1980: I have a spiritual spring

Chapter 68 I've Heard So Much About You (Seeking First Subscription)

in the afternoon.

Qiaojiawan.

Qiao Erhe took out a cotton coat and a pair of shoes from the bamboo basket and handed them to his third sister, saying, "Sanduo, these are for you. Try them on and see if they fit."

Qiao Sanduo reached out and took the brand-new cotton coat and shoes, her face full of surprise, and said, "Second Brother, these... these Warrior shoes were also bought for me?"

Qiao Erhe smiled and said, "I bought this for you to wear during the New Year. Try it on and see if it fits."

Qiao Sanduo said happily, "I'll give it a try right away."

Huang Hongmei also received a large cotton-padded coat, and she began to try it on with a big smile on her face.

As for the other people's cotton-padded coats and shoes, they had already tried them on in Shashi, and now they were all taking them back to their rooms like treasures, as they were definitely saving them for the New Year.

Qiao Sanduo quickly tried on the clothes, and the cotton coat and shoes fit her perfectly, making her very satisfied.

The only thing that didn't fit quite right was Huang Hongmei's big cotton-padded coat. Although Qiao Erhe had already chosen the largest size for her, her figure was indeed widening, so the big cotton-padded coat was a bit tight and didn't fit as well as the clothes he made himself.

After Qiao Sanduo tried on her clothes and shoes, she heard Fatty Ba cursing and said, "I'll alter them to be a bit bigger for you later, so they'll be more comfortable to wear."

Huang Hongmei said, "Then you can help me alter it. The tailor is really something. Why don't they make the cotton-padded coat a little bigger? Isn't this just causing trouble for us customers?"

Qiao Erhe ignored his mother's complaints and went to the village entrance to measure the fields. Although he roughly knew the area of ​​the land he had exchanged, he needed to measure it himself to find out exactly what the four plots of land would look like when combined.

Only after you have clearly measured the land can you talk to others about house design. Otherwise, if you don't even know the most basic length and width, how can others design a house for you?
……

The next morning.

Personnel Department of Shashi First People's Hospital.

Su Jinxiu approached her colleague, Sister Li, and asked, "Sister Li, I remember you said that your husband works at an architectural design institute, right?"

Sister Li nodded and said, "That's right, Xiao Su, do you need to see your brother-in-law?"

Su Jinxiu smiled and said, "Yes, I need to talk to my brother-in-law. Is he an architect?"

Sister Li said, "He's an architect. If there's anything he can do to help, just let me know."

Su Jinxiu said, "It's like this, a friend of mine wants to build a new house and wants to ask my brother-in-law to make an architectural design. The fee is negotiable."

Sister Li said generously, "No problem. Your friend is my friend. It's not difficult to help your friend with an architectural design. Why ask for a fee? You're being too polite."

Su Jinxiu smiled and said, "My friend has high requirements for the new house, so I have to pay this fee. Otherwise, I would be embarrassed to ask my brother-in-law for help."

Sister Li smiled broadly and said, "Xiao Su, you're too kind. When I get off work, I'll talk to your brother-in-law about it. When is your friend free? We can meet up and chat. He can tell your brother-in-law any requests he may have. Anyway, I don't know anything about architectural design."

Su Jinxiu said, "Then let's set the time for tomorrow noon. I'll have my friend wait for us at the entrance of our hospital. We'll go see my brother-in-law together after we get off work."

Sister Li nodded and said, "Okay, I'll tell your brother-in-law when I get home from get off work."

……

Saturday, September 1981, 1.

Around noon, Qiao Erhe arrived at the entrance of Shashi People's Hospital as agreed, waiting for Su Jinxiu to finish get off work.

After waiting for a few minutes, Su Jinxiu and a woman in her thirties walked out side by side, pushing bicycles.

When they came over, Qiao Erhe greeted them first, "Jinxiu."

"Brother Qiao."

Su Jinxiu greeted her as well, and then introduced her, "This is my colleague, Sister Li."

Qiao Erhe immediately greeted her, "Hello, Sister Li. My name is Qiao Erhe, and I'm Jinxiu's friend."

When Sister Li heard the two of them greeting each other, she already knew who the man in front of her was. She smiled and said, "Oh, it's Comrade Qiao. Several of my colleagues in the department have heard a lot about you."

"I've long heard of my name?"

Qiao Erhe asked with a puzzled look, "Sister Li, what makes you say that?"

Sister Li laughed and said, "Xiao Su is the most beautiful girl in our hospital. No matter what happens, it can't be hidden from us. The fact that you come to the hospital entrance to wait for Xiao Su every ten days or so has spread throughout the entire hospital. Our colleagues in the personnel department have been talking about you quite a bit!"

