Chapter 100 Room Allocation
The camp of the 25th Company of the 6th Branch Farm in Shicheng County, Xinjiang Province.
Thanks to the hard work of the construction team every day, after the toilets were built, the team had already built four rows of bungalows within a month.
The foundation was made of bricks, the four walls were also made of bricks, the beams above were made of wood, and the floor inside the house was still yellow earth.
The first and second rows were covered earlier and have already dried completely under the scorching sun.
These past two days, the company commander and the secretary have been discussing letting the female comrades in the team move in first, and then, once the houses in the last two rows are ready, they will prioritize the newlywed couples.
The problem is that we can't get a bed to bring over right now. After discussing it, we decided to use the materials we have on hand and build a kang (a heated brick bed) out of mud.
Just like in the homes of local ethnic minorities, there is a large earthen bed in the room, covered with a rough woolen mat, or at the very least a straw mat. A family of six, seven, eight or nine people can lie on one bed.
A few days ago, Wang Haiquan returned from Shicheng, bringing back several bags of large watermelons for everyone.
The watermelon was big, sweet, and juicy, with a sandy texture; it tasted even better than the watermelons Song Lubai ate back in her hometown.
At the same time, Song Lubai and her colleagues from the Commercial Department received their first month's salary.
Although they haven't officially reported to the Commercial Department yet, their salaries have been approved by the Commercial Department.
After deducting thirteen yuan for food expenses each month, everyone received ten yuan.
In other words, their current wages are calculated based on the lowest-ranking clerk's salary.
This figure is on par with Song Lubai's salary level at the subdistrict office.
The price was five yuan higher than they expected, but no one felt resentful.
On the contrary, the employees of the 25th Company only received five yuan a month.
Compared to Song Lubai and the others, the employees felt resentful, but when they learned that the construction team members could only receive three yuan a month, they felt at peace again.
As the sun sets, mosquitoes buzz wildly, greedily landing on every inch of skin exposed to the air to suck blood.
The group, carrying their farm tools and dragging their weary bodies, returned to the camp. Seeing the rows of bungalows that stood there, everyone was filled with hope.
The construction team is still busy at this moment.
Smoke curled from the chimneys under the campsite's sheds.
Back at the camp, Wang Qun, who had almost recovered, crawled out from in front of the stove and nudged Song Lubai with his shoulder. "You know what? I heard that most of the people in these construction teams are people who have finished their labor reform and re-education. They all committed crimes before."
Song Lubai nodded. "It seems so. The employees in this company transferred their household registration from Koukou. In other labor units with the word 'team' in their names, it seems that most of them are people who have completed their labor reform. If they perform well, they can also become formal employees."
Wang Qun looked at her: "How do you know so much?"
Song Lubai was obviously listening to what Wei Yang said.
"Everyone talks about everything in the fields, and I only heard it from others."
Wang Qun gestured towards Sun Hong with his lip, saying, "She's all gloomy right now, and she barely responds when I talk to her."
Since returning to their unit, the two wounded soldiers have been assigned to the cooking squad and vegetable planting squad by the company commander and political instructor, respectively, and their daily work is much easier than before.
The cooking squad and the vegetable growing squad only had Wang Qun and Sun Hong, two colleagues from the commercial department. The group of girls from Shanghai didn't talk to them much, and when they talked in groups, they liked to speak in dialect. If Wang Qun wanted to talk, she could only find Sun Hong, but Sun Hong didn't pay much attention to her.
Song Lubai advised, "Don't be impulsive again in the future. Remember the lesson you learned last time."
Sun Hong is a person with a high sense of self-esteem. In the few days since she came back, she has indeed been ignoring people. Many people have been gossiping behind her back, saying that she is gloomy and that she was harmed by those thugs.
Wang Qun snorted indignantly, "If she doesn't bother me, I won't talk to her anymore. I'm not the kind of person who tries to win someone over when they don't reciprocate."
"The company commander said that after we finish eating today, we will be assigned rooms. After the rooms are assigned, everyone will have to make their own beds and let them dry before moving in."
Song Lubai was also filled with burning anticipation.
I lived in a dugout for a month and a half. During the day, it was cool, but the light was terrible. The dugout had no door, so I didn't feel safe sleeping at night.
Thinking of her family's tenement building, Song Lubai said, "If we painted the walls white and laid a layer of cement on the floor, it would definitely be more comfortable to live in than the tenement building."
Song Lubai used to complain that her family's tenement building wasn't as comfortable as their single-story courtyard house. Now, thinking back, she really should slap her past self.
She was so ungrateful back then.
Regardless, the apartment building had decent lighting, didn't leak when it rained, had easy-to-clean cement floors, white painted walls, and she slept on a proper wooden bed.
Unlike now, living in dugouts, crawling up and down like a gray-haired rat every day.
But good days are just around the corner.
It was another bland meal of coarse grains. After dinner, the company commander announced loudly, "As you can see, four rows of houses have been built. The first two rows are already habitable. After discussion, we've decided to let the women move in first."
Everyone waited eagerly for the company commander to continue.
"A suite is a standard three-bedroom apartment, with two small bedrooms and a living room. Although the area inside is not large, it is enough for a family of several people to live in. This time, eight women will live in one suite. We have divided into groups. Everyone should make two beds themselves. Just make the beds. In the future, when there are more people getting married in the company, it will be easier to make room for the young couples. As for how to make the beds, come with me to the new room in a while and I will show you."
Although it was already completely dark, everyone was eager to go see the new house because they had to work in the fields during the day and it was too hot at noon. So the company commander decided not to be picky about the time and that everyone should go at once.
Many of the people in the crowd had ancestors who toiled in the fields and couldn't understand what the company commander meant by the foreign word "living room," so they all craned their necks to ask.
The company commander laughed and said, "The living room is what everyone calls the main room."
This new word, like that new house, ignited everyone's burning desire for the future.
"Everyone said we'd be assigned a room when we arrived, and now we finally see where the room is."
Surrounded by the crowd, the instructor proudly said, "We were among the first companies in the Sixth Division to be allocated housing. The houses all have three rooms. There aren't many children in our company, so it's very spacious."
Everyone proudly puffed out their chests.
The veteran settlers asked, "Now that we have houses, when can we get married?"
The instructor couldn't guarantee it, and gave a vague answer, saying, "It'll be done soon."
The company commander, carrying a small flashlight and a candle, entered a suite and placed the candle on the windowsill, illuminating the entire interior.
Everyone was dazzled by the well-organized interior layout and thought the house was really nice.
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