Chapter 172: Chapter 78: The Top Performer of the 1960s Cultural Troupe (17)

The factory’s various workshops operated on different schedules, so the state-owned restaurant here served food all day long.

Xia Zhaoyun ordered a serving of pork and scallion dumplings. The two little guys wolfed them down, their heads nearly buried in their bowls.

Afraid the children would stuff themselves, she only let them eat ten dumplings each and drink half a bowl of soup. She had the rest packed to go.

The three of them walked slowly back toward the dormitory, strolling to let their food settle.

The weather was growing warmer. Around noon, you could break into a light sweat even without moving a muscle. The little guys hadn’t bathed in who knows how long, and a sour, stinky odor clung to them.

Xia Zhaoyun was wearing the one outfit she had on when she left the Song Family. Her other three sets of clothes had been provided by He Qingran.

She was considering taking one of her outfits and quickly altering it for the children. She would figure out the rest after they had their baths.

When they reached the base of the building, Director Huo was waiting for them with three officials from the Women’s Federation, each of them carrying bags full of things.

"Little Xia, your timing is perfect," Director Huo said with a smile. She picked up one of the children and started walking ahead with large strides. "Come on, let’s go to the family housing building."

Xia Zhaoyun quickly picked up the other child and followed.

"The family housing was actually assigned a while ago. The unit you’re getting, the one on the first floor with a small courtyard, was originally the house Tong Yuxiang was saving as a marital home for her son," Director Huo whispered, leaning close to Xia Zhaoyun’s ear. "She’s Tianhao’s stepmother."

"This house was compensation from the factory for Tianhao in the first place. Even if it were donated for public use or given away to someone else, it’s absolutely not for that Tong Yuxiang to get her hands on! Tianhao’s grandparents have given the word. It’s for the three of you to live in. You’re also the honored family of a martyr from the factory, so it couldn’t be more fitting."

"As for my brother... hah. He had no qualms about ordering Tianhao around, always going on about not taking advantage of public resources. But when it came to allocating this house, he just turned a blind eye. He let Tong Yuxiang use the ’martyr’s family’ status to snag a house and squeeze every last drop of value out of Tianhao..."

Xia Zhaoyun pressed her lips together. Looking at the child in her arms, she found she couldn’t bring herself to refuse.

’Her original intention was just to avoid all the trouble that came with her good looks. She never imagined she’d be pushed along into a situation like this.’

’In her past life, it was always others who were in her debt. Now, she owed Huo Tianhao far too much—a debt she would never have the chance to repay!’

’She wasn’t alone anymore; she had two children to think of. Housing from the factory was always tight. If she passed up this opportunity, not only would they have no place to stay for the time being, but she had no idea when her turn on the waiting list would ever come up.’

Her eyes welled with emotion as she said with a choke in her voice, "Director Huo, thank you all for finding a place for the three of us. You can rest assured that I will raise my children well, so they can grow up to be like their three heroic parents and become useful members of society!"

"And I will also work hard to bring honor to the factory..."

A slightly unnatural expression flickered across Director Huo’s face. As she had said, giving the house to anyone was better than letting Tong Yuxiang snatch it away.

She was invested in Xia Zhaoyun’s case, partly because it was her duty, but also, wasn’t it a way to thwart Tong Yuxiang and stand up for her poor, deceased sister-in-law and nephew?

She gave a soft cough and said with a smile, "I just called the logistics department to request a set of furniture and a stove... Comrade Liu went to the Song Family and got back your clothes and the wages you’ve handed over for the past two years... Comrade Liu and Tong went to the Wen family to retrieve the various compensations the factory has issued for the children over the last six months... That room they’re in originally belonged to the Wen couple. The factory won’t take it back; we’ll consider it rented to them and deduct five yuan a month from their salaries for rent..."

Upon hearing this, Xia Zhaoyun looked at the women from the federation as if they were her own kin, thanking them over and over again.

’She couldn’t help but marvel. People in this era had such straightforward hearts. They were so earnest and sincere in everything they did. In helping her and her children, they had truly thought of everything!’

The new family housing compound, a vast area in the southeast corner of the factory district, was originally a farm. It had been used to grow crops like cotton and hemp, which were in high demand at the factory.

However, the factory repeatedly expanded, and the quality of cotton and hemp from New City proved to be better. As a result, the farm was discontinued. In its place, rows of apartment buildings for employees’ families were constructed. The remaining empty land was divided up among the households in the buildings, allowing them to grow fruits and vegetables to ease the burden of supporting their large families.

"The buildings were just completed and uniformly renovated before the end of last year. The land has all been divided up and marked with little numbered flags. Once everyone gets familiar with their own plot, it won’t matter whether the flags are there or not."

"The size of the garden plot is tied to the size of your assigned apartment. A thirty-square-meter apartment corresponds to one share of garden land. You happen to have two and a half shares."

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