"I see."

Qiao Erhe suddenly realized, and then looked at Su Jinxiu somewhat embarrassedly, saying, "Jinxiu, have I caused you any trouble?"

"Nothing of the sort, you don't need to worry about it."

After saying that, Su Jinxiu looked at her colleague and said, "Sister Li, let's go find your brother-in-law now!"

Sister Li smiled and said, "Okay, let's go then!"

……

A quarter of an hour later.

Qiao Erhe met Sister Li's husband, Yao Zhiqiang, at the restaurant.

Leaving aside the pleasantries, while waiting for the restaurant food, Qiao Erhe got down to business: "Comrade Yao, have you ever seen townhouses in Europe and America?"

Yao Zhiqiang was taken aback upon hearing this and said, "I haven't seen it with my own eyes, but I have seen photos and design drawings of townhouses. Comrade Qiao, are you asking because the new house is planned to be built as a townhouse?"

Qiao Erhe nodded and said, "That's right. We plan to build a row of six houses for our new house. In addition, we also want to build a large underground wine cellar. I hope you can help me get the design drawings done, Brother Qiang."

Upon hearing Qiao Erhe's request, Yao Zhiqiang and his wife exchanged a glance, both seeing the shock in each other's eyes.

Especially Yao Zhiqiang, as an architect who is quite knowledgeable about townhouses, knows very well what a townhouse with six entrances is all about, and with the addition of the underground wine cellar, the cost of building it would be no small sum.

It seems this Comrade Qiao is quite wealthy!

Yao Zhiqiang composed himself and nodded, saying, "Of course, no problem. Comrade Qiao, you can tell me any requirements you have for this townhouse, and I will do my best to design the effect you want."

Without any hesitation, Qiao Erhe described in great detail the layout of his son-in-law's townhouse in his later years.

Yao Zhiqiang was increasingly impressed as he listened, and immediately took out paper and pen to write everything down. By the time Qiao Erhe had finished explaining, he had a basic design in mind for the townhouse. With a few minor refinements, he could design the townhouse the other party wanted. During this time, the waiters began to serve the dishes, but they did not interrupt the conversation between the two.

Only after their discussion came to an end did Su Jinxiu say, "Brother-in-law, Brother Qiao, stop talking so much, the food will get cold if you don't eat soon."

Yao Zhiqiang remarked with emotion, "The main reason is that Comrade Qiao's requirements are so excellent. I already have a draft in mind, and once I go back and refine it a bit, I will be able to design the townhouse that Comrade Qiao wants."

Qiao Erhe laughed and said, "I was just making a request. The main thing is that Comrade Yao's design skills are superb."

"Alright, you two stop talking and hurry up and eat. We can talk again after we finish eating."

"Okay, let's talk after we finish eating."

……

After a hearty meal, Yao Zhiqiang said, "Brother Qiao, I basically understand your requirements and have a design plan in mind. If you need it urgently, I'll go back and work overtime to get the design drawings done for you."

Qiao Erhe said, "There's no rush. My family's new house is being built next summer. As long as the design drawings are ready within three months, it'll be fine."

Yao Zhiqiang laughed and said, "If that's the case, then there's plenty of time. I'll definitely design it for you properly and incorporate all the requirements you just mentioned. I'll try to get the design drawings ready before the end of the year and then have Xiao Su hand them over to you."

Qiao Erhe took out a prepared red envelope from his pocket and handed it over with a big smile, saying, "Brother-in-law, this is a small token of my appreciation. Thank you for your hard work in designing the townhouse."

Before Yao Zhiqiang could even speak, Sister Li, who was sitting next to him, quickly declined, saying, "We're all friends, why give me a red envelope? My husband Yao loves design, he'd be overjoyed to have such a design project!"

Yao Zhiqiang nodded and smiled, "Yes, design is my biggest hobby, and you're Xiao Su's good friend, so you don't need to be so polite with me."

Qiao Erhe naturally didn't take the other person's polite words seriously. He forced the red envelope into Yao Zhiqiang's hand and said with a smile, "Brother-in-law, let's keep things separate. Even if we're brothers, we still need to keep clear accounts! This is just a small token of my appreciation. If you don't accept it, I'll feel bad asking you to design something for me."

Su Jinxiu chimed in, "Brother-in-law, don't refuse, just accept it!"

Yao Zhiqiang and Sister Li declined repeatedly before finally "reluctantly" accepting the red envelope.

Yao Zhiqiang pondered for a moment and said, "Brother Qiao, if you want to build these townhouses, you'll probably need a lot of steel and cement. You should be prepared for that."

