199 The elderly men and women in charge
When the almanac turned to 1987, the neighbors in Ginkgo Hutong learned that Guan Yuehe had been promoted.
"No wonder Lao Fang and Gui Ying have been so cheerful these past two months. How come these two families are so tight-lipped?"
"Only those who keep their mouths shut can go far. Look at that shoe factory manager, his whole family is a liar, otherwise he wouldn't have been arrested."
"We have to thank their big scoundrels for that, otherwise how much more collective property would have been lost? Just one factory director embezzled over 100,000 yuan in ten years! Add to that what other cadres embezzled, and it's enough to pay all the workers in our entire alley a year's wages!"
One second they were talking about Guan Yuehe's promotion, the next they were cursing the management team of the Second Shoe Factory, as if those people had embezzled the collective property of the Five Star Automobile Factory and damaged the welfare of the workers' families.
Jiang Guiying came out with a ball of yarn to find Lin Ting, only to find him sitting among a group of old neighbors listening to gossip. So she took out a small stool, and while watching the child and listening to the gossip, she knitted a sweater.
"I heard that the Second Shoe Factory is going bankrupt, and the city wants Zhuoyue Garment Factory to take over its workers and equipment."
"What? Such a good thing can happen?"
"It's not like we haven't taken over before. More than ten years ago, didn't Zhuoyue Garment Factory take over a production line from the Second Shoe Factory? They took over all the workers from that workshop. Those people weren't happy when they were transferred over, but in the end, they got a raise and were given housing... I think the workers at the Second Shoe Factory have been hoping for bankruptcy and reassignment for a long time."
Some neighbors disagreed, saying, "Is going to another factory the same as staying in the factory you've worked at for ten or twenty years? If the factory wasn't unable to pay wages, who would willingly be merged into another factory?"
"That's true. If we're talking about good factories, then it has to be the ones you've watched grow up."
"What's the use of having a good factory if you can't even pay wages? How can you survive?"
Someone posed the question to Aunt Bai: "Your Xiang Hong is a minor official now, hasn't she mentioned whether the garment factory should be merged with the second shoe factory?"
"There are plenty of cadres in the factory, what could a lowly cadre like her possibly know?" Aunt Bai thought to herself: Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you big mouths!
I don't know who it was, but suddenly the topic of reforming state-owned factories came up. "After the reform, the factory will become a one-man show by the factory director. Who knows if it will be good or bad in the future?"
"Who says otherwise? If all factory managers were as capable as Manager Zheng of Zhuoyue Garment Factory, who fought for workers' welfare every year, then the changes would be worthwhile. The problem is that they encounter managers like the manager of the Second Shoe Factory, who only care about their own enjoyment and don't care about the workers' lives. There's really no way to reason with them then."
Don't let their age fool you; many of these elderly folks are veteran factory workers who, even in retirement, keep a close eye on the factory's development. If they disagree with a decision, they might just storm into the factory manager's office and bang on the table.
But most of the time, the elderly folks just grumble to their neighbors at their doorsteps, and then it's over.
The most important thing right now is the notice issued by the subdistrict office.
"What? Each courtyard needs to elect a new head steward and head steward?"
"Why bother choosing this again? We've been in this position for so many years, there's no need to choose again, right? We're from our department, I don't think we need to change."
The staff of the neighborhood office didn't care what they said; they just made sure the notice reached everyone and that the elderly people in charge of each courtyard would hold a meeting as soon as possible to finalize the candidates.
When Guan Yuehe came home from get off work, Aunt Hu ran over and asked, "Yuehe, do you want to be the 'housekeeper'?"
Guan Yuehe almost thought she had misheard, but Aunt Hu asked again.
Do I look like an old lady?
“We don’t select people based on age. Look at you and Yiku, you’re both top-notch and respected people in our No. 1 compound. If you two sign up, everyone will definitely vote for you.”
“Sister Hongqi too… Do you want to sign up?” Guan Yuehe said immediately when she saw that Aunt Hu did not deny it. “Lin Yiku and I don’t have that idea. If you sign up, the three of us will definitely vote for you.”
