Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 898 897 Someone Has Their Eyes on the Tang Family's House
June 30th, Thursday, is the day Tang Zhitong went to Tsinghua University to receive an award.

Early in the morning, Xiao Wang got up to iron clothes.

Place the sewing machine inside the machine frame's compartment, cover it with a wooden board, and you have a flat work surface.

There was no spray bottle at home, but Xiao Wang was clever. He laid a half-dry towel on his shirt and left it there for a few seconds, then slowly slid a porcelain enamel mug filled with boiling water over the shirt.

However, this job cannot be done by one person because the workbench is too slippery, so Tang Zhitong has to hold onto his clothes to assist him.

"Why bother with all this? We can only hold out until the afternoon at most. We can be more organized tomorrow." Tang Zhitong yawned beside him. Little Wang was in high spirits last night. He accompanied him to look for cicada nymphs for quite a while. The two of them were almost at Guangqumen. However, the harvest was decent. They caught enough cicada nymphs to cook two dishes.

"That won't do, these are big days." Xiao Wang was focused on ironing clothes. For her, today and tomorrow were important holidays in her husband's life. She couldn't be there to accompany him, but she had to make sure he was well taken care of.

"No matter how big the day is, it's not as important as you. You need to make sure you get enough sleep." People say that pregnant women are prone to oversleeping, but Tang Zhitong felt that this didn't apply to Xiao Wang. She didn't sleep more than before, but she was always full of energy.

"Okay, okay, stop being so fussy." Xiao Wang complained, but her actions betrayed her words. While she was wetting the next piece of her shirt, she put the enamel mug aside, turned around, and gave her husband a smiling kiss on the cheek.

After ironing the shirt, Ms. Wang didn't let her husband put it on immediately. Instead, she nagged him to hurry up and go over the manuscript a couple more times so he wouldn't embarrass himself on stage.

After breakfast, Tang Zhitong put on the shirt that Xiao Wang had ironed by hand and went out with her.

The commendation ceremony had a set agenda. Although this was Tang Zhitong's first time attending such a high-level meeting of the education department, he had some experience attending meetings in the auditorium before. Even though he hadn't met with the meeting organizers, arriving at Tsinghua University early to learn about the proceedings hadn't caused any problems.

The commendation ceremony officially begins at 10:00 AM, with a meal provided in between, and two more hours in the afternoon.

Tang Zhitong strongly suspected that this was an opportunity to have a big meal...

The conference was held in the Great Hall of Tsinghua University, which is quite unique, with a sphere on top.

Tang Zhitong had seen buildings with spheres on top at many universities, supposedly for astronomical observation, but he didn't know what special purpose Tsinghua University's building had.

Looking at the sphere above the auditorium, Tang Zhitong recalled the humorous legend of Tsinghua University's "bastard".

The "egg" refers to the sphere above the auditorium.

The eighth is the library directly north of the auditorium, which, after its expansion, appears distinctly in the shape of the number "eight" when viewed from above.

Wangze is the dormitory building in the northwest corner of the library, also called "Xinzhai". When viewed from above, it is shaped like the Chinese character "王" (Wang).

There shouldn't be such a saying right now, after all, the mischief of college students varies from generation to generation.

Just like that patch of grass on the east side of the library, it's still nameless now, but it will become the famous "Lovers' Slope" in the future. Gao Xiaosong used to play guitar and pick up girls there every day.

The morning session consisted of speeches by leaders, and Tang Zhitong had no other business to attend to besides clapping.

During the midday tea break, Tang Zhitong unexpectedly bumped into Gu Kezhan, who was attending the conference, and warmly shook his hand in a polite manner.

"Xiao Gu, thank you. Their grades have improved a lot since the last tutoring session. I'll be taking up your time again this summer." Du Yanqing had already replied to Xiao Wang, and Xiao Gu had agreed to continue tutoring Jingmin and Fengzhi this summer. Since they had run into each other, Tang Zhitong wanted to express his sincere gratitude and make him feel valued.

"It's okay, I'm happy to teach them too." Xiao Gu smiled, revealing his signature front teeth, looking like an ordinary, sunny young man.

"Their holiday dates haven't been set yet. I'll write to you when they are." Tang Zhitong smiled too. If only there were a camera right now, she could capture this moment and bring it up years later as a perfect memory of her youth.

"Row."

"Let's go eat first, and chat while we eat." Tang Zhitong didn't miss the chance to get closer to him, and they chatted not only on the way but also during the meal.

Besides asking about interesting stories from Tsinghua University, I also inquired about his hometown and took the initiative to be friendly, telling him not to ask if he needed anything.

Tang Zhitong didn't particularly like social niceties, but life is like that, you can't avoid them.

