213 Buying a Company-Owned Apartment (Added over 4,000 words)...
The following day was Sunday.
Everyone had received Guan Weiguo's call, so after breakfast, they gradually returned to Courtyard No. 3.
Lin Sitian and Chen Lizhong were brought over by Guan Yuehe. Ding Xuewen happened to be free, so he brought Fengchun along to help with the consultation.
As they passed the alley entrance, they exchanged a few pleasantries with their neighbors. But as soon as they stepped into courtyard number three, the elderly men and women began whispering among themselves.
"I just saw it. Ding Laosi came in his wife's car, and she only turned around and left after dropping him off on the street. See how capable his wife is..."
"So what? We've seen plenty of gigolos in our alley." Not to mention the famous Jin Junwei, there's Hao Daren from courtyard number two. He's been living with Zhang Chaonan here since he got married, no different from a live-in son-in-law.
After careful consideration, the others realized that it made sense.
They even gave a new example: "Cao Lili now runs a supermarket, and she earns more than Chang Zhengyi, doesn't she? Look at how well she drives that little truck; in another two years, she'll probably be driving a car too."
Others countered, "Jin Junwei is making a good living now. Look at his agency, it's thriving, he's earned a lot."
"Come on, not many people are buying houses these past two years, how is he making any money?"
"Exactly! They're talking about building some new commercial housing outside. It'll be ridiculously expensive. Who would buy that stuff?"
Since the housing system reform measures were introduced in 1988, the rent for their public housing has increased significantly. However, the housing reform also mentioned the sale of public housing allocated by work units, which means that people can buy the houses they received from their work units and then own the property rights themselves. This is much cheaper than buying private houses outside.
Although the Five Star Automobile Factory has not yet started selling its public housing, some other units in the city have already started, such as the textile factory and the daily chemical factory.
However, both companies were facing bankruptcy and layoffs, and owed their workers more than half a year's wages. In the end, they sold the company-owned properties to the workers to offset the unpaid wages.
They're just waiting for the factory to issue a document so they can buy the houses they're currently living in.
They thought this way, and many people in other organizations thought the same way, so their idea of buying a house outside was abandoned.
Some people even secretly laughed at those who bought houses following the trend a few years ago, saying that with that money, they could have saved it in the bank and earned enough interest to buy another bungalow in a few years.
Guan Yuehe, in particular, spent a lot of money to buy a small courtyard; it was a complete waste of time and energy.
But everyone just joked about it privately; no one dared to say anything sarcastic to Guan Yuehe's face.
"Hongqi has now been promoted to senior technician, and her monthly salary is over a thousand! If someone else comes on secondment, the subsidies and bonuses combined can easily reach two thousand. She'll definitely still be supporting the family on her salary." The person speaking lowered their voice and said enviously, "I think Jin Junwei can live off this for the rest of his life."
Now, instead of the eight-level worker designation, the assessment is changed to junior, intermediate, and senior workers. Senior workers are further up to technicians and senior technicians.
Zhou Hongqi has already reached the top rank, and his salary is among the very top tier of employees at the Five Star Automobile Factory.
Everyone admired him, but also admired him.
Such a high salary is well-deserved.
"So you see, people still need to learn a skill. With a skill, no matter how things change outside, you can make a living."
Who can argue with that? Skilled people, unless they make a mistake, won't end up on the layoff list. Those who are left behind are mostly ordinary workers without any skills.
Even with Zhou Hongqi's high salary, this income is nothing compared to those who are in business.
Just look at the couple, Cao Lili, and Ye Zhi Qiu; it's no exaggeration to say they make a fortune every day.
Even if Aunt Fang and Uncle Lin only run a small grocery store, their monthly income is no less than that of people who work in a company.
These days, those who build atomic bombs are not as well off as those who sell tea eggs.
So, who gets assigned to which company after graduating from university, or who gets promoted within their company, no longer sparks much discussion. What people are more concerned about is: whose family is making money?
"Guifang's Bao Ning is really good at planning. Look at how many people used to say she was stupid for going to university and then working for a foreign company. Now they all change their minds and praise her."
"Baoning is amazing, that girl already bought a house in Haishi. Guifang's been bragging to us for ages, saying she's going to Haishi for a few days when school lets out for summer vacation. Baoning said he's going to buy her a plane ticket, oh my..."
When Guan Yuehe came over, she smelled a strong sour smell.
Hearing the familiar loud laughter, the neighbors knew it was Lin Ting, that mischievous girl, coming over.