"Oh dear! I'm so embarrassed, haha." Aunt Hu laughed twice, then quickly covered her mouth, glancing furtively at the backyard, before slipping Guan Yuehe some of the roasted peanuts she had made, "For Lin to hear."
After saying that, Aunt Hu ran to the other side and asked Zhou Hongqi, who was off work, the same question.
Guan Yuehe and Zhou Hongqi didn't want to be the neighborhood aunties. Their jobs were busy enough, and after get off work they still had to help resolve disputes. During their rest time, they had to go door-to-door to collect water and electricity fees, and they also had to ensure that the documents from the neighborhood office were properly communicated...
But the other neighbors wanted to do it too.
While she was watching the news that evening, three groups of guests came to her house, all of them implying that she and Lin Yiku should vote for her.
Once only her family was left in the house, Guan Yuehe said, "I've already promised Aunt Hu that all three of our family's votes will go to her."
Lin Yi thought for a while and said, "Of course, Aunt Hu is the most enthusiastic and has the most free time in our courtyard."
Although Aunt Hu sometimes says things that are annoying, she genuinely worked for the residents of Courtyard No. 1 when she was the head auntie. She always made sure to pass on any news. She's a very responsible auntie.
"Then let's vote for Aunt Hu!"
Guan Yuehe couldn't help but laugh at the thought of Aunt Hu asking her if she wanted to be a manager, and she reached out to poke Lin Yiku, "We've actually reached the age where we can be managers, old men and women."
"Hello, Uncle Lin! Hello, Aunt Guan!" Lin Ting seized the opportunity to be cheeky, and after shouting, he and Guan Yuehe burst into laughter.
Lin Yiku was speechless. She stuffed a piece of the sliced apple into Lin Yiku's hand and another piece into Lin Ting's hand. The only sounds in the room were the sounds of people eating apples and the television.
Courtyards No. 2 and No. 3 were not as quiet as Courtyard No. 1.
In courtyard number two, Grandpa Chang and Grandma Zhao both refused to be the eldest grandpa and grandma anymore, and Grandpa Zhang didn't want to be the second eldest grandpa either. Only Grandma Zhang was left, and this time she wanted to compete to be the eldest grandma in charge.
No one ran for the position of manager, but everyone recommended Song Gong'an to take over.
With a dark expression, Officer Song said he was too busy with work to take the position.
“You don’t need to do anything. I’ll take care of everything. Our compound is just missing a leader to keep things in check, and everyone agrees that you, Officer Song, are the most suitable!” Auntie Er even came to our door to persuade us.
Police Officer Song still shook his head and waved his hands, insisting that Grandpa Chang and Grandpa Zhang were doing a good job, and that he would choose one of them.
The noise in Courtyard No. 3 was also intense. Grandpa Xu and Grandma Xu wanted to run for office, and two families in the back building also wanted to run for office. In order to garner votes, they actually started arguing in the courtyard.
Grandpa Lin leisurely watched TV at home, determined not to become a meddling old man anymore.
Speaking of which, the idea of changing the managers was proposed by Grandpa Lin to the neighborhood committee. He said that there hadn't been a change of managers for many years, but many residents in the courtyard had changed, so it was time to elect new managers so that everyone would be convinced.
That's how the matter of changing the managers came about.
Guan Yuehua and Gu Mannian came to pick up Gu Yu, and Gu Yu then took them to Guan Yuehe's house.
As soon as Gu Mannian entered the room, he asked, "Why aren't you and Yiku running for the position of steward? It's a pity, I saw that you two were quite popular."
Guan Yuehe rolled her eyes at him and asked instead of answering, "Is the factory really going to merge with the second shoe factory?"
"There's nothing we can do," Gu Mannian sighed. "It's a task given by our superiors. However, our factory manager also made quite a few demands, so it's not a bad deal."
Guan Yuehua glanced at the Russian book on the table and was about to pick it up when Lin Ting grabbed her arm and whispered, "Auntie, do you have any candied hawthorns left?"
Guan Yuehua quickly covered her mouth, glancing at Guan Yuehe out of the corner of her eye, and changed the subject, asking, "Why aren't you wearing the new sweater your aunt made for you?"
"Mom said that pretty clothes should be saved for the New Year."
