Chapter 19: Selling Pigs for a Reward
After a while, the second son's wife sighed and said, "I envy my sister-in-law. Look at her. She's from the village too. Not only has she done all kinds of work, but her clothes are patched clean. She's fair and plump, unlike us who look like skinny wolves. She used to go to school and didn't work. Later, when she was about to go to junior high school, school was closed, and she stayed at home and didn't work. She's so lucky to have such a good mother like my mother-in-law."
The eldest daughter-in-law also sighed, "There's nothing we can do about it. Same people, different fates."
The second son's wife said, "I just hope that my daughter Dani can have a life of happiness like her younger sister. We are both daughters of the Zheng family, so there shouldn't be much difference."
The eldest son’s wife thought to herself, it’s hard to say. The mother-in-law loves her own daughter, but she may not love her granddaughter as well.
The two chatted for a while, looked at the sky outside, and estimated that it was about time, so the second son's wife went out to cook.
The Zheng family's household chores were taken care of by the two daughters-in-law in turn. Li Aiyun and Zheng Lanping didn't care.
———☆———
In the evening, Xie Yun returned home carrying a basket of things.
She wandered all over the mountains and plains, and she really experienced the joy of harvesting. At first, she even sneaked a little through the space, but later she stopped doing that and just put everything she saw into the basket.
Not only were there small sweet potatoes and shriveled peanuts, but there were also cotton petals covered in soil. She also picked up a lot of cutworm pupae to take home to feed the chickens and pigs. She also picked some sour dates at the risk of being pricked, and found a small piece of Polygonatum in the shade.
Polygonatum sibiricum is a medicinal herb, but in the eyes of many local people, it is also a wild vegetable that can be used to fill hunger during famine.
Xie Yun dug them all out, threw some of them into the space to plant, took the rest home to dry them and soak them in water to drink, or took them to the medicinal material purchasing station to inquire about their situation.
The original owner's memories contained information about purchasing medicinal herbs. The commune had a medicinal herb purchasing station, affiliated with a state-owned medicinal herb purchasing company. They implemented a unified pricing system, clearly marked prices, and fair treatment for everyone. However, I didn't know if Polygonatum sibiricum was included in the purchased medicinal herb catalog.
[The purchase of medicinal materials is done by state-owned medicinal materials companies and has a unified price.]
Xie Yun also dug up a few plants of Rehmannia glutinosa and Angelica sinensis, and threw two of them into the space.
She didn't stroll back until the sun was about to set.
When I was almost home, I ran into Xie Shen.
"Sister, I was just about to look for you. Why did you come back just now? You've been looking for me all afternoon? Give me the basket and I'll carry it."
Xie Yun pressed his arm and said, "We're home now. No need to change. There's nothing on it. It's not heavy."
There are so many things that I’m afraid Xie Shen can’t carry them all.
She looked at the basket on Xie Shen's arm and said, "You don't have to go either. Let's go home together."
"good."
Xie Shen ran behind her and helped her hold the basket, trying to make it easier for her. As soon as he started, he realized why his sister didn't let him carry her.
After arriving home, Xie Shen closed the door and Xie Yun dropped the basket onto the ground with a "duang" sound. It sounded very heavy.
Zhang Ruifeng asked her curiously, "What did you pick up?"
Xie Yun kept it a secret: "You'll know when you see it."
Xie Shen quickly removed the dry grass on top, and what came into view were Rehmannia root, Chinese angelica, and Polygonatum sibiricum.
Even though he was young and didn't know it was a medicinal herb, he knew it was edible. In the eyes of rural children, they knew exactly which wild grass leaves and roots were edible.
During famines, as long as the fields are still green, most people will not starve to death and can always grab food to stuff into their mouths.
Xie Shen was puzzled. "Sister, why are you still digging this? No one eats this anymore."
This thing doesn't taste good. I wouldn't eat this if I could eat sweet potatoes.
Xie Yun smiled and said, "They're not edible. These are all medicinal herbs. I used to have a classmate whose mother was a doctor. I read a book at her place that was full of medicinal herbs, including these three I dug. Tomorrow I'll go to the commune's medicinal herb purchasing station to ask if they accept these and how to buy them."
