After Chen Lan and her group met up with Sister Zhao, they wasted no time. They handed the key to the warehouse door back to Sister Zhao, and the group headed back together, preparing to return to the housing management office to pay the five hundred yuan for the house and handle the purchase procedures.
Chen Lan opened the system with her mind and checked the system time, realizing it was almost lunchtime. She called out to Er Zhuang, who was carrying things and walking ahead of Xu Mingxuan, and took a handful of money and ration coupons from her pocket. As she handed them to him, she said, "Er Zhuang, give me the things. You go ahead and arrange for Old Zhang大哥 and the four children to go to the state-run restaurant and order the dishes. If you go early, you can order more servings of braised beef. There will be more people at noon, so order a few more dishes. Mingxuan Ge and I will go to the housing management office to pay the money and then we'll find you."
Er Zhuang didn't say a word and immediately extended a hand to take the money and coupons Chen Lan handed him, nodding in agreement. "Okay, big sister-in-law, I'll take them now."
With that, he handed the things in his other hand to Chen Lan and then quickly jogged a few steps to catch up with Old Zhang Tou, who was happily chatting with the four children. He said, "Zhang大哥, it's almost lunchtime. Let's go, you and I will go to the state-run restaurant first and order some good dishes. If we go late, there won't be any good dishes left."
Old Zhang Tou saw that Er Zhuang genuinely wanted to treat him to a meal. He was a straightforward person, and they had gotten along very well all morning. So, without being pretentious, he immediately nodded in agreement.
Seeing that Old Zhang Tou readily agreed to go to the state-run restaurant with him, Er Zhuang felt that Old Zhang Tou was very much to his liking—not pretentious. His good impression of Old Zhang Tou grew by a few more points.
Then he turned back to the four children and said, "The four of you come with your uncle. We'll divide into a few groups. Today, we'll order more servings of braised beef, otherwise, they'll start limiting it again later."
So, the children obediently followed Er Zhuang, and they walked away happily. The group chatted and laughed all the way, creating a very harmonious atmosphere.
Chen Lan and Xu Mingxuan watched Er Zhuang lead them away and then quickened their pace. The housing management office wasn't far away, and Sister Zhao took the couple through alleyways to take a shortcut. After about another quarter of an hour, the three of them arrived at the entrance of the housing management office.
The process of paying the money and getting the property certificate went very smoothly because their director, Sister Zhao, was personally overseeing it. It was only when Sister Zhao asked the couple if they wanted to write both their names on the property deed that they got stuck. Xu Mingxuan looked at Chen Lan, letting her decide whether to write both their names.
Chen Lan thought to herself that Xu Mingxuan and she had just been investigated by the organization. At this sensitive time, the name of the property owner definitely couldn't be Xu Mingxuan's, nor could it be hers.
After much consideration, Chen Lan felt it would be more appropriate to directly write the children's names. Firstly, the children had grown up in the valley since they were young and had no academic or life trajectory outside. Even if someone wanted to investigate Xu Mingxuan through the house, they wouldn't find any leads.
Secondly, it was about the college entrance examination a few years later. Chen Lan wasn't entirely clear about the specific situation then. Having a house in Harbin would at least provide the children from the valley with a place to stay. It was still a long way until the exam, and for now, they could only take it one step at a time. As the saying goes, the cart will find its way when it reaches the mountain.
Thinking of this, Chen Lan tugged at Xu Mingxuan's sleeve and said in a low voice, "Mingxuan Ge, let's write the house in the order of the children's ages. Let's write Da Yatou's name on this house first. The property certificate can be made out to Wang Chunni, as it will be considered her dowry from the family. If we find other suitable houses later, we'll buy them and write Er Yatou's name on them, and so on. What do you think?"
Xu Mingxuan had never had a concept of money. When he heard Chen Lan's suggestion, he felt that Chen Lan had considered it very thoroughly and was very satisfied with Chen Lan's impartial treatment of every child in the family! Moreover, this was the most appropriate solution for the time being, so he nodded and agreed without hesitation.
When Sister Zhao heard that the couple wanted to put the adopted daughter's name on the property deed instead of their biological children, she felt that the couple's character was impeccable and their ideas were unconventional. Her good impression of the couple grew even more. After patiently confirming with the couple multiple times, she finally wrote Wang Chunni's full name on the property certificate and then efficiently filled in the basic information about the house before stamping it with the large red seal of the housing management office.
Chen Lan held the freshly printed property certificate and examined it carefully. At the very top of the property certificate was the "Highest Instruction"—Policy and strategy are the lifeblood of the Party; all leading comrades must give full attention and must not be careless.
The middle of the property certificate was a form for filling in the property purchase information, with the footer: Nangang District Housing Management Office, Harbin Municipal People's Committee, Heilongjiang Province, July 23, 1972.
Sister Zhao had successfully completed the work assigned by her director and was praised by her director. In a very pleasant mood, she saw the couple out of the housing management office. She handed the approval slip and the key to Chen Lan and said, "Comrade Chen, Comrade Xu, I still have to oversee people cleaning up that room full of garbage and the yard full of weeds this afternoon. I won't be able to accompany you to the scrap iron recycling station. You two hold onto the approval slip and the warehouse key. Our director has already spoken with the person in charge of the recycling station. Feel free to take whatever you need from there. Bring the key back to me when you're done using it. I won't be seeing you two off. It's lunchtime now. See you this afternoon after lunch."
Chen Lan took the opportunity to invite her, "Sister Zhao, you've been running around for us regarding our house. I've already asked the children's uncle to order some dishes at the state-run restaurant. I haven't ordered anything particularly fancy, just a few of their signature dishes. We'd like to invite you to have a casual meal with us. My husband and I hope you'll do us the honor."
Sister Zhao waved her hands repeatedly, "Comrade Xiao Chen, you two are too polite. This was just my job, and it doesn't warrant such thanks. Besides, it's not that Sister Zhao isn't accepting your invitation, but I have elderly parents and my grandson at home. My son and daughter-in-law's workplaces are far from home, and they don't come home for lunch. I have to go home to cook for my elders and my grandson."
Chen Lan heard this and said, "Sister Zhao, that's easily handled. I already asked the children's uncle to order a few extra dishes. We've prepared lunchboxes for the dishes and rice. You can eat with us at the restaurant and then take it back for the elders and the child. That way, you won't have to rush home to cook on such a hot day. Don't you think I'm right?"