Siheyuan: I am different He Yuzhu

The next afternoon, He Yuzhu turned around and went to the Nanluoguxiang Subdistrict Office. He Yuzhu smiled and greeted Uncle Qin at the door, "Uncle Qin, long time no see, you look good recently!"

"Xiao He, you haven't been here for a while. What have you been busy with recently?" When Uncle Qin saw He Yuzhu coming, he said to He Yuzhu happily.

"I've been a bit busy with work recently, and I haven't come to the street office much since I haven't had much to do." After saying that, He Yuzhu took out a cigarette from his pocket and handed it to Uncle Qin.

Uncle Qin took the cigarette and looked at it. "Hey, Xiao He, you're smoking Xiangshan. You've become a cadre. I was wondering why you didn't come to the street office. It turns out you got promoted." Uncle Qin said to He Yuzhu with a smile. After that, Uncle Qin took out a match from his pocket, took out a match and gently scratched it on the medicine skin. With a crackling sound, the match instantly burned. Uncle Qin used the match to light the cigarette in his mouth, then shook it out and threw it on the ground. "Xiao He, don't say that this cadre's cigarette is better than the one I rolled myself."

"Uncle Qin, please stop teasing me. I've heard the story. If you weren't a man of high moral character, you would at least be treated like a senior official now. You wouldn't have to be a doorman here. Well, since you like it, I'll give you this pack of cigarettes as a gift to you. You know I don't smoke anyway." After saying that, He Yuzhu stuffed the cigarette in his hand into Uncle Qin's hand.

Uncle Qin was not polite. He took the cigarette from He Yuzhu and put it in his pocket. "No, I can't sit in the office. It's more comfortable to look at the door. Not only is it free, but I don't have to read or write documents." Uncle Qin shook his hand and said, "By the way, Xiao He, I heard that your wife gave birth to three sons in one go. You are so lucky."

"I didn't expect that you knew everything about my family. It's just a coincidence." He Yuzhu said with a smile.

"Of course, everyone in Nanluoguxiang knows about this. This is a great event. Having three sons at once makes you laugh even in your dreams." Uncle Qin said seriously, "By the way, Xiao He, I was just too busy chatting with you. Do you have something to do at the street office?"

"It's nothing serious. I just haven't seen Director Wang for a while and I wanted to see her." He Yuzhu said with a smile.

"Then go find Director Wang. She's at the subdistrict office this afternoon, and she just came back from a meeting in the district. It's a good thing you came in the afternoon. If you had come in the morning, Director Wang would have been in a meeting in the district, and you would have had time to make the trip." Uncle Qin said, taking a puff of his cigarette.

"Okay, then I'll go find Director Wang. Uncle Qin, you're always busy. Uncle Qin, I won't lock my bicycle, can you please take a look for me?" After saying that, He Yuzhu walked into the street office.

"Go ahead and don't worry. With me here, no one dares to touch your bike." Uncle Qin said domineeringly.

"Thank you, Uncle Qin." He Yuzhu said as he walked.

"Xiao He is a really interesting kid. He always brings something to me, an old man." After saying that, Uncle Qin happily smoked the cigarette that He Yuzhu gave him.

He Yuzhu greeted every street office staff member he met warmly, and then he came to the door of Director Wang's office. He Yuzhu saw that the door of Director Wang's office was open, so he knocked on the door gently with his hand, and then walked in, "Director Wang, you are busy."

Director Wang, who was reading a document, turned his head and said enthusiastically: "Xiao He, why are you here? Come and sit down." After saying that, Director Wang was about to stand up and pour water for He Yuzhu.

He Yuzhu hurriedly stopped Director Wang and said, "Director Wang, please don't bother me. I'll just sit for a while. I have to go back to work in the factory later."

Director Wang looked at the clock on the table. It was 1:35. "Well, it's not time to go to work yet. Why did you come to see me at this time? Is there something wrong?"

He Yuzhu said without hesitation: "Director Wang, I came to see you today because I have a small matter that I want to ask you for advice."

"What's the matter? Tell me what it is. If I can help you solve it, I will definitely do it." Director Wang said readily.

"It's like this. You should be familiar with the situation at my wife's home. My father-in-law has been idle at home since the public-private partnership. Recently, my father-in-law read in the newspaper that a large number of workers were recruited after the public-private partnership, which led to housing shortages for many workers. So my father-in-law wanted to see if he could do something to help. Later, he heard that the city had implemented some new housing plan before, but it seemed to be suspended for some reason. So my father-in-law asked me to come to our street office to inquire whether there are any dilapidated houses in our street office. He is willing to buy these places and build new houses with funds. After the houses are built, they will be handed over to the street office, which will rent them to families with housing shortages." He Yuzhu told Director Wang the purpose of his visit.

Upon hearing this, Director Wang stood up from his chair excitedly, "Xiao He, are you telling the truth? Did your father-in-law really say that?"

"Director Wang, can I lie to you about this? My father-in-law thinks so, but he doesn't know if he can do it. After all, house buying and selling is not allowed now. So he asked me to ask." He Yuzhu responded with a smile.

After listening to He Yuzhu's words, Director Wang sat back in his chair and pondered. After a while, Director Wang said, "According to regulations, private transactions of houses are indeed not allowed. After all, housing is tight now. But your father-in-law's idea is very good, and your father-in-law entrusted the house to the street office after it was built. In nature, it is also an act of doing good deeds and should be encouraged. But Xiao He, has your father-in-law really thought about it? After all, the cost of building a house is not a small amount. If it is handed over to the street office to rent the house to a family with housing shortage, it will not collect much rent, and it may not be able to recover the cost for many years."

