A nation's industrial development begins with junior engineers.

Jiang Xia was happily making plans, while Ma Weihong, who was opposite him, seemed to have finished what she was doing and stretched.

He tapped the table and rolled a Daqianmen cigarette to Jiang Xia's side.

"Hey Xia, do you have enough money to buy that bicycle? If not, just tell me!"

Jiang Xia felt a warmth in his heart. "I just calculated it once, it's enough!"

Ma Weihong nodded: "Xia, you're almost a grown man. Want a girlfriend? I'll find you one!"

Jiang Xia sighed: "Sister, you know my family situation. My two younger sisters are still in the countryside, and I live in a dormitory by myself."

"With these conditions, who could possibly be interested!"

"Hey!" Ma Weihong's eyebrows shot up. "Hasn't the personnel department arranged housing for you yet?"

"It's been half a year! Why didn't you say so sooner? I'll help you find them!"

As he spoke, he slammed his hand on the table and tried to walk out.

Jiang Xia quickly stopped her, "Sister! No need, Deputy Factory Director Li's secretary just told me to wait in the office."

Ma Weihong finally calmed down.

Sure enough, a short while later, Zhao Dezhu from the personnel department arrived in front of Jiang Xia, his brows covered in sweat.

He apologized and offered benefits.

Finally, he gave Jiang Xia three keys and said that he would take care of all the moving expenses as long as Jiang Xia asked.

Before Jiang Xia could even speak, Ma Weihong slammed her hand on the table again: "Zhao Lao Er, don't think you can bully Jiang Xia just because you have connections!"

"Tell me, where is this house located? Are you just using another old-fashioned house from a tenement courtyard to make do?"

"Jiang Xia is a Level 9 engineer! Shouldn't he be allocated a Soviet-style expert building?"

"If you don't say something nice today, let's see if you can even leave this door!"

As soon as he finished speaking, several colleagues in the office stopped drawing.

He got up and slammed the door shut.

He clasped his hands together and stared intently at Zhao Dezhu like a door god.

Zhao Dezhu felt a chill run down his spine and immediately cried out in protest.

"My goodness, I was only thinking of Jiang Xia!"

“According to the rules, Jiangxia is entitled to one room in the expert building, but he still has elders and relatives, so where is there room for them?”

"Besides, there's only one room left on the top floor of the experts' building. It's unbearably hot; it's torture!"

"Moreover, these three rooms are in the east wing! They're excellent."

"Their compound is mostly inhabited by employees of the steel rolling mill. It was recognized as a model compound last year, so they can look after each other, right?"

After explaining his reasons, Zhao Dezhu looked around, his eyes darting around, and then gritted his teeth.

"How about this? This house is a government-owned property of the steel mill. If Jiang Xia can be a little generous, I can make it private for him!"

Ma Zhendong, who had been quietly painting, raised his head: "Ha, you're comparing a tenement building to an expert's building?"

"I'm afraid this can't compare!"

As he spoke, Ma Zhendong picked up his teacup and winked at Jiang Xia discreetly.

Jiang Xia understood, sat upright in the chair, and watched Zhao Dezhu perform.

"Hey, Engineer Ma, you're really putting me in a bad light. I'm doing this entirely for Comrade Jiangxia's sake, without any selfish motives!"

"Pah!" Ma Zhendong spat a few mouthfuls of tea leaves into the teacup.

"Who knows if you have a heart? But we've never heard of public housing being sold privately!"

"Xiao Jiang, it's not easy to take advantage of public resources! Don't be like some heartless people. Don't be so happy today, watch out for what happens later!"

"Make a list!"

As he spoke, he patted Jiang Xia on the shoulder and sat back down in his seat.

Ma Weihong raised her eyebrows again: "Well, you heartless bastard. You're trying to trap Jiangxia again, aren't you!"

"I'll beat you to death, you heartless bastard!"

As he spoke, he picked up the set square on the table and smacked Zhao Dezhu on the forehead.

You should know that the measuring tools in steel rolling mills are all made from local materials. Large rulers and set squares are all made of pure steel!

Especially the compass, its two sharp points are comparable to a red-tasseled spear, and it can be used to play the game of three cuts and two holes.

Ma Weihong moved quickly, and by the time Jiang Xia stopped her, Zhao Dezhu already had two large bumps on his forehead.

But he didn't dare to offend Ma Weihong, after all, she was from the personnel department and she had some sense of propriety.

He just explained with a bitter face, "This was specially approved by Deputy Factory Director Li! He said it was compensation for Comrade Jiang Xia!"

"Look, the documents are still here!"

As he spoke, he pulled a red-headed document out of his briefcase.

While the others inside were looking at documents, he dared to touch the large bump on his head and mutter a few curses under his breath.

Ma Weihong glanced at the document and nodded to Jiang Xia.

What a shrewd business deal!

"Alright, now that we have the documents, your sister Ma apologizes to you. You were wronged in this matter!"

"However, the document doesn't say how much it will cost?"

Ma Weihong warmly helped Zhao Dezhu sit down on a chair nearby.

"How much do you want?"

Zhao Dezhu didn't dare to actually sit down; his buttocks were halfway against the chair, and his back was ramrod straight.

The two large bumps on his head were a reminder not to poke him with thorns.

"Six hundred?"

"Hmm?" Ma Weihong's voice rose another eight octaves.

"Then, four hundred?"

"Bang!" The table by the door was slammed by the four guards.

"One hundred! One hundred! That's the lowest I can go, anything lower won't do!"

Zhao Dezhu slumped in the chair, looking utterly dejected.

Ma Weihong also felt that it was about time; the oil and juice had been squeezed out almost completely.

It’s too late.

"Xia, what do you think?"

How about that? Of course, it's excellent! 100 yuan for three rooms in the east wing—anyone would know which to choose.

At first, Jiang Xia really didn't want that expert building.

It was called an "experts' building," but it was actually a dormitory-style apartment building, with red brick walls and precast cement slabs as partitions.

A long corridor connects numerous rooms, offering no privacy whatsoever; the sounds of every household can be clearly heard by those in the corridor.

The ventilation is also very poor. Due to the limitations of the building structure, air is difficult to circulate, especially in summer. The stuffy and humid atmosphere permeates every corner, making people feel extremely suffocated.

Especially the top floor; apart from sauna enthusiasts, no one wants to live there.

Lighting was a major problem. Apart from the outer rooms which had some natural light, the inner rooms were often dark and gloomy, requiring lights to be on even during the day. It was comparable to the back-facing rooms.

The soundproofing is practically zero; you can clearly hear the coughing, talking, and even the sound of tables and chairs being moved next door.

Toilets and kitchens are often shared, and there are long queues every morning for washing up and cooking, which is very inconvenient.

Aside from telling others that I live in the experts' building, which attracts envious glances, I'm practically useless.

Of course, these are all shortcomings that Jiang Xia summarized himself.

Before he time-traveled, he had worked as a volunteer teacher for half a year in a third-tier city. Back then, he lived in one of these tenement buildings.

But people in this era think that tenement buildings are excellent.

It's even a symbol of status!

If you say that tenement buildings are bad, you can't escape a tacky comment.

"Okay! We'll take the courtyard house!"

Jiang Xia pulled out a large black 10 and slapped it in front of Zhao Dezhu.

"Draw up a written agreement!"