Lin Ting wanted to ask more questions, but Guan Yuehua immediately picked up her Russian book and said, "Auntie is going to test your learning."
Lin Ting immediately let go, turned around and pulled Gu Yu to the other side to find Yuan Bao, completely unaware that her aunt was doing it on purpose.
Guan Yuehe, who had heard Lin Ting ask about "candied hawthorns" earlier, snorted twice at Guan Yuehua, saying that she had already told the children not to eat too much candy!
Considering that Lin Ting is usually strictly controlled, she decided not to argue with the upright official.
Actually, I felt that I couldn't argue with the sharp tongue of the upright official.
With the two talkative children gone, Guan Yuehua finally asked Guan Yuehe, "Didn't He Shuangshuang say when she'd be transferred back?"
Although she didn't know why she suddenly brought up He Shuangshuang, Guan Yuehe honestly replied, "She didn't say, but I guess it should be soon."
He Shuangshuang had worked at the grassroots level for several years, and every time she wrote to Xie Dongxue and He Shuangshuang, she only reported good news and never bad, sharing only her recent work achievements. However, even if He Shuangshuang didn't write it in her letter, she knew that there must have been difficulties involved.
After achieving good results for several consecutive years, it was only a matter of time before he was transferred back.
Why are you asking this?
"Looking at her mother-in-law running around asking people to introduce unmarried women to her, you'd think He Shuangshuang and Mo Zhinan had divorced."
Guan Yuehe was truly exasperated with that old woman; she was always up to something. But then again, "Does Mo Zhinan also have this idea?"
“I’m not familiar with him.” Guan Yuehua looked at Gu Mannian. “You two work at the same company every day, what do you think?”
"I don't think so." Gu Mannian wasn't trying to excuse his old colleague, but the factory was busy with restructuring, and everyone in the department was extremely busy. He met with Mo Zhinan every day and really didn't notice anything wrong.
“I don’t think he would dare,” Gu Mannian explained. “There’s a deputy factory director in charge of purchasing and sales who’s about to retire. Mo Zhinan will definitely want to compete for it. If he makes a mistake at this time and has an improper relationship with a woman, then at most he’ll only be a section chief in his life.”
Guan Yuehe immediately perked up and said with a smile, "That old lady is just making trouble for her son."
"Just wait, Mo Zhinan will have to talk to his mother sooner or later."
—
Actually, she hasn't attended the Canton Fair for several years.
With more than two months to go before the Canton Fair, Guan Yuehe has already started preparing.
The election of stewards for the various courtyards in Yinxing Hutong has also come to an end.
Aunt Hu successfully won a second term as the head housekeeper of Courtyard No. 1, and now serves the residents of the courtyard with great enthusiasm every day. Every month, she goes door-to-door collecting water and electricity fees with her little notebook.
In Courtyard No. 2, Second Aunt was elected as the person in charge, and everyone else refused to run for office. Police Officer Song even used the excuse of having work at the police station to avoid the election and voting in the courtyard.
The funniest place was No. 3 Courtyard, where Zhang Quanbin was successfully elected as the head steward! What's even more remarkable is that Zhang Quanbin himself was happy to do the job.
The kids in the alley were cheeky, calling him "Uncle Zhang" all the time, which made the young man in his twenties who hadn't found a girlfriend sound old.
One day, when Zhang Ersao brought her youngest son back to Ginkgo Alley, she heard everyone calling her eldest son "Uncle Zhang," and her face turned dark.
—
This year's Canton Fair starts in mid-April, and Guan Yuehe only started packing her luggage when March was already halfway over.
Jiang Guiying laughed and said, "This time I don't have to carry Coke and canned fish all the way back."
But Guan Yuehe still stuffed an empty bag into her luggage bag. Anyway, every time she went on a long trip, she would always bring back a lot of things. Bringing an extra bag would make it easier to carry them.
"Why are you rummaging through my clothes?" Jiang Guiying turned her head and found that Lin Ting had also turned out all his clothes and spread them out on half of the kang (a heated brick bed).
Guan Yuehe shrugged. The five-year-old child was hard to coax; he insisted on coming along on the business trip.
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