Ma Lili and her mother lived in the family quarters of the Electric Machinery Plant. There were a dozen or so buildings in the compound, their exterior walls painted the brick-red that was so characteristic of the era. Each unit had three apartments per floor, spanning four stories in total. When the housing was originally built, the staff apartments were forty-five square meters, while the cadres' apartments were one hundred and twenty. Even though families of several people were crammed into these pigeonholes, everyone was quite content just to be eating the state-provided grain and living in a multi-story building.
As soon as Ma Yuhuan arrived, she started asking people where Zhu Mulan's building was. Learning that her relative lived in the cadres' building, someone kindly escorted her right to the doorstep.
In truth, Ma Yuhuan was a distant cousin of Ma Lili's father. While her cousin was still alive, they used to visit each other a few times a year. Later, after her cousin died, she distanced herself, fearing that the widow and orphan would become a burden. It was only when Zhu Mulan began courting Director Gu that she shamelessly tried to get back on good terms with her.
Chapter 112