Years later, Gao Xiaosong and his ilk will bring up interpersonal relationships, saying that interpersonal relationships in China are complicated, while interpersonal relationships are not a concern abroad, and so on.

To this, Tang Zhitong would like to express his respect with one word: Bah!

As soon as you get off the plane, you have to say the air smells sweet; when you ask for food, you have to shout "God bless you"; even those tech giants sitting at the round table have to fawn over the golden retriever's stinky feet!

If this isn't social etiquette, what is?
While Tang Zhitong was cultivating relationships at Tsinghua University, his home was suddenly visited by an uninvited guest who disregarded social etiquette.

"Comrade, who are you looking for?" Zhang Guifang looked at the uninvited stranger with some trepidation. Judging from his clothes, he had four pockets, but his eyes were strange, especially as he kept glancing back at the vegetables in his own yard.

"Oh, sister, my surname is Huang, my name is Huang Liren, and I work for a chemical raw materials company. The Huashi Street office requested that we open a retail outlet and a dye shop here for the convenience of the residents, so I came to take a look." Huang Liren withdrew his greedy eyes and explained his purpose to Zhang Guifang.

"What are you looking for? We don't dye clothes or use paint." Zhang Guifang didn't care what his name was, nor did she lower her guard; she just wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible.

In Zhang Guifang's memory, the chemical raw materials company was responsible for the sale of dyes and paints. Although her family would occasionally go to Chongwenmenwai Street to buy dyes, they really had nothing to do with the chemical raw materials company.

"Sister, you've misunderstood. I'm not here to assess your needs, I'm here to inquire about the housing situation here. How many households live in your courtyard?" Huang Liren asked patiently, though his face showed slight displeasure.

“We live in our own home, there’s no one else here. We’re not selling the house.” Zhang Guifang wasn’t mistaken. She had only tried to fool Huang Liren into leaving earlier, but now that he had seen through her ruse, she decided to make a clean break and let him give up on that idea.

“Oh, ma’am, we’re a government-run organization. How could we force you to buy or sell? We definitely won’t let you suffer any losses. We’ll coordinate housing based on how many people are in your family. If the area is smaller than here, we’ll even give you extra money.” Huang Liren tried to persuade Zhang Guifang. Seeing that Zhang Guifang was unmoved, he continued to use his silver tongue to persuade her: “Right now, the supply of various dyes, paints, soda ash, and baking soda is tight. As long as you agree to change houses, I can make sure your family has a guaranteed supply of these things.”

"We don't need it, you can leave, we won't exchange it." Zhang Guifang was already angry and started raising her hand to coax people out. Why couldn't she listen to any kind words or witty remarks?

Huang Liren was startled by Zhang Guifang's posture. If he hadn't retreated in time, he probably would have been slapped in the face.

Under Zhang Guifang's relentless pressure, Huang Liren withdrew from the Tang family's gate. Then, Zhang Guifang spread her arms, grabbed both doors, pushed them forward, and shoved the bolts, locking Huang Liren outside.

"Hey! Big sister, big sister! If you're not satisfied with the terms, we can talk, big sister? Open the door!" Huang Liren was persistent and kept banging on the door from the outside.

Zhang Guifang braced her back against the door, fearing that Huang Liren would kick it down. When she heard him shout, she said the same thing: "Go away, we won't switch."

"What a mess this is." Huang Liren sighed outside, feeling somewhat unwilling to leave like this.

He strolled around the flower market early in the morning, looking at several courtyards, but he wasn't very satisfied with any of them. Only the ones near the sewers and water stations had a geographical advantage. Once the outlets opened, the water supply and drainage for re-dyeing would be solved.

Although the Tang family's house wasn't the most suitable, the thriving vegetables in their yard showed that it was well-cultivated land, capable of producing two crops a year and providing enough side dishes for several people!

After the change, although it can't be used to open a dye shop, it's still a good warehouse. We can open a storefront on the street side and retail dyes and paints. Most importantly, this way, the vegetables will be on our side...

After leaving the Tang family, Huang Liren did not give up. Instead, he turned around and inquired about the Tang family from the surrounding neighbors.

"What do you do?" Old Zhu stared with one eye, very alert.

“I work for a chemical raw materials company. There’s a lot of demand for dyeing clothes among the residents right now. Your neighborhood committee has asked us to open a dyeing shop here to make things easier for the people. If we just open one in this area, you won’t have to travel all the way to Chongwenmenwai Street anymore.” Huang Liren knew how to win over the majority, and he immediately started talking about making things easier for the people.

