The old leader Jing Qisheng, with a head full of white hair, put his hands on his waist, turned his back to the crowd, and looked at the warehouse full of food in front of him for a long time without saying a word.
Shen Guoming and Liu Shengli, with bruised faces and noses, stood behind Leader Jing, glaring at each other, as if they were going to continue fighting without saying a word.
Ma Weiping covered his mouth and laughed secretly, Lin Sanqi looked confused, and the young employees of the two hospitals did not dare to breathe.
After a long time, Leader Jing asked in a low voice:
“Shen Guoming, how much food is here?”
Dean Shen didn't dare to be naughty at this time. He felt a little uneasy in his heart, but he still answered honestly:
"Here, here are 50 tons of corn flour and 50 tons of millet flour. But old leader, these grains are for our Chinese medicine hospital..."
"Okay, no need to say more."
The big leader stretched out his hand motionlessly, stopping Shen Guoming from continuing to speak, and continued lightly:
"100 tons of food? Haha, Shen Guoming, you are really capable. You are more promising than other brothers. So, take 30 tons of food and send it to the headquarters immediately. I want it."
Dean Shen opened his mouth, glared at Ma Weiping, who looked gloating, and answered with a stiff upper lip:
"Report: Received. Deliver 30 tons of food to headquarters tomorrow morning!"
Liu Shengli was anxious, thinking, why didn't the foreign aid he had asked for help speak up for Digital Hospital, but instead put food in his own pocket? Even if you are an old leader, that's too much:
"Old leader, we have our digital hospital. Hundreds of inpatients are crying out for food. Shen Guoming wants to take all the food for himself. This is really unscrupulous and too much."
Dean Shen was feeling aggrieved at the moment, and upon hearing this, he punched Liu Shengli in the face again:
"Fuck you! I bought all this food by exchanging ginseng. Do you think it's easy for me? If you have the ability, go find food for yourself. What's the point of targeting others? You were a bandit back then, and you're still an old bastard now."
When Liu Shengli heard this, he was not angry at all, but happy instead:
"Wait, what did you just say? Food was exchanged for ginseng? Is there such a good thing?"
Leader Jing also turned around, his eyes full of confusion.
Starting from 1959, food was priceless, and a pound of flour was sold for 5 yuan on the black market, which shows how precious food was.
No matter whether it is a painting by Tang Bohu, calligraphy by Zhao Mengfu, or a piece of jade from the five famous kilns and four famous jades, all the antiques that were worth a fortune back then are useless now. There is no way to exchange them for food.
Even if you want to exchange big or small yellow croaker for food, you still have to depend on other people's mood. If you are offered a gold ring in exchange for 10 kilograms of corn flour, would you do it?
By the same token, if people are starving to death, who would take ginseng seriously? It's not like eating it can really make you immortal or immune to all poisons.
Shen Guoming knew that his neck was stiff, and he said arrogantly: “Can’t I exchange ginseng for food?”
Liu Shengli was a little anxious:
"Of course not. If ginseng could be exchanged for grain, wouldn't the ginseng farmers in Changbai Mountain be incredibly well-fed? I went there on a business trip earlier this year, and the situation is pretty dire because the farmers aren't growing grain and can't sell their ginseng."
Lin Sanqi was terrified as he listened to this. He thought to himself, his dean is such a smart person, why does he become so stupid when he meets his old friend?
Dean Shen continued to stiffen his neck and snorted softly:
"That's because you, Fatty Liu, are incompetent. Who am I? Back then, I was known as the Little Zhuge Liang. You can't do anything, but I can. Wolves travel a thousand miles to eat meat, while dogs travel a thousand miles to eat shit. Now you know the difference between us, right? Hahaha."
Finally, Leader Jing chuckled and said:
"Back then, I was known as the Great Zhuge, but even I couldn't get so much food. You, the Little Zhuge, have become much more capable now. Since you can get food so easily, why don't you support me a little more?"
Dean Shen knew that he had over-exaggerated and quickly begged for mercy:
"No, no, I have a limited amount of food. You may have heard that I set up a farm to accommodate the laid-off employees and their families. I have to support these people, otherwise they will starve to death."
Everyone present sighed in unison after hearing this: "Yes, it's difficult, everything is difficult..."
Ma Weiping suddenly interrupted at this time:
"Old Shen, we're all family, and it's not just your Chinese medicine hospital that has ginseng. Our digital hospital also has quite a bit in stock. Tell us your sources, and we'll get some to exchange for food."
Dean Shen laughed and said, "Oh, exchanging ginseng for food, this is a mistake. Don't forget what you are wearing?"
Ma Weiping rolled his eyes. "You know you're making a mistake, yet you still dare to exchange food? You're being disorganized and undisciplined. Old leader, confiscate all the food from this old fellow."
