"Tang Yuan, tell me the truth, is something wrong? If it is, tell me and we'll think of a solution together. Sometimes you can't escape it by running away."
Li Chu's expression turned serious, and he looked at his old classmate with some concern.
"I'm really fine, I just suddenly realized some things. Over the years, I've been so busy with work that I haven't been able to take care of my family much, and my sister-in-law has always had some complaints about me."
I've been thinking about this carefully lately, and I realize that what you said before makes a lot of sense. Sometimes, staying home and enjoying time with grandchildren is a way of life, and even more so, a kind of enjoyment, so..."
Seeing Song Tangyuan's sincere face, Li Chu finally felt relieved.
"It's good that you think this way. Take a break and relax."
"Hmm," Song Tangyuan nodded. "By the way, your niece's employment procedures have all been completed. Once she graduates next year, the institute will transfer her file over."
"Thank you. If possible, before you retire, could you please provide me with an apartment? Size doesn't matter, as long as I have a place to live."
"House? I don't know if she registered for the collective housing construction program a while ago. If she wants to wait for housing allocation... to be honest, she really can't get in line."
It wasn't that he was making excuses; after all, Lu Ping's personnel file hadn't arrived yet. The fact that he could complete the work procedures ahead of schedule was already a bit of a violation. If she could even enjoy the housing benefits now, some of the older colleagues in the office would probably be cursing him out.
This approach is indeed a bit unreasonable.
Li Chu was well aware of this, and he nodded, saying, "Since that's the case, you don't need to worry about it. I don't know if she's registered or not. I'll ask her later, and if all else fails, I'll add her name."
"That's easy. People are registering every day now. Many people can't wait to be assigned a room because their children are getting married. It's impossible for several family members to squeeze into a single building."
"Li Chu, do you think there will be fewer and fewer housing units after the housing allocation system? I've noticed that in the last year or two, many workplaces seem to have started using the method of collectively raising funds to build housing."
"That's for sure. How can the government afford to pay for it? It's okay if the companies are doing well; they can afford to pay for it. But what about the companies that aren't doing well? They still need to provide accommodation for their employees. What can they do if they don't raise funds?"
Since last year, the government has only approved land allocations, not construction funding. Whether or not the unit can afford to build the houses is its own responsibility.
"And what about here? What are you going to do?"
“Us? Haven’t you heard the saying, ‘The camp remains, but the soldiers come and go’? People leave, but the house has to stay, unless you can work until retirement.”
"Sigh~ You were so wise to buy your own house so early, with your own yard. Once the gate is closed, no one will bother anyone. Just thinking about it makes me feel so comfortable." Song Tangyuan sighed. He had thought about buying a detached house before, but he backed down as soon as he asked about the price.
"Well, I just got lucky. The reason I bought a yard so early is simply because I'm not used to living in an apartment building and I don't feel at ease."
In a few years, Song Tangyuan might regret it to death. Putting aside whether the price of courtyard houses will rise or not, the key issue is that even if he has the money, he won't be able to buy one.
Li Chu had suggested to him before that he should also buy a courtyard house, but now he wouldn't say the same thing again. Everyone has their own destiny, and it's not good to say too much.
"Old classmate, how's your cancer research project going?" Song Tangyuan's sudden change of topic left Li Chu stunned for a long time.
Why did you suddenly ask me this?
"Of course, I wanted to see if there were any areas where we could cooperate. I asked if there could be any other purpose."
"Oh, I see. This is actually your ultimate purpose for coming here today, isn't it?" Li Chu suddenly realized.
"It's not about any purpose or anything, we just think that we can build this project together as a military and civilian project."
"I did do it, that's true, but it's been several months already. Why are you only asking now?"
"What do you mean? You already have a business partner?"
"That's for sure. It's a collaboration with our own research institute. We don't want the benefits to go to outsiders. If you really have any ideas, you can go and see if we can cooperate. But aren't you planning to retire? This project is unlikely to see anything for at least ten years."
“I may be retiring, but before I do, I want to do something more for our Institute of Chinese Materia Medica.”
"Okay, I'll talk to Lao Sun about it later, but whether or not we can cooperate is up to you to talk to him about it. I can't interfere." Li Chu thought for a moment and agreed.
"You don't need to say anything more, as long as Director Sun is willing to talk, that's fine." Song Tangyuan seemed very happy.
Since they are from two different systems, and no one offered to help, the most likely outcome of him going to find Director Sun himself is that he won't even be able to see him.
Don't tell me you're the director of some Chinese Materia Medica Institute; to Lao Sun, you're nothing.
Having achieved his biggest goal for the day, Song Tangyuan became much more talkative. The two chatted for a long time about all sorts of things until Li Chu invited him to have lunch there, at which point he declined and prepared to leave.
At the hospital entrance, Li Chu watched him ride away on his bicycle.
As his status rose higher and higher, some of his former classmates gradually drifted away. Especially after this conferment of ranks, a month later, Song Tangyuan was the only one who was still in contact with him.
However, he could understand those people's thoughts. College students in the 1950s were relatively aloof and didn't want others to think they were trying to curry favor with people.
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Besides, at this age, most people don't have any other thoughts. They just want to live their own lives. You can't expect me to achieve great things just because you're successful.
Even so, he was just a civilian employee in the military, only with a slightly higher rank, and he didn't hold any official position within the organization, yet he had already fallen into this situation.
Then think about those people mentioned above. No wonder they all throw themselves into their work every day. What else would they do if they weren't working? They have virtually no private social life. You can't expect them to be squatting on the street eating skewers, can you?
Perhaps they longed for a life filled with the warmth of everyday life, but no one was willing to accompany them.
Hmm? This car looks so familiar.
Just as I was about to turn around and go into the hospital, I suddenly saw a car driving by. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was my own car.
The car slowly pulled up beside him, and he could see clearly that Ding Qiunan was driving when the driver's side window rolled down.
What are you doing standing here? Has Tang Yuan left?
"Yeah, I just saw them off. When did you drive out?"
"You two were chatting in the office at that time. I asked Zhijun and he said you probably didn't know how to use a car, so I drove off."
Why didn't you let Tian Jun take you?
"Oh dear, why would I need someone else to deliver my car?"
"Hehe, I think you just wanted to have some fun, that's why you drove it yourself. Alright, drive in now, it's time to eat."
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