By Qi Chuanbin
Before 6:00 a.m., Xu Jinghao, who lives in lane 249, Kunming Road, gets up early and checks the luggage and parcels that has been packed the day before to make sure that there are no missing items. After finishing all this, as the moving company's vehicle has not arrived, he walks along the winding lane road to finally have a look at the old neighborhood which he is most familiar with. "I'm 67 years old. I was born and grew up here. Now, I'm happy but be reluctant to leave."
Since the high-proportion approval for the second round of consultation came into effect on August 13, the residents of Block 116, the last piece of land lot, have been packing and moving. Even in the yellow heat alert days, their faces are brimming with joy. In just one month, the moving rate of Block 116 has exceeded 90%, and it is almost becoming an empty mini-town.
The residents bid farewell to the old alley one after another
The reporter follows Xu Jinghao's slightly excited steps. After turning left and right in the narrow lane, he climbs a low wooden staircase. Walking in front of the reporter, he keeps warning: "Just bend down a little, mind your head." For decades, every time a guest visited his home, he reminded of it repeatedly.
Pushing open the old wooden door, Xu's wife is cleaning a 35 Brand desk clock with a dishcloth. More than ten packages, small and large, are scattered everywhere, making the 19.4-square-meters house become narrower. "There are many old furniture and articles that have been with us. There are some “treasures” that I can't throw away", Xu says, “The clock was a birthday gift for his mother at the age of 40, and it still works now. In 2003, when the old area’ reconstruction was launched for the first time in Block 116, his mother looked forward to taking it into a new house. However, due to some reasons, the housing expropriation work went through ups and downs, and she died with regret. After the successful expropriation, Xu decided to take the desk clock to the new house. It would not only commemorate the family's past alley life, but also fulfill her mother's wish.
In the conversation, the workers of the moving company come to Xu's home one after another to carrying packages. Pointing to a small bed with a length of less than 1.7 meters and a width of only dozens of centimeters, Xu says: "Because the space is too narrow, my 32-year-old son still sleeps on the bed. The first thing that should be done after the relocation is to buy a decent big bed for him, and he will no longer sleep with his legs curled up."
The packages are loaded smoothly. Xu locks the door of the old house for the last time, and then goes to the housing acquisition project department in the alley and hands in the door key. Living in the small house in past 67 years finally comes to an end.
The old area’ reconstruction also stresses the after -sale service
Chen Chao, manager of the second project department of the District No. 1 Expropriation Office, can have a good rest. But in addition to going to the largest housing acquisition project in the old areas’ renovation history of the district on East Yuhang Road (Phase I), she and her colleagues have to go to Block 116 to handle issues for residents from 17:00 to 20:30 every day.
Chen tells that like many jobs, the old area’ reconstruction and expropriation actually stress after-sales service. Instead of completing the task after signing contracts, it is necessary to further help them resolve contradictions in their families, so that they can move happily and have a meal together on New Year's day.
On the day of the interview, Chen comes out of a household with five registered residences certificates. It is her second visit to the family. It turns out that the tenant of this old house chooses to sign a contract in full currency. However, the family members have different opinions on the compensation distribution scheme, and they do not give in to each other. After several talks, they end up unhappily. The residents who actually live here also refuse to move. After carefully grasping the actual conditions with the neighborhood committee’s cadres, Chen talks with them one by one and then discusses with all of them, so as to find out their respective needs. After mediation, the five family members say that they do not want to hurt each other because of the old area’s reconstruction, and they are willing to make mutual compromises, and reach a preliminary consensus on the distribution scheme.
It is learnt that the second project department is in charge of signing contracts for nearly 400 households. Before the report is released, only a few households have not yet moved. "Although I go out early and come back late every day, I feel that all the efforts are worthwhile when I see the happy smile of the residents.".