Chapter 169: Chapter 77: Top Star of the 60s Art Troupe (16)

"They were living quite well, but last October, the school caught fire. The couple didn’t make it out because they were saving the children. Their relatives are pocketing the subsidies, but not a single one of them treats these two kids well. They used to be such pretty, cute, and fair-skinned children, but now they’re dark and skinny, like little beggars on the street!"

"The factory leadership is taking the placement of these children very seriously and is looking for a suitable guardian. If you’re interested, I’ll definitely make a strong case for you."

Xia Zhaoyun said with a light smile, "Director Huo, may I see the children first? An adoption has to feel right for everyone involved; both sides have to be willing."

Director Huo glanced down at her watch.

She wasn’t one to let matters rest, so she couldn’t help but ask, "Do you take an afternoon nap? If not, why don’t we go take a look right now? It’s not far, just in the communal apartment building up ahead. If it’s a good match, I’ll get the housing sorted out for you this afternoon. I’ll try to have you moved in by tonight!"

Xia Zhaoyun shook her head. "I’m mainly resting my injured hand and participating in the Golden Microphone competition. I don’t have any formal work at the moment, so skipping an afternoon nap is no problem."

The two of them headed directly for the communal apartment buildings.

The factory had a large workforce with a complex hierarchy: temporary workers, regular workers, team leaders, senior team leaders, deputy and full directors, section chiefs, and all the way up to the factory manager. Even regular workers were divided into ten skill grades. Naturally, their benefits and compensation varied. While this was reflected in their salaries and daily subsidies, the clearest indicator was their housing assignment—a gap that was truly insurmountable.

Section chiefs and the factory manager had private family compounds. Directors had rows of two-story houses. Below them were the beautiful, newly built red apartment buildings. Further down were the honeycomb-like communal apartment buildings, and finally, the worker dormitories.

Xia Zhaoyun had originally thought she’d be lucky to snag a room in a communal apartment building. She never expected to have a chance to live in one of the cadre houses with its own small courtyard.

There were dozens of these communal apartment buildings, each five stories tall. Each floor housed twenty to thirty families who shared two washrooms and toilets. Around quitting time, the buildings teemed with people. The hallways were cluttered with coal stoves, cooking pots, cupboards, bicycles, and all sorts of junk, making the space feel even more crowded and oppressive.

Director Huo confidently led Xia Zhaoyun to the front of Building Seven, went up to the third floor, and headed for a unit at the end of the hallway.

"You little whelp! Think you’re hot stuff just because the factory leadership is backing you? How dare you drop the bowl and chopsticks on the floor!"

"Let me tell you, no one’s going to bother with you two siblings. Talk is cheap. Everyone’s got their own mess to deal with. They can’t even manage their own lives, you think they’re going to give a damn about you?"

"You’re not eating lunch today! Skipping a meal or two won’t kill you. You don’t do a lick of work, yet you still expect to eat..."

The shrill tirade carried from a distance. The neighbors seemed used to it, their faces showing a mix of helplessness and pity, but they were in no position to intervene.

If anyone so much as said a word in the kids’ defense, the woman would plant herself at their door, wailing about how a martyr’s family was being bullied. She wouldn’t leave until they paid her a few bucks!

Director Huo’s expression soured. She strode over and pushed open the ajar door. Inside, a hefty woman with messy short hair was viciously pinching a thin, dark-skinned boy’s cheek while twisting the ear of a similarly thin, dark-skinned girl with her other hand, spewing curses all the while.

Before Director Huo could speak, Xia Zhaoyun forcefully kicked over the coal stove by the door, her shoe coming down hard on the briquettes, crushing them one after another.

The violent motion and sudden noise made everyone jump.

"Where did this little tramp—" Seeing her stove knocked over and her coal briquettes ruined, the woman was both furious and distraught. She quickly let go of the two kids, rolled up her sleeves, and stomped outside, a stream of filth still pouring from her mouth.

However, before she could finish her sentence, Xia Zhaoyun had already grabbed a basin from a cupboard, scooped up some coal fragments, and unceremoniously flung them right in the woman’s face.

"Ptooey... PTUI..." Although the woman had instinctively shut her eyes, she still got a mouthful of grit.

The sight left everyone stunned. Even the two children, tears still streaking their small faces, had eyes that suddenly shone like stars, as if they were looking at their savior.

"AARGH! I’ll kill you!" Ever since she’d used her brother-in-law’s connections to get her husband a job at the factory, she had walked with her head held high. When had she ever been humiliated like this?

Furious, she charged at Xia Zhaoyun. For the past six months, she had been hoarding the two children’s subsidies and feeding her own family well. As she thundered toward them, her heavy steps made the floorboards rumble and shake!

Even Director Huo, who was standing nearby, instinctively sidestepped out of the way.

The onlookers glanced back at Xia Zhaoyun’s slender, well-proportioned figure—the result of years of dance training. They held their breath, some not even daring to watch. Meanwhile, the two children clung to the doorframe, their eyes wide with anxiety.

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