Looking up, I saw Guan Yuehe, whom I hadn't seen for quite some time.
"Yuehe, why haven't you two come for a walk lately?"
It's better not to mention it, because it's infuriating once it's brought up.
She couldn't voice her anger. Guan Yuehe made an excuse, saying she'd been too busy to go for a walk.
The neighbors didn't think much of it; after all, the couple were high-ranking officials, so it was normal for them to have a lot of work.
What the neighbors didn't know was that Guan Yuehe and Lin Yiku had been worrying about Lin Ting's homework every day after work lately!
She finally understood what Xu Cheng often said: "You'll understand when all three of your kids are in elementary school!"
Lin Ting started primary school in September 1989. The whole family gathered together to discuss it, and after considering Lin Ting's own ideas, they finally enrolled Lin Ting in the Wuxing Automobile Factory Children's Primary School.
Normally, students would finish their homework at school, hand it in to their teachers for correction, and then go home. However, Lin Ting's Chinese teacher was on maternity leave, and other teachers from other classes were too busy to handle the assignments, so they would take their homework home to do.
That little rascal, the first thing he does when he gets home is take Wangwang around to find people to play games with. He also watches TV at night, and only after he's done watching TV does he leisurely take out his homework to do it.
Guan Yuehe and Lin Yiku's evening studies were often interrupted. If they weren't careful, Lin Ting would put down her pen and go play with something else.
She was really afraid that one day she would be called to school by the teacher and criticized.
Lin Ting had no idea what her mother was thinking. She ran over like the wind and greeted the elderly couple, "Hello, grandpa and grandma!"
Before the elderly folks could even greet her, she turned into courtyard number one. "Grandpa and Grandma, I'm here! Little Fish, what do you want to eat? I want some too!"
Guan Yuehe's head was buzzing.
To avoid hearing anything, Guan Yuehe greeted Aunt Fang outside the grocery store and hurried off to Courtyard No. 3.
When Fengchun saw her, she turned her head to look behind her and asked, "Where's my sister?"
"It's in the general store up ahead, do you want to go there?"
Just then, Gu Yu came over with her parents, so Guan Yuehe asked Gu Yu to take all the other children out to play.
Inside the Guan family's house, only a group of adults and Juanjuan, one of the older children, remained.
Guan Weiguo spoke first, saying, "Juanjuan herself wants to apply directly to a vocational school, but she doesn't know which one to apply to."
Juanjuan has excellent grades and always ranks among the top students in her school. So even though it's harder to get into a vocational school now than before, she's confident she can pass the exam.
Upon hearing that he had been decided to attend a vocational school, Guan Yuehua immediately frowned. Just as she was about to speak, Gu Mannian tugged at her sleeve and glared at her, but she managed to hold back her words.
Even Guan Yuehe was a little surprised; she thought Juanjuan wanted to go to high school and take the college entrance exam.
"Are you sure you want to go to a vocational school?" Guan Yuehua couldn't help but ask abruptly.
Some parents in the family compound believe that graduating from vocational school early will allow their children to be assigned jobs sooner and help support their families, so they insist that their children change their college application choices. Some even change their children's choices behind their backs.
"Huh?" Juanjuan was taken aback for a moment, then nodded firmly, "It was my own idea."
She used to hear her grandparents and parents talk about how great it was that her aunts went to university, and she thought that she would go to university in the future.
When she grew up, she felt that she could get a job after graduating from university, and she could do the same after graduating from vocational school, and she could even save several years of schooling, so why not just go to vocational school directly?
The classmate who always ranked second in the class kept telling her how great it was to go to university, but she suspected that he had ulterior motives and was trying to trick her into enrolling in high school and taking the university entrance exam so that no one would compete with him for the vocational school entrance exam.
"Okay. As long as you've thought it through." After Guan Yuehua finished speaking, seeing that Guan Weiguo blushed and wanted to explain, she added, "Going to university or vocational school is the same, as long as you're willing."
Guan Weiguo was still somewhat unhappy. Yuehua's question made it sound as if he was forcing Juanjuan to enroll in a vocational school.
But he usually gets a tan, so he tends to sulk when he's angry. Li Qiuyue noticed this, but there were so many people in the room, and they had come to help. It wasn't good for him to be angry like that.
Besides, even her sister-in-law, who doesn't see Yuehua often, knows what kind of person she is. How could her brother not know? Yuehua just can't hold back her anger. If there's anything that makes her uncomfortable, she has to find out the truth.
Ultimately, Yuehua was doing it for Juanjuan's own good.
