Chapter 16: Queueing for Food

“Section Chief Lu, I think this time for the housing allocation, wouldn’t it be better to use a lottery system?”

Section Chief Lu thought for a moment and agreed, signaling him to continue.

“If the list is difficult for the department to decide, then let everyone who meets the housing conditions participate in the draw.”

“Whether they get the housing or not will depend on their luck. That way, no one can blame the Housing Department.”

“Lottery is the fairest, and it would also solve the issue of people running around asking for votes.”

Section Chief Lu nodded, then asked, “But if you were the one really wanting a particular house, and you didn’t win the lottery, how would you feel?”

Lin Chaoyang smiled. “In our team, we used to draw lots for pork too. I never got any good cuts of meat—always bad stuff. I just blame it on my bad luck.”

Section Chief Lu laughed. “That’s right. If you don’t win, you can only blame your luck.”

Not long after their discussion, the Housing Department officially issued a notice stating that this time, the housing allocation would use a lottery system.

The lottery system was quickly accepted by most of the employees. Rather than begging others for votes, it was better to rely on one’s luck.

As the proposer of the idea, Lin Chaoyang also gave a lot of input, such as ensuring the housing numbers were written on the lottery slips.

Because the new apartment buildings had different layouts and locations, some units were bigger, others smaller.

Everyone naturally wanted the best—close to the center, away from the bathrooms.

No matter what, there would always be complaints about what was good and what was bad.

So, the Housing Department adopted Lin Chaoyang’s suggestion, having the housing numbers written on the slips. Whichever unit a person drew, that was the one they would get.

Because Lin Chaoyang didn’t know most of the people who met the housing criteria, he was designated as the person to host the lottery.

A few days later, the Housing Department held the official lottery event in the grand hall.

This was Lin Chaoyang’s first time participating in such an event, and he was a bit nervous.

In front of everyone, Lin Chaoyang folded the slips with the housing numbers and tossed them into the lottery box.

The box was mixed with many blank slips—drawing a blank meant you were out of luck.

Following their work number order, each person went up to draw.

“My gosh, how did I get the bathroom room? It’s going to be so noisy at night!”

“My family’s still in a single room! I have three kids, how are we going to fit?”

Some people complained about getting a less-than-ideal house, and they were quickly shut down by others.

“Whose fault is it? You can blame your own bad luck!”

“Hey, having a house is already good. Some people didn’t even get a house!”

Reassured by these words, those who had drawn accepted their fate. After all, having a house was better than none.

Those who didn’t get a house had to accept the reality, since it was a lottery. If they didn’t win, they couldn’t blame anyone else.

However, there were still some who couldn’t accept it and started to complain. They began blaming Lin Chaoyang.

“If it weren’t for Lin Chaoyang suggesting the lottery, maybe our family would’ve gotten a house.”

“Exactly. We were going to vote for housing, and I had already made arrangements to make sure we got one of the apartments!”

“Some outsider came in, stirred up all this trouble, and now we’re the ones suffering!”

Though the housing allocation was over, Lin Chaoyang had become a thorn in many people’s eyes.

However, Lin Chaoyang didn’t know about any of this. After leaving the Housing Department, he went to the Logistics Department and got back to his work.

That morning, Lin Chaoyang was waiting in the office. After a while, he still didn’t see the three women from earlier.

It wasn’t until much later that the three women came rushing in together.

“Sister Hong, what are you all doing?”

Zhang Qinghong sat down with a thud, drinking several sips of water before she was able to speak.

“It’s all because we’re trying to buy food! Little Lin, you eat in the cafeteria, so you don’t know how hard it is to get food these days!”

“Yesterday, after work, I went to buy half a month’s rations, but the grain station said they ran out and told me to come back early tomorrow.”

Wang Aixiang picked up the conversation, “We talked it over last night, and decided to go early this morning to queue up for the grain.”

Ye Honglian patted her chest in relief, “Good thing we went early this morning; if not, we really wouldn’t have been able to get any food.”

Lin Chaoyang had never had to buy grain in the city before, so he was surprised to learn that even in the city, you had to queue up for food.

“By the way, Little Lin, I heard that a heavy rain killed a lot of crops in the spring. Are we going to have a bad harvest this season?”

Lin Chaoyang nodded. “Yes, there was a heavy rain in the spring, and it drowned a lot of crops in our team. I’m sure it was the same in other teams as well.”

Zhang Qinghong slapped her thigh, “Well, then I’ll go and buy some grain tomorrow, even if I have to use all my grain tickets!”

Ye Honglian and Wang Aixiang also decided to buy more grain and store it at home. The three women made plans to continue queuing up for food early the next day.

Lin Chaoyang was inspired by them and thought of a clever solution that didn’t involve bringing food home.

Since his vacation was approaching, Lin Chaoyang decided to take a trip back to the countryside.

However, he didn’t plan to bring Lin Chaoxing with him. Fortunately, the kindergarten wasn’t closed for the holiday, so he could drop Lin Chaoxing off there.

Since he wasn’t staying overnight, he could pick him up in the afternoon.

The next morning, Lin Chaoyang set off with empty hands.

When he arrived at the commune, he first went to the commune leader’s office.

The leader was happy to see him and immediately invited him in for a chat.

After a few pleasantries, Lin Chaoyang steered the conversation to the topic of food.

“Comrade Leader, I heard that this season’s harvest is going to be bad?”

The commune leader sighed upon hearing this.

“That heavy rain in the spring—you saw it too, right? A bad harvest is certain.”

“Comrade Leader, food is already hard to get in the city. My colleagues have to get up early and queue to buy it. If they’re late, it’s all gone.”

The leader’s expression grew more troubled. With the city running low on food, the public grain supply couldn’t be short either. How would they manage in the commune?

Lin Chaoyang was also worried. “I just started working, and I don’t have any grain tickets. I can’t buy any food; I can’t even bring a single grain home.”

The leader patted him on the shoulder. “Everything in the city needs tickets. It’s tough for you, too.”

Lin Chaoyang nodded. “Well, Comrade Leader, I’ll head back now.”

After wandering around the commune office, Lin Chaoyang made sure to stop by the big tree at the village entrance.

That spot was a popular hangout for the village women, and there were quite a few people sitting there at the moment.

“Ah! Isn’t that Yangzi? You’re back?”

“Yangzi, how’s life in the city? Is it going well?”

Lin Chaoyang quickly shook his head. “The city? It’s not at all free. Everything requires tickets.”

He sat down and continued, “The cafeteria at the coal mine is also rationed. We can’t even eat enough.”

One of the women immediately asked, “But didn’t they say the coal mine has good benefits? Why can’t you eat enough?”

Lin Chaoyang waved his hand. “Well, the city doesn’t have enough food either. If we can eat less, we eat less.”

A woman nodded. “That’s true. The city doesn’t grow food, and they rely on us to feed them.”

“People in the city also heard about the spring rain that drowned the crops. Now, food is hard to get, and they’re all queuing for it!”

Lin Chaoyang clapped his hands. “I don’t even have grain tickets, so I can’t get any food. I had to come back empty-handed.”