Chapter 773 – Housing Allocation

News of Scholar Liu's full recovery made front-page headlines in the Lingao Times, Public Edition. The story was supplied by He Ping, a special correspondent stationed at the Sanitation Department. Ding Ding had originally wanted to include a photograph, but printing photos strained their resources. They settled for lithography instead—a full-page spread of sixteen lithographic illustrations drawn by elders who could sketch manga-style art. Like a picture-story, each panel came with its own caption.

The publicity effect was excellent. The transmigrators' manga style was far more realistic and aesthetically pleasing than traditional line drawings. Figures, backgrounds, and objects were all "beautified." In the character portrayals, Scholar Liu—though he still sported his beard—was rendered as a dashing middle-aged gentleman. Liu San looked stern and gallant, with an air of elegance. Even Zhang Ziyi couldn't recognize the beauty in the picture as herself.

"My nose isn't that high, and my eyes aren't that big..." she muttered, though she was secretly pleased by the glamorization. She specially saved a copy of the Public Edition.

Local naturalized citizens and natives alike loved these handsome "story pictures." The effect far exceeded text-heavy newspaper propaganda. After all, few could read, and even those who had undergone literacy training had limited reading levels. Pictures with brief explanations were much more accessible. This gave Ding Ding a valuable idea: since they could produce lithographs, why not publish an illustrated magazine like the Dianshizhai Pictorial—for outreach, popular science, and current events, educating the public?

Amid the bustle, New Year's Day 1631 was approaching. The House of Elders had originally considered adopting a brand-new calendar system—the Da Song Calendar or the Xuanyuan Calendar—but this met opposition from those who found conversions troublesome, especially since people still needed to look up historical events. So it was finally decided: for now, they would continue using the Gregorian calendar and the Chongzhen reign-title. Official documents would carry both dates; internal documents would use only the Gregorian date. Once their position was secure, they would formally proclaim a new era.

On New Year's Eve, the first phase of the new Elder Apartments was officially completed. Ninety units were allocated through voluntary application and lottery, coordinated by the "Housing Allocation Committee."

Since it concerned elder welfare, construction of Bairen New Town had consumed most of Mei Wan's energy. He was on site almost every day, supervising work and constantly proposing improvements and revisions—much to the annoyance of Zhen Qian, who was in charge of the apartment design.

After the first phase was completed, Xiao Zishan inspected the now-nascent Bairen New Town. On this small highland stood ten three-story apartment buildings, nine units each. The artificial lake and the moat surrounding the New Town were finished. Besides serving as a barrier and beautifying the environment, the artificial lake functioned as a reservoir within the Wenlan River management project—storing rainwater in the wet season and supplying water in the dry season. Supporting channels and sluices had been built.

Trees had been planted along the lake shore, flower beds laid out, and benches placed. Were it not for the barbed-wire fencing, watchtowers, and armed sentries set up by the Garrison Battalion on the opposite bank, the place would have felt like a park from another time-space.

Next to the artificial lake stood a tall, fortress-like building of red brick, with an unsightly chimney rising beside it. This was the water tower. Water from the Bairen Rapids waterworks was piped here, then pumped by a steam engine continuously up to the tank at the top, ensuring adequate water pressure for every floor of the three-story buildings. The steam engine and its boiler had been installed in the corner farthest from the residences to protect others in the event of an explosion.

The road network, plumbing, sewage system, streetlights, and pipe-laying within the New Town were largely complete. Water pipes were cast iron—they would need replacing after some years. Sewers were brick-built, draining to a main channel outside the town. Streetlights used gas to save electricity.

The apartment buildings were of brick-and-timber hybrid construction. Zhen Qian had originally wanted to use reinforced-concrete precast floor slabs, but the cement kiln's output was inconsistent, the slabs' safety margins uncertain, and rebar too precious. In the end, they went with wooden floors. The timber framing followed designs by Zhang Xingpei, an architect who had returned from America—an expert in wood construction. His designs were structurally sound and space-efficient. The roofs were gabled for drainage; waterproofing was asphalt and oil-cloth. Doors and windows were mass-produced by the woodworking factory. Electrical wiring and lights were salvaged from the dormitories; each apartment had strict limits on fixtures to conserve supplies.

To satisfy the elders' desire for domestic life, all kitchen and bathroom fixtures were installed. For safety and economy, kitchens were equipped with energy-saving briquette stoves. Sanitary ware was the transmigrators' forte: exquisitely fired tiles, toilets, and bathtubs, all decorated with colorful painted patterns—utterly luxurious.

