After waiting for a long time and confirming that there was no one outside, Xu Damao finally emerged from his spatial dimension and reappeared in the dense grass.
By this time, the sky was already beginning to lighten, and there was no one outside; it seemed they had all been taken away. Xu Damao proceeded cautiously, finally managing to quietly return to the courtyard house before daybreak.
Back home, Xu Damao changed his clothes, went back to bed, and fell asleep holding Wang Minzhi.
When Xu Damao woke up, Wang Minzhi was already up and had prepared breakfast. Looking at his watch, it was already past 8 a.m., so he quickly got up. In later years, this would be considered a normal wake-up time for young people, but in this era, it was synonymous with laziness. Luckily, it was the weekend, and he didn't need to work, otherwise he would have missed a lot of things.
After getting up, Xu Damao first went out to use the restroom and then checked if Yan Fugui had returned home.
"Jiecheng, why are you all standing at the door?" Xu Damao walked to the front yard and saw the entire Yan family standing at the door. It seemed Yan Fugui hadn't returned yet, and they were all waiting.
"Da Mao, you came back last night. My dad went fishing, and we're waiting for him to come back for dinner." Yan Jiecheng was clearly unwilling to tell Xu Damao that Yan Fugui had gone to the black market and hadn't returned home yet, and that the whole family was worried about him.
"Oh, is that so? Then you can wait patiently." Since the other party was unwilling to talk, Xu Damao didn't insist and went directly to the restroom.
After returning home, Wang Minzhi and I stayed at home for a while before putting the cornmeal we had prepared in advance on the cart and pushing the cart out the door.
“Xu Damao is a fool. He keeps sending grain to his father-in-law’s house. There’s a food shortage right now. He can’t eat it all. He might as well give some to my family. Dongxu is the only one in our family who has food. It’s really too hard.”
When passing the Zhongyuan Courtyard, Jia Zhangshi saw the bulging bags in Xu Damao's car and was very displeased. Later, a great writer said, "Morality is something people consider only after they are full," which is absolutely true. Before, the Jia family's living conditions were good, and Jia Zhangshi was not so aggressive towards others; but now their family could be said to have the least food ration per person in the courtyard, and even with Yi Zhonghai's help, they were still struggling.
Fortunately, the Jia family now has five members, including two children. Little Dang, who is only one year old, only needs to drink milk, otherwise it would be even more difficult.
"Mom, keep your voice down. They haven't gone far. I heard from Dongxu that Xu Damao is a big shot at the First Factory now. We shouldn't offend him," Qin Huairu, who was holding Xiaodang, reminded her mother-in-law as she heard her complaining.
“Xu Damao works at the branch factory, while my Dongxu is a team leader at the main factory. That means he’s more powerful than him. What am I afraid of?” Jia Zhangshi said, her voice trailing off. She now knew that her Dongxu’s team leader position was only temporary, and although it was temporary for a while, she wouldn’t back down.
Watching Xu Damao and Wang Minzhi walk away, Qin Huairu was truly envious of them. The other woman always thought of her in-laws, frequently bringing grain and even meat and vegetables there, while her own Dongxu never wanted to visit his parents' home during holidays, and even when he did, he never brought anything good back.
When Xu Damao left the front yard, he saw Yi Zhonghai standing at the Yan family's house. Xu Damao greeted him and left, not paying any more attention to Yan Fugui's situation. Thinking that Yan Jiecheng and the others had noticed Yan Fugui hadn't returned and suspected something might have happened, they went to find Yi Zhonghai.
As an elderly man living in the compound, Yi Zhonghai is familiar with the local streets and police station. He should be able to get Yan Fugui, who was just there to buy some things, out of trouble.
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"Da Mao, you changed so much food in one night. Thank you so much, Uncle. With this much grain and some wild vegetables, my family will be fine for the next few months." Looking at the grain, Uncle felt a sense of relief, as if he had been given a new lease on life.
Yesterday, his sister exchanged a small amount of cornmeal, which he took home to solve this month's problem, but what about the next few months?
He can't possibly come looking for his sister again next time, can he? In this day and age, let alone siblings, even a mother's love is useless when it comes to food.
"Sister, brother-in-law, we really have to thank you this time, otherwise our family would not have made it. Now, thanks to Da Mao for helping us exchange these cornmeal, we've been here for several days now, and I'm thinking of going back with Hu Zi later." Third Uncle said to everyone.
"We're all family, why are you saying these things? As long as we have food to eat, we won't let you starve. Next time you have any difficulties, just come over, don't be shy."
"If you want to leave, I won't stop you. You have a whole family waiting for you over there. Wait a moment, I'll get you something to eat on the way."
Looking at her younger brother, Wang's mother sighed. In this year, this was all the help she, as the older sister, could offer; she had a large family to support. Besides, if she kept helping this relative, what about her husband's other relatives, and what about her daughter-in-law's many relatives?
Therefore, it's true that you can help in an emergency but not in a life of poverty, and this emergency help should only be provided within your means, otherwise your own family will fall into chaos.
The Wang family understands this principle, and so does Xu Damao. For example, since Hu Zi is currently unemployed, Xu Damao could easily arrange a job for him at the branch factory. However, since Hu Zi is a relative of the Wang family, and the Wang family hasn't mentioned it, Xu Damao brought it up himself, which would surely make his third uncle and Hu Zi very happy.
But what about the other relatives of the Wang family and Minzhi's sister-in-law's family? Xu Damao could arrange jobs for one person, but not for ten. Finding a job for just one person is extremely difficult right now, so the other members of the Wang family didn't mention it to him.
Once this door is opened, countless other doors will follow. Of course, if the Wang family discusses it and asks him to come up with a solution, he will make arrangements accordingly. He believes that the Wang family's initiative must be the result of their careful consideration.
Third Uncle and Tiger left without eating lunch, carrying the dry food given to them by Wang's mother. According to Third Uncle, if they went back at this time, they would take a bus for a while, and then walk, and should be able to get home late at night.
At that time, everyone in the village was asleep, so his carrying the grain wouldn't attract attention. Otherwise, his house would be blocked off by people wanting to borrow grain the next day.
Not lending? Sorry, they're barely surviving, what do they care about saving face? They'll do anything.
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