Chapter 1 001 Room Assignment (Bug Fixing)
In early March 1970, the rumors that Wuxing Automobile Factory was going to recruit workers finally became a written fact.
As dawn broke, a group of elderly men and women had already gathered under the ginkgo tree at the entrance of Ginkgo Alley.
Anyone who comes out to use the restroom or is rushing to work early, and whoever passes by the ginkgo tree, will be stopped and asked a question:
"Which position did your daughter apply for? What? She's already started working?! You're really good at keeping quiet, not even saying a word about such great news. Did she also get a job at our car factory?"
"Xiao Chen, tell that old lady something. Do you have any say in who gets chosen for that position in the factory office? Hey, Xiao Chen... tsk! We're neighbors, what's there to hide? Don't be jealous of my family's success..."
The voices of the elderly men and women grew louder and louder. In the courtyard next to the ginkgo tree, Aunt Niu, who lived in the right wing, suddenly shouted at the outside of the wall: "Making a racket before dawn! If you're so bored, go clean the public toilet!"
The area under the ginkgo tree fell silent instantly. After a few seconds, the elderly men and women came to their senses and, hands on their hips, shouted back at the people inside the courtyard.
A lively day in Ginkgo Hutong begins amidst the arguments taking place both inside and outside the walls.
In Ginkgo Hutong, apart from a small portion of houses that were purchased by individual families years ago, most of the remaining houses belonged to the government and were allocated to the Wuxing Automobile Factory in earlier years. Ginkgo Hutong could practically be considered the staff quarters of the Wuxing Automobile Factory.
However, Ginkgo Hutong is not close to the Five Star Automobile Factory; it takes forty minutes to get to work by bicycle.
Even though it's still early before work starts, the line for the public toilets already stretches from the entrance to the alleyway.
People coming back from buying breakfast outside have to run a few steps faster through the queue, otherwise they will be met with a bunch of envious or disapproving looks: "Wow, you've only been paid for a couple of days and you're already living the high life!"
Guan's youngest son, under the weight of those gazes, sprinted back to Courtyard No. 3 at top speed.
The three-courtyard housed a total of 11 families. If any family smelled meat early in the morning, it would whet the appetites of all the children in the courtyard, leading to a chorus of wailing and crying.
"I want to eat meat too...!"
Normally, such cries would be silenced by an adult's slap. But it's the beginning of the month, and they're holding onto the newly issued money.
A chubby boy ran out of the east wing of the front yard and stood in the middle of the yard, boasting, "My family is having meat tonight!"
The boy in the west wing across the street swallowed hard and shouted even louder than the chubby boy, "My family eats lunch here!"
Three children of similar age suddenly ran out from the back room, shouting even louder, "We're having braised pork tonight!"
The sound reached the inner courtyard, but no children from the main house or the side rooms made a sound. However, the children from the families living in the back rooms cried even louder.
The youngest member of the Guan family hurriedly placed the fried dough sticks he had bought on the table, and then ran outside to take a few deep breaths of the meaty aroma wafting from the west wing.
He looked completely absorbed; anyone who didn't know better would think he was absorbing some kind of divine energy.
Guan Canghai couldn't stand his youngest son's greedy look, so he slapped him on the back of the head.
Guan Aiguo gasped in pain, but when he turned around and saw it was his father, he immediately gave him a fawning grin.
She glanced into the house and saw that apart from her eldest brother's two nephews and nieces, none of the other adults were in the living room. She clung to her father's arm like a boneless person, begging for money in a low voice.
Guan Aiguo responded with the pipe his father used to beat people.
Fortunately, Guan Aiguo had many years of experience in dealing with such situations and managed to dodge it with a quick movement.
She chuckled, a hint of grievance in her voice, and said, "Everyone in my class has sneakers, and I want a pair too."
Guan Canghai glanced at him and asked, "There are forty or fifty students in a class, how many of them are wearing sneakers?"
Guan Aiguo stammered and replied in a low voice, "Quite a few."
How many are there?
Guan Canghai saw through his little scheme, snorted, and went inside to sit down with his hands behind his back.
Seeing Guan Aiguo looking dejected and whining, she got angry and simply turned her head away.
"Call someone to dinner."
The nephew and niece had been staring intently at the fried dough sticks on the table, and they kept urging, "Uncle, hurry up and call for help!"
"Two little gluttons!"
Guan Aiguo made a face to scare his nephew and niece, then shouted to the room on the left, "Big sister, dinner's ready!"
