Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 645 Residential Area
They didn't take the computer; they said it was for Professor Xu, so let him play with it at his leisure.

Although Professor Xu said no, the older generation of scholars all have one thing in common: they are extremely curious and have a high acceptance of new things. Later, some of them started learning computers in their 8s and 90s and were able to use them very well.

Chen Fan was certain that if he came back in a month, Professor Xu would have thoroughly mastered all the functions of this computer, and might even be able to write two new articles.

Of course, that's assuming he doesn't give the computer to the computer science department. Hmm... I doubt it.
Shaking his head, Chen Fan climbed into the car, closed the door, and slowly drove towards the back gate of Jiangda University.

Since we're here at Jiangnan University, we might as well check out the Arts and Literature Village. I just wonder how the construction is going.

What? Those people from Lujiawan who studied at Jiangda University?

What's so interesting about them? They should just study hard and improve every day. Do you expect me to continue teaching them?
Think beautifully.

Driving too fast is not allowed on campus, so Chen Fan lightly pressed the accelerator and moved forward at a speed close to jogging. In no time, he passed through the campus amidst groups of students running to class and exited through the back gate.

At the same time, he also saw what the Wenyi New Village looks like now.

The last time he came, Huang Tianzhi, deputy director of the Municipal Construction Commission, took him to see the land.

He originally just wanted to buy a house in a slightly better environment with fewer people nearby, but Huang Tianzhi tricked him into buying a piece of land to build a house.

Since it was about building houses, it was better to build a large one than a small one. After going around in circles, this place was transformed into a joint dormitory area for literary and artistic circles in the provincial capital, led by the Writers Association, co-organized by Jiangnan Literature and Art Magazine and the Literary Creation Correspondence Center, and guided by the Department of Culture.

The car crossed the road diagonally, leading to a dirt road paved with cinders and gravel. Chen Fan avoided the intersection, parked the car on the side of the road, and got out to walk inside.

The construction site was bustling with activity. The roar of machinery, the shouts of workers, the clanging of trowels... all sorts of sounds blended together, creating a noisy environment that made him lose all interest in speaking.

Although many people saw him, no one came over to say hello.

Many people know of writer Chen or teacher Chen, but as for recognizing him, well… who is he? Never seen him before, don’t know him!

Chen Fan didn't try to make himself noticed. Since no one paid attention to him, he went in to see for himself.

Compared to when I first came here, several residential buildings that look extremely modern now but would look very old-fashioned in later generations have sprung up, both inside and out.

Each building entrance is a unit, each unit has two households per floor, 6 floors and 12 households, and each building has 3 units, which is 36 households.

The outermost dormitory building has been topped out and completed, and the buildings further in are mostly finished...

its not right?
Chen Fan touched his head, stepped back to the lakeside, and then looked around.

原来的计划是，建3栋共24套80平米的三房、一栋带卫生间和厨房共48间的单身宿舍，以及120套50平米的小两居室。

The Writers' Association, including its offices, literary publishing house, and correspondence center, has only 161 people in total. Moreover, not everyone requires new housing, and a small number of people come from the same family. So many houses are more than enough.

The extra properties are used for transactions with other arts and cultural organizations.

Because these were all units on the cultural front, the place was named "Literary and Artistic New Village".

The island in the middle of the lake, which looks like a turtle's shell, is filled with small courtyards where leaders who prefer to live in bungalows reside. There are also public cultural and sports facilities such as a library and a gymnasium.

But there seem to be quite a few more houses now.

The first building alone has 36 units, all of which are 80-square-meter three-bedroom apartments.

There's another identical building behind it, with 36 three-bedroom units.

Could it be that they reduced the size of some apartment types?

Chen Fan looked inside and couldn't help but pinch his chin and frown.

Well, 24 three-bedroom units have become 72 units, one single-room dormitory building has become two buildings, and 120 two-bedroom units have become 180 units.

Moreover, from an architect's perspective, the original 20 acres of land seemed a little too big.

Yeah, probably more than half again.

He couldn't help but scratch his head. Had the Writers' Association just given them some money? Did they have enough to build so many houses?

Turning back to look at the island in the middle of the lake, from one side, it looks the same as planned, with no major changes.

Uh, that’s not right.

Amidst the lakeside residences and the public buildings on the hilltop, there is a row of slightly smaller courtyards scattered throughout.

what is this?
A hillside mansion?!
Chen Fan wondered if he should go back to the Writers' Association compound to ask Xu Qizhen what was going on, since she had always been in charge of it. He didn't want her little courtyard to be destroyed, or he would have to find a new place to build a house.

