Chapter 217 Census
"Victory!"

The cheers were deafening, and villagers came out of their homes and fields. Those wearing straw hats waved their hats excitedly, some even threw them up to the sky; those wearing aprons waved their aprons excitedly.
"Look, even American imperialism can't defeat us!"

"That's right! We want to liberate the whole world! Liberate the poor masses of the world!"

Gradually, the crowd gathered together, slowly walked onto the small path, and then merged onto the main road, rushing towards the county town in a mighty procession.

The county town was also filled with red flags and colorful flags. People spontaneously took to the streets to start a celebratory parade that lasted until the evening.

Until Wang Deming and his godmother Wang Shuqin were on their way back to Beijing in early August, they were still excitedly talking about our victory in the Korean battlefield on the train.

The same was true in the capital. The drivers riding human-powered tricycles spoke eloquently and incessantly about the bravery of the volunteer soldiers on the front lines, as if they were there in person.

After returning to Xiaojingchang, I had just sat down for a while when I heard the voices of the Andingmen Street Office staff and the neighborhood committee aunties coming from the courtyard gate.

"Is Comrade Wang Deming back?"

"I'm back, I'm back." Then Lao Zhao hurriedly replied, "What are you doing?"

"Oh, didn't we do a census in the first half of the year? Today is a review, and we'll reissue the household registration books at the end of the year." The voice gradually approached from the gate of the courtyard, "How many people live in your family now?"

Seeing Wang Deming in the courtyard, the office staff quickly greeted him: "Hello, Comrade Deming, I am Xiao Yang from the street office, who is this?" White shirts and black pants seemed to be the standard outfit for government officials, while the aunt from the neighborhood committee next to him was wearing a gray hemp cloth dress.

"This is my mother. I brought her from the countryside to live with me for a while."

"Oh, hello, hello," said Xiao Yang from the office, and then he opened his notebook, "You are not a permanent resident, right?"

'no. '

"How many people live in this courtyard now?"

"12 people, count my mom as 13th."

"Oh, that's OK. We have quite a comfortable living quarters." Xiao Yang showed the notebook to Wang Deming. "Comrade Deming, please confirm the specific residents of our courtyard."

Wang Deming took it, glanced at it, and returned it, "That's right."

"Well, sorry to bother you."

"You're welcome."

After I sent him to the gate and waited for the women from the street office and the neighborhood committee to leave, I could vaguely hear a few words, "Auntie Gu, can you please talk to Comrade Deming's family? I think we can arrange for at least a few more families to live in this courtyard."

"The back house doesn't need such a big kitchen, right? And I noticed that the main room in the middle of the house is full of furnishings, and it can be used for living."

"Comrade Xiao Yang, there really is nothing we can do about this. There are 12 people in this yard, and 13 if you include Wang Deming's mother. It's not spacious enough. Our government only allows a family to keep 13 rooms at most, so we should make more rooms for other families."

"Well, that's fine. By the way, please also check whether Comrade Wang Deming's mother is living here permanently. We need to guide her back home in time."

"Don't worry, I know."

"Now is the critical period of the First Five-Year Plan. Factories in Beijing are recruiting workers. Hundreds of thousands of people have moved into the city at once. The housing problem has become very tight. Many people can only live in workshops and warehouses." "Well, don't worry. We will cooperate with the office to patiently persuade the residents."

"." Wang Deming turned his head and asked Lao Zhao: "Lao Zhao, there are more and more people in Beijing recently? Have you heard anything when you chat with the neighbors?"

Old Zhao said gloomily, "It is said that our capital is going to become an industrialized city. The government has opened many new factories and added many departments that we have never heard of, such as industry and commerce, labor, and inspection. I don't know what they are, but they all need houses anyway."

“The Fatong Temple, Liuli Temple, Jingtu Temple, and Niangniang Temple in Baochao Hutong all seem to have become government units, and the previous residents have been persuaded to leave.”

"Many people in our area who have extra houses have been persuaded to rent them out to government officials and their families, so there are now many strangers on the street."

"Oh"

At last, Lao Zhao suddenly said, "You can't not rent it."

Wang Deming smiled and said, "Don't worry, Lao Zhao, our family will never be short of houses."

No wonder when the new factory of the Chinese Medicine Factory was being built near Chaoyangmen, many employees volunteered to work there. This probably accounted for a large part of the reason, right?
Who doesn’t like spacious two- or three-bedroom apartments for single-person living?
Those who till the land own their land, and those who live in the house own their house. This is the idea engraved in the bones of us Chinese.
August is the hottest time of the year, but it did not affect the working people's enthusiasm for work at all. Government office buildings such as the Ministry of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Coal, and Ministry of Textiles were built one after another on both sides of Chang'an Avenue.

The four ministries and one council in the Sanlihe area outside Fuxingmen include the First and Second Machinery Ministries, the Ministry of Heavy Industry, the Ministry of Finance, the State Planning Commission Office Building, and the three-story family compound; there is also the Military Commission Building near Wukesong and Gongzhufen, and the military compound
Of course, the hottest one is definitely the newly-launched Chinese herbal beverage factory outside Chaoyangmen.

Who would have thought that a herbal beverage priced at 1 ruble per bottle with an output of 50 bottles a day would be in short supply?
After being transported to the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact, they were only seen in supply stores for the first half of the month, but disappeared without a trace in the second half of the month. They were bought up by Soviet party members, government officials and their families.
Finally, it was inexplicably included in the government's special supply catalog, the price rose to 2 rubles, and local governments placed direct orders for the purchase.

The reason is also very high-sounding: the health of party members and government comrades must be ensured.

Alexey walked with a breeze, and completely abandoned his two followers. He took his friends from the Soviet Embassy or played mahjong in the east courtyard after having a health care in the courtyard of Qinlao Hutong No. 18, enjoying the traditional Beijing ice cream and drinks;

Or you can eat and taste the Tan family dishes in the courtyard of No. 11, Yongkang Hutong; or you can directly call the chefs Zhao from Fangshan Tea House to cook a full banquet.
In the end, it was Diana who secretly told Wang Deming while playing mahjong that after her father Comrade Stalin passed away in March, Comrade Khrushchev paid particular attention to the health of senior party members after coming to power.

Comrade Alexei's family fully supports Comrade Khrushchev on key issues.

When Wang Deming asked Diana about her family's choice, she winked at him, smiled sweetly and said nothing.

Well, I guess this was a very correct choice. From the first day I met her, I didn't feel like she was a communist fighter with ideals and aspirations.

September continued the enthusiasm of August. The second phase of the beverage factory had begun construction, with a production capacity 10 times larger than that of the first phase, which could at least meet the daily drinking demand of one bottle for party members in the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact.

The staff dormitory area is still the first to recruit workers on a large scale, while training is started by having old employees guide new employees.

Fortunately, the weather was hot, so the new employees slept in a newly built shed in the factory area, with men and women separated.

With previous experience, the construction this time was faster. Without bricks, tiles and cement, we could go directly to the production area to participate in the kiln firing. Without steel bars, there would be no other way.

Wang Deming didn't have to worry about anything at all, as the workers solved all the problems themselves. He just followed Alexi and Diana every day and did his job as a companion.

Until one day two weeks later, Cha Kuiyuan came to him again and said, "Deming, the government wants to hold a meeting with us."

(End of this chapter)