Siheyuan Great Craftsmen

As the lottery ceremony approached, the air in the square seemed to freeze, and the atmosphere of tension and expectation became more intense. The workers gathered in twos and threes, talking in low voices, their words were full of longing for future housing, but they could not hide their uneasiness.

Lao Zhang took a deep breath and tried his best to calm himself. He patted the shoulder of his co-worker with his broad palm and comforted him, "Brother, don't think too much. It's us anyway. Just treat it with a normal mind."

The worker nodded slightly, but his eyes were always fixed on the tightly sealed box not far away, and there was a hint of anxiety and desire in his eyes.

"The dean and vice-dean are here!" Suddenly, someone in the crowd shouted.

This sound was like a huge rock thrown into a calm lake, instantly stirring up thousands of waves and causing a commotion among the workers. They couldn't wait to tiptoe, crane their necks, and look into the crowd with sharp eyes.

Soon, under everyone's eager gaze, Dean Zhou Tian, ​​Vice Dean Zhang Mingzhi and Song Weiguo walked steadily out of the crowd. Behind them, several staff members from the logistics department carefully held a box and placed it solemnly on the table in the middle of the square.

In an instant, the workers below the stage burst into thunderous applause. The applause was like a surging wave, one after another, echoing over the square for a long time.

Zhou Tian walked steadily onto the makeshift podium amid the thunderous applause with a smile on his face. He cleared his throat, and when the applause gradually died down, his loud and powerful voice resounded throughout the audience: "Dear workers, I believe everyone knows clearly what day it is today. This is the day that everyone has been looking forward to for a long time!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the workers in the audience burst into laughter. The laughter was full of recognition and resonance with the dean's words. Obviously, Zhou Tian's words hit their hearts accurately.

"Seeing you all so happy, to be honest, my heart is also warm. I know what you are thinking and the difficulties you are facing. Although the family buildings have been completed, there are only so many houses, and it is really difficult to meet everyone's expectations. But please rest assured, Vice President Song and I will do everything we can to build more family buildings for you. Those workers who haven't drawn a house yet don't have to worry. Our entire institute will work together to solve this housing problem. Well, I see that everyone is waiting a little impatiently, and next, I will invite Vice President Song to preside over the lottery."

After that, Zhou Tian nodded slightly to signal Song Weiguo to start drawing lots. Song Weiguo understood and walked quickly to the table, opened the box, slowly put his hand into it, and gently stirred it to ensure that every piece of paper was fully mixed. Then, he picked up the list of workers, glanced around, and shouted loudly: "Is Song Dayou here? Song Dayou!!"

"I'm here, I'm here!"

An old master with a weathered face and gray hair quickly raised his right hand, his voice trembling with excitement.

He walked forward quickly with a slightly staggering step. His weather-beaten hand trembled slightly as he reached into the box and fumbled around for a long time before pulling out a piece of paper.

Under the gaze of everyone in the audience, he carefully unfolded the note. When he saw that it was empty, a complicated expression instantly appeared on his face and a look of loss flashed across his eyes. But soon, he adjusted his mood, turned around and walked off the stage silently.

"Zhang Qian, who is Zhang Qian?"

"Wu Zhong is coming!"

Then, one by one, workers came up to the stage to draw lots. Every time they drew lots, there was a slight commotion in the crowd, with some sighing and some cheering.

Whenever a worker was lucky enough to draw a slip of paper with a number on it, his excitement was beyond words. Some were so excited that they even jumped up on the spot and shouted at the top of their lungs: "I have a new house!" Their voices were filled with irrepressible joy and excitement. Some even cried with joy because of this sudden and enormous happiness.

This feeling of joy and frustration spread quickly among the crowd like an infectious disease. Whenever a worker who won a house walked by, people around him would involuntarily cast envious glances at him, with both good luck for others and a hint of disappointment for not winning.

Among the crowd, there was a worker named Li Daguo. He was silently lowering his head, muttering something, and seemed to be praying devoutly.

He was one of the earliest veterans to come to the machinery factory. When he first entered the factory, the military promised to allocate housing for them, but who would have thought that this promise would eventually burst like a bubble.

Although the factory later reluctantly arranged a place for everyone to live, it was just a small, dim house with an area of ​​less than 30 square meters.

A family of six squeezed into this cramped space, making daily life extremely inconvenient. As the child grew up, he couldn't even provide an independent study space, which made him feel guilty and helpless.

The construction of family housing at the institute is undoubtedly a ray of light in the darkness for people like him who have families to support, and it is the greatest hope for changing the current situation of family life.

Just as he was immersed in the fantasy of a better life in the future, imagining how he would carefully decorate every corner if he drew a house, Song Weiguo's loud shout was like a thunderclap, waking him up from his beautiful fantasy.

"Li Daguo, who is Li Daguo!"

"I am! I am!"

Li Daguo woke up as if from a dream, took a deep breath, as if to gather all the strength in his body. Carrying the earnest hope of his whole family, he walked onto the stage with firm steps and came to the box. He slowly closed his eyes, his hands trembling slightly, as if he was trying to accumulate all the luck in his body.

After a moment, he slowly reached out his hand and gently pulled out a piece of paper. When he slowly opened his eyes and saw the clear number on the paper, his body shook violently. First, a trace of disbelief flashed in his eyes, and then, an indescribable excitement surged into his heart like a tide. He shouted excitedly: "I won, I won!"

The voice was filled with numerous complex emotions, including excitement, joy, and the bitterness and pain that had been suppressed in his heart for many years. As he shouted, for some reason, his voice gradually choked up, and tears welled up in his eyes, flowing freely down his face.

Seeing Li Daguo crying and laughing in the square, no one in the audience laughed. On the contrary, their eyes were all shining with complex light, a kind of empathy and understanding, as if they saw their own shadow in Li Daguo.

After a long while, Li Daguo seemed to have vented all his emotions. He slowly turned around and bowed deeply to Song Weiguo and the other two, his bend full of gratitude and respect.

Then, he straightened his back and walked off the stage with brisk and joyful steps. His back seemed to tell of his inner joy and relaxation.

With the departure of Li Daguo, the drawing ceremony lasted for nearly three hours.

As the sky gradually darkened, the entire lottery process finally came to an end. The workers who were lucky enough to draw their ideal houses could no longer contain their excitement, and gathered in groups of three or five, enthusiastically discussing how to decorate and arrange their new homes, their words full of infinite longing and expectation for the new life in the future.

Although those workers who failed to win the lottery inevitably felt a little lost and regretful, they also comforted and encouraged each other. There was still a glimmer of hope for the future in their eyes, and they looked forward to the next opportunity.

After the last worker drew the lot, Zhou Tian slowly walked onto the stage and announced the successful conclusion of the house lottery ceremony. The workers who had drawn the house could not wait and rushed out of the institute, happily reporting the good news to their families.

Those workers who did not win the lottery could only accept the reality helplessly and secretly sigh that they had bad luck.

As to whether the lottery ceremony was fair and just, and whether there was any trickery involved, the workers witnessed the entire process with their own eyes, and every link was clear and transparent, so naturally no one would have any doubts or suspicions.

After all the workers had left, Zhou Tian, ​​Zhang Mingzhi and Song Weiguo breathed a sigh of relief. They smiled at each other and returned to the office together. It was already past the end of the workday, but for some reason, the three of them had no intention of going home. Instead, they sat around in the office, lost in thought and conversation.