Chapter 17 017 Drawing Lots
When Guan Yuehe was transferred to the factory office, the leaders planned to make her a typist.
The previous typist was a military dependent. When his spouse was transferred to another job, the typist had to go with him, leaving a vacancy.
But before she could fully learn how to use the typewriter, a typist was parachuted in. She became an idle person in the factory office, but occasionally also the busiest person in the factory office.
Zhuoyue brand sportswear sold like hotcakes in other provinces and also gained a reputation among workers in state-owned factories in Beijing. They wanted to do what the furniture factory did and exchange their own factory products for Zhuoyue brand sportswear.
Answering the phone is more tiring than operating the sewing machine in the workshop. Operating the sewing machine is physically tiring, answering the phone is mentally tiring.
In other words, the carrot was the promise that the next day was a lucky day for drawing lots to receive the houses; otherwise, she would have staged a scene in the sales department where she suddenly stopped breathing and fainted.
After get off work that day, she used a bath ticket to go to the bathhouse for a relaxing bath, and returned to her dormitory feeling refreshed and went to bed early to wait for the lottery the next day.
She wasn't unaware of the subtle atmosphere in the dormitory, but thinking that she would be moving out soon, she ignored it.
—
The lottery was held in front of the newly built dormitory building of Zhuoyue Garment Factory, which is located in the factory's residential area.
The newly built residential area for employees of the garment factory is located between Yinxing Hutong and the Wuxing T Automobile Factory. It takes about fifteen minutes to get there by bicycle from the garment factory.
Guan Yuehe went there in a truck from the factory, and it only took a few minutes.
There were far more people coming to the family quarters to watch the lottery than to the factory to watch the May Day performance.
Those who weren't eligible for the lottery came as a whole family, mainly to see what the factory buildings looked like, just to have something to look forward to. Those who were eligible for the lottery brought along relatives, friends, and neighbors for the fun.
Take Comrade Xiao Guan for example; not only his family came, but also half of the neighbors from Ginkgo Alley came.
To prevent any accidents, the entire factory's security department was mobilized, and even Officer Song was there, using a tin megaphone to remind people not to push forward and especially not to let children run into the construction area at the back.
The workers who were assigned single rooms were the first to draw lots. Guan Yuehe didn't have time to go find her family. After signing in at the lot-drawing area, she stood aside and waited, glancing up at the newly built red building in front of her.
The buildings were constructed in the Soviet architectural style. Of the four buildings completed, two four-story buildings had a mix of studio and one-bedroom layouts, while the remaining two three-story buildings had two-bedroom and one-living room layouts, and three-bedroom and one-living room layouts, respectively.
The two- and three-bedroom buildings are not available to the average person; most people only look at single rooms or one-bedroom apartments.
She had just signed in when He Shuangshuang and Mo Zhinan arrived. The two of them had gotten their marriage certificates before the policy was implemented, so naturally they received two single rooms.
Sister Zhu said that the young couple was quick-witted. The two single rooms together totaled 36 square meters, but if they were to be allocated housing as a dual-income couple, they would only be allocated a 27-square-meter one-bedroom apartment, losing 9 square meters, which was not worthwhile.
Even though we're not close, we can still chat for a bit if we bump into each other.
During this conversation, Guan Yuehe learned that Director Ma of the Subdistrict Office and Section Chief Mo of the Housing Management Section were actually cousins!
No wonder!
On May Day, Ma Lao Er and Ma Er Sao visited her home and said that once she got her house, they would either find someone to exchange it for a two-bedroom apartment, or they would exchange it for two adjacent single rooms.
That's right, the couple also found someone else to exchange for a single room, but it's unclear what conditions they offered.
In other words, the Ma family exchanged the left side room of No. 2 courtyard for two single rooms, which were given to Ma Lao Da and Ma Lao Er. Ma Lao Er also found someone else to exchange for an extra room.
That day, she thought, "Are the buildings in the garment factory as common as cabbages? Can I just change them whenever I want?"
It turns out there was a way.
Presumably feeling that the house swap was a done deal, the Ma couple stopped hiding it. Anyway, with two car factory workers living in the garment factory's residential area, they'd be a lone red flower in a sea of green. Their family's affairs would be dug up by the garment factory workers' families sooner or later, so it didn't matter whether they said it sooner or later. Being honest would make them seem more upright.
"Those drawing lots for single rooms, come over here! Those drawing lots for one-bedroom apartments, get ready!" A staff member from the housing management department shouted from a table with a tin megaphone.
The crowd surged, and those who weren't participating in the lottery were even more excited than those who were.
Everyone acted quickly, and within minutes, all the people who were drawing lots were present.
Director Mo took out a list and read out the names in order. Only those whose names were called went up to draw lots.
Guan Yuehe was ranked ninth on the overall housing allocation list. The eight people ahead of her were the eldest brothers and sisters among the twenty people who were originally employed when the factory was built. They were all married with children but did not own a house. Some of them, including the factory director, are now in leadership positions and were allocated either two-bedroom or three-bedroom apartments.
So, she was the first one chosen by drawing lots for a single room.
"Comrade Guan Yuehe!" Section Chief Mo read out the name, his eyes scanning the room as he looked for her.
As soon as Guan Yuehe raised her hand, Guan Aiguo in the crowd couldn't wait to point at her and shout, "My sister is over there, over there!"
