There was a good show to watch early in the morning, and Li Xu felt energized for work.
Unfortunately, this spirit didn’t last long, and it almost disappeared by the time I got to work.
After arriving at the fleet of cars, he skillfully got into the driver's seat and sat there, squinting his eyes to look outside the car.
As I watched, I felt like sleeping.
Finally, Liu Gang also came up.
Li Xu's eyes widened instantly, and his face lit up with excitement. "Uncle Liu, you came so late today. Are you looking for something new?"
After such a long time, he understood Liu Gang as well as Liu Gang understood him.
He knew that Liu Gang usually wouldn't be late, and most of the time he would come earlier than him. If he was so late, there was a high probability that he was going to inquire about new things.
Sure enough, upon hearing this, Liu Gang quickly said, "I heard that many people in our supply and marketing cooperative have asked for leave today, so I went to find out what's going on."
"A lot of people asked for leave?" Li Xu was stunned, then thought for a moment, "I really didn't notice. Tell me, what did they do on leave?"
Liu Gang didn't keep the question secret and said it directly, "The crops are almost harvested now, so they should go to their relatives in the countryside to see if they can borrow some food."
"Borrowing grain now? It's too early. After the harvest, they have to dry it out, and then calculate and distribute it. It will probably take at least ten days to complete."
Liu Gang shook his head. "They are just trying to get the upper hand now. If those country relatives are really willing to lend money, they will be the first to lend it."
They had come up with this idea out of necessity, so Li Xu naturally didn't say anything. Instead, he expressed some sympathy. "That's probably going to be difficult. Given the situation this year, the villagers can't get much food. Most people will probably have to rely on rice husks to survive until the grain comes back."
After a moment's silence, Liu Gangcai slowly said, "They all know, but they still hold on to a glimmer of hope. What if they can actually borrow some? Even if they can't borrow grain, they can get some rice husks. If that doesn't work, they can go to the countryside to collect some tree bark. There's nothing to collect in the city right now."
Li Xu hesitated and asked, "Did you find out this?"
"No, this is what I think. They will definitely not come back empty-handed." Liu Gang's eyes looked out the car window at this time.
Li Xu followed his gaze and saw a row of trees beside the courtyard wall. Those trees were completely without bark, and only a few larger branches were left, without even a leaf on them. They looked extremely desolate.
It was not until that evening that Li Xu found out that not only the people in their supply and marketing cooperative had this idea, but many people in Li Jiakang's factory had also asked for leave that day, all with the same idea.
The next day, Li Xu heard that among those who had asked for leave to go to the countryside yesterday, only one had borrowed some food, and some rice husks; the rest had brought back rice husks and tree bark.
Liu Gang was right indeed. No one came back empty-handed.
In the next few days, not only the supply and marketing cooperatives, but most people in the city who had relatives in the countryside went there.
Especially after the news of grain distribution in the countryside came, Li Xu even felt that half of the city was empty.
It’s true that during this period, many people did borrow food from relatives.
Even if it is only a little, it makes them feel extremely satisfied and grateful.
Because they knew that even this little bit of food was saved by their relatives from their teeth.
Some people were able to borrow food, while others naturally did not, and there were even some who were too greedy.
Some people cut off ties with their relatives because they were unable to borrow grain; others had rural relatives who had grain but refused to lend it.
Some people borrowed food but felt it was too little and said some unpleasant words to their relatives. In the end, not only were they unable to take the food, they were beaten and almost lost their lives.
In just a few days, Li Xu felt like he had seen the good side of human nature, as well as the bad side.
He had never felt it so deeply.
Fortunately, the good things people showed were far greater than the bad, which made him feel a little relieved.
...
At around 8 o'clock that evening, the Li family was chatting in the house when they suddenly heard a knock on the courtyard door.
Li Xu opened the gate and looked, and said quickly, "Uncle Ding, Aunt Ding, are you looking for my parents? They are sitting in the house, come in quickly."
The visitors were Ding Dawei and his wife who lived next door to the Li family. At that time, it was said that distant relatives were not as good as close neighbors, so the relationship between the two families was naturally good.
However, due to the disaster in the past two years, the two families rarely visited each other. The last time was when Li Mei was in college and the other party came to give her a gift, but Li Jiakang confiscated it.
There was no way. Li Wenbai had already received a gift from the other party when he was born. It was naturally embarrassing to accept a second gift in such a short time.
However, the two families would usually greet each other when they met each other when they went out.
After hearing what Li Xu said, the Ding couple responded and walked towards the main hall.
When everyone in the room saw the two of them, they quickly stood up and greeted them.
He didn't notice it outside just now, but now under the light in the house, Li Xu found that the faces of the two people from the Ding family were still a little swollen.
Not only did he notice it, but even Li Jiakang saw it, "Old Ding, what's wrong with your face?"
Ding Dawei forced a smile and said, "I'm a little swollen from hunger. Old Li, I'll be frank. We just want to borrow some food."
If someone else had asked to lend it to him, Li Jiakang would have refused outright, but this was a close neighbor and a nice person. Besides, the swelling on their faces didn't form in a day or two. They must have been unable to hold on any longer and were asking for it now.
After thinking for a moment, Li Jiakang asked, "Is it because of your mother?"
Ding Dawei nodded, his eyes instantly reddening. "You all know the situation at home. We could have been fine if we had eaten less, but my mother is paralyzed in bed. If she hadn't eaten any less, she might have died. We can't hold on any longer. We've visited many relatives in the countryside, but couldn't borrow anything. Now we have no choice but to come to you for help."
Li Xu and others were also silent.
They knew that Ding Dawei and his wife were extremely filial. His mother had been paralyzed for many years and had never even had bedsores. As early as the first time the disaster started and food was reduced, someone advised them to abandon the elderly woman. At that time, Ding Dawei and his wife exploded instantly and almost beat the person who said that to death.
What's more, their family doesn't have as many people as Li Xu's family. Under normal circumstances, it's enough to eat together, and it will definitely not become like this.
So everyone believed what he said.
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