Dongshui Village and the surrounding villages began a year of famine.
The food supply has gone from being unable to survive without food to having no rice to cook now.
Those who had no other choice could only go up the mountains and down the rivers, trying to find something to eat to fill their stomachs.
Some people have ways, such as the educated youth who went to the countryside, all of them tried to get their families to bring them back to the city, so several educated youth have left their village.
Zhao Jianguo is one of them. His father retired due to illness and asked him to return to the city to take over his job.
However, he did not take Chen Hongying with him, but left quietly by himself.
It is said that not long after Zhao Jianguo left, Chen Hongying also disappeared. Some people speculated that she went to find Zhao Jianguo while she was pregnant.
The famine lasted until the spring of the following year.
At this time, the villagers had basically no food to eat. Even the tender leaves that had just grown on the trees would be plucked off and put into a pot with everything else to cook together, just to fill their stomachs.
The bark of the trees on the mountain has been stripped off.
After pulling out the bark, dry it and mash it into a paste, then boil it in water to make you feel full.
But it was just a false feeling of fullness and did not replenish any energy to the body, so the villagers were not only thin but also weak.
Such a body does not have much energy for spring planting.
Moreover, even if this batch of grain is planted in the spring, it will have to wait until autumn to be harvested.
So, people began to feel desperate.
When people are so hungry that they lose their rationality, they can do anything.
Cases of theft also increased, but everyone had no food, so there was nothing to steal and people had to starve anyway.
If we continue to be hungry, we will starve to death.
Just then, a dozen men gathered at the village chief's house.
"Village chief, why did you ask us to come here today?" one of them asked.
The village chief sat in the main seat in the lobby, looking calm and composed.
"No hurry, sit down and eat something first."
At this time, Yang Bin brought over a basin of steamed buns and removed the covering, revealing the big steamed buns inside.
The steamed buns were placed in a large basin, with the big buns stacked one on top of the other, so there were at least twenty or thirty steamed buns in the basin.
Ever since Yang Bin showed up, the dozen or so hungry men never moved away from the bowl of steamed buns in Yang Bin's hand.
They are like hungry wolves in the wilderness with green eyes, staring fiercely at a piece of fat meat, as if they will pounce on it at any time.
If they hadn't still retained some rationality, they would have rushed forward impatiently to grab the food and devour it.
However, even if there is still some sanity left, this string of sanity is fragile.
A dark-skinned man who played well with Li Shengli swallowed hard and couldn't help asking, "Shengli, what do you want us to do? Just tell me."
His words were direct, but they also reflected the thoughts of everyone present.
If it wasn't a life-threatening matter, who would take out a large bowl of steamed buns when there was not enough tree bark to eat?
However, even if it is a life-threatening thing, they will do it, but they still have to ask clearly.
Li Shengli coughed and said seriously, "I do have something to discuss with you all. Please listen to Yang Bin."
The village chief also nodded.
Everyone's eyes were instantly focused on Yang Bin.
Yang Bin's eyes were dark, and he spoke in a magnetic and deep voice something that could drive people crazy.
"This may take a while, so eat your buns first and then we'll talk in detail."
When you don't have something, you may still be able to control it, but once you have it, you will never want to let it go.
Most people subconsciously did not move, but a skinny young man inside threw aside all his worries, rushed forward, picked up the bun on top, and impatiently opened his mouth to take a big bite.
"This steamed bun is mixed with white flour, it's so soft!"
The skinny young man exclaimed, although he was still chewing a steamed bun, which made his words unclear, but everyone could tell what he wanted to express from his shining eyes.
Once the first person eats the crab, there will be a second one. Everyone starts to rush around the big basin, grabbing the buns and stuffing them into their mouths.
Li Shengli also thoughtfully poured water for them.
"Drink some water, don't choke."
After everyone had eaten a large steamed bun and drank some water and felt hungry, they restrained themselves and stopped, waiting for the verdict.
Yes, everyone knows that after eating, they will definitely have to pay a price, and they accept it. If they are going to die sooner or later, they might as well die with a big stomach.
Unexpectedly, Yang Bin just asked indifferently.
"I would like to ask you, what do you think about this spring planting?"
"Don't worry, we will definitely follow the organization's arrangements."
"Yes, yes, yes."
Yang Bin raised his eyebrows: "In fact, if everyone grows crops together, everyone has their own selfish motives and will stop working after completing the work that can be reported to the supervisor."
As he spoke, Yang Bin mentioned the names of the dark-skinned man and three other people.
"I remember that you guys all did a good job on farm work, but once you've completed ten work points, you'll stop doing it too."
The person who was named looked ashamed and was about to say that he would work harder in the future, but he heard Yang Bin continue speaking.
"Actually, I'm not talking about you guys. I'm the same. After I finish ten work points, I'll go help my family with chores."
After he said that, everyone was a little confused about what he wanted them to do today.
Moreover, this kind of thing is usually tacitly understood. Is it really okay to say it in front of the village chief now?
Everyone looked at each other, then secretly glanced at the old village chief and found that although he snorted, he did not interrupt their conversation.
Yang Bin asked again: "But if the land and food are all yours, what will you do?"
The dark-skinned man blurted out, "That must be 100% of your strength, and you should use 120% of it immediately. That's for sure."
He bluntly spoke out his selfish motives, and when he came to his senses, he scratched his head in embarrassment.
"That's true." Yang Bin nodded in agreement.
"Since we are told by our superiors to be responsible for our own profits and losses and to be self-sufficient, why don't we divide the land among the households?"
"Divide the land into households?"
"Yes, that is, all the fields are divided according to the number of families, and each family grows their own food. When the harvest comes, except for the food that is handed in, the rest belongs to you."
"Also, you don't have to follow the rigid rules above. You can plant whatever you want. For example, during this famine, everyone is out of food. You can divide a piece of land and plant food with a short harvest cycle to keep yourself alive first."
Yang Bin said these treasonous words calmly.
If these remarks had been made in the past, the people would have been arrested and criticized.
Some people looked terrified and subconsciously looked at the old village chief, only to find that he was calm and seemed not surprised at all by Yang Bin's words.
(The event of signing a life and death agreement to divide the land among households is based on the historical incident of Xiaogang Village in Fengyang.)
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