At seven in the morning, the sky over Zeyang City was still a hazy gray.
The scattered ringing of bicycle bells could already be heard in the Sunshine Family Courtyard.
The aroma of fried dough sticks from the breakfast stall downstairs wafted up to the fourth floor on the dry, cold late-autumn air.
Today, Chen Jianguo didn’t put on his usual blue factory uniform.
He opened the old-fashioned, timeworn wardrobe and picked out a dark gray zip-up jacket from the very end of the rack.
He usually only wore this jacket for visiting relatives during the New Year or for factory award ceremonies. He changed into a pair of neatly pressed black pants and zipped the jacket all the way up to his collar.
Liu Xiuying was sitting on the old sofa in the living room.
Resting on her lap was a knitted cloth bag she normally used for grocery shopping.
The bag was unzipped. Head bowed, she carefully slid a red ICBC passbook into a transparent plastic sleeve, smoothed out the air bubbles at the edges with her hand, then tucked it securely into the bag’s innermost compartment before zipping it closed.
In the past, this passbook had only ever held the couple’s fixed-term deposits, saved up dime by dime.
But today, its weight was entirely different.
Chen Jianguo walked over to the washstand, wet a towel with cold water, and wiped his face to wake himself up completely.
He went to the coffee table, picked up the landline phone, and dialed the number for the machining workshop director’s office.
The phone rang three times before someone picked up.
"Hello, Director Wang? It’s me, Jianguo."
Chen Jianguo’s voice was steady.
The sound of rustling papers came from the other end of the line.
"Ah, Old Chen. Calling so early. Is something wrong?"
"I have some urgent family business to take care of today, so I need to request a day off. As for the machine tools, could you have Xiaoliu cover my shift?"
"Sure. You never take a day off all year, Old Chen. Go take care of your business. I’ll sort out the leave request form for you later."
"Thank you, Director."
Chen Jianguo placed the receiver back on the cradle.
Liu Xiuying wrapped the bag’s strap twice around her wrist and looked up at him.
"Jianguo, which area downtown should we look at? Buying a house isn’t like buying cabbage at the market. We’re going in completely blind, we don’t even know where to start. What if we run into one of those shady real estate agents?"
Chen Jianguo pulled over a stool and sat down. He fumbled under the coffee table for a pack of Red River cigarettes, pulled one out, and lit it.
He took two drags, watching the embers at the tip of the cigarette glow and fade.
"I don’t know anything about it, but someone else does."
Chen Jianguo flicked his ash into the glass ashtray.
"Old Zhang is always out doing business. He knows the ropes better than anyone. I’ll see if I can get him to help."
He picked up the receiver again, flipped open a small notebook that was tucked under the phone, and punched in a mobile number from one of its pages.
The phone rang twice.
"Hey, Brother Chen!"
Zhang Zhicheng’s booming voice came through the earpiece.
"It’s so early. Have you had breakfast yet?"
"Old Zhang, are you busy today?" Chen Jianguo asked.
"I was just about to head over to the building materials market. What’s up?"
"If you can spare the time, I was hoping you could do me a favor."
Chen Jianguo glanced at Liu Xiuying.
"The two of us are thinking of buying a place downtown. My wife and I don’t know anything about this stuff and we’re afraid of getting swindled. You’re well-connected and have a good eye, so we were hoping you could take us around and help us check things out."
Hearing this, Zhang Zhicheng didn’t even hesitate.
"Buying a house? That’s great news! Okay, Brother Chen, don’t go wandering around on your own. Wait for me at the entrance to the family courtyard. I’ll drive over and pick you up right now. We’ll talk in person!"
Less than twenty minutes after he hung up the phone, two short honks of a car horn sounded from outside the main gate of the Sunshine Family Courtyard.
A gleaming black Santana 2000 pulled up smoothly to the curb.
Zhang Zhicheng pushed open the driver’s door and got out. Seeing Chen Jianguo and Liu Xiuying walking out, he hurried forward to greet them.
"Brother Chen, Sister-in-law, get in."
Zhang Zhicheng opened the rear door and held his hand over the top of the doorframe.
Chen Jianguo and Liu Xiuying got in. The heat was on inside the car, and there was a faint mixed scent of a car air freshener and leather.
Zhang Zhicheng closed the door, got back into the driver’s seat, put the car in gear, and the Santana merged smoothly into the morning rush-hour traffic.
"So, Brother Chen, what’s with the sudden decision to move?"
Zhang Zhicheng glanced at the rearview mirror, pulling a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes from the center console and offering it over.
"I thought you were quite used to living at the Sunshine Family Courtyard."
Chen Jianguo waved his hand, indicating he had just smoked.
He placed his hands on his knees and leaned forward slightly.
"This place of ours is getting old. It’s cold in the winter and the soundproofing is bad. Xiaozhuo is at Keda now... and his superiors approved some kind of project for him. I don’t really get the details, but anyway, they gave a direct order and approved a special fund that they said must be used to improve our family’s living conditions."
Chen Jianguo lowered his voice, a note of gravity in his tone.
"They said it has to be spent within three months, and a copy of the property deed has to be submitted for their records. If we don’t get it done, it’ll cause trouble for his department head, who’ll get disciplined."
Zhang Zhicheng’s hands tightened abruptly on the steering wheel.
The car stopped at a red light.
Zhang Zhicheng turned his head to look at Chen Jianguo in the back seat.
"A special fund from his superiors? A direct order to buy a house?"
Zhang Zhicheng’s voice rose unconsciously.
"That’s right," Liu Xiuying chimed in from the side.
"That kid Xiaozhuo is so stubborn. He said on the phone last night that if we don’t buy it, it’ll affect his academic career. We don’t have a choice. We have to see this task through, even if we’re in over our heads."

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