Chapter 26: Inquiring About Building a House

Lin Xiangnan was eating and drinking well outside every day, she didn’t care whether she ate at home or not, as soon as she left the house, she took out a bottle of milk from her space and drank it.

She had money and supplies, she didn’t need to risk doing any small business.

Besides, she had walked around the city in her spare time and hadn’t found any black market trading places.

No one dared to risk their lives, transactions were all one-on-one, few people dared to sell things openly in the streets.

Those who dared to do so must have had difficulties at home, either a crazy mother or a paralyzed father, and several younger siblings who were still in school.

This kind of tough guy, if they did something wrong and were caught, they would be educated and released by the organization.

Those with slightly better family conditions wouldn’t dare to take such a risk.

In her previous memories, her second grandpa in the countryside had sent pork to Hu’s family when they slaughtered a pig last year, Hu’s family didn’t take it for free, they returned the cloth that her second grandpa’s family lacked in the countryside, as well as some money and tickets.

This was visiting relatives, but it was also a transaction.

Most people with relatives in the countryside did this.

If relatives couldn’t finish some things, those young people who resold things would pick out people and ask them individually, then they would find a corner to trade secretly, and then pretend not to know each other.

Lin Xiangnan had seen two people trading secretly in the alley before, after they left, she curiously went to the alley to take a look, but saw nothing.

Lin Xiangnan didn’t plan to go home, she stood there for a while, then sipped her milk and went to find her classmate Du Ai Hong.

Whether it was exchanging rent or building a house, she had to find someone from the Housing Management Office, Du Ai Hong’s mother worked there, after graduation, Du Ai Hong would take over her mother’s job, she would go to different streets to collect rent with a notebook every month.

The people from the Housing Management Office were the most reliable when it came to finding a house in the city.

Du Ai Hong was washing things in the courtyard, as soon as she saw her, she waved to her excitedly and invited her in.

“Why are you here? Did your family’s matter get settled?”

“It’s settled. My mom got a divorce.”

“Then why did you take such a long leave?” Du Ai Hong pouted, she said enviously, “And the teacher was willing to give you leave, what excuse did you use? Tell me.”

“You can’t copy this excuse.” Lin Xiangnan explained calmly, “I told the teacher that my family was getting a divorce, my stepfather beat up my mom and brother, and I have to stay home to take care of them.”

This excuse was indeed unusable for Du Ai Hong, she sighed regretfully after hearing it, “The teacher hasn’t been teaching these days, he just asked us to read by ourselves and prepare for the graduation exam, it’s boring to stay at school.”

Lin Xiangnan pointed to the next room and asked, “Is your mother home today? I have something to ask her.”

At this time, Du Ai Hong noticed that Lin Xiangnan was carrying a bag of apples and a box of snacks.

She thought Lin Xiangnan was going to visit someone else, who knew she was actually looking for her mother.

Thinking of the job she would take over in the future, Du Ai Hong immediately understood, she curiously asked, “You’re here for the house, right?”

“Yes.”

They were old classmates, Du Ai Hong didn’t say anything polite, “Don’t give her anything, my mom isn’t a leader, she can’t help you, she wouldn’t dare to accept it if you gave it to her. Didn’t you see that we’re also cramped?”

“My mom didn’t ask me to do anything, she just asked me to ask about exchanging rent and building a house.”

Du Ai Hong said frankly, “You don’t need to bring anything for such a small matter. I can help you find out, but as for exchanging rent, don’t get your hopes up.”

“I already bought the things, I can’t just take them back.” Lin Xiangnan directly took an apple and stuffed it into Du Ai Hong’s hand, she said straightforwardly, “I’ll get scolded if I take it back. Let’s just eat it.”

Then she took a bite, “Crunch.”

Seeing this, Du Ai Hong didn’t hesitate, she took a bite too and praised, “Where did you buy these apples, they’re so sweet, much sweeter than those from the grocery store.”

“My uncle is a driver. He brought them.” Lin Xiangnan said casually, “If you like them, I’ll ask my uncle to bring me more next time.”

“Forget it. I’ll only get one yuan a month for pocket money when I start working next month, how can I afford to buy apples? The steel mill has good benefits, high salaries, your mom’s salary alone can support three people.”

Du Ai Hong’s tone was full of envy, even government agencies didn’t have as good benefits as large factories. The steel mill would distribute some fruit or dried goods every month, the Housing Management Office didn’t have this benefit.

Since she wanted to change houses, Du Ai Hong asked about Lin Xiangnan’s family situation.

“It’s a total of twenty-eight square meters, we divided it into two rooms. The kitchen is an extension, everyone in the courtyard does this.”

Du Ai Hong asked in confusion, “Isn’t that enough space?”

“It’s enough, but it’s awkward. Living so close to the Liu family, we bump into each other all the time, we could easily get into a fight.”

Lin Xiangnan said, “We can exchange for a house of similar size later. But it’s best to exchange for a bigger one. I’ve never had my own room my whole life.”

“Everyone wants to exchange for a bigger house. Some couples don’t even have private space, you’re dreaming.” Du Ai Hong said while eating an apple, “If you want to move out of that courtyard quickly, you’re willing to exchange for a smaller house, then it can be done.”

Lin Xiangnan wasn’t willing to exchange for a smaller house, she asked, “Isn’t there any factory allocating houses this year? If someone moves to the staff dormitory, there will be a vacant house.”

Du Ai Hong honestly said, “That won’t be for you. There are only three people in your family, this house is enough, the leaders won’t allocate a bigger house to your family. Some families have three generations living in twenty-square meters, they’re all queuing up.”

The factory’s staff dormitory wasn’t enough, and the houses outside were also in high demand, for the sake of marital harmony, the factory even had a few “cozy cabins” specifically for young couples to use.

If the house is too small and inconvenient, they can only solve it at the factory.

This is a real need, Lin Xiangnan and the others just want to improve their living conditions, they can only wait in line.

Lin Xiangnan sighed, she had almost forgotten, the house belonged to the government, how it was allocated was up to others, she couldn’t interfere.

She originally wanted to rent a house to transition, but now Lin Xiangnan directly asked, “Then how do you build a house? What procedures are needed?”

“Building a house costs a lot of money.”

“If my uncles and aunts join forces to build a house, we should be able to raise enough money, if not, we can also ask the people in the courtyard to join.”

“Yes.” Du Ai Hong nodded and said, “Just ask the director to sign and approve a plot of land, usually he won’t approve it, but there are exceptions.”

Lin Xiangnan raised an eyebrow, “Usually? Exceptions?”

“Hehe. It’s definitely not possible to find connections with money, my mom said, our director is a very upright person.”

Du Ai Hong looked around and whispered to Lin Xiangnan, “If your family wants to build a house, have your grandparents go to the director and appeal, pester him for ten days and a half a month, and you’ll be sure to succeed.”

Lin Xiangnan’s eyes lit up, “My cousin is dating, but he’s sleeping in the living room now, his family’s children’s marriage has been delayed because of the house, this won’t do!”

Du Ai Hong gave Lin Xiangnan a thumbs up and winked, “You make a good point.”