Chapter 899: Enthusiastic Aunties

"Speak of the devil!"

Old Cricket looked at the Mercedes parked at the entrance of the hutong and said with a smile, then stood up to greet them.

Zhou Andong got out of the car, saw Old Cricket walking over, and said with a smile, "Old friend, why didn't you stay at your daughter's place?"

"I went, but I don't know anyone there, so I come back every three days to take a look and chat with old neighbors."

Old Cricket hadn't met Jian Qiu, so he just nodded politely.

"This is my wife, Jian Qiu!" Zhou Andong introduced them to each other. "This old man has quite a background; his name is An Lin, and his surname is Aisin Gioro. Because he is good at raising crickets, everyone who knows him calls him Old Cricket."

Jian Qiu knew much more about these remnants of the Qing Dynasty in the capital than Zhou Andong, so she wasn't surprised, just smiled politely.

"Old gentleman, hello!"

Old gentleman? Hearing this address, Old Cricket was stunned, then burst into happy laughter. He was over seventy, and this was the first time someone had addressed him as "old gentleman."

Old Cricket straightened his expression, patted his sleeves, and performed a bow. "Madam Zhou, An Lin pays his respects to you!"

Jian Qiu's "old gentleman" was the greatest respect to Old Cricket, so he had to treat it solemnly.

Jian Qiu hurriedly said, "Old gentleman, you are too polite."

"It is only right!" Old Cricket was happy and said to Zhou Andong, "Chairman Zhou, do you still want courtyards?"

Zhou Andong asked, "You have more?"

"I don't!" Old Cricket looked back mysteriously and lowered his voice. "Others have them. In this area, all the courtyards with three or more entrances have been collected by you; there's only one left. If you want to buy it, I'll go test the waters."

Zhou Andong shook his head. "I won't force this. If he sells, I'll buy; if he doesn't, forget it!"

"Heh!" Old Cricket chuckled. "He shouts that he's not selling, but if the price is right, he definitely will."

At this moment, a group of old ladies wearing red armbands came out from the entrance of the hutong, and a young man shouted teasingly.

"Auntie Ma, where are you going to catch spies?"

Seeing these old ladies, a very distant term appeared in Zhou Andong's mind: "Little Foot Detective Squad!"

In the Dongcheng District of the late seventies and early eighties, because there was no migrant population and the permanent population was not large, there was no comprehensive social security management. Police were basically not seen on the road, and security management was relatively simple.

It wasn't until the early eighties that the city began to see an influx of migrant population, and there were outsiders peddling goods in the hutongs. At that time, these people were called "swallows from the south."

Buying things became convenient, and it indeed solved some practical problems for Beijing citizens, such as the difficulty of eating breakfast and getting haircuts. However, unsafe things in life also increased, and lock-picking often occurred.

As an old city district, Dongcheng faced challenges in social security while undergoing social reform. In 1981, Dongcheng officially established the Social Security Comprehensive Management Committee Office.

It determined comprehensive social security management as the main way to solve social security problems and endowed the agency with new functions, namely, under the leadership of all levels, to exert organizational, coordination, supervision, and inspection functions.

Through coordinating all units in the jurisdiction, it managed social security, urban order, traffic order, teaching order, and other problems through territorial management, combined strips and blocks, joint management, and comprehensive governance.

By the mid-eighties, the aunties wearing red armbands appeared prominently in the streets and alleys of Dongcheng, becoming a beautiful landscape. They began to take on the task of assisting police in managing community safety and were affectionately called the "Little Foot Detective Squad." They indeed played a crucial role in maintaining security.

However, by the end of the nineties, with the widespread popularity of electronic eyes, these aunties gradually faded from people's sight. Then they successfully transformed into the mysterious "Chaoyang Masses."

Auntie Ma was not tall, had short hair, and it was already gray, but her spirit looked very good.

"Have you seen a man who is this tall, very thin, wearing a suit, with a small mustache, about thirty years old?"

"No!" A few people shook their heads in response.

"No?" Auntie Ma looked puzzled. "That guy was sneaky; we saw him run into this hutong, how did he suddenly disappear?"

Another auntie said, "Yesterday, Old Wei's door was pried open, the fifty-plus yuan hidden in the cabinet was lost, and a pair of new leather shoes bought by the daughter-in-law also disappeared. Everyone must be vigilant. If you see strangers, report to the security office immediately. We must not let a single bad element go."

"Auntie Xu!" The young man said with a grin, "Don't worry, we are vigilant; we definitely won't let a single bad element go."

"Don't grin!" Auntie Xu glared. "I'm telling you, Xiao Ming, this relates to the safety of our common people's property and lives, so don't be careless."

Now they were all crowded compounds, and there were no anti-theft doors; safety relied on mutual care among neighbors. During the day, adults went to work and children went to school; if a stranger entered the courtyard, they would often be watched by the aunties.

If they asked you a few questions and your answers were nonsensical, rest assured, they would definitely catch you and take you to the police station or security office first.

"Eh!"

Auntie Ma was about to lead people away when she suddenly saw Old Cricket and Zhou Andong walking over.

"You... you are..."

Old Cricket said with a smile, "Zhou Andong!"

"Slap!"

Auntie Ma patted her forehead. "Right, right, right, Zhou Andong."

With a rush, several aunties surrounded them, talking all at once.

"Oh my, I've seen the real one today."

"This young man looks even more spirited than on TV."

"Do you have a partner? Auntie will introduce a beautiful one to you."

"The courtyard in the back was bought by you, right? Just rest assured and live here. With us here, you won't lose even a needle or a thread."

Zhou Andong responded with a smile; he couldn't afford to offend these aunties.

When these aunties learned that Jian Qiu was Zhou Andong's wife, they looked her up and down one by one, then gave a thumbs up.

"A perfect match, there's no one more perfect than you two; it's a match made in heaven."

The aunties chatted with Jian Qiu very enthusiastically for a while before leaving like the wind to find the suspicious bad element who had disappeared for unknown reasons.

"These aunties are too enthusiastic." Zhou Andong wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Jian Qiu said with a smile, "I'm borrowing your light to be enthusiastically cared for once."

"Chairman Zhou!" The project manager Liu Zhanyong came out of the basement, and as soon as he looked up, he saw Zhou Andong and walked over quickly.

Zhou Andong shook hands with Liu Zhanyong. "How is the project progress?"

Liu Zhanyong said, "The basement is being renovated, the interior decoration is almost done, the blue bricks in the courtyard have been laid, and the rockery, fountain, and pavilion are being installed. It will definitely be fully completed by the end of October, and there's no problem spending the New Year here at the end of the year." ===== CHAPTER 900 =====