Li Qiuyue secretly pinched him and gave him a wink: You can be angry when we get home.
While the room was quiet, Gu Mannian said with a smile, "Going to a vocational school is good. It's much harder to get into a vocational school now than before. A lot of people want to go but can't get in."
“Exactly!!” Jiang Guiying clapped her hands and said, “I think it’s good to apply to teachers’ college. After graduation, you can be assigned to work in a school, just like Cai Ying’s hometown in the southwest. You can have holidays every winter and summer vacation. Every year during winter vacation, I can accompany Cai Ying to the south to see the northwest. Isn’t that great?”
After experiencing Jingjing's three consecutive attempts at the college entrance examination, Jiang Guiying and Guan Canghai gave up their obsession with "going to university." They felt that even after graduating from university, they would only be waiting for job assignments. They thought it would be better to go to a vocational school instead, as it would give them four more years of work experience.
At this point, Lin Sitian said, "You could also consider applying to a vocational nursing school." She then listed two other secondary vocational schools in the city that were related to hospitals, "There's a nursing school and a traditional Chinese medicine school. Graduates from these schools are basically assigned to hospitals or clinics."
Lin Sitian also listed the majors that these schools focus on developing.
"That's good too, it's good to go to the hospital," Guan Canghai agreed.
Guan Weiguo and Li Qiuyue quickly wrote down these schools, thinking that it was fortunate they had consulted them for reference; otherwise, how would they have known that there were so many vocational schools in the city? They wouldn't have known which schools focused on teaching which majors.
After they finished taking notes, Chen Lizhong listed several vocational schools related to railway electrical engineering and building materials.
As for the technical school run by the Five Star Automobile Factory itself, everyone tacitly refrained from mentioning it again.
The factory's technical school was originally established to supply talent to the factory, but now the factory has closed many branch factories and doesn't need so many people. For example, the accounting class has been canceled. Even if the remaining graduates from the factory's technical school, their jobs are not guaranteed.
Nowadays, unless they really can't get into another vocational school, children of factory workers won't apply to the technical school in the factory.
The place that so many factory workers' children used to fight tooth and nail to get into is now just an alternative.
After listing all the schools, everyone helped analyze which school would be the safest choice to apply to.
When students apply to vocational high schools, they can only fill in the school name; their specific major will be assigned by the school after enrollment. While the school will consider individual student circumstances, the students have virtually no choice. Therefore, when applying to schools, students should be prepared to be assigned to majors they are not interested in.
Juanjuan also frankly said that she only thought about finishing her studies and getting a job so that she could transfer her household registration to the city. She didn't care much about what major she studied.
Upon hearing this, Gu Mannian turned to Guan Yuehua and whispered, "Just like Yuehe, I just want to have a job. I don't care what kind of company or position I'm in."
This time, Guan Yuehe couldn't help but speak up, "If it's just for the sake of a household registration, then why not think about going to high school and taking the college entrance exam? After graduating, you can get a job and transfer to an urban household registration."
Niu Niu won't take the high school entrance exam until next year, but Xu Cheng and Qin Zilan have already made plans for her to apply to high school and then college.
Xu Cheng's thinking was simple: having gone to university, he would have more choices, and even if he was assigned to a bad company, he could always go back to his own factory.
Juanjuan scratched her head and said, "There's a classmate of mine whose brother was assigned to a daily chemical factory after graduating from university, but now he's laid off and unemployed."
The others in the room were speechless for a moment.
She was one of the extremely unlucky ones to have encountered.
After a while, Guan Yuehe said seriously, "If it's just for the sake of household registration, then you need to think it through. If you get into a teachers' college but are eventually assigned back to a primary school in your hometown, it won't make much difference whether you transfer your household registration or not."
Guan Yuehe was not joking with her.
These were all things Xu Chengcai mentioned in his usual nagging. He said he didn't want Niu Niu to attend a vocational school because he was afraid that if she were assigned to a suburban area, it would be inconvenient for her to come home, and it would be very difficult for her to transfer back later.
Ding Xuewen nodded in agreement, "It's not difficult to be assigned to the countryside, but it will be difficult to return to the city."
He himself is a living example; he waited a full ten years to return to the city.
"There's one more important point," Guan Yuehe said, "School teachers' salaries are low right now... Tsk! What kind of eyesight do you have? We're talking about dedication, but we also need to ensure people's livelihoods, right? You can only do your job well if you're well-fed!"
