Back home, Lin Wencui couldn't wait to ask.
"Son, what did you guys cook that smells so good? What did you cook?"
Before Sun Zhengguo could speak, Sun Zhenghong answered first.
"Mom, this is the 'Farewell My Chicken' I was talking about. How about it? I wasn't kidding you, was I? Doesn't it taste good?"
After Sun Zhenghong finished speaking, a smug smile appeared on his face.
"Then what are we waiting for? Hurry up and serve the food, we can't wait any longer. Oh, Wencui, bring me my wine."
Sun Dajiang said urgently.
After everyone sat down, the classic large basin was served, along with rice specially prepared by Sun Zhengguo. Lin Wencui fell in love with the taste after the first bite and exclaimed, "Delicious!"
Seeing that his mother liked the food, Sun Zheng'an, who was standing next to her, fawned over her and said to her.
"Mom, eat more if you like it. My older brother said that this dish can help men replenish their kidney energy and make women more beautiful."
Hearing his brother's words, Sun Zhengguo wanted nothing more than to beat him up, thinking, "Isn't this just asking for trouble? You just wait, Sun Zheng'an."
"Oh, it also has a beauty effect. Then Zhengguo, you should treat yourself to more of these treatments in the future. My face will depend on you from now on."
After Lin Wencui finished speaking, she thought to herself, "I don't know if it's been filtered or not, but it's definitely delicious."
Sun Dajiang nodded repeatedly in agreement, saying, "What man doesn't like replenishing his kidney energy? I don't know if it's true or not, but what if it is?"
Sun Zhengguo remained silent, channeling his grief and anger into his work, and kept eating.
The crowd outside dispersed after dinner, grumbling as they left.
As for Sun Dajiang's family, since they ate too much in the evening, they chose to take a walk to digest their food before going home to sleep.
In the following days, the courtyard returned to calm, as if everyone had chosen to forget. Neighbors lived in harmony and friendship, creating a scene of warmth and affection in the courtyard.
However, a major event is about to occur, one that will change the fate of this generation, impact their lives, and become a part of their memories—a period that will last for 40 years.
As people's daily consumption has increased, they have gradually discovered that some things are harder to buy and require coupons or vouchers to purchase.
At first, people didn't pay attention, but panic began when even food required ration coupons.
The people inside the courtyard began to panic, and some started buying grain at high prices. When Yi Zhonghai saw this, he hurriedly came out to calm them down.
"Don't panic, everyone. People from the neighborhood committee will be here tonight, and we'll hold a meeting to resolve this issue."
After hearing Yi Zhonghai's words, everyone felt relieved and decided to wait and see how things went that evening.
7 p.m., the central courtyard of the Siheyuan (traditional courtyard house).
The courthouse was already packed with people, with a large crowd sitting in the back. Only one person was sitting at the front desk that night, namely Secretary Liu. Even the three elderly men were sitting below. Once everyone had arrived, Secretary Liu began to speak.
"Comrades, good evening. The purpose of this meeting tonight is to convey a new policy to you."
"To prevent the phenomenon of overeating and over-consuming, the country has now introduced a planned economy, which means that all goods must be purchased according to a plan. You can buy them if you have a ticket, and you can't buy them if you don't have a ticket."
"Recently, people have been saying they can't buy food. Let me clarify first that these are all rumors."
"The main reason why people couldn't buy grain was that they didn't have ration coupons, and these coupons were part of the 'planned economy'."
As Director Liu finished speaking, someone in the audience asked a question.
"Officer Liu, where did this ticket come from?"
"That's right, that's right, we don't produce tickets."
Hearing what the people below said, Officer Liu pressed his hands down to quiet them down before continuing.
"Grain coupons are issued uniformly by the street and surrounding grain stores. Recipients need to be local residents. The issuance standards vary depending on age, occupation, and type of work. In addition, there are some subsidies from the employer."
After Officer Liu finished speaking, the room erupted in a cacophony of opinions.
"Dongxu! Only local residents can get the tickets, what are we going to do?"
Jia Zhangshi was anxious. Only Jia Dongxu in their family had a ration, and that ration was far from enough to make them starve.
When Jia Dongxu heard his mother ask, he was equally helpless, so he passed the same question to Yi Zhonghai.
As an elderly man, Yi Zhonghai felt he needed to know the answer to this question, so he asked.
"Officer Liu, what should we do if our household registration is not here?"
Regarding the household registration issue, Officer Liu was prepared and immediately spoke up.
“If your household registration is not here, then your original place of residence must have a quota. If you are from a rural area, then you should have land and can go back to the countryside. If that doesn’t work, you can also exchange it with those who can’t eat it all and buy grain at a negotiated price.”
After all that, Officer Liu's previous remarks were just fluff; the key point was his last sentence: What is negotiated grain? Simply put, it means buying grain at a higher price.
After hearing what Officer Liu said, Yi Zhonghai really wanted to curse. Why would I ask you if I'm paying such a high price? Where can't I buy it?
Next, Officer Liu took out several sheets of paper and distributed them to everyone. The contents of the papers were the quantitative distribution standards, such as heavy physical labor, light physical labor, mental labor, college and high school students, children, etc., which varied.
The conference lasted until 9 p.m. Most people could accept it, a small number could barely accept it, and a few individuals found it unacceptable.
On her way home, Lin Wencui asked about Sun Dajiang.
"Dajiang, I just checked, and according to the eligibility criteria, our family might not have enough."
"Isn't there a work unit subsidy? That should be enough. If not, we can buy some grain at a negotiated price!"
After listening to Sun Dajiang's words, Lin Wencui thought to herself, "That's the only way."
After arriving home, Sun Zhengguo thought for a moment and then spoke.
"Mom and Dad, if we run out of food, I'll go buy some. I have connections, and it might even be cheaper than the regular price."
"Keep bragging. Let's not talk about this now. You guys go to sleep."
Upon hearing this, the group dispersed and went to sleep.
…………
The next day, everyone went to get a grain ration book, which allowed them to buy grain at a discounted price.
Jia Dongxu also went to get his grain ration book today. Looking at the ration book showing a monthly quota of 38 jin, he felt like crying. How are we supposed to eat 38 jin a month for four people? I'm bad at math, can someone teach me?
At Yan Bugui's family, a family meeting is being held right now. The family's total ration is 132 jin, which is 22 jin per person. Yan Bugui is stingy and has no intention of buying the negotiated grain.
After repeated research by the family, they finally came up with a way that didn't cost much money: to exchange the refined grains in their ration for coarse grains. That solved the problem.
The turmoil caused by the food shortage eventually subsided, but the impact of this incident was far-reaching.
These kinds of things, like those in the courtyard houses, are just a microcosm of this society.
They're everywhere!
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