The golden age began in 1977

Chapter 221 Captain Qian Returns Home in Glory
As evening fell, the afterglow of the setting sun bathed the city streets in a warm orange-red hue.

As the autumn wind blows, the plane trees lining both sides of Taishan Road rustle.

Qian Jin returned to the tenement building. The aroma of food wafted from the communal kitchen on the first floor. A middle-aged woman was busy at the stove, and the sound of the spatula hitting the iron pot was crisp and familiar.

This scene deeply moved him.

When he first transmigrated last year, his first meal was cooked in a communal kitchen.

The life in the tenement building with the communal kitchen is naturally not as good as his current villa duplex with a separate kitchen, but from the perspective of appearance alone, the tenement building is still better.

A communal kitchen always brings a sense of warmth and homeliness.

As you walk into the building, you can see that many people are cooking on their stoves outside their doors, and the whole building is filled with the aroma of food.

The sounds of children laughing and playing could be heard from various rooms, along with the sounds of cooking, spatulas clattering against woks, and so on. Qian Jin felt that these were the familiar sounds of everyday life in the city.

He had spent half a year in the countryside before returning, and was promoted and moved away. Now, returning to the tenement building, he felt quite emotional.

As soon as I went upstairs, I heard a warm greeting: "Hey? Xiao Qian, what brings you back!"

Aunt Wang next door was carrying a basket of freshly washed clothes. When she saw Qian Jin, a bright smile immediately appeared on her face.

Qian Jin gave her a bright smile.

These days, the residents of urban tenement buildings are different from those of 21st-century commercial apartment buildings. They see each other all the time, so there are more conflicts but also more interaction, and they get along like rural neighbors.

When Qian Jin lived alone, he didn't interact much with his neighbors.

For the first six months, he went to the countryside, and Wei Qinghuan lived in room 205. Her neighbors helped her a lot on a regular basis.

In this way, the female teacher developed feelings for her neighbors, and Qian Jin, through this influence, also developed a much stronger bond with them.

"Aunt Wang, it's been a long time." Qian Jin replied with a smile, helping to take the basket from Aunt Wang's hands.

Aunt Wang snatched the basket back: "Hey, there are only a few clothes inside, I can carry them myself. Are you a leader at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative now? Is your work tiring? You should take more rest."

"You really need to take a break. I heard on the radio that universities have put forward a new slogan: 'Work for the health of the motherland for fifty years!'" Grandpa Wu said with a smile as he prepared to go home after enjoying the cool air.

Qian Jin nodded and greeted Grandpa Wu, then asked Aunt Wang, "Did you just do laundry?"

"Yes, that's why my son needs to wash and hang up his clothes for work the day after tomorrow," Aunt Wang said, pointing to the clothes already hanging in the hallway. "By the way, Xiao Qian, you and your husband aren't coming back to live here anymore?"

Grandpa Wu chimed in, "Why would he come back to live here? Xiao Qian is now a cadre at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative. He's moved to the cadre building on Taishan Road, right?"

There was no sarcasm in his words; the old man was simply sharing some gossip he had heard while relaxing in the shade.

Qian Jin explained, "Our unit leader came over and saw that I have quite a few brothers-in-law and nieces, so he assigned me a house to live in."

"It's mainly for work convenience. There's a telephone installed in that house, and I sometimes need to work from home, so I have to rely on the telephone to contact my boss and colleagues."

"What does working from home mean?" Grandpa Wu asked curiously.

Qian Jin explained his current job.

Grandpa Wu was shocked: "You can even read foreign languages? You can talk to foreigners? They're just speaking gibberish..."

"Hey, what kind of bird language is that?" Old Li, who was on the first floor, came out of his room carrying a birdcage.

He saw Qian Jin stop and said with a big smile, "Hey, our busy Chief Qian is back! Did you go to work in the countryside or what? I heard recently that you were transferred back to the city to become an official?"

Qian Jin laughed awkwardly: "What kind of official are you? Aren't you all serving the people?"

Upon hearing this, Grandpa Li immediately pointed at him and said to the other two, "Hey, that's the way it is, that's how leaders talk."

Everyone laughed.

Qian Jin quickly changed the subject: "Uncle Li, long time no see, you've gotten into bird-keeping now?"

Grandpa Li lifted the birdcage, smacked his lips at the parrot inside, and then explained, "My eldest grandson brought this thing back for me. I've only had it for a few days. I'm just keeping it for fun."

"Really? I think this bird is quite well-cared for. Xiao Yong is a good young man, just started working and earning his salary, right? You see, he already knows how to spend money on you." Qian Jin continued, following up on Grandpa Li's words. "Grandpa, how are you feeling?"

