Chapter 371: The Gathering, Part I

Wang Qisuo had a lot on his plate and was inclined to refuse, but on second thought, he decided it wouldn’t hurt. Several of Huang Ande’s brothers were now serving in the military or police in Lingao, and it would be beneficial to socialize with them.

He first rushed back to his barracks, washed his face, changed into a clean uniform, then went to the military cooperative to buy some wine, and then to East Gate Market to buy some roast pork. Then he headed for the newly built residential area in Bopu.

With the end of Operation Engine, batches of immigrants from the north had arrived in Lingao, greatly changing the local demographics. The streets, once filled with the sounds of Cantonese, Fujianese, and Hakka, were now filled with accents from Shandong, Hebei, and Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

The mixture of various dialects forced the immigrants to quickly adapt to Mandarin. Under the rule of the Senate, it was not enough to just speak a dialect, even to be a worker or a small businessman. Thus, various “new speeches” with stiff tongues emerged. The Senate also vigorously promoted “speaking the new speech” and made the level of proficiency in the new speech a standard for becoming a cadre or enrolling in school.

The large influx of population inevitably led to a housing shortage. After leaving the quarantine camps, batches of newcomers could only sleep in rows of bamboo sheds in temporary large shelters in various factories and farms, much like the slums of Brazil or India, only much cleaner and more orderly.

Even with such simple housing, no one could say they owned a shed—they only had a bunk, and even that bunk sometimes had to be shared in shifts.

Though the housing situation was unprecedentedly tight, there were still rewards for those who had rendered meritorious service in Operation Engine. For example, Huang Ande. Due to his irreplaceable role in the “treasure hunt in a besieged city” operation, he received a housing purchase quota. He finally happily shouldered a twenty-year mortgage and owned his own house, though this house was pitifully small by any standard. The practical area of each unit of this “National Apartment” designed by the Lingao General Construction Company was less than thirty square meters, with one bedroom, one living room, and one kitchen. The toilet was shared on the floor. Of course, there was no running water, and water had to be drawn from the public well downstairs.

Even so, it was enough to make Huang Ande happy. Many of his contemporaries who were promoted to officers at the same time were still waiting for a housing purchase quota and could only live in the officers’ dormitories. Now that the population had increased, many new immigrant families were willing to marry their daughters to them, but they were stuck on the housing issue. A young couple couldn’t live in a dormitory, could they?

As for the companions who had gone through life and death with him in Dengzhou, some had died in various conflicts with the rebels, some had died on the journey from the north to the south. The few who were lucky enough to survive had started new lives one after another after their quarantine period was over. Some went to factories, some became soldiers, and some joined the national police.

His cousin, Huang Xiong, had also gotten married after Operation Engine. Though he was once exiled to Jeju Island to be a White Horse Team instructor due to a “style problem,” fortunately, the chiefs still remembered him and transferred him back after less than a year. Recently, he was notified to participate in the training organized by the General Staff in preparation for promotion—he had been through a lot. Many of his contemporaries who had enlisted in the security regiment at the same time had already attended this tactical training class several sessions before him.

Though these two cousins were not first cousins, they were within the five degrees of kinship and had some affection for each other. Since Huang Xiong was transferred to Jizhou Town with the reinforcements, the two brothers had not been able to get together for a good chat for many years. Taking this opportunity, he also invited him and his wife, as well as his own brothers, to have a good meal together and talk about their experiences since they last met.

The house Huang Ande was assigned to was in a newly developed community. This place was very close to the Senate’s restricted area, Gaoshanling. Therefore, it was only sold to Fubo Army officers and cadres of the powerful departments.

In a large courtyard, there were several rows of apartment buildings arranged in a staggered manner. The first group where Huang Ande lived was a building specially built for officers. At present, not even a captain could necessarily be assigned a unit there. Only those with certain military merits were eligible.

His house was on the top floor of this building. In his opinion, the top floor had a wide view, and not even the emperor could live as high as him.

Huang Ande, wearing a brand new uniform, stood at the entrance of the community with a beaming face, waiting for his brothers to arrive. The first to arrive was Zhu Si and his wife. Zhu Si was now a soldier in the garrison and had already married Yue’e. He was one of the few soldiers who had a wife.

He was just a private now and lived in the barracks. Zheng Yue’e could only live in the dormitory of the factory where she worked. The two of them lived like the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, and could only find opportunities to go to a military-designated teahouse to rent a private room to be together, which was very inconvenient.

Zheng Yue’e had now returned to her former “little pepper” appearance, unlike the dazed look she had in the refugee camp. After being sent from Jeju Island to Lingao, she was still a little confused and was finally sent to the Jicun Mental Health Center, presided over by Deng Bofang, the head of the medical department of the General Hospital, for a period of treatment. Under Dr. Deng’s careful treatment, she finally recovered.

“Brother Huang, you look so spirited!” Zheng Yue’e saw Huang Ande and greeted him before Zhu Si could speak. “As the saying goes, a happy event makes one spirited. A new house really makes a difference!”