After thinking about it for two seconds, Chen Fan decisively abandoned the idea.

Anyway, I proposed this project myself, the planned courtyard has been finalized, and I've even paid the 3000 yuan for building the house.

So even if anyone else is missing, he won't be missing.

Never mind, as long as it doesn't affect him, then we don't need to worry about it.

Just as he was about to leave, a person wearing a helmet and work clothes waved at him from a distance and walked towards him.

Even from a distance, Chen Fan recognized the man. As he got closer, he couldn't help but ask, "Director Huang, have you been transferred or promoted?"

The person who came was none other than Huang Tianzhi, the deputy director of the Municipal Construction Commission, who had tricked him and the Writers' Association into building a dormitory building here.

Deputy Director Huang walked up to him, scraped the sole of his shoe on a rock, scraping off a few clumps of mud. Then he took the cigarette Chen Fan offered, lit it with a match, and said with a smile, "It's both a job transfer and a promotion."

He turned around, pointed to the construction site, and chuckled, "I was transferred from the housing management office to the construction company and became a junior manager. This first project is the Wenyi New Village."

Chen Fan immediately smiled and said, "Then I must congratulate you."

Despite the power of the housing management office, which controls the allocation of housing within its jurisdiction, it is a double-edged sword.

Power is only useful to ordinary people. If a leader says a word, they have to run around and work hard, and they are not even guaranteed to please him.

Even for ordinary people, these days people don't dare to act recklessly. Arranging housing according to slightly higher or lower standards is indeed within his power. A slightly higher standard is fine, as it is considered to take care of relatives and friends, and is one of the hidden "benefits".

But if you push too far downwards and make them angry, they might actually dare to complain to their superiors, and even their superiors.

Moreover, according to the regulations at the time, an investigation had to be conducted and the results given back to the person in charge.

Therefore, this kind of grassroots leader is like a stick trying to catch a wolf—afraid of both sides.

In contrast, a simple construction company is much simpler; all they have to do is build the houses according to the instructions from their superiors, and they don't care about anything else.

The client company will treat them well, providing them with various benefits, which are far better than what they received as the former deputy director.

Not to mention he was promoted, becoming a full-fledged deputy, which is certainly something to congratulate him on.

Huang Tianzhi was overjoyed to have been promoted from deputy director to director and even transferred to a better unit. He grinned and said, "Thanks to you, this project was made possible, and so many public service units were brought in. Once this community is completed, it will be a mature community, completely different from the remote suburbs we used to live in. So later, many units hoped to join in. After discussing with the Department of Culture and the Writers' Association, the Urban Construction Committee decided to include all arts and cultural units at the provincial and municipal levels, increasing the number of floors and units, and expanding the scale accordingly."

As for the other units, they were to pool their resources and build houses on the other side of the supporting public service units.

In this way, the housing needs of most units in the provincial capital were solved at once.

He took a leisurely drag on his cigarette, looking quite pleased with himself, "That's why the boss transferred me to another unit and even promoted me."

After hearing his words, Chen Fan couldn't help but blink repeatedly.

In that case, he really did get what he deserved.

Although Huang Tianzhi had planned the Art Village project, he was the one who brought it to fruition.

The supporting facilities, including hospitals, supply and marketing cooperatives, grocery stores, food stations, post offices, and so on, were all brought together by him through the efforts of Grandpa Xiang and his group.

Well, in the end, Deputy Director Huang became Director Huang.

Chen Fan wondered if he should try to extort a meal from him.

Before he could speak, Huang Tianzhi pulled him aside and said, "Director Chen, give me a chance. Once this project is completed, I'll treat you to a meal at the Yangtze River Hotel!"

Chen Fan flicked his cigarette ash. "Forget about the Yangtze River Hotel. If you're going to go somewhere, go to a wild game restaurant."

Huang Tianzhi's gaze immediately went blank.

Even if only two people go to a wild game restaurant, it will probably cost several tens of yuan.
But he gritted his teeth and said, "Fine! Let's have a wild game restaurant."

Chen Fan chuckled and said, "A bowl of wild game braised noodles will do."

Huang Tianzhi's mood fluctuated wildly. Upon hearing this, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief, but still laughed and said, "A bowl of braised noodles won't do. We have to go upstairs and get two hearty dishes."

Then he added, "You like braised noodles, right? I'll get you a few more noodle tickets so you can eat your fill!"

