I go over to help out after work.” Qin Zilan said helplessly, “We asked two people for help before, but they were poached by them. My mother’s own design was also stolen. After thinking it over, we realized that it’s better to avoid these problems by asking outsiders, so it’s better to do it ourselves.”
She and Xu Chengcai no longer take on private jobs, but their extra income has actually increased. Her mother and sister-in-law don't need to worry about outsiders having ulterior motives, and they also benefit from it.
"It was that bastard Xu Qianjin who instigated the theft!" Xu Chengcai gets angry just thinking about this person, but now Xu Qianjin has finally gotten his comeuppance.
"He used to get his hands on fabric from who-knows-where and set up a small workshop to produce clothes, making a fortune. His family was the richest in the entire compound; they had all kinds of appliances. But he wasn't satisfied and got involved in smuggling. Now look what happened—his entire fortune has been confiscated, he's facing execution, his wife is divorcing him and wants to remarry with the children, and his parents are causing trouble..."
Xu Chengcai didn't understand, "I really don't understand what these people are thinking?"
They're already living a better life than most people, yet they still insist on going astray.
Xu Qianjin is one example, and so is Ding Laowu. Why not use money to buy a job and earn money honestly?
"It shows that people are making way too much money through crooked means." Chen Lizhong could understand Xu Qianjin and Ding Laowu's thoughts. When he was about to graduate, he had also thought about whether to work with his cousin in the second-hand appliance business. In the end, after thinking it over, he decided to work as a technician in a television factory.
Not only him, but even Ding Xuewen had thought about becoming a foreign tour guide after graduation, recruiting a few more people, or finding students from the Foreign Languages Department of the Normal University to do part-time work, earning more in a day than he does in a month now.
Since they both said that, Xu Chengcai could understand it a little better now.
When can someone working in a company or state-owned enterprise become a "ten-thousand-yuan household" (a household with an annual income of ten thousand yuan)?
Almost all households with 10,000 yuan in income are self-employed, which speaks volumes.
Lin Sitian suddenly covered her ears to stop them from discussing the issue further. "Alright, you big shots, stop talking. I can't earn this much without the hospital. I can't stand listening to this."
Guan Yuehe agreed, "Me too!"
The elderly folks in Ginkgo Alley watched them leave in a flurry, and then saw them return laughing and joking. They all turned to look at Ding Xuewen.
Once they entered Courtyard No. 1, the elderly men and women began to discuss it quietly.
"Yuehe and the other two all brought their partners to dinner, but Ding Laosi didn't. Does that mean he hasn't found a girlfriend yet?"
"You want to be a matchmaker? They might not even be interested."
"If Yuehe can introduce good potential partners to Sitian, she'll definitely introduce them to Ding Laosi too, so don't worry about it!"
Guan Yuehe was unaware that the elderly couple firmly believed she was the one who introduced Lin Sitian and Chen Lizhong, and thus she was labeled a "matchmaker" without having done anything.
They're talking about borrowing money right now.
The person who wants to borrow money is Mr. Ding, who just treated them to a meal at a restaurant.
"I'm planning to sell my current apartment and buy two rooms near my workplace. I've already found a place and paid the deposit, so I can sell my current apartment anytime. I'm short 700 yuan; could you lend me 300 yuan?"
"Sure."
He looked so serious and solemn; I thought it was something important.
Three hundred yuan is not a small amount, but it is easy for the three families to come up with it.
In other words, everyone's wages have increased significantly now, and all three families are dual-income households, with the couples' combined wages amounting to only one or two hundred yuan.
If it were ten years ago... Guan Yuehe thought for a moment and realized that she couldn't lend out three hundred yuan.
They weren't worried that Ding Xuewen wouldn't be able to pay it back. He was only going back to Ginkgo Hutong this Sunday to run some errands; he usually worked as a tour guide on Sundays, and they figured he probably earned more on the side than his regular salary.
"It's good that you changed it sooner, your daily commute is tough enough." It's alright now, but when it gets cold, cycling three hours round trip every day is exhausting just thinking about it.
Lin Sitian joked, "It'll be easier to find a partner if you move to a new place sooner. Didn't any of your colleagues say they'd introduce you to someone?"
"Definitely." Based on Guan Yuehe's many years of experience, every single person who reaches marriageable age will definitely be the focus of attention regarding their personal life by their colleagues or superiors.
"I'll think about it when I meet the right person." Ding Xuewen hasn't thought about settling down yet, but he doesn't plan to stay single for life either.
Now that all the pent-up frustration in my heart has dissipated, I can start thinking about settling down once the new house is ready.
"We'll come over to visit once your new house is all set up."
—
Guan Yuehe told them to rummage through the drawers to find cups and pour water themselves, and then she went inside to open the drawers. It just so happened that this month's salary hadn't been deposited into the savings account yet, and with the money kept for social obligations and living expenses, taking out three hundred yuan was more than enough.
Lin Sitian and Xu Chengcai both told him to go with them on his way home today and give him the money.
Guan Yuehe remembered that Xu Cheng had mentioned last month that he and Qin Zilan had bought two small bungalows near the coal mine's residential compound, and said that if they were short of money, she could lend them 600 yuan.