"If it was for the sake of making money, my father-in-law wouldn't do this. He must have thought it through. Compared to making money, my father-in-law is more worried about whether he can do this and whether doing so will bring unnecessary trouble."

"What kind of trouble is that?" Director Wang asked puzzledly.

"After all, we will have to build a lot of houses by then. With so many properties under my name all of a sudden, some people will gossip about me." He Yuzhu expressed his concerns.

"Well, your father-in-law's worries are not unreasonable. Let me put it this way, Xiao He, I will go back and ask my superiors about what you told me today and see what they mean. If they agree, I will inform you." Director Wang said after thinking for a while.

"Okay, then I'll wait for your news, Director Wang. By the way, Director Wang, there is one more thing I need to tell you in advance. If the superiors support this, please don't publicize it at that time, and try not to let so many people know about it. After all, my father-in-law's identity is a bit special. If this matter becomes a hot topic, it may cause unnecessary trouble to my father-in-law, which would not be worth the loss. Director Wang, when reporting to your superiors, please make this point clear to your superiors, otherwise my father-in-law would rather not do it." He Yuzhu tactfully stated his request.

"Okay, I understand, Xiao He. I will make it clear to my superiors when I report to them." Director Wang readily agreed, "But Xiao He, can you tell me why your father-in-law doesn't want to publicize what he did? After all, this is a good deed."

"Director Wang, right now the country is facing housing shortages not only in Beijing, but also in other cities. If my father-in-law's case is brought up in the newspapers, it will definitely cause a lot of uproar. Then when leaders from other places see it, they will want local people like my father-in-law to do this. Will he be willing or not? If he is willing, it will be fine. But if he is unwilling but has to agree to it to save the leader's face, who knows how he will resent my father-in-law in his heart." He Yuzhu patiently explained to Director Wang.

"Oh, I see. What you said makes sense, Xiao He. I didn't think too much about it." Director Wang suddenly understood after listening to He Yuzhu's explanation. "By the way, Xiao He, how much money does your father-in-law plan to pay for the house?"

"Well, my father-in-law didn't tell me the specific number. Director Wang, how many abandoned houses are there in our street office because there is no money to repair them?" He Yuzhu asked.

"Let me think, there should be dozens of sets. I need to ask the exact number." Director Wang frowned and thought for a moment, then opened his mouth to answer.

"So many!" He Yuzhu said in surprise. He didn't expect there would be so many abandoned houses.

"Yes, these were destroyed in the war." Director Wang shook his head helplessly. "There were more, but the ones that were easier to repair have been repaired. After so many years of repairs, only these are left."

"Then why don't you repair them all? Isn't that a waste of resources?" He Yuzhu asked in confusion.

Director Wang explained with a wry smile: "Of course we have thought about repairing these houses, but you know, the city has experienced many wars, and many houses have been severely damaged. Even if we have repaired some of them, the remaining ones are still severely damaged and can hardly be used. Moreover, to completely repair these houses, it will take a lot of time and money, which is almost equivalent to rebuilding a new house. And our street office simply does not have enough funds to do this. The construction cost of each house is at least several thousand yuan, which is really unaffordable for us. Therefore, we can only leave them there idle and let them fall into disrepair."

He Yuzhu felt sorry for the abandoned houses that could have been used as homes for the residents, but they were left aside due to funding issues.

"Then didn't you apply for some financial support from the higher authorities?" He Yuzhu asked curiously.

"Of course there isn't. In 51, our superiors said that they would allocate 1000 billion yuan to renovate houses throughout the city. In addition to building a number of new houses, they would also demolish and rebuild those houses that were severely damaged in the war," Director Wang said after thinking for a moment.

"Since that was what we said at the time, and so many years have passed, the plan should have been almost implemented. Then why are there still so many abandoned houses?" He Yuzhu asked in confusion after hearing Director Wang's words.

"Yes, if we followed the original plan, there wouldn't be so many dilapidated houses. But the key is that the plan was never implemented. The higher-level government didn't even give us that much money. The plan was reduced again and again. In the end, the higher-level government only allocated a small amount of money to repair the houses that were not seriously damaged. It's okay to just make do with them for now." Director Wang said helplessly, "The government of the city doesn't even have the money to build houses, let alone our small street office."

"Oh, I understand. Director Wang, it's getting late. I have to go. When you have news, please call me directly to let me know. You can just call the logistics department of the Red Star Steel Rolling Mill." He Yuzhu said, looking at his watch.

"Okay, I've got it. Xiao He, I'll see you off." Director Wang stood up and prepared to see He Yuzhu out.

"Director Wang, please stay. I know everyone in the subdistrict office and I can walk out with my eyes closed." He Yuzhu said with a smile. He was very familiar with this place and did not need anyone to send him there.

"Okay, I won't send you off. Just drive slowly on your way." Director Wang said straightforwardly when he saw He Yuzhu saying this. He knew He Yuzhu's character and didn't force him.

He Yuzhu shook hands with Director Wang, then turned and left the office. He walked out of the door of the subdistrict office, feeling particularly happy. Although he did not get a definite answer from Director Wang this time, he believed that his problem would be solved smoothly.