I am Jia Dongjin in the Siheyuan (Courtyard House)

Chapter 31 Unexpected Calamity

Director Li also looked at the notebook and knew that no one could succeed easily; Jia Dongjin had indeed put in a lot of effort. Both of them nodded in agreement.

Forcing growth is not necessarily a good thing for workers, especially electricians. If an accident occurs, the person in charge will be held responsible.

As for arranging for Jia Dong to join the propaganda department, once the leaders present learned that he only had a primary school education, they lost interest.

Director Yang hesitated slightly, and Li Huaide spoke up from the side, "Director Yang, with the new situation and new atmosphere, Comrade Jia Dongjin has made outstanding achievements. Just now, Wang Dali, the leader of the electrician group, reported that Comrade Jia Dongjin contributed to the repair of the power supply box in Workshop 1 a while ago. I suggest that the steel rolling mill approve Comrade Jia Dongjin as a level three electrician."

With everyone watching, and since the other party had passed the assessment, Director Yang wouldn't play the villain for no reason. It was just a mere third-level worker; it wasn't worth his time.

He nodded, his face full of satisfaction as he encouraged him, "Comrade Jia Dongjin, congratulations! You've been promoted from a probationary worker to a third-level worker in just six months. You are the first worker in the history of the steel rolling mill to be promoted three levels in a row. To reward your hard work and dedication, on behalf of the steel rolling mill, I will award you 10 yuan, two jin of meat coupons, and the title of Advanced Individual of the whole mill."

Good things come in pairs. Jia Dongjin was promoted three ranks in a row, which made Li Huaide, the logistics director, very proud. He called Jia Dongjin into his office and said bluntly, "Jia Dongjin, you have brought honor to our logistics department. On behalf of logistics, I am awarding you 5 yuan and 3 jin of meat coupons. Feel free to make any requests you have. As long as I can do it, I will never fail to reward this hardworking and dedicated comrade who has contributed to the steel rolling mill."

Li Huaide was only the logistics director, and he couldn't exceed Director Yang's bonus in terms of rewards. To win people's hearts, he could only make up for it in other ways, giving an extra pound of meat coupons.

"The leader speaks so eloquently," Jia Dongjin thought to himself, and quickly said, "Director Li, since I started working, I have never been allocated a house. There are five people in my two families, and it is really too difficult for us to live in one room."

"Two families crammed into one room?"

Li Huaide was a little confused. Housing was scarce these days. He had seen families of five or even eight squeezed into one room, so it was nothing unusual. But two families crammed into one room was still quite rare.

Jia Dongjin quickly explained, but Li Huaide pointed at him and said with a sigh, "Comrade Jia Dongjin, why didn't you mention your difficulties earlier? This is a dereliction of duty on our part. I'll call the real estate department right away. Go to the real estate department and find Section Chief Zhang now."

A single word from the supervisor is worth more than Jia Dongjin writing a hundred housing allocation applications. The housing department is under the logistics department, and since Li Huaide decided to reward the logistics heroes, everything naturally went smoothly for them.

Director Zhang of the Housing Department immediately allocated a house to Jia Dongjin and gave him three options, but all of them were some distance from the No. 95 courtyard house and the houses were not very good.

Considering that if she moved out, only two women, Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu, would be left in the house, both of whom were widows and had to take care of two young children.

If Jia Zhangshi lived with him, Qin Huairu would have to take care of two young children alone, which made Jia Dongjin uneasy.

Housing allocation is never a trivial matter, as it affects every aspect of life. Especially with the start of three years of hardship next year, Jia Dongjin is finding it even more difficult to make a decision. He suggested changing his housing, but when he mentioned it to Section Chief Zhang, the latter bluntly stated that it was too difficult and absolutely impossible.

It's even more unacceptable not to want a house. Jia Dongjin had always hoped to be allocated a house, hoping to avoid the troubles of the courtyard house and live a peaceful and happy life.

When good fortune was about to come, he thought of the Jia family, worried about his mother and Qin Huairu, and even feared that Bang Geng would actually become a master thief.

People change, and so do people's hearts.