As for the others, they're probably still in line to use the restroom.
There was no response from inside, only the sound of the box slamming shut.
Guan Aiguo rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath, "They're definitely going to the movies again tonight."
The Guan family has a total of nine members.
The head of the family, Guan Canghai, is a barber at the Wuxing Automobile Factory's barbershop. His wife, Jiang Guiying, transferred her job to their eldest daughter, Guan Yuehua, a few years ago.
Guan Canghai and Jiang Guiying had a total of five children.
Their first child is their eldest son, Guan Jianguo, who also works at the Wuxing Automobile Factory as a truck driver. Their eldest daughter-in-law, Lin Yufeng, used to work at a daily chemical factory, but sold her job to her sister three years ago and is currently unemployed. The couple also have two other children: their eldest son, Guan Wei, is five years old, and their younger daughter, Guan Jing, is two years old.
The second child was his son, Guan Weiguo, who was adopted by Guan Canghai's elder brother's family when he was five years old. One family lived in the city, and the other in the countryside. Guan Weiguo rarely visited his family.
The third child is the eldest daughter, Guan Yuehua. Four years ago, after graduating from high school, she failed the factory's recruitment exam. In order to avoid going to the countryside, she took over Jiang Guiying's job and now works at the guesthouse of the Wuxing Automobile Factory.
The fourth child was the second daughter, Guan Yuehe, who was also recognized as one of the most promising young people in Ginkgo Hutong.
Guan Yuehe graduated from high school early by asking the principal before she turned sixteen, and she also managed to get a temporary job at Zhuoyue Garment Factory. Six months later, she became a permanent employee.
Whenever the topic of young people reaching a certain age or graduating comes up, Guan Yuehe is always singled out as a positive role model and praised highly.
The last child is Guan Aiguo, who is only in the first year of junior high school. Guan Canghai plans to transfer the job to him if he can't find a job after he finishes high school.
The four workers in the Guan family, especially Guan Canghai and Guan Jianguo, had good wages and relatively good conditions.
But unlike other families, their children, regardless of whether they were married or not, had to hand over their wages to anyone living at home, leaving them with only two or three yuan each month.
Guan Canghai had already made it clear that the family had divided the household among his siblings. Each adult would pay five yuan for living expenses, each child two yuan, and the rest would be theirs or their own small family's to keep.
Guan Jianguo covered his and his wife and children's expenses, while Guan Canghai only managed Jiang Guiying and Guan Aiguo's. Of course, he also contributed a considerable amount to the public expenses. This made it seem like the Guan Yuehua and Guan Yuehe sisters had more money left over.
But Guan Canghai also said that when they got married, their families did not provide dowries, so they had to save up for themselves.
Over the years, the Guan family has moved twice and now occupies three main rooms in courtyard number three.
After countless renovations, the middle room is the smallest. The kitchen was built in the back, and the living room was built in the front. A tiny storage room was built out of the back of the kitchen, which can only be used to store odds and ends, unlike other houses where a small living room can be built.
The two sides are roughly the same size and are divided into two rooms, one in front and one in back, by walls. The two back rooms have separate doors that lead to the kitchen, while the two front rooms lead to the living room, thus creating four proper rooms.
The back room is more spacious than the front room.
Guan Canghai and Jiang Guiying lived in the back room on the left, while Guan Yuehua usually lived in the front room. Guan Yuehe usually lived in the factory dormitory and only came back to stay for a few days occasionally. Guan Jianguo and Lin Yufeng lived in the back room on the right, and two-year-old Jingjing slept with them. Guan Aiguo and his nephew Weiwei lived in the front room.
It's not uncommon in the city for three generations of a family, more than ten people, to be crammed into a space of just over ten square meters; the Guan family's house is considered spacious.
—
Jiang Guiying's laughter came from the front yard, and Guan Aiguo called out again to the front room on the left: "Big sister, come out for dinner!"
They say a half-grown boy can eat his father out of house and home. Every morning when he wakes up, his stomach is rumbling loudly; he's starving.
But his father had many rules; unless there were special circumstances, everyone had to be present before they could start eating.
Guan Yuehua came out carrying a red scarf and closed the door behind her.
Guan Aiguo looked up and sized up his older sister for a while.
She still had her hair in two braids, but now she wore a striking red hair tie. Her face was powdered, making her skin look healthier. Tsk! She definitely wore lipstick!
Looking at her clothes, he recognized the black leather shoes she'd worn before, but they looked quite new. He hadn't seen the blue cotton-padded jacket with the floral pattern before, nor the red scarf...
