Chapter 67

The middle-aged man was somewhat surprised and curious: "You really hit the nail on the head, little brother. I am indeed returning home from a business trip. But how did you figure that out?"

Chen Geng smiled and said, "Your accent has a hint of Shanghai, but it's not strong, which means you're not originally from Shanghai. However, you've likely worked there for quite some time. This train is heading to Shanghai, so it's not hard to explain, right?"

"Amazing!" The middle-aged man raised his thumb, greatly impressed by Chen Geng's logical analysis. "You really hit the nail on the head. I've been working in Shanghai for five or six years."

"Ah, you've been working in Shanghai for five or six years?" Chen Geng looked at him with sympathy. "Tsk, the housing conditions in Shanghai are really tough."

"Do you know about the housing situation in Shanghai, little brother?" The middle-aged man raised his eyebrows, becoming even more curious about Chen Geng.

Chen Geng nodded and said, "I know a bit. The average living space per person in Shanghai is less than 20 square meters. Many families, even three generations of seven or eight people, live in these 20 square meters..."

"Old Three, are you joking? That's Shanghai, the city that looks so beautiful and prosperous in movies and TV shows. How can it be like a refugee camp as you describe it?" Zhang Xiangyang instinctively defended his beliefs, as Chen Geng's description was vastly different from his impression of Shanghai.

In his eyes, Shanghai was one of the few major cities in the country. In Hai Zhou, if a family had relatives in Shanghai, their neighbors and colleagues would envy them. It was only slightly less prestigious than having relatives overseas or in Hong Kong and Taiwan. But people in Shanghai actually lived three generations in a house less than 20 square meters?

His own family's 40 to 50 square meter house seemed cramped, so how could a family live in a 20 square meter house? He couldn't imagine it.

"Comrade, your colleague is right. The housing situation in Shanghai is indeed that tight," the middle-aged man said. "Take the place where I live, that lane... you know what a lane is, right?"

"Yes, I do." Zhang Xiangyang nodded, having read a lot about Shanghai lanes in books.

"In such a small lane, you can have one or two thousand people living, with each household having only 20 to 30 square meters of living space," the middle-aged man gestured. "You should know that in the countryside, a village with one or two thousand people is considered large. But in Shanghai, a lane with one or two thousand people is quite normal. In the morning, the whole lane is filled with the sound of people cleaning their chamber pots. The smell... tsk tsk..."

"Cleaning chamber pots?" Zhang Xiangyang's eyes widened. "What era is this? People still use chamber pots?"

"They are wooden chamber pots, shaped like a standing drum," Chen Geng explained. "Shanghai's houses are old and don't have kitchens or bathrooms. Each lane has only one or two public toilets, so every household must have a chamber pot to solve their hygiene needs. In the morning, the whole lane is filled with people emptying and cleaning their chamber pots."

Zhang Xiangyang's expression was blank, and he looked like he was about to vomit. The thought of hundreds or even thousands of people emptying and cleaning chamber pots was too much for anyone to bear.

Chen Geng looked at Zhang Xiangyang with sympathy. This poor kid came with high hopes for Shanghai, thinking that a trip to Shanghai would make him a worldly person. But he was about to go to a place where millions of people squat together to clean chamber pots every morning...

Ugh...

Chen Geng felt his own imagination was quite heavy, thinking about the spectacle of hundreds or thousands of people cleaning chamber pots at the same time.

The middle-aged man, who was used to it, noticed Zhang Xiangyang's discomfort and subtly changed the topic: "Speaking of the tight housing situation in Shanghai, let me tell you a joke... or rather, a true story that reflects how tight the housing situation is. When the Gang of Four was being publicly tried, one of their crimes was... guess what? Occupying a two-bedroom apartment!"

The middle-aged man said in an exaggerated tone, "Ha, the Gang of Four was so powerful, reaching such high positions, but one of their crimes was occupying a two-bedroom apartment."

"Really?" Zhang Xiangyang was amazed. "We're not discussing how bad the Gang of Four was or the damage they caused to the country. But given their status and position, they could have lived in a courtyard house in the capital, right? But one of their crimes was occupying a two-bedroom apartment? They should have occupied a small villa!"