"Hey, my old bones are still strong, and I'm very happy to keep company with these little birds," Grandpa Li said with a smile.

He shifted the topic to his grandson, Li Yuanyong, with a smug look on his face.

Li Yuanyong was lucky this year and was assigned to a food factory, which is a good job, and his whole family is very proud.

The old neighbors were chatting outside, and their voices attracted even more people.

A couple came out of their room on the first floor. When they saw Qian Jin, the man waved to him and said, "Chief Qian, you are a leading cadre, and your words carry weight. Come over here and judge this matter."

"I don't know what's wrong with your sister-in-law Zhao lately. She's been spending money like crazy. My salary can't possibly cover that!"

Upon hearing this, Sister Zhao immediately became displeased, pouting and saying, "How am I being extravagant? We've used up so many things at home, shouldn't I buy some more?"

"Besides, the supply and marketing cooperative is short of supplies right now, so what's wrong with buying more and storing it?"

At this point, Zhao's eyes lit up as she looked at Qian Jin: "Little Qian, I heard from Director Wei that you've become a director at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative now?"

"You're an insider, you must know the situation. Is your supply and marketing cooperative facing a shortage of materials right now?"

Qian Jin felt things were getting a bit tricky.

Upright officials can hardly break housework.

Besides, he couldn't be considered an honest official, so he could only say with an awkward smile, "Brother, sister-in-law, let me say this first: harmony in the family brings prosperity in all things."

"Well, sister-in-law, if your family is short of something, then you should buy it. Otherwise, there's no need to hoard supplies."

"Our unit is not experiencing a shortage of materials right now; it is undergoing reforms, and there have been some adjustments to the material supply work. To avoid any mistakes, we have tightened the supply chain."

"Just wait a bit, everything should return to normal by the end of this year."

Upon hearing this, the man immediately clapped his hands and spread them wide: "Look, look, didn't Qian Jin say that..."

“What did I say? I did say that if we run out of things at home, we have to buy new ones,” Zhao’s wife interrupted her husband sharply.

The man was unhappy and muttered, "You've bought way too much! The house is almost full, and you're still buying more!"

"Look at the other families in our building, they all live frugally, can't you learn from them?"

Qian Jin watched the couple arguing back and forth, then shrank back and tried to leave.

He regretted coming back; he should have just gone to take care of things directly.

He had nothing to do when he returned to the tenement building this time, so he just checked on rooms 204 and 205, as he needed those two rooms.

Another task was to deliver stationery and study materials to the four primary schools upstairs.

As a result, he didn't get anything done and was caught by his old neighbors, who started gossiping about trivial matters.

Qian Jin wanted to sneak away.

But the man casually grabbed her.

Seeing that he can't escape, he has no choice but to enjoy the experience.

Fortunately, he felt that it was nice to occasionally experience the everyday life of people in a tenement building, which was very characteristic of that era.

So he tried to persuade them: "Brother Zhou, Sister-in-law Zhao, please stop arguing."

"The country's situation is getting better and better, and the supply of materials from the supply and marketing cooperatives will definitely be more and better in the future. I estimate that you will be able to use the products that our department has imported from abroad by next year."

"So, Sister-in-law Zhao, don't rush to stock up on supplies. When you buy things, you should also consider the actual expenses at home. Brother Zhou, please be understanding of Sister-in-law Zhao; she works very hard taking care of the housework..."

The art of mediating disputes is timeless.

The other elderly people followed suit, trying to smooth things over, and the main point was what Qian Jin had just said.

Harmony in the family brings prosperity in all things.

Qian Jin is now very influential on Taishan Road, and the residents of the small tenement building are all proud to be his neighbor.

Unfortunately, he moved away completely, leaving his neighbors, who had been proud for only a short time, with nothing left to be proud of.

So when he found that money was coming in, the people who used to cook at their doorsteps stopped cooking and came to greet him.

After school, the four little ones, who were playing wildly outside, heard that their Uncle Qianjin had returned and quickly ran back.

When Liu Dajia saw Qian Jin, he jumped up and down excitedly: "Uncle Qian Jin, you're finally back! Let me tell you, our building is so lively now!"

"What's all the commotion about?" Qian Jin asked with a smile.

"You don't know yet, do you? Brother Zhu and Sister Song both got into university!" Liu Sanbing was even more excited, circling around him like a puppy.

"Really? That's wonderful!" Qian Jin replied casually, then stared at the four of them. "They got into university, what about you?"

"Now that your student registration is sorted out, are you going to school? It's the beginning of the new semester, and you four are just playing outside after school? Haven't you done your homework?"

Upon hearing this, three of the four people gasped in shock.

Liu Sanbing screamed, "I'm doomed!" and turned to run outside again.

