Life in siheyuan era

Section Chief You of the District Civil Affairs Bureau was quite polite to him, writing out the "Household Registration Notice" while solemnly saying, "Transferred soldiers all want to go to work in factories. I will contact several large enterprises. Don't worry."

"Thank you, Section Chief You. I'm not in a hurry," Zhou Zhiyuan expressed his gratitude, but was pondering the matter of taking leave.

Today is Friday. Excluding Sunday, three days of leave should be enough for him. It will take two days to go to and from SY, and two days to spend with Grandpa.

He wasn't concerned about work assignments; Shen Lanbo would take care of the arrangements.

Zhou Zhiyuan was preoccupied with his thoughts and didn't notice a slender figure entering the room. He heard Section Chief You's three colleagues in the room address her as "Secretary Fang." Turning his head, he saw Fang Nan responding to their greetings and walking towards him.

Seeing her, Zhou Zhiyuan immediately understood and stood up slightly.

Section Chief You stood up and said with a smile, "Xiao Fang, you're quite punctual."

"Section Chief You is criticizing me..." Fang Nan said with a smile, "I ran into Deputy District Chief Yao on the road and exchanged a few words, so I was three minutes late. Section Chief You, let's talk..."

Saying this, she saw Zhou Zhiyuan and asked in surprise, "Zhiyuan, what are you doing here?"

Zhou Zhiyuan smiled and said, "Sister Fang Nan, I'm here to register."

Fang Nan frowned and replied, "You're here to register and didn't say anything in advance. I'm familiar with Section Chief You; I could have brought you directly. By the way, how was the work arranged? You are a first-class meritorious service winner on the battlefield, and according to policy, you have the priority to choose."

Fang Nan entered her role, and Zhou Zhiyuan cooperated, "I will obey the assignment."

Hearing his reply, Fang Nan asked in a deep voice, "Didn't you want to go to the street office to train? I wonder which street office needs people?"

They both spoke clearly, and Section Chief You understood. He immediately said, "Director Qiu asked the Personnel Bureau for people a few days ago. The Xingyi Street Office still has two vacant administrative positions. I will communicate with Director Qiu immediately."

"Doesn't Director Qiu want college students?"

Fang Nan asked doubtfully, and Section Chief You replied readily, "He's asking for the moon. Comrade Zhou Zhiyuan has a high school education and is a hero of the self-defense counterattack on the plateau. It would be his good fortune to have him work there."

As he spoke, Section Chief You reached out to pick up the phone, but Fang Nan immediately said, "Section Chief You, Zhiyuan and I will step out for a moment."

Fang Nan led Zhou Zhiyuan out the door. The three colleagues in the room looked at each other, and someone asked in a low voice, "What is the relationship between the two of them?"

"It's not an ordinary relationship; it's quite close."

"Nonsense, she's calling her Sister Fang Nan. How could the relationship be distant?"

"Don't talk."

Section Chief You told them to shut up, looked at the phone book, dialed a number, and said politely after connecting, "Director Qiu..."

Inside the room, Section Chief You communicated with Director Qiu, and outside, Zhou Zhiyuan spoke with Fang Nan.

"Sister Fang Nan, I want to take a few days off to go to SY to see Grandpa."

"Section Chief You doesn't have this authority. Find another opportunity in the future."

The two fell silent. After a while, Fang Nan said softly, "Lanbo trusts you very much."

Zhou Zhiyuan smiled and said, "He's the platoon leader, and I'm the first squad leader. If he orders me to go east, I won't go west. If he shouts 'Charge!', I'll be the first to jump out of the trench..."

Fang Nan interrupted him, "That's not what I meant. You know Lanbo best. I want to know, what does he think about the matter between us?"

This topic was very serious. Zhou Zhiyuan pondered for a moment and slowly said, "One thing is certain: Lanbo has deep feelings for you. He doesn't want to hold you back..."

Fang Nan interrupted him again, "I have deep feelings for him too. I'm not afraid of being held back."

"That's the problem..." Zhou Zhiyuan replied in a deep voice, "Feelings are not eternal. Your feelings may be damaged by many unfavorable factors, such as the trivialities of daily life, different life philosophies, and different ways of dealing with things. These issues determine whether the feelings after marriage will remain the same as before?"

Zhou Zhiyuan felt that he had said too much. Seeing Fang Nan pondering in silence, he wanted to continue, "Lanbo cherishes your feelings, and even more so, he cherishes you. The more he does, the more worried he is."

Zhou Zhiyuan spoke of Shen Lanbo's concerns, and a look of joy appeared on Fang Nan's face. She smiled and said, "I understand. Thank you."

Fang Nan fell into thought, and Zhou Zhiyuan stopped talking. The two stood quietly in the hallway waiting.

After a while, the office door opened, and a young man's face appeared in front of the door and said softly, "Secretary Fang, Comrade Zhou Zhiyuan, please come in."

