When it was Yan Bugui's turn, he simply didn't ask any questions. He knew that asking would be useless and would only add to his troubles without any real effect.
Sure enough, when I got the ration book back, the number written on it was exactly the same as what I had calculated.
Helpless, Yan Bugui had no choice but to accept this reality and go to pay the money and collect his grain.
The rest of the work was quick. After the money was paid, several staff members weighed and bagged the grain. A moment later, the two men had already loaded the grain onto the cart.
Yan Bugui checked it again and found no problems. Then he got on the truck and walked home dejectedly.
"Third Uncle, what's wrong? Why are you unhappy?"
Sun Zhengguo was asking a question he already knew the answer to.
"Hey! You're not in charge of the household, so you don't know the cost of firewood, salt, oil, and rice. Last month, the rations were reduced, and this month they're reduced again. How are we ordinary folks supposed to survive?"
Yan Bugui looked heartbroken. This wasn't just reducing his quota; it was clearly taking away his life!
However, this cannot be blamed on him. Although he has some family wealth, he is a person who came from the old society and experienced the food crisis.
Yan Bugui understood a principle: food is the foundation. If there is a real food shortage, what use is money? It's not even worth the trouble of wiping your backside.
Sun Zhengguo didn't know how to comfort him. He could only offer a slight reminder, but he was powerless to change anything.
"Uncle, I heard the drought will continue for a while. Since grain prices are still low, aren't you planning to stock up on some?"
Yan Bugui gets excited whenever this topic comes up.
"No, we have to stock up on some. Many families in the courtyard are stocking up. I can tell every time I pass by their door. But it's just a drop in the bucket; it can't keep up with the demand!"
"Then what should we do? After all, we don't know how long this situation will last."
Sun Zhengguo was curious about how to solve this problem.
"What else can we do? We'll cut back on food at home too! Even if we don't have enough to eat, at least we'll have a way to survive."
Hearing these words, Sun Zhengguo fell silent. In this day and age, living resources are scarce, unlike in later generations when some children are given meat buns in the morning and have to be chased around and fed.
The two walked silently and soon returned to the courtyard. After unloading the grain, Sun Zhengguo went to his sister's classmate's house to return the cart.
When I returned, I ran into Qin Huairu, who was with her two children.
Needless to say, Bang Geng is about to enroll in school, and even Xiao Dang can walk now, so Qin Huairu has a very easy time taking care of the two children.
"Sister-in-law, are you going out on business?"
Sun Zhengguo casually asked a polite question.
“Zhengguo is back. The quota came down today, so go and get it. Even though it's only for your brother Dongxu, it'll be enough for an emergency.”
"Bang Geng, Xiao Dang, why don't you greet your uncle? What did your mother teach you?"
Hello, Uncle!
Seeing the two children greet him, Sun Zhengguo thought of Jia Zhangshi. The two children are being educated very well now. He wondered what kind of children Jia Zhangshi would raise them after she returned.
"Hey! Hello everyone!"
After a few simple pleasantries, Qin Huairu left. Sun Zhengguo didn't go home either; instead, he called Yan Bugui over, and the two played chess at the door.
While playing chess, I also encountered many middle-aged women buying grain. These women used the method of ants moving mountains, carrying the grain back one trip after another.
This made Yan Bugui even more determined; he had to buy a bicycle. How convenient it would be to have a vehicle!
At noon, seeing that his younger siblings hadn't come home yet, Sun Zhengguo prepared some food for himself. Of course, he made it all in his space, afraid that the smell of meat would be too strong and disturb the people in the courtyard.
After lunch, I took a nice nap before leisurely strolling to the courtyard gate, ready to chat with someone.
As soon as I arrived at the door, I saw the missing person, Liu Guangtian, chatting with a few middle-aged women!
"Hey! Guangtian, weren't you missing? Where did you suddenly appear from?"
Sun Zhengguo couldn't find Liu Guangtian last night, and since he didn't know what had happened afterward, he had no idea what Liu Guangtian had done.
"Didn't I go to the countryside with Brother Da Mao to show movies? Brother Da Mao has already asked someone to pass on the message."
What Liu Guangtian didn't know was that the messenger, Officer Zhang, was taken to the small warehouse by Li Huaide that same day. If he had known, he probably would have wanted to castrate Li Huaide.
"Oh! I don't know."
"Hey! What about Xu Damao?"
"Brother Da Mao saw that it was still early, so he went to the steel mill to return the projector."
After saying that, Liu Guangtian prepared to leave. He wanted to hurry up and ask his mother what was going on.
"Jung-guk, you play for a while, I need to go home first."
Not long after Liu Guangtian left, Yan Bugui came in excitedly carrying a bag.
Upon seeing him, the three women quickly went up to him and took the bag from his hands.
"Honey, you rest for a bit, I'll take the things home."
The three women carried the bags and ran home, not giving the other women a chance to watch.
Several middle-aged women nearby were very envious. What was in the bag?
They all knew it must be grain.
Old Man Yan must have traded fine grains for coarse grains. They wanted to trade too, but they didn't know who to ask, and they had no way of doing it.
Several middle-aged women immediately began to fawn over him, trying to get some information out of Yan Bugui.
"Look! Our third uncle is the most capable. He brought the grain back without any effort. My family also has some fine grains. Third uncle, do you think you could..."
Yan Bugui understood what this woman was thinking, but it was really difficult to change her mind now.
These days, having anything to eat is good enough; who cares about coarse or refined grains!
"This grain wasn't exchanged; it was something I lent to someone before, and they've returned it to me now."
Yan Bugui's explanation completely baffled the elderly women.
This is absolutely outrageous! Yan Bugui lending grain to others sounds like something out of a fantasy!
Hearing this, Sun Zhengguo's lips twitched. Yan Bugui had taken shamelessness to the highest level, to the point of fabricating something out of nothing.
"Hmph! Fine, don't help then. What a lame excuse you've come up with."
"That's right, that's right, Yan Bugui is no good, he's definitely a speculator."
"Bullshit! Come here, Aunt Chen, let's go to the neighborhood office and let them judge whether I've been engaging in speculation or profiteering."
Yan Bugui was furious and, unusually, swore.
He knew that Aunt Chen might have meant no harm, but he dared not admit to the accusation!
Speculation and profiteering?
If this goes wrong, going to jail would be the least of his worries; target practice would be his final fate.
"Darling, don't be angry. It's all my fault for saying the wrong thing."
Aunt Chen realized that her remarks were indeed inappropriate and quickly tried to remedy the situation.
Seeing that Aunt Chen had given in, Yan Bugui was not one to hold a grudge. If he hadn't said something earlier, these aunties would have been spreading rumors about it!
"Alright, alright, you have to watch your mouth! You can't talk nonsense in the future. Didn't the neighborhood committee say that spreading rumors is also illegal?"
"Yes, yes, I'll definitely change next time."
Seeing that they hadn't gained anything and had even been the subject of gossip, the group of middle-aged women, feeling it was a complete loss, scattered in anger.
"Uncle, you're amazing! Just as Zhuge Liang debated with a group of Confucian scholars in ancient times, Uncle has now silenced a bunch of aunties with a single word."
Seeing Yan Bugui's demeanor, Sun Zhengguo couldn't help but praise him.
"You slippery fellow, I have no choice! It's all because of the food shortage. Hopefully, the rations will be restored next month!"
Yan Bugui's wish was noble, but Sun Zhengguo knew it was impossible.
And this is just the beginning!
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