"You can receive 100 jin of refined grains. How do you plan to calculate it?"

"Uncle, you have this too?" I asked in surprise.

"Yes, this is stipulated by our country. It is to take care of the families of soldiers, martyrs, employees' families, the five-guarantee households, the poor households, and the barefoot doctors' families. They will all receive 100 jin of fine grains. How do you plan to exchange it?"

"Let's replace them all with sweet potatoes."

"Yes, 100 jin of refined grains is equivalent to 500 jin of sweet potatoes."

"Right, Li Zhiqing?"

"Yes, Accountant Uncle."

"That's good. You still have 500 work points, right?"

"No mistake"

"That's good, then sign here."

"OK"

"Fourth brother, weigh out another 500 jin of sweet potatoes for Li Zhiqing."

"OK"

Comrade Chen Enpeng

"exist"

“Chen Zhiqing…”

Looking at the pile of grain in front of her, she suddenly felt worried—how was she going to carry it back? Just then, she heard Chen Junjie say, "Mianmian, wait a moment. After Pengzi and I collect the grain, Pengzi will go to Zhengbo's house to borrow a cart to haul it back."

"OK"

I waited on the side and took the opportunity to calculate the grain I received today: 50 jin of wheat, 300 jin of corn, and 2273 jin of sweet potatoes. After deducting the bad ones and keeping enough for winter, I should have at least 1500 jin of sweet potatoes left. After grinding them into sweet potato flour, I could get about 215 jin, which is definitely not enough.

After Chen Enpeng finished collecting his food, I explained my calculations to him and asked, "It looks like a lot, but it's definitely not enough to eat."

"Wait a minute, let me go ask Uncle Captain if we can afford to buy some?"

"good"

After Chen Junjie returned from collecting his grain, Chen Enpeng came back and said, "The team leader said it's okay, but the price will be calculated at five times the price of one jin of coarse grain at the grain store."

"That works too. Right now, coarse grains at the grain store are 10 cents a pound, which is 2 cents a pound for sweet potatoes. How much do you plan to buy?"

"We don't have as much food as you, so we're planning to ask for more."

"You may not have as many as me, but don't forget, I have a big appetite."

"That's true. So how many do you want?"

"Then let's set it at 20 yuan for now, which is 1000 jin. What do you guys think?"

"Can"

"Then I'll go talk to the captain."

"good"

Soon, the brigade leader, Gu Zhengrong, brought Chen Enpeng to the accountant, Gu Zhenghua, and said, "These three educated youths plan to buy some sweet potatoes from our brigade. Please write it down and weigh them."

"Okay, brother, how many do you plan to take, Chen Zhiqing?"

"Uncle Accountant, we three are planning to each buy 20 yuan worth of sweet potatoes."

"Is the money paid now, or deducted when the annual dividends are distributed?"

"Pay now, but please ask the accountant to tell us to wait a moment while we go back to get the money."

"Sure, no problem, let them weigh it for you first."

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Uncle Accountant."

"No trouble at all, fourth brother, just weigh out 1000 jin of sweet potatoes for each of you."

"Okay, Second Brother."

"Uncle, you're busy, go back and get the money first."

Go ahead.

"Mianmian, it's all taken care of. Now we just need to go back and get the money and borrow a cart from Grandpa Qi's house."

"Anything is fine"

"Jiezi, go back and get 60 yuan. Mianmian and I will pay you back later. I'll go to Grandpa Qi's house to borrow a cart. Mianmian, you stay here and watch the grain, okay?"

No problem.

"I have no problem either."

So the three of us each bought another 1000 jin of sweet potatoes, which would only yield about 143 jin. At 1 jin a day, that would be enough to eat for 143 days, even if an average person didn't have enough to eat. But based on my own appetite, it would probably only last for about two months.

Looking at the pile of grain, he carefully calculated the yield. 50 jin of wheat yielded 40 jin of wheat flour, 300 jin of corn cobs yielded 240 jin of corn, which yielded 223.2 jin of cornmeal. Adding the 358 jin of sweet potato flour, he had a total of about 621 jin of grain, which was enough for him to eat.

After Chen Enpeng and Chen Junjie roughly calculated their grain reserves, excluding the sweet potatoes they ate for winter, they estimated they had about 550 jin (225 kg) of grain. They also estimated that Gu Bingtao's family consumed about 3500 jin (1250 kg) of grain a year, excluding the winter sweet potatoes. However, with seven people in their family, that averaged only about 500 jin (250 kg) per person. If they had poor relatives or had to sell their grain on the black market, there wouldn't be much left. But regardless of the calculation, living in Northeast China, they had enough grain. Otherwise, why did they always hear in novels from their previous life about families with children sent to the countryside in Northeast China who could send grain home regularly?

At the same time, I roughly calculated how many work points I could earn and how much grain I could get next year. Assuming Gu Bingtao works 200 days a year, with 70 days of busy farming season, that's 12 work points per day, totaling 840. Even if we maintain this year's average of 6 work points per day, that's still 840 work points. Adding the two work points earned daily for gathering pig feed, that's 260 work points, bringing the total to 1940 work points. If we calculate 500 work points for each type of grain (fine and coarse), as this year, sweet potatoes could be exchanged for 2160 jin (approximately 143 kg). Adding the 750 jin of sweet potatoes for the family's food needs, and deducting the sweet potatoes for winter, we could grind about 300 jin (approximately 150 kg) of sweet potato flour. Adding this to the grain I bought this year, I figured I wouldn't need to spend money on grain next year.

After bringing the grain home, when he gave the money to Chen Junjie, Chen Enpeng was also there and explained the accounts they had just calculated.

After hearing this, Chen Enpeng said, "You plan to go and gather pig feed after you finish your work next year?"

"I just feel that digging for wild vegetables is digging, digging for medicinal herbs is digging, and gathering firewood is also going up the mountain. These things can be done at the same time."

"Why don't you tell me more about it?"

"You see, when it's not the busy farming season, we can basically finish the tasks assigned by the team in the morning, and then go up the mountain in the afternoon. We put pig feed in the big baskets, medicinal herbs in the small baskets, and wild vegetables or mushrooms in the small baskets. As for firewood, we don't need to use a carrying pole."

"Why not dig for herbs and gather firewood separately?" Chen Junjie asked.

"I'm afraid medicinal herbs will be hard to find next year?" Chen Enpeng said.

Why?

"You didn't see it? A few days ago when we went up the mountain to collect firewood, Secretary Gu's daughters-in-law and children were either digging for medicinal herbs or looking for food. The firewood was all prepared by the men in their family."

"I saw it, so what?"

"They must have realized how much money we can earn by digging for medicinal herbs after we finish our daily tasks," I said.

"Okay, so it turns out no one provoked them."

"So, everyone realized it when the dividends were distributed during the Lunar New Year. This means that next year, even in the outer or middle areas, it's not certain that many medicinal herbs will be found," Chen Enpeng said.

"All right"

"Mianmian, will you be able to get it over there?"