Seeing these familiar and inspiring red slogans, Chen Lan felt a surge of passion, let alone the four children who had been living in the valley. They had never encountered such inspiring slogans before. Life in the valley was incredibly peaceful and detached from worldly affairs, with rarely anything to stir their emotions. Thus, the four children were brimming with excitement, walking and discussing animatedly with curiosity.
The pedestrians on the street were all in a hurry. The young girls mostly had their hair in braided pigtails, looking simple and unadorned, exuding vibrant youthful energy. The older female comrades mostly had short hair cut to ear-length, appearing neat and decisive, capable and efficient.
Some well-off young girls were wearing the popular "dicool" fabric tops of the era, paired with army-green trousers and small black leather shoes, looking both fashionable and chic. However, most girls wore black cloth shoes made at home.
The male comrades, whether young or old, mostly sported the standard three-seven split "educated youth haircut." Their hairstyles varied due to different styling methods.
Most men wore white shirts or military casual wear, as well as navy blue or grey-blue cloth shirts, paired with army-green or grey-blue trousers. They wore canvas shoes or handmade black cloth shoes on their feet.
They walked and observed everything. The housing management office was not far away. Following Sister Zhao, the group quickly returned to the alley where the office was located. Sister Zhao stopped, pointed at the large tree outside the entrance of the housing management office, and said to Chen Lan and Xu Mingxuan: "Xu Mingxuan, Comrade Chen, try to keep the matter of you buying that dilapidated house from too many people. Many things are not meant to be public, so you don't need to come in with me. Just wait here under the shade of this tree for a while. I need to go in and inform our director first before I meet you. We need the director to inform the revolutionary committee about going to the warehouse. Only after getting the approval slip can I take you to the warehouse of that scrap metal recycling station. Otherwise, none of us will even be able to enter the gate of the scrap metal recycling station, let alone their warehouse where things are stored."
Chen Lan and Xu Mingxuan nodded understandingly. Chen Lan replied with a smile, "Sister Zhao, my husband and I understand. We don't mind. It's fine, we'll wait for you outside. It's also to avoid causing trouble for everyone."
Watching Sister Zhao turn and leave, Chen Lan finally felt a bit thirsty and hot. Although they hadn't walked far, it was summer, and once they stopped, sweat immediately broke out! Jiayao and the other three siblings were flushed red from the heat. They had all forgotten to bring water when they went out today, each carrying only a canvas bag. Now, they were all hot and thirsty.
Chen Lan glanced at Xu Mingxuan and Er Zhuang, noticing they showed no reaction and weren't sweating, looking calm. Chen Lan thought to herself that they were indeed well-trained and possessed extraordinary endurance.
Despite being very thirsty, Chen Lan couldn't conveniently buy water from the system with outsiders present, so she had to endure it.
At this moment, Old Zhang spoke up, "Hongmei, wait a moment. I'll go in with you. I have something to tell your cousin." Saying this, they walked towards the housing management office one after another.
Chen Lan thought to herself, "What a perfect timing!" Heaven was indeed being generous! Just when she was thinking about how inconvenient it was to buy things from the system with outsiders around, the outsiders immediately left.
Chen Lan unhesitatingly placed an order in the system for a five-kilogram barrel of purified water. She mentally poured it into several military canteens and immediately took them out, distributing one to each person. She urged Jiayao and the brothers to drink up, and she also drank greedily.
Then, she simply put away her own canteen. She had forgotten to carry a bag today. Xu Mingxuan had carried a military canvas bag, ostensibly for money, but now it was perfect for carrying water canteens. Chen Lan had the others put their canteens into their own canvas bags as well.
Not long after, Sister Zhao came out, accompanied by a female comrade around fifty years old. The latter was pushing a "Er Ba Da Gang" bicycle. The bicycle clearly looked new, perhaps about ninety percent new. She was of medium height and had short hair cut to ear-length, just like Sister Zhao. Strangely, on such a hot day, she was wearing a women's Lenin jacket over her white shirt, making her look both simple and capable, yet very fashionable.
Chen Lan thought, "This woman must be the director of the housing management office! The arch-villain's mother is indeed different from ordinary people, with a lot of personality and distinctive features."
At this moment, Chen Lan saw Sister Zhao pointing towards them and saying something to the director. The director casually glanced at Chen Lan and her group, gave a soft "mm-hmm," and then mounted her bicycle and rode away.
Seeing her director ride away, Sister Zhao walked up to Chen Lan and Xu Mingxuan and said, "Comrade Xu, Comrade Chen, let's go. Our director rides her bicycle fast, so we'll meet her on the road as she brings back the approval slip. Once we have the slip, we can go directly to the scrap metal recycling station."
As they were on their way to the scrap metal recycling station, just as Sister Zhao had predicted, they met their director riding back with the approval slip halfway there.
As soon as the director dismounted, she took out an approval slip and a key from the pocket of her Lenin jacket and handed them to Sister Zhao. She then said, "Xiao Zhao, this is the approval slip, and this is the key to that warehouse. Let them use the things as they see fit. Hurry up later. Once you're done, come back quickly to pay for the house. I've already arranged for people to clean up the garbage and weeds in that house this afternoon."
As if she remembered something else, she took out another slip from another pocket and said, "This is the approval slip from our housing management office for them to renovate the house. See who can help them renovate it. Try to speed things up as much as possible and don't drag it out. This matter is entirely entrusted to you. Any problems?"
Sister Zhao, entrusted with this important task, nodded repeatedly and agreed, "No problem, no problem, Director. Please rest assured! I guarantee to complete the task as soon as possible!"