This isn't just Huang Liren talking nonsense. In the past two years, cotton harvests have been poor, cotton cloth production has decreased, and the amount of dyeing and printing in factories has dropped. As a result, the supply of cloth on the market has also decreased significantly. However, people still need to wear clothes. In addition to mending and patching old clothes, people also need to consider their appearance. As a result, the demand for re-dyeing and printing has increased.

"That's great! How can a dye shop here have dye? That dye shop on Chongwenmenwai Street runs out of dye eight out of ten times." Before Old Zhu could even speak, the old lady getting water next to him chimed in with her question.

"Look at what you're saying, of course we need dyes. What would be the point of opening a dye shop if we didn't have dyes? Doesn't that make sense?" Huang Liren said confidently. Although the production of dyes was also declining, the factory's printing and dyeing volume was reduced, which greatly reduced the pressure on the chemical raw material company.

The reason for opening a dye shop in Huashi was not simply because the Huashi Subdistrict Office submitted an application, but also because of the residents' clothing and appearance.

They have already begun to reduce the grain rations for cadres, and next will be ordinary residents, followed by a significant reduction in cloth rations. At that time, residents will not only be unable to get enough to eat, but their clothes will also be patched upon patched, which will be extremely conspicuous.

To avoid this situation, the authorities in Beijing have increased their efforts to coordinate dye supplies, striving to ensure that residents' re-dyeing needs are met, and to make sure that even when wearing patched clothes, the people of Beijing look neater and tidier.

“That makes sense, but his house is privately owned. I’m afraid it wouldn’t be so easy for him to open a shop without yours. Can’t we go somewhere else? There are plenty of houses around here.” Old Zhu spoke the truth. There are public housing units nearby, and it’s much more convenient for public-to-public transactions than public-to-private transactions.

"If there's really no other way, we'll have to go somewhere else, but that might not be as convenient, and many nearby units will probably have objections." Huang Liren pointed south and north.

To the north is a timber mill, and to the south are coffin shops, lacquer carving factories, and paint baking factories that were built a few years ago. All of these require a supply of paint.

"Anzi is a state cadre, after all. Shouldn't he show some decency? He can't let his personal life delay everyone's convenience, can he?" A neighbor who was envious of the Tang family's prosperous life praised Tang Zhitong highly.

“That’s the point. The minority should obey the majority, and cadres should take care of the masses,” someone chimed in.

Upon hearing this, Huang Liren smiled again, but he didn't forget his purpose for coming. Since the blind man wouldn't cooperate, he could only ask the one who was willing to cooperate: "Who is in charge of this case?"

"Anzi is the family you were asking about earlier. He's a postal worker and a college graduate..."

Old Zhu lit a cigarette and watched as the neighbors exposed Tang Zhitong's past.

"A young cadre who has received commendations must have a high level of awareness, right?" Huang Liren was very satisfied after hearing this.

Since the person in question wasn't home, Huang Liren didn't go back to the door only to be turned away again, and returned to his workplace satisfied.

His inspection mission is complete. The next step is to report to his superiors and wait for their decision. To be on the safe side, it would be best if he had already gained the support of his superiors by the next time he came, and that he would bring people from the subdistrict office with him to do the work.

After receiving his Outstanding Student Certificate and giving a report at Tsinghua University, Tang Zhitong first went to the National Library of China to visit his classmate Xiao Wang. They lingered at the library until closing time before finally going home together.

As soon as Tang Zhitong arrived at the Tielugu Information Center, the director of the Information Center called out to him: "Anzi, I've been waiting for you all day."

"Hey, Uncle Zhu, what's up?" Tang Zhitong stopped his bicycle and waved for Xiao Wang to go home first.

"Someone from a chemical raw materials company came over today to inquire about your house..." Old Zhu recounted the whole story, including his own subjective opinion and the words of agreement from several other neighbors.

"Alright, thank you, Uncle Zhu." Tang Zhitong listened without comment, then took out a box of Daqianmen fireworks from his pocket and handed it to Old Zhu. Since it concerned his ancestral home, this box of fireworks was quite worthwhile.

When Tang Zhitong returned home, Xiao Wang had obviously heard about the matter from Zhang Guifang and asked, "Should I ask someone to inquire about it?"

"You can't rush things. Didn't he say he could make up the difference? Let's wait for him to come back and talk to him. Who knows, he might have a better house. If he does, we'll switch. At worst, we'll just give him the extra money." Tang Zhitong chuckled. It wasn't impossible to be a little more generous; everything had to be done according to the rules.

“What are we going to do with all the vegetables in our yard? I don’t think he’s a good person. It looks like he’s going to pocket all our vegetables.” Zhang Guifang looked at her lush yard with great reluctance. She had lived here for most of her life, and she wouldn’t trade it for any amount of money.

(End of this chapter)