A few years ago, college graduates preferred to work in state-owned factories because the salaries were higher, much higher than those in government agencies or schools. But in recent years, state-owned factories are not necessarily as good as they used to be, and college graduates have flocked to foreign-funded enterprises and private companies, and now there is even a trend of going abroad.
"Maybe after you finish university, you can even go abroad," Guan Yuehe joked casually.
“You really need to think this through,” Lin Sitian added. “By the time you graduate, it will be three years from now. It’s hard to say whether you’ll be able to get a job in a city medical unit after graduating from vocational school. Grassroots medical care is the most in need of staff, so you should be prepared that you might be assigned back to a health clinic in a suburban town after graduation.”
The adults chattered amongst themselves, and Juanjuan's expression grew increasingly serious, while Guan Weiguo and Li Qiuyue frowned deeply.
I only thought that after graduating from vocational school, I could be assigned a job and transfer my household registration, but I didn't know there were so many intricacies involved.
If you graduate and are assigned to work in the town, then whether or not you change your household registration doesn't really make much difference.
Guan Yuehua added fuel to the fire, saying, "In our residential compound, only families with particularly difficult circumstances or irresponsible parents would consider sending their high-achieving children to vocational schools."
When she said this, Guan Yuehua completely ignored the glare Guan Weiguo gave her; she hadn't said he was that kind of person.
“When you go back to school, ask other high-achieving students in your grade. Most of them will definitely say they want to go to university.”
"By the way, I heard that students with rural household registration need to have higher scores to apply for vocational schools. We should also take that into account," Gu Mannian reminded him.
Several gasps were heard in the room. "Why are there different requirements?"
“That’s how it’s stipulated,” Guan Yuehua said frankly. “My opinion is that since you have good grades, you should apply to university.”
Guan Yuehe looked at Juanjuan, then at her second brother and sister-in-law, and said, "You should go back and discuss it again. I also support applying to high school and taking the college entrance exam."
With the help of a group of adults, Juanjuan still couldn't make up her mind. She had originally decided to apply to a vocational school, but after her aunts analyzed the situation, she began to waver.
"It's okay, there's still a long time before you have to choose your major, you can think about it slowly."
“Yes, yes, we need to think about it carefully,” Jiang Guiying said. “It’s a major life event, we can’t be careless.”
Jiang Guiying sighed, "Studying is really not an easy thing!" Just hearing about choosing a major is making her hair fall out.
Guan Weiguo and Li Qiuyue nodded. It was fortunate that they had asked them for help. If they had waited three years for Juanjuan to report back to the brigade's primary school, it would have been too late!
Guan Yuehe laughed, "Do you know how difficult it was for me to learn before?"
Jiang Guiying rolled her eyes at her, "I can't even be bothered to talk to you. How dare you say your daughter doesn't do her homework properly? You used to be more diligent with your homework than your daughter."
"Nonsense! I'm not that kind of person." Guan Yuehe refused to admit it.
Ding Xuewen and Lin Sitian on either side lowered their heads and chuckled silently.
—
Although the registration was not finalized, Li Qiuyue did not forget to organize a thank-you event for everyone.
"We've booked a table at Uncle Ming's place, so everyone should go over for dinner later. Don't be shy, it's our pleasure. It's all our pleasure to have you make this special trip. It's all booked, so please make sure you all come."
But it wasn't mealtime yet, so everyone just sat there chatting.
Nobody wanted to go to Courtyard No. 1 to call those loudmouths back; it was a rare moment of peace and quiet for these adults.
Juanjuan went out to find her classmates, and Guan Yuehe saw that her second brother and sister-in-law were going out to prepare lunch, so she got up and followed them out.
Once they were out of the alley, Guan Yuehe, seeing that no one else was around, said, "Second brother and sister-in-law, you should go back and discuss this with Juanjuan again. The family's situation has improved in recent years, and she doesn't need to go out and earn money to support the family so early... Oh, second brother, I know you don't have that idea. I'm just afraid that Juanjuan might think that way herself. You need to go back and talk to her."
"Juanjuan is only sixteen or seventeen years old. How far ahead can you expect her to think at that age?"
Guan Weiguo nodded, then shook his head and laughed, "Sixteen or seventeen isn't young anymore. At your age, you would have already found a job and stayed in the city."
That's true, she was not even sixteen years old yet and she already knew she needed to find a job and stay in the city.
"Then you should talk to her again."
“Both vocational school and university degrees can get you a job, but I thought it would be better to finish university. You see, I was recommended to go to university back then, but some employers didn’t recognize the degrees of worker-peasant-soldier students. Luckily, I listened to my teacher and took the postgraduate entrance exam.”