Guan Canghai patted his head, telling him to stop shouting, but the corners of his mouth were already practically pointing to the sky. He managed to restrain himself a bit and turned to his old partner, Uncle Ming, beside him, saying, "This girl is lucky; she's caught all the good things happening at the factory."
Setting up a factory and hiring temporary workers, getting them promoted to permanent positions once the factory is on track, and then being allocated housing just in time for a three-year probationary period—most people don't have that kind of luck.
Grandpa Ming glanced at him sideways, ignoring his old friend's self-proclaimed "modest" boasting.
Jiang Guiying, standing beside her, nervously clasped her hands together and prayed softly, "Draw a good one! The one at the far right of the first-floor corridor..."
Guan Yuehua frowned, thinking that since they had already moved to a house in Courtyard No. 2, it didn't matter which house she drew now, so why did she care what she drew!
The person drawing the lot didn't have time to think much. He was pushed forward by the person behind him, reached into a box with a single round hole, and pulled out a slip of paper.
"Building 1, Room 108".
"Great! It's a room on the first floor next to the hallway!" Ma Ersao exclaimed excitedly, stamping her feet on the spot.
Section Chief Mo laughed and said, "You're lucky, you drew a good position."
The registrar took the slip of paper, registered it, and then took the envelope with "1108" written on it from a large stack of envelopes and gave it to her. Inside was the house key.
Although the procedures would take a day or two to complete, Guan Yuehe wanted to exchange house keys today and move into their own homes.
Ma Ersao was overjoyed and nodded repeatedly in agreement.
Ma Ersao was still waiting for another person to draw a house, so Guan Yuehe went with her family to see the house she had drawn.
Although the house is about to be sold, the family feels that at this moment, the house belongs to her, and she has to go and see it.
Her neighbors in Ginkgo Hutong congratulated her and asked when she would move to Courtyard No. 2.
"Soon, soon," Guan Canghai replied with a smile. "We'll move in as soon as the house is ready."
It's a square-shaped single room, about 18 square meters, with a balcony inside and a separate bathroom connected to the balcony.
"Is this my aunt's house?" Weiwei looked up and exclaimed, "Auntie, your house is so big!"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Guiying felt a pang of regret: Looking at it this way, a single room isn't small at all. You could partition off seven or eight square meters to make a separate room, and the living room outside isn't small either. The stove could be placed on the balcony, so you wouldn't have to go outside to the hallway to cook or boil water. You could even build a shed around the balcony...
Guan Yuehe patted Weiwei's head, "Auntie's house is bigger than this!"
She can no longer tolerate a tiny 18-square-meter room!
Jiang Guiying only regretted it for a short while. Guan Yuehe, thinking about the house they were about to get, urged them to finish the inspection and leave quickly. Since everyone in the family was free today, and her two childhood friends were also off, the more people there were, the faster they could clean.
The sooner she gets it ready, the sooner she can move into the big room!
"Let me take another look." Guan Jianguo carefully inspected all the houses, thinking about the next batch of housing allocations from the car factory.
These days, it's common for company-built housing to take one or two years from the initial proposal to completion and allocation. Zhuoyue Garment Factory wasn't actually that fast; the foundation for the buildings was already laid before the housing allocation policy was introduced. It was just that the housing allocation policy was implemented quickly, and the factory had money in its accounts, so they hired several construction teams to work together, which allowed the buildings to be completed so quickly.
He figured that he should be eligible for housing from the factory within about five years!
After reading it, Guan Yuehe locked the house and called her family to go find Ma Ersao.
The other single room that Ma Ersao got was on the fourth floor, which was a good location, but it was on the top floor, so it wasn't convenient to switch with someone on the first floor. But there's always a way to connect the two rooms. Ma Ersao said she would find someone to switch with after everyone had finished drawing lots.
Both families were eager to move into their new homes. As soon as they met, they were about to exchange keys when Guan Yuehe cautiously asked, "The house in courtyard number two is currently registered under your names, so it's fine for me to exchange keys with you, right?"
She was afraid that Ma Da Sao would cause trouble again.
"Don't worry, the house is in our name," Ma Ersao reassured her. "My parents-in-law have spoken, so my sister-in-law wouldn't dare to cause any more trouble."
That's not necessarily true. Guan Yuehe wasn't entirely convinced, and said jokingly, "I'm probably overthinking it. The house won't grow taller until the exchange agreement is signed."
"That's right!" Sister-in-law Ma readily agreed. "Tomorrow I'll go back to the factory to register first, then bring the certificate and the stamped agreement back to you. Then we'll go to your housing management office together to register, get the certificate, and sign the agreement. Is that alright?"
Her father-in-law is the director of the neighborhood office, and Section Chief Mo of the garment factory is also a relative of hers, so she's not afraid that Guan Yuehe will cause trouble.
Moreover, she also wanted to quickly register the house under her and Ma Lao Er's names to prevent her sister-in-law from making trouble again.
"Okay!" Since it saved her the trouble of asking for leave, Guan Yuehe readily agreed!
Jiang Guiying took Ma Ersao's hand and thanked her, saying, "My Yuehe is young and doesn't know much, so I'm sorry to have troubled you to make this trip."
"Yuehe is young, but she is very capable! We envy you, Sister Jiang, because you don't have to worry about your children."
After exchanging compliments, the two finally got their hands on the keys.
Guan Yuehe felt much more at ease.
"Hurry up, hurry up, let's go home and clean the house!"
"Hey, wait a minute! Sitian! Xu Chengcai! Stop looking, go back and help me clean!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