The wild game restaurant didn't require tickets for anything else, except for the braised noodles, which were always in short supply. This forced the higher-level management to issue tickets and limit the supply, to the point that a ticket was more expensive than a bowl of noodles.

If Director Huang is willing to get a few more tickets, it will probably cost a lot of money, and more importantly, it will require some favors.

Chen Fan chuckled and said, "Okay, I'll wait."

He paused for a moment, then turned and pointed to the island in the middle of the lake, asking, "Has the planning there changed too? Is my yard still there?"

Before Huang Tianzhi could speak, he added, "When I saw Secretary-General Xu last time, she didn't mention this matter. I paid for that courtyard, and I won't stand for it if it gets lost due to planning."

Huang Tianzhi was taken aback. "Didn't Secretary-General Xu tell you? Uh, maybe she forgot."

He then laughed and said, "I can't touch yours, even if I touch someone else's."

He pointed to the farthest part of the island in the lake, "Look, the courtyard at the very edge is yours. It's one of the largest, and the location is excellent. It's backed by mountains and faces the lake, avoiding the north winds in winter. The community road will also lead right to the gate of the courtyard, so there won't be any problem driving there."

Once you leave the courtyard and cross the road, you'll find the lakeside boardwalk.

Secretary Xu said you like fishing, so I specially had a small dock built at the boardwalk in front of your house. I'll also get a small wooden boat later, so you can fish at the dock or go boating on the lake if you want.”

He then turned to Chen Fan and laughed, "But whether you can protect that ship or not is none of my business."

Chen Fan tossed away his cigarette butt, looked over there, and was quite pleasantly surprised. "They can even get a boat? This is pretty good."

When it snows, it would be wonderful to row a boat to the center of the lake and go fishing.

At this moment, Huang Tianzhi handed him a cigarette and asked in a low voice, "Director Chen, have you already paid for your house? How much did you pay?"

Employees don't have to pay for these dormitories; they can live there indefinitely as long as the company allocates them.

As long as the company exists, the workstation can be passed down, and naturally, so can the house.

However, he knew that Chen Fan had wanted to buy a private house from the beginning. He didn't expect that even though such a nice community was almost finished, he still wanted to buy it himself.

I just don't know how much it cost.

Chen Fan lit a cigarette and casually said, "Not much, 3000 yuan."

Upon hearing this, Huang Tianzhi couldn't help but gasp in surprise.

Compared to that spacious and bright bungalow courtyard, 3000 yuan is indeed not much; it's just the construction cost.

But he couldn't understand why he had to pay money when he could stay for free.

All I can say is, "They're really rich!"

Chen Fan smiled and said, "Actually, it's not too bad. They don't give me the actual money; it's all deducted from my salary. My monthly salary plus allowances is about 160 yuan. Then I stop receiving a salary; the company's finance department directly deducts the money as payment for the house. It ends when the deduction is finished."

Huang Tianzhi was speechless.

So the legendary Director Chen doesn't actually live off his salary.

However, considering that he earned $23 in foreign exchange in the first half of the year alone, even though the US dollar was forcibly converted, the RMB was still there.

So, when you do the math, he's actually not short of money.

After smoking two cigarettes and chatting for a while, Chen Fan took his leave.

Huang Tianzhi quickly grabbed him, "You've already come all this way, how can I let you leave? Tonight it's my treat, let's find a restaurant nearby for a simple meal, and next time, next time I'll take you to a wild game restaurant for a proper meal."

Chen Fan smiled and said, "You said next time, so let's just do it together next time."

He paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "I really do have something to do. I need to go back to Yunhu today. Your schedule isn't convenient either, so let's not bother each other. Once you've finished this project, I definitely won't be polite."

Hearing him say that, Huang Tianzhi stopped insisting and said, "Okay, let's do it that way."

Then I took him to the side of the road and watched him get into the car and leave.

Sitting in the car, Chen Fan looked at the gradually taking shape residential area and felt quite proud.

It wasn't because of that small courtyard. He already had too many houses to live in, so why would he be overjoyed by a small courtyard?

The main reason is that this community was facilitated by his efforts, which solved the housing problem for hundreds of households at once.

Those who move in will mostly have to give up their original houses, which will benefit another group of people.

In any case, this is a great thing!
It was already afternoon. Chen Fan checked the time and felt that there were still four or five hours until dark, so he decided to take a gamble. Instead of staying at the guesthouse, he filled up the gas tank and drove towards Yunhu.

(End of this chapter)