Xie Shen said happily: "Sister, if you collect it, I will go dig it next time. I know these kinds of them and I have seen them before."
"good."
Xie Shen took out these herbs and put them aside carefully, fearing that they would be damaged.
Then he saw a large pile of cutworm pupae.
Xie Shen: “…”
"Sister, why are you doing this? You can catch mantises and grasshoppers and roast them to eat. What's the point of this thing? Even chickens won't eat it, right?"
"Why wouldn't you eat it? Just sprinkle a handful in and try."
In many places, people still eat this, and it is considered a local specialty.
"Why."
Xie Shen reached out and grabbed a few and threw them into the chicken coop. The hens rushed over and started pecking at the food.
"He really eats it. I'll catch some next time. There's a lot of it in the fields."
Zhang Ruifeng looked down again and found that there was food underneath.
She poured out the things, picked out the peanuts, sour dates and cotton boll petals, and poured the remaining small sweet potatoes back into the sweet potato pile.
"Your trip today was not in vain."
"I'm going to the commune tomorrow morning and then to the hospital in the afternoon."
The brigade gave us two days off, and today is the first day.
Looking at the pile of things, Zhang Ruifeng couldn't say to her against her will that she shouldn't go. She had done this job before, but she had never picked up as much as her daughter.
She peeled a peanut and threw it into her mouth. What she had picked up tasted really good.
"Don't tire yourself out, you'll be back soon."
"knew."
"You two peel the long fruits and eat them while I make dinner."
"Why."
After being busy all afternoon, Xie Yun was indeed a little tired. He sat on the steps in front of the house to rest. Looking at his mother and brother busy in the yard, a smile appeared on his face unconsciously.
After feeding the chickens, Xie Shen went to feed the pigs. Seeing that the pigs were eating happily, he happily put his hands on his hips and shouted, "Sister, I'm going to catch insects tomorrow."
Sweet potatoes are hard to find, but insects are easy to find.
"good."
Xie Yun picked the roots of Rehmannia glutinosa and Polygonatum sibiricum and put them aside, and threw the rest into the pigpen. The leaves and stems of these two plants can be fed to pigs.
Then, she and Xie Shen stood in front of the pigpen and watched the pigs eat inside.
The pig pens in the countryside are not very hygienic. Even though they often clean up the feces and put new soil in the pens, it is still a pig pen after all.
There was a sour smell standing there.
But Xie Yun and Xie Shen didn't react at all. They were very happy just watching the pigs grunting and eating.
Xie Yun looked at his big black pig, but his mind was thinking about the various policy changes regarding pig farming from the 1950s to the 1970s in the world he used to live in.
When the people's communes were first established, private individuals were not allowed to raise pigs. All previously raised pigs and chickens were directly incorporated into the commune collective. Not long after, a great famine struck, accompanied by a sharp decline in the annual number of live pigs slaughtered.
There was no other choice but to relax the control and encourage individual pig farming, giving rewards, purchasing the pigs at a higher price, and giving out prizes.
For example, for every 60-kilogram live pig purchased, a reward of 15 kilograms of feed grain and 30 feet of cloth coupons was given. For every kilogram exceeding the standard, an additional 0.5 kilogram of grain was awarded. This reward policy was implemented in more than 20 provinces across the country, but there was no unified standard for the amount of the reward materials.
Before long, there was a pork surplus, and many places across the country encouraged people to eat "patriotic meat." Even workers were being levied against them: workers had to buy five kilograms, and cadres had to buy fifteen kilograms. They had to buy meat and eat it.
Some workers' family conditions are not very good and they cannot afford the discounted patriotic meat. It doesn't matter, they can buy it on credit and eat the meat first and pay later.
At that time, you didn’t need a ticket to eat meat. Meat was slaughtered and supplied locally at rural fairs, and farmers were encouraged to buy meat.
Later, the rewards for pig farming became less, the problem of pork surplus was solved, and the patriotic meat disappeared.
According to Xie Yun, there is no real surplus, it’s just that people can’t afford it.
Moreover, a popular view during this period was "revolution when poor and reform when rich", and everyone lived a very "ascetic" life.
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