Chapter 182: Proper Resettlement

This time, even the residents whose house walls had tilted didn’t try to be stubborn. One after another, they started moving whatever valuable belongings they had out of their homes, afraid their houses would suffer the same fate as Xiao Yao’s.

People teaching people is hard; but when reality teaches a lesson, once is usually enough.

Xiao Yao’s house was a cautionary tale. If Director Li and the others hadn’t gotten everyone out in time, the family would’ve been buried inside. Even if they’d survived, they’d definitely have been badly injured.

More importantly, there were children inside!

Director Li turned to a resident of the courtyard and instructed, “Run to the subdistrict office for me, get all the staff who are still on duty over here.”

The man didn’t say a word and dashed off right away.

Director Li turned back to look at Xiao Yao’s entire family—young and old.

In truth, she understood what the courtyard manager was thinking. It wasn’t easy for him either. There were only so many job slots, but far too many applicants, and quite a few of them weren’t much better off than this family.

They were all this poor, all struggling. How was she supposed to arrange things?

Honestly, she had to thank Yimin for this. His invention had prompted both the steel factory and the instant noodle plant to hire more workers. If not for that, none of these opportunities would even exist.

However, neither the steel factory nor the noodle factory hired solely from their subdistrict. The quotas were city-wide, sometimes even cross-district, and the number of jobs allotted to their subdistrict was pitifully small.

In short, there were too many monks and not enough gruel.

Zhou Yimin, meanwhile, had to admire how bold people in this era were when it came to having kids.

Even with a family this poor, they dared to have six children—three boys and three girls. The oldest girl was already sixteen, and the oldest boy was fourteen.

All of them looked scrawny and frail.

How could they not be?

They barely had anything to eat each day. And kids—especially at that age—eat like pigs while they’re growing. As the saying goes, “A half-grown boy can eat his father into poverty.”

In later generations, lots of young people didn’t even want to have kids. Some didn’t even want to get married.

They’d say the cost of living was too high, that they couldn’t afford a wife or children—but that was really just an excuse for being lazy.

The poor have their way of raising kids; the rich have theirs.

It’s not like you have to eat abalone and lobster every day. It’s not like every kid has to be sent to a private school. You can provide the best educational resources, but if your kid doesn’t treasure them or work hard, it won’t matter.

A good kid, even studying in some remote village school, can still get into Qinghua or Beida.

And even if, ten thousand steps back, the child doesn’t get good grades, as long as they have good moral character and sound values, then that’s already a successful upbringing.

The old lady suddenly remembered something and tried to head back inside.

Director Li grabbed her and stopped her. “Are you trying to die?”

The old lady trembled as she spoke. “The matchboxes are still inside!”

Besides the raw materials, there were already several hundred assembled matchboxes inside. Their family was big, so they took on small side jobs from the subdistrict office whenever possible—like assembling matchboxes—to help make ends meet.

If they got buried in there, not only would they lose their pay, they might even have to compensate the office.

Wouldn’t that just be adding insult to injury?

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of it,” Director Li said to the old lady.

Hearing her say that, the family finally calmed down a little.

“Thank you, Director Li!”

Director Li added, “Next time we get job openings, your family will be first in line.”

That was her way of giving them a promise—something to hold onto, something to live for.

When the family heard this, especially the two elderly folks, they nearly dropped to their knees in gratitude. Honestly, if kneeling and kowtowing a few times could get someone a job, the whole place might’ve dropped to their knees on the spot.

Fortunately, Director Li quickly caught the two old folks and helped them up.

“In the new era, we don’t kneel anymore,” she said.

This wasn’t gratitude—it was trouble. If someone used this against her, it could seriously backfire.

The onlookers were envious, but not to the point of turning ugly. After all, Xiao Yao’s family really was the poorest household in the courtyard.

“Grandma, I’m hungry!” Suddenly, a little one piped up.

Zhou Yimin looked over and saw a child who resembled the underfed kids he’d seen in the countryside. It wasn’t quite that bad, but close.

The kid was only about four years old. What did he know about timing or social cues? When you’re hungry, you just speak up.

“Be good. Grandma will make you some steamed corn buns later,” the old lady said as she patted his head.

Zhou Yimin sighed, pulled out a handful of candies from his pocket, and gave one to each of the kids there.

Everyone assumed Zhou Yimin was also a staff member from the subdistrict office, since he had arrived with Director Li, and they all thanked him profusely. It was candy, after all! Even the adults craved it, let alone the kids.

A short while later, the other staff from the subdistrict office arrived.

Director Li went ahead and held a quick meeting right there, issuing some immediate plans and arrangements.

The first priority was resettling the entire Yao family.

Even if they rushed, it would take at least until tomorrow to get the house rebuilt. For now, the only option was to find temporary housing for the family.

“Director Li, will the house really be rebuilt by tomorrow?” the courtyard manager asked.

“As soon as possible. If not tomorrow, then definitely the day after,” Director Li promised.

She couldn’t guarantee anything, but she could at least push the construction team to speed up. After all, the whole family was waiting to move back in. Truth be told, a house that size could be rebuilt in a day.

“In that case, our courtyard can squeeze them in for a night or two. I’ll arrange it,” the courtyard manager offered.

Part of it was self-preservation.

A house collapsing was no small matter. If Director Li decided to investigate thoroughly, he could be in serious trouble. Now was the time to regain a few points and some goodwill.

Basically, do something—anything—helpful.

It was only for a night or two. The courtyard residents were still willing to make room. If it dragged on too long, it’d be a different story. But the courtyard manager figured he could manage this much.

“If your courtyard can manage it, then that’s perfect,” Director Li nodded.

Seeing her nod, the courtyard manager let out a silent sigh of relief.

Since she hadn’t refused his offer to help, it meant she wouldn’t remove him from his position. For now, he could still stay on as courtyard manager.

“Old Xu, your house can take in two kids tonight, right? Damin, your family…” He started assigning placements on the spot.

Of course, he also took in two people himself, so that the residents had no room to complain.

Otherwise, not just the residents—Director Li herself might’ve formed an opinion about him.

The residents who were named saw that Director Li and the other officials were standing there, so even if they weren’t thrilled, they still agreed without hesitation. It was just one night—cramming in a little wasn’t that big a deal.

Director Li turned to one of her staff members and said, “Go find Master Gu and have him bring a team over. We need to get this house rebuilt as soon as possible.”

Master Gu?

Zhou Yimin thought to himself: Could it be the Master Gu I know?

“Got it, Director! I’ll go find him now.” The staff member jogged off.

Next to the collapsed house was a small empty plot. According to Director Li’s plan, they’d use that space too, so that the family wouldn’t have to squeeze so tightly once the new place was done.

(End of Chapter)