Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 222 Is your family even fit to live?

Xiao Wei thought for a moment, then frowned and said, "The People's Bank of China? Didn't the People's Bank of China change its name to the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China? And now?"

Chen Hui said, "It wasn't changed to the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. It was the original loan and savings offices that were merged to form the new Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. After that, the People's Bank of China no longer manages deposits, but manages the banks, understand? It means that the business has been handed over to the subordinate. ICBC, ABC, CCB, BOC, etc., basically all banks are subordinate units of the People's Bank of China. It only handles management."

Xiao Wei nodded and smiled, saying, "I don't know. I remember I was still young then, and I had just returned home to farm. My parents mentioned that the People's Bank of China had gone out of business, and the places to deposit money were now called the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. They also said that banks weren't reliable and that you had to keep your money at home. Later, when I went to the city, I couldn't see any signs for the People's Bank of China. All I saw were signs for Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Agricultural Bank of China."

Chen Hui curled his lip and said, "You call that going to the city? There's hardly anyone in a small county town anyway. There's only one city, why make so many management decisions?"

Xiao Wei was surprised: "Only one in one city? Wow, that's amazing! So your mom works at the Fengtian People's Bank? She manages all the banks in Fengtian?"

Chen Hui said, "My mother works at the branch office, not the sub-branch, so she doesn't directly manage the bank."

Xia Maosheng said, "Sometimes I think Xiaowei is incredibly capable, and other times I feel like he doesn't know anything."

Xiao Wei shook his head and said, "I didn't understand it to begin with. How could I understand if I didn't ask? Isn't this how I learn from you guys?"

Chen Hui said, "Actually, it's the same as my dad's. The Fengtian branch is the Northeast Bureau of the People's Bank of China, which is in charge of the entire Northeast. At the provincial level, it's called a central branch, at the city level it's called a branch, and there's nothing below that."

Xiao Wei nodded, and after a long pause, said, "Your family is amazing. One controls the electricity in Northeast China, and the other controls the money. How are other people supposed to survive?"

Xia Maosheng said, "I just think Chen Xiao is too lucky. Her dad is a cadre, her brother is a boss, and she married into such a powerful family. And her boyfriend is a coward. In the future, Chen Xiao will be the most awesome among us."

Chen Hui kicked him, saying, "Who are you talking about?" The two of them started laughing and joking around.

"Boss, how's it going? I think it's about right. I've been working at full capacity these past two days." Hao Xiaodong walked in, his breath steaming in the air, holding gloves.

Xiao Wei nodded and said, "That's about it. Another half day should be enough. Thanks for your hard work, Brother Hao. You haven't slept much these past two days, have you?"

Hao Xiaodong rubbed his hands against his body with his gloves and said, "This is nothing. Doing this job used to be much more tiring back in my old job. This furnace is small, so it's easier to work on." The boilers in his old job were the kind that could only handle a few tons of coal per hour, and each shift required five or six people. It was indeed tiring. Back then, there were no automatic coal feeders. It all depended on manual pushing. Not to mention feeding coal, just removing the coke could exhaust a healthy person.

They walked around each room, which was warm and cozy, with the fresh scent of pine in the air. The three of them were quite excited, thinking that in just a few days this would be their own home. They looked around and planned what to put in the rooms.

The old building has changed too. All the wiring has been replaced, and the bright light bulbs illuminate the building. The doors and windows on the first floor are almost finished and fit together perfectly, but they haven't been painted yet. That will have to wait until the weather gets warmer.

The temperature inside the building right now is such that even if you don't wear an undershirt, you definitely won't feel cold in normal clothes, since there's so much space and room.

The three of them walked around the courtyard a few times, gave Hao Xiaodong two packs of cigarettes, and then returned to the guesthouse.

These days, driving long distances is no easy feat, especially for Chen Hui. He was snoring away as soon as he got back to the guesthouse. Xiao Wei and Xia Maosheng also tidied up and went to bed.

The three of them got up at eight o'clock the next morning, washed up, went downstairs for breakfast, and then drove to the yard.

Master Gong and his two colleagues were already working. They usually start work around 7:30 a.m. and finish get off work at 4:30 p.m.

"Master Gong." Xiao Wei greeted him from afar as he entered the old building.

Master Gong was planing timber. He glanced up, then looked down again, closing one eye to hang the string, and said, "The young boss's back. What time did he arrive?"

As he approached, Xiao Wei offered him a cigarette, saying, "It arrived last night, and it was already dark the day before yesterday. I checked, and the first floor should be almost ready today, right?"

Master Gong put down the timber, took a cigarette, lit it, and took a puff. He glanced at the window and said, "The first floor is almost done, it'll be finished soon. The materials were cut yesterday. Anything wrong?"

Xiao Wei said, "I need your help with something. I'm thinking of putting flooring on those houses over there where people live. Do you think that's feasible?"

Master Gong nodded and thought for a moment, then said, "Laying flooring is good, it keeps things cool and clean. Third brother, you two keep an eye on things for a while, the young boss and I will go over there and take a look." The two carpenters over there agreed, and Xiao Wei and the other two walked out with Master Gong, leaving the old building and coming to the bungalow.

After casually entering a room, Master Gong looked around and said, "The floor is fine; it's flatter than most apartment floors. But how do I change my shoes?"

He looked around the room repeatedly, pacing back and forth, then stopped at the doorway and said, "How about this? We'll build a partition here with wooden planks, just 1.5 meters wide, and fix it directly to the bed. Then, leave this 1.5-meter square area open by the door, and lay flooring in it. I'll make a corner cabinet here for you to use as a shoe rack, and you can also put things on top. People can change their shoes here when they come in, and then take a step up to the floor. Is that okay?"

"There's another advantage to this: when the door is open, the wind won't blow onto the bed, and people can't see the bed directly when they come in," he added.

Chen Hui said, "Then let's just seal this up and add another door inside. That way the room will be warmer. Otherwise, the heat will escape when we keep opening and closing the door."

Master Gong gestured and calculated something, then nodded and said, "It'll work. I'll install a sliding door for you, one that you can just push open. Anyway, you don't eat in this room, so it'll be enough."

Xia Maosheng asked, "Brother Gong, do you have flooring in Longcheng?"

Master Gong was still gesturing to the partition wall, saying, "Yes, there's a four-meter-long panel, which needs to be painted when it comes back. Boss, if we partition the whole thing off here, the cabinet on the outside won't reach the ceiling, right? Let's make it 2.4 meters high. Then I'll install a door on the top section for you from the inside, so you can put things in from the inside, okay? You can reach it from the bed." He gestured to indicate the location.

Xiao Wei said, "Okay, Master Gong, you're very thoughtful. Okay, let's do it this way. You calculate the materials, the flooring and stuff, and we'll go buy them tomorrow."

Master Gong said, "You're buying it yourselves? You can just take it from the government building. Anyway, this house belongs to the government, so you can take it with you when you leave."

Xia Maosheng asked, "Do you have any interesting material?"

Master Gong laughed and said, "The government has nothing, but it doesn't take anything in, so what? It's still more energetic than all of you."

(End of this chapter)