Furniture inside the apartments was also provided by the developer. Lingao Construction's project covered not only construction and hard finishes but also soft furnishings.

However, tastes varied among the elders. To accommodate everyone, Zhen Qian set up model units displaying available products. After viewing the showrooms, people could purchase according to their preferences.

Furniture was mass-produced modern minimalist style from the woodworking factory—all in natural wood tones, since colored furniture lacquer was still a pipe dream. There were also traditional Ming-style pieces from the war-booty warehouse. Decorations included various porcelain, lacquerware, curios, and paintings.

Xiao Zishan toured a model apartment and felt it had an "IKEA" vibe: natural-wood minimalist furniture, European-style rattan sofas, comfortable rocking chairs, and coordinating fabrics in bright colors—made from famous Indian printed cotton. The filling material was kapok.

"Excellent—elegant, comfortable, and economical," Xiao Zishan praised, complimenting Zhen Qian, who was accompanying him.

"This is the modern style. There's also a classical style," Zhen Qian said with a smile. "Classical offers more choices—the booty warehouse has everything."

As they left the model apartment, they happened upon Liu San and Wu Yunhua strolling along the road outside. Wu Yunhua was gesturing and pointing; Liu San was adopting a pose of attentive listening.

Xiao Zishan knew they were picking a unit. As a married couple, they were entitled to an 80-square-meter apartment, but there were few of those, and choices were limited. Wu Yunhua kept looking and feeling that something was off.

Liu San thought all the apartments looked the same, with little to distinguish them, yet his wife insisted on picking and choosing—so he tagged along.

Wu Yunhua had dragged Liu San through all ten buildings, even inspecting the smaller units, and still couldn't make up her mind. She started over from the beginning, driving Liu San to despair. He had been closely monitoring Scholar Liu's condition at the Liu household and hadn't slept well. He had hoped to rest properly after coming home. Director Shi had generously given him three days' leave, and he had planned to spend one day at Runshitang, having a tryst with Xuan Chun. But then his wife won the first-batch lottery, and his three-day vacation became a house-viewing marathon.

"What do you think? I think Unit 201 in Building 8 is nice. Good orientation, nice view from the window." Wu Yunhua had finally made up her mind.

Liu San nodded eagerly. "Of course, of course. I think it's great too."

"Mm." Wu Yunhua nodded with satisfaction. "What style do you think for the décor? I still think classical looks better, but modern is also nice—clean and neat."

"Yes, yes."

"'Yes' what?!" Wu Yunhua snapped, glaring at his perfunctory attitude.

"Modern style is good," Liu San said hastily.

Just as Liu San's house-viewing ordeal looked endless, his pager saved him. Li Mei called to say Yang Shixiang was looking for him to discuss opening a shop in Guangdong next year. Liu San seized this lifeline, hastily claiming urgent work matters and rushing off, finally escaping Wu Yunhua.

Seeing his sworn brother was, of course, something Liu San was happy to do—not only because Yang's household treated him well but also because Xuan Chun attended him attentively. Liu San had been too busy lately to visit his little golden hideaway. Now, with this opportunity, he couldn't let it pass.

He jumped on his bicycle and sped out of Bairen City toward the county town. Along the way, he stopped by Liu Dalin's residence to check blood pressure and temperature, confirming the master was recovering. Zhang Ziyi had helped train several male and female servants in nursing care and rehabilitation.

In Yang Shixiang's parlor, a banquet was already laid out. Li Mei and Jiang Shan had been waiting a while. Liu San thought: This is the good thing about dealing with sworn brother—business was usually conducted over a meal. The Yang household's lifestyle was Guangzhou-style, refined and elegant, now enhanced by various transmigrator innovations.

Both the Foreign Intelligence Bureau and Li Mei's Trade Division saw value in Runshitang. They treated expanding its mainland network as a priority project.

Yang Shixiang naturally welcomed the opportunity to expand his market share. He readily agreed to open Runshitang's first branch in Guangzhou as soon as the new year passed.

"Just Guangzhou? That's not enough," Jiang Shan laughed.

"Where else? Chaozhou is also a good market."

"Don't keep circling around Guangdong." Jiang Shan grinned. "How about Hangzhou? And the two capitals."

(End of Chapter)