"Not bad." Qin Zilan was a little regretful. "If I had known, I shouldn't have delayed for half a year. When I asked at the beginning of the year, it was still 200 yuan per square meter. Now it has increased by 10 yuan. I have spent 300 yuan more in half a year!"
"If we had bought it six months earlier, we could have rented it out sooner." Qin Zilan was annoyed, realizing she had lost six months' worth of rent.
However, Guan Yuehe asked curiously, "Won't this affect the houses you were allocated?"
As far as she knew, Ma Ersao, who had swapped houses with her, had already given up the house from the clothing factory and had now moved into a house she had bought herself.
"Sister-in-law Ma moved out because she and her husband both quit their jobs and now run a small shop in the new residential compound of the car factory. They sell more things than Guazi Wang's grocery store."
No wonder Ma Ersao was willing to give up two apartments! It turns out she made a lot of money outside!
Xu Cheng explained, "Our factory encourages workers to buy additional houses outside, and the houses that have already been allocated will not be affected. But the factory also said that if factory workers' children get married and start their own families, the factory will no longer provide housing."
Like other state-owned factories, they not only had to solve the housing problem for workers, but also for their families. This put a heavy burden on the factories, and every household was watching closely to see when the factories would build welfare housing and whose houses would become vacant.
The reason why Zhuoyue Garment Factory is encouraging its workers to buy houses outside the factory to solve their children's housing problems after they get married is because it has not built any new welfare housing for several years.
"However, the factory leaders are discussing what kind of housing to build through collective financing. The factory will subsidize half and the workers will pay half, and the ownership will be split equally between the factory and the workers."
Guan Yuehe and the others immediately became interested and asked Xu Cheng to explain in detail what the situation was about this collectively funded housing.
This is truly unprecedented. Previously, there were only company-provided housing units, with ownership belonging to the factory. Workers could only live in these units and had to pay rent to the housing management department every month.
"I'm not really sure either." Xu Cheng scratched his head. "The factory has a lot of export orders right now, so we've done two large-scale recruitment drives. We now have about a thousand workers. They're all waiting in line for housing, based on seniority, marital status, and contributions to the factory. The new workers say they came too late and missed the good policies the factory had."
Guan Yuehe smiled; she had indeed benefited from the factory's favorable policies several times.
"The factory director said at the workers' meeting that some state-owned factories in Northeast China have proposed to raise funds to build houses. If we can get approval, our Zhuoyue Garment Factory will do the same."
Guan Yuehe immediately gave a thumbs up, "Our factory director is truly visionary!"
Others laughed at her, saying she was an unofficial propagandist for the Zhuoyue Garment Factory and Director Zheng.
Chen Lizhong laughed and said, "I keep hearing you mention Director Zheng. I must go and see what Director Zheng looks like someday."
During those ten years, she wrote many of "Director Zheng's quotes" in her letters to Ding Xuewen.
“Look,” Guan Yuehe pointed to the photo hanging on the wall, “go take a look.”
Chen Lizhong looked at it carefully again and again, and said in surprise, "Yuehe and Director Zheng look a bit alike."
Lin Sitian frowned, thinking his eyesight was off, and leaned closer to look, "How is it similar?"
She stared at Chen Lizhong's eyes again and again, thinking that she should bring him a bottle of eye drops tomorrow.
"Energy and spirit."
"Really? Let me see too." Xu Chengcai thought to himself, pulling Qin Zilan along with him.
Ding Xuewen followed silently, standing on tiptoe behind him, adjusting his glasses and squinting to get a closer look.
Does it look like it?
"It seems so."
"When you put it that way, it does seem quite similar."
Standing behind them, Guan Yuehe sighed with her hands on her hips, but couldn't resist joining in, "Make room for me, I want to watch too!"
Aunt Hu stood in the middle of the yard, glanced at Guan Yuehe's house, saw them gathered around the wall looking at her, pursed her lips, and muttered under her breath, "She's showing off her two newspapers again."
Every time I enter her house, the first thing I see is two newspapers on the wall, which are particularly eye-catching.
—
A week after the Ding family split up, Ding Lao Er's two sons and Ding Lao San's son all moved into No. 3 Ginkgo Hutong.
The housing management department came to their door saying it was against the rules, but Ding Lao Er had a good reason: "My third brother's family of four was only allocated a gatehouse. It wouldn't be unreasonable to allocate him a small room of five square meters, would it? My two sons are both workers at the car factory. They're both of age to date and get married. It wouldn't be unreasonable for each of them to live in five square meters, would it?"
Housing Management Department: "..."
Those who had their eyes on the Ding family's house only then realized that Ding Lao Er's two sons actually worked at a car factory!
"Among the Ding family, Ding Lao Er and his wife are the most shrewd. What's so strange about their two sons getting jobs at the car factory?"
The matter of the Ding family dividing the house did not cause any major news, but Ding Xuewen was repeatedly mentioned in Ginkgo Hutong.
Thanks to the well-informed elderly folks, who not only inquired about Ding Xuewen's situation at work to find out if he had a girlfriend, but also discovered that he had bought two rooms near his workplace.
Guan Yuehe was convinced. No wonder Li Xuelian joked with her that she should never go to Ginkgo Alley to do bad things, or her secrets would be exposed.
Author's Note: [Cat's paw]
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