Chapter 19: The Problem of Rations
The next morning, she was woken up.
There is a quarrel outside.
Today is their fifth day here, and they have been eating the rations provided by Liu Changqing and Wang Jianmao. She had given them money and tickets a long time ago, and agreed that they would last for a week, but Zhu Feng did not give them any.
In those days, everyone was tightening their belts. Newly arrived educated youth had no food, so you either gave them money and tickets or had their rations delivered as soon as possible. However, it was already the fifth day, and Zhu Feng hadn't even said a word.
Wang Jianmao is a good guy, but Liu Changqing is not someone who can tolerate being wronged.
When it was his turn to cook in the morning, he immediately lost his temper and called out to Zhu Feng, "It's the fifth day. When are you going to bring us your rations? We're running low on food."
Zhu Feng didn't expect him to be so direct. After a pause, he said, "I've only just started to adapt to the work these past few days, and I'm not familiar with the people on the team. Can I wait a while until I'm more familiar with them and then find a way to borrow money?"
Liu Changqing refused: "It's the end of the year now, and our food rations are really running low. It's already tight for us to eat, and if you two add to that, we're really going to go hungry."
"Then I'll give the money. I'll give the money and the ticket first, just like Wen Wan."
Liu Changqing shook his head. "It's hard to buy food with money right now. Every household is short of food." It's been five days. Why didn't they give the money earlier? Why did they have to force him to do so? He had seen through Zhu Feng. He was not a straightforward person and could not do business with him.
Zhu Feng was furious. "No, Comrade Liu Changqing, what do you mean? We are all educated youth, revolutionary comrades who came to support rural development. How can you be so disloyal?"
Liu Changqing ignored him and went into the kitchen to add firewood and boil water.
Zhu Feng had no choice but to go find Wang Jianmao. Although Wang Jianmao looked easy to talk to, he was more difficult to talk to than anyone else when it came to the issue of food rations.
He can help Wen Wan fetch water, help Wen Wan cook, and teach her some things, but that doesn't mean he is really that generous and honest.
Wen Wan was a lesbian, young and good-looking, and people always had a preference for such people. Besides, Wen Wan was a person who knew how to deal with things, so there was no problem in helping her out like this.
Zhu Feng, however, was different. A grown man, he wasn't as good as a young girl in dealing with things. He had been eating quietly beside them for several days without saying a word. If Liu Changqing hadn't made it clear, he didn't know how long he would have continued to muddle along.
Liu Changqing made it clear that he would not be cooked anymore, but he became unhappy as if he had been wronged.
Wen Wan stood behind the door and understood the whole story. She opened her mouth but didn't know what to say. She simply said nothing and pretended she didn't hear anything.
She waited until the meal was cooked before leaving the house. Knowing that she ate too slowly, she scooped a little bit and added a little salt. She almost finished her meal by the time the others finished. When washing the jar, she poured some water into her mouth and gulped it out. Then she went into the house, put some dry food on her body, and ran away without waiting for Liu Changqing and the others.
Since she walks slowly, she must leave earlier. She can't leave later or people will say she has no sense of progress.
As he walked, he was thinking that he must get the food issue settled today. He said he would deliver it in a week, so he had to keep his word.
She rested twice on the way before she reached the half-cleared wasteland halfway up the mountain. By the time she arrived at the field, almost all the members of the cooperative had arrived and started working.
She was not too late, so she breathed a sigh of relief, took off the dustpan on her body and went to find Lu Minghai.
Lu Minghai shouted there, and those who were planning to chat in the fields started to move one after another.
Wen Wan leaned over and shouted, "Captain!" Then she looked up and smiled.
"What is it?"
Wen Wan said, "Regarding the rations, I want to get a hundred kilograms of food."
Lu Minghai said, "Start working first. When you're done, I'll write you a note. Take it to your accountant, Liu Zhaoxing, and he'll write you a note."
"Ah!" It was settled just like that, and Wen Wan felt relieved. The conditions here were a bit harsh, but the people were still easy to talk to!
After working for several days, she had gradually adapted to the task. She was still painfully slow, but she knew it wasn't as difficult as she had been the previous few days. Of course, she didn't plan to work faster now that it was easier. She would just take her time, as honest people often suffer. She decided to just take her time and muddle through. Once everyone knew she was slow, they wouldn't have much to look forward to.
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