“It’s not that going to a vocational school is bad, but I’m worried that Juanjuan won’t have a choice in the future, and it will be difficult for us to help her.”
The three slowed their pace. Guan Weiguo and Li Qiuyue listened quietly, nodding occasionally.
“We don’t have any special connections, but if Juanjuan finishes university and wants to stay in the city to work, transferring her household registration out of the city will be easy.”
"Of course, the premise is that you can't break the rules." Guan Yuehe said with a smile, "If you do something wrong, the upright official will be the first to deal with it."
Her relatives and friends come from all walks of life. Asking a friend to recommend a college graduate for a job would be so easy!
Perhaps there's no need to ask anyone for a recommendation; friends can help keep an eye out for companies that are hiring, and Juanjuan can go for the interviews herself.
College students aren't like cabbages; you can't just pick one up anywhere. She believed that even seven years after Juanjuan graduated from college, college graduates would still be a scarce resource.
“Okay, let’s go back and discuss it with her again.” Guan Weiguo knew that what she said was equivalent to telling them the truth: as long as Juanjuan could go to university, she could help her in the future.
He knew in his heart that if it were his older brother or younger brother, Yuehe might not have been able to say these things so confidently.
Sure enough, the next second, Yuehe whispered to him, "This is something we three—no, including Lin Yiku, the four of us just need to know."
Just like before, he would secretly bring her eggs from home, and she would secretly leave him defective shoes from the factory.
"Yuehe, your second brother will remember this kindness."
"Hey! There's nothing to remember. I eat a lot of your apples every year. But, send fewer this year. I almost threw up from eating them last winter."
Even someone as non-picky as her was almost sick of eating so many apples, so you can imagine how many apples she ate last winter!
Guan Weiguo laughed and agreed, but the dimples that were once prominent on his cheeks had disappeared with the passage of time.
—
When Guan Yuehe returned to Courtyard No. 3, she heard the words "Zhuoyue Garment Factory" and immediately quickened her pace.
What's wrong with our factory?
"I heard from Aunt Bai that the garment factory's company housing is going to be sold to the workers. Man Nian, is this true?" Jiang Guiying remembered this and hurriedly went to Gu Man Nian to verify it.
Everyone else looked at him.
Zhuoyue Garment Factory is known for its good business in this area, yet it's now selling its apartments?
Gu Mannian explained, "It has nothing to do with the factory's profits. Our factory director said that following the country's policies is the right thing to do. The sooner the houses are in the workers' hands, the more at ease they will feel."
Of course, that's the official explanation.
In reality, the factory was planning to implement a housing fund-raising program, with both the factory and the workers contributing money to build houses for the workers.
However, the number of housing units allocated through the collective housing program is limited. Therefore, workers who have already been allocated housing can buy their current homes for 200 yuan per square meter. Workers who have not yet been allocated housing can apply for collective housing at 400 yuan per square meter.
"So cheap?!" Several people exclaimed in surprise.
The garment factory buildings are multi-story buildings, not the crowded courtyards in the alleyways. The single-story houses outside now cost 400 yuan per square meter!
Gu Mannian said smugly, "Anyway, we follow the rules. Only when the factory is doing well can we afford to do these important things for the workers."
Even Guan Canghai couldn't help but say sarcastically, "The benefits at Zhuoyue Factory are unparalleled."
"Hehe." Gu Mannian grinned. The sale of old houses and the collective housing construction had been proposed for almost two years before the factory finally issued a clear document. He had been waiting for it for a long time.
"You're going to buy that house you're living in, right?"
"We absolutely have to buy it."
The factory set the selling price so low, clearly to benefit them and help them buy houses. If they don't have enough money, they can ask the finance department for an advance on their wages or borrow from relatives and friends. In short, they must buy the house.
But some people are stubborn and refuse to listen, saying that even with the rent increase, it's still not high, so there's no need to buy it. Anyway, if they don't buy, the factory won't kick them out; the property rights will just remain with the factory, and they'll only need to pay rent each month.
Guan Aiguo's eyes darted around excitedly, and he said, "Since they won't buy it, then we can..."
"No way!" Gu Mannian knew what he was going to say just from the beginning. "The factory stipulates that only employees of the factory are eligible to buy this property. It is a subsidized property provided by the company, and the property ownership certificate cannot be issued until five years later. The factory also stipulates that if a worker leaves the company or is dismissed within these five years, the money will be returned, and the house will be taken back by the company."