Then she turned to Zhou Zhiyuan and said in a deep voice, "Your writing is good, but your right hand is disabled, and you write generally with your left hand. You must seize the time to practice writing with your left hand. Director Qiu values writing ability very much."

Fang Nan spoke with great skill, saying this in front of Section Chief You to prepare Zhou Zhiyuan for reporting to work.

As soon as Fang Nan finished speaking, Section Chief You's eyes lit up and he said with a smile, "Comrade Zhou Zhiyuan's writing is good? You should have said so earlier. Old Qiu likes young people with good writing the most."

Fang Nan and Section Chief You provided him with information: writing ability was his opportunity to perform in front of Director Qiu.

This was not what he wanted. In his dream, he wrote official documents all his life. Did he have to write official documents in reality?

With this helpless mood, Zhou Zhiyuan walked out of the district government. Looking back at the three-story red brick building, in three days he would be directed by the leaders at all levels here. Obeying orders and listening to commands was what was required of him.

Taking a look at the building, a bitter smile appeared on Zhou Zhiyuan's face. He had no power to choose.

He walked forlornly into an alley, found a pager phone, called the Property Section of the Steel Rolling Mill, and told Lin Shurong that he couldn't go to SY.

Hearing this news, Lin Shurong's mood was low. Zhou Zhiyuan couldn't go to SY, and his old father must be very disappointed.

Hearing her voice low, Zhou Zhiyuan quickly explained the assignment situation. Lin Shurong didn't understand the nature of the street office.

At that time, social management was divided into two major blocks: enterprises and institutions were responsible for the social management of their cadres and employees, including matters related to life.

For personnel without a work unit, social management was the responsibility of the government and street offices.

The street office had many responsibilities, such as civil affairs, urban management, and sanitation. It had departments such as the Grain Management Office, the Housing Management Office, and the Sanitation Office. Many houses in the courtyards were allocated and maintained by the street office.

Zhou Zhiyuan tried to make Lin Shurong feel better. After introducing the situation, he said happily, "Mom, my luck is extremely good. If it weren't for catching up with the street office needing people, and my education level being sufficient, and having military merits, I wouldn't have the opportunity to work there."

His explanation diluted Lin Shurong's disappointment. He had been assigned a good job, and Grandpa would definitely be very happy.

The mother and son talked on the phone for more than ten minutes. Zhou Zhiyuan hung up the phone, looked at the aunt sitting in the room, and asked, "Is a dime okay?"

"Okay," the aunt replied readily.

At this time, there was no timed pricing for local calls. There was no one waiting to make a call behind Zhou Zhiyuan, so he could make another call to Shen Lanbo. After connecting, he said lightly, "Sister-in-law is impressive."

"Don't call me sister-in-law." Shen Lanbo's reply showed a contradictory psychology.

"If you like her, don't give up. Never do something that pleases the enemy and saddens your own people."

Zhou Zhiyuan's attitude had always been clear, but Shen Lanbo was still hesitant, "I don't want to hold her back."

"Do you think she will appreciate it? The result of doing so is that a lover becomes an enemy."

Zhou Zhiyuan stated the result. Shen Lanbo stopped talking. After pondering for a while, he changed the subject, "Where were you assigned?"

"Xingyi Street Office. Reporting on Monday."

"There should be an elementary school over there."

Shen Lanbo muttered, then said, "I'll give you a task. After settling your household registration, go investigate a person. There's a doctor named Hao Zhiwen in the military hospital, a young doctor in the cardiology department. I want to know his character and lifestyle."

Zhou Zhiyuan asked doubtfully, "What's the situation?"

"He's pestering Lanyin."

Shen Lanbo's reply made Zhou Zhiyuan ask, "Pestering or pursuing?"

"Have you heard of 'a good girl is afraid of a persistent suitor'?"

Hearing this, Zhou Zhiyuan was no longer doubtful and replied, "I understand. Time?"

"The sooner the better." Shen Lanbo was quite anxious.

He accepted the task, "I will start the operation as soon as possible. I also remind you, you can exercise, but not excessively. You understand the principle of moderation."

After instructing Shen Lanbo, Zhou Zhiyuan hung up the phone and took out two dimes to hand to the aunt watching the phone.

He didn't have five cents in his pocket, but the aunt watching the phone didn't intend to give him five cents back. Looking at his back, she praised him, "This young man is quite generous."

There was a bit of a misunderstanding between them. The aunt watching the phone thought Zhou Zhiyuan took the initiative to pay two dimes.

But Zhou Zhiyuan thought the aunt would give him five cents back. Seeing that she didn't intend to, he could only leave silently, examining himself as he walked, "My skin is still thin."

He was embarrassed to ask for the five cents, so he decided to carry a few more coins in his pocket, one cent, two cents, and five cents, all prepared. No matter how many cents you want, I have them in my pocket.