His two older sisters have been working full-time for three or four years, and their monthly salary is at least 28, if not 30! Moreover, besides contributing some household expenses, they keep the rest for themselves, making them the most financially well-off in the family!
However, the eldest sister loved to dress up and was particularly willing to spend money on clothes, shoes, and face creams. If she hadn't been unable to obtain enough cloth coupons, she probably would have spent all her wages every month.
My second sister is different.
After my second sister became a full-time employee, she applied for the factory dormitory. Even though Zhuoyue Garment Factory was not far from home, she never came back to live there, and she rarely came back for meals. Therefore, my father decided that my second sister only needed to pay two yuan for living expenses.
Moreover, his second sister was known throughout Ginkgo Hutong as a miser; she was very tight-fisted and never spent a penny more than necessary.
His second sister is definitely the richest in the family.
But he also loves to dress up, so he is most envious of his older sister, who can buy whatever she likes.
He even wanted to finish junior high school so he would be sixteen and come back to take over the family business. But his father disagreed.
Sigh. When will he finally be able to buy a pair of Warrior sneakers...?
—
Jiang Guiying strode along briskly, her face beaming with joy. Behind her followed Guan Jianguo and Lin Yufeng, who also looked excited.
Just as Guan Aiguo was about to call for help, Jiang Guiying and the eldest son and his wife entered the house and immediately closed the door.
Guan Canghai frowned. "What's wrong?"
"Great news! Great news!" Jiang Guiying clapped her hands excitedly, but didn't forget to lower her voice so that other people wouldn't think she was showing off.
"Zhuoyue Garment Factory is building dormitory buildings, and our Yuehe is getting a house allocated by the company!"
At first glance, it was a pleasant surprise, but upon reflection after calming down, I realized I was too happy too soon.
Guan Canghai: "She's so young and unmarried, how could her workplace allocate her an apartment?"
It just doesn't seem possible. These days, it's so difficult for companies to allocate housing; no young person gets a unit after only three years in the factory, unless they make a significant contribution.
Doesn't he know what kind of personality his second daughter has?
A little donkey pulling a millstone, without a carrot dangling in front of her, would find even the slightest movement exhausting.
Having worked at the factory for three years, and being a "veteran" who has grown the company from twenty to two hundred employees, she has never received an award for outstanding performance.
But her strength lies in her honesty; she goes to work and leaves on time every day without taking a day off, isn't proactive about working overtime, and isn't enthusiastic about training or learning opportunities at the factory. She's content with her fixed monthly salary. If she receives a little extra pay due to the factory's good performance one month, she can be happy for three days straight.
She wasn't envious when others did well and got a raise; she only thought about getting a raise based on her seniority and doing her job well.
So, his second daughter can make outstanding contributions to the factory? He might as well hope the country can blow up the Americans.
Guan Yuehua thought her mother was being delusional. Allocating rooms wasn't such an easy thing.
Just hang in there. It will be easier to apply once you get married. If both of you are factory workers, the chances of getting housing will be even higher.
Jiang Guiying's smile didn't fade at all; she had the same reaction as them when she heard about it outside.
"Xu Laosan said this when he came back from his night shift: Zhuoyue Garment Factory will be able to complete its annual production target this month, and the factory has decided to build buildings and allocate housing. Employees who have made special contributions to the factory or have worked for three years or more, regardless of their position or whether they are married, can participate in this housing allocation! I heard that the garment factory is buying machines to expand its factory and is also recruiting workers. This time, they are building several buildings!"
Yuehe from her family joined Zhuoyue Garment Factory in August 1966. She worked as a temporary worker for half a year before becoming a full-time employee, and now she has been a full-time employee for exactly three years!
Guan Jianguo, who had been laughing along, also spoke up, "What Mom said is true! The housing allocation policy for Zhuoyue Garment Factory has been posted on the bulletin board! And the housing allocation list has been released, with Yuehe's name at the top!"
"Really?" Even Guan Canghai, who was usually very composed, couldn't wait to confirm the news.
"real!"
Guan Jianguo was both happy for his sister and envious. Thinking about himself, he had been working in the factory for eight years, but because his family owned a house with three main rooms, the issue of housing allocation never came his way.
Who wouldn't want their own room?!
Moreover, the second sister was not even twenty years old yet, and she was already assigned a superior room.
Guan Aiguo was so shocked that his eyes almost popped out.
His second sister is about to become a wealthy woman with a job, savings, and a house!
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