Director Wu seemed to have made up his mind. He carefully put the letter of introduction into the envelope and sealed it in his desk. Then he said to Qin Huai:
"According to the old custom, the granary has to dispose of the old grain every year and then load new grain. Your visit this time just gives you an opportunity.
The new leadership allocated a batch of grain from out of town, but after receiving it, we discovered it was old grain. If this were discovered, many people in the county would be implicated, so the regional leadership decided to sell the old grain for new, which is a good opportunity to give it to you. However, it's against the rules for the granary to sell grain privately. Qin Huai, giving the grain to you would be a significant risk."
"Understood. I promise to cooperate with the Director. I will do whatever you say."
"The most important thing is that we can't make it public. Even though it's old grain, the price should still be based on new grain. Is that okay?"
Qin Huai was influenced by Director Wu's nervous attitude. Keeping quiet was what he wanted to do. He nodded repeatedly and said, "As long as we don't embarrass the director, we'll just follow the rules."
Although there are normal procedures, taking grain from the national grain depot is ultimately illegal. This kind of operation cannot be thoroughly investigated. A thorough investigation will result in violations and imprisonment. It can be seen that Director Wu is very cautious. If it were not for Qin Huai's request, no one else would be able to do it today.
This batch of grain was delivered to the village in the middle of the night. Qin Laoshuan personally took several village cadres who were aware of the situation to unload the goods. Even the thin women's director carried the grain with a happy face, just like the men.
After 100,000 kilograms of grain were stored in the warehouse, Qin Laoshuan and several other village cadres acted as if nothing had happened and continued to do what they were supposed to do. Qin Laoshuan would even go to the commune to grind grain every day because the village’s relief grain was not in place.
People of this generation are better than those in the developed period a few decades later in terms of both wisdom and character.
After finishing this big thing, Qin Huai finally put down the burden in his heart and began to return to normal life, repairing cars and selling things in the store every day.
To be honest, car repair is really not profitable in this era. Fortunately, soap has been sold all the time, mixed with these contraband goods, the family can make ends meet. Qin Huai is now married to Maggie Cheung, and his goals in the county have become bigger. He dare not easily engage in speculative business, and stays in the shop with peace of mind every day. The car repair shop has also become a gathering place for people nearby.
"Qin Huai, can your sister-in-law ask you for a favor?" A woman named Bai Mei suddenly approached Qin Huai and asked mysteriously.
She is the wife of the tax bureau director and her living conditions are much better than those of ordinary people. Like most leaders in the past, she would never have paid attention to Qin Huai. Now, she has put aside her airs and actively joined the group chat of the auto repair shop. She can also be as down-to-earth as the aunties and sisters-in-law on the street.
"Sister-in-law, I can't accept this. You are the director's wife. How can I help you?"
Bai Mei rolled her eyes and said, "You are the county magistrate's husband, how can you not help?" Several women laughed together. Although Zhang Keyi was only the office director, everyone was used to calling her County Magistrate Zhang because there were rumors that she would be promoted as soon as she arrived.
Aunt Sun, who lives next door to Qin Huai, said, "I thought Qin Huai was a good guy and wanted to introduce my niece to him. Fortunately, I didn't mention it. Otherwise, I would be too embarrassed to see County Magistrate Zhang now."
As soon as Aunt Sun finished speaking, someone laughed at her and said, "Old Sun, the last time County Magistrate Zhang greeted you, you were so scared that you stuttered and forgot."
This is a stain on Aunt Sun's life. She wants to settle the score with anyone who talks. The atmosphere seems very relaxed, but in fact, the lives of women of their age are far from happy as they seem. Many of them have gray hair in their thirties. It can be said that they are the group of people who have the hardest life in the city.
As wives, they first had to ensure their husbands didn't starve. If their husbands starved, the family would lose its basic income. As mothers, they also had to ensure their children were kept half-fed and half-full, and not starve to death.
In the era of food rationing, it was difficult for everyone to have enough to eat. If someone wanted to take care of the family, someone had to make sacrifices. So the only option for women was to give up their own rations to men, children and the elderly.
If they can survive without food, they will definitely not eat a single bite; if a piece of flesh can grow back after being cut off, they will not hesitate to cut a piece of flesh from their bodies and stew it for the whole family. These simple and great women made great sacrifices in difficult times.
Aunt Sun didn't smoke originally, but now whenever a street official comes to her, she will smoke two cigarettes, because smokers will get an extra pack of cheap cigarette coupons. Cigarette coupons are scarce commodities, and they are the best things whether they are given as gifts or exchanged for food coupons.
Qin Huai once asked her, "Auntie, why do I see you light up a cigarette even when the boss is not around? Are you addicted to smoking?"
Aunt Sun shook her head and said, "No, I smoke because it helps me calm down."
The auntie next to her exposed her and said, "Qin Huai, don't listen to her lies. She was forced to smoke because it can relieve hunger. She said that when she is very hungry, she smokes a cigarette. Having something in her stomach can temporarily make her forget about hunger. Don't look at Lao Sun as a careless person. She has done so much for her family and children.
Usually, Aunt Sun was even a little snobbish, and Qin Huai had some opinions about her, but after this incident, he finally understood her completely.
Every aunt present had some minor flaws, but when it came to giving and devotion, they did the most.
Seeing everyone chatting animatedly, Bai Mei whispered, "The county is handing out preferential coupons, and key leaders can get an extra one. Director Zhang, with your rank, should be able to get one. If you don't want to use them, I'd like to exchange them with your food coupons. My daughter has no milk after giving birth, and the baby cries out in hunger every day. The milk substitute at the department store is only available with coupons, so it's not available on normal days. Can you discuss this with County Magistrate Zhang?"
Qin Huai thought for a moment and said, "Sister Bai, this is my lover's ticket. I can't make the decision for her. Is this okay? I'll ask her tonight. If it's okay, I'll give it to you."
"Thank you so much." Bai Mei hurriedly expressed her gratitude. These days, even though her husband is the director of the tax bureau, scarce materials are still subject to control.
In this way, the entrance of this small shop in Qinhuai has become a high-end material trading market in the county.
As the weather gets colder, the control in the county town has become very strict. The ragged farmers who were seen everywhere a while ago are no longer seen now. The county has launched a major public security operation, prohibiting the free movement of people to cause unrest in the county town.
Farmers who are short of food can only go to the countryside. However, in today's rural areas, every family already has insufficient food to eat, and these beggars from outside often go a whole day without getting a single grain of food.
Qin Huai understood that the situation was just as he remembered, and famine was about to happen again. He looked at all this in despair and could only feel powerless.
Qin Laoshuan suddenly appeared at the door, and the old man hurriedly greeted him, "Laoshuan, why are you here?"
"I just had a meeting in the county. The commune is going to start running a large canteen again. I came by to see you."
Hearing the word "big canteen", Qin Huai couldn't help but shudder, staring blankly at Old Man Qin who gave Qin Laoshuan a pound of noodles without any hesitation.
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