Sister Li frowned and said, "Rock steel and cement are in very short supply right now. It's not difficult to buy a small amount, but if you want to buy in large quantities, you absolutely cannot buy them without government quotas or approval from relevant leaders."

Upon hearing this, Qiao Erhe realized that steel bars and cement were controlled materials in this era, and they couldn't be bought just with money.

In his previous life, his family built a new house in the late 1980s. At that time, as long as you had money, you could buy steel bars and cement. So when he wanted to build a new house in this life, he didn't think about buying steel bars and cement for the time being.

Just as Qiao Erhe was frowning, Su Jinxiu, who was sitting next to him, said, "Brother-in-law, how much steel and cement do you need? After you finish the design drawings, give me a rough estimate. I'll ask my dad if he can get approval from the relevant leaders."

Upon hearing this, Yao Zhiqiang glanced at his wife.

As an old married couple, Sister Li naturally understood her husband's meaning. She was also a little surprised when she heard Su Jinxiu's words, and couldn't help but ask, "Xiao Su, is it convenient to ask which unit your father works for?"

Su Jinxiu said, "My dad works at the Industry and Commerce Bureau."

Upon hearing this answer, Yao Zhiqiang immediately thought of someone and asked, "Xiao Su, is Su Jianguo, the director of the Industry and Commerce Bureau, your father?"

Su Jinxiu smiled and said, "Brother-in-law, do you know my father?"

Yao Zhiqiang said, "I was fortunate enough to meet you once."

Sister Li widened her eyes and said, "Xiao Su, we've known for a long time that your family is well-off, but we never expected that you're the child of a leader."

Su Jinxiu laughed and said, "My dad is just a minor leader, nothing special."

Sister Li flattered, "Xiao Su, you are too modest. Your father's rank is among the highest in Shashi, even in the whole city."

Yao Zhiqiang also said with a smile, "If Director Su were to step in, then Brother Qiao, the steel bars and cement you need would definitely not be a problem."

Su Jinxiu quickly said, "Brother-in-law, don't be so sure. I need to go back and ask my dad to confirm whether we can get the approval from the relevant leaders."

Qiao Erhe interjected, "Jinxiu, this matter is not under your father's jurisdiction. If it is easy to handle, that's best. But if it requires your father to owe a favor, then there is no need for it."

Su Jinxiu smiled and said, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

Qiao Erhe looked at Yao Zhiqiang and said, "Brother-in-law, regardless of whether we can get steel and cement, you should design this townhouse first. As the saying goes, as long as you don't give up, there are always more solutions than problems. There is nothing that cannot be solved."

Yao Zhiqiang laughed and said, "Okay, I promise to get the design drawings ready before the New Year, and I'll also mark the amount of steel bars and cement for you. Then I'll have your Sister Li take them to Xiao Su."

Su Jinxiu glanced at the time and said, "It's getting late, we should go to work."

"Sister Li, brother-in-law, then we'll see you another day."

"Well, Brother Qiao, see you another day."

……

in the afternoon.

The staff quarters of the Industry and Commerce Bureau.

When Su Jinxiu came home from get off work, she saw her father sitting on the sofa reading the newspaper, so she asked him directly, "Dad, let me ask you, if I need a batch of steel bars and cement, could you get an approval slip from the relevant leader?"

Upon hearing this, Su Jianguo glanced at his daughter and asked, "Jinxiu, why are you asking this? Are you going to follow some people's example and resell supplies?"

Su Jinxiu rolled her eyes at her father: "Dad, what are you thinking? How could I possibly do such a thing?"

Su Jianguo put down his newspaper and asked, "Then what do you need steel bars and cement for?"

Su Jinxiu sat down and said, "Brother Qiao's family plans to build a new house next year, which requires a lot of steel bars and cement. That's why I thought I'd ask you. If this is difficult or requires me to owe you a big favor, then forget it. But if it's not difficult, then please help me out."

"I see."

Su Jianguo smiled and said, "This matter might be a bit difficult for others, but it's not difficult for me, because the leader in charge of this is none other than your Uncle Yuan. In addition, the amount of steel bars and cement needed for building the house is not large. Whenever I need to ask your Uncle Yuan for a note, that's all I need."

Su Jinxiu breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this and smiled, "It's not necessary yet. I was just asking you in advance. Brother Qiao's new house is scheduled to be built next summer."

"Okay, just let me know in advance when you need it, and I'll get the approval slip for you."

"Thank you, Dad, you're so kind!"

……

P.S.: I forgot about this last night, but I've finally activated VIP now. Please give me a few monthly tickets to soothe my wounded heart.
(End of this chapter)