Liu Shengli quickly sang a duet:
"Old Shen, Brother Shen, don't worry about whether you made a mistake or not. People are starving to death. Who cares about whether it's wrong or not? The biggest mistake right now is letting the patients starve and the employees suffer, so just hand over your food supply channel."
Leader Jing was also very interested: "Yes, Little Zhuge, I am interested too."
Lin Sanqi thought that all the old guys present were from the same school and family, and he was an outsider. Would he be betrayed and killed as a sacrifice to cheer up his fellow disciples?
It looks like I have to run away with the bucket.
Dean Shen's eyes rolled around, thinking that although they had just had a fierce fight, they were all old brothers. Could he really just watch them starve?
And if he doesn't think of a solution for them today, the remaining 70 tons of food will not be preserved either.
"Old leader, I really can't tell you where this food comes from. If I tell you, I'll be hurting others. But if you have ginseng, donkey-hide gelatin, musk, bezoar, ambergris, rhino horn, or other valuable Chinese medicinal herbs, you can give them to me. I'll find a way to exchange them for food."
After Dean Shen finished speaking, he secretly glanced at Lin Sanqi. He was sure that Lin Sanqi would not miss this good opportunity to make a profit.
Until now, even Shen Guoming, who is known as the Little Zhuge, still believes that Lin Sanqi got the food from the black market, otherwise there is no way to explain where the food came from.
Even if Lin Sanqi dared to tell him that she had traveled through time, Dean Shen might not believe it. He had never read Qidian novels...
When Liu Shengli heard this, he patted Shen Guoming’s shoulder fiercely:
"Okay, you have to keep your word. I'm going back to the hospital to collect Chinese medicinal herbs. You must exchange them for food."
Shen Guoming had no objection, but his old boss and leader were still present. He could represent the organization. Several of them had been discussing speculation and profiteering. Was this really okay?
So he signaled to Leader Jing with his eyes, and Liu Shengli and Ma Weiping both looked nervously at this old leader who was usually serious.
Leader Jing blinked, "Why are you looking at me?"
Liu Shengli rubbed his hands and asked cautiously, "Old leader, um, um, can you please turn a blind eye to what happened to us today..."
Leader Jing stomped slowly around the grain pile, smiling and saying:
"The only source of food now is the black market. I don't think it's possible to get food from the black market domestically. All the major granaries are now under military control. No one would dare to risk their life to sell food to the black market.
So the most likely source of this food is overseas, or perhaps from our country's Hong Kong region, and then smuggled in through secret channels. Therefore, this food is not under national surveillance. Xiao Shen, am I right?"
Dean Shen's back was soaked with sweat when he heard this. In 1960, no one of our overseas relations, whether it was the polar bear in the north, the United States on the other side, or distant Europe, was our friend.
We have many friends, such as the black uncles in Africa, the poor uncles in Latin America, and the small countries in Eastern Europe.
These countries are poorer than us and have less food than we do. It is good enough that they don’t come here to beg for money. How could they possibly export food to our country?
If the food is obtained from overseas, the most likely source is those capitalist countries, which would lead to serious consequences that are unimaginable.
Now that’s great, the big boss found the loophole with just one guess.
The whole place was silent, everyone knew that anything they said now would be wrong.
Who knew that Leader Jing burst out laughing instead:
"Hey, why are you all so quiet all of a sudden? Are you scared? Liu Shengli, Shen Guoming, keep fighting, you childish ones.
Food is a good thing, a strategic resource, and the very foundation of our survival. What's so scary about it? So I don't care where the food comes from. Even if Chiang Kai-shek sends it, I'll take it!
"Exchange, exchanging Chinese medicinal herbs for food, this business can be done. We soldiers are judged by the results, and we want the final victory. The process is not important. Weren't the Japanese our transport team back then? We used their food and guns to defeat them in turn. What's wrong with that?"
Liu Shengli's eyes lit up when he heard this:
"Yes, we are getting a good deal by exchanging some of the medicinal herbs grown in the fields for food. Chinese medicinal herbs are not strategic materials. If we use them up this year, we can just dig them up again next year. They will grow again in succession anyway."
Dean Shen almost fell to the ground after hearing this, thinking that fortunately his old leader was not a person who played by the rules. If he had met the ideological and political cadres today, he would probably be doomed.
Lin Sanqi looked at the big leader a few more times at this time, thinking that this old leader was so bold and open-minded, and he would probably suffer a lot in a few years.
Ma Weiping took the opportunity to flatter:
"Brother Chen, I haven't asked you for anything in all these years. If you give me some of the food today, I won't take it for free. How about I trade you some ginseng? I beg you."
Dean Shen sighed.
"Okay, you bring me ginseng worth 100,000 yuan, and I'll give you 20 tons of grain. Ah, I'm losing money on this deal."
Lin Sanqi almost vomited blood, thinking, how about I only buy your ginseng worth 100,000 yuan when there are 100 tons of grain in the warehouse?
Black, so fucking black! (End of this chapter)
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