Qian Jin said helplessly, "Come back, I wasn't planning on beating you up..."

“My older brothers are going to beat him up,” Liu Siding said gleefully. “We didn’t go home after school; we took our schoolbags and played marbles with those kids from building 261. Then my older brothers made me watch our schoolbags with them…”

"You fucking know I let you two look at the backpack together?" Liu Dajia roared, rolling up his sleeves and raising his big hand. "You think we'd only beat him up and not you?"

Liu Siding said defiantly, "Why did you hit me? I already told Amao when I ran back that I should bring the schoolbag back to us later!"

Liu Dajia's expression softened, but he said irritably, "Why don't you call the third brother down? He'll probably think you left our schoolbags behind and he's in a hurry to go back and find them."

Liu Siding said calmly, "That's just how he is. He's always forgetful. Our teachers always criticize him for that, but he doesn't improve."

“I’m going to teach him a lesson this time and see if he’ll still be so forgetful in the future.”

Grandpa Wu watched with amusement: "The Liu family's ancestral graves are emitting auspicious smoke; this youngest son is sure to amount to something."

Qian Jin thought so too.

He discovered this the first time he met the four brothers. The dragon has nine sons, and each of them is different.

The third and fourth brothers were the most different. It was as if the twin brothers' brains were both inside Liu Siding's head when they were in their mother's womb.

Compared to Liu Siding, Liu Sanbing seemed somewhat less quick-witted.

Qian Jin wanted to inquire about Liu Siding's studies, and some residents came upon hearing the commotion:

"Oh, Chief Qian, you're finally back! You must come back often. There's something I need to tell you, and it's the only thing I can do to tell you."

“You know how the drainage pipes are in this tenement building? They’ve been clogged again after the recent autumn rains. Now, whenever we use a lot of water, sewage flows everywhere, it’s incredibly dirty.”

Qian Jin asked, "Didn't the labor shock brigade contact us?"

The resident frowned and said, "It was cleared, but the pipes are faulty. They get blocked again after being cleared, so everyone hopes to have the pipes replaced, but nothing has happened."

Qian Jin really had no other choice.

Replacing pipes is not the job of a labor shock brigade.

Out of line.

However, he still had to speak out, saying, "This matter needs to be taken seriously. The overflowing sewage not only affects everyone's daily life but also easily breeds bacteria. I will go back and report this to the relevant departments to try to resolve this problem as soon as possible."

He was stunned after he finished speaking.

That's just empty rhetoric!

When did he become so adept at using official jargon?
However, upon closer examination, he sadly discovered that sometimes he had to resort to bureaucratic jargon, as exemplified by the current situation.

He was the captain of the street emergency response team, but how could he possibly handle something as simple as replacing the pipes in a residential building?
However, he couldn't just stand by and do nothing, so he could only resort to official rhetoric to appease his neighbors.

Another neighbor shouted, "Chief Qian, since you're back, I have to say that the hygiene of the communal kitchen in our building has always been a major problem."

"The recent heat wave after autumn has become even more severe. Garbage is piled up everywhere, and flies and mosquitoes are flying all over the place, making it difficult for everyone to cook."

Someone chuckled and said, "Look, you're the head of the labor commando team. Can't you let us old neighbors benefit a little from your efforts? Why don't you arrange for the labor commando team to come and clean up the mess?"

Qian Jin could only give an awkward laugh.

Will this work?

Definitely not!

He would rather clean up himself than arrange for a labor task force to do his personal work.

However, this kind of thing is not difficult to solve.

He said, "This problem does need to be solved. I think we can create a sanitation duty roster, and people using the communal kitchen should take turns cleaning."

"We will also elect a group leader to oversee everyone's implementation."

Sister Zhao was the first to disagree: "We only use the communal stove when we have guests and need to stir-fry food. On other days, we cook on a small stove by the door. Do we have to clean that too?"

“Exactly, my husband and I eat at the cafeteria, and our child eats at his grandparents’ house. We only go to the communal kitchen to cook a meal on Sundays when we have time off. It’s not appropriate for us to be assigned to cleaning like this, is it?” someone else echoed.

Qian Jin said, "Well, there's no other way, neighbors. How about we collect sanitation fees for meals cooked at the communal kitchen? We can charge per meal, and then pool the money to hire someone to clean up afterward, how about that?"

Everyone shook their heads.

Aunt Wang hurriedly said, "How can this be? How can a collective canteen charge money? This is a collective canteen for the people, a place set up by the government to serve us. If we charge money, it will lose its original purpose!"

“Yes, accepting money is absolutely unacceptable.” The others quickly followed suit.

Qian Jin laughed and said, "This won't work, that won't work, I'm out of options, I can only hope that everyone will be more self-disciplined."

"So, how about this?"

