Red envelope rain, hailstone rewards, and snowflake-like gifts—come at me! I can handle it!

"That's not enough to feed our whole village."

"It will fade gradually, don't rush it. Nothing is more important than food."

The old lady was a pillar of strength; her words gave the three of them a sense of direction. It wasn't that they were incompetent, but rather that they were used to following orders. Having someone to rely on prevents one from growing.

The old lady was also anxious and wanted to raise the next generation, but she couldn't find a suitable candidate. Er Lengzi was a good fit, but the boy was only interested in joining the army. Hongmei was also an option, but she really wasn't suitable. However, she was a loyal friend and could help everyone from behind the scenes.

"Maocai, have Hongmei come over later."

When Zhang Hongmei heard Liu Maocai tell her that the old lady was calling her, she knew it was related to today's events.

"Grandma, did you call me?"

"Yes, you know what happened today, right?"

"I understand. I can get salt and alkali, but I can't get sugar."

"You won't die if you don't eat sugar, but you'll be fine if you can get some salt."

"However, the price is twice as high as that of the supply and marketing cooperative." If I said it was cheaper, some people would probably doubt it.

"It's alright. A thousand catties of salt and a hundred catties of baking soda."

"Okay, I'll go to the city tomorrow. Oh, by the way, Zhang Xingguo transferred the ownership of the house in the city to me."

"Yes, he doesn't lack these things, and you'll have a place to stay when you go to school."

"How do we get it back?"

"Just leave it at your house, I'll have your third uncle find a car to bring it back."

"Do you need grain? Last time they told me they had corn but hadn't threshed it."

“Yes, I’ll take five thousand catties.”

"Grandma, your appetite is too big. I don't know if I can have it?"

"It's alright, you're in charge. As long as it's no more than two yuan, we'll take it. This year is even harder than last year. Haven't you noticed that it hasn't snowed yet? We probably won't get any sweet potatoes this year either."

Zhang Hongmei looked at the old lady in horror; she was truly a wise old woman.

"We also have soybeans. How much would you be willing to pay?"

"Anything else? Let me tell you all at once."

"The peanuts and wheat haven't been threshed. I saw them last time, but I don't know if there are any left?"

"I'll take anything that's food. I have 10,000 yuan here, I'll give it to you in a bit."

"My God, so much money?"

"The brigade still has some. I'll have Changlin bring it over tonight. We can chip in and buy as much as we can afford for dinner. But you can't show it off; it's not good for you."

"I understand, and I don't want to be in the limelight either. I'm content as long as everyone has something to eat."

"Go ahead, and tell the three of them to come over right now. Only my son and I should know about this; let it stay with me."

Zhang Hongmei nodded and left.

The three of them stayed at the brigade headquarters without stopping for a moment until the old lady called them again.

Zhang Hongmei didn't know what the old lady had told them, but when they returned, Liu Changlin rang the bell.

Everyone gathered in the cafeteria. They all knew they hadn't bought salt or sugar. Sugar is okay, but without salt, you lose your energy and get sick easily.

Wang Hongxi said, "Everyone knows that it hasn't snowed yet, so it's probably going to be another drought year. Last year we had sweet potatoes to tide us over, but what are we going to do this year? If the drought is so severe that even sweet potatoes don't grow, how are we going to survive?"

Everyone actually understood in their hearts, but they didn't say it out loud so they wouldn't think about it and would pretend they didn't know. But now that Wang Hongxi has brought it up, they have no choice but to think about it.

“We discussed it with the mistress. There are still 6,000 yuan in the village. The mistress will advance 10,000 yuan first, and we will calculate it per person, 20 yuan per person. We will stockpile the grain first.”

Of course, you've probably heard how expensive food is these days; it's not something you can just buy with money. This is a connection my third uncle found.

This is mandatory, there's no room for negotiation. If anyone doesn't pay, it will implicate the entire Liujiatun village.

The area below was completely silent. This was the first time that people in Liujiatun had ever been forced to do so.

Liu Maocai stood up and said, "Everyone should go home now and discuss whether to pay or leave. We'll collect the money tonight by ringing the bell."

Zhang Hongmei left with the crowd, and the canteen cooks also went back. Only Li Cuihua, Wang Hongxi's family, and Er Ya remained. Zhang Hongmei stayed behind as well.

Eating for nearly two hundred people is no joke.

It was past dinnertime when Liu Changlin finally rang the bell.

Everyone from the old to the young, except those bedridden, showed up. Some parents had red eyes, but not a single one objected.

Liu Maocai kept records, Liu Changlin counted the money, and Wang Hongxi was responsible for having them put their fingerprints on the document.

Some families contributed large sums of money, some contributed five yuan, some one yuan, and some even contributed 15 cents.

One hundred and seventy-three people, each receiving twenty, totals three thousand four hundred and sixty. The "Big Unity" coins come in bundles: two bundles of five-yuan coins, eight bundles of one-yuan coins, and the rest are in five-mao, two-mao, one-mao, and five-fen denominations.

Liu Changlin sorted them all out and put them into a snakeskin bag.

It was only then that everyone ate. Although it was a rare treat to have sweet glutinous rice balls, no one really enjoyed the taste. Reality was just too painful.

No one left after the meal; even the person who delivered the food came back.

Liu Maocai looked at everyone helplessly and said, "The 10,000 yuan that the mistress advanced will be repaid by our village in a few years. But if the mistress passes away, it will be returned to the old man. If the old man is gone, there is still the older brother. In short, this money cannot be lost."

The mistress said that if there wasn't a drought this year, the 10,000 yuan worth of grain would be theirs, and they wouldn't want to cause any trouble for the others.

“How can we accept this? We can’t all get the cheap grain. Even without the drought, I would still be willing to share this high-priced grain.” Da Shan’s father was the first to stand up.

Five more heads of households emerged one after another, and the remaining dozen or so households eventually agreed. Conscience may be corrupted by hardship, but this is a rope that pulls you out of your predicament; it's up to you to grab it.

That evening, Liu Aimin came to see Zhang Hongmei.

“Hongmei, I’ll go to the city with you tomorrow. We’ll each carry half of this money. Remember to wrap it in a blanket and put it in a snakeskin bag.”

"Okay, Uncle. I don't know how to pack. You can help me tomorrow morning."

"Okay, you should go to sleep. All I can do is take you to your third uncle's place in the city. There's nothing else I can do to help."

Zhang Hongmei stood there in a daze, having never seen such a cohesive village before. Certainly not every family could afford to contribute so much money, yet not a single person complained.

I'm willing to take the risk for this.

Pricing grain is a problem; if it's too high, there won't be much grain left, and if it's too low, it's unrealistic. It's a really difficult issue.

The next day, Liu Aimin arrived at five o'clock before dawn. Zhang Hongmei knew he was no ordinary person just by watching him skillfully pack his pack.

Liu Maocai has already arrived in his oxcart. He's going to catch the first bus of the morning. Today it departs from the village, and tomorrow it will depart from the city.

Liu Maocai knew in his heart that Zhang Hongmei's past relationship must have been helpful, but he would never say anything about it. Since his mistress had instructed him to only observe and not speak, he understood the situation perfectly well.

Even with a flashlight, the oxcart was still slower than during the day, but there was no other way; Zhang Hongmei actually wanted to walk.