After living together for half a year, Jia Dongjin had already taken on the role of Jia Zhangshi's youngest son. It wasn't until the time came to divide the rooms and move out of the courtyard that he truly understood his own heart.

Jia Dongjin hesitated, and Section Chief Zhang of the Housing Department understood his meaning and said helplessly, "The No. 95 courtyard is full of 'one radish, one hole,' the middle courtyard and the back courtyard are already full, only the front courtyard has two unoccupied rooms."

The back room was originally where the servants of the courtyard lived. The house was low and had no windows for ventilation. Living there for a long time would easily make people sick, so it was temporarily uninhabited. Inside, there was pile of broken furniture that the people in the courtyard didn't want, and even firewood and coal.

"Section Chief Zhang, my mother is getting old, and I also have a widowed sister-in-law and nephew to take care of. Could you please give me both of the rear-facing rooms?"

Looking at the house plan of the courtyard house, Jia Dongjin's eyes instantly brightened, and he stared intently at Section Chief Zhang.

"Why not? You should think it over. If you get these two rooms, you won't be eligible for any more. Besides, these two rooms aren't considered dangerous buildings, so the factory doesn't offer any repair subsidies. You'll have to pay for the repairs yourself. Otherwise, they would have been allocated to other buildings long ago, and you wouldn't have gotten a chance."

Those who were allocated housing all wanted both, and Section Chief Zhang had seen too many of them. With Li Huaide's instructions, he readily agreed.

The two rooms, one large and one small, together total about 36 square meters, barely enough for a couple to get married and have children.

Considering that housing in Beijing would become increasingly scarce, Jia Dongjin immediately completed the housing procedures.

These days, there's no such thing as shared area; 36 square meters is purely usable area, which isn't actually that small.

The only problem is that the rear-facing rooms are in such poor condition that they need to be repaired before people can move in; otherwise, they would have been snapped up by someone else long ago.

"Once you have all the paperwork and your household registration book, take some time to go to the subdistrict office to complete the necessary procedures, and you can officially move in."

"Thank you, Section Chief Zhang."

Jia Dongjin didn't offer any empty thanks; the two boxes of Daqianmen cigarettes quietly slid into Section Chief Zhang's drawer.

Section Chief Zhang didn't even look at them, but introduced them to reliable house repairmen. However, when they parted, Section Chief Zhang's handshake was a little stronger than usual.

Long nights bring many dreams, and few houses mean many wolves.

After informing the team leader Wang Dali, Jia Dongjin rode his bicycle out of the factory and sped straight to the street office.

In November, the wind howled through Beijing, and the ground was covered with snow that hadn't been swept away.

Pure white snowflakes fell to the ground, stained black by the filth of the world, and black snowmelt flowed everywhere.

The biting Siberian winds blow, freezing the snowmelt into black branches, resembling a black net.

Jia Dongjin was filled with excitement. He spent only ten minutes going home to get his household registration book and rushing to the subdistrict office.

Director Wang was sealing the stove, preparing to go out on errands. She had just finished sealing the coal stove when Jia Dongjin blocked her in the office.

"Aunt Wang, I've done my job well. I've been certified as a Level 3 electrician, and the steel mill has allocated me a house."

Jia Dongjin, beaming with joy, handed over the housing allocation papers to Director Wang, his voice as loud and clear as McDull's, much like He Yuzhu's eagerness to try a new dish.

"It's good that you're being allocated rooms. You've come at the right time; I was just about to bring some people to find you."

Director Wang's tone was quite unfriendly. She glanced at the paperwork and her expression changed several times.

Seeing Jia Dongjin standing there dumbfounded, she sighed inwardly before saying irritably, "Jia Dongjin, you're really something, daring to engage in speculation and profiteering. You even sent a report to the neighborhood office. Now you've walked right into their trap. Confess honestly to me, and you can weigh the consequences of resisting."

"Aunt Wang, it's me,"

"Call him Director Wang."

After speaking, Director Wang waved for Jia Dongjin to sit down. She went outside and called over a female clerk. The two began to jointly supervise and handle the case, which was also in accordance with the rules and regulations.

The street office was warm and cozy, but suddenly the atmosphere turned icy cold. Looking at the two serious-looking women, Jia Dongjin broke out in a cold sweat.