“I’ll go and discuss it with Director Wei. The neighborhood committee can take the lead in organizing the residents of our building to negotiate and formulate a ‘Standard for the Use of Collective Kitchens’. Then, the neighborhood committee can use the funds from the small collective enterprise to install trash cans next to the stoves in the collective kitchens.”

"At that time, everyone will no longer be able to litter. They will have to throw their trash into the bins. Then, we can arrange for a labor task force to clean up the trash cans. How about that?"

Everyone nodded hurriedly:

"That's a good idea."

"I knew it, this matter has to wait for Chief Qian to come back and resolve it."

"That's why people like Xiao Qian can become cadres in the neighborhood and their workplace. He has ideas, awareness, and ability, so we should support people like him to be cadres!"

Anyway, it's fine as long as I don't have to pay for it myself.

Once Qian Jin saw that the matter was resolved, he gave Liu Dajia and his brother a wink and prepared to leave.

The neighbors who heard the noise had already blocked the stairwell. Then, Grandpa Li said, "Chief Qian, there's one more thing."

"The streetlights outside our building have been out again recently, so we have to walk in the dark at night, which is a safety hazard."

"This needs to be resolved quickly. I'll contact the power supply department right now and have them send someone to repair it," Qian Jin said firmly, turning to run away.

But there were people blocking the way behind...

However, the conversation eventually returned to normal, and someone who had just arrived asked, "Hey, Chief Qian? Didn't you move? Why are you back?"

Qian Jin explained, "I plan to convert rooms 204 and 205 into offices for the labor shock brigade. I came here to check out the layout."

He came here today on important business!

The neighborhood committee building has very few rooms, and each person has a specific role to play. The labor task force's office is also very small, only enough for the team leaders to work in.

As the number of labor shock brigades approached 200, the small office was no longer suitable.

So Qian Jin planned to set up two temporary offices in the tenement building.

To avoid any objections from his neighbors regarding the use of these two rooms, he then added:
“Perfect timing. Our labor task force will be working in our building, so they’ll have to take priority on hygiene issues.”

"If anyone has a problem with the electricity or water, they don't need to go to the neighborhood committee anymore. Just come to our office and say something."

Some people have been eyeing rooms 204 and 205 since he moved out, and with housing so tight now, they all want to take one of those rooms.

But Qian Jin's status is not what it used to be, and no one dares to cause trouble like before, so he can only quietly submit applications to the neighborhood committee.

These people were naturally unhappy to see the labor shock brigade occupying two rooms as offices.

However, most residents do not have this need.

After some internal discussion, they realized that having a labor commando team office in the building would indeed make everything more convenient.

Putting aside other things, if any elderly person in a family has an emergency and the young people are at work and not at home, the elderly person can simply go to the labor commando team office and ask for help, and they will naturally get assistance.

As a result, more people enthusiastically supported Qian Jin's decision to convert the two rooms into offices for the labor shock brigade.

Qian Jin seized the opportunity to rise in rank.

At first, the leather shoes made a steady sound as they stepped on the cement steps.

Once we got to the second floor...

The footsteps suddenly became hurried, and they rushed into the room.

Both rooms were now vacant.

Wei Xiongtu and his daughter, along with Zhang Aijun, all moved into a duplex apartment.

The small villa had two floors. Qian Jin and Wei Qinghuan lived upstairs, while the three of them, along with their dog, lived downstairs, so their lives didn't interfere with each other.

Qian Jin opened the door, and the room was empty.

He closed the door, leaned against it, and looked inside, his feelings a mix of emotions.

Time flies.

More than a year has passed.

As the workload of the labor shock brigade and the foreign business office increases, he will definitely be busier, and time will probably fly by even faster then.

There is not much leisure in life.

He habitually thought about his next plan.

The garment factory project is progressing well; the next issue is manpower.

You need an experienced master craftsman.

It's not that complicated. Society is different now than in the 21st century. Why is a sewing machine one of the four essential items for a wedding?

Because it's a necessity!

Women today are skilled at sewing and mending.

Of course, the best craftsmen were the masters in state-owned garment factories and cotton mills.

The state-owned cotton mills not only produced cloth, but also finished clothing, mostly work clothes, school uniforms, and military uniforms—these were all conventional styles.

Qian Jin had thought about hiring a master craftsman.

He had no connections at the state-owned garment factory, but he had very strong connections at the No. 6 State-owned Cotton Mill.

Wang Dong is very successful in the security department; entrusting this matter to him is definitely the right thing to do.

He walked around the two rooms and made office plans.

There are four rooms in total, including two rooms inside and two outside.

Four offices are enough.

He sent four children out to check the situation, and when they returned and said there was no one left outside, he ran away...

(End of this chapter)