The middle-aged man laughed. "We won't discuss the details of that crime. Such matters are not for us to discuss. But I know that the director of the Shanghai Nuclear Power Research Institute only has a two-bedroom apartment. You can imagine how tight the housing situation in Shanghai is."

Zhang Xiangyang's mouth was slightly open in surprise. Although he didn't know the level of the Shanghai Nuclear Power Research Institute, the words "nuclear power" alone were enough to make him respect it. But the director of the nuclear power institute only had a two-bedroom apartment? The housing situation in Shanghai must be very tight.

"Speaking of this, let me tell you another story," Chen Geng, intrigued, said. "There are many guesthouses now that are converted from old air-raid shelters. You know about that, right?"

Zhang Xiangyang nodded. "Yes, I do."

Many guesthouses are converted from old air-raid shelters built during the war. Now that there's no need to defend against the north, these shelters are idle. Some resourceful people have converted them into hotels, karaoke bars, and other uses.

Air-raid shelters are warm in winter and cool in summer, making them popular with travelers who don't have air conditioning. Many people prefer to stay in these guesthouses because they are cheap and comfortable. Zhang Xiangyang was curious why Old Three suddenly brought this up.

"Guesthouses converted from air-raid shelters exist all over the country, but in other places, they usually have one or two beds per room, or at most a large dormitory. But in Shanghai, many of these guesthouses have bunk beds, and some even have three-tiered bunks."

"Are you kidding me?" Zhang Xiangyang, who had just had his worldview reshaped, felt it needed reshaping again. "Three-tiered bunks? Is the space in Shanghai's air-raid shelters that tight?"

"Kidding? Ha... Changzhou Diesel Engine Factory has developed rapidly in recent years, gaining a good reputation in the agricultural diesel engine market. Do you know why? A few years ago, Changzhou Diesel Engine Factory made a big effort to poach people from Shanghai Diesel Engine Factory. The reason they could poach the technical backbone and engineers from Shanghai Diesel Engine Factory was that Changzhou Diesel Engine Factory offered a condition: everyone who joined would get a two-bedroom apartment, and their family's employment and children's education would be taken care of.

Just this one condition, when the average living space for each household in Shanghai Diesel Engine Factory was only 20 to 30 square meters, made it impossible for the technical backbone and engineers to refuse. The whole Shanghai Diesel Engine Factory was in turmoil, and within a few years, most of the technical backbone and engineers were poached by Changzhou Diesel Engine Factory. Changzhou Diesel Engine Factory's rapid development came at a great cost to Shanghai Diesel Engine Factory. Ha..."

Zhang Xiangyang didn't say anything but turned to look at the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man chuckled and nodded, confirming Chen Geng's statement. "Among the old Shanghai residents, there's a saying: 'Better to have a fire in the house than to fall into a ditch on the road.' Do you know why?"

Although he knew it was a trap, Zhang Xiangyang couldn't help but ask, "Why?"

"Because they are poor. The most valuable possession a family has is the clothes on their backs. If these clothes are destroyed, half of their possessions are gone."

"Actually, Brother, don't laugh at Brother," Chen Geng continued. "It all comes down to our country being poor. The situation in Shanghai is still considered good. There are many places worse off than Shanghai."

In the whole country, the situation in Shanghai is considered good, but this is more of a joke and a bit of sarcasm.

"Have you lived in Shanghai, little brother?" The middle-aged man couldn't help but ask.

The things Chen Geng mentioned could only be known by someone who had lived in Shanghai for a long time, but he didn't have a hint of a Shanghai accent, which made the middle-aged man curious about him.

"I interned in Shanghai for a while," Chen Geng nodded. "Brother, are you in the arts?"

"How did you guess?"

"Mainly by your aura." Chen Geng casually used a modern phrase.

In those days, working in the arts was a prestigious job. Hearing that the middle-aged man was in the arts, Zhang Xiangyang was surprised. "Are you a filmmaker?"

"I work at the Shanghai Animation Film Studio," the middle-aged man said with a hint of pride. "Are you two going to Shanghai? For... a business trip?"

"Yes, we're going to Shanghai to talk business with Pusang," Zhang Xiangyang answered before Chen Geng could.

PS: I was busy with some things, so today's update is a bit late. I apologize for that.

Although it's late, I still have two updates today. Here's the first one.

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