Buying from someone outside our factory? That won't do.
Even the factory's own workers are only allowed to buy the houses allocated to them, and are not allowed to buy more.
Guan Aiguo's excitement subsided. "Okay."
I thought they could take this opportunity to move into an apartment building.
"I wonder when our factory will start selling public housing to its workers." Jiang Guiying's mindset has changed; she now feels that it's better to have the property rights of the house registered in her own name.
The release of the specific documents regarding the sale of public housing to workers by the Zhuoyue Garment Factory caused another sensation.
When people envy the benefits of other factories, they inevitably criticize their own.
But by early August, Five Star Motors had also issued a document regarding the sale of public housing to workers, and many people changed their tune.
"Didn't you say the house had to be under your own property rights? Why are you saying you don't want to buy it anymore?"
“The document says it’s 300 yuan per square meter. Our house is 20 square meters, so it would cost 6,000 yuan. Wouldn’t it be better to put that money in the bank and earn interest?”
Some people changed their minds because the disappointment was too great.
"The old buildings of Zhuoyue Garment Factory cost 200 yuan per square meter, and the newly built buildings funded by collective investment are only 400 yuan per square meter. If I spend 300 yuan to buy a bungalow, wouldn't I be losing money?"
Aunt Bai rolled her eyes. "Apartment buildings are nice, but you can't buy one! The bungalows outside cost 400 yuan per square meter, but the factory is offering them for 300. You should be secretly happy!"
Some people are reluctant to buy because they think it's too expensive, while others are both employed but have been laid off and are now only earning a salary, so they can't afford to spend that much money all at once.
In short, once the car factory's housing management department had completed the statistics, they discovered that only half of the residents in the Ginkgo Hutong area had confirmed their purchases. However, significantly more residents in the new family compound were willing to pay for their homes.
Jiang Guiying and Aunt Fang dressed up specially, put on new clothes, and happily went to the housing management department to complete the formalities.
Many elderly people in the alley do the same, making sure they are neat and tidy before going out.
When they returned, the two old ladies urged the whole family to come back for dinner, saying they wanted to celebrate.
Guan Yuehe gritted her teeth and contributed another bottle of wine. The wine she had stockpiled over the years was almost gone.
In the past two years, she and Lin Yiku have paid off all the money they owed to their friends, and their savings account has started to show a balance, but she still can't bear to spend money to buy wine to hoard.
A bottle of Moutai costs a full two hundred yuan outside!
Lin Yiku peeked out from outside the door and joked, "How about we go outside and get two jin of baijiu and put it in empty bottles?"
Guan Yuehe rebuked him for his illogical thinking and then turned to ask him what kind of liquor tasted similar.
Lin ran out of her room and saw her parents whispering in the living room. Her mother covered her mouth and chuckled, as if they were plotting something naughty.
"I want to hear it too!"
"What are you listening to? Let's go eat!"
"Are you talking bad about me?" Lin Ting jumped onto her father's back and grabbed his ears, but soon she forgot about what they had been whispering about and kept patting Lin Yiku's shoulder, "Dad, catch up with Mom!"
"Dad, run faster!"
Lin Yi smiled bitterly and said, "It's normal that your dad can't keep up because he's carrying a heavy burden."
If they catch up, then this competition will never end.
Comrade Guan Yuehe was the first to reach the finish line. Under her father's watchful eye, she skillfully put the wine temporarily into the cabinet.
Jiang Guiying came out of the kitchen and saw that the couple had run over. She couldn't help but say that they had so much energy they had nowhere to use it.
Guan Yuehe saw that the door to the small room in the house was open, and Juanjuan's things had already been moved back.
"Juanjuan is no longer living at home since she started high school?"
“From now on, junior high and high school students will have to live in school dormitories, and Yao Yao will have to live in a room by herself... You two move the table out to the yard, we'll eat outside tonight.”
"They're here."
—
Before the four elders had even taken a sip of their wine, they were already tipsy, rambling incoherently about the old almanac of the apartment they had been allocated.
No, it's their own house now.
These two small houses have supported three generations of their families over the past forty years, allowing them to grow up here and then move on.
Amidst the overwhelming emotions, the celebrations from the neighboring courtyard grew even louder: "This is my house! I'm going to buy whitewash and paint it spotless tomorrow! Then I'll lay bricks on it!"
This caused everyone to burst into laughter.
Author's Note: I added over 4,000 words to the ending. I might have to take the day off today; I'm going on a business trip this afternoon. [crying emoji]
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