Zheng Yue’e wore a floral print dress, which was both fancy and neat. Her hair was tied into a ponytail in the Australian style, with a hairpin. She wore rattan sandals on her feet.

Huang Ande knew that her outfit was not cheap. This kind of brightly colored and beautifully patterned floral cloth was imported from India and was much more expensive than the monochrome white or blue cloth clothes. Even the shoes on her feet, from the style, were the latest model from the cooperative this year—the price was not low.

This Zhu Si really doted on his wife. Huang Ande sighed inwardly. He had risked breaking the rules to ask him to buy Yue’e, and he really cherished her!

Huang Ande knew that he and Zhu Si had both used their public office for private gain in this matter. Fortunately, the chiefs did not pursue it. Both Village Head Lu and Battalion Commander Zhu were good people!

“You don’t understand. A new house is just the first happy event. Next, Brother Huang is building a nest to attract a phoenix. It won’t be long before we’re drinking wedding wine,” Zhu Si said with a grin, holding a gift box in his hand.

Huang Ande burst out laughing. It was indeed not difficult to get married now. The large number of immigrants had eased the local gender imbalance, and the immigrants were generally poor. A large number of single women were eager to get married to obtain financial support. Naturalized citizens with a fixed income were of course their first choice, and military officers were even more popular. As long as you had a house, there would naturally be matchmakers to arrange a marriage. Getting a wife was just a matter of time.

“So that’s how it is. It looks like we’ll have a new sister-in-law soon, and then a son will be born, that’s three happy events at once.”

“I’ll take your auspicious words!” Huang Ande said with a joyful face. “Come, come, please come in. It’s on the fifth floor. The door is open, you can go up and sit first.”

“It’s no problem. We’ll wait here with Brother Huang. It’ll be a while before everyone arrives anyway. Old Lü is being a coward again. He said he didn’t dare to leave early and would come later. He was the first to come to Lingao, a blacksmith. I don’t know why the chiefs took a fancy to him.”

As they were talking, a few more people arrived one after another. They usually kept in touch, but life in Lingao was fast-paced, and no matter what industry they worked in, their work was very heavy. They rarely had the opportunity to get together. This time, taking advantage of the housewarming, it was a rare big gathering.

Almost everyone brought a gift. After meeting, they inevitably exchanged pleasantries. Huang Ande had already prepared several large boxes of cigarettes and distributed them to everyone.

Seeing that all the invited guests had arrived, even Wang Qisuo, except for Old Lü, who had said he would be late, Huang Xiong and his wife had not yet arrived. Just as he was getting anxious, Zheng Yue’e suddenly pointed. “Brother Huang Xiong is here!”

In the distance, on the small path, Huang Xiong was walking slowly with his wife, Wang Bao’er, towards Huang Ande’s group. Wang Bao’er was still dressed in Ming-style clothes, a ruqun, with her hair in a bun. Her belly was already swollen—she was pregnant. Her body was heavy and inconvenient. Her bound feet were still not used to the hard road, and she stumbled every three steps, supported by Huang Xiong. Huang Xiong was also holding a large food box in his hand.

When they got closer, Huang Xiong had just called out “Brother,” when Wang Bao’er broke free from Huang Xiong, curtsied to Huang Ande and the group, and said, “Greetings to all my brothers.” It was a formal greeting.

She had been in Lingao for a long time, and her body was well-conditioned. She was originally the daughter of a grain-paying household, and her every move had a certain grace. Though she was pregnant now, her demeanor was undiminished. Huang Ande secretly admired her. No wonder his cousin had made a mistake for her.

Huang Ande smiled. “Sister-in-law has been in Lingao for a long time, but she hasn’t forgotten her old manners. Brothers, let’s not wait for Old Lü today. Let’s go upstairs first and have a good meal and drink. We won’t go home until we’re drunk.” The crowd roared in agreement.

The group went upstairs. Huang Ande’s house had only one bedroom and one living room. It was a bit crowded with a dozen people, but since he lived alone and usually ate in the barracks cafeteria, there was not much clutter besides the necessary furniture. It didn’t feel too crowded when they sat around the table.

Wang Bao’er was pregnant and had bound feet, so it was very inconvenient for her to walk. She had to be supported by Huang Xiong and Zheng Yue’e to climb up to the fifth floor. After entering the room, she had been hiding behind Huang Xiong, timidly looking at the house. Suddenly, she turned her head and asked Huang Ande, “Brother Huang, is this house really yours?”

“Of course. My name is on the property deed,” Huang Ande said proudly.

“What’s a property deed?” Wang Bao’er asked in confusion. Before Huang Ande could think of how to explain it clearly, Cao Qing on the side said loudly, “What Brother Huang got is the house deed, sister-in-law.”

A look of both contempt and envy appeared in Wang Bao’er’s eyes. For a moment, her feelings were very complicated.