While driving, Zhou Xiaozheng considered that his eldest son, Zhou Xiaocun, had also returned today. He had originally wanted to go see the old lady, but now he had no interest in doing so. He was driving while wondering whether he should give Zhou Xiaocun a good lesson or just ignore him. There was no rush for this matter; he would wait and see for a few days.
After leaving the county, he decided to head further afield to see if there were any fine grains. If he remembered correctly, there was a county called HX in K Province not far from where he was. There was more land there than here, life was more affluent, and it was also close to the sea. The year-end seafood here was shipped in from there. Driving there would take no more than two hours, enough for a round trip. Zhou Xiaozheng immediately turned around and headed in the direction of Daqing Mountain.
As they drove closer to Province K, they saw more trucks coming and going. Zhou Xiaozheng was secretly happy that he had come to the right place. He stopped by the roadside and waited for a while. When he saw a truck heading towards Province K, he immediately followed it. After driving for a full hour, he saw that the truck was heading towards the suburbs of Province K.
He quickly honked his horn to greet the other person, then when he saw the other person stopped, he quickly got out and walked over. "Comrade, I'd like to ask, where can I buy some fine grains nearby?"
The other man looked at him, and seeing he was a soldier, he was no longer on guard. He said with a smile, "Comrade, are you coming from another province? I see your car isn't from here. You're right to ask me. I have five children, and the food supply in the city is simply not enough. I often come to these villages to buy some fine grain. They don't require food coupons, but it's a bit expensive. Look at my car, it smells like fish. The villages near the sea can't grow food, so they buy food from them often. I've followed them a few times, and now I know the way. You'll follow me later, I want to bring some fine grain back this time too."
Zhou Xiaozheng was overjoyed and shouted happily: "Comrade, this is great! I have met an important person when I went out. I was planning to try my luck, but fortunately I met you."
"Haha, follow me. It's almost the end of the year and the grain distribution is coming. This time we don't have to worry about running out of food."
Zhou Xiaozheng quickly got in the car and followed the truck. Not long after, the car stopped in a large village.
The truck driver said with a smile, "Comrade, what's your last name? I'm from the K Province Aquatic Products Company. My surname is Liu, and my given name is Sanyuan. Come find me at the K Province Aquatic Products Company when you have time. Everyone knows me. This village has the most land, and with the year-end rations coming up soon, we shouldn't be short of food."
A 30-minute drive down this broken road brings you to the seaside. Farming is impossible there, and they rely on aid from the surrounding villages. The village chief is a shrewd man. Every year, he keeps a small amount of public grain and the coarse grains distributed to the villagers, then secretly sells fine grains. The extra money is distributed to the villagers. Since everyone shares the same surname and ancestry, no one has reported us. I guess the higher-ups are turning a blind eye as long as they can collect the public grain. Come, I'll take you directly to the chief. Tell him yourself: rice and flour are usually 0.25 yuan each, more expensive than the 0.15 yuan listed in our supply book, but cheaper than the black market. Are you buying more or less this time? If more, I'll give you a smaller price."
Zhou Xiaozheng followed him into a courtyard in the village before he heard his chattering pause. Seeing the door, he whispered, "My name's Zhou, Zhou Xiaozheng. I'm serving in the army in another province, L County. I bought a lot this time, so I'll eat as much as I can. Let's take a look first."
Liu Sanyuan laughed and said, "Brother, you can't take it away. You'll know later." Then he shouted loudly, "Are you home, brother? I'm Liu Sanyuan."
A lean, middle-aged man with a rosy complexion emerged. Seeing Liu Sanyuan and his soldiers, he quickly made way for the inner room and whispered, "You still need to buy food this time, right? Luckily you're here today, otherwise it would be gone tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. How much do you want this time? We don't have much. The captains on the coast already told us in the fall, so we have to leave some for them. If our village ran out of food, they wouldn't agree."
After taking their seats, Liu Sanyuan said to the other party, "Brother Liu, we all share the same ancestor, the surname Liu. How could you bear to see your nephews and nieces go hungry? Think about how much rice and flour you can give us this time? This brother of mine made an appointment with me to come to see you together. You can't let him go empty-handed, can you?"
Captain Liu lowered his head in silence for a moment, then raised his head and said, "There are only 1,000 kilograms of finished rice and flour in the warehouse right now. The rest is paddy and wheat, which isn't much either. After paying the public tax, I estimate there's less than 1,000 kilograms left. I can provide 1,000 kilograms of dried sweet potatoes, but the rest will have to be distributed. How about this? I'll keep 500 kilograms of the finished products and let them divide the rest of the paddy and wheat among themselves. There's no more, so you two can discuss how to divide the 500 kilograms of rice and flour."
Liu Sanyuan asked, "How much is it? We bought quite a lot this time. You know, in the provincial capital, apart from a few dollars in salary, everything costs money. It's not easy for us brothers. We have five children at home."
Captain Liu smiled and said, "Don't cry poor. You don't have money to buy whole grains, so you eat fine grains? Last time, it was 0.25 yuan, and you bought 200 kilograms. I didn't charge you too much. Give it to the neighbors for 0.25 yuan. This is everyone's, not mine. I can't report it to the superiors if it's less, and I don't want it if it's more."
Liu Sanyuan looked at Zhou Xiaozheng and asked, "Brother, how much do you want? Your cart can't carry too much. How about you take 300 kilograms and I take 200 kilograms? If that's not enough, I'll take you to the nearby village to have a look."
Captain Liu waved his hand quickly, "Don't go. The grain from the nearby villages has already been reserved. If you drive over and see we've taken so much, they definitely won't sell it to us. They might even be upset with me. At most, we'll only get 100 kilograms. It's too much trouble. Can I add some for you? Or you can go buy some from them first and then load the truck. You don't know how noisy Yushu Village is. The captain has a very bad temper. If he knew I gave you the grain first, he'd definitely come to my house."
"Haha, brother, then you can add another 300 kilograms. I weigh 300 kilograms, and my brother weighs 500 kilograms."
Captain Liu resolutely shook his head and refused. "Why don't you go buy some first and load the truck back up? If your 200 kilograms is enough, give this comrade 100 kilograms, leaving 400 kilograms for me to reply."
Zhou Xiaozheng and Liu Sanyuan looked at each other and smiled, both realizing they couldn't get any more out of it. Liu Sanyuan had no choice but to say, "Okay, that's all. You have to give us fresh grain, so we can store it for a long time without worrying about it going bad. Brother, you have to give us some dried sweet potatoes, not too much, to make porridge and save food."
"Okay, I always give you 20 kilograms of sweet potatoes, so why don't you tell me how much dried sweet potatoes are? How much would 100 kilograms cost? Let's go, I'll wait for you at the warehouse. You can just drive over."
Liu Sanyuan drove the car in front to lead the way. Zhou Xiaozheng was still considering whether to buy some dried sweet potatoes. The car slowly drove to the drying yard and stopped in front of the warehouse. Captain Liu took the two people inside and opened the bags of rice and flour for them to check.
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