Xu Damao knew that although it was a time of natural disasters and severe crop failures in rural areas, ensuring his own survival was definitely not a problem. However, the grain he grew did not belong to him; it was allocated centrally, with priority given to urban workers, including Xu Damao himself.
As Xu Damao walked, he arrived at the home of the production team leader of the village he had previously visited. He noticed the gate was ajar, indicating someone was home.
"Is anyone home?" Xu Damao knocked on the door.
"Who is it? Come in." A middle-aged man inside called out.
Hearing that he could come in directly, Xu Damao pushed open the gate, pushed his cart inside, and went in. Inside was a courtyard, but it was quite empty. A person was sitting in a room facing the gate.
"Is Lao Fan home? This is Xu Damao." Xu Damao was backlit, so the person inside couldn't be seen clearly.
"Xiao Xu? Come in quickly. It's been a long time since you last came to see me."
The person sitting inside was Fan Changyou, the production team leader. He was in his forties, but looked at least 60, with gray hair and a full beard.
Xu Damao noticed that Fan Changyou looked much older than when they last met, and he was deeply moved. They were all human, but the three old men in the compound were about the same age as Fan, while Jia Zhangshi was even a few years older, yet they looked like they belonged to different generations. Fan Changyou, on the other hand, was the team leader, a minor official, and his life was better than that of the average rural person.
"Captain Fan, how have you been lately?" Xu Damao parked his car and stood in front of Fan Changyou, exchanging pleasantries with him.
"Sigh, it's a long story." Fan Changyou let out a long sigh.
Then I told Xu Damao about their situation, and it should be said that the reality was even more brutal than what was written. Besides not having enough to eat, many people have given up hope in the face of natural disasters, and year after year they see no hope.
Many people have already started heading into the city. There are still relatively few people here, but it's said that even more people from surrounding provinces are heading to Beijing, and some have even passed through here.
“It’s hard not to talk about this. Da Mao, I know you’ve been doing well. At the beginning of last year, people were even showing movies and talking about you. It’s a pity that later everyone was struggling to make ends meet, and no one came to show movies anymore,” Fan Changyou said.
"It's alright. I'm still working at the steel rolling mill, but in a branch factory," Xu Damao said.
"By the way, Damao, what brings you here today?" Fan Changyou asked, indicating his purpose.
Xu Damao didn't say anything else, only that someone wanted to see if there was anything good, so he went to the countryside to take a look.
"Sigh, the brigade still has a few pigs, but they're terribly thin. Those were ordered long ago and can't be touched. Other families probably don't have any left either. If they did, they would have sold them or eaten them themselves long ago. Everyone's starving to death, so nobody's keeping any for themselves," Fan Changyou sighed.
When conditions were slightly better, these production brigades could tamper with the pigs they raised, causing them to either fall to their deaths or die of disease, ultimately benefiting the brigade itself. But now there are only a few left; the higher-ups are very strict, and there are quotas for each pig.
As for the wild game that other families kept for themselves, they sold it early on to exchange for grain; and in the past three years, the bark on the trees on the mountain has been stripped off, and not to mention wild rabbits and pheasants, not a single feather is left.
"I just came to take a look, I don't have any expectations," Xu Damao said.
After chatting with Fan Changyou for a while, Xu Damao prepared to leave. Before leaving, Xu Damao took a bag of cornmeal from the bag on the back of his bicycle and handed it to Fan Changyou.
Xu Damao had anticipated the difficulties faced by rural areas and had prepared some grain. However, with every household in this situation, he didn't know what to do and could only help acquaintances he knew.
"Da Mao, you... sigh."
Fan Changyou was really excited when he saw the small bag of cornmeal. He was originally going to refuse, but when he thought of his family, he couldn't bring himself to say no. After thinking for a moment, he asked Xu Damao to wait a moment while he went back to his room to get something.
"Da Mao, this calligraphy and painting is for you. Sigh, this was passed down to me by my grandfather. He originally intended to pass it on to his descendants, but in this day and age, people can't even live long enough to survive. What use is this?"
"If you hadn't come today, I was planning to go to town in the next few days to find someone to sell him for food."
Fan Changyou brought out an ancient painting and calligraphy, which looked very elegant and seemed to be the work of a master from the Ming Dynasty. To be honest, Xu Damao had also collected a lot of cultural artifacts and antiques over the years, but at first he really just saw them as tools to make money after the reform and opening up.
But the more he collected and the more knowledge he gained, the more awe he felt for these things. These antiques were not just objects, but tools for communication between modern people and people from the past.
"Old Fan, this is a good piece of art. Keep it for yourself; it can really be passed down through generations." Xu Damao didn't lack such a piece of calligraphy and painting and wouldn't take advantage of someone's misfortune to obtain their wealth.
“Take it if you want, or I’ll sell it for grain sooner or later. If you can’t bear to do that, then trade me more. By the way, our team used to be a big family, and quite a few families have some things. If you’re interested, you can trade your grain with them.”
Fan Changyou suggested. As the team leader, he also hoped that no one in the family would starve to death, and he would not let go of any possible way.
Upon hearing this, Xu Damao's heart stirred. He still had some grain, and the situation would improve next year, so he wouldn't need to continue storing so much.
"Captain Fan, I'm not very familiar with everyone, and they don't trust me. How about this, could you help me talk to the villagers and see if anyone has anything they'd like to exchange for your house?"
"When I come next time, I'll bring the grain directly to your house. As for how to divide it, that's entirely up to you," Xu Damao said.
It's no wonder Xu Damao was cautious; in this day and age, private transactions are taboo, and getting caught really means going to jail.
"Alright then. By the way, if you have a way, try to get more coarse grains, the kind that can be preserved," Fan Changyou instructed.
In the end, Xu Damao gave all the grain on the truck to Fan Changyou as a deposit, which also slightly alleviated the hunger situation here. This was the greatest contribution Xu Damao could make while ensuring his own safety.
Xu Damao originally planned to visit more places, but seeing that everyone was in a similar situation, he simply rode his bike back to the city.
Previously, Xu Damao only went to work a regular job, rarely venturing into the suburbs, so he hadn't paid much attention. But today, he noticed there were indeed quite a few homeless and begging people. Of course, the government is also doing its best to resettle these disaster victims.
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